Haters galore

While the world suffers bloody terrorist attacks, US President Bush insists he will stay the course and carry on his relentless war against "an ideology of hate", Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

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In their daily briefings since the terrorist attacks in London on 7 July, and later in Sharm El-Sheikh on Saturday, the question United States officials dislike the most is whether President George W Bush's decision to invade and occupy Iraq was a major factor behind the recent surge in terrorism worldwide.

Their answer, of course, is no.

According to Bush administration officials, "the terrorists" had been attacking US targets long before the Iraq war, and they reiterate that the US president is now leading a generation-long war that will, in the final result, produce freedom and prosperity in the volatile, democracy-deprived Middle East. Meanwhile, the war, as President Bush asserts, is not against Muslims or people who are defending any cause, but against a minority who adhere to "an ideology of hate".

In a speech to leaders of the Organisation of American States on 21 July, the same day London suffered a second wave of attempted bombings, Bush said, "we're living in historic times. And one of the reasons I say that is we're still at war, see." He added, "and it's important for all of us who love freedom to understand that this is a war being fought against ideologues that use terror to advance an agenda. This is a war against killers, cold-blooded killers who embrace an ideology of hatred."

He went on to say that, "their (terrorists) vision of the world is the opposite of our vision of the world. We believe in universal freedoms. They have a different view of the world. They don't believe in women's rights. They have usurped a great religion and defined it in their terms. They have territorial designs. They have the desire to use their terrorist techniques to frighten us. And they're trying to shake our will."

In classic Bush style, he declared, "they don't understand our country, though. They don't understand that when it comes to the defence of universal freedoms, this country won't be frightened. We will defend ourselves by staying on the offence against these killers. We will find them overseas so we don't have to face them here at home."

Shortly after the Sharm El-Sheikh attacks, the White House issued a statement saying that the "United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the barbaric terrorist attacks in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt." In an obvious move aimed to affirm that his sympathy with victims of terror extended worldwide and with peoples of all religions, President Bush and his wife, Laura, requested a visit to the Egyptian Embassy in Washington on Monday to offer their condolences and express solidarity with the Egyptian people.

In brief statements Bush made while standing beside the Egyptian ambassador to Washington, Nabil Fahmi, he said, "Laura and I have come to your embassy to express our heart-felt sympathies for those who have lost their lives, and our strong determination to stand with the government of Egypt and the people of Egypt in rejecting this kind of violence and terror."

He added, "the people who struck in Sharm El-Sheikh killed Muslims, innocent mothers and dads, people who were trying to make a living. They have no heart, they have no conscience, and they have no ideology that is hopeful. And they have an ideology of hate."