For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
January 26, 2004
Remarks by the Vice President to Italian Leaders
Pallazo della Minerva
Rome, Italy
11:38 A.M. (Local)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much, President Pera.
Today I plan to set a new record. (Laughter.) But not that long.
President Casini, Deputy Prime Minister Fini and distinguished guests:
I want to thank you for the warm welcome. It's a privilege to join you
in this magnificent library, in this fine palace, in this historic
capital. Mrs. Cheney and I have visited your beautiful! country on
many occasions, bit we're genuinely, really pleased to be here once
again.
Our country has a special regard for Italy, and for the Italian
people. The traditions of your ancient civilization are a daily
presence in American life. Generations of new citizens who began their
journey in Italy have contributed to the character of America with
their values of faith in God, love of family and a deep appreciation of
freedom.
Our two countries -- with longstanding ties of history and culture,
and a shared commitment to liberty, democracy, and peace -- stand
together as the closest of allies, and the warmest of friends. And I
count it a high honor to bring you good wishes from President George W.
Bush and the people of the United States of America.
This journey gives me the opportunity to pay homage to some of
those who have sacrificed for our common security. Later today I will
visit the military cemetery at Anzio-Nettuno, where 60 years ago this
week allied forces began a mission of liberation. And this morning I
am proud to be in the presence of members of your brave Army, Air
Force, Navy and Carabinieri, as well as the Red Cross and the Voluntary
Nurse Corps -- staunch friends of the United States and brave comrades
in! the cause of liberty.
Italians and Americans do not forget that the liberty we cherish
has come at a cost. And in the decades since the liberation of Europe,
we have been part of a great and enduring alliance of free peoples.
Members of this alliance have faced monumental challenges, and we have
overcome them together. In this new century, facing new challenges, we
must remain united to defend our freedom and to meet the shared duties
of free nations.
Today's generation of leaders has no greater responsibility than to
protect our people against known dangers. On September 11th, 2001, we
saw the face of danger in our era with terrible clarity. And yet for
all the destruction and grief it caused, September 11th gave us the
merest glimpse of the threat that international terrorism poses for us
all.
You and I know that terrorist violence is hardly new in history --
and over the years Italy has experienced awful suffering at the hand of
terrorists. Yet we understand that 21st century terrorism presents a
new and a far greater peril to us all. Civilized nations face a
sophisticated global network of terrorists who are opposed to the
values of liberty, tolerance, and openness that are the basis of our
societies.
From materials seized by coalition forces in Afghanistan, and from
interrogations of captured terrorists, we know they are doing
everything they can to acquire chemical, biological, radiological and
even nuclear weapons. Were they to gain those weapons -- either by
their own efforts or with help from an outlaw regime -- no appeal to
reason or morality would prevent them from committing the worst of
horrors.
Italians and Americans know that we must act with all the urgency
this danger demands. Civilized people everywhere must do everything in
our power to defeat terrorism and to stop the spread of weapons of mass
destruction.
Our success will depend on meeting several responsibilities. The
first of them is to confront the ideologies of violence at the source,
by promoting democracy throughout the greater Middle East and beyond.
We know from experience that the institutions of self government
turn the energies of human beings away from violence, to the peaceful
work of building better lives. Democracies do not breed the anger and
radicalism that drag down whole societies and export violence.
Terrorists do not find fertile recruiting grounds in societies where
young people have the right to guide their own destiny and choose their
own leaders.
For the best illustration of these truths, we need not look far.
By the middle of the 20th century, generations of conflict had led some
to conclude that permanent tension was a fact of life in Europe, and
that some European cultures were incapable of sustaining democratic
values. We know that this pessimistic view was false. The true
sources of conflict were despotic and anti-democratic regimes. The
defeat of fascism and the spre! ad of democracy after World War II was
the precondition for peace and prosperity in Western Europe. Likewise,
the defeat of Soviet communism and the spread of democracy in Eastern
Europe made possible a continent whole and free -- and increasingly
stable and prosperous.
What was once said about Europe is often said today about the
greater Middle East. We are told that democratic values can never take
root in that part of the world. These claims are condescending, and
they are false. The desire for freedom is universal. Whenever
ordinary people are given the chan! ce to choose, they choose freedom,
democracy and the rule of law, not slavery, tyranny and the heavy tread
of the secret police.
In the years of the Cold War, we learned that we could not safely
put a boarder on freedom. Security was not divisible in Europe; it is
not divisible in the world. Our choice is not between a unipolar world
and a multipolar world. Our choice is for a just, free and democratic
world. That requires the insights, sacrifices and resources of all
democratic nations. And it requires the coura! ge, sacrifice and
dedication of those now denied their basic freedoms.
It is clear that reform has many advocates in the Muslim world.
Arab intellectuals have spoken of a "freedom deficit," and of the
imperative for internal reform, greater political participation, the
rule of law, economic openness, and wider trade. And we have begun to
see movement toward reform in the greater Middle East.
Of course, the most dramatic recent examples are seen in the
liberated countries of Afghanistan and Iraq. In Afghanistan, two years
after the overthrow of the brutal Taliba! n regime, the Loya Jirga has
approved a constitution that reflects the values of tolerance and of
equal rights for women. Under President Karzai's leadership, and with
help from democratic countries around the world, the Afghan people are
building a decent, just and a free society -- and a nation that will
never again be a safe haven for terror.
In Iraq, too, after decades of Baathist rule, democracy is
beginning to take hold. Less than a year ago, the people of that
country lived under the absolute power of one man and his apparatus of
intimidation and terror. Today the former dictator sits in captivity;
he can no longer harbor or support terrorists, and his long efforts to
acquire weapons of mass destruction are at an end.
Month by month, Iraqis are assuming moire responsibility for their
own security and their own future. We are working with Iraq's new
Governing Council to prepare the way for a transition to full Iraqi
sovereignty by the end of June. Iraqis are preparing a new fundamental
law, which will guarantee certain basic rights. We will stand with
them, and continue to sacrifice to ensure their safety until that work
is done.
Our forward strategy for freedom leads us to support those who work
and sacrifice for reform across the greater Middle East. Americans and
Italians know the days of looking the other way while despotic regimes
trample human rights, rob their nation's wealth, and then excuse their
failings by feeding their people a steady diet of anti-Western hatred
are over. Instead, we must seek a higher standard, one that will apply
to our friends in the region no less than to our adversaries.
Just as democratic reform is the key to the future that the people
of the Middle East deserve, so it is also essential to a peaceful
resolution of the long-standing Arab-Israeli dispute. We seek
recognition and security for Israel. And we support a viable,
independent Palestinian state. But peace wil! l not be achieved by
Palestinian rulers who intimidate opposition, tolerate and profit from
corruption and maintain ties to terrorist groups. The best hope for
lasting peace depends on true democracy. And a true Palestinian
democracy requires leaders who understand that terror has in fact been
the worst enemy of the Palestinian people and are prepared to remove it
from their midst.
Israel, too, must redouble its efforts by alleviating the suffering
of the Palestinian people and by avoiding actions that undermine the
long-term viability of a two-state solution. President Bush remains
committed to the process that he launched on June 24th. His envoy,
John Wolf, returns to the region this week to continue this difficult
but essential work.
Encouraging the spread of freedom and democracy is the right thing
to do, and it is also very much in our collective interest. Helping the
people of the greater Middle East overcome the freedom deficit is,
ultimately, the key to winning the broader war on terror. It is one of
the great tasks of our time, and will require resolve and resources
for a generation or more.
This is work for many hands. And here we see our second great
responsibility: To keep our alliances and our international
partnerships strong and to cooperate on every front as we meet common
dangers.
We have made much progress in the past two years -- and Italy has
been a steadfast partner on every front, from law enforcement to
diplomacy to intelligence. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the Italian Red
Cross and other civilian agencies have made vital humanitarian
contributions to the cause of peace and stability.
My country is especially grateful for the dedication of the Italian
armed forces. Yours is the third largest contingent of the coalition
in Iraq. And in both Iraq and Afghanistan, your forces have performed
difficult duty with skill, and they have faced danger with courage.
Last November, Italy said farewell to the 19 military and civilians
whose lives were taken in the attack on the police station in
Nasiriyah. The United States of America felt very deeply that loss of
our good ally. We honor the memory of the fallen. We offer our
sympathy to the families and to the great nation! that they served so
faithfully.
You have also been staunch allies in NATO, which itself is
undergoing the most dramatic and important transformation in its
history. You stood with us in invoking Article 5 of NATO's charter on
September 12th of 2001 -- an attack on one is an attack on all. And
you led in promoting NATO's dialogue with Mediterranean partners. NATO
is expanding its membership, creating a rapid response force, leading
the International Security Force of Assistance in Kabul! , and
supporting the Polish-led division in Iraq. These deployments --
hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles from the European heartland
-- speak to our common understand that today's threats must be met
where they are, or those threats will come to us.
But we have much more work to do. The need for more deployable
forces in the NATO alliance is critical. Now, in this new century, we
must strengthen NATO and turn its might against the global forces of
terror. Another priority is greater cooperation between NATO and the
EU. None of us can afford waste, duplication or competition between
the two great institutions in Brussels.&nb;! sp;
The grave problem of proliferation also calls for decisive and
united action. Today, knowing that terrorists are actively seeking
weapons of mass destruction, the risks of inaction are impossible to
overstate. Different situations require different strategies. We are
determined to see that North Korea eliminates its nuclear program and
that Iran keeps its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons.
To combat proliferation, we must strengthen existing multilateral
institutions and treaties to ensure they are up to the challenges of
the 21st century. And where necessary, we must create new mechanisms
to prevent the spread of deadly weapons. That is why Italy and the
United States, together with nine ! other nations, have formed the
Proliferation Security Initiative, to identify and interdict the most
dangerous weapons and missile technologies in transit.
In all of our actions, the world's democracies must send an
unmistakable message: that the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction
only invites isolation and carries with it great costs. And leaders
who abandon the pursuit of those weapons will find an open path to far
better relations with governments around the world.
That message has already yielded a response in Tripoli. In October
of last year, the Italian and German governments worked together to
interdict a cargo of centrifuge parts destined for Libya and intended
for use in enriching uranium to build nuclear weapons. This operation
was a powerful demonstration of the value of the Proliferation Security
Initiative and a turning point in our negotiations with Libya. In
December, after nine months of intensive diplomacy, Colonel Ghadafi
voluntarily pledged to disclose and dismantle all of his regime's
weapons of mass destruction programs.
Today, with the cooperation of Libya's government, American and
British experts and international inspectors have already examined a
sizable weapons program, including a uranium enrichment project for
nuclear weapons. In the months to come, inspectors will assist Libya
in dismantling its entire WMD programs and its longer-range missiles.
Libya has now ratified the nuclear test ban treaty, and early next
month will become the 159th country to join the Chemical Weapons
Convention.
Our understanding with Libya came about through quiet diplomacy,
but our diplomacy with Libya was successful only because our word was
credible. That kind of credibility can be earned in only one way -- by
keeping commitments so that potential adversaries can have no doubt
that dangerous conduct wi! ll invite certain consequences. And so our
third responsibility as free nations is to be ready, as a last resort,
to apply military force. As President Bush has said, "Our people have
given us the duty to defend them. And that duty sometimes requires the
violent restraint of violent men."
Ladies and gentlemen, your country and mine have shown that we take
this responsibility very seriously. Because we've acted together,
because we've shown our resolve, because no one doubts that we keep our
commitments, the world is changing for the better.
In Iraq, because we acted, 25 million people live free of Saddam's
tyranny. Never again will they have to fear the arbitrary rule of the
dictator and his sons -- the torture chambers, the mass graves, the
whole apparatus of terror that sustained their power. The people of
Iraq have been delivered from a nightmare. And every man and woman who
fought for the freedom of that country, every person now engaged in the
work of making Iraq a stable and a democratic nation has contributed to
a just cause and to the peace of the world.
None of these responsibilities that I have described this morning
are easily met. Promoting freedom, justice and democracy in areas that
have known generations of despotism is an enormous undertaking.
Working cooperatively against the dangers of a new era will place
demands on us all. And using military power, when no alternative
remains, will always be the most difficult decision that leaders can
take. Yet all of these great responsibilities are central to our
future success as free nations. By fulfilling them, we will ! bring
new hope to millions, and build a more peaceful world beyond the war on
terror.
In the great work of our generation, the United States and Italy go
forward as the strongest of partners, faithful friends and members of a
great alliance for liberty. We know that the momentum of history
favors human freedom. When free nations are clear in our purposes,
confident in our ideals and unite! d in our defense, no enemy will
prevail against us.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
END 11:58 A.M. (Local)
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