El rito nos reúne en un momento crucial, cuando las decisiones son difíciles y el valor es necesario. Iniciamos el año 2007 con muchas tareas ya iniciadas y otras que debemos iniciar. En todo esto, se nos pide mucho. Debemos tener la voluntad para confrontar difíciles retos y enemigos decididos, y la sabiduría para enfrentarlos simultáneamente.

You can measure the scale of an American president’s troubles by the number of skutniks he deploys during his State of the Union address. Every year during his big set-piece speech to Congress, the president will digress from the main thrust of his remarks to offer fulsome praise to some member of the audience in the gallery. This person will have been carefully selected in advance by the president’s speechwriters as an exemplar of some virtue and placed there for the purpose.

Last week, Venezuela swore in for a third term President Hugo Chávez -- a man who routinely denounces U.S. "imperialism" and who referred to President George W. Bush as the devil in a speech before the United Nations. Chávez's reelection caused some commentators here to fret about the so-called "pink tide" of socialism that is sweeping Latin America, from Bolivia to Brazil, but there has been no sense of shock or outrage that a politician spouting fiery anti-American rhetoric could win 63 percent of the votes in his country.

Es evidente que necesitamos cambiar nuestra estrategia en Iraq. Así que mi equipo de seguridad nacional, comandantes militares y diplomáticos llevaron a cabo un análisis integral. Consultamos con congresistas de ambos partidos, nuestros aliados en el extranjero y distinguidos expertos externos. Nos beneficiamos de las sensatas recomendaciones del Grupo de Análisis sobre Iraq, un panel bipartidista encabezado por el ex secretario de Estado James Baker y el ex congresista Lee Hamilton. En nuestras discusiones, todos concordamos que no hay una fórmula mágica para el éxito en Iraq. Y un mensaje se escuchó fuerte y claro: El fracaso en Iraq sería un desastre para Estados Unidos.

We are now in a period of confusion and disorientation, almost despair. I think it is worthwhile to look back historically to see how we got to where we are today. In the mid to late 1980s, the idea of American decline was in vogue. Japan was rising, China was awakening, Europe was consolidating, America was said to have been in the midst of what historian Paul Kennedy called “imperial overstretch.” The conventional wisdom of the time was that the bipolar world of the United States and the Soviet Union would yield to a new world structure which would be multipolar, with power fairly equally divided between Japan, perhaps China, a diminished Soviet Union, a consolidating Europe, the United States, and perhaps other rising countries such as India or perhaps even Brazil. That’s how the world looked in the mid to late 1980s.

As I leave, I do feel urgency, but I also feel optimism. I know that the American people can summon that same grit that helped our founders forge from a wilderness, a new frontier. I know it because I have seen it over my own lifetime. It’s the same steel that sent our fathers and grandfathers across oceans to defend free nations from tyrants. That same grit that gave Americans the will to endure 40 years of the Cold War under the specter of nuclear annihilation.

It's dramatic. In World War II, the attack on Pearl Harbor was stunning, but it followed a long series of (events) in Europe, and even in Asia, that were not stunning to the American people. The threat anticipated on the West Coast was real and palpable. The mobilization of the country, and declaring war, moved us to the next step. The large number of people who went to serve from almost every community in the nation, was an example of the extent to which people were engaged.

The battered and bruised Bush Administration is being pressured to make a foreign policy mistake that would further infuriate its conservative base -- nominate defeated liberal Republican Rep. Jim Leach as the next U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Leach is a favorite of the crowd that favors world government financed by global taxes. He would fit in quite nicely at the world body. But he would not be a reliable defender of American interests.

Following is the transcript of the session of nomination hearing for Robert M. Gates as provided by Federal News Service. Dr. Gates has a long and distinguished record of service to the nation. After establishing a firm educational foundation at the College of William & Mary, Commonwealth of Virginia, he served in the United States Air Force from 1966 through 1969. Dr. Gates then joined the Central Intelligence Agency, where he spent over 26 years -- a quarter of a century -- as an intelligence professional, including a period of nearly nine years assigned to the National Security Council.

This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its various policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government (FMS) transactions. Some general data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all suppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the developing world.

Arab reactions to American support for Israel in its recent conflict with Hezbollah have put anti-Americanism in the headlines once again. Around the world, not just in the Middle East, when bad things happen there is a widespread tendency to blame America for its sins, either of commission or omission.

Desde el horror del 11 de septiembre, hemos aprendido mucho sobre el enemigo. Ahora sabemos que son malvados y matan sin misericordia, mas no sin un propósito. Ahora sabemos que constituyen una red de extremistas a quienes los incita una visión perversa del islamismo, una ideología totalitaria que odia la libertad, rechaza la tolerancia y aborrece toda disensión. Y ahora sabemos que su objetivo es establecer un imperio islámico radical donde las mujeres son prisioneras en sus casas, los hombres son golpeados por faltar al rezo y los terroristas tienen un refugio desde el cual planear y lanzar ataques contra Estados Unidos y otras naciones civilizadas. La guerra contra este enemigo es más que un conflicto militar. Es la lucha ideológica decisiva del siglo XXI y el llamado de nuestra generación.

Tom [American Legion Commander Tom Bock], I understand that your son is flying a Chinook in Iraq -- following in his dad's proud tradition of military service. Our country is deeply grateful to him -- and to all of you who have children or relatives serving in our nation's military.

Since George W. Bush assumed the presidency five years ago, arguments about the proper role of religious faith in politics have been at the center of American political debate. To many members of the intellectual and media establishments, and to others in the wider world, Bush seems a disturbing historical aberration. Not only does the president talk openly about God, but his political beliefs are plainly informed by his religious faith. He regularly incorporates Bible scriptures into his political speeches, asserts that he heard God’s call to run for the presidency, and has said that he has prayed for God’s help since taking office, including when he decided to lead the United States into war in Iraq.

Ronald Reagan's vision that the United States would one day need a missile defense system was again validated last week when North Korea assembled and fueled a missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to American cities.

Deep divisions on foreign policy emerged within Italy's center-left coalition yesterday, with hard-line communists attacking moderate Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema's pro-American stance as he prepared to meet Condoleezza Rice in Washington today.

With the recent suicides, reports that detainees have been abused, mounting foreign pressure to close the detention center, and its Gulag-like symbolic resonance, the continued political viability of the Guantánamo Bay camp is increasingly in doubt. President Bush has himself said that he would like to close Guantánamo. But is he putting politics before American security? If Guantánamo is shut down, what will be done with the detainees?

In President Bush's first term, some of his top officials, like Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney, liked to score political points at home by being rude about the Europeans. These days, with Bush's approval ratings so low, the boot is on the other foot, and European leaders are vying to tell their constituents how tough they can be with the Americans.

Common sense and most academic thinking argue that a hegemon’s prime objective should seek to maintain the prevailing international system, but that is not the world in which we live today. Measured in any conceivable way, the United States has a greater share of world power than any other country in history.

The United States is a successful society today because over the past two or three generations it has applied Quigley’s Law more thoroughly and more widely than any other society in history, and, in doing so, has shaped much of the world. Until 1940, the United States was not much more Quigley-minded than most other great powers.

If Congress does not approve the U.S.-India nuclear deal, “it would have a real and negative effect on the bilateral relationship,” concludes a new Council Special Report. Congress should adopt a two-stage approach, formally endorsing the deal’s basic framework, while delaying final approval until it is assured that critical nonproliferation needs are met. “Patience and a few simple fixes would address major proliferation concerns while ultimately strengthening the strategic partnership,” says the report.

D-Day. The very name conjures up echoes of American sacrifice and courage.

The United States and Vietnam agreed Monday to increase their military contacts and to discuss additional ways to broaden their defense cooperation, American officials said.

The U.S. and eight other countries will gather this week to negotiate a final road map for the Pentagon's biggest weapons program, a $276 billion fighter-jet project that has struggled to live up to its billing as a model of global cooperation.

Working with our international partners, the United States is making every effort to achieve a successful diplomatic outcome, but the international community has made clear that the Iranian regime must not acquire nuclear weapons. The vital interests of the United States, of our friends and allies in the region, and of the entire international community are at risk, and the United States will act accordingly to protect those common interests.

Heavy deployments of American troops to the Middle East are an essential part of the global war on terrorism. However, the duration of troop deployments has been a source of controversy within the United States. There is controversy about whether there are too many or too few soldiers in Iraq, controversy about the nature of America’s geopolitical ambitions, and controversy about the impact on the families of soldiers. Much of the debate is carried on in a fact-free vacuum, lacking the context of American troops’ traditional footprint around the globe for the past half-century.

The Pentagon is pressing Congress to approve the development of a new weapon that would enable the United States to carry out nonnuclear strikes against distant targets within an hour after a threat is detected.

Remember the dozens, maybe hundreds, of rapes, murders, stabbings and deaths resulting from official neglect at the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina? The ones that never happened, as even the national media later admitted?

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is in Washington, where he will be asking for advice and assistance in financing the withdrawal of 50,000 to 100,000 Israeli settlers from 90% to 95% of the West Bank and major portions of Jerusalem, and for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to be repositioned largely near the security barrier Israel is constructing. Most Americans are inclined to believe that such disengagement may be a reasonable step toward a two-state solution, even if some territorial disputes remain to be negotiated. It is also widely assumed that Palestinian hostility to Israel is fueled by despair that can only be reduced by Israeli concessions. Both assumptions, however, may be fundamentally flawed.

The Bush administration is moving to establish a new antimissile site in Europe that would be designed to stop attacks by Iran against the United States and its European allies.

When Ehud Olmert, the new Israeli Prime Minister comes calling at the White House this Tuesday, his main objective will be to receive President George W. Bush’s support for and Israeli retreat from the West Bank and Samaria of the Bible, the historic birthplace of the Jewish people. President Bush should voice his strongest opposition to this dangerous and reckless scheme.

El tema de la inmigración suscita emociones intensas, y en semanas recientes, los estadounidenses han presenciado el despliegue de esas emociones. En las calles de las ciudades principales, las muchedumbres se han manifestado a favor de aquéllos que están en nuestro país ilegalmente. En nuestra frontera del sur, otros se han organizado para evitar que los inmigrantes ilegales ingresen. En todo el país, los estadounidenses están tratando de conciliar estas imágenes contrastantes. Y en Washington, ha llegado al momento de una decisión en el debate acerca de la reforma inmigratoria.

Recent years, however, have witnessed a sea change in bilateral relations, with more positive interactions becoming the norm. India’s swift offer of full support for U.S.-led counterterrorism operations after September 2001 was widely viewed as reflective of such change. Today, President Bush calls India a “natural partner” of the United States and his Administration seeks to assist India’s rise as a major power in the new century.

India's relationship with the United States has always been the subject of debate and discussion. Despite being the world’s largest democracy, India could never enjoy a smooth and noncontroversial relationship with the world's oldest democracy—which means that sharing the same value system will not act as a glue to hold states together in the international politics. Until recently, India and the United States, due to their multifarious differences, were considered to be ‘estranged democracies’—but their recent agreement on civil nuclear technology has transformed their relationship, and made them ‘engaged democracies.’

The official document titled National Security Strategy of the United States of America (NSS) (September 2002) describes nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons in the hands of rogue leaders or terrorist groups as among the gravest threats faced by the United States. It lays out four components of American strategy to confront this threat: deterrence and defense, strengthening diplomatic and multilateral efforts, improving abilities to respond to and reduce the effects of the actual use of NBC weapons, and preventive attacks against emerging NBC programs.

Today the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere will hear testimony on the current state of relations between the United States and Mexico. In his National Security Strategy for 2006, President Bush urged a deepening of our ties to Mexico if we want to see cooperative policies be extended and carried out through the region of Latin America.

It is fitting that we should gather in the Baltic region -the very front lines of freedom in the modern world. For several generations, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia were counted as provinces of an empire. In fact you were ancient nations, with your sovereignty lost by theft. The United States never recognized the legitimacy of that occupation, and we kept faith with you until the day your independence was restored.

Depuis un demi-siècle, la relation des Etats-Unis avec Israël est au centre de la politique américaine au Moyen-Orient. Pourquoi les Etats-Unis ont-ils été prêts à mettre de côté leur propre sécurité pour soutenir les intérêts d'un autre Etat ? Un rapport récent révèle au grand jour les secrets de cette complicité inébranlable.

This report is submitted in compliance with Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 2656f (the “Act”), which requires the Department of State to provide Congress a full and complete annual report on terrorism for those countries and groups meeting the criteria of the Act. Statutory excerpts relating to the terms used in this report and a discussion of the interpretation and application of those terms in this report are included below.

So when did Generals cease to be responsible for outcomes in war? We ask that question amid the latest calls by certain retired senior military officers for Donald Rumsfeld to resign over U.S. difficulties in Iraq.

Five years ago, when Donald Rumsfeld took over at the Pentagon, he quickly moved to assert greater civilian control over senior military officers. But now, well into the Bush administration's second term, there are signs that his firm grip on the Defense Department is slipping as some uniformed officers increasingly chart their own course.

President Bush and President Musharraf have affirmed the long-term, strategic partnership between their two countries. In 2004, the United States acknowledged its aspirations for closer bilateral ties with Pakistan by designating Pakistan as a Major Non-NATO Ally. The U.S.-Pakistan strategic partnership is based on the shared interests of the United States and Pakistan in building stable and sustainable democracy and in promoting peace and security, stability, prosperity, and democracy in South Asia and across the globe.

El frente central de la guerra contra el terrorismo es Iraq. En las semanas pasadas, hemos visto imágenes horrendas provenientes de ese país. Hemos visto un gran templo -la Mezquita Dorada de Samarra- en ruinas después de un brutal ataque terrorista. Hemos visto a la milicia armada tomar represalias atacando mezquitas sunitas. Hemos visto coches bomba quitarles la vida a personas comprando en un atestado mercado de Ciudad Sadr. Hemos visto los cadáveres de iraquíes brutalmente ejecutados o muertos a golpes.

Our agreement with India will make our future more secure, by expanding the reach of the international nonproliferation regime. The International Atomic Energy Agency would gain access to India's civilian nuclear program that it currently does not have.

Today, the Iranian leadership is actively working against all that the U.S. and our allies desire for the region – peace in Lebanon, peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and an end to terrorism. In fact, no country stands more resolutely opposed to our hope for peace and freedom in the Middle East than Iran.

Throughout the deliberations of the two conferences that form the basis of this book, I was struck that so many of my fellow participants knew so little of the history of the Anglo-American relationship.

The United States has been a leader of worldwide efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. To this end, the international community and many individual states have agreed to a range of treaties, laws, and agreements known collectively as the nuclear nonproliferation regime, aimed at keeping nations that do not have nuclear weapons from acquiring them.

The civilian nuclear deal signed Thursday between India and the United States will yield benefits for both countries and allow New Delhi to plug into a once restricted world of nuclear commerce, Indian foreign affairs analysts said Friday.

Israel has always had to be on guard against enemies to have a clear-eyed view of potential threats, and to confront dangers squarely. Throughout its history, the country has faced sudden, random acts of terrorism -- attacks intended to shake Israel's confidence and break the will of its people.

Critics of the Bush Administration often lament that its policies have alienated America's traditional allies and embittered just about everyone else. Everyone except, apparently, a billion or so Indians.

On the eve of President Bill Clinton’s visit to India in March 2000, I was asked by the White House to prepare a brief paper outlining the purpose of the trip and the new vision the US envisioned in its relations with India.

This report, which will be updated as needed, provides an overview of the U.S. nuclear posture to highlight areas of change and areas of continuity.

A stable, democratic, economically thriving Pakistan is considered vital to U.S. interests in Asia. Key U.S. concerns regarding Pakistan include regional terrorism; Pakistan- Afghanistan relations; weapons proliferation; the ongoing Kashmir problem and Pakistan- India tensions; human rights protection; and economic development.

The end of the Cold War freed India-U.S. relations from the constraints of global bipolarity, but interactions continued for a decade to be affected by the burden of history, most notably the longstanding India-Pakistan rivalry and nuclear weapons proliferation in the region.

The 2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) is an annual report by the Department of State to Congress prepared in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act. It describes the efforts of key countries to attack all aspects of the international drug trade in Calendar Year 2005.

Today I am still grateful to the United States for the high price in lives you continue to pay in the fight against terrorism to assure our common security and defend human rights around the world.

Both our countries are linked by a deep commitment to freedom and democracy; a celebration of national diversity, human creativity and innovation; a quest to expand prosperity and economic opportunity worldwide; and a desire to increase mutual security against the common threats posed by intolerance, terrorism, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

NATO is continuing its internal transformation as well, evolving from a territorial defense mission to an expeditionary alliance. As Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer has detailed, this means investments in new capabilities, including strategic airlift, special operations forces, and intelligence.

I would now like to offer an overview of the current mission of the men and women of the State Department—a mission that we have called transformational diplomacy.

China’s policy of economic reform and opening up has resulted in the integration of China into the world community in ways more profound than many would have predicted, though the degree and scope of integration has varied by sector and subject. Nowhere is this better seen than in the Chinese government’s efforts to adapt to – and control – new technologies.

Well into the Bush administration's second term, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is concentrating much of his energy on remaking a small but important corner of the military: special-operations forces.

The expansion of the U.S. economy continued for the fourth consecutive year in 2005. The President has laid out an agenda to maintain the economy's momentum, foster job creation, and ensure that America remains a leader of the global economy.

Ethanol could help cure America's "addiction" to oil, with the fledgling industry poised for a boom to sate the country's thirst for renewable alternatives to gasoline, industry sources said on Wednesday.

The report indicated that the Complex had redundant facilities, security concerns, high cost, excessive competition between the weapons labs, and inadequate equipment for the production plants. To redress these problems, the Task Force proposed restructuring the Complex.

It is important to reject the view that Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons is inevitable, that there’s nothing that can be done to stop it. If the U.S. and other key actors do not change some of their policies, Iran probably will proceed to acquire the bomb.

The Defense Department's recently completed Quadrennial Defense Review, which had been billed as an outline for transforming post-9/11 military budgets, supports spending programs that look almost exactly like Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's blueprint from August 2001, minus cuts to the size of the Army.

Iran's nuclear program appears tailor-made for President Bush's doctrine of pre-emption: striking before threats fully materialize. And in recent polls, a surprisingly large number of Americans say they would support U.S. military strikes to stop Tehran from getting the bomb. So why is the White House so committed to the vagaries of diplomacy?

In this decisive year, you and I will make choices that determine both the future and the character of our country. We will choose to act confidently in pursuing the enemies of freedom. We will choose to build our prosperity by leading the world economy - or shut ourselves off from trade and opportunity.

It must send out into the world a diplomatic force, a diplomatic corps that reflects that great diversity. It cannot be that the last three Secretaries of State -the daughter of European immigrants, the son of Jamaican immigrants and a daughter of the American segregated South -would be more diverse than the Foreign Service with which they work.

"We are living through a watershed moment in the story of freedom. Most of the focus now is on this week's elections -- and rightly so. Iraqis will go to the polls to choose a government that will be the only constitutional democracy in the Arab world. Yet we need to remember that these elections are also a vital part of a broader strategy for protecting the American people against the threat of terrorism."

The Coalition has adjusted to win the "battle after the battle" by helping Iraqis consolidate their gains and keep the terrorists from returning.

Para lograr la victoria, seguimos una estrategia integral en Iraq. Los estadounidenses deben tener un entendimiento claro de esta estrategia.cómo vemos la guerra, cómo vemos al enemigo, cómo definimos la victoria y lo que estamos haciendo para lograrla. Por lo tanto, hoy estamos publicando un documento titulado "Estrategia Nacional para la Victoria en Iraq" ("National For Victory in Iraq"). Esta es una versión no clasificada de la estrategia que hemos estado siguiendo y está publicada en el sitio de Internet de la Casa Blanca: whitehouse.gov.

A free Japan is helping to transform the world. Japan and the United States send more aid overseas than any other two countries in the world. Today in Afghanistan, Japanese aid is building a highway that President Karzai says is essential for the economic recovery of this newly democratic nation. In Iraq, Japan has pledged nearly $5 billion for reconstruction.

Preoccupied with war abroad and growing problems at home, U.S. opinion leaders and the general public are taking a decidedly cautious view of America’s place in the world.

This Report sets forth the Commission’s analysis of the U.S.-China relationship in the topical areas designated in the Commission’s Congressional mandate: the areas for the Commission to consider and about which it is to make recommendations to the Congress. These include China’s proliferation practices, its economic reforms, U.S. economic transfers to China, China’s energy needs, its firms’ access to the U.S. capital markets, U.S. investments in China, China’s economic and security impacts in Asia, U.S.-China bilateral programs and agreements, China’s record of compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments, and its government’s media control efforts.

Security Consultative Committee Document. The SCC members reaffirmed their shared view of the security environment, in which new and emerging threats have surfaced as common challenges that can affect thesecurity of nations worldwide, including the U.S. and Japan.

Now we are preparing for 2006. First we must help Iraqis as they hold another vital election in December. Well over 9 million Iraqis voted on Sunday. Whether Iraqis voted yes or no, they were voting for an Iraqi nation, and for Iraqi democracy.

Some call this evil Islamic radicalism; others, militant Jihadism; still others, Islamo-fascism. Whatever it's called, this ideology is very different from the religion of Islam. This form of radicalism exploits Islam to serve a violent, political vision: the establishment, by terrorism and subversion and insurgency, of a totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom.

For 60 years, we often thought that we could achieve stability without liberty in the Middle East. And ultimately, we got neither. Now, we must recognize, as we do in every other region of the world, that liberty and democracy are the only guarantees of true stability and lasting security.

Foreign-policy “realism” has never been an easy sell in America.

The United States Intelligence Community has repeatedly advised of threat streams suggesting al Qaeda and affiliated groups have considered using a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) in a US-based attack. There are numerous historical and current threat streams to suggest the terrorist use of tanker fuel trucks, among other vehicle types, to facilitate a major explosion targeting critical infrastructure and designed to create mass casualties or economic destruction.

The post-cold-war era has seen a remarkable ideological experiment: over the last fifteen years, each of the three major American schools of foreign policy—realism, liberal internationalism, and neoconservatism—has taken its turn at running things.

Nuestra misión en Iraq es clara. Perseguimos a los terroristas. Ayudamos a los iraquíes a construir una nación libre que es una aliada en la guerra en el terror. Promovemos la libertad en el gran Oriente Medio.

The magnitude of America's image problem is such that even popular U.S. policies have done little to repair it. President George W. Bush's calls for greater democracy in the Middle East and U.S. aid for tsunami victims in Asia have been well-received in many countries, but only in Indonesia, India and Russia has there been significant improvement in overall opinions of the U.S.

For over half a century, the United States and India—the world’s largest two democracies and almost 20 percent of the global population—have had a difficult relationship. That situation appears to be changing. Today, there is a growing chorus of views on both sides recommending a long term strategic understanding, perhaps even partnership, between the two nations.

The Egyptian Government must fulfill the promise it has made to its people -and to the entire world- by giving its citizens the freedom to choose. Egypt’s elections, including the Parliamentary elections, must meet objective standards that define every free election.

CAFTA would expand opportunity by creating a more level playing field for our goods and services. Under existing rules, most of Central America's exports already enter the United States duty free -- but U.S. exports still face hefty tariffs. By passing CAFTA, the United States would open up a market of 44 million consumers for our farmers and small business people. CAFTA will replace a system that is often arbitrary with one that is fair and transparent and based on common rules.

The United States is committed for the long term to helping areas affected by the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, says Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick.

On March 14, at about the same time Western antiwar groups were organizing their annual spring demonstrations against American efforts in the Middle East, nearly a million Lebanese, including Sunni Muslims, Druze, and Christians, took to the streets of Beirut.

"You are building a free future for your children and grandchildren, and you are helping other nations to do the same. When the Afghan people defied terrorists to vote in that nation's first free presidential elections, Georgian soldiers were there to provide security. And last year, when terrorist violence in Iraq was escalating, Georgia showed her courage. You increased your troop commitment in Iraq fivefold. The Iraqi people are grateful, and so are your American and coalition allies."

"We talked about NATO. The President is very clear about his intentions to meet the obligations to join NATO. And, Mr. President, we look forward to working with you to meet those obligations. NATO is a very important alliance for the United States of America. It's a place where we have our strategic conversations with our transatlantic friends, and we want to help you achieve your objective there."

The United States is working with Palestinians and Israelis to improve security on the ground. Building true security for Israelis and Palestinians demands an immediate, strong and sustained effort to combat terrorism in all its forms.

Few nations spend as much time worrying about how the world perceives them as America does. In the history of superpowers, great powers, or imperial powers, the American concern with likeability is unmatched. Did the Romans, the Ottoman Turks, or the Soviets worry about popularity ratings?

..the Intelligence Community was dead wrong in almost all of its pre-war judgements about Iraq's weapon of mass destruction. This was a major intelligence failure...

The Pentagon is working to develop a suborbital space capsule within the next five years that would be launched from the United States and could deliver conventional weapons anywhere in the world within two hours.

"The attacks of September the 11th, 2001 also revealed the outlines of a new world. In one way, that assault was the culmination of decades of escalating violence. In another way, September the 11th provided a warning of future dangers."

Parte del trabajo en curso del Proyecto de monitorización MEMRI TV es monitorizar las declaraciones de las principales organizaciones terroristas, como Al-Qa'ida o Hezboláh. Lo siguiente son extractos de dos discursos del líder de Hezboláh, el jeque Hassan Nasralah.

The phenomenon of Saudi hate ideology is worldwide, but its occurrence in the United States has received scant attention. This report begins to probe in detail the content of the Wahhabi ideology that the Saudi government has worked to propagate through books and other publications within our borders.

Discurso pronunciado en Washington D.C por José María Aznar en la cena de Gala Anual de los Premios Irving Kristol 2005 AEI.

They addressed security and alliance issues facing the United States and Japan, as well as other aspects of the relationship: Working Together on Challenges Facing the World Today

In a new century, the alliance of Europe and North America is the main pillar of our security. Our robust trade is one of the engines of the world's economy. Our example of economic and political freedom gives hope to millions who are weary of poverty and oppression.

These reports are a key part of this Administration's activities to promote human rights and democracy around the world, part of President Bush's forward strategy of freedom.