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THE
U.S.-MIDDLE
EAST
PARTNERSHIP
INITIATIVE:
BUILDING
HOPE FOR
THE
YEARS
AHEAD
Secretary
Colin L.
Powell
The
Heritage
Foundation
Washington,
DC
December
12, 2002
SECRETARY
POWELL:
Thank
you very
much,
Ed, for
that
warm
introduction.
It's a
great
pleasure
to be
with you
this
afternoon,
and
Frank
and
Bill,
good to
be with
you
both.
And to
many
other
distinguished
ladies
and
gentlemen,
excellencies,
friends,
I want
to thank
you
especially,
and the
Heritage
Foundation,
for
inviting
me here
to spend
a few
moments
with
this
audience
and with
the
watching
and
listening
audience
and
discuss
the
hopes
and
aspirations
that we
share
with the
peoples
of the
Middle
East. I
also
especially
want to
welcome
the
distinguished
guests
in the
diplomatic
corps,
Congressional
staff,
the NGO
community,
and the
private
sector.
Thank
all of
you for
finding
time in
your
schedule
to join
us this
afternoon.
It is
fitting
that we
meet
here at
the
Heritage
Foundation.
For the
Heritage
Foundation's
vision
-- to
build a
country
"where
freedom,
opportunity,
prosperity,
and
civil
society
flourish"
-- is
the same
vision,
the very
same
vision,
that we
share
with the
peoples
of the
Middle
East for
their
countries.
The
Middle
East is
a vast
region
of vast
importance
to the
American
people.
Millions
of us
worship
in
churches,
mosques,
and
synagogues,
professing
the
three
great
faiths
that
were
born in
the
lands
between
the
Mediterranean
Sea and
the
Persian
Gulf.
Our
language
and
traditions
are
filled
with
references
to
Jerusalem,
to
Bethlehem,
to
Mecca.
Our
phone
books
list
names -
such as
Mousavi,
Levy,
and
Shaheen
- that
speak of
deep
family
roots in
the
Middle
East.
Our
farmers
grow
wheat,
and our
workers
make
airplanes,
computers,
and many
other
products
that we
sell to
the
countries
of the
region.
We, in
turn,
benefit
from
traded
goods
and
investment
from the
Middle
East.
Tragically,
thousands
of our
countrymen
and
women
died on
September
11,
2001, at
the
hands of
terrorists
born and
radicalized
in the
Middle
East.
Recognizing
the
region's
importance,
we have
for half
a
century
and more
devoted
our
blood
and our
treasure
to
helping
the
peoples
and
governments
of the
Middle
East.
Indeed,
my own
career
in
public
service,
and
especially
military
service,
has been
shaped
by
events
in that
region.
I was
privileged
to be
Chairman
of the
Joint
Chiefs
of Staff
when the
United
States
led the
international
coalition,
which
included
many
Arab
countries,
that
evicted
the
Iraqi
invaders
from
Kuwait.
Today,
as
Secretary
of
State,
the
Middle
East
requires
and
deserves
a great
deal of
my
attention.
Our
Middle
East
policy
has
emphasized
winning
the war
on
terrorism,
disarming
Iraq,
and
bringing
the
Arab-Israeli
conflict
to an
end. The
war on
terrorism
is not
confined
to the
Middle
East.
Our
friends
there
have a
very
important
stake in
that
conflict
and in
winning
that
conflict
because
many
have
suffered
the
scourge
of
terrorism
first
hand. I
am
pleased
that our
friends
have
stepped
up to
the
challenge
by
extending
basing
rights
for
Operation
Enduring
Freedom
in
Afghanistan,
exchanging
intelligence
and law
enforcement
information,
arresting
suspected
terrorists,
and
clamping
down on
terrorist
financing.
With
the
countries
of the
Middle
East,
our
friends
and
allies,
and the
community
of
nations,
we must
also
deal
with the
grave
and
growing
danger
posed by
the
Iraqi
regime,
led by
Saddam
Hussein.
By
unanimously
passing
Resolution
1441,
the
United
Nations
Security
Council
has
offered
Iraq a
final
opportunity
to meet
its
obligations
to peace
and to
the
international
community.
The
Iraqi
regime
can
either
disarm,
or it
will be
disarmed.
The
choice
is
theirs -
but this
decision
cannot
be
postponed.
We
also
have a
deep and
abiding
national
interest
in
bringing
the
Israeli-Palestinian
conflict
to an
end.
With our
friends
in the
region
and the
international
community,
we are
working
to bring
about a
lasting
peace
based on
President
Bush's
vision
of two
states,
living
side-by-side,
in peace
and
security.
This
peace
will
require
from the
Palestinians
a new
and
different
leadership,
new
institutions,
and an
end to
terror
and
violence.
As the
Palestinians
make
progress
in this
direction,
Israel
will
also be
required
to make
hard
choices,
including
an end
to all
settlement
construction
activity,
consistent
with the
Mitchell
Report.
As
President
Bush has
stated,
with
intensive
effort
by all,
the
creation
of a
democratic,
viable
Palestine
is
possible
in 2005.
Our
ultimate
goal is
a just
and
comprehensive
Arab-Israeli
settlement,
in which
all the
peoples
of the
region
are
accepted
as
neighbors,
living
in peace
and
security,
and
building
a better
future
for all
the
peoples
of the
region.
These
challenges
have
been at
the
forefront
of
America's
Middle
East
policy,
and with
good
reason.
Each of
these
challenges
profoundly
affects
our
national
interest,
and the
interests
of the
peoples
who call
the
Middle
East
home. We
remain
deeply
committed
to
meeting
each of
these
challenges,
meeting
them
with
energy
and
determination.
At
the same
time, it
has
become
increasingly
clear
that we
must
broaden
our
approach
to the
region
if we
are to
achieve
success.
In
particular,
we must
give
sustained
and
energetic
attention
to
economic,
political,
and
educational
reform.
We must
work
with
peoples
and
governments
to close
the gulf
between
expectation
and
reality
that
Queen
Rania of
Jordan
has so
eloquently
termed
the
"hope
gap."
The
spread
of
democracy
and free
markets,
fueled
by the
wonders
of the
technological
revolution,
has
created
a dynamo
that can
generate
prosperity
and
human
well-being
on an
unprecedented
scale.
But this
revolution
has left
much of
the
Middle
East
behind.
Throughout
history,
the
countries
of the
Middle
East
have
made
invaluable
contributions
to the
development
of the
arts and
sciences.
Today,
however,
too many
people
there
lack the
very
political
and
economic
freedom,
empowerment
of
women,
and
modern
education
they
need to
prosper
in the
21st
century.
The 2002
Arab
Human
Development
Report,
written
by
leading
Arab
scholars
and
issued
by the
United
Nations,
identified
a
fundamental
choice -
between
"inertia
…
[and] an
Arab
renaissance
that
will
build a
prosperous
future
for all
Arabs."
These
are not
my
words.
They
come
from
Arab
experts
who have
looked
deeply
into the
issues.
They are
based on
the
stark
facts.
Some
14
million
Arab
adults
lack the
jobs
they
need to
put food
on the
table, a
roof
over the
heads of
their
families,
and to
put hope
not only
in their
hearts
but the
hearts
of their
children.
Fifty
million
more
Arab
young
people
will
enter
the
already
crowded
job
market
over the
next
eight
years.
But
economies
are not
creating
enough
jobs.
Growth
is weak.
The GDP
of 260
million
Arabs is
already
less
than
that of
40
million
Spaniards,
and
falling
even
further
behind.
Add in
the
production
of 67
million
people
in Iran,
and the
total is
still
only
two-thirds
of
Italy's.
Internally,
many
economies
are
stifled
by
regulation
and
cronyism.
They
lack
transparency,
and are
closed
to
entrepreneurship,
investment,
and
trade.
The
countries
of the
Middle
East are
also
largely
absent
from
world
markets.
They
generate
barely
one
percent
of the
world's
non-oil
exports.
Only ten
Middle
Eastern
countries
belong
to the
World
Trade
Organization.
The
region's
governments
are now
recognizing,
as
Egypt's
President
Hosni
Mubarak
has
warned,
that
"giving
a boost
to
exports
is a
matter
of life
or
death."
A
shortage
of
economic
opportunities
is a
ticket
to
despair.
Combined
with
rigid
political
systems,
it is a
dangerous
brew
indeed.
So,
along
with
freer
economies,
many of
the
peoples
of the
Middle
East
need a
stronger
political
voice.
We
reject
the
condescending
notion
that
freedom
will not
grow in
the
Middle
East, or
that
there is
any
region
of the
world
that
cannot
support
democracy.
President
Bush
gave
voice to
the
yearnings
of
people
everywhere
when he
declared,
in his
West
Point
address,
that
"when
it comes
to the
common
rights
and
needs of
men and
women,
there is
no clash
of
civilizations.
The
requirements
of
freedom
apply
fully to
Africa
and
Latin
America
and the
entire
Islamic
world."
Given a
choice
between
tyranny
and
freedom,
people
choose
freedom.
We need
only
look to
the
streets
of
Kabul,
filled
with
people
celebrating
the end
of
Taliban
rule
last
year.
There
are rays
of hope
in the
Middle
East, as
well.
Countries
such as
Bahrain,
Qatar,
and
Morocco
have
embarked
on bold
political
reforms.
Civic
organizations
are
increasingly
active
in many
Arab
countries,
working
on
bread-and-butter
issues
such as
securing
badly
needed
identity
cards
for
women.
We
are also
seeing
an
explosion
of media
outlets,
from
satellite
television
stations
to
weekly
tabloids.
Though
some
still do
not live
up to
their
responsibility
to
deliver
responsible
coverage
and
factual
information,
altogether
they are
making
information
available
to more
people
than
ever
before.
And with
information,
ultimately
comes
knowledge,
knowledge
to raise
young
people
up,
knowledge
about
what is
happening
in other
parts of
the
world.
Still,
too many
Middle
Easterners
are
ruled by
closed
political
systems.
Too many
governments
curb the
institutions
of civil
society
as a
threat,
rather
than
welcome
them as
the
basis
for a
free,
dynamic,
and
hopeful
society.
And the
language
of hate,
exclusion,
and
incitement
to
violence
is still
all too
common
throughout
the
region.
As
Morocco's
King
Mohammed
told his
country's
parliament
two
years
ago,
"to
achieve
development,
democracy,
and
modernization,
it is
necessary
to
improve
and
strengthen
political
parties,
trade
unions,
associations,
and the
media,
and to
enlarge
the
scope of
participation."
Finally,
too many
of the
region's
children
lack the
knowledge
to take
advantage
of a
world of
economic
and
political
freedom.
Ten
million
school-age
children
are at
home, at
work, or
on the
streets,
instead
of being
in
class.
Some 65
million
of their
parents
cannot
read or
write,
let
alone
help
them
with
their
lessons,
teach
them to
read or
write.
Barely
one
person
out of a
hundred
has
access
to a
computer.
Of
those,
only
half can
reach
the
wider
world
via the
Internet.
Even
when
children
do go to
school,
they
often
fail to
learn
the
skills
that
they
will so
desperately
need to
be
successful
in the
21st
century
world.
"Education"
too
often
means
rote
learning
rather
than the
creative,
critical
thinking
essential
for
success
in our
globalizing
world.
The
authors
of the
Arab
Development
Report
have
found
that
"education
has
begun to
lose its
significant
role as
a means
of
achieving
social
advancement
in Arab
countries,
turning
instead
into a
means of
perpetuating
social
stratification
and
poverty."
This is
a
telling
indictment,
but it
is more
than
that;
this is
a call
to
action.
There is
a
constant
theme
running
through
these
challenges,
and that
is the
marginalization
of
women.
More
than
half of
the Arab
world's
women
are
illiterate.
They
suffer
more
than men
from
unemployment
and lack
of
economic
opportunity.
Women
also
make up
a
smaller
proportion
of
members
of
parliament
in Arab
countries
than in
any
other
region
of the
world.
Until
the
countries
of the
Middle
East
unleash
the
abilities
and
potential
of their
women,
they
will not
build a
future
of hope.
Any
approach
to the
Middle
East
that
ignores
its
political,
economic,
and
educational
underdevelopment
will be
built
upon
sand. It
is time
to lay a
firm
foundation
of hope.
Hope is
what my
presentation
today is
about.
America
wants to
align
itself
with the
people
of the
Middle
East,
moving
forward
on the
basis of
hope,
hope for
peace,
hope for
a better
life for
the
children
of the
Middle
East and
the
children
of the
world.
To that
end, I
am
announcing
today an
initiative
that
places
the
United
States
firmly
on the
side of
change,
on the
side of
reform,
and on
the side
of a
modern
future
for the
Middle
East, on
the side
of hope.
During
last
March's
visit by
President
Mubarak
to
Washington,
President
Bush
asked me
to head
a new
American
government
effort
to
support
the
peoples
and
governments
of the
Middle
East in
their
efforts
to meet
these
challenging
and
pressing
human
needs.
I
am
pleased
to
announce
the
initial
results
of our
work --
an
innovative
set of
programs
and a
framework
for
future
cooperation
that we
call the
U.S.-Middle
East
Partnership
Initiative.
The
U.S.-Middle
East
Partnership
Initiative
is a
bridge
between
the
United
States
and the
Middle
East,
between
our
governments
and our
peoples,
an
initiative
that
spans
the hope
gap with
energy,
ideas,
and
funding.
Our
Partnership
Initiative
is a
continuation,
and a
deepening,
of our
longstanding
commitment
to
working
with all
the
peoples
of the
Middle
East to
improve
their
daily
lives
and to
help
them
face the
future
with
hope.
Just as
our
decision
to
rejoin
UNESCO
is a
symbol
of our
commitment
to
advancing
human
rights
and
tolerance
and
learning,
so this
Initiative
is a
concrete
demonstration
of our
commitment
to human
dignity
in the
Middle
East.
We
are
initially
dedicating
$29
million
to get
this
Initiative
off to a
strong
start.
Working
with
Congress,
we will
seek
significant
additional
funding
for next
year.
These
funds
will be
over and
above
the more
than $1
billion
we
provide
in
economic
assistance
to the
Arab
world
every
year.
Our
initiative
rests on
three
pillars.
We will
engage
with
public
and
private
sector
groups
to
bridge
the jobs
gap with
economic
reform,
business
investment,
and
private
sector
development.
We will
partner
with
community
leaders
to close
the
freedom
gap with
projects
to
strengthen
civil
society,
expand
political
participation,
and lift
the
voices
of
women.
And, we
will
work
with
parents
and
educators
to
bridge
the
knowledge
gap with
better
schools
and more
opportunities
for
higher
education.
My
friends,
hope
begins
with a
paycheck.
And that
requires
a
vibrant
economy.
Through
the
United
States-Middle
East
Partnership
Initiative,
we will
work
with
governments
to
establish
economic
rules
and
regulations
that
will
attract
foreign
investment
and
allow
the
private
sector
to
flourish.
We will
help
small
and
medium-sized
businesses
gain
access
to the
life-blood
of
capital.
As a
first
step, I
am
pleased
to
announce
that we
will
establish
Enterprise
Funds
for the
Middle
East,
modeled
after
the
successful
Polish-American
Enterprise
Fund,
and
these
funds
will
begin
investing
in
promising
new
businesses.
We
will
also
help
more
countries
share in
the
bounty
of the
global
economy.
That
means
offering
aspiring
World
Trading
Organization
members
like
Saudi
Arabia,
Algeria,
Lebanon,
and
Yemen,
technical
assistance
to meet
the
WTO's
membership
criteria.
It means
building
upon our
successful
Free
Trade
Agreement
with
Jordan
by
beginning
FTA
negotiations
with
Morocco.
And, it
means
continuing
to work
with
countries
like
Egypt
and
Bahrain
to
explore
ways to
enhance
our
bilateral
economic
trade
relationships,
including
through
possible
free
trade
agreements.
Open
economies,
to be
successful,
require
open
political
systems.
So the
second
pillar
of our
Partnership
Initiative
will
support
citizens
across
the
region
who are
claiming
their
political
voices.
We
began
the
first
pilot
project
in this
area
last
month,
when we
brought
a
delegation
of 55
Arab
women,
women
political
leaders,
brought
them to
the
United
States
to
observe
our
mid-term
elections.
I had an
excellent
meeting
with
this
remarkable
group,
and I
was
inspired
by their
energy
and
their
commitment.
They put
tough
questions
to me,
and we
debated
the
issues
as
people
do in a
free
society.
These
women
were
proud of
their
heritage.
They
spoke
eloquently
of their
dreams
of a
world
where
their
children
could
grow up
and live
in
peace.
They
told of
their
hopes to
see an
end to
the
conflicts
that
cripple
their
region.
They
also
spoke of
their
expectations
of
America.
They
talked
about
how they
want
control
over
their
own
lives
and
their
own
destinies.
And,
they
asked to
know
more
about
American
democracy,
and how
to make
their
own
voices
more
effective.
Increased
political
participation
also
requires
strengthening
the
civic
institutions
that
protect
individual
rights
and
provide
opportunities
for
participation.
Through
our
Partnership
Initiative
we will
support
these
efforts.
To be
effective,
free
economies
and open
political
systems
need
educated
citizens,
so the
third
pillar
of the
U.S.-Middle
East
Partnership
Initiative
will
focus on
education
reform.
Our
programs
will pay
particular
emphasis
to the
education
of
girls.
An
Egyptian
poet
once
wrote
that,
"A
mother
is a
school.
Empower
her and
you
empower
a great
nation."
He was
right.
When
girls'
literacy
rates
improve,
all the
other
important
indicators
of
development
in a
country
improve,
as well.
With
the
U.S.-Middle
East
Partnership
Initiative
we will
provide
scholarships
to keep
girls in
school
and
expand
literacy
for
girls
and
women.
More
broadly,
we will
work
with
parents
and
educators
to
strengthen
local
and
parental
oversight
of
school
systems.
In each
of these
three
areas,
we are
committed
to
genuine,
two-way
partnership
with the
citizens
and
countries
of the
region,
with
Congress,
and even
with
other
donors
as we
implement
this
agenda.
The
U.S.-Middle
East
Partnership
Initiative
is one
of the
most
challenging
undertakings
that we
and our
friends
in the
region
have
ever
considered.
We
should
be quite
realistic
as we
move
forward
about
the
obstacles
that are
ahead,
about
the time
that it
will
take to
see real
change
take
root,
about
the
limited
role
that
outsiders
can
play. We
can and
must
understand
that
genuine
Middle
Eastern
interest
must
drive
this
initiative,
and only
Middle
Eastern
engagement
will
sustain
it over
time.
But we
should
also
avoid
resigning
ourselves
to low
expectations.
As the
ferment
in the
region
shows,
the
peoples
of the
Middle
East
themselves
are
seized
with
these
issues.
These
are
issues
they are
talking
about.
These
are
problems
they are
ready to
deal
with.
We
are not
starting
from
scratch,
either.
We are
already
working
successfully
with a
broad
array of
partners.
For
example,
just
last
month we
announced
the
establishment
of the
LEAD
Foundation,
in which
the
United
States
Agency
for
International
Development
is
partnering
with the
World
Bank and
the
Egyptian
private
sector
to
support
micro-enterprise
lending
in
Egypt.
In
addition,
through
our
Partnership
for
Learning,
we are
already
engaged
with the
countries
of the
region
on
teacher
training,
English-language
instruction,
and
other
programs
to
strengthen
their
educational
systems.
Indeed,
an
important
part of
our work
will
involve
reviewing
our
existing
programs
to learn
from
them and
to make
sure our
assistance
touches
as many
lives as
possible.
Nor are
we
advocating
a
"one
size
fits
all"
approach.
The
region
is much
too
diverse
for
that. We
will be
on the
ground
listening
and
working
to make
sure our
programs
are
tailored
to meet
the
needs of
people
where
they
live
their
lives.
In my
travels
throughout
the
Middle
East in
public
and in
private
life, I
have
seen
first
hand the
energy,
creativity
and
dedication
of
parents
as they
try to
build a
better
future
for
their
children.
But I
have
also
seen
their
frustration
when
progress
is so
painfully
slow. We
must
move
faster.
And we
will
move
faster.
Through
the
U.S.-Middle
East
Partnership
Initiative,
we are
adding
hope to
the
U.S.-Middle
East
agenda.
We are
pledging
our
energy,
our
ability,
and our
idealism
to bring
hope to
all of
God's
children
who call
the
Middle
East
home.
Thank
you very
much.
(Applause.)
MODERATOR:
Thank
you very
much,
Mr.
Secretary,
for
presenting
us with
that
challenge
today.
The
Secretary
has
agreed
to take
several
questions.
QUESTION:
Mr.
Secretary,
you have
spoken
eloquently
about
the need
to
promote
freedom.
Some of
the
governments
there,
including
some
that are
allies,
are not
hospitable
to
either
free
markets
or
democracy,
and how
are you
going to
resolve
the
tension
between
the
desire
to
promote
our
goals
and not
offend
allied
governments?
SECRETARY
POWELL:
We
believe
that
democracy
and free
markets
will
benefit
all
countries
in the
Middle
East.
Obviously,
some are
further
away
from
this
concept
than
others.
We are
not
setting
out in
this
Initiative,
nor are
we
setting
out in
any of
our
other
policies,
to say
to
someone,
this is
the
American
way, you
have to
do it
our way.
We
hope
that
through
programs
such as
this,
through
education,
through
persuasion,
but
really
through
the
countries
in the
region
taking a
look at
the
situation
they
find
themselves
in
individually,
looking
at
whether
or not
they are
educating
their
young
people
for the
kind of
future
that is
in front
of them,
whether
or not
they can
continue
to
afford
not to
educate
50% of
their
population,
women,
for the
challenges
and jobs
and
requirements
of the
future,
and
whether
or not
they see
a future
in their
economic
system
that
does not
get them
engaged
somehow
in a
globalizing
world.
I
think by
them
examining
themselves
honestly
and
working
with us
and
allowing
us to
work
with
them, we
can make
the
case. I
don't
see this
as
something
that is
going to
be done
in 1
year or
5 years.
This is
a
long-term
prospect.
But to
stand
back
from it
and say,
well, we
can't
possibly
discuss
these
issues
with a
particular
country
because
there is
some
other
geo-strategic
agenda
that we
have in
mind or
priority
we have
in mind
that
makes it
too
difficult
an issue
to
discuss.
I
no
longer
think
that is
affordable
and
sustainable.
And
there is
not a
country
in the
Middle
East
that I
have not
begun to
have
this
conversation
with and
the
President
has not
begun to
have
this
conversation
with.
QUESTION:
Mr.
Secretary,
considering
the
enormous
oil
wealth
in the
Middle
East and
the
statements
of Arab
brotherhood,
isn't
this a
job,
really,
for
countries
like
Saudi
Arabia
and
Kuwait?
Second
point,
considering
the vast
population
explosion
when you
spoke of
women,
women --
young
women --
surrounded
by huge
families
almost
tied
down
into
poverty,
is there
room in
the Bush
administration
to make
family
planning
one of
the
pillars
of your
program?
SECRETARY
POWELL:
On the
first
question,
there is
wealth
in the
region.
But
there is
also
great
poverty
in the
region.
The
United
States
has
provided
assistance
to the
region
for many
years
and we
want to
use the
assistance
we have
been
providing
in a
more
directed
way to
deal
with
these
structural
and
fundamental
issues
that I
spoke
to.
And
I think
it is
quite
appropriate
for us
to add
additional
monies
to this
kind of
effort
and I
look
forward
to
appearing
before
the
Congress
to seek
additional
money
because
it is
not only
in
interest
of these
nations
to move,
but it
is in
our
interest,
as well.
And I
think
there is
more --
there is
enough
of a
problem
there to
demand
additional
contributions
from
those
who are
able to
contribute
in the
region,
as well
as
additional
contributions
from the
United
States,
and I
hope to
also be
able to
engage
my
colleagues
in other
parts of
the
world
among
European
nations
and
other
nations
that
this is
in their
interest,
as well.
With
respect
to
population
and
family
planning
issues,
as you
know, we
do
contribute
to
family
planning
activities
of the
kind
that we
believe
are
sensible,
appropriate
and
consistent
with the
values
of the
United
States
and
consistent
with the
values
of this
administration.
QUESTION:
You
did not
in your
remarks
make any
explicit
connection,
or
connection
at all,
as far
as I
could
hear,
with the
struggle
the
United
States
has been
engaged
in since
September
11. Is
there a
-- is
this a
way of,
in fact,
fighting
the war
against
terrorism?
Is this
another
angle in
that
struggle
for
taking
the wind
out of
the
sails of
the
radicals
in the
region?
SECRETARY
POWELL: We
have
been
working
on this
since
before
9/11,
and I
think it
is
something
that can
be seen
as
totally
separate
from
9/11. We
should
do this
because
it is
the
right
thing to
do. The
pillars
I talked
about,
the
programs
I
talked,
about
are
relevant
before
and
after
9/11 --
perhaps
after
9/11,
somewhat
more
relevant
because
to the
extent
that you
have
populations
where
people
are
angry,
people
are
frustrated,
people
do not
feel
that
their
lives
are
improving,
then you
have the
possibility
of
additional
radicalization
of that
population.
But
I don't
think
9/11
should
be seen
as the
determining
factor
with
respect
to this
program.
We hope
that it
will
make it
more
likely
that
young
people
will see
this
possibility
of a
better
future
and
hope,
and will
not be
pulled
into
activities
of the
kind
that led
to 9/11.
We also
have to
remind
ourselves
that the
perpetrators
of 9/11
were
doing
quite
well in
their
societies
and in
terms of
the
wealth
they had
accumulated
and we
should
not fall
into
this
trap of
they
were
oppressed,
they
were
poor,
they
were
poverty
stricken;
quite
the
contrary,
they
have
stolen
these
issues
from
those
who are
poor and
oppressed
and used
these
justifications
for
their
own evil
ends,
but
they're
certainly
not
justifications.
So
I think
this
program
stands
on its
own
before
9/11,
after
9/11,
with a
little
greater
emphasis
after
9/11.
QUESTION:
Mr.
Secretary,
this
kind of
follows
on
previous
questions.
Throughout
the
Middle
East one
hears
the
refrain,
"We
love
America,
we hate
America's
policies."
This is
directed
both
towards
perceived
imbalance
in terms
of
Israeli-Arab
relations
and in
terms of
U.S.,
perceived
U.S.
support
for
non-democratic
regimes.
The
policy
initiative
you have
announced
today
and the
statements
you've
made
clearly
address
the
latter.
I was
wondering
if you
could
address
the
former a
little
bit
more,
how the
government
intends
to
address
the
perception
of US
policy.
SECRETARY
POWELL:
I think
there's
no
question
that
there is
great
admiration
throughout
the Arab
world,
throughout
the
Middle
East,
throughout
the
Muslim
world
for the
United
States
as a
nation,
as a
people.
Come
with me
to our
visa
offices
and I
will
show you
long
lines of
people
who are
anxious
to get
into the
United
States.
One
of my
favorite
lines is
I can
walk out
of this
building
right
now, go
get in a
car, and
be at a
mosque,
a
temple,
a
synagogue
or 12
different
kinds of
churches
within 5
minutes
--
showing
the
strength
and
beauty
and
diversity
of our
society,
and
created
by
people
who have
come to
this
nation
knowing
what
kind of
a nation
and what
kind of
a people
we are.
And
there is
great
admiration
and
support
for
that.
We
do have
problems
with
some of
the
policies
that we
are
following
and
those
policies
are, to
some
extent,
driven
by the
situation
we find
ourselves
in. The
Middle
East
peace
process,
of
course,
is
Exhibit
A. We
would do
anything
to find
a
solution,
a way to
move
forward,
to end
the
terror
and the
violence
that
comes
from the
Palestinian
community
-- some
parts of
the
Palestinian
community.
Most
parts of
the
Palestinian
community
want the
same
thing we
want for
our
communities:
peace
and
security
for our
children.
And with
the
terror
and the
violence
down,
then
we're in
a
position
to get
movement
from the
Israeli
side.
We
have not
lost
sight of
the
vision
that the
President
gave us
in his
June 24
speech
that
said we
have to
find
transforming
leadership
within
the
Palestinian
community,
and
there
are
expectations
we have
of the
Israeli
community.
And we
have to
work on
both of
these
tracks,
and the
President
is
committed
to
finding
a
solution
that
will
create
the
state of
Palestine
living
side by
side, in
peace,
with the
Jewish
state,
Israel.
And
I think
that as
we
continue
to move
in this
direction,
as we
continue
to work
on the
initiatives
that we
have for
a
political
settlement,
the
roadmap
is much
discussed
-- we're
still
hard at
work on
the
roadmap
-- we'll
continue
that
work
next
week
when the
Quartet
assembles
and also
have a
chance,
I hope,
to meet
with
President
Bush and
discuss
their
work
with
President
Bush.
And
we're
committed
to move
forward
and find
a
solution.
And
I think
the
people
of the
Middle
East are
looking
to the
United
States
to play
a
leadership
role in
finding
that
solution.
And to
some
extent,
we're
held to
account
for the
problem
until
the
solution
is
found.
And so
you have
to kind
of
separate
this,
this
feeling
toward
America
into
those
two
pieces:
respect
for us
as a
people
and a
nation,
but
there is
concern
about
the
policies
we
follow.
And
Exhibit
A is the
Middle
East
peace
plan and
effort
and, of
course,
there's
considerable
debate
with
respect
to Iraq.
And I
think
that as
the Iraq
situation
resolves
itself
one way
or the
other,
that
will be
dealt
with and
hopefully
we will
see
progress
in the
Middle
East
peace
plan.
QUESTION:
Thank
you. Mr.
Secretary,
even if
we grant
that
democracy
can take
on a
number
of
forms,
it still
is
primarily
a
secular
institution.
How can
democracy
coexist
with the
profound
levels
of depth
of
theocracy
and
theology
which is
prominent
in the
Muslim
world?
SECRETARY
POWELL:
That is
a
challenge
that
will
have to
be dealt
with by
Muslim
leaders,
Arab
leaders,
Arab and
Muslim
leaders
in
different
parts of
the
world,
not just
in the
Middle
East.
I
think a
way has
to be
found.
You can
have a
strong
commitment
to
religion.
We do.
Most
democratic
nations
have a
faith-based
aspect
to them,
but
there
has to
be a
model
found
that
will
allow
that
faith to
coexist
with
political
and
economic
institutions
that
serve
the
people.
And
it will
be a
challenge
for each
and
every
one of
those
nations
to find
the
proper
way
forward.
And I
think
each and
every
one of
them
will
find a
model
that is
unique
to their
culture,
unique
to their
history,
unique
to their
experience
and
unique
to the
aspirations
of their
people.
It's
not
going to
be a
Jeffersonian
model
that is
imposed
in each
one. But
clearly,
strong
leaders
will
have to
come
forward
and the
peoples
of the
region
will
have to
come
forward
to raise
up
strong
leaders
that are
willing
to find
the
balance
between
faith,
theocracy,
as you
call it,
and a
political
system,
an open
political
system,
and an
open
economic
system
that
will
give
them
what
they
really
need --
faith
plus
hope for
a better
future
for
their
children.
Thank
you all
very
much.
(Applause.)
Released
on
December
12, 2002
Source: U.S.
State
Department
|
