[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[May 18, 2005]
[Pages 817-823]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks at the International Republican Institute Dinner
May 18, 2005
Thank you all. Thank you. Thanks. Please be seated. Thank you for
the warm welcome. I thank John for that introduction. John
McCain is a man of honor and integrity and
personal courage. He's an outstanding chairman for the International
Republican Institute. He campaigned with me, for which I was grateful,
and one time he said, ``Do you believe in free speech?'' I said, ``I
do.'' He said, ``Why don't you get over to the IRI and give one, then?''
[Laughter]
It was an honor to meet your mother, John--
Roberta. There she is. Mrs. McCain, it's good
to see you. If you're anything like my mother,
I'm sure you're telling John what to do. [Laughter] If he's anything
like me, he's listening to you about half the time. [Laughter] But thank
you very much, John.
I appreciate your president, Lorne Craner. He did a fantastic job in our administration as Assistant
Secretary of State for Democracy and Human Rights and Labor, and he
continues to do good work.
I regret Laura is not with us tonight. You
probably think she's working on some of her one-liners. [Laughter] She's
actually packing her bags because she's off for Jordan and Israel and
Egypt to continue to deliver the freedom message, and I can't think of a
better messenger.
I want to thank Peter Madigan and John
Thain. I want to thank the Members of the
Congress who are here tonight. I particularly want to say hello and
thanks to my close friend Ambassador Jerry Bremer for his fantastic work in Iraq. Thank you,
Jerry, for your good job.
I'm pleased to know that Paul Wolfowitz is with us tonight, President-elect of the World Bank. I'm
going to miss him as a part of my administration. But I want to
[[Page 818]]
tell you something: The world will be better off with Paul Wolfowitz as
the head of the World Bank.
I want to thank the members of the diplomatic corps.
And I want to thank you for this fine award. I understand a little
later on you're going to give an award to a true champion of freedom,
and that is Pope John Paul II. Everywhere he went, Pope John Paul
preached the call of freedom is for every member of the human family,
because the Author of Life wrote it into our common human nature. And in
the end, even the Berlin Wall could not withstand the force of this
humble Polish priest who became the Bishop of Rome and a true hero for
the ages. Thank you for honoring this good man.
I'm here to thank you for supporting the IRI. And I appreciate the
work IRI is doing to advance the cause of liberty. For more than two
decades, IRI has been at the forefront of democratic change in more than
a hundred countries. You've trained the next generation of leaders.
You've strengthened political parties. You've monitored elections, and
you're helping to build civil societies. You've made an enormous
difference in the lives of millions across the world. I hope that makes
you feel good. The world is safer and freer and more peaceful because of
the International Republican Institute. Thank you for your good work.
These are incredibly exciting times. They must be exciting times for
you, and they're exciting times for me. They should be exciting times
for everybody because freedom is making unprecedented progress across
the globe. In the last 18 months, we have witnessed revolutions of Rose,
Orange, Purple, Tulip, and Cedar. And these are just the beginnings.
Across the Caucasus and central Asia, hope is stirring at the prospect
of change, and change will come. Across the broader Middle East, we are
seeing the rise of a new generation whose hearts burn for freedom, and
they will have it.
This is a period of great idealism, when dreams of liberty are
coming true for millions. Yet, to achieve idealistic goals, we need
realistic policies to help nations secure their freedom and practical
strategies to help young democracies consolidate their gains.
To help young democracies succeed, we need to recognize that freedom
movements can create a vacuum. Democratic change and free elections are
exhilarating events. Yet we know from experience they can be followed by
moments of uncertainty. When people risk everything to vote, it can
raise expectations that their lives will improve immediately, but
history teaches us that the path to a free society is long and not
always smooth.
During my visit to Europe, I stopped in a country that is now in the
early stages of its transition from free elections to a free society,
and that's the nation of Georgia. It was a fantastic honor to represent
our country in front of thousands of people and to stand side by side
with a true lover of freedom, President Saakashvili. It was an unbelievable experience to stand in Freedom
Square to celebrate the peaceful revolution that took place 18 months
ago. Yet it has taken nearly 15 years of struggle for the citizens of
this young democracy to establish freedom and justice in their country.
But I've seen the resolve of Georgia's leaders and the spirit of the
Georgian people. And I can assure you, they have the will to succeed,
and the United States of America will help them.
Almost every new democracy has gone through a period of challenge
and confusion. In Slovakia, the Velvet Revolution was followed by a
period of neoauthoritarian rule before freedom firmly took hold. In
Romania, the communist regime was toppled in 1989, and today, the post-
communist leadership is still dealing with the legacy of corruption they
inherited as they work to build a vibrant democracy. In Ukraine,
citizens waited 13 years after independence for the Orange Revolution
that
[[Page 819]]
solidified the democratic gains. All these countries still have much
more work to do, but their people are courageous, and their leaders are
determined. And with our help, they will prevail.
And as we push the freedom agenda, we must remember the history of
our own country. The American Revolution was followed by years of chaos.
In 1783, Congress was chased from Philadelphia by angry veterans
demanding backpay, and the Congress stayed on the run for 6 months. Our
first effort at a governing charter, the Articles of Confederation,
failed miserably. It took several years before we finally adopted our
Constitution and inaugurated our first President. It took a 4-year civil
war and a century of struggle after that before the promise of our
Declaration was extended to all Americans.
No nation in history has made the transition from tyranny to a free
society without setbacks and false starts. What separates those nations
that succeed from those that falter is their progress in establishing
free institutions. So to help young democracies succeed, we must help
them build free institutions to fill the vacuum created by change.
Democracy takes different forms in different cultures. Yet we know that
in all cultures, successful democracies are built on certain common
foundations, and they include the following rights:
First, all successful democracies need freedom of speech, with a
vibrant free press that informs the public, ensures transparency, and
prevents authoritarian backsliding.
Second, all successful democracies need freedom of assembly, so
citizens can gather and organize in free associations to press for
reform and so that a peaceful, loyal opposition can provide citizens
with real choices.
Third, all successful democracies need a free economy to unleash the
creativity of its citizens and create prosperity and opportunity and
economic independence from the state.
Fourth, all democracies need an independent judiciary to guarantee
rule of law and assure impartial justice for all citizens.
And fifth, all democracies need freedom of worship, because respect
for the beliefs of others is the only way to build a society where
compassion and tolerance prevail.
These are the foundations that sustain human freedom. Societies that
lay these foundations not only survive but thrive. Societies that fail
to do so often find they have built their future on sand instead of rock
and risk sliding back into tyranny. So we have a great responsibility.
We must help these young democracies build the free institutions that
will protect their liberty and extend it to future generations.
To help young democracies succeed and build these institutions of
liberty, we must enlist the help of many individuals and institutions.
Nongovernmental organizations have a role to play; the United States
Government has a role to play; and the world's free nations all have
important roles to play.
To build free institutions, we're counting on groups like IRI. As
more and more people rise up to demand their freedom, the world is
seeing a proliferation of democratic transitions. For IRI and others in
the business of promoting democratic change, this is good news. It means
you are in a growth industry. We need you to continue your vital work to
help ensure free and fair elections across the world. At the same time,
we also need you to focus your skills and experience on what comes after
the elections are over, and the media has left, and the world's
attention has turned elsewhere.
As new democracies emerge, we need you to help civic associations in
those countries transform from regime opponents to issue advocates, so
they can press legitimate governments for essential reforms. We need you
to help the democratic reformers you have trained make the transition
from dissidents to elected legislators by teaching them how to build
coalitions and set legislative agendas and master unfamiliar skills
[[Page 820]]
like constituent service. We need you to help businesses in new market
economies organize trade associations and chambers of commerce, so they
can promote progrowth economic policies. And we need you to teach newly
elected governments the importance of building public support for their
policies and programs as well as how to effectively deal with a free
news media. By helping people build these institutions and develop the
habits of liberty, you are helping them transform new democracies into
lasting free societies.
To build free institutions, the United States Government has
responsibilities. To help meet this goal, since taking office my
administration has provided more than $4.6 billion for programs to
support democratic change around the world, and we have requested over
1.3 billion for these efforts in our 2006 budget. Our 2006 budget also
requests $80 million for the National Endowment of Democracy, more than
double NED's budget when I took office. The reason I bring this up is I
want you to understand that we have funding, but we will focus that
funding to help new democracies after the elections are over.
We must also improve the responsiveness of our Government to help
nations emerging from tyranny and war. Democratic change can arrive
suddenly, and that means our Government must be able to move quickly to
provide needed assistance. So last summer, my administration established
a new Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization in the State
Department, led by Ambassador Carlos Pascual.
This new office is charged with coordinating our Government's civilian
efforts to meet an essential mission, helping the world's newest
democracies make the transition to peace and freedom and a market
economy.
You know, one of the lessons we learned from our experience in Iraq
is that while military personnel can be rapidly deployed anywhere in the
world, the same is not true of U.S. Government civilians. Many fine
civilian workers from almost every department of our Government
volunteered to serve in Iraq. When they got there, they did an amazing
job under extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances, and America
appreciates their service and sacrifice.
But the process of recruiting and staffing the Coalition Provisional
Authority was lengthy, and it was difficult. That's why one of the first
projects of the new Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization is to
create a new Active Response Corps made up of foreign and civil service
officers who can deploy quickly to crisis situations as civilian first-
responders. This new Corps will be on call, ready to get programs
running on the ground in days and weeks instead of months and years. The
2006 budget requests $24 million for this office and $100 million for a
new Conflict Response Fund. If a crisis emerges and assistance is
needed, the United States of America will be ready.
This office will also work to expand our use of civilian volunteers
from outside our Government who have the right skills and are willing to
serve in these missions. After the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan,
Americans from all walks of life stepped forward to help these newly
liberated nations recover.
Last summer, a Lancaster, Ohio, police officer named Brian
Fisher volunteered to spend a year in Baghdad
training Iraqi police. Brian says, ``The Iraqi people have been under a
dictatorship, and now they are moving toward democracy, and I want to do
something to help.'' What a fantastic spirit that Brian showed, but he's
not alone. Last May, a Notre Dame Law School professor named Jimmy
Gurule helped train 39 Iraqi judges, some of
whom will conduct the trials of Saddam Hussein and other senior members of his regime. Because of
efforts of people like him and Brian, these trials will be fair and
transparent.
These are ordinary Americans who are making unbelievable
contributions to freedom's cause. And the spirit of the citizenship of
this country is remarkable, and
[[Page 821]]
we're going to put that spirit to work to advance the cause of liberty
and to build a safer world.
We're improving the capacity of our military to assist nations that
are making democratic transitions. In Iraq and Afghanistan, our men and
women in uniform are serving with unbelievable courage and distinction,
and they make this country incredibly proud. The main purpose of our
military is to win the war on terror, is to find and defeat the
terrorists overseas so we do not face them here at home. A major goal of
our military is to train Iraqi and Afghan security forces so these
nations can defend their people and fight the terrorists themselves. But
at the same time, America's Armed Forces are also undertaking a less
visible but increasingly important task, helping these people of these
nations build civil societies from the rubble of oppression.
In Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition forces are deploying Provincial
Reconstruction Teams in remote regions of that country. These teams are
helping the Afghan Government to fix schools, dig wells, build roads,
repair hospitals, and build confidence in the Afghan Government's
ability to deliver real change in people's lives. In Iraq, soldiers of
the 1st Cavalry Division launched ``Operation Adam Smith,'' provided
Iraqi entrepreneurs with small-business loans, taught them the important
skills to run a business, like accounting and marketing and writing
business plans.
To give our military more resources for this vital work, we are
rebalancing our forces, moving people out of skills that are in low
demand, such as heavy artillery, and adding more military police and
civil affairs specialists that are needed in these types of situations.
By transforming our military, we will make our Armed Forces faster, more
agile, and more lethal, and we will make them more effective in helping
societies transition from war and despotism to freedom and democracy.
To build free institutions, all free nations have responsibilities.
We know that democracies do not foment terror or invade their neighbors.
Democratic societies are peaceful societies, which is why, for the sake
of peace, the world's established democracies must help the world's
newest democracies succeed.
The United States will continue to call upon our friends and allies
across the world to help in this noble cause. And today, many nations
are stepping forward with practical help. And some of the most active
countries are those who have had recent experience with tyrants
themselves. Hungary has established an International Center for
Democratic Transition to share its experiences with emerging
democracies. Lithuania is now preparing to deploy a Provincial
Reconstruction Team in western Afghanistan. Slovakia is bringing Iraqi
political leaders to their country to show them firsthand how a nation
moves from dictatorship to democracy. With the help of IRI, Poland and
Lithuania and Latvia are working with civil society leaders in Belarus
to bring freedom to Europe's last dictatorship.
Bahrain and Jordan, the Czech Republic, and Britain and Italy are
hosting hundreds of Iraqi judges so they can study modern legal
techniques that will help Iraq establish the rule of law. Many nations
are contributing troops for stability operations. In Afghanistan, 40
countries have forces on the ground, and NATO has taken charge of the
International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. In Iraq, 30 nations
have forces deployed, and NATO is helping to train army officers and
police and civilian administrators of a new Iraq.
This is incredibly important work. And I will remind the leaders of
free countries how important this work is.
And it's not easy work; it's tough work. As we're seeing in the
Middle East, freedom often has deadly enemies, men who celebrate murder,
incite suicide, and thirst for absolute power. By working together to
aid democratic transitions, we will isolate
[[Page 822]]
and defeat the forces of terror and ensure a peaceful world for
generations to come.
Today, much of our focus is on the broader Middle East, because I
understand that 60 years of Western nations excusing and accommodating
the lack of freedom in that region did nothing to make us safe. If the
Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will
remain a place of stagnation and resentment and violence ready for
export. The United States has adopted a new policy, a forward strategy
of freedom in the Middle East, a strategy that recognizes the best way
to defeat the ideology that uses terror as a weapon is to spread freedom
and democracy. And we're beginning to see the effects of this new
approach.
Iraq and Afghanistan have held free elections and are now building
free societies. In Afghanistan, they have for the first time a
democratically elected President, and they are
now seeing the rebirth of civil society in a place that until recently
had only known the terror of the Taliban. Iraqis now have an elected
Transitional National Assembly, a new Prime Minister, and they are on their way to writing a new constitution
for a free Iraq. In this vital work, Iraqis and Afghans have the support
of the American people and, thankfully, the support of the International
Republican Institute.
The Palestinian people have gone to the polls and have chosen a
leader committed to negotiation
instead of violence. And now we must help them build free institutions
that will be a foundation for lasting peace. I've asked Jim
Wolfensohn to help President Abbas build
a modern economy and lasting political institutions. If we want to have
two states living side by side in peace, the world must insist that the
Palestinians develop the institutions necessary for a free, democratic
society to grow and emerge.
Egypt will hold its first multiparty Presidential election this
fall. The success of this important step can be advanced by the presence
of international monitors and by rules that allow for a real campaign.
In Lebanon, the citizens of that nation rose up to demand their
independence and will vote in elections that are set to start at the end
of this month. Those elections must go forward with no outside
influence. And when the Lebanese people have chosen their leaders, the
world's free nations
[[Page 823]]
will be there to help them build a lasting democracy.
In these countries and across the world, those who claim their
liberty will have an unwavering ally in the United States. This
administration will stand with the democratic reformers, no matter how
hard it gets. We have a responsibility to build a more peaceful world.
And we know that by extending liberty to millions who have not known it,
we will advance the cause of freedom and the cause of peace. And we're
confident--we are confident in the future because we know that the
future belongs to freedom.
And we know the tree of liberty begins as a sapling, vulnerable to
violent winds and gathering storms. Yet if nurtured and protected, it
will grow into a mighty oak that can withstand any storm, and when it
does, the very winds that once threatened it will carry its seeds across
borders and barriers to take root in still other lands.
We will encourage freedom's advance. We will nurture its progress,
and we will help the nations that choose it to navigate the pitfalls
that follow. This is the challenge of a new century. It is the calling
of our time. And America will do its duty.
May God bless you all. Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 7:09 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel. In his
remarks, he referred to Senator John McCain, chairman, Lorne Craner,
president, and Peter T. Madigan, vice chairman, International Republican
Institute; John A. Thain, chief executive officer, New York Stock
Exchange; L. Paul Bremer III, former Presidential Envoy to Iraq;
President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia; President Hamid Karzai of
Afghanistan; Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari of the Iraqi Transitional
Government; President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian
Authority; and outgoing World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn,
Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement.