George W. Bush: Internationalist. (Insider Report).(President Bush praises the international coalition that helped win the war in Afghanistan)(Brief Article)

President Bush's March 11th address, which marked the passing of six months from the Black Tuesday attacks, "seemed an attempt to reassure nations unsettled by the unilateralist tone of his State of the Union Address on January 29," observed the New York Times. Speaking with the flags of 179 nations behind him, the president "thanked 16 nations by name, from Britain to Uzbekistan, and did not distinguish between deaths of allied and American troops." "We have lost young people from Germany and Denmark and Afghanistan and America' intoned Mr. Bush. "We mourn each one."

"A mighty coalition of civilized nations is now defending our common security," continued the president. "The power and vitality of our coalition have been proven in Afghanistan.... More than half of the forces now assisting the heroic Afghan fighters, or providing security in Kabul, are from countries other than the United States." In a departure from custom, the president ended his remarks with this benediction: "May God bless our coalition." Typically, presidents ...