[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 9 (Monday, March 3, 2003)]
[Pages 247-250]
[Online from the Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Remarks to the American Enterprise Institute Annual Dinner
February 26, 2003
Thank you all very much. Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm proud to
be with the scholars and the friends and the supporters of the American
Enterprise Institute. I want to thank you for overlooking my dress code
violation. [Laughter] They were about to stop me at the door, but Irving
Kristol said, ``I know this guy. Let him in.'' [Laughter]
Chris, thank you for your very kind introduction, and thank you for
your leadership. I see many distinguished guests here tonight, members
of my Cabinet, Members of Congress, Justice Scalia, Justice Thomas, and
so many respected writers and policy experts. I'm always happy to see
your senior fellow, Dr. Lynne Cheney. Lynne is a wise and thoughtful
commentator on history and culture and a dear friend to Laura and me.
I'm also familiar with the good work of her husband. [Laughter] You may
remember him, the former director of my vice presidential search
committee. [Laughter] Thank God Dick Cheney said yes.
Thanks for fitting me into the program tonight. I know I'm not the
featured speaker. I'm just a warmup act for Allan Meltzer. But I want to
congratulate Dr. Meltzer for a lifetime of achievement, and for
tonight's well-deserved honor. Congratulations, Dr. Meltzer.
At the American Enterprise Institute, some of the finest minds in
our Nation are at work on some of the greatest challenges to our Nation.
You do such good work that my administration has borrowed 20 such minds.
I want to thank them for their service, but I also want to remind people
that for 60 years, AEI scholars have made vital contributions to our
country and to our Government, and we are grateful for those
contributions.
We meet here during a crucial period in the history of our Nation
and of the civilized world. Part of that history was written by others;
the rest will be written by us. On a September morning, threats that had
gathered for years, in secret and far away, led to murder in our country
on a massive scale. As a result, we must look at security in a new way,
because our country is a battlefield in the first war of the 21st
century.
We learned a lesson: The dangers of our time must be confronted
actively and forcefully, before we see them again in our skies and in
our cities. And we set a goal: We will not allow the triumph of hatred
and violence in the affairs of men.
Our coalition of more than 90 countries is pursuing the networks of
terror with every tool of law enforcement and with military power. We
have arrested or otherwise dealt with many key commanders of Al Qaida.
Across the world, we are hunting down the killers one by one. We are
winning. And we're showing them the definition of American justice. And
we are opposing the greatest danger in the war on terror, outlaw regimes
arming with weapons of mass destruction.
In Iraq, a dictator is building and hiding weapons that could enable
him to dominate the Middle East and intimidate the civilized world, and
we will not allow it. This same tyrant has close ties to terrorist
organizations and could supply them with the terrible means to strike
this country, and America will not permit it. The danger posed by Saddam
Hussein and his weapons cannot be ignored or wished away. The danger
must be confronted. We hope that the Iraqi regime will meet the demands
of the United Nations and disarm, fully and peacefully. If it does not,
we are prepared to disarm Iraq by force. Either way, this danger will be
removed.
The safety of the American people depends on ending this direct and
growing
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threat. Acting against the danger will also contribute greatly to the
long-term safety and stability of our world. The current Iraqi regime
has shown the power of tyranny to spread discord and violence in the
Middle East. A liberated Iraq can show the power of freedom to transform
that vital region, by bringing hope and progress into the lives of
millions. America's interests in security and America's belief in
liberty both lead in the same direction, to a free and peaceful Iraq.
The first to benefit from a free Iraq would be the Iraqi people
themselves. Today they live in scarcity and fear under a dictator who
has brought them nothing but war and misery and torture. Their lives and
their freedom matter little to Saddam Hussein, but Iraqi lives and
freedom matter greatly to us.
Bringing stability and unity to a free Iraq will not be easy. Yet
that is no excuse to leave the Iraqi regime's torture chambers and
poison labs in operation. Any future the Iraqi people choose for
themselves will be better than the nightmare world that Saddam Hussein
has chosen for them.
If we must use force, the United States and our coalition stand
ready to help the citizens of a liberated Iraq. We will deliver medicine
to the sick, and we are now moving into place nearly 3 million emergency
rations to feed the hungry. We'll make sure that Iraq's 55,000 food
distribution sites, operating under the oil-for-food program, are
stocked and open as soon as possible. The United States and Great
Britain are providing tens of millions of dollars to the U.N. High
Commission on Refugees and to such groups as the World Food Program and
UNICEF to provide emergency aid to the Iraqi people.
We will also lead in carrying out the urgent and dangerous work of
destroying chemical and biological weapons. We will provide security
against those who try to spread chaos or settle scores or threaten the
territorial integrity of Iraq. We will seek to protect Iraq's natural
resources from sabotage by a dying regime and ensure those resources are
used for the benefit of the owners, the Iraqi people.
The United States has no intention of determining the precise form
of Iraq's new Government. That choice belongs to the Iraqi people. Yet,
we will ensure that one brutal dictator is not replaced by another. All
Iraqis must have a voice in the new Government, and all citizens must
have their rights protected.
Rebuilding Iraq will require a sustained commitment from many
nations, including our own. We will remain in Iraq as long as necessary
and not a day more. America has made and kept this kind of commitment
before, in the peace that followed a World War. After defeating enemies,
we did not leave behind occupying armies; we left constitutions and
parliaments. We established an atmosphere of safety, in which
responsible, reform-minded local leaders could build lasting
institutions of freedom. In societies that once bred fascism and
militarism, liberty found a permanent home.
There was a time when many said that the cultures of Japan and
Germany were incapable of sustaining democratic values. Well, they were
wrong. Some say the same of Iraq today. They are mistaken. The nation of
Iraq, with its proud heritage, abundant resources, and skilled and
educated people, is fully capable of moving toward democracy and living
in freedom.
The world has a clear interest in the spread of democratic values,
because stable and free nations do not breed the ideologies of murder.
They encourage the peaceful pursuit of a better life. And there are
hopeful signs of a desire for freedom in the Middle East. Arab
intellectuals have called on Arab governments to address the ``freedom
gap'' so their peoples can fully share in the progress of our times.
Leaders in the region speak of a new Arab charter that champions
internal reform, greater political participation, economic openness, and
free trade. And from Morocco to Bahrain and beyond, nations are taking
genuine steps toward political reform. A new regime in Iraq would serve
as a dramatic and inspiring example of freedom for other nations in the
region.
It is presumptuous and insulting to suggest that a whole region of
the world, or the one-fifth of humanity that is Muslim, is somehow
untouched by the most basic aspirations of life. Human cultures can be
vastly different. Yet the human heart desires the same good things
everywhere on Earth. In our desire
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to be safe from brutal and bullying oppression, human beings are the
same. In our desire to care for our children and give them a better
life, we are the same. For these fundamental reasons, freedom and
democracy will always and everywhere have greater appeal than the
slogans of hatred and the tactics of terror.
Success in Iraq could also begin a new stage for Middle Eastern
peace and set in motion progress towards a truly democratic Palestinian
state. The passing of Saddam Hussein's regime will deprive terrorist
networks of a wealthy patron that pays for terrorist training and offers
rewards to families of suicide bombers. And other regimes will be given
a clear warning that support for terror will not be tolerated.
Without this outside support for terrorism, Palestinians who are
working for reform and long for democracy will be in a better position
to choose new leaders, true leaders who strive for peace, true leaders
who faithfully serve the people. A Palestinian state must be a reformed
and peaceful state that abandons forever the use of terror.
For its part, the new Government of Israel, as the terror threat is
removed and security improves, will be expected to support the creation
of a viable Palestinian state and to work as quickly as possible toward
a final status agreement. As progress is made toward peace, settlement
activity in the occupied territories must end. And the Arab states will
be expected to meet their responsibilities to oppose terrorism, to
support the emergence of a peaceful and democratic Palestine, and state
clearly they will live in peace with Israel.
The United States and other nations are working on a roadmap for
peace. We are setting out the necessary conditions for progress toward
the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in
peace and security. It is the commitment of our Government and my
personal commitment to implement the roadmap and to reach that goal. Old
patterns of conflict in the Middle East can be broken, if all concerned
will let go of bitterness and hatred and violence and get on with the
serious work of economic development and political reform and
reconciliation. America will seize every opportunity in pursuit of
peace. And the end of the present regime in Iraq would create such an
opportunity.
In confronting Iraq, the United States is also showing our
commitment to effective international institutions. We are a permanent
member of the United Nations Security Council. We helped to create the
Security Council. We believe in the Security Council so much that we
want its words to have meaning.
The global threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
cannot be confronted by one nation alone. The world needs today and will
need tomorrow international bodies with the authority and the will to
stop the spread of terror and chemical and biological and nuclear
weapons. A threat to all must be answered by all. High-minded
pronouncements against proliferation mean little unless the strongest
nations are willing to stand behind them and use force if necessary.
After all, the United Nations was created, as Winston Churchill said, to
``make sure that the force of right will, in the ultimate issue, be
protected by the right of force.''
Another resolution is now before the Security Council. If the
Council responds to Iraq's defiance with more excuses and delays, if all
its authority proves to be empty, the United Nations will be severely
weakened as a source of stability and order. If the members rise to this
moment, then the Council will fulfill its founding purpose.
I've listened carefully as people and leaders around the world have
made known their desire for peace. All of us want peace. The threat to
peace does not come from those who seek to enforce the just demands of
the civilized world. The threat to peace comes from those who flout
those demands. If we have to act, we will act to restrain the violent
and defend the cause of peace. And by acting, we will signal to outlaw
regimes that in this new century, the boundaries of civilized behavior
will be respected.
Protecting those boundaries carries a cost. If war is forced upon us
by Iraq's refusal to disarm, we will meet an enemy who hides his
military forces behind civilians, who has terrible weapons, who is
capable of any crime. The dangers are real, as our soldiers
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and sailors, airmen and marines fully understand. Yet, no military has
ever been better prepared to meet these challenges.
Members of our Armed Forces also understand why they may be called
to fight. They know that retreat before a dictator guarantees even
greater sacrifices in the future. They know that America's cause is
right and just, liberty for an oppressed people and security for the
American people. And I know something about these men and women who wear
our uniform: They will complete every mission they are given with skill
and honor and courage.
Much is asked of America in this year 2003. The work ahead is
demanding. It will be difficult to help freedom take hold in a country
that has known three decades of dictatorship, secret police, internal
divisions, and war. It will be difficult to cultivate liberty and peace
in the Middle East, after so many generations of strife. Yet the
security of our Nation and the hope of millions depend on us, and
Americans do not turn away from duties because they are hard. We have
met great tests in other times, and we will meet the tests of our time.
We go forward with confidence, because we trust in the power of
human freedom to change lives and nations. By the resolve and purpose of
America and of our friends and allies, we will make this an age of
progress and liberty. Free people will set the course of history, and
free people will keep the peace of the world.
Thank you all very much.
Note: The President spoke at 7:22 p.m. in the International Ballroom at
the Washington Hilton Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Irving
Kristol, senior fellow, and Christopher DeMuth, president, American
Enterprise Institute; Allan H. Meltzer, recipient of the first Irving
Kristol Award at the dinner; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.