'I Don't Think There Is A Direct Parallel'

Mr. Secretary, what are the plans of the coalition for the future of Iraq? How soon do you think it willhappen an indigenous government?

Colin Powell: Well, we are hoping to begin the process of forming that government in the very near future. We have sentAmbassador Zal Khalilzad over with Ambassador Ryan Crocker, two very distinguished diplomats, who will workwith regional groups initially to start to bring forth representatives of the different groups in thoseregions and to see who wants to be part of the new government of Iraq. And so we'll have regional conferenceswhich ultimately will grow into, I believe, a national movement and national conferences so that the people ofIraq can determine how they will be governed and by whom will they be governed.

But we are quite hopeful and optimistic that we can help them create a government that will be democraticand that will be representing all the people of Iraq, and a government that will make sure there are neveragainst weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and it is not an aggressive regime that invades its neighbors but,quite the contrary, will be a regime that no longer terrorizes its people and wants to live in peace with itsneighbors and use the oil wealth of Iraq for the benefit of the people of Iraq, and not to develop thesehorrible weapons or to threaten neighbors.

Mr. Secretary, a quick question on South Asia. Your government has already dismissed the Indian ForeignMinister's threat of an Indian preemptive action against Pakistan, saying there was no parallel between thesituation in Iraq and Pakistan. What can the U.S. do now to defuse the situation and initiate a dialoguebetween India and Pakistan?

Colin Powell: Well, as you know, I stay in very close touch with the authorities in both Pakistan and India, and we do havea very difficult situation and a dangerous situation with respect to actions across the line of control. Andthe United States will stay engaged, but we don't believe there is a need now for any military action of anykind. We are looking to help the two parties resolve this in a peaceful way, and you can be sure that I willpersonally remain engaged, as will President Bush and members of his administration. But I don't think thereis a direct parallel to the two situations.

Mr. Secretary, there remains lingering fears in the Muslim world about U.S. preemptive attacks down theroad after the war in Iraq. Syria and Iran are cited as possible targets. What will U.S. policy be in thecoming months?

Colin Powell: U.S. policy has been to make it clear that the world would be better served if states did not supportterrorism, the world would be better served if states were -- rogue states especially, states that are reallynot truly responsible -- would not develop weapons of mass destruction, such as Iraq. But the United Statesdoes not have some plan or some list with nations on the list that we're going to go attack one after another.

We hope that as a result of what's happened in Iraq and as a result of the revulsion that the world has forterrorist activity and the development of weapons of mass destruction, that some of the nations that we havebeen in touch with and speaking to -- Syria and Iran -- will move in a new direction. But the United Stateswants to speak firmly about this and speak from a position of principle that this is the time for all nationsto realize that terrorism is a threat to all of us and we all must do everything we can to end terrorism andalso do something about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Secretary, speaking of terrorism, Pakistan and the United States have been allies in the war againstterrorism. Where do you see the relationship between Pakistan and the United States going in the future?

Colin Powell: I think we have built a strong relationship over the past year and a half, two years. We remain very closelyin touch with President Musharraf, as well as the new government, and the cooperation that we have seen overthe last 18 months or so has allowed us to bring down the Taliban, has allowed the coalition under OperationEnduring Freedom to break the hold that al-Qaida had on the country, and has given hope to the people ofAfghanistan that they can live under a new government that is committed to the welfare of its people, that it,too, wants to live in peace with its neighbors. And we hope that as a result of this cooperation we have hadwith Pakistan in this regard, that we can find new areas of cooperation with Pakistan.

And we also are viewing our relations with Pakistan and with India as U.S.-Pakistan relations andU.S.-India relations. And I think with both of those great nations on the subcontinent, the United States canhave strong and improving relations and through those relations with both countries we can serve to help bothcountries start to begin a dialogue with each other on outstanding issues. We want to be a friend to bothnations and I'm glad that relations between both nations have improved significantly in recent years.

Mr. Secretary, returning to Iraq, what steps is the United States taking to ensure the territorialintegrity of Iraq?

Colin Powell: We have made it clear to all the various parties who have an interest -- Kurdish leaders, Shia leaders, Sunnileaders, and to the international community -- that the coalition is committed to the territorial integrity ofIraq. We do not want to see it breaking up into two or three different pieces, and we will only support agovernment in Iraq that is likewise committed to that proposition.

And, frankly, to my pleasure, the leaders that we have been speaking to understand that an Iraq thatconsists of all of the parts that are now in Iraq is a better Iraq for the future. It will be a more stableplace and a more viable place economically, a country that can use its oil wealth to benefit all the peoplewithin these different segments of the Iraqi population.

So I am confident that's a goal we can achieve and is supported by the Iraqi people.

Relevant excerpts from the US State Department briefing of April 10:

The New York Times yesterday reported that India is threatening preemptive strikes againstPakistan for terrorist attacks by extremists in Pakistan. Can you comment on that?

Richard Bpoucher: The same comment that I made about all the speculation that we might go after somewhere else after Iraq --

But this is India.

Richard Bpoucher: No, I know. And the fact is that you can't -- should never consider military force the first option. Youshould never consider that a situation has to be dealt with militarily. You should always look for other waysof dealing with it.

We think the situation with regard to Kashmir and India-Pakistan tensions is not the same as the situationthat we and the international community have faced over these years with Iraq, that there are better anddifferent and other ways to deal with this and to deal with it more successfully than one could with militaryaction; and therefore, we've made quite clear our view that there's no -- that's not the way to handle this,that the way to handle the situation and problems of Kashmir is for both sides to stick by their efforts toreduce tensions, for the Pakistani side to continue its efforts to limit infiltration across the line ofcontrol, and for us to continue to work with both sides to eventually get a dialogue going on all the issuesinvolved, including Kashmir.

And this is ongoing?

Richard Bpoucher: And that's been an ongoing effort that we've continued. Yes.