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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Washington File

07 April 2003

Armitage: New Iraqi Government Will Be "of, for, and by Iraqis"

(Deputy Secretary Armitage's interview with CNNI April 7) (2080)
Following is the transcript of Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage and Ralitsa Vasiliva of CNNI April 7:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
April 7, 2003
INTERVIEW
Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage With Ralitsa Vasiliva of
CNNI
April 7, 2003
Washington, D.C.
(9:15 a.m. EDT)
MS. VASILIVA:  Mr. Armitage, thank you very much for joining us.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE:  Thank you very much.
MS. VASILIVA: Well, what those talks are expected to focus on is very
much the timing. When will a new Iraqi administration be declared?
What can you tell us about how soon that will be declared?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I think events on the ground will dictate
the pace of any such declaration. Clearly, as our major coalition
partner, along with Australia, Great Britain has strong views, and our
President will be delighted to discuss them with Mr. Blair at
Hillsborough Castle.
MS. VASILIVA: Would that be even before President Saddam Hussein is
toppled, or will the United States wait for that?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, it occurs to me that we're seeing the
last violent gasp of a dying regime now. In theory, it's not necessary
to have 100 percent of the country free to set up an interim Iraqi
authority. But these are things, as I say, will be dictated by the
pace of events on the ground. I think from this distance, right today,
it's difficult to predict.
MS. VASILIVA: What will it take for the United States to declare that
administration?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, the United States is not going to
declare it. That's the first thing. No coalition members are. This is
going to have to be a government of, for and by Iraqis. Now, certainly
as we move forward, the interim Iraqi authority would, and leaders of
such an authority, would be developed in consultation with coalition
members. But if we put our thumb on the scale, if we tried to dictate
who will be the leader, even in the interim phase of Iraq, we may
fail, and that would be a terrible tragedy after all this blood and
treasure has been expended.
MS. VASILIVA: I'm sorry to interrupt. You say the United States will
be deciding that, but the United States will initially set up an
administration, which will be governed by Lieutenant General Jay
Garner and he will also be -- he will also have a civilian
administration. He will put in charge Americans who will be guiding
the ministries of Iraq -- a civilian administration.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, first of all, coalition members will
also be part of General Garner's mission, and you're right, we're
going to have senior advisors to various ministries. But in the
initial days, the task of General Garner is to provide initial goods
and services to the people of liberated Iraq, and that's where his
first concentration will be.
MS. VASILIVA: How long is General Garner expected to remain there,
remain in charge?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: General Garner's whole mission is to work
himself and his colleagues out of a job as quickly as possible. I
can't predict how many months. But we will be, along with coalition
partners, in close consultation with Iraqis, both free Iraqis and
those who have recently been liberated and those who have fought so
hard under the regime of Saddam Hussein for liberation. And I think
the leadership will be developed in consultation with us.
MS. VASILIVA: There have been differences as to what the makeup should
be, differences between the State Department and the Pentagon, with
the State Department wanting more Iraqi exiles like those from the
Iraqi National Congress to be included in running the country, while
the State Department has not been very supportive of that. Has that
been resolved, and who will be in that interim Iraqi authority?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I think this has been resolved. Clearly,
those who for 20 years in the diaspora worked hard for liberation have
a role to play in the future of Iraq, likewise those internal
oppositionists who fought and many cases suffered under Saddam
Hussein. But one thing is crystal clear, that the Iraq of the future
is going to have to have representative government which has Sunni and
Shi'a, which has -- takes into account and has representation of
Kurds, Turkomen, Chaldeans, Assyrians. And if we are able to develop
such a transparent government, I think there will be a good future for
Iraq.
MS. VASILIVA: Iraq does not have many traditions in democracy. Do you
think that democracy in the Western sense could work for Iraq? It has
had a culture based on tribal affinity, on ethnic, on religious
affinity. It's a very, very complex pattern of relations. How are you
going to manage that?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I think you're right, that there is exactly
a complex system of relationships. But it is our feeling that a basic
yearning for democracy, in whatever form -- and there are many forms
of democracy -- is something that is basic and inside of every human
being. Now, we will not be able, nor should we try, to dictate the
exact form or shape of that democracy.
MS. VASILIVA: Regarding, including the exiles, some analysts have said
that they might not be accepted by the Iraqi people who have lived
under the rule of Saddam Hussein. What are your thoughts on that?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, my thoughts are that time will tell.
They certainly have a lot to offer the future of Iraq, in many cases
great educations, strong views, and access, in some cases, to Western
ideas and capital. But it will be Iraqis themselves who determine who
is fit for future governance.
MS. VASILIVA: I wanted to ask you about the UN role. That is not
determined. It is a point of contention between Europe and the United
States. We expect the Prime Minister of Britain to ask President Bush
to give the United Nations a bigger role in and a bigger say in
governing the country. What is the United States going to do about
that?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, Secretary Powell and President Bush
have both spoken with Kofi Annan in the last couple of days. I believe
the Prime Minister of Great Britain has, as well. There is no question
that there should be an appropriate role for the United Nations. I am
not sure that Secretary General Annan wants to inherit an entire
nation to run, but cutting out the -- or developing the appropriate
role for the United Nations is exactly the type of thing that the
President and the Prime Minister are discussing.
MS. VASILIVA: Why not use the Afghan model, where you have a
discussion, you have a UN umbrella, you have a United Nations officer
running the country, you have Iraqis themselves deciding who will
govern them?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, Afghan is a model and Kosovo is
another model. East Timor is another. But Iraq resembles none of those
three. Iraq was a state and is a state. It's not a failed state like
Afghanistan, it's not a new state like East Timor, and it's not a
non-state like Kosovo. So it will have its own unique attributes. And
a lot of the agencies of the United Nations have a very fine role to
play and we'll, as we move forward, develop that role.
MS. VASILIVA: But is it going to be strictly a humanitarian role for
the United Nations, or will it be more? Will it be included in
governing the country?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I think these are questions that will
be decided as we move forward. If an Iraqi interim authority is stood
up quickly and well by Iraqis themselves, then perhaps there's a
lesser role for all of us.
MS. VASILIVA: What about seeking a new UN resolution authorizing this
new administration? We have the British Foreign Secretary saying that
-- Jack Straw saying that Britain favors going back to the United
Nations Security Council seeking a new resolution to give this
mandate.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, we have one resolution featuring the
Oil-for-Food program which passed 15-0 in the Security Council.
Clearly, there will be other resolutions as we move forward. And as I
say, this is what our leaders are discussing in Hillsborough Castle.
MS. VASILIVA: But how important is it for the United States to have
this UN mandate for a new post-war administration for Iraq?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, we would like to UN to really endorse
the coalition activities. That's quite clear. But it was the coalition
members themselves who shed their blood and expended their treasure to
liberate Iraq, and clearly the coalition members have to have the
dominant say, at least at the outset.
MS. VASILIVA: We have the French President Jacques Chirac saying that
France will not support any resolution which legitimizes the military
intervention or allows the belligerents to take control of Iraq.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, as I say, we're not interested in
taking control. We want to turn over authority to an interim Iraqi
authority as soon as possible. I can't comment much on Mr. Chirac's
comments. He hasn't been for much of late involving the United Nations
Security Council.
MS. VASILIVA: I want to turn our attention to an issue that is very
important to Arab countries, Arab governments, Arab people, and that
is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. When is the roadmap for peace
between the Israelis and Palestinians going to be announced?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: First of all, of course, Mr. Blair and Mr.
Bush will be discussing that as one of their three major topics.
Second, that we've said from the beginning that once Abu Mazen stands
up a government and is confirmed, the conditions are ripe to publish
or to distribute the roadmap, and we hope to do that sooner rather
than later.
MS. VASILIVA: Israel wants some amendments to that roadmap. The
Palestinians say they have accepted it as is. What are your thoughts
on that? Is that roadmap to be accepted by both sides as is?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, we have said we welcome comments on
the roadmap, but we think the roadmap is basically done and the two
parties should spend their energies and intention talking to each
other about how to implement it and bring about the vision that
President Bush stressed on June 24th of two states living side by side
in peace and security.
MS. VASILIVA: I wanted to turn our attention to another concern,
specifically again in the Arab world. This "axis of evil" speech has
raised a lot of suspicion in the Arab world that -- and also in the
world in general, that once the United States has dealt with Iraq, it
will turn its attention to other countries like Iran, maybe Syria,
North Korea. Can you say that the United States will not continue to
pursue other countries?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, we believe the yearning for democracy
is a universal one and we will take every opportunity to try to put
our views on this forward. If your suggestion concerns military might,
the President has been -- or the use of military force -- the
President has been quite clear that it's not a one-size-fit-all
philosophy that he has, that we will engage in the power of ideas and
not necessarily will we use military force at every turn.
MS. VASILIVA: Specifically, I wanted to ask you about Syria. We had a
warning to the Syrians not to pass on materiel to the Iraqi military
-- that happened about a week ago -- that it would be considered a
hostile act if that continued. Quite a serious warning to Syria. What
was intended with that warning?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, there were certain materiels and
indeed foreign fighters who were attempting to enter Iraq from Syria.
We wanted to make it very clear that we were watching this and this
would not be something that passed unnoticed, unremarked upon, and if
they become military targets inside Iraq that they would be taken out.
And I think we've communicated this successfully to the Syrians. One
hopes so.
MS. VASILIVA: Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, thank you
very much for your time.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE:  Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)



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