USC Center on Public Diplomacy

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Published: APR 7, 2005 - 7:48PM PST

Special Reports
Special reports are articles collecting the most relevant public diplomacy articles and information on topical issues, and are posted periodically by our research team at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy.

INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS TO PRESIDENT BUSH’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
APR 7, 2005 - 7:48PM PST
by CPD Contributor

Download this report [PDF] George W. Bush’s second term as president has already been one filled with significant public events with implications for America’s image abroad. On February 2nd, President Bush delivered his fifth State of the Union Address, eliciting diverse reactions from foreign press and publics around the world. The following report contains a wide-ranging selection of domestic and foreign articles reacting to the State of the Union speech. North Korea Condemns Bush’s State Of The Union Address – Asia Pulse (Northern Territory Regional, South Korea, February 7, 2005) Several days after President Bush’s speech, the North Korean government released its first statements, criticizing Bush for turning the world into "a sea of fire" by capitalizing on what it calls “the freedom of power.” In commentary carried by official state broadcaster Radio Pyongyang, the North said the world would not tolerate Bush's aggressive concept of freedom and argued rather that it will only lead to anti-American movements. (Subscription Required) (Also available on LexisNexis) State of The Union Spurs Hope For 'More Consensual' Foreign Policy (Ben Goldberg, Media Reaction Branch, US State Dept. Office of Research, February 7, 2005) The press reaction branch of the State Department’s Office of Research provided this roundup of generally favorable foreign press coverage of the President’s State of the Union speech. It finds that ‘rightist’ papers tend to back Bush’s calls for strong opposition to governments that support oppression and other bold foreign policies. It notes that critics saw "glaring contradictions" in Bush's "mission to end tyranny," citing his "penchant for adventurism." It also concludes that many papers identified the Middle East and its troubles as the "main focus of the address.” Mideast Media Rebuff Bush, Rice – Press Roundup (BBC Monitoring, February 4, 2005) President Bush’s State of the Union Address inspired strong reaction across the Middle East, particularly to the tough accusations he leveled against Syria and Iran. An editorial in the pan-Arab newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi argued that because Bush said the US troops will remain in Iraq until they finish their job, this can only mean the removal of the Iranian and Syrian regimes. The attitude that Bush expressed towards the Palestinians, however, received a more positive, if guarded, response. There was some suspicion of the apparently contradictory nature of this speaking “the language of peace” while resorting to “the language of threats.” Interpreting Bush’s State Of The Union Address (Pan Yunzhao & Ban Wei, Xinhua News Agency, China, February 4, 2005) Chinese analysts said that this was Bush’s first State of the Union Address since taking the presidency at which domestic issues took center stage. In foreign policy, the speech was more restrained than in the past, this time emphasizing that the US must join hands with European and Asian countries to resolve the nuclear issues in Iran and North Korea by diplomatic means. Also worth noting is that Bush openly expressed his hope for Saudi Arabia and Egypt to carry out democratic reform. Bush appears emboldened by recent elections…... FULL TEXT