Date Posted: Tuesday, August 31, 2004

NASHUA, (Masnet & News Agencies) - US President George W. Bush staunchly defended Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from a surprising attack at a Bush campaign event in this battleground state, AFP reported.

Bush also recommitted himself to the internationally drawn "roadmap" to Middle East peace and blamed the Palestinian leadership for stalled efforts to create an independent Palestinian state living at peace with Israel.

"Ariel Sharon is a duly elected official in a democracy," said the US president. "We would hope that the Palestinians would have that same kind of democracy, which would lead to a more peaceful world."

A young woman had asked Bush in a question-and-answer forum how he could support Sharon.

“How can Ariel Sharon, as you've said, be a man of peace if he causes death and torture among innocent Palestinians every day? How can Ariel Sharon be a man of peace if he fits your definition a terrorist? I'd be curious to hear how you plan to carry out the two-state solution,” asked the woman.

"That's a good question," he said. "First of all, Ariel Sharon is defending his country against terrorist attack, just like we all are," Bush said, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd.

Sharon "has made the conscious decision that a Palestinian state is in his nation's interest," said Bush, who insisted that the best way to reach that outcome is the tattered roadmap to peace.

"There's a leadership question involved in whether or not a Palestinian state will emerge. In order for a Palestinian state to emerge, there must be Palestinian leadership that believes in the hopes and aspirations of the people," he said.

Bush said Palestinian leaders must be willing to establish institutions and the rule of law "as opposed to a system in which one person pretty well dictates the fate of the Palestinian people."

"And so the real challenge is to not only stay on the roadmap ... but is for (Palestinian) leadership to emerge that is committed to the aspirations of the people," Bush said.

Meanwhile, in an interview with NBC, the President tempered expectations on winning the war on terrorism.

President Bush says staying the course in the war on terror will make the world safer for future generations, though he acknowledges an all-out victory against terrorism may not be possible, the Associated Press reported.

In an interview on NBC-TV's "Today" show broadcast to coincide with Monday's start of the Republican National Convention in New York, Bush said retreating from the war on terror "would be a disaster for your children.'"

"You cannot show weakness in this world today because the enemy will exploit that weakness," he said. "It will embolden them and make the world a more dangerous place."

When asked "Can we win?" the war on terror, Bush said, "I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that the — those who use terror as a tool are — less acceptable in parts of the world."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan sought to clarify Bush's statement, saying the president was speaking about winning the war "in the conventional sense."

"I don't think you can expect that there will ever be a formal surrender or a treaty signed like we have in wars past," he said. "That's what he was talking about. It requires a generational commitment to win this war on terrorism."

Nonetheless, Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards seized on the comment.

"After months of listening to the Republicans base their campaign on their singular ability to win the war on terror, the president now says we can't win the war on terrorism," the North Carolina senator said. "This is no time to declare defeat."