Bush: Advancing Freedom Means Concrete U.S., Allied Moves
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2003 – Since Sept. 11, 2001, President
Bush has said the United States must not only defend
against terrorism -- it must also address the conditions
that push people toward terrorism.
He took the occasion of the graduation at the U.S. Coast
Guard Academy in New London, Conn., today to reiterate that
point.
"America will not relent in the war against global terror,"
Bush told the class of 2003. "We will hunt the terrorists
in every dark corner of the Earth, and we're making good
progress. Nearly one-half of al Qaeda senior operatives
have been captured or killed."
Combating terrorism is more than just military maneuvers,
the president said. "We also stand for the values that
defeat violence and the hope that overcomes hatred," he
said. "We find our greatest security in the advance of
human freedom. Free societies look to the possibilities of
the future instead of feeding old resentments and
bitterness."
Helping struggling countries build wealth and prosperity
for all their peoples are important humanitarian and
political goals, the president said. "Because America loves
peace, America will always work and sacrifice for the
expansion of freedom," he said.
Bush stated that freedom is not the sole birthright of
Americans. The United States has demonstrated, time and
again in its history, the will to spread freedom around the
globe. "As a people dedicated to civil rights, we are
driven to defend the human rights of others," he said.
"We are the nation that liberated continents and
concentration camps. We're the nation of the Marshall Plan,
the Berlin Airlift and the Peace Corps. We're the nation
that ended the oppression of Afghan women, and we are the
nation that closed the torture chambers of Iraq."
Bush pointed out it is not only terrorist leaders who hold
up the progress of freedom, but "the faceless enemies of
human dignity: plague, starvation and hopeless poverty." He
said the United States is at war against these enemies too.
Bush stressed that advancing freedom requires concrete
moves by the United States and its allies. He said the
United States and its allies can work together to halt the
spread of AIDS in Africa.
"Today on the continent of Africa, nearly 30 million people
are afflicted with HIV/AIDS, including 3 million children
under the age of 15," he said. "It is a desperate struggle
for any person, or any nation, to build a better future in
the shadow of death. Yet this shadow can be lifted. AIDS
can be prevented. And AIDS can be treated. Lives can be
saved, and others extended by many years."
The administration proposed a $15 billion initiative to
fight the disease and Congress passed the bill. It is the
largest single up-front commitment in history for an
international public health initiative involving a specific
disease.
"When I travel to Europe next week, I will challenge our
allies to make a similar commitment," he said. "I will urge
our European partners and Japan and Canada to join a great
mission of rescue, and to match their good intentions with
real resources."
Famine is still prevalent in many areas of the world, the
president said. "Our world produces more than enough food
to feed its 6 billion people, yet tens of millions are at
risk of starvation, and millions more lack water fit for
drinking," he said.
"This crisis also is concentrated in Africa. We have the
ability to confront the suffering, and we accept the duty,
as old as the scriptures, to comfort the afflicted and to
feed the hungry."
He said the United States will spend $1 billion to provide
clean drinking water to 50 million people in the developing
world. He has pledged more money to the U.N. World Food
Program to combat famine. The president has asked Congress
to provide $200 million for a new famine fund, "which will
give us the flexibility to act quickly when the first signs
of famine appear." He called on other nations to follow the
U.S. lead.
The president stated that persistent poverty and despair
also undermines freedom. "Half the human population lives
on less than $2 a day," he said. "Billions of men and women
can scarcely imagine the benefits of modern life because
they've never experienced them."
The old way of shipping money to these countries has proven
a disaster. "Far too often, these funds have only enriched
corrupt rulers and made little or no difference in the
lives of the poor," he said. The only test, he said, must
be this: Does a program work?
To get results, developing nations should embrace free
markets, he said. "When nations embrace free markets, the
rule of law and open trade, they prosper and millions of
lives are lifted out of poverty and despair," Bush said.
In his State of the Union address, the president proposed
the creation of a new Millennium Challenge Account. This
money will go to developing nations whose governments are
committed to three broad standards: They must rule justly;
they must invest in the health and education of their
people; and they must have policies that encourage economic
freedom.
At the Coast Guard graduation, he urged Congress to pass
legislation authorizing the program and said that he will
call upon allies to join "in moving beyond the broken
development policies of the past and encourage the freedom
and reform that lead to prosperity."
The president said that addressing the problems of disease,
hunger and poverty in the developing world will make the
United States more secure. "They're also the moral purpose
of American influence," he said. "They set an agenda for
our government and they give idealistic citizens a great
cause to serve."
Part of that moral purpose is embodied in the Peace Corps,
he said. "For more than four decades, the volunteers of the
Peace Corps have carried the good will of America into many
parts of the world," he said. "Interest in this program is
greater than ever before. I'm determined to double the size
of the Peace Corps over the next five years."
The president said he sees the idealism in the faces of
service members worldwide. "I see that idealism in the
faces of this academy class," he said. "The men and women
of the Coast Guard are always ready to defend the security
of this nation. You are always ready to rescue those in
trouble.
"These two commitments define your mission, and they define
America's role in history. We understand that strength is
necessary to confound the designs of evil men. And we know
that the compassion and generosity of this land can aid the
suffering and inspire the world. We will use the great
power of America to serve the great ideals of America. And
by these efforts we will build a lasting democratic peace
for ourselves and for all humanity."
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