Kyoto, Spanish PM, Global Peace? Who Cares!

Bush renames Spanish PM 
Guardian

Staff and agencies
Tuesday June 12, 2001 

The US president, George Bush, today began his European tour with a gaffe -
mispronouncing the Spanish prime minister's name in a television interview. 
Mr Bush was mocked during the US election campaign for his relative
ignorance of international affairs, but had always maintained he could speak
Spanish. 
But in the interview he referred to Jose Maria Aznar as "Anzar" and employed
a mangled grammar, placing the emphasis on the wrong parts of words and
confusing gender. 
"I have to practice this very lovely language," Mr Bush told the
interviewer. "If I don't practice I am going to destroy this language." 
The president's Spanish hosts later managed a revenge of sorts as Mr Bush
and his national security adviser, Condoleeza Rice, visited King Juan Carlos
and Mr Aznar at a palace just north of Madrid. 
Playing on the fact that many senior White House officials are said to be
studying Spanish, the king greeted Ms Rice by saying "Buenos dias, Arroz" -
literally, "Good morning, rice", as in the food. 
Ms Rice reacted with a big smile. 
At the meeting, Mr Bush is expected to begin his attempts to convince
European leaders that Washington is still a "trustworthy friend". 
During Mr Bush's five day trip he plans to push the case for national
missile defence (NMD) - the so-called "Son of Star Wars" system - and to
deflect European criticism of his administration for pulling out of the
Kyoto treaty on global warming. 
"I'm used to explaining positions that some people don't agree with," the
president said. "I think the Europeans are going to find that they have got
a trustworthy friend in the Bush administration, one that will stay steady
and true." 
Tomorrow, Mr Bush meets Nato officials in Brussels and on Thursday will
attend an EU-US summit in Gothenberg, Sweden. 
After a state visit in Poland on Friday, Mr Bush travels to Slovenia to meet
the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. 
Mr Bush hopes to bolster his case for NMD and convince Russia's president
that the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the United States and
former Soviet Union is obsolete. 
"The cold war attitude that Russia and the United States will make the world
more peaceful by mutually assured destruction, I think ought to be set
aside," he said. 
"There is a new threat as well, and that is the capacity of some nations to
be able to point a missile at the United States or allies, Russia or
anywhere else in the European continent and therefore hold us hostage." 
On other issues, Mr Bush said he will reassure European leaders that he
remains committed to peacekeeping in the Balkans. 
He will also say that the United States strongly supports Nato but does not
believe that any nation should have veto power over the expansion of the
alliance. 
On trade, Mr Bush said he would talk about ways to resolve disputes soon
after they arise. "I will reiterate my strong belief that trade, active
trade, is beneficial for the United States economy as well as our trading
partners," he said. 
Before he left Washington yesterday evening, Mr Bush promised new
technological initiatives on global warming and urged for a united global
front to confront climate change, citing a clear link between man-made
pollutants and increases in the Earth's surface temperature. 
But he stopped short of urging mandatory restrictions on emissions and
renewed his earlier criticism of the Kyoto treaty. 
"We do not know how much effect natural fluctuations in climate may have had
on warming. We do not know how much our climate could, or will change in the
future. We do not know how fast change will occur, or even how some of our
actions could impact it," he said.