Bush pushes Middle East democracy
'A forward strategy for freedom in the Middle East'
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President Bush spoke to a meeting of the National Endowment for Democracy.
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush called Thursday for democratic reforms in the Middle East, saying that "freedom can be the future of every nation."
Bush said the stakes were particularly high in Iraq, where a U.S.-led coalition toppled Saddam Hussein's rule. "The failure of Iraqi democracy would embolden terrorists around the world," the president said.
He said the United States and other nations shared blame for the lack of democratic freedoms in the Middle East.
"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," Bush said.
The president spoke to the National Endowment for Democracy, a group that champions democratic gains around the world, on the same day that he was signing an $87.5 billion package approved by Congress for military and reconstruction operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bush said the Middle East was at a turning point and that "the global wave of democracy has barely reached the Arab states." Many countries in the region are mired in poverty and women lack rights and children are denied proper schooling.
"These are not the failures of a culture or a religion," the president said. "These are the failures of economic and political doctrine." He said countries like Iraq and Syria had promised their citizens national honor but left instead a legacy of torture and oppression.
"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," Bush said.
"The good and capable people of the Middle East all deserve responsible leadership," he said. "For too long, many people in that region have been victims and subjects. They deserve to be active citizens."
"As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment and violence ready for export," Bush said. "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."
As a result, he said the United States "has adopted a new policy," which he described as "a forward strategy for 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," Bush said. "We believe that liberty is the design of nature. We believe that liberty is the direction of history."
Bush heralded steps toward democracy in some Mideast nations, mentioning Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
"Many Middle Eastern governments now understand that military dictatorship and theocratic rule are a straight smooth highway to nowhere," the president said.
He said Saudi Arabia was taking the first steps towards reforms with plans for its first local elections.
"By giving the Saudi people a greater role in their own society, the Saudi government can demonstrate true leadership in the region," Bush said.
He said that Egypt, another powerhouse in the region, "has shown the way toward peace in the Middle East and now can show the way toward democracy in the Middle East."
"Champions of democracy in the region understand that democracy is not perfect," Bush said. "It is not the path of utopia ... ."
Mindful of concern about the influence of the United States, Bush said, "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," the president said. "They will not and should not look like us."
Bush pointedly criticized Iran and Palestinian leaders.
"The regime in Tehran must heed the democratic demands of the Iranian people or lose its last claim to legitimacy," he said.
On the Palestinians, Bush said, "The Palestinian leaders who block and undermine democratic reform and feed hatred and encourage violence are not leaders at all," Bush said. "They are the main obstacles to peace and to the success of the Palestinian people."
On the other hand, Bush commended other countries:
"Democratic progress is found in many predominantly Muslim countries: Turkey, Indonesia, Senegal, Albania, Niger and Sierra Leone. Muslim men and women are good citizens of India and South Africa and 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 democractically constituted governments."
Copyright 2003 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
