Bush Says Ceausescu's Fate an Example for Iraq

By
Steve Holland

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - President Bush said on Saturday the courage of Romanians who rose up to topple dictator Nicolae Ceausescu should inspire others to tackle aggressive dictators like Iraq's Saddam Hussein.

Bush used the finale of his five-day visit to Europe, a speech to tens of thousands of rain-soaked Romanians in Bucharest's Revolution Square, to beat the drum once more for action against Saddam, a central theme of his trip.

"An aggressive dictator now rules in Iraq...The dictator of Iraq threatens the security of every free nation, including the free nations of Europe," Bush said, adding that the world had seen enough of "fanatics who impose their will through fear."

Romania's experience of the violence of Ceausescu's rule had shown it "the face of evil," said Bush. "The people of Romania understand that aggressive dictators cannot be appeased or ignored, they must always be opposed," added Bush.

The U.S. leader used speeches in Lithuania and Romania on Saturday to fete them and five other ex-communist East European states on winning invitations to NATO, saying they could inspire the Atlantic alliance to take a tougher stand against evil.

"Every nation must confront danger. Every free nation has a responsibility to play its full and responsible role," he said in Bucharest.

Throughout this week's NATO summit in Prague and at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bush has pressed the urgency of ridding Saddam of his suspected arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, by force if necessary.

He won only guarded backing from NATO allies and Russia, with Moscow and many West European states troubled at going to war with Iraq. They have so far only endorsed a United Nations-led drive to seek out banned weapon programs.

But White House officials have cast the trip as success for Bush's goals of building support against Iraq, softening Russian opposition to Washington's policies and expanding and reforming NATO to enable the alliance to tackle terrorist threats.

POOR ROMANIA

Bush spoke in Bucharest from a podium that faced the balcony where Ceausescu made his fateful last appearance in December 1989. To the authoritarian ruler's surprise the crowd shouted him down, starting a bloody revolt that led to his execution.

Romania is still burdened by the legacy of Ceausescu's 25 years of authoritarian rule and economic mismanagement, which left it among the poorest states in Europe. It sees NATO entry as sealing its place among the club of democratic nations.

"Let's hope that NATO membership will put pressure on the authorities to fight more against swindlers and corruption," said Dan Stroe, 34, a municipal clerk listening to Bush.

By inviting Romania and Bulgaria into NATO, despite concerns over corruption and lack of military reforms, the alliance gets a land bridge through the Balkans to Greece and Turkey and helps to stabilize the states of ex-Yugoslavia after a decade of war.

Bush told one of the largest crowds of his presidency that Romania should serve as a bridge to Russia, which reluctantly accepted NATO's expansion and which Washington hopes will at least not stand in the way of the United States over Iraq.

"I told President Putin yesterday, a Russia that is fully a part of Europe, needs no buffer zone separating it from Europe. America and Romania are friends to the Russian people, and so is the NATO alliance," said Bush.

BUSH FETED

Bush did not mention Russia earlier on Saturday when he spoke to thousands of Lithuanians in Vilnius, welcoming the NATO invitations to Baltic states Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia with praise for their struggle to overcome "cruel oppression."

The three countries endured half a century of occupation by the Soviet Union until they won their freedom in 1991.

They remain suspicious of Moscow and regard NATO as a guarantee they will never again be dominated by Russia.

"NATO and Bush -- that's two security guarantees and now Russia will never attack us again," said Julija Kairiene, a middle-aged housewife waving a Stars and Stripes flag.

Bush won loud cheers in both Bucharest and Vilnius when he noted that the security guarantee offered by NATO to all its members was backed by U.S. military might.

"As a NATO ally, you can have this confidence. No one will be able to take away the freedom of your country," Bush told the Bucharest crowd that police estimated at up to 200,000-strong.

Slovenia and Slovakia were also invited to join the NATO alliance, most likely in 2004. Bush left for Washington on Saturday evening.