President Bush speaks by satellite today to an anti-terrorism meeting in Warsaw, Poland. The address is part of an intensified White House effort to get out its message both at home and abroad.
White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer says countries that stood on the other side of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War are now allying themselves with the United States to fight terrorism. He says they are taking part in this rather unusual meeting in Warsaw. "This is a meeting called by the Polish government, to bring together the nations of Eastern and Central Europe to discuss how to work with the United States on the fight against terrorism," says Mr. Fleischer. "These nations used to be part of a bloc that opposed us; now they are working shoulder to shoulder with us."
Mr. Fleischer says the President will tell them that international unity is needed to combat the terrorist threat. And, he says, Mr. Bush will talk about the steps the world needs to take to win this war. "I think the President is going to give a speech in which he discusses how this is a war that unites the freedom-loving people of the world against terrorism," he says. "He will remind people about the horrors and the evil of the Taleban and the al-Qaida organization, the terror that they preach and that they practice."
The address to the Warsaw meeting will be followed Saturday with the President's first address to the United Nations. Mr. Bush also plans to deliver a speech to the American people Thursday, summing up domestic developments in the war on terrorism.
It is all part of an enhanced campaign to win support both at home and abroad for anti-terrorism efforts. The President has a full calendar of meetings with foreign leaders this week, including the heads of several Muslim nations and key coalition partners, such as Great Britain and France.
President Bush launched this period of intensified diplomatic activity on Monday when he sat down at the White House with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. A few hours after the speech by satellite to the Warsaw conference, Mr. Bush will host French President Jacques Chirac.