    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [November 6, 2003]
    [Pages 1468-1474]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the 20th Anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy
    November 6, 2003

        Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Thanks for the warm
    welcome. Thanks for inviting me to join you in this 20th anniversary of
    the National Endowment for Democracy. Staff and directors of this
    organization have seen a lot of history over the last two decades.
    You've been a part of that history. By speaking for and standing

    [[Page 1469]]

    for freedom, you've lifted the hopes of people around the world, and
    you've brought great credit to America.
        I appreciate Vin for the short introduction.
    I'm a man who likes short introductions, and he didn't let me down. But
    more importantly, I appreciate the invitation. I appreciate the Members
    of Congress who are here, Senators from both political parties, Members
    of the House of Representatives from both political parties. I
    appreciate the ambassadors who are here. I appreciate the guests who
    have come. I appreciate the bipartisan spirit, the nonpartisan spirit of
    the National Endowment for Democracy. I'm glad that Republicans and
    Democrats and independents are working together to advance human
    liberty.
        The roots of our democracy can be traced to England and to its
    Parliament, and so can the roots of this organization. In June of 1982,
    President Ronald Reagan spoke at Westminster Palace and declared the
    turning point had arrived in history. He argued that Soviet communism
    had failed precisely because it did not respect its own people, their
    creativity, their genius, and their rights. President Reagan said that the day of Soviet tyranny was passing, that
    freedom had a momentum which would not be halted. He gave this
    organization its mandate: to add to the momentum of freedom across the
    world. Your mandate was important 20 years ago. It is equally important
    today.
        A number of critics were dismissive of that speech by the
    President. According to one editorial of the
    time, ``It seems hard to be a sophisticated European and also an admirer
    of Ronald Reagan.'' [Laughter] Some observers on both sides of the
    Atlantic pronounced the speech simplistic and naive and even dangerous.
    In fact, Ronald Reagan's words were courageous and optimistic and
    entirely correct.
        The great democratic movement President Reagan described was already well underway. In the early
    1970s, there were about 40 democracies in the world. By the middle of
    that decade, Portugal and Spain and Greece held free elections. Soon
    there were new democracies in Latin America, and free institutions were
    spreading in Korea, in Taiwan, and in East Asia. This very week in 1989,
    there were protests in East Berlin and in Leipzig. By the end of that
    year, every communist dictatorship in Central Europe* had collapsed.
    Within another year, the South African Government released Nelson
    Mandela. Four years later, he was elected
    President of his country, ascending, like Walesa
    and Havel, from prisoner of state to head of
    state.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        *White House correction.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        As the 20th century ended, there were around 120 democracies in the
    world, and I can assure you, more are on the way. Ronald Reagan would be pleased, and he would not be surprised.
        We've witnessed, in little over a generation, the swiftest advance
    of freedom in the 2,500-year story of democracy. Historians in the
    future will offer their own explanations for why this happened. Yet we
    already know some of the reasons they will cite. It is no accident that
    the rise of so many democracies took place in a time when the world's
    most influential nation was itself a democracy.
        The United States made military and moral commitments in Europe and
    Asia which protected free nations from aggression and created the
    conditions in which new democracies could flourish. As we provided
    security for whole nations, we also provided inspiration for oppressed
    peoples. In prison camps, in banned union meetings, in clandestine
    churches, men and women knew that the whole world was not sharing their
    own nightmare. They knew of at least one place, a bright and hopeful
    land where freedom was valued and secure, and they prayed that America
    would not forget them or forget the mission to promote liberty around
    the world.
        Historians will note that in many nations, the advance of markets
    and free enterprise

    [[Page 1470]]

    helped to create a middle class that was confident enough to demand
    their own rights. They will point to the role of technology in
    frustrating censorship and central control and marvel at the power of
    instant communications to spread the truth, the news, and courage across
    borders.
        Historians in the future will reflect on an extraordinary,
    undeniable fact: Over time, free nations grow stronger, and
    dictatorships grow weaker. In the middle of the 20th century, some
    imagined that the central planning and social regimentation were a
    shortcut to national strength. In fact, the prosperity and social
    vitality and technological progress of a people are directly determined
    by the extent of their liberty. Freedom honors and unleashes human
    creativity, and creativity determines the strength and wealth of
    nations. Liberty is both the plan of heaven for humanity and the best
    hope for progress here on Earth.
        The progress of liberty is a powerful trend. Yet, we also know that
    liberty, if not defended, can be lost. The success of freedom is not
    determined by some dialectic of history. By definition, the success of
    freedom rests upon the choices and the courage of free peoples and upon
    their willingness to sacrifice. In the trenches of World War I, through
    a two-front war in the 1940s, the difficult battles of Korea and
    Vietnam, and in missions of rescue and liberation on nearly every
    continent, Americans have amply displayed our willingness to sacrifice
    for liberty.
        The sacrifices of Americans have not always been recognized or
    appreciated, yet they have been worthwhile. Because we and our allies
    were steadfast, Germany and Japan are democratic nations that no longer
    threaten the world. A global nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union
    ended peacefully, as did the Soviet Union. The nations of Europe are
    moving towards unity, not dividing into armed camps and descending into
    genocide. Every nation has learned or should have learned an important
    lesson: Freedom is worth fighting for, dying for, and standing for, and
    the advance of freedom leads to peace.
        And now we must apply that lesson in our own time. We've reached
    another great turning point, and the resolve we show will shape the next
    stage of the world democratic movement.
        Our commitment to democracy is tested in countries like Cuba and
    Burma and North Korea and Zimbabwe, outposts of oppression in our world.
    The people in these nations live in captivity and fear and silence. Yet,
    these regimes cannot hold back freedom forever, and one day, from prison
    camps and prison cells and from exile, the leaders of new democracies
    will arrive. Communism and militarism and rule by the capricious and
    corrupt are the relics of a passing era. And we will stand with these
    oppressed peoples until the day of liberation and freedom finally
    arrives.
        Our commitment to democracy is tested in China. That nation now has
    a sliver, a fragment of liberty. Yet, China's people will eventually
    want their liberty pure and whole. China has discovered that economic
    freedom leads to national wealth. China's leaders will also discover
    that freedom is indivisible, that social and religious freedom is also
    essential to national greatness and national dignity. Eventually, men
    and women who are allowed to control their own wealth will insist on
    controlling their own lives and their own country.
        Our commitment to democracy is also tested in the Middle East, which
    is my focus today and must be a focus of American policy for decades to
    come. In many nations of the Middle East, countries of great strategic
    importance, democracy has not yet taken root. And the questions arise:
    Are the peoples of the Middle East somehow beyond the reach of liberty?
    Are millions of men and women and children condemned by history or
    culture to live in despotism? Are they alone never to know freedom and
    never even to have a choice in the matter? I for one do not believe

    [[Page 1471]]

    it. I believe every person has the ability and the right to be free.
        Some skeptics of democracy assert that the traditions of Islam are
    inhospitable to the representative government. This ``cultural
    condescension,'' as Ronald Reagan termed it,
    has a long history. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, a so-called
    Japan expert asserted that democracy in that former empire would, quote,
    ``never work.'' Another observer declared the prospects for democracy in
    post-Hitler Germany are, and I quote, ``most uncertain at best.'' He
    made that claim in 1957. Seventy-four years ago, the Sunday London Times
    declared nine-tenths of the population of India to be, quote,
    ``illiterates not caring a fig for politics.'' Yet when Indian democracy
    was imperiled in the 1970s, the Indian people showed their commitment to
    liberty in a national referendum that saved their form of government.
        Time after time, observers have questioned whether this country or
    that people or this group are ready for democracy, as if freedom were a
    prize you win for meeting our own Western standards of progress. In
    fact, the daily work of democracy itself is the path of progress. It
    teaches cooperation, the free exchange of ideas, and the peaceful
    resolution of differences. As men and women are showing from Bangladesh
    to Botswana to Mongolia, it is the practice of democracy that makes a
    nation ready for democracy, and every nation can start on this path.
        It should be clear to all that Islam, the faith of one-fifth of
    humanity, is consistent with democratic rule. Democratic progress is
    found in many predominantly Muslim countries, in Turkey and Indonesia
    and Senegal and Albania, in Niger and Sierra Leone. Muslim men and women
    are good citizens of India and South Africa, of the nations of Western
    Europe, and of the United States of America.
        More than half of all Muslims in the world live in freedom under
    democratically constituted governments. They succeed in democratic
    societies, not in spite of their faith but because of it. A religion
    that demands individual moral accountability and encourages the
    encounter of the individual with God is fully compatible with the rights
    and responsibilities of self-government.
        Yet there's a great challenge today in the Middle East. In the words
    of a recent report by Arab scholars, the global wave of democracy has,
    and I quote, ``barely reached the Arab states.'' They continue: ``This
    freedom deficit undermines human development and is one of the most
    painful manifestations of lagging political development.'' The freedom
    deficit they describe has terrible consequences for the people of the
    Middle East and for the world. In many Middle Eastern countries, poverty
    is deep, and it is spreading. Women lack rights and are denied
    schooling. Whole societies remain stagnant while the world moves ahead.
    These are not the failures of a culture or a religion. These are the
    failures of political and economic doctrines.
        As the colonial era passed away, the Middle East saw the
    establishment of many military dictatorships. Some rulers adopted the
    dogmas of socialism, seized total control of political parties and the
    media and universities. They allied themselves with the Soviet bloc and
    with international terrorism. Dictators in Iraq and Syria promised the
    restoration of national honor, a return to ancient glories. They've left
    instead a legacy of torture, oppression, misery, and ruin.
        Other men and groups of men have gained influence in the Middle East
    and beyond through an ideology of theocratic terror. Behind their
    language of religion is the ambition for absolute political power.
    Ruling cabals like the Taliban show their version of religious piety in
    public whippings of women, ruthless suppression of any difference or
    dissent, and support for terrorists who arm and train to murder the
    innocent. The Taliban promised religious purity and national pride.
    Instead, by

    [[Page 1472]]

    systematically destroying a proud and working society, they left behind
    suffering and starvation.
        Many Middle Eastern governments now understand that military
    dictatorship and theocratic rule are a straight, smooth highway to
    nowhere. But some governments still cling to the old habits of central
    control. There are governments that still fear and repress independent
    thought and creativity and private enterprise, the human qualities that
    make for a strong and successful societies. Even when these nations have
    vast natural resources, they do not respect or develop their greatest
    resources, the talent and energy of men and women working and living in
    freedom.
        Instead of dwelling on past wrongs and blaming others, governments
    in the Middle East need to confront real problems and serve the true
    interests of their nations. The good and capable people of the Middle
    East all deserve responsible leadership. For too long, many people in
    that region have been victims and subjects. They deserve to be active
    citizens.
        Governments across the Middle East and north Africa are beginning to
    see the need for change. Morocco has a diverse new Parliament. King
    Mohamed has urged it to extend the rights to
    women. Here is how His Majesty explained his reforms to Parliament:
    ``How can society achieve progress while women, who represent half the
    nation, see their rights violated and suffer as a result of injustice,
    violence, and marginalization, notwithstanding the dignity and justice
    granted to them by our glorious religion?'' The King of Morocco is
    correct: The future of Muslim nations will be better for all with the
    full participation of women.
        In Bahrain last year, citizens elected their own Parliament for the
    first time in nearly three decades. Oman has extended the vote to all
    adult citizens. Qatar has a new constitution. Yemen has a multiparty
    political system. Kuwait has a directly elected national assembly, and
    Jordan held historic elections this summer. Recent surveys in Arab
    nations reveal broad support for political pluralism, the rule of law,
    and free speech. These are the stirrings of Middle Eastern democracy,
    and they carry the promise of greater change to come.
        As changes come to the Middle Eastern region, those with power
    should ask themselves: Will they be remembered for resisting reform or
    for leading it? In Iran, the demand for democracy is strong and broad,
    as we saw last month when thousands gathered to welcome home Shirin
    Ebadi, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The
    regime in Tehran must heed the democratic demands of the Iranian people
    or lose its last claim to legitimacy.
        For the Palestinian people, the only path to independence and
    dignity and progress is the path of democracy. And the Palestinian
    leaders who block and undermine democratic reform and feed hatred and
    encourage violence are not leaders at all. They're the main obstacles to
    peace and to the success of the Palestinian people.
        The Saudi Government is taking first steps toward reform, including
    a plan for gradual introduction of elections. By giving the Saudi people
    a greater role in their own society, the Saudi Government can
    demonstrate true leadership in the region.
        The great and proud nation of Egypt has shown the way toward peace
    in the Middle East and now should show the way toward democracy in the
    Middle East. Champions of democracy in the region understand that
    democracy is not perfect. It is not the path to utopia, but it's the
    only path to national success and dignity.
        As we watch and encourage reforms in the region, we are mindful that
    modernization is not the same as Westernization. Representative
    governments in the Middle East will reflect their own cultures. They
    will not and should not look like us. Democratic nations may be
    constitutional monarchies, federal republics, or parliamentary systems.
    And working democracies always need time to develop, as did our own.

    [[Page 1473]]

    We've taken a 200-year journey toward inclusion and justice, and this
    makes us patient and understanding as other nations are at different
    stages of this journey.
        There are, however, essential principles common to every successful
    society in every culture. Successful societies limit the power of the
    state and the power of the military, so that governments respond to the
    will of the people and not the will of the elite. Successful societies
    protect freedom with the consistent and impartial rule of law, instead
    of selectively applying the law to punish political opponents.
    Successful societies allow room for healthy civic institutions, for
    political parties and labor unions and independent newspapers and
    broadcast media. Successful societies guarantee religious liberty, the
    right to serve and honor God without fear of persecution. Successful
    societies privatize their economies and secure the rights of property.
    They prohibit and punish official corruption and invest in the health
    and education of their people. They recognize the rights of women. And
    instead of directing hatred and resentment against others, successful
    societies appeal to the hopes of their own people.
        These vital principles are being applied in the nations of
    Afghanistan and Iraq. With the steady leadership of President
    Karzai, the people of Afghanistan are building
    a modern and peaceful Government. Next month, 500 delegates will convene
    a national assembly in Kabul to approve a new Afghan constitution. The
    proposed draft would establish a bicameral Parliament, set national
    elections next year, and recognize Afghanistan's Muslim identity while
    protecting the rights of all citizens. Afghanistan faces continuing
    economic and security challenges. It will face those challenges as a
    free and stable democracy.
        In Iraq, the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing
    Council are also working together to build a democracy, and after three
    decades of tyranny, this work is not easy. The former dictator ruled by
    terror and treachery and left deeply ingrained habits of fear and
    distrust. Remnants of his regime, joined by foreign terrorists, continue
    their battle against order and against civilization. Our coalition is
    responding to recent attacks with precision raids, guided by
    intelligence provided by the Iraqis themselves. And we're working
    closely with Iraqi citizens as they prepare a constitution, as they move
    toward free elections and take increasing responsibility for their own
    affairs. As in the defense of Greece in 1947 and later in the Berlin
    airlift, the strength and will of free peoples are now being tested
    before a watching world. And we will meet this test.
        Securing democracy in Iraq is the work of many hands. American and
    coalition forces are sacrificing for the peace of Iraq and for the
    security of free nations. Aid workers from many countries are facing
    danger to help the Iraqi people. The National Endowment for Democracy is
    promoting women's rights and training Iraqi journalists and teaching the
    skills of political participation. Iraqis themselves, police and border
    guards and local officials, are joining in the work, and they are
    sharing in the sacrifice.
        This is a massive and difficult undertaking. It is worth our effort.
    It is worth our sacrifice, because we know the stakes. The failure of
    Iraqi democracy would embolden terrorists around the world, increase
    dangers to the American people, and extinguish the hopes of millions in
    the region. Iraqi democracy will succeed, and that success will send
    forth the news, from Damascus to Tehran, that freedom can be the future
    of every nation. The establishment of a free Iraq at the heart of the
    Middle East will be a watershed event in the global democratic
    revolution.
        Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack
    of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe, because in
    the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty.
    As long as the Middle East remains

    [[Page 1474]]

    a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of
    stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export. And with the
    spread of weapons that can bring catastrophic harm to our country and to
    our friends, it would be reckless to accept the status quo.
        Therefore, the United States has adopted a new policy, a forward
    strategy of freedom in the Middle East. This strategy requires the same
    persistence and energy and idealism we have shown before, and it will
    yield the same results. As in Europe, as in Asia, as in every region of
    the world, the advance of freedom leads to peace.
        The advance of freedom is the calling of our time. It is the calling
    of our country. From the Fourteen Points to the four freedoms to the
    speech at Westminster, America has put our power at the service of
    principle. We believe that liberty is the design of nature. We believe
    that liberty is the direction of history. We believe that human
    fulfillment and excellence come in the responsible exercise of liberty.
    And we believe that freedom, the freedom we prize, is not for us alone;
    it is the right and the capacity of all mankind.
        Working for the spread of freedom can be hard. Yet, America has
    accomplished hard tasks before. Our Nation is strong. We're strong of
    heart, and we're not alone. Freedom is finding allies in every country.
    Freedom finds allies in every culture. And as we meet the terror and
    violence of the world, we can be certain the Author of freedom is not
    indifferent to the fate of freedom.
        With all the tests and all the challenges of our age, this is, above
    all, the age of liberty. Each of you at this endowment is fully engaged
    in the great cause of liberty, and I thank you. May God bless your work,
    and may God continue to bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:05 a.m. in the Hall of Flags at the U.S.
    Chamber of Commerce. In his remarks, he referred to Vin Weber, chairman,
    National Endowment for Democracy; former President Lech Walesa of
    Poland; former President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic; King
    Mohamed VI of Morocco; President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan; and former
    President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary also
    released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.