12 April 2003
Powell Optimistic That Iraq Can Build on Existing Institutions
(April 11 interview with Tom Brokaw, NBC News) (760) Iraq must be purged of Saddam Hussein's cronies and Ba'ath Party leaders, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on April 11. "But this is a country with bureaucracies, with institutions that I think we can build on. It's not just starting from scratch," Powell stated in an interview with Tom Brokaw of NBC News. In response to a question about Ahmed Chalabi, chairman of the Iraqi National Congress, Powell said, "It's up to the Iraqis to decide who will be their leaders." Powell reiterated that, as President Bush has stated, the United Nations has a vital role to play in post-war Iraq, principally in humanitarian recovery. He noted that General Tommy Franks, the commander of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is already assessing peacekeeping and related needs for international assistance. Nevertheless, Powell added, it is the coalition countries that spent blood and treasure to liberate Iraq who should take the leading role in the transition to a new democratic Iraq. Following is a transcript of Secretary Powell's April 11 interview with Tom Brokaw of NBC News: (begin transcript)Department of State Office of the Press Secretary Interview by Tom Brokaw of NBC NewsSecretary Colin L. Powell Washington, D.C. April 11, 2003 SECRETARY POWELL: Remember, there are institutions in Iraq. What we have to do is purge them of Saddam Hussein's cronies and Ba'ath Party leaders and make sure we get rid of all the cancer. But this is a country with bureaucracies, with institutions that I think we can build on. It's not just starting from scratch. MR. BROKAW: If Ahmed Chalabi, who is the chairman of the Iraqi National Congress, the principal exile group, and a favorite of the Defense Department, is elected chair of the Iraqi interim authority, will that please you? SECRETARY POWELL: It's up to the Iraqis to decide who will be their leaders. Mr. Chalabi is well known. He has struggled. He has put his heart and soul into this fight for many, many, many years. MR. BROKAW: But you don't mean to suggest that the United States won't have real influence on how that is formed? SECRETARY POWELL: Of course we will have some influence on how this is formed. MR. BROKAW: Will the United Nations play a role in determining how that interim authority is organized and conducts itself? SECRETARY POWELL: As the President said in his remarks in Belfast, Northern Ireland, not too long ago when he met with Prime Minister Blair, the United Nations has a vital role to play, principally humanitarian activities. MR. BROKAW: But does vital role also mean peacekeeping troops and, in some codified form, a voice in the political organization of Iraq? SECRETARY POWELL: We have sent out requests to countries around the world to see what they would be interested in contributing, and General Franks and his team are now looking at what the need might be. And the U.N. might well have a role to play in that. But clearly, I believe that those nations that paid the political price and the price in blood and the price in treasure in order to create these circumstances where a new government, a new democratic government, can be created, I think we have an important leading role to play in the structure of this. MR. BROKAW: It sounds like you're saying, Mr. Secretary, to the United Nations, "Speak up, but we're not required to pay attention." SECRETARY POWELL: What we're saying to the United Nations is, "Speak up." We're not prepared to say, "Fine, this conflict has now come to some conclusion and we're all leaving and turning this over to the United Nations." MR. BROKAW: James Woolsey, who used to be the head of the CIA, is now an informal advisor to the Defense Department, said the other day that we are in a world war. Is that a fair assessment of the state of war that exists around the world led by the United States? SECRETARY POWELL: The war that the President focuses on and the war that's uppermost in his mind is the global campaign against terrorism. The President has been clear about this. This does not mean that we are looking for another place to invade. The President has many tools at his disposal -- political, economic, diplomatic and military and intelligence and law enforcement and the power of persuasion -- and now a new tool, the power of example. And that example will be Iraq. (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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