fighting AIDS, the No Child Left Behind Act, which he said had raised standards in schools, a pharmaceutical benefits scheme for seniors, and lower taxes.

'There are some things I would do differently' - World - smh.com.au

Anne Davies Herald Correspondent in Washington
January 17, 2009

KEEPING Americans safe from further terrorist attacks on home soil was the greatest achievement of his presidency, the 43rd President of the US, George Bush, told the nation as he bade farewell in a final address at the White House.

In his 13-minute speech - in which he spoke robustly for his national security record and barely touched on the two wars he leaves behind - he was forceful in defending his Administration, humble about leading the nation, and gracious to his successor, Barack Obama, who will be sworn in on Tuesday.

Mr Bush sought to characterise his eight years in office as a struggle between two dramatically different systems - one led by fanatics with an oppressive ideology and the other based on the "conviction that freedom is a universal gift from God".

As for the critics who have said he will be remembered as one of America's worst presidents, and his disastrous approval ratings, he said: "Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks.

"There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet

I have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind."

He asked the American people to acknowledge that he was willing take the tough decisions, even if they did not agree with those decisions.

Much of the speech, delivered yesterday Sydney time, dwelled on his fight against terrorism after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the impact they had had on him and the nation.

"As the years passed," he said, "most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11. But I never did. Every morning I received a briefing on the threats to our nation. And I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe."

He said setting up a Department of Homeland Security, reforming intelligence services and increasing the monitoring of terrorists' movements. And he had "taken the fight to the terrorists".

But of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that have cost the US more than 4000 lives and nearly $US1 trillion ($1.5 trillion), he made only fleeting mention, and in the rosiest terms possible.

Afghanistan, he said, had changed from a nation where the Taliban had harboured al-Qaeda and stoned women in the streets to a young democracy that was "fighting terror and encouraging young girls to go to school".

Iraq had gone from a brutal dictatorship and enemy of the US to a democracy and ally.

"There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions but there is little debate about the results," he said.

"America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil."

Of other criticisms of his time in office - his handling of Hurricane Katrina, the rising numbers of Americans without health insurance, the contentious exercise of executive power and incursions into civil liberties - Mr Bush made only glancing references or said nothing. Of the economy, he said: "When challenges to our prosperity emerged, we rose to meet them. Facing the prospect of a financial collapse, we took decisive measures to safeguard our economy."

He acknowledged Americans faced a tough time but said "it would be far worse if we had not acted". He gave no indication that he saw his Administration as culpable for the housing bubble and crisis that followed.

Mr Bush also named as achievements his work in Africa fighting AIDS, the No Child Left Behind Act, which he said had raised standards in schools, a pharmaceutical benefits scheme for seniors, and lower taxes.

He acknowledged the historic nature of Mr Obama's election: "Standing on the steps of the Capitol will be a man whose story reflects the enduring promise of our land."