20 May 2003
U.S. Works on New Security Council Resolution for Iraq
(Grossman hopes Russia, Germany, France will offer support) (1900) Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman said the United States is working with France, Russia, Germany and other members of the international community on a U.N. Security Council resolution for Iraq. "We are working very hard in New York to see if we can come up with a resolution that would make more regular the lives of Iraqis, and make more free the lives of Iraqis," Grossman said in an interview with Kuwaiti Television May 16. "We hope France with Germany and Russia will take a look at this UN Security Council resolution and we hope they can vote for it," Grossman said. Secretary of State Colin Powell has been talking with the Russian, German and French leaders to remind them of their important relations with the United States. France, Germany and Russia opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that removed the regime of Saddam Hussein. Grossman said the appointment of Jerry Bremer as the U.S. envoy to Iraq marks the transition from the military phase to the civilian phase of liberation. Grossman said the first administrator for Iraq, retired General Jay Garner, did a spectacular job immediately after the toppling of Hussein. "[W]hat he has done in the two or three weeks he has been in Iraq is spectacular -- more Iraqis today have electricity than they did during the time of Saddam; elementary schools opened yesterday; secondary schools, next week; universities, the week after that," Grossman said. The under secretary said gradually the liberation forces are bringing more and more people from the Hussein regime into custody. He added that members from the former Ba'ath regime will have no place in the future of Iraq. Grossman said in the future he thinks the world community will say that the United States and its allies did the right thing in Iraq. "We left it better than we found it, and the Iraqi people are now liberated," Grossman said. Following is the transcript of Grossman's interview with Kuwaiti Television May 16: (begin transcript) Interview by Kuwaiti TV Marc Grossman, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Washington, DC May 16, 2003 QUESTION: Mr. Grossman, the United States is trying to issue a new resolution through the United Nations. We heard that it might have a little bit of a different language to gain the consent required to pass it through the United Nations and make a step forward to lift the sanctions of Iraq, post-war Iraq. UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: First of all, let me thank you very much for the chance to be with you and to thank you -- and through you, the people of Kuwait, and the government of Kuwait -- for the great solidarity that we have had over these past few months. You're exactly right. We are working very hard in New York to see if we can come up with a resolution that would make more regular the lives of Iraqis, and make more free the lives of Iraqis. And, yes, absolutely, we proposed a resolution last Friday. There have been a couple of meetings in the United Nations at experts level and ambassadorial level, and people have had some very good suggestions. And so I hope that the resolution that we had proposed formally to the United Nations, along with our British and our Spanish friends, will take into account a lot of these views. And I hope as many people as possible will vote for it because it would be a real triumph if at the end of this war the United Nations Security Council would come back together and pass this resolution. QUESTION: Mr. Grossman, perhaps, you can enlighten us, in reference to Secretary Powell's trip and his meetings, with his counterparts in Europe. How far do you have consents from major countries that led the opposition to the war or the United States' war led in Iraq, like France, like Germany, like Russia -- how far are we with those countries in respect to the relationship? UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: In terms of the relationship, in general, certainly, France and Germany are great NATO allies of the United States. Nobody should pretend that we didn't have a big disagreement with those countries. But I think as you saw, Secretary Powell is in Germany today, talking to Chancellor Schroeder and to Foreign Minister Fischer, and trying to remind people in Germany of the many, many things that we have in common. And I think we will work on that. With France, we have a very good conversation; the Secretary talks to his French counterpart. We will be going next week to a meeting of G-8 Foreign Ministers in Paris. Again, I don't think we should pretend that nothing happened over the past two or three months, but we are trying to remind people that we have important relations. And with Russia, Secretary Powell was in Russia yesterday. I think, as you have seen, and the Kuwaiti people have seen, we have a lot of work to do with the Russians. We hope France with Germany and Russia will take a look at this UN Security Council resolution and we hope they can vote for it. QUESTION: Okay. Lately, the administration decided to appoint Paul Bremer, and we heard rumors about Garner's end, his end to the work, his work ending in Baghdad and him coming back, and also his team. They have started to come to the United States and end their terms in Baghdad, although we expected this shift from military to civilian, but it took place a lot sooner. Can you comment on that please? UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Sure, I'd be glad to. First of all, I think we always saw this in phases, that there would be a military phase, and then there would be a civilian phase. I think the President's appointment of Ambassador Bremer is a very important part of our effort to really free and liberate the Iraqi people, now not just from Saddam Hussein, but to live their own lives. I think you can see this rotation that's happening among our people in Baghdad is a perfectly normal thing. Don't forget that at the end of conflict, we took people from jobs they were already doing or we diverted them from jobs they were going to and we said, "Quick, get out to Iraq. Go to Kuwait first, then go to Baghdad and see what you can do." And we are now in a phase of trying to make this more regular, to have a structure out there, and we are very grateful for all of the State Department people and Defense Department people who went there. I would also say that I have nothing but the greatest admiration for the job that General Garner did. He served his country, he answered the call of the President, and I actually think he and Jerry Bremer are going to work together for some weeks there. And what he has done in the two or three weeks he has been in Iraq is spectacular -- more Iraqis today have electricity than they did during the time of Saddam; elementary schools opened yesterday; secondary schools, next week; universities, the week after that. There hasn't been any of that worry that we had before, when you and I have talked before. It's going to be a terrible humanitarian crisis, refugees all over the country, millions of people fleeing Iraq; none of those things have happened. Are there still problems? Yes. Are there still challenges that we have to face? Absolutely. But I think what Jay Garner and his people have done, and what Jerry Bremer is going to do will be a very great success for the Iraqi people. QUESTION: Talking about challenges in Iraq, this bring us to the newspapers lately that have been saying that figures from the Saddam regime are still apparently present, and they are still posing a great threat. What exactly did the United States have in stock for those? UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: We are trying obviously to bring people to justice. QUESTION: Okay. UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: And I know that there are these names, 45, or 55 or 57 names that we'd like to have brought to justice. And, as you can see, little by little by little, we are bringing more and more of those people into our custody. The other thing that Ambassador Bremer I know will be doing in the very near future is speaking very clearly about the fact that the people from the former Baath regime have no place in the future of Iraq. And I think for people in Kuwait, that would be a very reassuring statement. Now, we don't want to just recreate the old regime. We want to create a regime of democracy and liberation, which I think would be very good for Kuwait and very good for all of the neighbors. QUESTION: Mr. Grossman, finally, a final question. UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Please. QUESTION: Objections surrounding military presence of the United States in Iraq, and how long will this presence continue is louder now all over the world? Can you tell us what does the administration think about that? And I know that the shift already done from the military to the civilian and trying to form the government of the opposition inside and outside Baghdad is going in formation right now. UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: With respect, I actually think that around the world people were very impressed with the speed with which the United States and its coalition partners liberated Iraq. And, in fact, I think people are calling actually for more engagement because security is still a very important issue. And, as Secretary Rumsfeld said yesterday, more troops will be going to Iraq, and especially military policemen. So I think, actually, people are calling for us to meet our responsibilities in the area of security and we will meet those responsibilities. But we will also be meeting them with other countries. For example, we have asked our British allies and our Polish allies to head divisions to be involved in the security and stability of Iraq. So we will meet our responsibilities to security. What our President has said is, is that we want to stay in Iraq as long as it takes and not one day longer. And I think that's a very important philosophy. Because if we just go there and we leave and nothing gets satisfactorily created, well, it's bad for Kuwait and bad for the other neighbors. And so we are working on the politics of this, we are working on the reconstruction, we are working on the security. And I think in the end of this, the world community, and I hope people in Kuwait, will say that the United States of America and its allies, very much including Kuwait, did the right thing in Iraq. We left it better than we found it, and the Iraqi people are now liberated. QUESTION: Mr. Grossman, thank you so much for your time. UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Thank you. QUESTION: And thanks for your efforts to speak to the Kuwaiti people and make them understand the views of the administration right now. UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: It's my honor. (end transcript) (Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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