President Bush's Five-Day Trip to Ireland and Turkey - 2004-06-25

President Bush, the President of the United States, begins a five-day trip to Ireland and Turkey today. Mr. Bush will seek to achieve a global agreement regarding Iraq during this trip. Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. National Security Advisor, told reporters on Thursday that Mr. Bush will also try to garner support for his broader plan concerning the Middle East. On Saturday, Mr. Bush will participate in a summit of European leaders in Ireland. According to Ms. Rice, the U.S. President will engage in discussions at the Ireland summit regarding counter-terrorism, the fight against weapons of mass destruction, and the expansion of free trade. In Turkey, prior to attending the NATO summit in Istanbul starting on Monday, the U.S. President will meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other Turkish officials. Ms. Rice stated that Mr. Bush aims to strengthen U.S. partnership with Turkey, which she described as a major secular democracy in the Islamic world. In an interview on Thursday with RTE television in Ireland, the U.S. President rejected the notion that the world has become a more dangerous place due to his policies in Iraq. Mr. Bush also expressed hope that the people of Ireland would recognize that the misconduct of some American soldiers with prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad is not representative of U.S. policies or its people.