    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [June 29, 2004]
    [Pages 1151-1156]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at Galatasaray University in Istanbul
    June 29, 2004

        Thank you all very much. Distinguished guests, the rector of this
    fine university, ladies and gentlemen: Laura and
    I are grateful for the warm and gracious hospitality we have received
    these past 3 days in the Republic of Turkey. I am honored to visit this
    beautiful country where two continents meet, a nation that upholds great
    tradition and faces the future with confidence. America is honored to
    call Turkey an Ally and a friend.

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        Many Americans trace their heritage to Turkey, and Turks have
    contributed greatly to our national life, including, most recently, a
    lot of baskets for the Detroit Pistons from Mehmet Okur. I know you're proud of this son of your country, and
    there's a lot of people in Detroit really grateful for his talents.
        I'm grateful to my friend the Prime Minister for his leadership and his hospitality. I also want to
    thank my friend the President, President Sezer, for his hospitality. These men and your country have
    hosted members of NATO in an historic time in our Alliance. For most of
    its history, NATO existed to deter aggression from a powerful army at
    the heart of Europe. In this century, NATO looks outward to new threats
    that gather in secret and bring sudden violence to peaceful cities. We
    face terrorist networks that rejoice when parents bury their murdered
    children or rejoice when bound men plead for mercy. We face outlaw
    regimes that give aid and shelter to these killers and seek weapons of
    mass murder. We face the challenges of corruption and poverty and
    disease, which throw whole nations into chaos and despair. These are the
    conditions in which terrorism can survive.
        Some on both sides of the Atlantic have questioned whether the NATO
    Alliance still has a great purpose. To find that purpose, they only need
    to open their eyes. The dangers are in plain sight. The only question is
    whether we will confront them or look away and pay a terrible cost.
        Over the last few years, NATO has made its decision. Our Alliance is
    restructuring to oppose threat that arise beyond the borders of Europe.
    NATO is providing security in Afghanistan. NATO has agreed to help train
    the security forces of a sovereign Iraq, which is a great advantage and
    crucial success for the Iraqi people. And in Istanbul, we have dedicated
    ourselves to the advance of reform in the broader Middle East, because
    all people deserve a just government and because terror is not the tool
    of the free. Through decades of the cold war, our great Alliance of
    liberty never failed in its duties, and we are rising to our duties once
    again.
        The Turkish people understand the terrorists, because you have seen
    their work, even in the last weeks. You've heard the sirens and
    witnessed the carnage and mourned the dead. After the murders of Muslims
    and Christians and Jews in Istanbul last November, a resident of this
    city said of the terrorists, ``They don't have any religion. They are
    friends of evil.'' In one of the attacks, a Muslim woman lost her son Ahmet, her
    daughter-in-law Berta, and her unborn
    grandchild. This is what she said: ``Today I am saying goodbye to my
    son. Tomorrow I'm saying farewell to my Berta. I don't know what the
    killers wanted from my kids. Were they jealous of their happiness?''
        The Turkish people have grieved, but your nation is showing how
    terrorist violence will be overcome, with courage and with a firm
    resolve to defend your just and tolerant society. This land has always
    been important for its geography, here at the meeting place of Europe,
    Asia, and the Middle East. Now Turkey has assumed even greater
    historical importance because of your character as a nation. Turkey is a
    strong, secular democracy, a majority Muslim society, and a close ally
    of free nations. Your country, with 150 years of democratic and social
    reform, stands as a model to others and as Europe's bridge to the wider
    world. Your success is vital to a future of progress and peace in Europe
    and in the broader Middle East, and the Republic of Turkey can depend on
    the support and friendship of the United States of America.
        For decades, my country has supported greater unity in Europe to
    secure liberty, to build prosperity, and to remove sources of conflict
    on this continent. Now the European Union is considering the admission
    of Turkey, and you are moving rapidly to meet the criteria for
    membership. Mustafa

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    Kemal Ataturk had a vision of Turkey as a strong nation among other
    European nations. That dream can be realized by this generation of
    Turks. America believes that as a European power, Turkey belongs in the
    European Union.
        Your membership would also be a crucial advance in relations between
    the Muslim world and the West, because you are part of both. Including
    Turkey in the EU would prove that Europe is not the exclusive club of a
    single religion. It would expose the ``clash of civilizations'' as a
    passing myth of history. Fifteen years ago, an artificial line that
    divided Europe, drawn at Yalta, was erased. And now this continent has
    the opportunity to erase another artificial division by including Turkey
    in the future of Europe.
        Turkey has found its place in the community of democracies by living
    out its own principles. Muslims are called to seek justice, fairness to
    all, care for the stranger, compassion for those in need. And you have
    learned that democracy is the surest way to build a society of justice.
    The best way to prevent corruption and abuse of power is to hold rulers
    accountable. The best way to ensure fairness to all is to establish the
    rule of law. The best way to honor human dignity is to protect human
    rights. Turkey has found what nations of every culture and every region
    have found: If justice is the goal, then democracy is the answer.
        In some parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, there is
    a wariness toward democracy, often based on misunderstanding. Some
    people in Muslim cultures identify democracy with the worst of Western
    popular culture and want no part of it. And I assure them, when I speak
    about the blessings of liberty, coarse videos and crass commercialism
    are not what I have in mind. There is nothing incompatible between
    democratic values and high standards of decency. For the sake of their
    families and their culture, citizens of a free society have every right
    to strive peacefully for a moral society.
        Democratic values also do not require citizens to abandon their
    faith. No democracy can allow religious people to impose their own view
    of perfection on others, because this invites cruelty and arrogance that
    are foreign to every faith. And all people in a democracy have the right
    to their own religious beliefs. But all democracies are made stronger
    when religious people teach and demonstrate upright conduct, family
    commitment, respect for the law, and compassion for the weak. Democratic
    societies should welcome, not fear, the participation of the faithful.
        In addition, democracy does not involve automatic agreement with
    other democracies. Free governments have a reputation for independence,
    which Turkey has certainly earned, and that is the way that democracy
    works. We deal honestly with each other. We make our own decisions, and
    yet, in the end, the disagreements of the moment are far outweighed by
    the ideals we share.
        Because representative governments reflect their people, every
    democracy has its own structure, traditions, and opinions. There are,
    however, certain commitments of free governments that do not change from
    place to place. The promise of democracy is fulfilled in freedom of
    speech, the rule of law, limits on the power of the state, economic
    freedom, respect for women, and religious tolerance. These are the
    values that honor the dignity of every life and set free the creative
    energies that lead to progress.
        Achieving these commitments of democracy can require decades of
    effort and reform. In my own country, it took generations to throw off
    slavery, racial segregation, and other practices that violated our
    ideals. So we do not expect that other societies can be transformed in a
    day. But however long the journey, there is only one destination worth
    striving for, and that is a society of self-rule and freedom.

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        Democracy leads to justice within a nation, and the advance of
    democracy leads to greater security among nations. The reason is clear:
    Free peoples do not live in endless stagnation and seethe in resentment
    and lash out in envy, rage, and violence. Free peoples do not cling to
    every grievance of the past. They build and live for the future. This is
    the experience of countries in the NATO Alliance. Bitterness and
    hostility once divided France and Germany, Germany and Poland, Romania
    and Hungary. But as these nations grew in liberty, ancient disputes and
    hatreds have been left to history. And because the people of Europe now
    live in hope, Europe no longer produces armed ideologies that threaten
    the peace of the world. Freedom in Europe has brought peace to Europe,
    and now freedom can bring peace to the broader Middle East.
        I believe that freedom is the future of the Middle East, because I
    believe that freedom is the future of all humanity. And the historic
    achievement of democracy in the broader Middle East will be a victory
    shared by all. Millions who now live in oppression and want will finally
    have a chance to provide for their families and lead hopeful lives.
    Nations in the region will have greater stability because governments
    will have greater legitimacy. And nations like Turkey and America will
    be safer, because a hopeful Middle East will no longer produce
    ideologies and movements that seek to kill our citizens. This
    transformation is one of the great and difficult tasks of history. And
    by our own patience and hard effort and with confidence in the peoples
    of the Middle East, we will finish the work that history has given us.
        Democracy, by definition, must be chosen and defended by the people
    themselves. The future of freedom in the Islamic world will be
    determined by the citizens of Islamic nations, not by outsiders. And for
    citizens of the broader Middle East, the alternatives could not be more
    clear. One alternative is a political doctrine of tyranny, suicide, and
    murder that goes against the standards of justice found in Islam and
    every other great religion. The other alternative is a society of
    justice, where men and women live peacefully and build better lives for
    themselves and their children. This is the true cause of the people of
    the Middle East, and that cause can never be served by the murder of the
    innocent.
        This struggle between political extremism and civilized values is
    unfolding in many places. We see the struggle in Iraq, where killers are
    attempting to undermine and intimidate a free government. We see the
    struggle in Iran, where tired, discredited autocrats are trying to hold
    back the democratic will of a rising generation. We see that struggle in
    Turkey, where the PKK has abandoned its cease-fire with the Turkish
    people and resumed violence. We see it in the Holy Land, where terrorist
    murderers are setting back the good cause of the Palestinian people, who
    deserve a reformed, peaceful, and democratic state of their own.
        The terrorists are ruthless and resourceful. They will not prevail.
    Already more than half of the world's Muslims live under democratically
    constituted governments, from Indonesia to West Africa, from Europe to
    North America. And the ideal of democracy is also powerful and popular
    in the Middle East. Surveys in Arab nations reveal broad support for
    representative government and individual liberty. We are seeing reform
    in Kuwait and Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan and Morocco. We're seeing
    men and women of conscience and courage step forward to advocate
    democracy and justice in the broader Middle East. As we found in the
    Soviet Union and behind the Iron Curtain, this kind of moral conviction
    was more powerful than vast armies and prison walls and the will of
    dictators. And this kind of moral conviction is also more powerful than
    the whips of the Taliban, the police state of Saddam Hussein, or the
    cruel designs of terrorists.

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    The way ahead is long and difficult, yet people of conscience go forward
    with hope. The rule of fear did not survive in Europe. The rule of free
    peoples will come to the Middle East.
        Leaders throughout that region, including some friends of the United
    States, must recognize the direction of the events of the day. Any
    nation that compromises with violent extremists only emboldens them and
    invites future violence. Suppressing dissent only increases radicalism.
    The long-term stability of any government depends on being open to
    change and responsive to citizens. By learning these lessons, Turkey has
    become a great and stable democracy, and America shares your hope that
    other nations will take this path.
        Western nations, including my own, want to be helpful in the
    democratic progress of the Middle East, yet we know there are suspicions
    rooted in centuries of conflict and colonialism. And in the last 60
    years, many in the West have added to this distrust by excusing tyranny
    in the region, hoping to purchase stability at the price of liberty. But
    it did not serve the people of the Middle East to betray their hope of
    freedom. It has not made Western nations more secure to ignore the cycle
    of dictatorship and extremism. Instead we've seen the malice grow deeper
    and the violence spread, until both have appeared on the streets of our
    own cities. Some types of hatred will never be appeased. They must be
    opposed and discredited and defeated by a hopeful alternative, and that
    alternative is freedom.
        Reformers in the broader Middle East are working to build freer and
    more prosperous societies, and America and Turkey, the G-8, the EU, and
    NATO have now agreed to support them. Many nations are helping the
    people of Afghanistan to secure a free government. And NATO now leads a
    military operation in Afghanistan, in the first action by the Alliance
    outside of Europe. In Iraq, a broad coalition, including the military
    forces of many NATO countries, is helping the people of that country to
    build a decent and democratic government after decades of corrupt
    oppression. And NATO is providing support to a Polish-led division.
        The Government of Iraq has now taken a crucial step forward. In a
    nation that suffered for decades under tyranny, we have witnessed the
    transfer of sovereignty and the beginning of self-government. In just 15
    months, the Iraqi people have left behind one of the worst regimes in
    the Middle East, and their country is becoming the world's newest
    democracy. The world has seen a great event in the history of Iraq, in
    the history of the Middle East, and in the history of liberty.
        The rise of Iraqi democracy is bringing hope to reformers across the
    Middle East and sending a very different message to Tehran and Damascus.
    A free and sovereign Iraq is a decisive defeat for extremists and
    terrorists, because their hateful ideology will lose its appeal in a
    free and tolerant and successful country. The terrorists are doing
    everything they can to undermine Iraqi democracy, by attacking all who
    stand for order and justice and by committing terrible crimes to break
    the will of free nations. These terrorists have the ability to cause
    suffering and grief, but they do not have the power to alter the outcome
    in Iraq. The civilized world will keep its resolve. The leaders of Iraq
    are strong and determined, and the people of Iraq will live in freedom.
        Iraq still faces hard challenges in the days and months ahead.
    Iraq's leaders are eager to assume responsibility for their own
    security, and that is our wish as well. So this week at our summit, NATO
    agreed to provide assistance in training Iraqi security forces. I am
    grateful to Turkey and other NATO Allies for helping our friends in Iraq
    to build a nation that governs itself and defends itself.
        Our efforts to promote reform and democracy in the Middle East are
    moving

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    forward. At the NATO summit, we approved the Istanbul Cooperative
    Initiative, offering to work together with nations of the broader Middle
    East to fight terrorism, to control their borders, and to aid victims of
    disaster. We're thankful for the important role that Turkey is playing
    as a democratic partner in the Broader Middle East Initiative.
        For all of our efforts to succeed, however, more is needed than
    plans and policies. We must strengthen the ties of trust and good will
    between ourselves and the peoples of the Middle East. And trust and good
    will come more easily when men and women clear their minds and their
    hearts of suspicion and prejudice and unreasoned fear. When some in my
    country speak in an ill-informed and insulting manner about the Muslim
    faith, their words are heard abroad and do great harm to our cause in
    the Middle East. When some in the Muslim world incite hatred and murder
    with conspiracy theories and propaganda, their words are also heard by a
    generation of young Muslims who need truth and hope, not lies and anger.
    All such talk, in America or in the Middle East, is dangerous and
    reckless and unworthy of any religious tradition. Whatever our culture
    differences may be, there should be respect and peace in the House of
    Abraham.
        The Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk has said that
    the finest view of Istanbul is not from the shores of Europe or from the
    shores of Asia but from a bridge that unites them and lets you see both.
    His work has been a bridge between cultures, and so is the Republic of
    Turkey. The people of this land understand, as that great writer has
    observed, that ``What is important is not a clash of parties,
    civilizations, cultures, East and West.'' What is important, he says, is
    to realize ``that other people in other continents and civilizations''
    are ``exactly like you.''
        Ladies and gentlemen, in their need for hope, in their desire for
    peace, in their right to freedom, the peoples of the Middle East are
    exactly like you and like me. Their birthright of freedom has denied--
    been denied for too long. We will do all in our power to help them find
    the blessings of liberty.
        Thank you for your hospitality. May God bless Turkey. May God
    continue to bless the United States.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:13 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer of
    Turkey; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.