Press Releases 2003
Bush Vows to Stay in Iraq Until Democracy Established
20 November 2003 |
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President Bush vowed in a major speech in London November 19 to help
the Iraqi people establish a peaceful, democratic country and to apply
the same "forward strategy of freedom" to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Bush
was speaking at the Royal Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace. He
began a four-day state visit to the United Kingdom on November 18.
Speaking
of the violence in Iraq, he said the terrorists "believe their acts of
terror against our coalition, against international aid workers and
against innocent Iraqis, will make us recoil and retreat. In this, they
are mistaken.
"We did not charge hundreds of miles into the
heart of Iraq and pay a bitter cost of casualties, and liberate 25
million people, only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins.
We will help the Iraqi people establish a peaceful and democratic
country in the heart of the Middle East. And by doing so, we will
defend our people from danger."
In his speech, the president pledged to "encourage the strength and
effectiveness of international institutions," to "use force when necessary
in
the defense of freedom," and to "raise up an ideal of democracy in
every part of the world." On these three pillars, he said, "we will
build the peace and security of all free nations in a time of danger."
Bush
acknowledged that democratic development does not come about quickly.
"We must be patient with others. And the Middle East countries have
some distance to travel," he said.
"Now we're pursuing a
different course, a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East. We
will consistently challenge the enemies of reform and confront the
allies of terror. We will expect a higher standard from our friends in
the region, and we will meet our responsibilities in Afghanistan and in
Iraq by finishing the work of democracy we have begun."
He
called for shaking off "decades of failed policy in the Middle East.
"We cannot turn a blind eye to oppression just because the oppression
is not in our own backyard. No longer should we think tyranny is benign
because it is temporarily convenient. Tyranny is never benign to its
victims, and our great democracies should oppose tyranny wherever it is
found."
The greatest threat of our age is weapons of mass
destruction in the hands of terrorists, Bush said, and he vowed to face
and defeat this threat. "It's not enough to meet the dangers of the
world with resolutions; we must meet those dangers with resolve," he
said.
He welcomed the growing unity of Europe, adding, "and
the world needs America and the European Union to work in common
purpose for the advance of security and justice." But while it was the
first choice of the United States "to work with other responsible
governments," Bush said "the success of multilateralism is not measured
by adherence to forms alone, the tidiness of the process, but by the
results we achieve to keep our nations secure."
With respect to
the democratization of the Middle East, Bush counseled patience:
"Freedom, by definition, must be chosen, and defended by those who
choose it. Our part, as free nations, is to ally ourselves with reform,
wherever it occurs." He promised to "consistently challenge the enemies
of reform and confront the allies of terror. We will expect a higher
standard from our friends in the region, and we will meet our
responsibilities in Afghanistan and in Iraq by finishing the work of
democracy we have begun."
With respect to the peace process, he placed clear demands on the
Palestinians,
Israel, Arab states and Europe: Palestinian leaders "should adopt
peaceful means to achieve the rights of their people and create the
reformed institutions of a stable democracy."
"Israel should freeze settlement construction, dismantle unauthorized
outposts, end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people, and not
prejudice final negotiations with the placements of walls and fences.
"Arab
states should end incitement in their own media, cut off public and
private funding for terrorism, and establish normal relations with
Israel. "Leaders in Europe should withdraw all favor and support from
any Palestinian ruler who fails his people and betrays their cause. And
Europe's leaders -- and all leaders -- should strongly oppose
anti-Semitism, which poisons public debates over the future of the
Middle East."
The President concluded by lauding the ties between the United States and Britain, "our closest friend in the world."
