Baghdad Iraq Satellite Channel Television (government-owned, for external broadcast), Jan. 30: In his recent [Jan. 28] speech, the president of the U.S. “Administration of Evil” mentioned, as he customarily does, a number of fabrications and lies against Iraq in an effort to drive international public opinion, in general, and U.S. pubic opinion in particular, to form a distorted picture [of the crisis.] It was a desperate and cheap attempt to gain support for his hostile and wicked stance, especially after Iraq had exposed all the fabrications he and his henchman, Tony Blair, have made.U.S. Dept. of State transcription
Hong Kong Hsin Wan Pao (pro-Chinese communist), Jan. 30: After carefully reading the State of the Union Address delivered by President Bush on Tuesday [Jan. 28], one can almost be sure that an attack on Iraq is inevitable. Although President Bush did not clearly declare war, his determination to disarm and topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by resorting to the use of force in the near future is obvious.
Madrid El País (liberal), Jan. 30: With his State of the Union address, George W. Bush has placed the United States and the entire world in a state of war. The message is clear, and that is how the world’s markets and citizens have understood it: Saddam Hussein has missed his “final chance”… Bush read his first state of the nation address last year in a rarefied atmosphere caused by [the terrorist attacks of] Sept. 11, [2001], and the war in Afghanistan. [This year,] while he spoke, U.S. forces in the south of Afghanistan were fighting one of that campaign’s fiercest battles, but the matter was not even worthy of mention, since it would have highlighted the fact that that war is still unfinished. Nor did Bush bring up the subject of Osama bin Laden. The president concentrated on Saddam Hussein and terrorism, comparing Hussein’s regime to Hitlerism, militarism, and communism, in spite of the Bush administration’s being one of the most militarist in U.S. history.
Prague Mlada Fronta Dnes (independent), Jan. 30: George Bush's [State of the Union] address was convincing. For instance, he convinced [the world] that war is sure to come. Those who bet on peace will lose their wagers. Bush did not say anything of the sort directly. But those who can read between the lines see it clearly. The tone has stiffened in recent days…but there is one problem: The war has not yet started and Bush is losing the first battle. He has failed to convince the allies and the Americans to the extent necessary to begin a war. Bush was as eloquent as a priest (he spoke like one at times) and, also like a priest, his claims were based purely on faith.
