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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Washington File

25 April 2003

Powell Tells Iraqi People U.S. is Proud To Be Their Partner

(Says new institutions and leadership should serve all Iraqis) (1580)
Speaking directly to the Iraqi people on April 24, Secretary of State
Colin Powell assured them that the Baath Party's "evil leadership" was
over. He underscored the U.S. commitment to helping the Iraqi people
build government institutions "that will serve the people and not
serve a dictator."
Powell told listeners that the United States was proud to serve as a
partner to the Iraqi people in the post-war period. His broadcast was
carried on Free Iraq TV and Radio Sawa, a U.S.-funded media initiative
to reach the Iraqi people following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's
media apparatus.
Stability and security were now key objectives of coalition forces in
Iraq, he said, noting that coalition forces would be working in
conjunction with free Iraqi fighters and Iraqi police "that are slowly
being built, without the old regime being on top of these police
forces."
"And as we do this rebuilding of institutions -- security
institutions, police institutions, the various ministries of
government -- we will also be developing new leadership within Iraq,"
he said, highlighting the openness of this process and U.S. desire to
see leadership emerge from all parts of Iraq's diverse social fabric.
When Iraqi institutions develop the staff, resources and authority to
function as a "full government," Powell told listeners that, "the
United States will say, 'Well, we've finished our job here, it's time
to go home.'"
While Iraqis are focused on creating the institutions they need and
want, Powell noted the United States would ensure Iraq's territorial
integrity. "Our goal is to make sure there is one Iraq, not three
Iraqs, not four Iraqs, and preserve the territorial integrity of Iraq
as we know Iraq today."
Following is the full text of Secretary Powell's interview with Free
Iraq TV and Radio Sawa:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
April 24, 2003
INTERVIEW
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
On Free Iraq TV/Radio Sawa with Mouafac Harb
April 24, 2003
Washington, D.C.
(1:15 p.m. EDT)
MR. HARB:  Thank you for your time, Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY POWELL:  Thank you very much.
MR. HARB:  Do you want to start with a message for the --
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, first of all, let me say how very pleased I am
to be on this program, and especially for the first time to have an
opportunity to speak directly to the Iraqi people and to let them know
how proud we are to be their partners now in this post-liberation
period where they are free. And they will find that the coalition
forces that are there are there to help them, to help them build new
lives, to rebuild the infrastructure of their country, to put in place
new ministries that will serve them, to make sure that their oil
wealth is used by them, for them.
And so this is a great, great effort that we are embarked upon now,
and General Franks and General Garner are committed to the task of
helping the Iraqi people put in place a democratic government that
will now serve the people and not serve a dictator.
MR. HARB: Thank you. Mr. Secretary, today, the Iraqi armed forces are
either destroyed or neutralized. The Baath Party is out of power, at
least for the time being. The leadership of that party is either on
the run or maybe some of them are under ground or something, or in
custody. What is next for the Iraqis?
SECRETARY POWELL: I think what we have to do now is to stabilize the
country and provide security for the people, and that's what coalition
forces will be doing with free Iraqi fighters and police forces that
are slowly being rebuilt, without the old regime being on top of these
police forces.
And as we do this rebuilding of institutions -- security institutions,
police institutions, the various ministries of government -- we will
also be developing new leadership within Iraq. The meetings that we'll
be holding around the country under the direction of Ambassador
Khalilzad, the President's Special Envoy, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker
from the State Department will be for the purpose of letting each
region identify its own leaders, as well as integrating those who had
been in external opposition and are now returning to the country to
help in the rebuilding process.
So the Baath Party evil leadership, all of those are responsible for
the devastation of Iraq over the last 20 years. They're all gone and
they will be replaced by leaders who have been selected by the people
of Iraq, not by the United States and not by anyone else. The Iraqi
people now are free to choose their own leaders. And we will help them
in the process of creating a democratic system.
MR. HARB: Some critics in the Arab region, or to some extent sometimes
in Washington, are saying that Washington in not interested in really
true democracy in Iraq, but rather a system that is moderate, similar
to the neighboring countries' ruling system. How would you respond to
that?
SECRETARY POWELL: It's simply an incorrect charge. If you see what we
have been doing, we have been in touch with leaders throughout Iraq.
General Garner is going to be spending the next several weeks meeting
with different groups of leaders, whether they are engineers or
doctors and educators, to get their ideas. Ambassador Khalilzad and
Ambassador Crocker will be holding political meetings on a regional
basis, not for the purpose of going into a meeting with 50 leaders and
saying, "You're the leader, you're in charge," but to allow those 50
leaders, or 100, or however many people gather, to discuss among
themselves the hopes and aspirations they have for Iraq; and then from
that group, people start saying, "I trust this man and I want him to
be one of the leaders of the new interim Iraqi authority."
And from that interim Iraqi authority, the coalition will help develop
it, help put it in place, and we will slowly give authority to it as
it demonstrates its ability to handle that authority. And it will
ultimately grow into a full government, and when that day comes and
the full government is up and functioning with all of its institutions
intact, the United States will say, "Well, we've finished our job
here, it's time to go home."
MR. HARB: It sounds like a process that part of the world is not
familiar with in terms of selecting its leaders. Are you under any
pressure from the neighboring countries to ease down a little bit of
this democratic process?
SECRETARY POWELL: No, no. We've made it clear to the neighboring
countries that this is what it's all about. And there is experience. I
mean, Turkey is a Muslim country that has a democratic system.
Pakistan, after years of difficulty, is now on a firm footing and a
path to a democratic system with a new prime minister and a new
parliament. And so just because one is in an Arab country or one is
practicing the Muslim faith, to suggest that therefore you are denied
the benefits of democracy, I think is a false -- it's a false choice.
Democracy can coexist with any faith.
MR. HARB: Today, Iraq doesn't have representation at the United
Nations or in any international arena. And as you know, a lot of
border disputes between Iraq and some of its neighbor countries. Are
you willing to push for a resolution at the United Nations or even
make a commitment that the territorial integrity of Iraq is preserved
by the coalition forces?
SECRETARY POWELL: We have made that clear from the very beginning. The
President has said in almost every statement he's ever given on the
subject that our goal is to make sure there is one Iraq, not three
Iraqs, not four Iraqs, and preserve the territorial integrity of Iraq
as we know Iraq today. And whether or not this gets put into a
resolution or not, we will see as we move forward. But it certainly is
a strong principle that we are following.
MR. HARB: Some of the footage that we are seeing from Iraq looks a
little bit like the early days of the Iranian Revolution. Are you
concerned about the Iranian -- growing Iranian influence in Iraq?
SECRETARY POWELL: We are watching it and we have expressed to the
Iranians our concern that while people are expressing their views
among the Shiite community in the southern part of the country
especially, and we know that there's some movement in from Iran, we
would not like to see Iran try to get undue influence and essentially
start inserting its own agenda onto Iraq. Iraq must be for Iraqis, not
Iranians. That's what territorial integrity means.
MR. HARB:  Would you oppose a Shia leader in Iraq?
SECRETARY POWELL: It's up the Iraqi people. It's not up to the United
States. We expect that the kind of government that we would like to
see, and we believe the Iraqi people would like to see, would allow
any one of the various groups in Iraq to compete in the open place of
democracy and become elected the president or the prime minister of a
new Iraq.
MR. HARB:  Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY POWELL:  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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