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President George W Bush told Europeans yesterday it was "absurd" to regard the United States as the greatest threat to world peace, as he concluded an EU-US summit overshadowed by disputes on Guantanamo Bay and trans-Atlantic trade barriers. A visibly annoyed Mr Bush was responding to a journalist's question about opinion polls, asking why most Europeans believe the United States is a greater menace than Iran or North Korea. President Bush at the summit: 'I'd like to end Guantanamo' "It's absurd, is my statement," Mr Bush snapped, taking the microphone ahead of the president of the European Commission in his...

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- President Bush won solid European support Wednesday for his handling of escalating nuclear crises with North Korea and Iran but was challenged over the Iraq war, the U.S. prison camp in Cuba and rising anti-American sentiment. "That's absurd," Bush snapped at a news conference in response to an assertion that the United States was regarded as the biggest threat to global security. "We'll defend ourselves, but at the same time we're actively working with our partners to spread peace and democracy. Unbidden, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel rose with an impassioned defense that seemed to surprise the...

President George W Bush told Europeans yesterday it was "absurd" to regard the United States as the greatest threat to world peace, as he concluded an EU-US summit overshadowed by disputes on Guantanamo Bay and trans-Atlantic trade barriers. A visibly annoyed Mr Bush was responding to a journalist's question about opinion polls, asking why most Europeans believe the United States is a greater menace than Iran or North Korea. "It's absurd, is my statement," Mr Bush snapped, taking the microphone ahead of the president of the European Commission in his haste to answer the question. "We'll defend ourselves, but we...

President Bush won solid European support Wednesday for his handling of escalating nuclear crises with North Korea and Iran but was challenged over the Iraq war, the U.S. prison camp in Cuba and rising anti-American sentiment. "That's absurd," Bush snapped at a news conference in response to an assertion that the United States was regarded as the biggest threat to global security. "We'll defend ourselves but at the same time we're actively working with our partners to spread peace and democracy. Unbidden, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel rose with an impassioned defense that seemed even to surprise the president. "I think...

After being in Vienna for the EU-US summit for talks ranging from the Iran nuclear standoff to ways of reducing the West's foreign energy dependence, President and Mrs. Bush arrived in Budapest for a brief visit. The Bush's and SoS Rice listened to the Vienna Boys' Choir, among other cultural activities. President and Mrs. Bush participated in a roundtable with foreign students in Vienna.

VIENNA, Austria - President Bush confronted high-stakes nuclear showdowns with North Korea and Iran and grisly news about U.S. war deaths Tuesday as he began a quick trip to strengthen ties with European allies unhappy about Iraq. A week after Bush made a surprise, celebratory visit to Baghdad, he learned that two U.S. soldiers captured in Iraq had been found slain. They were killed by the new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, an insurgent umbrella group said in a Web statement that suggested the servicemen had been beheaded. "It's a reminder that this is a brutal enemy that does not...

VIENNA, Austria — Abu Ghraib. Guantanamo. Haditha. America's problems with Iraq are casting a long shadow over President Bush's meeting with European Union leaders this week. The gathering is restricted to U.S. officials and the European Union leadership, and the agenda focuses on Iran's nuclear ambitions, agricultural subsidies and the West's dependence on imported oil and gas. But the United States' precarious world standing will be the unspoken theme of Wednesday's session in Vienna. Ahead of the visit, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said he doubted Bush would have much to say about the U.S. prison for terror suspects at...

Vienna - Before Bush's visit in Vienna today, three suspicious packages had been discovered early in the morning. Two were destroyed with controlled explosions and discovered not to be dangerous. A third was opened and also found to be harmless. One of the packages was found near the Hotel Intercontinental, a place that President Bush will be either visiting or passing by on his visit to Vienna. At least one of them had wires hanging out and some sort of antenna affixed.

A coalition calling itself "Bush Go Home" said Monday it hoped some 10,000 to 15,000 demonstrators will take to the streets of Vienna Wednesday to protest against the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush. "The name George Bush, the name of the American president, has become a symbol for war crimes, for Abu Ghraib, for Guantanamo, for Jenin, said organizer Michael Proebsting, a member of the Austrian faction of the League for the Fifth International. The coalition is made up of groups including the Communist Initiative, the Anti-Imperialist Coalition and representatives from Austria's Turkish, Syrian, Iraqi and Palestinian communities....

This morning President Bush and First Lady, Laura left the White House for Vienna and arrived and were greeted by the Austrian Chancellor, Wolfgang Schuessel at Schwechat airport. The President is in Vienna to meet with European leaders at the annual meeting of the US - EU summit. The President will then travel to Budapest, Hungary, to express solidarity with and support for Eastern Europe's new democracies.Enjoy your trip to Sanity Island on the Daily Dose!!

President George W Bush is well aware that he will face more criticism than praise when he visits Europe next week. US media, which are attaching little importance to the US-EU summit in Vienna and Bush's subsequent trip to Budapest, has noted the announcement of demonstrations planned in Vienna along with the attacks from controversial Austrian politician Joerg Haider. Haider, governor of Carinthia Province, has termed Bush a 'war criminal.' This is unlikely to bother the president. The three-day trip is intended as a warm-up for talks in July with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany, a meeting with Russian...

CONTROVERSIAL film maker Michael Moore has admitted that his hero is RTE's feisty Washington correspondent Carole Coleman after her tough interview with President George Bush. Moore, whose family roots are in from Tipperary, Cork and Waterford, said: "In the end, doesn't it always take the Irish to speak up?" "She's my hero!" Moore said repeatedly about RTE's correspondent in an exclusive interview with the Irish Independent. "Where are the Carole Colemans in the US press?" he asked, alluding to Ms Coleman's rigorous questioning of President Bush on the eve of his visit to Ireland last month. "I know that a...

<p>The EU-U.S. summit comes at a time of great changes in Europe. On May 1, the European Union underwent the greatest expansion in its history, and negotiators are putting final touches on the European constitution.</p> <p>Territorial "widening" and constitutional "deepening," however, may not symbolize Europe's growing strength.They may represent the zenith of its integration. The Bush administration should be aware of the troubles Europe faces and fashion U.S. foreign policy so as to minimize the negative consequences of Europe's probable break-up.</p>

The President continued his visit in Ireland on Saturday with an EU summit. Saturday night, the First Couple flew to Ankara, Turkey, where they were received by the heads of state and Church. Sunday, June 27th, the President reviewed the Turkey troops, laid a wreath at the mausoleum of Turkey's founder Kemal Ataturk in Ankara. He attended a formal photo shoot of the NATO Summit attendees, and then a welcoming dinner at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. The NATO meetings will be held on Monday and Tuesday. In a surprise sequence of events, L. Paul Bremer signed over full...

For months, the media has attacked the president for failing to communicate a clear message on Iraq. And yet news of the president's major policy speech on that subject was met with almost complete indifference by the most powerful newspapers in America.

NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS, Ireland - In his visit to Ireland, President Bush stayed in a 16th century Renaissance castle on a 375-acre secluded estate. But it wasn't secluded enough Bush was spotted by television cameras as he was standing in a T-shirt at his window at Dromoland Castle. He was visible from the waist up, apparently as he was changing clothes. An embarrassed Irish government quickly tried to prevent the release of the images. A notice to the news media said, "The host broadcaster inadvertently transmitted pictures of President Bush at the window of Dromoland Castle. These pictures are the property of...

NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS, Ireland, June 26 — President Bush declared on Saturday that the "bitter differences" between the United States and Europe over the war in the Iraq were over, and that NATO had a responsibility to help Iraqis with their own security. But as Mr. Bush spoke at an outdoor joint news conference here with Prime Minister Bertie Ahern of Ireland and Romano Prodi, the president of the European Union, anti-Iraq war protesters blocked at least one of the main roads leading to Dromoland Castle, a 16th-century fortress turned luxury resort where Mr. Bush is staying. The protesters delayed the start...

Europe Takes Charge Sure, NATO is relevant. But the real transatlantic work is being done over at the European Union. By Andrew Moravcsik Newsweek July 5 issue - Hundreds of thousands of American tourists flock to Ireland every year seeking ruined castles, green fields and friendly folk. On his presidential visit to the Emerald Isle, Ronald Reagan raised a beer in a local pub. Bill Clinton, despite the controversy surrounding his policies on Northern Ireland, was welcomed by cheering crowds. advertisement Not so President George W. Bush. One might have expected him to launch a week of transatlantic diplomacy, starting...

US President George W Bush urged the European Union to open membership talks with Turkey, saying it met standards for joining the continent-wide club. Speaking to reporters after an EU-US summit at Dromoland Castle in western Ireland, Bush said Turkey was a "proud nation that successfully blends a European identity with Islamic traditions". "Turkey meets the EU standards for membership," he said. "The EU should begin talks that will lead to full membership for the Republic of Turkey." Bush headed to Turkey after the meetings. There he will attend a NATO summit and hold bilateral talks with Turkish leaders, where...

ADVERTISEMENT THE White House has lodged a complaint with the Irish Embassy in Washington over RTE journalist Carole Coleman's interview with US President George Bush. And it is believed the President's staff have now withdrawn from an exclusive interview which was to have been given to RTE this morning by First Lady Laura Bush. It is understood that both RTE and the Department of Foreign Affairs were aware of the exclusive arrangement, scheduled for 11am today. However, when RTE put Ms Coleman's name forward as interviewer, they were told Mrs Bush would no longer be available. The Irish Independent...