14 January 2002
Text: Lieberman Outlines Long-Term Strategy to Deal with Terrorism
(Says moderation and modernity must be supported in Muslim world)
(5830)
Senator Joseph Lieberman has outlined a comprehensive, long-term
approach for winning the war on terrorism that would reorient U.S.
policy towards the Islamic world, strengthening American support of
human rights, democracy and free trade.
"Specifically, I will propose that, as we continue the critical work
of rooting out our terrorist enemies militarily, we launch a long-term
geopolitical and ideological initiative -- akin to the great campaign
that won the Cold War -- to combat the despotism, poverty and
isolation that terrorists exploit," Lieberman said in a speech at
Georgetown University in Washington January 14.
Lieberman, a Democrat from Connecticut, advocated that the United
States embark on a diplomatic course designed to support the forces of
political reform, economic advancement and cultural integration in
Islamic nations while continuing the effort to hunt down terrorists.
"In other words, while we drain the swamp, we must also seed the
garden," Lieberman said.
Lieberman and Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona recently led a
nine-member delegation of U.S. senators on a fact-finding mission to
six countries -- Turkey, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan
and Oman. He said at every stop on the trip, leaders told the visiting
senators that they welcomed U.S. involvement in the region as a
stabilizing presence.
"[L]eaders in Central Asia told our delegation that they welcome an
American presence -- not only because it promises to improve their
quality of life and protect them from fanatical extremists like Al
Qaeda, but because it promises to protect their independence in
relation to some of their larger neighbors. We have no hegemonic
designs in Central Asia, but our limited presence there can be a
critical guarantor against the rise of any other potential hegemonic
powers," Lieberman said.
On the military front, Lieberman called for pursuing Al Qaeda
terrorists and stepping up pressure on governments that provide havens
for terrorists. He praised the steps taken by Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf against terrorists and said the United States must
act aggressively to defuse the tensions between Pakistan and India
where he said more than one million soldiers are confronting each
other across the common border.
Lieberman called for a more aggressive policy toward Iraq aimed at
driving Saddam Hussein from power.
"Trying to manage the Iraqi threat under Saddam is like trying to cool
a volcano with a thermostat. We must therefore declare a new
objective. Our clear, unequivocal goal should be liberating the Iraqi
people and the world from Saddam's tyranny, as we should have done in
1991," Lieberman said.
Lieberman said in the long-term, promoting human rights, democracy and
trade are vital to winning the war against terrorism.
"The Islamic world is beset by political, economic, and cultural
circumstances that over the last generation have limited freedom and
increased isolation, repression, and anti-American anger. These
include vast income inequalities... economic and political
isolation... cultural balkanization... and little or no democracy
through which to constructively channel and resolve this strife.
Islamic terrorism grew in this swamp -- not in a vacuum. We in America
are its favorite target -- not just because we are large and powerful,
but because our cherished values of freedom, opportunity, tolerance,
and democracy are its antithesis," Lieberman said.
The senator said the United States has "looked the other way while
many regimes in Muslim nations have denied their citizens human rights
and economic opportunity."
"The United States should steer a new course -- one closer to American
values, and closer to the values that grow from our common humanity.
We can and must demonstrate to ordinary people throughout the Islamic
world that the United States will take risks to support their freedom,
aspirations, and quality of life. We must make those values a premise
of our alliances and a condition of our aid," Lieberman said.
Specifically, Lieberman noted the importance of the United States
becoming a more vocal proponent of the rights of women in the Muslim
world.
Regarding trade, Lieberman said trade barriers have risen in Muslim
countries while they have been torn down in other parts with the
world.
He praised the trade agreement between Jordan and United States, which
he said has enabled Jordan to increase its exports to the United
States ten times in the past two years and create 25,000 new jobs. He
advocated the United States help more Muslim countries join the World
Trade Organization.
Lieberman called for stepped up efforts by the United States in the
field of public diplomacy and retargeting U.S. foreign aid toward
"better public education systems, stronger public health
infrastructures, more independent media outlets controlled by citizens
and not the state, and reinforcement of the basic civic values of
tolerance, equality and opportunity throughout these societies."
Following is the text of Lieberman's speech:
(begin text)
Senator Joseph Lieberman "Winning the Wider War Against Terrorism"
Georgetown University Lecture Fund January 14, 2002
It's a pleasure and an honor to join you today to discuss both the
current status and the future course of the war against terrorism.
It's a pleasure because when I'm in Washington, I live just across the
street, so I didn't have to go far. It's an honor because of my
respect for this great university and the Jesuits who for so long now
have constructively combined within it both profound faith and free
inquiry. This Georgetown University Lecture Series continues, in the
words of the Hoya's own newspaper, "the Jesuit ideal of lifelong,
comprehensive learning," so thank you for asking me to speak today.
These are unsettling but important times here on campus, throughout
America, and around the world. I know that this university lost
members of its family on September 11th, and I extend my condolences
to you. I must say that I've been impressed by your strength as a
community, exemplified by your new President, Jack DeGioia. And I
admire the fact that so many of you are more eager than ever to
channel your talents and energy into constructive public service. I
hope that government will help make it easier for you to do just that.
On Thursday night, I returned from eight days in Central Asia, where
Senator John McCain and I were proud to lead a nine-member Senate
delegation on a mission of appreciation, dialogue and fact-finding.
To the leaders of countries in the region we wanted to underline how
much we appreciate their ongoing support, especially as we enter the
next chapters of this struggle, and we wanted to reassure them that we
and our coalition partners intend to stay involved for the long haul.
And to the men and women of our military, we wanted to express our
gratitude for their tremendous service and sacrifice for our security.
I'm happy to report that on the heels of our defeat of the Taliban and
liberation of Afghanistan, the morale of our troops is very high.
They know that there is still hard work ahead, but they're committed
to our cause, proud of their successes, and ready for the challenges
to come. They know they are the best fighting force in the history of
the world because of their talent and training, and the technology
they employ in battle. But what ultimately sustains them is the broad
support they feel from the American people here at home.
America's great military strength, including particularly the
precision air attack and special forces capabilities built up by
President Clinton during the 1990s, and commanded so well by President
Bush over the past year, has been stunningly impressive in this war to
date.
That's no small achievement, because we have, in so many ways, entered
unfamiliar military territory. What happened on September 11th in
Manhattan, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania showed more clearly
and painfully than before that we will be engaged increasingly in
different kinds of combat. It's now clear that unconventional and
asymmetrical attacks against civilians are likely to be the tactic of
choice for those determined to do us harm.
But something much more profound than military and defense strategy
changed on that new day of infamy. The illusion of America's
invulnerability was punctured, and we began reconsidering our place
and policies in the world. Anyone who nurtured the illusion that,
after the Cold War, the United States could recline comfortably on the
fringes of the world community, engaging other nations at our
convenience, and still remain secure, was foolishly mistaken.
It's clearer than ever that we're standing at the center of a shifting
and tumultuous world where advances in technology present us with both
thrilling opportunities and agonizing dangers. The new world will
engage us whether we like it or not, so we must act affirmatively to
shape its effects on us.
We at home should begin with a far-reaching discussion about how to
protect our national security and promote our values in this
dramatically changing world. With this in mind, I want to offer some
reflections today on America's defense and foreign policy after 9/11.
Specifically, I will propose that, as we continue the critical work of
rooting out our terrorist enemies militarily, we launch a long-term
geopolitical and ideological initiative -- akin to the great campaign
that won the Cold War -- to combat the despotism, poverty and
isolation that terrorists exploit. If we don't help Islamic nations
affirmatively choose the path of progress and peaceful coexistence by
actively encouraging political reform, economic advancement, and
cultural integration, the conditions that enabled yesterday's
terrorists to kill 3,000 Americans will spawn many more and even worse
threats to our nation and people in the future.
In other words, while we drain the swamp, we must also seed the
garden.
We have won the first battles of the war against terrorism in
Afghanistan, but to paraphrase Churchill, this is just the end of the
beginning, not the beginning of the end. Now is the right time to talk
together and work together to draw up the plans that will enable us to
win the longer, wider war. This is a moment for reflection and
rededication to the goal of preventing anything resembling the attacks
on America of September 11th from ever happening again. Today, I will
set out my own thoughts and suggestions in broad outline, which I hope
to expand upon in the months ahead.
THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN
Our first responsibility to the American people is to continue to
pursue and punish those responsible for the horror of September 11th.
1. Pursuing and Preempting Al Qaeda.
Having seen Afghanistan up close, I can attest that our work there --
and the work of the international community -- is far from finished.
Keeping order and helping the country recover will be tough and trying
work that demands our unwavering attention and perseverance, and that
of our coalition partners.
We should give it not only for moral and humanitarian reasons, but for
geopolitical purposes as well. Since the end of the Second World War,
the United States has played a vital stabilizing role in the Pacific,
advancing freedom and free markets and checking the ambitions of the
great powers in that region.
In much the same way, leaders in Central Asia told our delegation that
they welcome an American presence-not only because it promises to
improve their quality of life and protect them from fanatical
extremists like Al Qaeda, but because it promises to protect their
independence in relation to some of their larger neighbors. We have no
hegemonic designs in Central Asia, but our limited presence there can
be a critical guarantor against the rise of any other potential
hegemonic powers.
The next military challenge before us, however, is more narrow:
destroying the remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban who have taken to the
hills and valleys, and denying them new sanctuary in the region or
outside it. No other nation can be allowed to harbor, breed or enable
them to establish bases as Afghanistan under the Taliban did.
Our Defense and State Departments have appropriately begun to focus
pressure and resources on failed or failing states like Sudan and
Somalia where Al Qaeda might relocate, demanding that authorities in
those nations take decisive action to arrest terrorist leaders and
destroy terrorist bases.
2. Stepping Up Pressure on Supporting Governments.
While we finish the job against Al Qaeda, we must not neglect other
tangible terrorist threats to international security.
We have no choice. Throughout the world, terrorists are aiming at
American values and interests. And because their presence in regional
hot spots could turn localized national, ethnic or religious conflicts
into broader global crises, we cannot ignore them.
In the Middle East, for example, Hamas and Islamic Jihad thrive in
their disruption of the peace process thanks in no small part to the
havens they find in Iran and Syria, and the support they receive from
those two countries. Such support must stop -- not next year, not next
month, but now, if Syria and Iran hope to develop better relations
with the United States.
We must also continue to demand that the Palestinian Authority end its
tolerance for and in some cases sponsorship of terrorism, or our
relations with the Authority will end.
And we must act aggressively to defuse the most urgent and literally
explosive global security crisis today -- which is on the border
between India and Pakistan, where well over a million soldiers are
confronting each other.
Last week, our Senate delegation had an excellent meeting with
President Musharraf, in which we thanked him for Pakistan's great
support of our military operations against terrorists in Afghanistan
and urged him to do the same inside Pakistan. The speech he gave over
the weekend was a very significant statement against fanatics using
Islam to justify terrorism, and set out a specific course of action
which should not only reduce the current temperature of Pakistan's
relationship with India, but, if implemented fully, can begin a whole
new chapter in the history of Pakistan and the region.
I am encouraged by India's favorable responses thus far to Musharraf's
principled statement, and urge both countries to pull back their
troops from the border so that an accident or an extremist act does
not start a war. I also again urge President Bush to immediately send
a high-level envoy to the region to help seize this moment of
opportunity between India and Pakistan. Though the parties themselves
want progress, they may well not be able to make it without our
encouragement and mediation.
3. Addressing Iraq.
These are all important next steps to take in the war against
terrorism, but it is also true, as I have said before and I will say
again today, that this war will not be over until Saddam Hussein is
removed from power in Iraq.
Saddam is a sworn enemy of the United States and is still seeking
revenge for his humiliating Gulf War defeat. Remember: a decade ago,
he tried to assassinate President Bush's father.
His regime has the means -- chemical and biological weapons that he
hasn't hesitated to use in his own backyard, killing at least 25,000
Iranians and Kurds in at least ten different attacks. And by all
accounts, Saddam has been actively working to develop nuclear weapons
since the end of the Gulf War. Remember: he expelled U.N. inspectors
more than three years ago.
All that needs to present itself to him is the opportunity, and I for
one am not willing to wait passively for that day to arrive.
Since the Gulf War, the United States has carried out a policy of
trying to contain and manage Saddam's tyranny. It is not costless or
riskless. In fact, it costs us more than $1 billion a year. Our pilots
are flying 35 combat air sorties a day in the no-fly zones, and are
regularly shot at by the Iraqis. Other of our military forces
enforcing sanctions against Iraq have been attacked by terrorists,
causing many U.S. casualties.
It's time to acknowledge that our strategy of trying to manage this
menace has not succeeded, and our current policy options-sanctions,
international pressure, limited military strikes-have been exhausted
without reducing the threat to us or helping the people of Iraq live
better lives. In fact, the people of Iraq continue to suffer because
of the way in which Saddam has reacted to the U.N. sanctions policy.
Trying to manage the Iraqi threat under Saddam is like trying to cool
a volcano with a thermostat.
We must therefore declare a new objective. Our clear, unequivocal goal
should be liberating the Iraqi people and the world from Saddam's
tyranny, as we should have done in 1991.
We can begin by building up the Iraqi opposition's capabilities day by
day as we systematically break down Saddam's power piece by piece.
Despite the fact Congress passed and President Clinton signed the
Iraqi Liberation Act in 1998 -- law that a bipartisan group of us
sponsored, and that, among other things, directed our government to
provide material and financial assistance to the Iraqi opposition --
full implementation has not been carried out by either the Clinton or
Bush administrations. We have to stop paying lip service to that
policy and start paying for it.
Ridding the world of Saddam's tyranny may require not only stronger
opposition within Iraq but the exercise of power from outside -- and
we must be prepared to do that if necessary. Of course, it is better
to build coalitions and act collaboratively when engaging in conflict
for a cause. But in this case, the unique threat to American security
by Saddam Hussein's regime is so real, grave and imminent that, even
if no other nation were to stand with us, we must be prepared to act
alone, and we are fully capable of doing so. If we make it clear that
we are prepared to act decisively against Saddam, I am convinced many
others will join us.
The decisions about how and when we move against Saddam are up to our
Commander-in-Chief, but the question of whether we should do so cannot
be in doubt. I hope the White House, Pentagon, State Department, and
intelligence services have begun to draw up plans and options for
changing the regime in Baghdad. I am confident that President Bush can
and will give this critical cause the leadership and advocacy it
deserves.
A POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE TO HOLY WAR
At the moment, the military campaign against terrorism is,
necessarily, the core of the war. But it's not the whole war. The
events of September 11th opened our eyes to a wider conflict before us
-- the threat from a small group of fanatics who find justification
for evil behavior in Islam, and are engaged in a great civil war with
the vast majority of their fellow Muslims who do not share their
beliefs or behaviors.
Like it or not, the United States is at the center of that conflict.
The Islamic world is beset by political, economic, and cultural
circumstances that over the last generation have limited freedom and
increased isolation, repression, and anti-American anger. These
include vast income inequalities... economic and political
isolation... cultural balkanization... and little or no democracy
through which to constructively channel and resolve this strife.
Islamic terrorism grew in this swamp -- not in a vacuum. We in America
are its favorite target -- not just because we are large and powerful,
but because our cherished values of freedom, opportunity, tolerance,
and democracy are its antithesis.
But the tradition of tolerant and moderate Islam, which is practiced
by the vast majority of people in the Muslim world, is its target,
too. In every one of the six nations we visited last week -- Turkey,
Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Oman -- this
tradition was clear and proud. In Tashkent, for instance, we visited
with the Mufti of Uzbekistan, who showed us one of four copies of a
beautiful book, the first recorded Quran, and spoke of its tradition
of tolerance. He said that because of the violence and intolerance
practiced by Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda terrorists, he had
declared that they were not Muslims at all.
And in Oman, the Sultan gave me the text of a sermon delivered in
December there by a leading cleric. It spoke of the condemnation
within Islam of imposing one's faith on others. The sermon says that
the Quran states, and I quote, "There is no forcible belief" and urges
Muslims to "invite to the way of creation with wisdom by preaching
kindly, and argue your points graciously."
This moderate majority -- which understands that there is great
promise for progress for nations that undergo internal modernization
and seek to engage with the rest of the world -- is under assault by
the ethnocentric, extremist few who blame external powers (most
frequently the United States, Israel, and European imperialism) for
all their ills. And they see Jihad -- the virtueless cycle of
violence, repression and revenge -- as the only answer.
In 1946, Churchill described the Communist domination of Eastern
Europe as an iron curtain that had descended across Europe, from
Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, separating the rigid
and repressive orthodoxies of Communism from the free and open
societies of the world. Today, from Iraq in the Persian Gulf to
terrorist camps in the mountains of Central Asia, from the sands of
Somalia, Sudan and Saudi Arabia to cells in Singapore and Indonesia
and Hamburg and London, the fanatical forces of Jihad are trying to
build a "theological iron curtain" to divide the Muslim world from the
rest of the globe -- a Berlin Wall built with bricks made from poverty
and tyranny, and cemented by the mortar of hatred and violence.
General Douglas MacArthur once said, "The history of failure in war
can be summed up in two words: too late. Too late in comprehending the
deadly purpose of a potential enemy; too late in realizing the mortal
danger; too late in preparedness; too late in uniting all possible
forces for resistance; too late in standing with one's friends."
It is still not too late for us to stop this theological iron curtain
from falling. We must act now, proactively and aggressively, to help
the millions of moderate Muslims in the world who are being besieged
by isolation and intolerance. Because if the curtain should someday
fall, it would be a great and grave danger to our own security... and
could bring awful repression to the hundreds of millions of Muslims
trapped behind it.
Our actions under President Bush's strong leadership since September
11th have gone a long way toward forestalling this new iron curtain.
Throughout my visit to Central Asia, I saw heartening evidence of the
secondary effects of America's resolve, with the leaders of every
country our delegation visited taking a clearer and stronger stand for
moderation and modernity than they had before September 11th. We have
empowered them to give voice to their moderate message and to provide
leadership to fight the forces of fanaticism. President Musharraf's
principled and historic statement over the weekend should serve as an
example for other allies of ours in places like Saudi Arabia and
elsewhere. Let's hope it does.
1. Reorienting Diplomacy Around Human Rights.
Our strategy to stop the theological iron curtain from falling should
begin with a fundamental reassessment of our diplomatic relations with
many Muslim nations. We should start with a clear and correct
understanding of the diversity and breadth of the world's population
of 1.2 billion Muslims. You may not know that less than a fifth of the
world's Muslims are Arab, or that most Muslims live under democratic
governments in countries like India, Indonesia, Turkey, throughout
Western Europe and right here in the United States. Islam is a
powerful and positive presence all across the globe.
But it's also true that too many people in Islamic countries are
struggling to thrive against difficult odds. Thirty-six of the 47
Muslim-majority countries in the world are not democracies.
Twenty-three percent of countries in the Islamic world have
democratically elected governments, compared to 76 percent in the
non-Islamic world. And according to a report recently issued by
Freedom House, over the last twenty years, the nations of the Islamic
world have grown increasingly less free, experiencing a "significant
increase in repressive regimes" as the world at large moved
dramatically in the opposite direction.
Where has American policy been? For too long, our government has
looked the other way while many regimes in Muslim nations have denied
their citizens human rights and economic opportunity.
Our alliances with and aid to some of these regimes naturally makes us
targets of citizens of those countries. The American people know the
United States has a proud record, in the last decade alone, of
protecting Muslim people around the world from oppression -- in
Kuwait, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and now Afghanistan. We have an
equally proud tradition of creating a nurturing freedom of religion
here at home that has enabled Islam to flourish within our own
borders.
But many in the Muslim world are blinded to these realities by our
close alignment with regimes whose behavior is inconsistent with the
American values we otherwise work so hard to uphold and defend.
The United States should steer a new course -- one closer to American
values, and closer to the values that grow from our common humanity.
We can and must demonstrate to ordinary people throughout the Islamic
world that the United States will take risks to support their freedom,
aspirations, and quality of life. We must make those values a premise
of our alliances and a condition of our aid. The inalienable,
God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness don't
end at America's borders.
That means, among other things, that the United States must be a vocal
proponent of women's rights throughout the Muslim world. For years the
United States has muted our support for the rights of women for fear
of upsetting our relationship with existing regimes. It's time to
become a more outspoken advocate for the right of women to be
educated, to live freely, and to rise as far as their talents and hard
work will take them, as they do in many Muslim countries today like
Turkey.
2. Opening Economies through Free Trade.
Stagnating economies and awful poverty feed the fanaticism that has
begun to emerge in many Muslim countries.
Some there blame globalization for their woes, and a handful of
American commentators have supported that thesis. In reality, the
economic problem of the Muslim world is not that there's too much
globalization, but that there's too little.
Since 1980, as the population of the Muslim Near East (the Arab League
plus Iran) has doubled, its share of world investment has fallen by
half and its share of world trade by two-thirds. That means a smaller
and smaller economic pie is being shared by more and more people.
How has that happened? While in recent decades, the world has torn
down old economic barriers, many Muslim countries have fortified them.
Most Middle Eastern countries maintain trade practices that are among
the most burdensome in the world. Egypt, for example, imposes high
tariffs and other barriers on imports of clothing; Syria bans imports
of processed foods, puts a 250 percent tariff on cars, and requires a
license for all imports.
While other parts of the world have adopted mutually beneficial
regional trade programs such as the North American Free Trade
Agreement, South America's Mercosur, and the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area, Middle Eastern nations have
increased trade restrictions and sanctions on one another and the rest
of the world. Half of the Arab League's 22 members, and Iran as well,
remain outside the World Trade Organization (WTO) -- so Middle Eastern
export priorities receive little consideration in global trade
negotiations. The net result is growing economic misery for growing
numbers of people.
It doesn't have to be that way. Since 1999, Jordan has sharply cut
tariffs and other trade barriers, launched an economic integration
project with Israel, and completed a full free trade agreement with
the United States. The results are impressive. In the past two years
alone, Jordan's exports to the United States have risen tenfold, and
more than 25,000 jobs have been created. American workers have also
benefited from these new economic opportunities.
For the sake of their people, other governments in the Muslim world
need to follow Jordan's lead. We in the United States can help them do
that by inviting them back to the global economic table. We should
encourage Muslim nations to embrace more open economies so that they
can join the WTO. That would both spur further reform of their trade
policies and help them succeed in export industries.
Just as the Clinton administration helped Jordan, Oman, and Bahrain
enter the WTO, the Bush administration should follow through with some
of the larger economies in the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia, for
example, applied to join the WTO in 1993, and we should actively
support that effort in concert with Saudi Arabian economic reforms.
In Congress, we can help by adopting additional trade preference
programs for countries that prove themselves to be good global
citizens, including duty-free treatment and freedom from quotas for
certain goods. We passed a trade preference law for the countries of
Africa in 2000 and it's working to help that part of the developing
world control its own economic destiny.
3. Building a New and More Vigorous Public Diplomacy.
Just as vital to the future as a freer flow of goods and services is a
freer flow of information. In the Cold War, we understood that opening
markets and opening minds go hand in hand. We have to understand that
now as well.
Regrettably, in many Muslim-majority countries, governments allow
their citizens minimal access to news and information from outside and
filter what news is made available. And official state-controlled
media outlets are often brimming with inflammatory anti-American
rhetoric. The result, not surprisingly, is a distorted understanding
of the world -- especially of the United States -- and too many people
willing to embrace anti-American conspiracy theories.
The United States can and must fill this information gap -- and
fortunately, we've begun to make some progress in doing exactly that.
Together with the United Kingdom, we are better coordinating the
messages we disseminate in the Muslim world so that people can have
the opportunity to absorb a more balanced view of world events. The
2002 budget as passed by the House and Senate included $21.5 million
for a new 24-hour news and entertainment radio service aimed at young
listeners in the Middle East. We must also make clear to our many
allies in the Muslim world that we will no longer close our eyes and
ears to the anti-American propaganda in their state-run media and
state-sponsored mosques and madrasses.
Since the end of the Cold War, we've sold short many critical tools of
public diplomacy. The United States Information Agency was eliminated,
and State Department posts around the world have reduced the general
public's walk-in access and closed the lending libraries that once
stood open to all visitors. The United States Foreign Service, which
represents the most significant official American presence overseas,
has also been underfunded. We need to think and work long and hard
about how to better convey our values not only to opinion leaders and
elites, but to the people at large in the public square.
Young people tend to be the first to open their minds to new ideas and
perspectives. That's why foreign exchange programs that bring students
from the Muslim world to the United States to work, study or live must
not become another victim of September 11th. Here at Georgetown --
where over 2,000 people from more than 130 foreign countries study,
research, and teach -- you know how valuable student exchanges are in
opening the world to American strengths and values, and in opening
Americans to the strengths and values of other countries and cultures.
4. Reconceptualizing Foreign Aid.
Money is the last part of the equation, and an important one. Helping
Afghanistan rebuild itself will require substantial foreign aid and
investment. We'll have support from our coalition partners throughout
Europe, Asia and the world -- in fact, they'll contribute more than 75
percent -- and ultimately their future will be up to the Afghan people
themselves, but the United States must play a central role.
We need to work together to get this right, because the fate of the
people of Afghanistan will be the first test of American involvement
in the civil war of beliefs and behaviors I have described that is now
being waged in the Muslim world.
We already provide hundreds of millions of dollars per year to nations
throughout the Muslim world. In each case, we now have to ask, are the
people there benefiting? And are attitudes toward America improving?
It's time to take a hard look at how we spend this money -- where we
might want to make strategic new investments, and cut out old, failing
ones. That's something I will speak to in more detail in the weeks
ahead.
But for now let me say that may mean re-targeting funds toward better
public education systems, stronger public health infrastructures, more
independent media outlets controlled by citizens and not the state,
and reinforcement of the basic civic values of tolerance, equality and
opportunity throughout these societies.
CONCLUSION
Islam is a great religion, one of the three great monotheistic faiths.
It is linked closely to the Judeo-Christian tradition which most
Americans follow in its belief in one God, its reverence for much of
the same Biblical and prophetic history, and its humane values.
The duty to "commend good and reprimand evil" is one of the core
obligations of Islam. It should also be at the core of our relations
with the Islamic world. Since September 11th, the United States has
been working hard to reprimand evil with a fierce and focused military
campaign.
Over the long term, the fight for American security will require a
parallel campaign to commend good by supporting freedom, tolerance,
democracy, and prosperity throughout the Muslim world. That is the
best way to prevent a new theological iron curtain from falling
between Islam and the rest of the world, suffocating the lives of
millions of Muslims behind it and providing a base for terrorist
attacks against us.
The historian Edward Gibbon wrote that, "The greatest success of
Mohammed's life was effected by sheer moral force without the stroke
of a sword." So too will the greatest success of this long and noble
struggle against terrorism by us and our Islamic allies be effected by
moral force -- through the consistent application of our shared
values. I am confident that together we will rise to meet that
challenge and to seize that opportunity.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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