Who will Bush help?

Back on the ranch, Bush prepares for a coming year of war
Oliver Burkeman in New York
Guardian

Thursday December 27, 2001

Before September 11 George Bush's 650-hectare Texas ranch was a symbol of all that was wrong with the country's leader.

Until then the president - ridiculed for his afternoon naps and modest working days when in Washington - was spending almost a quarter of his time relaxing among the idyllic creeks, canyons and waterfalls of the estate outside Crawford, which he bought in 1999.

He built himself a private fishing lake, stocked it with bass, and made such enthusiastic use of the ranch that it came to be known as the Western White House.

Since the terrorist attacks, he has made only one brief visit: a working trip with Vladimir Putin.

But yesterday he was heading back to the Texas prairie, to spend the post-Christmas and New Year holidays recharging himself for what he declared would be "a war year" in 2002.

"Next year will be a war year as well, because we're going to continue to hunt down these al-Qaida people in this particular theatre, as well as other places," he told reporters, adding that he would be receptive to requests from foreign governments for military help in combating terrorism.

"Our war against terror extends way beyond Afghanistan. And at some point in time, maybe some president will come and say: 'You have the expertise we don't. Would you mind, maybe, have some of your troops with ours?'

"And the answer is: 'You bet'."

President Bush's aides insisted that the trip would not merely be a holiday. The president will continue to receive briefings from military, CIA and FBI representatives.

A waiting fleet of helicopters could whisk him away at a moment's notice, while Air Force One can land and take off from the nearby Fort Hood air base.

He will also be preparing for his state of the union address, which is delivered in January and is seen as an opportunity for him to consolidate his strong popularity rating.

"It's a window where the American people are watching, and you don't get a lot of those," Matthew Dowd, the Republican party's leading pollster, said.

"Nobody since FDR has had this situation. The question is, how does that translate into how much of your agenda you can get through?"

Mr Bush and his wife Laura spent Christmas with relatives at the presidential retreat at Camp David, in the Maryland mountains.

They are expected to return to Washington on January 6. 1717

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)