US under Bush failed to face forces shaping the century: Biden By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington, Aug 28 (PTI) The US Democratic vice
presidential candidate Joseph Biden has slammed the foreign
policies of Bush administration and said that it failed to
cope up with the biggest forces of the century that include
the rise of Russia, China and India.

Accepting the Democratic Party nomination for the
November four polls, Senator Biden, who is known for his sharp
acumen in foreign and national security issues, hammered away
at Republican nominee John McCain's endorsement of the "failed
policies" of the Bush administration.

"For last seven years, the administration has failed to
face the biggest forces shaping this century, the emergence of
Russia, China and India as great powers, the spread of lethal
weapons and the resurgence of fundamentalism in Afghanistan
and Pakistan," Biden said.

The Delaware Democrat, also the Chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, said that Washington's policies
in Afghanistan and Pakistan are an "abysmal failure".

He rued that the people who attacked America on September
11 in 2001 have again regrouped in the mountains between the
two countries and are plotting fresh attacks.

"... as we gather here tonight, our country is less
secure and more isolated than it has been at any time in
recent history. The Bush foreign policy has dug us into a very
deep hole, with very few friends to help us climb out," Biden
said at the Democrats Denver Convention.

But Obama, he said, will usher in change on the domestic
and foreign policy fronts and also help America regain its
position of a world leader.


"... remember when the world used to trust us, when they
looked to us for leadership? With Barack Obama as our
president, they'll look at us again, they'll trust us again,
and we'll be able to lead again," Senator Biden said.

"We don't have to accept the situation we cannot bear; we
have the power to change it and changing it is exactly what
Barack Obama will do," he added.

Accusing McCain of being complicit in "this catastrophic
foreign policy," Democratic party's number two candidate
maintained that America cannot afford four more years of "this
failure".

"Despite being complicit in this failure, John McCain
says -- Barack Obama is not ready to protect our national
security," Biden said.

"Should you trust the judgement of John McCain, when he
said only three years ago, 'Afghanistan, we don't read about
it anymore in papers because it succeeded'? Or should you
believe Barack Obama who said a year ago, 'We need to send two
more combat battalions to Afghanistan'? Biden added.

Presidential candidate Obama also showed up to
congratulate his running mate on his address and to salute
former US President Bill Clinton and former First lady Senator
Hillary Clinton, who also endorsed him at the Convention.

The stage is now all set for Obama, who was officially
nominated as party's presidential candidate in a historic
event, to give his acceptance speech Thursday.

He will address at the outdoor Mile High stadium which
can seat some 76,000 persons, to mark the official start of
the campaign in what is turning out to be a no-holds barred
contest. PTI SK