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President
Bush Visits England |
Posted:
11.19.03
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During his official state visit to England this week, President
Bush will face massive protests as he attempts to gain public
support for his policies in postwar Iraq.
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Many American presidents have visited England. Woodrow Wilson
stayed at Buckingham Palace in 1918. And Ronald Reagan was even
an official guest of the Queen. But President Bush, who arrived
in London Tuesday, is the first U.S. president to be invited on
an official state visit, the most formal way of recognizing a
foreign head of state.
Though planned over a year prior to the invasion of Iraq, this
four-day visit will focus on the situation there and is intended
to reinforce the relationship between the United States and England,
despite the many planned protests and peace demonstrations.
"I just want to say how strongly I believe that it is indeed
the right time for the president of the United  States
to come here to this country," Prime Minister Tony Blair
said on Monday.
"This is the right moment for us to stand firm with the
United States of America in defeating terrorism, wherever it is,
and delivering us safely from what I genuinely believe to be the
security threat of the 21st century."
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The president's
itinerary |
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State visits have a certain level of pageantry and the president's
visit will be no exception. Prince Charles greeted the president
as he arrived at Heathrow Airport in London on his way to Buckingham
Palace. On Wednesday morning President Bush met Queen Elizabeth
and her husband Prince Philip at a formal welcoming ceremony before
heading to a private palace to deliver a speech on the trans-Atlantic
alliance.
 After
an embarrassing outburst by hecklers during President Bush's speech
to the Australian parliament in October, it was decided that he
would avoid the British parliament and instead address a smaller
group of academics.
In his speech President Bush defended the war in Iraq saying
that military action is sometimes necessary to fight terrorism.
"In some cases, the measured use of force is all that protects
us from a chaotic world ruled by force," he said.
But he also acknowledged that there are some who disagree with
the United States' decisions.
"There are principled objections to the use of force in
every generation and I credit the motives behind these views,"
Bush said. But, he added: "Those in authority are not judged
only by good motivations. That duty sometimes requires the violent
restraint of violent men."
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Protesters |
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The protesters, expected to number in the tens of thousands,
planned a series of demonstrations throughout the president's
visit. Several hundred marched Tuesday evening to the U.S. embassy
to express dismay at U.S. environmental policies but the major
demonstrations are not expected until Thursday.
 The
Stop the War Coalition and other groups intend to march past Blair's
office on Downing Street before tearing down a replica statue
of Mr. Bush in Trafalgar square, mimicking the toppling of the
statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad in April. According to coalition
chairman Andrew Murray, the protest intended to demonstrate that
Mr. Bush "is the most unwelcome visitor to these shores since
William the Conqueror," the nobleman from Normandy who invaded
England in 1066.
However, a recent poll in the British newspaper the Guardian
showed that while 36 percent of those surveyed opposed the president's
visit, 43 percent welcomed it. And 62 percent agreed that the
United States is "generally speaking a force for good, not
evil, in the world."
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No formal
agreements expected |
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The White House has suggested that this is a visit intended to
reinforce the unique relationship between the United States and
England, but that significant developments are not to be expected.
Issues that will most likely remain unresolved include trade disputes
and the controversy over nine British citizens among alleged terrorists
being held by the United States at a naval base in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba.
On Wednesday, President Bush met with British families who lost
relatives in the Sept. 11 attacks and attended a formal banquet
with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Mr. Bush also intends to
meet British soldiers who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, hold
meetings with Mr. Blair and host a dinner at the U.S. ambassador's
residence. President Bush will return to Washington on Friday
after meeting members of the public.
--
Annie Schleicher, Online NewsHour
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