Bush lays out Mideast peace plan at U.N.

UNITED NATIONS - President Bush tried to quell anti-Americanism in the Middle East on Tuesday by assuring Muslims he is not waging war against Islam, regardless of what “propaganda and conspiracy theories” they hear.

He also pressed Iran to return at once to international talks on its nuclear program and threatened consequences if the Iranians do not.

But his speech to the United Nations General Assembly was less confrontational than his remarks on the sidelines regarding Iran. He aimed instead at building bridges with people in the Middle East who are angry with the United States.

“My country desires peace,” Bush told world leaders in the U.N.’s cavernous main hall. “Extremists in your midst spread propaganda claiming that the West is engaged in a war against Islam. This propaganda is false and its purpose is to confuse you and justify acts of terror. We respect Islam.”

Bush’s speech was the last in a series on the war on terrorism, timed to surround last week’s fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and to set the tone for the final weeks of the U.S. midterm election campaign.

Meets with Talabani
His challenge is to build support among skeptical foreign leaders to confront multiple problems in the region: the Iranian nuclear issue, a stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, armed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and unabated violence in Iraq.

Bush met later with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to discuss strategies for supporting the Iraqi government and reducing violence. “I’m optimistic this government will succeed,” Bush said.

Talabani addressed Bush as “the hero of the liberation of Iraq” and told him he could count on Iraqis to fight the terrorists.

Addressing Iraqis specifically, Bush said, “We will not abandon you in your struggle to build a free nation.”

No reaction from Iran yet
Bush said Iran “must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was scheduled to speak to the body later Tuesday, but he was not at the country’s table in the hall when Bush spoke.

Speaking to Iranians, Bush said their country’s future has been clouded because “your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation’s resources to fund terrorism and fuel extremism and pursue nuclear weapons.”

NBC VIDEO Bush's agenda Sept. 19: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talks with the "Today" show's Matt Lauer about the U.N. visits of President Bush and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Today show

On the crisis in Sudan’s violence-wracked region of Darfur, Bush delivered strong warnings to both the United Nations and the Sudanese government, saying that both must act now to avert further humanitarian crisis.

Bush said that if the Sudanese government does not withdraw its rejection of a U.N. peacekeeping force for Darfur, the world body should act over the government’s objections.

The U.N. Security Council last month passed a resolution that would give the U.N. control over the peacekeeping mission in Darfur, now run mostly ineffectively by the African Union. But Sudan has refused to give its consent.

“The regime in Khartoum is stopping the deployment of this force,” Bush said. “If the Sudanese government does not approve this peacekeeping force quickly, the United Nations must act.”

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