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FROM: www.washingtonpost.com
President
Details Vision for Iraq
Post-Hussein Nation
Could Be Catalyst For Peace, Bush Says in Defending Aims
By Dana Milbank and Peter
Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, February 27, 2003; Page A01
President Bush paused
last night in the methodical march toward war in the Persian Gulf to
outline a hopeful vision of a free Iraq serving as a catalyst for peace
in the ever-troubled region.
Looking beyond hostilities
to topple Saddam Hussein -- an outcome administration officials have
increasingly portrayed as inevitable -- Bush also sought to assure doubters
across the globe that the ultimate U.S. goals in the region are not
imperialist but democratic.
"Success in Iraq
could begin a new stage for Middle Eastern peace, and set in motion
progress towards a truly democratic Palestinian state," he said.
"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."
The remarks, carried
live on a number of television news outlets, came as U.S. officials
struggled to build support at the United Nations for military action.
A senior Russian envoy predicted that his country would not veto a Security
Council resolution, offered this week by the United States, Britain
and Spain, that would clear the way toward war. The Russian move could
boost prospects for U.N. support and weaken France's opposition campaign.
Bush, speaking in a business
suit before an audience of 1,400 at a black-tie dinner held by the American
Enterprise Institute at the Washington Hilton, offered few specifics
that he and his deputies had not already mentioned in recent weeks.
But the speech was the first time he offered a comprehensive picture
of a post-Hussein Iraq. Officials said the speech's purpose was to assure
angry Arabs and skeptical Europeans that Bush does not seek conquest.
While linking Hussein's
ouster to a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians and
pledging his "personal commitment" to reach such a peace,
Bush also presented a neo-Wilsonian view of the imperative to spread
liberty and democracy in the world, challenging a panoply of experts
and diplomats who say a U.S. attack would foster instability and backlash.
"A liberated Iraq
can show the power of freedom to transform that vital region, by bringing
hope and progress into the lives of millions," the president said.
"A new regime
in Iraq would serve as a dramatic and inspiring example of
freedom for other nations in the region."
Bush sought to rebut
the growing perception worldwide that the United States represents more
of a threat to peace and stability than Iraq does.
"I've listened carefully, as people and leaders around the world
have made known their desire for peace," he said. "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."
The effort to highlight
Bush's intentions comes at a time when world opinion has turned sharply
against the United States. The hostile public attitude abroad has jeopardized
the second U.N. resolution against Iraq, which the administration offered
this week, and the foreign opposition has many Americans worried that
the country is becoming isolated.
Bush sought to demonstrate
his aims by referring to the U.S. presence in Germany and Japan after
World War II. "After defeating enemies, we did not leave behind
occupying armies, we left constitutions and parliaments," he said.
"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."
He called it "presumptuous
and insulting" to believe that the Muslim world would not welcome
freedom and democracy. "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."
While aiming to reassure
the world, Bush balanced his promises of humanitarian steps with a firm
assertion of American might and right. He spoke of medicine and food
for Iraqis, and a guarantee of Iraqi democracy and territorial integrity.
Yet he also said that "the hope of millions depend on us, and Americans
do not turn away from duties because they are hard." And he argued
that while part of the history of the nation and civilized world was
written by others, "the rest will be written by us."
In an answer to those
who have said he has not been honest about the cost of rebuilding Iraq,
Bush allowed that it "will not be easy" to bring stability
and unity. "Rebuilding Iraq will require a sustained commitment
from many nations, including our own," he said. "We will remain
in Iraq as long as necessary, and not a day more."
Officials have estimated
it could be two years after Hussein fell before a transition to full
Iraqi control would be complete. Iraq would be administered by the United
States for a period of time after a war began, but the Bush administration
has taken pains to say the leadership would be benevolent and forward-looking.
Iraqis from inside and outside the country would have only an advisory
role at first, but would take more and more authority as months passed,
under the evolving plan being developed by the U.S. government.
Bush's critics at home
and abroad have said his attack on Iraq would imperil any remaining
peace hopes in the Middle East. Thomas Carothers, a democracy specialist
at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said a U.S. attack
on Iraq would heighten anti-Americanism, strengthen militant Islamic
groups and deter many Arab governments from experimenting with political
change.
"This does not mean
the Arab world will never democratize," Carothers wrote in Foreign
Affairs magazine. "But it does mean that democracy will be decades
in the making and entail a great deal of uncertainty, reversal and turmoil."
The president attempted
to turn that argument on its head, explicitly making peace between Israel
and the Palestinians conditional on Hussein's ouster. Referring to Hussein's
support for suicide bombers, Bush said: "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.
"America
will seize every opportunity in pursuit of peace" in
the Middle East conflict, he said.
Bush also called on Israel
to end its settlement activity in the occupied territories. Bush's
words came on the same day Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon formed
a hard-line government that favors expanded settlements and is hostile
to a peace accord.
A senior administration
official acknowledged that Bush had no particular timetable as it assembles
a "roadmap" for peace.
Staff writer Claudia
Deane contributed to this report.
© 2003 The Washington
Post Company
FROM: www.washingtonpost.com
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