WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said Tuesday that because of U.S. actions Afghanistan and Iraq are free and making progress.
The Taliban in Afghanistan was the first to feel the wrath of America, he said, and now "the men and women of Afghanistan are building a nation that is free, and proud and fighting terror -- and America is honored to be their friend."
Iraq, he said, has been transformed from a country where the only law was the whim of one man, and now is working, with the United States and the United Nations, to develop a new constitution and hold elections.
The current president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Adnan Pachachi, and the new Iraq representative in Washington, Rend Al-Rahim, who heads the Iraq Foundation in Washington, were in the audience as Bush gave his State of the Union address.
Bush said: "The work of building a new Iraq is hard, and it is right. And America has always been willing to do what it takes for what is right."
The tough line, Bush said, and nine months of negotiations, have lead Libya's Moamar Gadhafi to disclose and dismantle all of his nuclear programs. Gadhafi, he added, realized his country would be better off without them.
He then gave the rational for his tough line. "For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible -- and no one can now doubt the word of America."
