President George Bush returned from a state visit to Britain insisting on the importance of the ”special relationship” between the two countries despite public hostility to the United States-led occupation of Iraq.
Bush was the first US president to go on a ”state visit” to Britain.
But the three days of pomp and splendour were also marked by a huge demonstration against the president in London and overshadowed by bomb attacks against British targets in Turkey claimed by al-Qaeda.
Speaking to reporters as he returned to the White House late on Friday, Bush said: ”We have got a special relationship with Britain and that was reaffirmed in the last three days.”
The president and First Lady Laura Bush were guests of Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and also went to the Sedgefield constituency in northern England of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush’s main ally in the Iraq war.
”Laura and I just returned from Great Britain, where we had a fantastic trip,” a tired-looking Bush told reporters.
”Her majesty the queen was a great host. And of course, we just spent some time today in Tony Blair’s constituency, which was not only a lot of fun, but it was a chance to continue our dialogue about how to fight and defeat terror.”
More than 100 000 people staged a giant anti-Bush rally in London on Thursday. The demonstrators toppled a giant effigy of Bush in Trafalgar Square.
The US president did not carry out a traditional carriage ride with Queen Elizabeth II through central London during his visit because of security fears.
Bush wrapped up his state visit with a pub lunch with Blair and more tough talk on global terrorism. Both leaders have seen their opinion poll ratings fall because of the Iraq conflict.
”We have got a job to do and that’s to defeat terror,” Bush said in Sedgefield, a day after the double suicide bomb attack on British targets in Istanbul killed at least 27 and injured about 450.
”We are being challenged,” he said as Blair looked on. ”We are being challenged by cold-blooded killers and we will prevail.”
The journey to Blair’s constituency included a look around the Blair family’s local Victorian home and fish and chips at a pub called the Dun Cow Inn.
Fielding reporters’ questions with Blair, Bush said he had rung Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to offer US support. ”I told him my prayers are with his people. I told him we would work with him to defeat terror.”
Public support for Bush and Blair have fallen as attacks increase on US, British and other coalition forces in Iraq. But political analysts have said the bomb attacks in Turkey should boost British support for Blair.
Bush’s visit gave Americans a chance to contrast the warm official welcome given to their leader against the widespread unpopularity of his Iraq war in Europe.
Highlighting the London demonstration, the New York Times called it ”a bad day in Europe” for the president.
Washington Post commentator David Ignatius said that Bush, who returned to Washington on Friday, now ”understands how unpopular he is in Europe”.
”It will be a long road back for a president who acted for much of his first three years as if the rest of the world didn’t matter,” he added.
But the British press gave Bush’s visit a largely favourable review.
The Sun, Britain’s biggest-selling daily, said his stop at Sedgefield ”was extra special and shows what a big success his trip to Britain has been”.
The Times said Bush ”has reason to count this state visit an important success, possibly beyond his expectations”.
Bush’s ”powerful, well argued and fluent” speech on foreign policy, delivered to a select audience in London on Wednesday, showed him to be ”a politician to be taken seriously,” the right-of-centre broadsheet said.
The leftwing Guardian said Bush displayed a courteous manner and coherent speech throughout his trip — behaviour that ”may have quieted some of the more extreme doubts about him on this side of the Atlantic — and that is a small political gain both for the president and for Mr Blair”. — Sapa-AFP