Congress is urged to double fund for fighting against AIDS 

US President George W. Bush gestures as he delivers the final State of the Union address of his presidency to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol building in Washington, January 28, 2008

US President George W. Bush, in his final State of the Union address on Monday night, urged the Congress to double its initial commitment to fight against HIV/AIDS by approving an additional $30 billion over the next five years.

"With your help, we are working to cut by half the number of malaria-related deaths in 15 African nations. And our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is treating 1.4 million people. We can bring healing and hope to many more," Bush told the joint session of the Congress.

 "So I ask you to maintain the principles that have changed behavior and made this program a success. And I call on you to double our initial commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS by approving an additional $30 billion over the next five years," Bush said.

US will confront Iran if necessary

US President George W. Bush delivers the final State of the Union address of his presidency to a joint session of Congress in front of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Vice President Dick Cheney (L) at the US Capitol building in Washington January 28, 2008.

Bush warned in his final State of the Union address that the United States will confront Iran if necessary to defend its interests in the Gulf.

"But above all, know this: America will confront those who threaten our troops, we will stand by our allies, and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf," Bush said.

Bush also urged Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment and start negotiations.

Time has come for Israeli-Palestinian peace

Bush said "the time has come" for a democratic Israel and democratic Palestine to live side by side in peace.

"The time has come for a Holy Land where a democratic Israel and a democratic Palestine live side by side in peace," Bush said.

"Palestinians have elected a president who recognizes that confronting terror is essential to achieving a state where his people can live in dignity and at peace with Israel," Bush said.

"Israelis have leaders who recognize that a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state will be a source of lasting security," Bush said.

Bush visited Israel, the Palestinian territories earlier this month in a bid to promote the peace process that he revived at the international conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November.

Surge plan achieves gains in Iraq

Bush said that his surge plan to dispatch some 30,000 more US troops to Iraq last year has achieved gains in Iraq.

"While the enemy is still dangerous and more work remains, the American and Iraqi surges have achieved results few of us could have imagined just one year ago," Bush said.

Nonetheless, Bush admitted that US enemies in Iraq have been hit hard but not yet defeated.

"Our enemies in Iraq have been hit hard. They are not yet defeated, and we can still expect tough fighting ahead," Bush said.

"Our objective in the coming year is to sustain and build on the gains we made in 2007, while transitioning to the next phase of our strategy. American troops are shifting from leading operations to partnering with Iraqi forces and, eventually, to a protective overwatch mission," Bush added.

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2008)