Iraq is test of U.S. commitment to advance freedom, bush says
Regional-USA, Politics, 2/3/2005

U.S. President George W. Bush delivered his annual State of the Union address February 2, saying the January 30 elections for Iraq's national assembly "opens a new phase" of U.S. involvement in the country as the United States increasingly focuses its efforts toward training and preparing Iraq's security forces.

"[W]e will increasingly focus our efforts on helping prepare more capable Iraqi security forces -- forces with skilled officers, and an effective command structure," Bush said in his address to members of Congress, his cabinet, and the American people.

He said U.S. and coalition forces will more and more play a "supporting role" as Iraqi forces become more self-reliant and assume greater security responsibilities.Ê However, the president said he would not set a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces from the country "because that would embolden the terrorists and make them believe they can wait us out."

"We are in Iraq to achieve a result:Ê A country that is democratic, representative of all its people, at peace with its neighbors, and able to defend itself," Bush said.ÊÊÊ

He said his administration's commitment to advancing global freedom, particularly in the Middle East, "is now being tested and honored in Iraq."

The president said he expected success because, by voting in elections, the Iraqi people showed the world that they "value their own liberty."

"In any nation, casting your vote is an act of civic responsibility; for millions of Iraqis, it was also an act of personal courage, and they have earned the respect of us all," he said, and paid special tribute to Iraqi democracy and human rights advocate Safia Taleb al-Suhail, who attended the speech as the guest of First Lady Laura Bush.Ê

The president said that, in the long term, global peace can only be achieved by "eliminating the conditions that feed radicalism and ideologies of murder," and ending tyranny through "the force of human freedom."Ê

"The United States has no right, no desire, and no intention to impose our form of government on anyone else.Ê That is one of the main differences between us and our enemies," Bush said.

"Our aim is to build and preserve a community of free and independent nations, with governments that answer to their citizens, and reflect their own cultures," he said.Ê

The United States will promote peace and stability in the Middle East by working with its friends in the region "to fight the common threat of terror, while we encourage a higher standard of freedom," he said.

President Bush also said the goal of having two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, coexisting peacefully, "is within reach" and that the United States "will help them achieve that goal."

He said he will ask Congress for $350 million to support Palestinian political, economic, and security reforms.Ê

The president also pledged to build international coalitions to "defeat the dangers of our time" during his second term in office.Ê He called upon Syria to end its support for terrorism and to allow greater freedom and described Iran as "the world's primary state sponsor of terror."

He said the United States was working with its European allies to end Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and support for terror, but told the Iranian people, "As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you."

Here is some what Bush said:
To promote this democracy, I will ask Congress for $350 million to support Palestinian political, economic, and security reforms.Ê The goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace, is within reach -- and America will help them achieve that goal.

To promote peace and stability in the broader Middle East, the United States will work with our friends in the region to fight the common threat of terror, while we encourage a higher standard of freedom.Ê Hopeful reform is already taking hold in an arc from Morocco to Jordan to Bahrain.Ê The government of Saudi Arabia can demonstrate its leadership in the region by expanding the role of its people in determining their future.Ê And the great and proud nation of Egypt, which showed the way toward peace in the Middle East, can now show the way toward democracy in the Middle East.

To promote peace in the broader Middle East, we must confront regimes that continue to harbor terrorists and pursue weapons of mass murder.Ê Syria still allows its territory, and parts of Lebanon, to be used by terrorists who seek to destroy every chance of peace in the region.Ê You have passed, and we are applying, the Syrian Accountability Act -- and we expect the Syrian government to end all support for terror and open the door to freedom.Ê Today, Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror -- pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve.Ê We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium reprocessing, and end its support for terror.Ê And to the Iranian people, I say tonight:Ê As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.

Our generational commitment to the advance of freedom, especially in the Middle East, is now being tested and honored in Iraq.Ê That country is a vital front in the war on terror, which is why the terrorists have chosen to make a stand there.Ê Our men and women in uniform are fighting terrorists in Iraq, so we do not have to face them here at home. ÊAnd the victory of freedom in Iraq will strengthen a new ally in the war on terror, inspire democratic reformers from Damascus to Tehran, bring more hope and progress to a troubled region, and thereby lift a terrible threat from the lives of our children and grandchildren.

We will succeed because the Iraqi people value their own liberty -- as they showed the world last Sunday.Ê Across Iraq, often at great risk, millions of citizens went to the polls and elected 275 men and women to represent them in a new Transitional National Assembly.Ê A young woman in Baghdad told of waking to the sound of mortar fire on election day, and wondering if it might be too dangerous to vote.Ê She said, "Hearing those explosions, it occurred to me -- the insurgents are weak, they are afraid of democracy, they are losing.Ê So I got my husband, and I got my parents, and we all came out and voted together."

Americans recognize that spirit of liberty, because we share it.Ê In any nation, casting your vote is an act of civic responsibility; for millions of Iraqis, it was also an act of personal courage, and they have earned the respect of us all.

One of Iraq's leading democracy and human rights advocates is Safia Taleb al-Suhail.Ê She says of her country, "We were occupied for 35 years by Saddam Hussein.Ê That was the real occupation.Ê Thank you to the American people who paid the cost, but most of all, to the soldiers."Ê Eleven years ago, Safia's father was assassinated by Saddam's intelligence service.Ê Three days ago in Baghdad, Safia was finally able to vote for the leaders of her country -- and we are honored that she is with us tonight.

The terrorists and insurgents are violently opposed to democracy, and will continue to attack it.Ê Yet, the terrorists' most powerful myth is being destroyed.Ê The whole world is seeing that the car bombers and assassins are not only fighting coalition forces, they are trying to destroy the hopes of Iraqis, expressed in free elections.Ê And the whole world now knows that a small group of extremists will not overturn the will of the Iraqi people.

Previous Stories:
  El-Baradei, feeling the nuclear heat of the US   (1/31/2005)
  U.S. sees 'promising moment of opportunity' for mideast peace   (1/29/2005)
  Rice vows to use 'tools of diplomacy' to advance democracy   (1/29/2005)

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