Bush seeks to ease Americans' fears over economy

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With the spectre of recession supplanting the Iraq war as the top U.S. concern, Bush acknowledged in his final State of the Union address that growth was slowing but insisted the country's long-term economic fundamentals were sound.

He prodded Congress to act quickly on a $150 billion (75.5 billion pound) economic stimulus package laid out last week and resist the temptation to "load up" the plan with additional provisions.

"In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth. But in the short run, we can all see that growth is slowing," Bush said in a globally televised speech to Congress.

Politically weakened by the unpopular war in Iraq, eclipsed by the race to choose his successor and scrambling to stave off lame-duck status, Bush presented no bold new ideas.

Bush urged Americans to be patient with the mission in Iraq almost five years after the U.S.-led invasion.

He touted security gains in Iraq he ascribed to a troop buildup ordered last January but gave no hint of any further troop reductions there, asserting that such decisions would depend on his commanders' recommendations.

Calling on Iran to "come clean" on its nuclear program, he issued a stern warning to Tehran, which he had branded part of an "axis of evil" in his 2002 State of the Union speech.

"Above all, know this: America will confront those who threaten our troops, we will stand by our allies, and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf," Bush said.

A YEAR TO GO

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