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CNN Saturday Morning News

President Bush Monitors War on Terror from Crawford, Texas

Aired December 29, 2001 - 11:13   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is monitoring the war against terrorism from his ranch in Crawford, Texas and earlier today in his final radio address of the year, Mr. Bush reflected on this year's accomplishments and the challenges that lie ahead.

CNN's Major Garrett joins us now from Crawford to talk a little bit more about that. Hi, Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra, and greetings from chilly and windswept Crawford, Texas. The president as you mentioned talked in that radio address about a lot of issues, the War on Terrorism, improving national security, and homeland security, and also about a considerably aggressive domestic agenda in the year 2002.

All the radio address, of course, shaped in part by the War on Terrorism, and yesterday here at the Crawford Ranch, the President welcomed his commanding general in the Afghan theater, Tommy Franks, to receive a one-on-one briefing about the case of the war in Afghanistan.

Afterward, the president talked to reporters for a good long while. And in the radio address, the president complimented the U.S. military for its decisive conquest of the Taliban in Afghanistan, a victory he said would reshape the American military in the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This year ends with progress on the battlefield, and accomplishment at home. The men and women of our military have successfully fought a new kind of war. They applied new tactics and new technology to route a new kind of enemy.

The lessons we learned in Afghanistan will guide our military into the future, and make our country stronger and more secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: As the new years dawns, Kyra, the United States is shadowed by the war in Afghanistan, the overall War on Terrorism, and a recession at home.

The president in his radio address devoted considerable attention to that democratically controlled Senate, which he said wrongly refused to pass his economic stimulus program and has stopped many of his other domestic initiatives, among them the faith-based initiative, his energy plan, and trade promotion authority.

The president urged Senate democrats to move on those legislative items when they return in 2002. Whether or not that happens will be a key early test of the president's political clout on the domestic agenda -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, from Crawford, Texas, Major Garrett. Thank you so much.

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