Q Mr. President, what are our plans if civil war breaks out in Iraq?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Step one is to make sure -- do everything we can that there not be one. Secondly, I believe the Iraqi people have made a choice. It wasn't all that long ago that 11 million people went to the polls. It may seem like an eternity, but that was last December that people defied assassins, car bombers, threats and said, we want a democracy.
Secondly, the first real test for an interim government occurred when the Shia's shrine was blown up, the holy site. And while there's -- as I said earlier, there was -- no question there was violence and killing, the society took a step back from the abyss. And people took a sober reflection about what a civil war would mean.
I just got off of a teleconference with Ambassador Zal Khalilzad, as well as General Casey. They're obviously concerned about sectarian violence, the violence you see. They understand people are trying to create this tension, this ethnic tension. But they were also pleased with the response of the security forces. It wasn't perfect across the board. But, nevertheless, in 16 of the 18 provinces I've mentioned that there was relative calm. Most of the violence was in the Baghdad area. It's the violence you're seeing on your TV screens.
So the purpose is to make sure that we continue to remind the interim government that the people want democracy. One of the keys is going to be to get a unity government up and running, a government that reflects the diversity of the country. We talked about that today. We want the Iraqis to make that selection, of course. They are the ones who got elected by the people. They're the ones who must form the government.
But we are going to continue to remind them that the sooner they can get a unity government up and running, the more confidence the people will have in their future. So it's to take advantage of the desire of the Iraqis to live in a peaceful world and encourage government to continue to respond to fight off the desires of a few people, fight off those who are trying to sow the seeds and get a democracy going.
It's very important for the people in the Muslim world to understand that we understand there's a -- we're dealing with -- that we want them to have a democracy that reflects their histories and their traditions. Iraqi democracy doesn't have to look like the United States, nor should it. But it's also important for people around the world to recognize that there are such things as the natural rights of men and women.
That's what we're founded on here in America. We believe in the universality of freedom. We believe people desire to be free, not just Americans, but universally. And that faith -- at least my faith in the natural rights of men and women, and the desire for people to be free was expressed at the ballot box. And it's that powerful statement that I believe will enable Iraq to develop a democracy.
A democracy in Iraq is important. It's important to deny safe haven to al Qaeda. Zawahiri made it clear -- he's the number two man in al Qaeda -- that it's just a matter of time for America leaving. That's what he said. And the reason why that was important for him to say because they wanted to use Iraq as a place to plot/plan, as well to spread their jihadist, their Islamist -- radical Islamic view. They're totalitarians. That's what they are. And we've got to recognize them as such.
And so it's kind of long-winded answer to my belief that we will succeed, and we must succeed. And the reason I say we will is because the Iraqis want us to succeed. They want to succeed.
There's a lot of talk about Iran. A free Iraq will inspire reformers in Iran. I believe the more women are empowered in the Middle East, like is going to happen in Iraq, the more that will inspire others in the Middle East to demand their freedom.
Now, if you don't believe freedom is universal, then I can understand skepticism about what I just said. But I reject that notion that freedom is only available to some of us. I believe liberty is universally desired. And I know it's in our interest to help democracy spread.
I like to remind people about this historical parallel -- and I've used it a lot. You've probably have heard it, so I beg your pardon for bringing it up again. But it's important for me to connect the idea of laying the foundation for peace with reality, and that reality is what we see in Europe today. There were two major world wars in Europe in the 1990s -- I mean, the 1900s. And today Europe is free and whole and at peace. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that the nations of Europe are democracies. Democracies don't war.
One of my best buddies in the international arena is Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan. What's interesting about that is my dad fought the Japanese -- as did, I'm sure, your relatives, some of your relatives. And yet today, I can tell the newspaper owners that I work with Koizumi to keep the peace. Democracy has the capacity to turn enemies into allies and cause, kind of, warring factions to come together. And it's hard work to help a democracy get hold, particularly if you had just left -- lived under the thumb of a brutal tyrant, somebody who'd kill you in a -- or get you killed in a moment's notice.
Remember we discovered mass graves of a lot of people in Iraq. This guy -- Saddam Hussein was brutal for the people of Iraq. And there's a lot of tension and a lot of rivalry. One of the big issues we're going to have to deal with is to make sure that people don't take revenge outside the rule of law. Militias that are kind of seeking revenge. And at any rate, I'm just trying to share with you some of my -- the philosophical tenets of the decisions I have made, and my optimism about the future, and my hopefully realistic assessment about the necessity for us to achieve our objectives.
Remember this is a global war on terror. We've got a strong ally in Pakistan fighting off al Qaeda. And Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Saudi has committed itself to fighting al Qaeda. Lebanon is now becoming a freer democracy, although we've still got work there to make sure foreign influence is -- allow the Lebanese democracy to grow. Libya made a decision to get rid of its weapons programs. And there's -- positive things are happening. And they need to happen on a global basis because this is a global war on terror.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060310-2.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
