Bush: US can meet any challenge
US President George Bush, linking hurricane recovery and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks four years ago, declared today that the nation was ready to “overcome any challenge.”
“America is a strong and resilient nation,” Bush said.
Meanwhile, the federal bill for Hurricane Katrina relief soared past €44bn, and the White House and members of Congress said it was bound to keep climbing. Bush scheduled his third trip to the devastated region for the weekend.
Congress rapidly and overwhelmingly voted last night to fulfil an urgent plea for $51.8bn (€41.6bn), adding to $10.5bn (€8.4bn) that was approved last week for hurricane victims.
Bush signed the bill immediately, saying: “We will continue to help people rebuild their lives and rebuild the region.”
Today, he spoke about the hurricane at the swearing-in for Karen Hughes, the State Department’s new under-secretary for public diplomacy – a post designed to lift America’s image abroad.
Bush said that more than 100 nations had offered help after the hurricane, and he compared that to “a similar outpouring of support when another tragedy struck our nation” – the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
“Our people have the spirit, the resources and the determination to overcome any challenge,” he said.
His speech marked the first of several steps in which the White House is seeking to intertwine the challenge of the anti-terror battle with the effort to recover from the hurricane.
Bush was to travel to Mississippi and Louisiana over the weekend, spending Sunday and Monday in the region visiting with storm victims and examining response efforts, press secretary Scott McClellan said.
That trip was to follow Bush’s attendance at a church service and White House moment of silence marking the fourth anniversary on Sunday of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Bush’s Saturday radio address also was to focus on both events and the government’s response to them.
Today, he struck an empathetic tone.
“At this moment our fellow citizens along the Gulf Coast are struggling to recover from one of the worst natural disasters in our country’s history,” Bush said.
“Thousands have lost their homes, they’ve lost their loved ones, they’ve lost all their earthly possessions.”
