Bush Presses U.N. On Iraq, Terror

Before skeptical and silent world leaders, President Bush on Wednesday urged compassion for the needy and pressed the global community to "put the terrorists on notice" by cracking down on any activities that could incite deadly attacks.

Mr. Bush, addressing more than 160 presidents, prime ministers and kings gathered for three days of U.N. General Assembly meetings, was seeking to sell his blueprints for spreading democracy in Iraq and elsewhere, overhauling the United Nations and expanding trade.

"The terrorists must know that wherever they go they cannot escape justice," Mr. Bush said to world leaders who sat silently throughout his speech.

CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller reports Mr. Bush began his speech by offering America's thanks to the more than 115 nations that have responded with offers of aid to the U.S. following Hurricane Katrina.

"Your response, like the response to last year's tsunami, has shown world more compassionate and hopeful when we act together," he said.

There is broad opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq among the world leaders gathered in New York to help the U.N. celebrate its 60th anniversary; many also would rather hear Mr. Bush finally relent and support an international treaty on global warming or promise to donate foreign aid at a level more proportionate to other rich nations.

However, the president's focus was again on the effort to defeat terrorists and the importance of supporting Iraq.

Mr. Bush pressed for Security Council approval of a resolution calling upon all nations to take steps to end the incitement of terrorist acts and asked nations to agree to prosecute and to extradite anyone seeking radioactive materials or nuclear devices.

"We must send a clear message to the rulers of outlaw regimes that sponsor terror and pursue weapons of mass murder: You will not be allowed to threaten the peace and stability of the world," Mr. Bush said. "Confronting our enemies is essential, and so civilized nations will continue to take the fight to the terrorists."

Mr. Bush urged the elimination of agricultural tariffs and other barriers that he said distort trade and stunt development. The goal, he said, is to open markets for farmers around the world.

"Today I broaden the challenge by making this pledge: the United States is ready to eliminate tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to free flow of goods and services as other nations do the same," he said. "It's the key to overcoming poverty in the world's poorest nations. It's essential we promote prosperity and opportunity for all nations. By expanding trade we spread hope and opportunity to the corners of the world and we strike a blow against the terrorists who feed on anger and resentment."

Mr. Bush also asked the leaders to partner in his second-term pledge to spread democracy, even in unlikely or unreceptive places, and touted U.S. efforts to battle AIDS in Africa and prevent a bird flu pandemic.

Seeking broader support for U.S. engagement in Iraq, Mr. Bush said the whole world has a stake in fostering democracy there. "The U.N. and its member states must continue to stand by the Iraqi people as they continue their journey," he said.

"It's an exciting opportunity for all of us in this chamber," he told an assembly of nations, many of whom had bitterly opposed the U.S. decision to go to war.

Mr. Bush switched to diplomatic duties after two weeks of nearly constant attention to the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. He held a White House meeting Tuesday with Iraq's president before flying here for the speech and one-on-one talks with allies. He continues the diplomacy Friday with a session back in Washington with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After his speech Wednesday, Mr. Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is fresh off his historic evacuation of Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip.

The president applauded Sharon for the Gaza withdrawal. "I am inspired by your courageous decision to give peace a chance," Mr. Bush said. "I know it was hard."

Sharon told Bush, "I'm glad we are working together to achieve peace."

Mr. Bush arrived in New York with the lowest approval ratings of his presidency and the perception that his administration had mishandled hurricane relief. He said Tuesday that he took responsibility for whatever had gone wrong.

His numbers with foreign citizens were suffering, too. CBS News Correspondent Charlie D'Agata reports the British people overwhelmingly think President Bush has handled Hurricane Katrina badly: In a London Times poll, 86 percent described his handling of the crisis as "bad or very bad." Sixty-three percent of those polled say he would have done more if the victims were mainly white and middle class. And overall, 70 percent described the president as "generally incompetent."

Mr. Bush's attendance at the U.N. meetings came as leaders were being presented with a plan for addressing poverty and reforming the world body, which the Bush administration has long viewed as ineffective bureaucracy in dire need of a management overhaul.

But the final document was stripped of the most ambitious goals sought by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, for example leaving out a definition of terrorism; any mention of nuclear nonproliferation and details on how to replace the discredited U.N. Commission on Human Rights; and diluting the section on making over U.N. management.

Nonetheless, Annan and many ambassadors who spent day and night over the past week trying to reach agreement on hundreds of contested passages were relieved there was a document for their leaders to approve.

A visibly relieved Annan arrived at a long-delayed news conference and said: "The good news is that we do have an outcome document."

"Obviously we didn't get everything we wanted and with 191 member states it's not easy to get an agreement," he said. "All of us would have wanted more, but we can work with what we have been given, and I think it is an important step forward."