US 2006 National Security Strategy (Iraq WMDs-Venezuela bad)

[oblivious]

The National Security Strategy - March 2006
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss/2006/

II.B.Successes and Challenges since 2002
- Democracy and freedom replacing tyranny in Afghanistan and Iraq
- Egypt and Saudi Arabia becoming more open and democratic
- Some governments have not delivered the benefits of effective democracy and prosperity to their citizens, leaving them susceptible to or taken over by demagogues peddling an anti-free market authoritarianism (Hint: starts with V)

IV. Work with Others to Defuse Regional Conflicts
B. Current Context: Successes and Challenges
- In Venezuela, a demagogue awash in oil money is undermining democracy and seeking to destabilize the region.
- In Cuba, an anti-American dictator continues to oppress his people and seeks to subvert freedom in the region.

V.Stopping WMD
C.4. Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction (Iraq really really really really was a WMD threat)
“Saddam continued to see the utility of WMD. He explained that he purposely gave an ambiguous impression about possession as a deterrent to Iran. He gave explicit direction to maintain the intellectual capabilities. As U.N. sanctions eroded there was a concomitant expansion of activities that could support full WMD reactivation. He directed that ballistic missile work continue that would support long-range missile development. Virtually no senior Iraqi believed that Saddam had forsaken WMD forever. Evidence suggests that, as resources became available and the constraints of sanctions decayed, there was a direct expansion of activity that would have the effect of supporting future WMD reconstitution.”

VII.Opening societies, building democracy
C.The way ahead
1. The Western Hemisphere
Tyrants and those who would follow them belong to a different era and must not be allowed to reverse the progress of the last two decades. Countries in the Hemisphere must be helped to the path of sustained political and economic development. The deceptive appeal of anti-free market populism (hint: starts with V) must not be allowed to erode political freedoms and trap the Hemisphere’s poorest in cycles of poverty. If America’s nearest neighbors are not secure and stable, then Americans will be less secure.

3. Middle East
Tyrannical regimes such as Iran and Syria that oppress at home and sponsor terrorism abroad know that we will continue to stand with their people against their misrule. And in Iraq, we will continue to support the Iraqi people and their historic march from tyranny to effective democracy.

edit: add focus to title