State Department to Hire 1,100 New Diplomats

President Bush wants to hire nearly 1100 new diplomats to address severe staffing shortages and put the State Department on track to meet an ambitious call to double its size over the next decade. The additional positions are part of an $8.2 billion request for State Department operations for the 2009 budget year that Bush submitted to Congress. That request would be $690 million, or 9.1 percent, above the current level for department operations. They spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the public release of the spending plan for the budget year that begins Oct l.

President Bush Pushed On Korea Peace Treaty

President Bush has said a peace treaty with North Korea can be achieved once Pyongyang ends its nuclear weapons program. During an odd exchange with his South Korean counterpart, he restated his position. The South Korean asked him to be clearer on the issue. President Bush singled out Burma for criticism earlier, when he called for the strengthening of democracy across Asia.

Bush Marks Tow Years From Katrina

President George W. Bush has praised the people of Louisiana and Mississippi, two years after the states were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Better days are ahead, he told an audience at a New Orleans school flooded in 2005, before heading to Ba St. Louis, Mississippi. In the wake of the storm, Mr. Bush vowed to do what it takes to rebuild the city, but he has since faced criticism. Katrina killed 1600 people in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi.