Colin Powell Kisses Ass At AIPAC
Following is the complete text of Secretary of State
Colin Powell's remarks at the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC) Annual Policy Conference in Washington, March 30,
2003.
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
March 30, 2003
REMARKS
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
American Israel Public Affairs Committee's Annual Policy
Conference
March 30, 2003
Washington Hilton
(9:10 p.m. EST)
Colin Powell addressing AIPAC,
which, like the secretary of state, has been working on
quiet contacts with exiled politicos expected to shape
post-war Iraq.
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SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you. Thank you so very much.
(Applause.) Thank you so very much. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you
(Applause). Oy! What a welcome. My goodness. (Laughter.) I've been
milking that Yiddish kid from the Bronx thing for years. I can't tell
you. (Laughter.) It got so intense that once when I was President
Reagan's National Security Advisor some 15 years ago, I went and I
visited a prime minister, and we went into his office all alone,
nobody knew what we were doing in there. I had a private message from
Reagan. And I came out and words went forth in the prime minister's
outer office, and the whole conversation was Yiddish. (Laughter and
Applause.) I'm a kid from New York. I know the Catskills. Why would I
deny such a story? It's a great story. (Laughter.)
But I want to thank you, Ed, for that warm introduction. Howard, Amy,
Tim, and so many others. I want to thank you for inviting me to be
with you here this evening to speak at AIPAC's 44th annual policy
conference.
And there are so many, many people here tonight who are friends of
mine. I can't see all of you, but there is one very dear friend that
I can see and I must acknowledge, and that's my dear friend Shimon
Peres. (Applause.)
And I am very pleased to be sharing the stage this evening with my
new Israeli colleague, Minister Silvan Shalom. (Applause.) The
Minister is a true Israeli success story. He has distinguished
himself in so many ways -- as a journalist, as chairman of the Israel
Electric Corporation, as a member of the Knesset, and as Minister of
Finance. And now he brings his many talents and all of his experience
to the Foreign Ministry at a most important time in the life of the
State of Israel. So Mr. Minister, I congratulate you again on your
appointment and I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to
working with you, sir. Congratulations. (Applause.)
My friends, all of us here tonight are brought together by a deep
commitment to Israel's security, prosperity, and freedom, and to the
strongest possible relationship between Israel and the United
States.
AIPAC came into being half a century ago to help the young Israel
state meet the challenges of independence. Since then, AIPAC and its
members have worked tirelessly and effectively on Israel's behalf.
You have a world-class reputation for being one of the most effective
such organizations in that regard.
And at the same time, it is America's commitment that also is long
and enduring, a commitment that stretches back to Israel's founding.
From the very moment of Harry Truman's historic decision, in war and
peace, the United States has stood proudly at Israel's side.
(Applause.) Our two nations and peoples are bound together by our
common democratic values and traditions. So it has been for over 50
years. So it will always be. (Applause.)
As we meet tonight, our thoughts cannot help but be with the brave
young men and women from the United States, from Britain, from
Australia, and other coalition partners, who are laying their lives
on the line to liberate Iraq from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein.
(Applause.) They are serving their nations and they are serving
humanity, to free the Middle East and the world from the threat of
Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.
War and force was not our first choice. We gave diplomacy every
chance. We worked hard to pass United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1441, which gave Saddam Hussein one last chance to disarm
peacefully, but it also made it clear in that resolution and in that
15-0 vote that if this time he did not take the chance, if he did not
comply, then serious consequences would follow. And they are now
following. (Applause.)
So we warned him that we built up a massive military force on the
borders to show that this time the international community meant
business. But Hussein spurned that final chance, and -- after 12
years of Iraqi defiance and deception -- we could wait no longer. He
did not comply. He did not cooperate. And the issue was compliance,
not more time for inspections or more inspectors. (Applause.)
And we should be so proud tonight that there were brave and bold
leaders such as George Bush and Tony Blair and President Aznar and
Prime Minister Berlusconi, Prime Minister Howard, and so many others.
(Applause.)
Forty-nine nations openly associated with this willing coalition. All
of them headed by leaders who have to go against public opinion.
Public opinion -- because nobody wants war. Everybody would like to
avoid war. We did everything to avoid war. But these 49 nations and
their leaders came together and decided that the world had to be rid
of these weapons of mass destruction.
And let there be no doubt about the outcome. We will drive Saddam and
his regime from power. (Applause.) We will liberate Iraq. We will
remove the shadow of Saddam's terrible weapons from Israel and the
Middle East, and we will keep them from the hands of terrorists who
would threaten the entire civilized world. (Applause.)
I know that all of you are as proud as I am of the brave men and
women in uniform who are making our success possible. You see them on
your television sets every evening. Volunteers all. Willing to
serve.
We are also thinking of the men and women who spend this night as
prisoners of war. We hold the Iraqi regime accountable for their
treatment and their safety, until we can bring them back home. And we
will bring them home. (Applause.)
Our thoughts and prayers tonight also go out to the families of those
American and British heroes who have given their lives. They will not
be forgotten. (Applause.) And the best way we can honor their
sacrifice and their legacy is to carry on the fight until we win. And
we will win. (Applause.)
You see much on television and you read much in your newspapers as to
how the war is going. Commentary from all directions. Let me just say
this to you. We are only 10 or 11 days into this war. Baghdad is
slowly being encircled. Pockets of resistance are being isolated. The
oil fields are secure. Humanitarian aid is beginning to flow. I have
total confidence in the plan and total confidence in General Franks
and the other leaders who are carrying out that plan. (Applause.)
But winning means more than just driving Saddam Hussein from power.
It also means giving hope and a better future to 24 million Iraqis
after decades of oppression and misrule.
And we are already starting to help Iraqis in need. We are bringing
water to thirsty people. We are clearing Saddam's mines from ports so
we can send in ships with food and medicine to distribute to the
hungry and to the sick.
And once they are liberated, we will work with the Iraqi people to
help them create a country that is peaceful, democratic, and unified,
living in peace with its neighbors. (Applause.) We will help them
build a nation that uses its vast oil wealth to improve the lives of
mothers and children, not to develop terrible weapons or dot the
countryside with lavish palaces.
While we deal with Saddam Hussein, we must not forget the burdens
that the conflict with Iraq has placed on our Israeli friends. I am
very pleased that President Bush has included in his supplemental
budget request that just went to Congress $1 billion in Foreign
Military Financing funds to help Israel strengthen its military and
civil defenses. (Applause.) And that's just for starters. (Laughter.)
The President is also asking for $9 billion in loan guarantees.
(Applause.) These loan guarantees will help Israel deal with the
economic costs arising from the conflict, and will help Israel to
implement the critical economic and budgetary reforms it needs to get
its economy back on track. And I am hopeful that Congress, with your
encouragement -- (laughter) -- will act quickly on this request.
(Applause.)
You know, even as we rid the world of the Iraqi threat and we deal
with these crises, we are also working to meet the other challenges
we face at the dawn of this new century.
Over a year and a half ago, the cowardly attacks of September 11
occurred, and a year and a half later, we are still at war with
terrorism. In Afghanistan, the fight continues to destroy the last
vestiges of al-Qaida and the Taliban. It is still a dangerous place.
Just yesterday, we lost two soldiers. That war is not forgotten. We
will remain engaged in Afghanistan. The two soldiers were lost not
while out looking for combat, they were lost by being ambushed while
they were inspecting a school and a hospital, both being built with
American funding. And we mourn their loss and our thoughts are with
their families.
But we have accomplished so much in Afghanistan in the past year and
a half. We have stood up a new government, a government that is
committed to the rights of all of its people, a government that is
bringing women into the workplace and into the government itself.
(Applause.)
So there is so much going on that is good in Afghanistan and good in
other parts of the world, and we are hard at work on this campaign
against terrorism. With the Kurds of northern Iraq, we are driving
al-Qaida's friends, the Ansar al-Islam terrorists, out of their
caves. (Applause.)
Let there be no doubt. We will pursue al-Qaida and its accomplices in
Afghanistan, in Iraq, and everywhere they plot their murders.
(Applause.) Around the world, around the world, we are working with
coalition members to search out terrorists, break up their networks,
and find their financing. Every day another terrorist is arrested and
put before the bar of justice. There will be no let up, no respite,
no rest until the terrorists are defeated. We will never forget what
was done to us on 9/11 and we will do whatever is necessary to defeat
those who were responsible. (Applause.)
As part of our overall strategy in combating terrorism and dealing
with states that do not follow acceptable patterns of behavior, we
are demanding more responsible behavior from these states, especially
those in the region. It is now time for the entire international
community to step up and insist that Iran end its support for
terrorists, including groups violently opposed to Israel and to the
Middle East peace process. (Applause.) Tehran must stop pursuing
weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. In
addition, we will continue to support the aspirations of the Iranian
people to improve their lives and live in peace and security with
their neighbors.
Syria also now faces a critical choice. (Applause.) Syria can
continue direct support for terrorist groups and the dying regime of
Saddam Hussein, or it can embark on a different and more hopeful
course. Either way, Syria bears the responsibility for its choices,
and for the consequences. (Applause.)
These are sobering issues and sobering realities. We live in
difficult and sobering times. But I am an eternal optimist. And as I
think about the challenges, as I think about these crises, I also try
to take time each day to think about the soaring opportunities that
we see throughout the world to bring liberty and fresh hope to men,
women, and children on every continent.
The spread of democratic and economic freedoms, combined with
breathtaking advances in technology, opens unprecedented
opportunities to lift millions out of misery -- to help people put
roofs over their heads, good food on their tables, and clean water on
their parched lips.
Just a year ago, President Bush saw the need to come forward with a
bold new initiative and to capitalize on these opportunities to
kindle hope in people's hearts. He called it the Millennium Challenge
Account, the most exciting thing we've done in foreign assistance in
many years. It will put large funds of American money behind those
countries that make a real commitment to democracy, to ruling justly,
to investing in people, and embracing economic freedom -- use our
assistance to spur economic growth, and attract not more aid, but
attract investment that is needed to further these nations along the
road to prosperity. (Applause.)
There are so many other opportunities that are now given to us by the
end of the Cold War -- the relationship with Russia and China that
couldn't have been dreamed of just 12 or 15 years ago -- an
opportunity to come together and defeat perhaps one of the greatest
scourges on the face of the earth, HIV/AIDS, which kills millions of
people every day on the face of the earth. (Applause.)
The opportunity to have free trade agreements so that more and more
nations can join in the prosperity of the 21st century. The
opportunity to deal with famine and all of those other issues of a
transnational nature that the people of the world want us to deal
with and look to the United States for leadership, leadership that we
will provide.
Our world is a mix of challenges and opportunities, old and new. But
no challenge, no opportunity, is more important, more pressing, than
the quest to put an end to the conflict between Israel and the
Palestinians. (Applause.)
These are difficult times for Israel. Families live with the reality
that a suicide bomber could tear their lives apart. Just hours ago,
the bombers struck again, in Netanya. We condemn this cowardly attack
and we pray for the victims and their families. (Applause.)
Continued terror and instability is having a terrible effect on the
Israeli economy. Tourism and investment are down. Breadwinners are
worried about their jobs. Young people are increasingly worried about
their economic futures.
The people of Israel are coping. They always do. They always have.
But Israelis should not just cope, not just survive. They should
thrive. And with our help, they will. (Applause.)
We are all here tonight working and praying for the day when Israelis
can go out to dinner and relax and enjoy the evening, without looking
over their shoulders. We are all striving for the day when Israeli
parents can send their children to school without fear, when they can
travel without trepidation, and when they can enjoy the bounty of a
booming economy.
We all know that the solution to these difficulties is peace. That is
why we are working so hard to bring an end to the tragic conflict
between Israel and the Palestinians that has caused both peoples so
much suffering.
Last year, President Bush outlined a bold vision for peace based on
two states existing peacefully, side-by-side -- a secure, Jewish,
democratic State of Israel, and a viable, peaceful, democratic,
independent State of Palestine.
We are not naive. We know it will be hard to achieve this vision,
especially after the terrible violence and suffering of recent years.
Peace will take courage and difficult choices by Israel, by
Palestinians, and by Israel's neighbors in the region.
And one fact is unmistakable. The President's vision requires an end
to the use of violence and terror as a political tool. There is no
other way. Terror must end. (Applause.)
The President's vision puts clear obligations on the Palestinians.
The Palestinian state must be based on transformed leaderships and
institutions that end terror. The Palestinian government must be
transparent and accountable to the people. Above all, the Palestinian
state must be a real partner for peace with Israel.
Israel has clear obligations, too. It must take steps to ease the
suffering of Palestinians and diminish the daily humiliation of life
under occupation. Israel must also help put economic hope in
Palestinian hearts by helping revive the devastated economies of the
West Bank and Gaza. Settlement activity is simply inconsistent with
President Bush's two-state vision. As the President has said, "as
progress is made toward peace, settlement activity in the Occupied
Territories must end." (Applause.)
Today, we have reached a hopeful moment, when progress may again be
possible. Israel has held elections and formed a new government. The
Palestinian Legislative Council has created the office of Prime
Minister for the Palestinian Authority. As written and passed, the
law gives the prime minister real power and authority, and provides
direct accountability to the legislature that elected him.
There was a vigorous debate among Palestinians over this step, but in
the end, the PLC was clearly responding to calls for freedom from the
Palestinian people themselves. We will be watching very carefully to
see how the new Palestinian prime minister exercises his authority,
which is so important for Palestinians' hopes for a better
future.
Once the new Palestinian prime minister is confirmed in office, we
will present both sides with the roadmap we have developed to restart
movement toward peace.
The President's vision of June 24th marked the beginning of what must
be a continuous, determined journey to peace. The roadmap we have
developed in close consultation with the parties, our friends in the
region, and our partners in the Quartet - Russia, the European Union,
and the United Nations - describes that journey and the mutual
obligations both sides must meet if we are going to reach our shared
destination.
The roadmap is not an edict, it is not a treaty. It is a statement of
the broad steps we believe Israel and the Palestinians must take to
achieve President Bush's vision of hope and the dream that we all
have for peace.
Israel and the Palestinians must walk the road of peace together, if
either is to arrive at the desired destination. The roadmap offers a
way for the two sides to restart the direct engagement with each
other that their journey requires.
As we move ahead, we must not lose sight of why we are doing this. We
are working so hard for peace because the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict has taken too many lives -- Jewish, Muslim, and Christian --
and ruined far too many more. We must find a way to ensure that
Israeli children, Palestinian children can grow up in peace and
dignity and live in mutual respect of each other. We must recommit
ourselves to making a better future for men, women, children, and
generations yet unborn.
In the Middle East, such hope depends on security. And Israel's
security ultimately requires a real and lasting peace with its
neighbors. That is the reality behind the roadmap.
My friends, from day one to today, America has been totally committed
to Israel's security and well-being. So has AIPAC.
In good times and difficult times, Israel has always been able to
rely on her friends. The United States and AIPAC have always been
there. And we will always be.
Thank you so very much.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
