Concerns over the increasing likelihood of war with Iraq unsurprisingly dominated the State of the Nation address, delivered by US President George W Bush on Tuesday night.
He said Saddam Hussein had 鈥渟ystematically violated鈥� United Nations sanctions and had shown 鈥渦tter contempt鈥� for his final chance to disarm. The troubled US economy also featured highly, prompting tax cuts.
But he surprised some observers by also announcing ambitious proposals for giant budgets to tackle HIV and AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, the development of cleaner fuel technologies and a biological weapons defence programme.
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Bush asked Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years towards The Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a programme to 鈥渢urn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations鈥�.
鈥淧resident Bush鈥檚 announcement is an encouraging sign of the US government鈥檚 commitment to preventing the further spread of AIDS in two of the worst-hit regions,鈥� said Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS. 鈥淭he case for increasing action against the epidemic has never been stronger or more urgent.鈥�
Freedom Fuel
Bush also asked for $1.2 billion to fund the Freedom Fuel Initiative. This would reduce dependence on foreign fuel with $720 million going towards the development of alternative fuel technology.
In particular Bush called for efforts to make hydrogen-powered automobiles available within a generation. He said: 鈥淚n this century, the greatest environmental progress will come about not through endless lawsuits or command and control regulations but through technology and innovation.鈥�
The hydrogen locked up in water is an abundant potential source of clean fuel, but exploiting it cost effectively requires significant technological advances. The project represents an attempt to develop a credible environmental policy despite the US鈥檚 rejection of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emission.
Project Bioshield
Turning to the international terrorism, Bush asked for a further $6 billion for 鈥淧roject Bioshield鈥�, a programme to produce effective vaccines and treatments for diseases including anthrax, botulinum toxin, ebola, and the bubonic plague.
Bush said: 鈥淲e must assume that our enemies would use these diseases as weapons, and we must act before the dangers are upon us.鈥�
In his speech, Bush again called for a ban on all forms of human cloning. His opposition to therapeutic as well as reproductive cloning has angered scientists who claim this stifles important biomedical research in the US.