12 November 2005
Iraq Progressing Toward Democracy, Rice Affirms in Baghdad
Iraqis engaging in political process that will defeat terrorists, she says
By Howard Cincotta
Washington File Special Correspondent
Washington – Sunni engagement in Iraq's political process is one important sign of the nation's strengthening democracy, which ultimately will spell defeat for violent extremists, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared in series of interviews in Baghdad with U.S. and Arab news media November 11.
Speaking to Al-Iraqiya television, Rice said that what the terrorists fear most is a "Middle East in which their ideology of hatred will no longer thrive ... when Iraq claims its place as a democratic and stable country, where Iraqis are able to overcome their differences through democratic processes."
In an NBC interview, she said, "I think the Sunnis are now really getting integrated into the political process and that's a primary change."
Before traveling to Baghdad, Rice visited local leaders in Mosul and observed a combined civilian-military Provincial Reconstruction Team that will work closely with local communities to provide improved services and security. (See related article.)
In all her media interviews, Rice stressed the need for Iraqis to bridge their sectarian divisions through the framework of dialogue and democracy. "While we understand Sunni interests, Shia interests, Kurdish interests, other minority interests -- this has to be one Iraq and that's going to require reaching out across sectarian lines," Rice said to Fox News.
Rice said that, over the long term, Iraq could become a pillar of stability and democracy in a transformed Middle East in which freedom and hope can flourish.
The Iraqi people are "building a political future on the ruins of a tyranny," she said on ABC News. "It's not easy to move from tyranny to democracy. It's not easy to replace fighting out your differences through violence and coercion through overcoming your differences through political compromise and the political process, but that's exactly what they're doing."
Rice cited the turnout of 8.5 million Iraqi voters in the January election of an interim government, and the 10 million who voted in the October constitutional referendum as evidence of the nation's deepening commitment to democracy and rejection of violence and division represented by extremist groups and terrorists like al Qaeda's Zarqawi. (See related article.)
She denied that the U.S. presence in Iraq had increased the level of terrorism, or caused it to be "exported" to other nations. On the contrary, Rice said on CNN, "What Zarqawi and his kind are most afraid of is that democratic forces will take hold in Iraq."
On other topics, Rice disputed claims that the Bush administration had exaggerated claims about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before the war, pointing to widespread intelligence findings and repeated U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that Saddam cooperate with inspectors and account for his weapons program.
In a November 12 interview in Manama, Bahrain, with Al Arabiya, Rice said that Syria must provide full cooperation with the U.N.'s Mehlis investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
"The key here is that cooperation is in the hands of the Syrians," Rice said to Al Arabiya. "The entire international community is united in demanding that this cooperation be offered. The vote was 15 to nothing. And so Syria needs to take the message." (See related article.)
In the Al Arabiya interview, Rice also discussed her upcoming trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Rice said that she will tell both sides that they have obligations to meet to move forward toward a future "in which there is a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel, one in which terrorists and terrorism have no place, one in which the Palestinian people can freely seek their aspirations for prosperity and future of democracy."
Transcripts of the secretary’s interviews are available on the Department of State Web site:
Interview on Al Arabiya with Taher Barakeh; Manama, Bahrain
Interview on ABC News with Miguel Marquez; Baghdad, Iraq
Interview on Al-Iraqiya with Karim Hamadi; Baghdad, Iraq
Interview on CBS News with Wyatt Andrews; Baghdad, Iraq
Interview on CNN with Kevin Flower; Baghdad, Iraq
Interview on Fox News with Reena Ninan; Baghdad, Iraq
Interview on NBC News with Richard Engle; Baghdad, Iraq
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov
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