Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend President George W. Bush for his extremely important and inspirational remarks at the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy on November 6, 2003. The National Endowment for Democracy was…
Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend President George W. Bush for his extremely important and inspirational remarks at the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy on November 6, 2003.
The National Endowment for Democracy was formed 20 years ago to answer President Ronald Reagan's ground breaking speech before the British Parliament in London on June 8, 1982. President Reagan said:
The objective I propose is quite simple to state: to foster
the infrastructure of democracy-the system of a free press,
unions, political parties, universities- which allows a
people to choose their own way, to develop their own culture,
to reconcile their own differences through peaceful means.
Since its inception at the height of the Cold War, the National Endowment for Democracy has been a bipartisan, non-profit organization with the singular aim of promoting democracy and freedom throughout the world. The National Endowment for Democracy has lived up to its mission of ``supporting freedom throughout the world.''
Yesterday, President George W. Bush renewed America's commitment to the cause of freedom with these stirring words:
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.
Mr. Speaker, I applaud President Bush for his vision, steadfast commitment and leadership in the advancement of freedom throughout the world.
It is now my distinct priviledge to ask unanimous consent that the full text of President Bush's remarks at the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy be included in the Congressional Record at this time.
Remarks by President George W. Bush at the 20th Anniversary of the
National Endowment for Democracy
The President. Thank you all very much. Please be seated.
Thanks for the warm welcome, and thanks for inviting me to
join you in this 20th anniversary of the National Endowment
for Democracy. The 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 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.
(Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
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 America 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.
As the 20th century ended, there were around 120
democracies in the world--and I can assure you more are on
the way. (Applause.) 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 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 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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.) 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 their freedom finally
arrives. (Applause.)
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 it. I
believe every person has the ability and the right to be
free. (Applause.)
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 ``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
``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,
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 the 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, of
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 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 Mohammed 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.
(Applause.)
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 Teheran must heed the
democratic demands of the Iranian people, or lose its last
claim to legitimacy. (Applause.)
For the Palestinian people, the only path to independence
and dignity and progress is the path of democracy.
(Applause.) 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. (Applause.) 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.
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 an elite. Successful societies protect
freedom with the consistent and impartial rule of law,
instead of selecting applying--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.
(Applause.)
These vital principles are being applies 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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
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 borders 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 Teheran--that freedom can be
the future of every nation. (Applause.) The establishment of
a free Iraq at the heart of the Middle East will be a
watershed event in the global democratic revolution.
(Applause.)
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
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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
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.
(Applause.)
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. (Applause.)