[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 68 (Friday, May 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1044-E1045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 STATEMENT DURING HEARING ON ``FOSTERING DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST''

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 19, 2005

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, May 17, 2005, I, as the 
Ranking Minority Member for the House Subcommittee on National 
Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations made the 
following statement during a hearing on ``Fostering Democracy in the 
Middle East: Defeating Terrorism With Ballots'':

       Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and good morning to the 
     distinguished witnesses that are here today for this 
     important hearing. We have much to learn from the experts who 
     are here with us, and we must listen and use this knowledge 
     to correct the disastrous foreign policy road that this 
     Administration has embarked upon--a policy which has already 
     taken the lives of over 1,600 U.S. soldiers and wounded 
     thousands more. Congress can help save many more lives by 
     changing these failed policies immediately. As the journalist 
     Thomas Friedman wrote recently, ``you can't build a decent 
     society on the graves of suicide bombers and their victims.''
       Our policy is greatly misguided and also misrepresented. 
     During the President's 2005 State of the Union address there 
     were Iraqis in the audience who held up ink-stained thumbs in 
     a symbol intending to convey that democracy had reached 
     finally reached Iraq--thanks to the U.S. Their hope was to 
     send the message that even though WMDs were never found, the 
     victory of bringing democracy to Iraq was worth the cost in 
     blood and treasure.
       But before we congratulate ourselves, I must admit that I 
     am skeptical of the Administration's policy of promoting 
     democracy. The United States does not have a history of 
     bringing democracy to nations out of pure altruism. Rather 
     there is usually something we have to gain by overthrowing a 
     nation and the promotion of democracy is the excuse we use to 
     do it. Or in the case of Iraq, it was our fall-back excuse. 
     The war to eradicate WMDs quickly transformed into the war to 
     bring democracy to Iraqis--once the world discovered that 
     WMDs did not in fact exist in Iraq.
       Perhaps the greatest argument against this vision of pure 
     altruism is that when it is in our interest to leave 
     undemocratic governments alone, we do.
       Examples of this argument are the Central Asian states of 
     Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and 
     Uzbekistan. These countries have well-known horrendous human 
     rights records and have serious impediments to democracy. 
     According to the State Departments 2004 Report on Human 
     Rights Practices,
       ``Uzbekistan is an authoritarian state with limited civil 
     rights. . . . the December 26 elections fell significantly 
     short of international standards for democratic elections . . 
     . the executive branch heavily influenced the courts and did 
     not ensure due process . . . Government's human rights record 
     remained very poor . . . police and National Security Service 
     forces tortured, beat, and harassed persons . . . the 
     Government restricted freedom of religion and movement . . . 
     the Government severely restricted fundamental worker 
     rights.''
       These conditions are more or less present throughout the 
     other Central Asian states. Yet the U.S. has not taken firm 
     steps to encourage reforms. There have been provisions

[[Page E1045]]

     to condition aid based on progress in democratization and 
     respect for human rights, however when the State Department 
     decided to cut aid to Uzbekistan {or failure to meet these 
     conditions (equal to $18 million), the Chairman of the Joint 
     Chiefs of Staff announced that Uzbekistan would receive an 
     increase of $21 million in military aid. Furthermore, the aid 
     condition in Kazakhstan is allowed a presidential waiver.
       This ``soft-line'' approach is probably in large part to 
     the strategic location of these states. The Central Asian 
     states offered overflight and other support when the U.S. 
     went into Afghanistan. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan 
     have hosted coalition troops and provided access to airbases. 
     In 2003, Uzbekistan endorsed coalition military action in 
     Iraq and Kazakhstan provided about two-dozen troops for 
     rebuilding.
       Our policy is convenient, not consistent. We talk about 
     building democracy in the Middle East out of one side of our 
     mouth, while we keep authoritarian regimes in power on the 
     other side.
       The world is watching closely what the U.S. does in Iraq, 
     and we are hopeful that a legitimate democracy will flourish 
     there and throughout the region. I am hopeful other Arab 
     nations will eventually hold elections. But it must be on 
     their timetable, not ours.
       Our presence in Iraq is only slowing any hope for genuine 
     democratization. Violence against Iraqis is only increasing 
     as time goes by. The country is becoming even more 
     destabilized. But this Administration has not yet presented 
     an exit strategy or any kind of timetable of bringing our 
     troops home. Instead, we are pouring billions of dollars into 
     the probable construction of long-term military facilities in 
     Iraq so that we can have a permanent presence there, as well 
     as in the surrounding countries, none of which could be 
     called democratic.
       So, Mr. Chairman, I hope that this hearing will go beyond 
     self-congratulation and beyond merely illuminating the desire 
     for democracy by people in the Middle East. Rather I hope 
     that this hearing will illuminate how our missteps are 
     hindering democracy, so that we can correct a failed policy.

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