whoever is the next prez will have a long list of foreign policy mishap clean up.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- President Bush told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that the U.S. will tighten existing economic sanctions on Myanmar, citing a a series of "the most egregious violations of human rights."
President Bush addresses the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
1 of 2 In Myanmar, the military government "has imposed a 19-year reign of fear," including persecution of ethnic minorities, child labor, human trafficking and the snuffing out of freedoms of speech, assembly and worship, Bush said.
"The regime is holding more than 1,000 political prisoners," Bush said.
Despite the government's totalitarian behavior, Bush said "the people's desire for freedom is unmistakable."
The U.S. will move to tighten sanctions on the military government and its financial backers, including **** bans on those responsible for human rights violations, Bush said. He further urged the U.N. member nations to apply "diplomatic and economic leverage to help the Burmese people reclaim their freedom."
Burma is the traditional name for Myanmar. The Asian nation is presently the site of massive protests led by Buddhists monks pushing for democracy.
Freedom was the focus of Bush's Tuesday address, as he asked the U.N. General Assembly to "join in the mission of liberation."
"The best way to defeat an extremist is to defeat their dark ideology with a more hopeful vision," he said in lauding a universal declaration of human rights.
The declaration involves "confronting long term threats" and "answering the immediate needs of today," Bush said.
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The president also said nations must unite to combat illnesses like AIDS and malaria. He added that trade and investment -- rather than foreign aid -- were the best means of fighting poverty in the world.
Bush did not focus on Iran in his address despite President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dominating headlines in the days leading up to the event.
Ahmadinejad was expected to deliver a speech later in the afternoon.
The leader of the Islamic republic, who has questioned Israel's right to exist and defended his nation's right to nuclear technology, has said in recent days that Iran has no homosexuals, Americans are denied accurate information about the world and there is little evidence to support the Holocaust.
Ahmadinejad also caused a stir by proposing to lay a wreath at the site of the World Trade Center attacks, a request New York City officials denied.
"We talk about Iran constantly," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said before Bush's speech, explaining that the president wanted to focus on other issues, especially those afflicting Africa. Watch highlights from past U.N. speeches ยป
Perino cited Sudan, Zimbabwe and Burma as examples of where "the United Nations could bring its force and its weight in order to help those people."
In western Sudan's Darfur region, about 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced by fighting between rebel and government forces. In Zimbabwe, the economy has so crumbled under the regime of President Robert Mugabe that an animal rights group reported earlier this month that pets were being slaughtered for meat.
Also expected to speak before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday are French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and South African President Thabo Mbeki.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- President Bush told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that the U.S. will tighten existing economic sanctions on Myanmar, citing a a series of "the most egregious violations of human rights."
President Bush addresses the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
1 of 2 In Myanmar, the military government "has imposed a 19-year reign of fear," including persecution of ethnic minorities, child labor, human trafficking and the snuffing out of freedoms of speech, assembly and worship, Bush said.
"The regime is holding more than 1,000 political prisoners," Bush said.
Despite the government's totalitarian behavior, Bush said "the people's desire for freedom is unmistakable."
The U.S. will move to tighten sanctions on the military government and its financial backers, including **** bans on those responsible for human rights violations, Bush said. He further urged the U.N. member nations to apply "diplomatic and economic leverage to help the Burmese people reclaim their freedom."
Burma is the traditional name for Myanmar. The Asian nation is presently the site of massive protests led by Buddhists monks pushing for democracy.
Freedom was the focus of Bush's Tuesday address, as he asked the U.N. General Assembly to "join in the mission of liberation."
"The best way to defeat an extremist is to defeat their dark ideology with a more hopeful vision," he said in lauding a universal declaration of human rights.
The declaration involves "confronting long term threats" and "answering the immediate needs of today," Bush said.
Don't Miss
Troops converge on monks' protest in Myanmar
Ahmadinejad to address U.N. General Assembly
Iranian president: We don't have gays
Ahmadinejad won't press ground zero visit
The president also said nations must unite to combat illnesses like AIDS and malaria. He added that trade and investment -- rather than foreign aid -- were the best means of fighting poverty in the world.
Bush did not focus on Iran in his address despite President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dominating headlines in the days leading up to the event.
Ahmadinejad was expected to deliver a speech later in the afternoon.
The leader of the Islamic republic, who has questioned Israel's right to exist and defended his nation's right to nuclear technology, has said in recent days that Iran has no homosexuals, Americans are denied accurate information about the world and there is little evidence to support the Holocaust.
Ahmadinejad also caused a stir by proposing to lay a wreath at the site of the World Trade Center attacks, a request New York City officials denied.
"We talk about Iran constantly," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said before Bush's speech, explaining that the president wanted to focus on other issues, especially those afflicting Africa. Watch highlights from past U.N. speeches ยป
Perino cited Sudan, Zimbabwe and Burma as examples of where "the United Nations could bring its force and its weight in order to help those people."
In western Sudan's Darfur region, about 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced by fighting between rebel and government forces. In Zimbabwe, the economy has so crumbled under the regime of President Robert Mugabe that an animal rights group reported earlier this month that pets were being slaughtered for meat.
Also expected to speak before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday are French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and South African President Thabo Mbeki.
