13 August 2003
Armitage Notes Critical, Global Role Played by Australia
Armitage's August 13 remarks to Asia Society Forum in Sydney
Australia is increasingly "a critical player on the world stage," says Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
In a speech delivered August 13 to an Asia Society Forum in Sydney, Armitage said Australian leadership "will be essential," especially in the area of counterterrorism.
Australian leadership "both in terms of military contributions and reconstruction aid has been important to reversing the fortunes of Afghanistan," Armitage said.
Australia is also a leader in ongoing regional efforts to find ways to combat the trade in prohibited weapons and materials, he added.
In discussing Iraq, Armitage said he had "absolute confidence" that evidence of Saddam Hussein's programs to develop weapons of mass destruction will be uncovered.
"Indeed, the fact that it has taken us this long to find the evidence is a chilling reminder that these programs are far too easy to move, and I believe far too easy to hide," he said.
"It's going to take some time to find not just the weapons, but the equipment and the people and the materials that made up this program," Armitage continued.
"President Bush has made it crystal clear that we don't intend to stay in Iraq any longer than is necessary, but I will make it crystal clear to you today that we are not going to leave until we find and destroy Iraq's capability to produce biological, chemical and nuclear weapons," Armitage said.
Following is a transcript of Armitage's August 13 remarks:
(begin transcript)
TRANSCRIPT: RICHARD ARMITAGE REMARKS TO ASIA SOCIETY FORUM
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
13 AUGUST 2003
RICHARD ARMITAGE: Mr. Drummond, thanks so much for your kindness. And, ladies and gentlemen, thanks to you for in a very real way, as far as I'm concerned, allowing me to come home. I have been coming to Australia I think every year since 1967 at least once, and it means a lot to me to be able to be here and be amongst you, as we say where I grew up in Georgia, and I'm grateful.
Let me also express my admiration and respects to the member for Brand, Mr. Kim Beazley, my friend of almost 20 years now, Andrew Peacock and Bob Cotton, Sir Robert Cotton, fantastic ambassadors to Washington, and of course Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull. I'm delighted to be in your company as well.
Now, Mr. Drummond, you were very kind in your introduction. It was quite laudatory, almost laudatory enough to pass for a eulogy. I want to assure you, sir, and ladies and gentlemen, that rumors of my demise and for that matter Secretary Powell's demise are greatly exaggerated. In fact, we've got an eight-letter word to describe those rumors, and I'll leave it to your imagination. People are counting on their fingers. The word is nonsense, of course, and I knew you'd -- allow me also to express some words of gratitude for the opportunity to be here with you all today, and I thank Dick Woolcott for his kind invitation.
Now, Dick of course is well known in Washington circles in which I now travel. He's been described as, let me get this right, adventurous, irreverent, scornful of authority, with a reckless and a self-destructive streak, and that's just in his autobiography. By all accounts, however, and I can guarantee this, he's a wise and a gracious interlocutor on international affairs in general and Australia's place in the world in particular. And I've long enjoyed the benefit of Dick's views, whether it's through the Australian-American leadership dialogue or during your distinguished service with the Australian government. Now, I say I've benefited from the views. I've quite often disagreed with those views, but we've enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.
As I've said, I'm delighted to be back in Australia. Confident, clever, sunburnt, but whatever label you call [it] this country is a compelling place. Increasingly, as far as I'm concerned, a critical player on the world stage. Even if some Australians perhaps are uncomfortable seeing themselves in that particular light.
Yesterday I had a chat with Alexander Downer and I noted that Minister Downer had recently returned from the Solomon Islands, where he laid out the Australian vision for the future of that nation, Australia's vision developed in concert with a likeminded coalition of neighbors, which included New Zealand and Fiji and Tonga and Papua New Guinea. It's clearly based on respect for the people of the Solomons and the destiny that they want to see for themselves. But it is also a vision that is absolutely unapologetic about Australian leadership, and that makes sense when we consider the environment in which Australia is acting in this instance.
It is the nexus formed by the moral compulsion of human misery. The all too apparent post-October 12 need to prevent chaos and lawlessness, and the very feasibility of a resolution. Indeed the backdrop in the Solomons is similar when you look at the steps that Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States and the United States and other nations are now taking in another troubled place, Liberia.
The self-confidence of the Solomons action is an important signal of the Australia that exists today, but also of the reality that is emerging across Asia. Australia, like Japan, like China, like Korea and many of the ASEAN states, has interests to protect and advance. It requires a focus on regional challenges and regional opportunities. But today that regional role is often indivisible from a larger international profile. Australia, like other Asian nations, is a global power with a global role, and more to the point, with global responsibilities.
In that sense, U.S. policy in the Asia Pacific region is not just a question of who supports our interests in the war on terrorism, it is a question of who is willing to take action in support of their own interests across a range of concerns. And so U.S. policy in this region is a constructive vision, one that sees a stabilizing Asian engagement in great global flux of our time.
This is a vision that extends to discreet partnership, it extends to longtime friends, and it most certainly extends to treaty allies. And, of course, Australia is a solid ally, but also a partner and a good mate of the United States. Asian in geography, Western by tradition, but global in scope. Australia shares a deep common character with my country. Of course it's based on the ties of history and culture, political values and demography. I believe, however, it is the twin ties of prospective and action that most bind us together today. This is as true today as it was throughout the past century, when Americans and Australians so often stood together in freedom's defense.
I believe that we're going to break new ground in seizing the positive links between our nations with a free trade agreement, which President Bush has ordered us to do our absolute utmost to complete by the end of the year. Now, this agreement has the potential to deliver significant benefits to both our countries, including the areas of property rights and agriculture, as well as benefits to the wider Asia Pacific region, through the new trade and investment it will generate. Indeed, we would hope to use this agreement as well as the agreement we have with Singapore as a model of free trade arrangements in the region, and of course we're going to continue to work closely to promote multilateral trade liberalization through the World Trade Organization.
For China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, I believe that their behavior as states with global economic reach has perhaps now outpaced their behavior as states with global political reach. For all the Asian players, however, it is fair to say that this international system in which your fortunes are now so deeply vested is yours to protect and defend. Challenges such as terrorism, HIV/AIDS, trafficking in narcotics, trafficking in persons, and yes, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, these are challenges for us all. And this is the reality which Australia has long recognized.
Now, there is no question that there will not be 100 percent overlap in interests between any collection of partners, of friends, or even allies, and that is quite understandable. We all want to do what is right in the world, but we all have to do right by our people, and that will always involve some selectivity.
When it comes to terrorism, however, after September 11 and October 12, I think most of the international community saw a clear, self-interest in cooperation. After all, the terrorists espouse an ideology of destruction, and they aren't particular about just whom they kill. It's not just Americans and Australians who have been slaughtered by al Qaeda and affiliates, but hundreds of Filipinos, Kenyans, Moroccans, Saudis and Tanzanians. Citizens of more than 90 nations died in the World Trade Center alone.
And, again, as we saw so horribly in downtown Jakarta last week, far too many Indonesians have lost their lives at the hands of extremists. But Indonesians have much more to lose in this battle, including their sense of security, their sense of confidence in the future. This is a time when the world community needs to help restore Indonesia's faith in itself. Certainly by cooperating in counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts, but also by engaging across the board, in particular by helping this country along the road to economic and to political reform, and in so doing, to deny the terrorists the safe haven they often seek in misfortune and in turmoil. Without a doubt, it will be Australian leadership which will be essential in this regard.
It's a theme, isn't it -- Australian leadership. Indeed, Australian leadership, both in terms of military contributions and reconstruction aid has been important to reversing the fortunes of Afghanistan and rescuing what was little more than a burnt out shell of a state from the thugs and the terrorists who held it hostage. Indeed, some 90 nations have offered direct contributions to military operations in Afghanistan. As we've recently read, NATO in fact has just taken command of the International Stability Force in Afghanistan.
But a cross-section of Asian nations are also engaged. Japan has contributed military assets, as has the Republic of Korea, even though that nation is of course facing severe security concerns of her own at home. Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines have also offered military assistance, and China, for that matter, has not only provided reconstruction aid in Afghanistan, but has also proven to be a valuable partner in counterterrorism operations.
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Kabul and beyond in Afghanistan, and I can tell you that it will take that kind of global commitment to overcome the decades of war and deprivation. But I also saw something remarkable when I was there. Everywhere you looked, even in the most devastated sections of West Kabul, there are signs of industry and signs of normal life, market stalls, tea stands, children playing soccer, women -- some in burkas, some not -- socializing in the streets.
Indeed, I think the resilience of the human infrastructure will continue to inspire us all as we work to build the physical infrastructure, which is going to take a long time and sustained interest from the United States and many other nations. And to that end, the United States has just announced new assistance of more than $1 billion for Afghanistan, in addition to leveraging contributions of other countries. And it is our hope that these funds will help support the new provincial reconstruction teams, the localized deployments that will be spreading out across the country to meet security and assistance needs in the main population centers. It's also our intention to open even more schools and rebuild more roads and more clinics and support more local police and armed forces among our priorities.
Of course, the human infrastructure of Iraq is proving somewhat less resilient at this point. And I suppose we shouldn't be surprised at that. Rogue regime is a very catchy label, but I don't think any of us had an idea what it really meant in practice. Murder, thievery, rape, brutality, torment: these were the actual tools of governance and statecraft in the regime of Saddam Hussein, for 35 years. Thirty-five years, three times longer than Adolf Hitler ruled Germany. The distortion of Iraqi society has been generational and profound, and fear in the heart of all Iraqis is deeply embedded and it's going to take some time to recover and to rebuild, the impatient eye of the TV camera notwithstanding.
I think it is fair to say that the majority of Iraqis today want to press forward towards a better future, but there are those hardcore Baathist elements, the foreign fighters who have joined them who have a great deal of blood on their hands. I suppose it is understandable that they are doing anything they can to sabotage the process, to sabotage the progress. That this would be at the expense of the Iraqi people should come as no surprise. Mass graves we're finding across that country offer an extraordinarily powerful witness to their lethal lack of concern for the lives of Iraqis.
But even with all the troubling news that continues to seep out of Baghdad and out of Iraq, there are encouraging changes on the ground, and Australia has done much to make that happen. Certainly with the professionalism of your military forces, but also through the ongoing service of numerous civilians, including those who are providing key oversight of Iraq's Ministry of Agriculture. More than 45 nations have offered cooperation or support for military operations, including troops from more than a dozen nations who fought alongside the Americans, the Australians and the British.
Today more than 30 nations are providing troops and assets for stabilization operations, and most significantly to me of all when you look at this region, Japan is looking into contributing assets to that effort. Thirty-six nations have pledged or contributed reconstruction assistance, a number that counts some $60 million from Australia and more than $100 million from Japan. Now, I know that's a lot of numbers to throw at you. But they add up to a situation in Iraq that is, in fact, stabilizing. Of course, there's a difference yet to travel. There's no question the people of Iraq are anxious to have their country back for themselves and to see it a better place. Indeed, that is what every nation involved in this coalition wants to see.
To date we have avoided any humanitarian crisis or large movements or flows of refugees. There is enough to eat, thanks to significant shipments of aid. And all of the country's hospitals are now open. Twenty-two universities in Baghdad were not only opened but completed their school year. The lights are going on across Iraq. And we intend not only to bring power generation and water quality back to pre-war levels as soon as possible, but to repair and to upgrade those systems to the point that they are much better and much more reliable than they have been in decades.
And while the new Iraqi governing council is an important development, representative government really has to grow at the local level. And so for us who are involved in this in a day-to-day way, it's very encouraging that all the major cities in Iraq now have city councils. Eighty-five percent of the towns in Iraq have town councils. Iraqi police are beginning to patrol Iraqi streets, and training has started for a new Iraqi army.
Indeed, if we look back to historical precedent, these developments are happening in a fraction of the time it took to reach comparable developments in Germany or Japan after the Second World War. And, of course, those two nations had the benefit of homogeneity in their society. They were not the polyglot that makes up Iraq. So while I won't stand here and pretend to you that the situation is perfect. There are obvious immediate security challenges in some parts of the country and reconstruction shortfalls in other parts of the country. But with this sort of cooperation of nations, there is every reason to believe that Iraq will emerge from its season in hell and that the lives of all Iraqis will improve dramatically.
Now, I don't want to leave this podium without addressing something that has aroused a great deal of concern here and in my country, and that is the fact that we have not yet found enough evidence of Saddam Hussein's programs to develop weapons of mass destruction. We will. I have absolute confidence about that. Indeed, the fact that it has taken us this long to find the evidence is a chilling reminder that these programs are far too easy to move, and I believe far too easy to hide.
Consider, for example, that UNSCOM was only able to confirm the existence of a biological warfare program that Saddam Hussein claimed not to have after years of inspections, because a high level defector walked in and gave them the evidence. Dr David Kay was part of the original UN inspection team, and today he is back in Iraq working for us, continuing the search. He's making solid progress in finding the evidence of Saddam Hussein's WMD program. But he's also finding that deception and concealment were an extensive and embedded part of the program perfected over the course of two decades. It's going to take some time to find not just the weapons, but the equipment and the people and the materials that made up this program.
President Bush has made it crystal clear that we don't intend to stay in Iraq any longer than is necessary, but I will make it crystal clear to you today that we are not going to leave until we find and destroy Iraq's capability to produce biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. One thing is very clear about Iraq, however, and that is that the world cannot afford to keep coming back to this point. For 12 years the international community could find no answer to a number of difficult challenges. How do we deal with a sovereign state which is led by a criminal, one who has little regard for his people, let alone for international law and international order? And in particular, most particularly, how do we deal with the determination of such a regime to acquire weapons of mass destruction? For us, just as for Australia, war is never going to be the preferred answer. But in the absence of any other solution, it will always have to be a consideration.
In the present environment, the international community needs to come up with a workable, muscular diplomatic answer to such unanswered challenges, and Asian states in this regard have an important role to play to come up with these answers. In no part is that clearer than in the question of North Korea. Again, as our Australian friends know all too well, we're talking about a repressive regime that is supporting itself in the main through criminal activities, trade in weapons and drugs most particularly.
This alone has a destabilizing effect across the region, and we have to take into consideration the more recent North Korean nuclear threats. The United States has tried a variety of solutions to this situation, including some creative bilateral mechanisms, everything short of military action, but thus far to no avail. It is only now, through the concerted effort of nations, and of Asian nations in particular, that we are beginning to see some progress. And indeed, I think we can say that anything that can be accomplished in the region can and will be accomplished more effectively with the active participation of the People's Republic of China, and movement towards a peaceful resolution with North Korea is a powerful case in point.
Of course, we've also made it clear to the North Koreans that we plan to consult with our allies and our partners regardless of who is actually sitting at the table in the multilateral setting, and so we will continue to look to Australia for guidance in this matter. At the same time, we will also continue to explore other effective means for dealing with the proliferation challenges from North Korea, Iran, or any other country who chooses to export or collect materials in defiance of the system of international controls. And this is going to have to include novel means for dealing with such transfers, such as the new Proliferation Security Initiative.
That 11 nation -- thus far-- initiative is looking at what nations can do to strengthen the interdiction of trade and prohibited weapons and materials. Australia has already been a leader in that ongoing discussion, and next month will play host to the first naval exercise aimed at developing such capabilities.
Now, when you think about it, ladies and gentlemen, there's a tremendous irony in this. Think of it. Australian and American forces will be training together in the Coral Sea, exploring the horizon line of new possibilities for our partnership, with the participation of Japan, with the participation of Italy, and with the participation of Germany as well. All over a great reef of memory, made of the skeletal hulls of ships and planes lost in the Second World War. And at the same time, Australian and South Pacific forces will be in the Solomon Islands, helping to keep peace in the places where some of that war's most fierce battles once raged.
Indeed, in just two days' time we're going to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II. But that terrible, destructive battle was also the beginning of a special relationship between our two nations. At a time when much of the Australian military was in the Middle East and in Europe, defending allied interests, U.S. forces came here to defend Australia. We joined together then to protect our national security, but also to protect regional stability and to build a global system based on peace and prosperity.
We join together today for much the same purpose. I believe there will be a great continuity in our cause, forged out of the bones of our grandfathers and the blood of our children as we move forward into this millennium. Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very, very much.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=August&x=20030813112903esromj0.1049616&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
