UN best positioned to tackle terrorism, says United States leader

The role of the United Nations has become increasingly more essential in confronting the global threat of terrorism, with multilateralism having the potential to usher in a more secure and more prosperous era, United States President George W. Bush said today.

Since banding together eight years ago to address the “global movement of violent extremists,” it has been made apparent that “the United Nations and other multilateral organizations are needed more urgently than ever,” he told the General Assembly annual high-level debate in New York.

Success in fighting terrorism depends on cooperation to prevent attacks from occurring instead of deploring them after they take place, Mr. Bush said.

“By acting together to meet the fundamental challenge of our time, we can lead toward a world that is more secure, and more prosperous, and more hopeful,” he told delegates.

The world is almost in universal agreement that no cause can justify terrorism, with Security Council resolutions asserting it to be unlawful and other multilateral bodies such as the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized nations and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) speaking out against the scourge. “Like slavery and piracy, terrorism has no place in the modern world,” the President said.

He pointed to countries such as Syria and Iran that continue to sponsor terror, but noted that “their numbers are growing fewer, and they’re growing more isolated from the world.”

Addressing terrorists’ ideologies is also crucial, Mr. Bush said, calling on the UN to provide a “more hopeful alternative” and step up its efforts to “challenge tyranny.”

He voiced support for “brave young democracies” such as Georgia, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq, but emphasized political freedom is not enough to overcome terrorism.

“The extremists find their most febrile recruiting grounds in societies trapped in chaos and despair – places where people see no prospect of a better life,” the US President said, stressing the need to deal with poverty, disease and ignorance.

Trade and investment play a large part in spurring development, and he accentuated the need to reinvigorate the commitment to open economies with markets more integrated than ever.

As global financial markets face turbulent times, Mr. Bush said that his country’s Government is taking “bold steps to prevent a severe disruption of the American economy, which would have a devastating effect on other economies around the world.”

Acknowledging the difficulty of the tasks facing the world body, he underlined how “the world needs a confident and effective United Nations” that can correct its mistakes and streamline its inefficiencies.

“With determination and purpose, the United Nations can be a powerful force for good as we head into the 21st century,” Mr. Bush said. “It can affirm the great promise of its founding.”