By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent MANILA, Philippines - President Bush (news - web sites) brought promises of military aid and solidarity to the terrorism-plagued Philippines on Saturday, in a hurried state visit cut short by fears of attack.
A pair of U.S. F-15 fighter jets escorted Air Force One into Manila. They
flew so close that the pilots' faces could be seen clearly from the presidential
aircraft.
Bush's stop here was limited to just eight hours, speeding him through a
wreath-laying ceremony, talks with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (news
- web
sites), a speech to Congress and a formal state dinner. He was rushing from
the dinner back to Air Force One to head for Thailand by day's end.
More than 1,000 university students and other activists marched to protest
Bush's visit to Manila, a city already on edge thanks to a massive security
blanket.
Arroyo, a U.S.-educated economist, has enlisted the help of American troops
and spy planes against the brutal al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist
group. The Philippines also are threatened by Jemaah Islamiyah, the
al-Qaida-affiliated terror group that is blamed for last year's bombing in Bali,
Indonesia, that killed 202 people.
Bush's visit to the Philippines is intended to reward Arroyo for her help in
the war on terrorism and for contributing soldiers, police and medical workers
to postwar Iraq (news
- web sites). The president will ask how he can further
help the Philippine leader, who recently had to deal with a failed mutiny by
military officers.
Manila was the second stop on Bush's six-country trip to Asia and Australia.
He left Tokyo with a $1.5 billion pledge from Japan toward Iraq
reconstruction � a promising development as he presses other world leaders to be
generous toward war-damaged Iraq.
For Japan's contribution, Bush delivered personal thanks, and a political
boost, to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at Tokyo's Akasaka Palace on Friday.
On a less agreeable subject concerning economic relations, Bush made clear his
opposition to Japan's intervention in currency markets.
"He's a good friend, a very strong leader," Bush said after dinner at a
palace annex overlooking a Japanese-style garden and small, koi-stocked pond. In
traditional Japanese fashion, the guests sat on the floor, dining on a
four-course meal featuring beef steak, miso soup, rice and pickles.
"Beef man," Koizumi joked about Bush. The president, usually the one dishing
out nicknames, chuckled in agreement. "Beef man," he repeated.
In Tokyo, a few dozen protesters demonstrated against Bush's visit in front
of the U.S. Embassy, where the president and his wife, Laura, stayed. The
protesters carried anti-nuclear messages, and condemned the U.S.-led war in Iraq
and Japan's plans to help with the aftermath.
There were high political stakes for Koizumi in his meeting with Bush. On
Nov. 9, Koizumi faces the first national election since he rose to power in
April 2001 and, while he has strong public approval ratings, he confronts
growing resistance to painful economic reforms.
Eager for a successful meeting with the president, Koizumi called their talks
"very frank, meaningful, interesting, fantastic."
The leaders traded opposing views on currency rates. Bush said the markets
should determine exchange rates; Koizumi said he agreed in principle but that a
total hands-off approach "could be dangerous and upsetting to the markets," a
U.S. official said.
U.S. manufacturers and politicians say efforts by Japan and China to keep
their currencies low against the dollar are costing U.S. jobs. It is becoming a
big political issue at home ahead of next year's U.S. presidential election.
Japan pledged $1.5 billion for Iraq on the eve of Bush's trip. While Bush
called it a bold move, it's just a fraction of the $13 billion that Japan
contributed during the 1991 Gulf War (news
- web
sites). Japanese media said the $1.5 billion was a down payment on a $5
billion aid package through 2007 to be announced at an international donors
conference next week in Spain.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell (news
- web
sites) said he believed Monday's meeting of leaders of Asian-Pacific nations
in Bangkok, Thailand, would focus on security issues more than previous meetings
had.
He commented to reporters while en route to a foreign ministers conference
being held in advance of the summit meeting Bush will attend.
Powell said issues such as terrorism are not separate from trade and
investment and economics.
"Business leaders will invest where they believe not only their investment is
safe, but their property and their employees are safe," he said. "People will
only go and tour in places and spend money in places where they feel that they
are secure." The
Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" |
