'Freedom In Iraq And Middle East'

The roots of our democracy can be traced to England, and to its Parliament -- and so can the roots of thisorganization [the National Endowment for Democracy] In June of 1982, President Ronald Reagan spoke atWestminster Palace and declared, the turning point had arrived in history. He argued that Soviet communism hadfailed, precisely because it did not respect its own people -- their creativity, their genius and theirrights.

President Reagan said that the day of Soviet tyranny was passing, that freedom had a momentum which wouldnot be halted. He gave this organization its mandate: to add to the momentum of freedom across the world. Yourmandate was important 20 years ago; it is equally important today.

A number of critics were dismissive of that speech by the President. According to one editorial of thetime, "It seems hard to be a sophisticated European and also an admirer of Ronald Reagan." 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.

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 heldfree elections. Soon there were new democracies in Latin America, and free institutions were spreading inKorea, 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 hiscountry -- 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 areon the way. 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 ofdemocracy. Historians in the future will offer their own explanations for why this happened. Yet we alreadyknow some of the reasons they will cite. It is no accident that the rise of so many democracies took place ina 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 fromaggression, and created the conditions in which new democracies could flourish. As we provided security forwhole 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. Theyknew of at least one place -- a bright and hopeful land -- where freedom was valued and secure. And theyprayed 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 amiddle class that was confident enough to demand their own rights. They will point to the role of technologyin frustrating censorship and central control -- and marvel at the power of instant communications to spreadthe truth, the news, and courage across borders.

Historians in the future will reflect on an extraordinary, undeniable fact: Over time, free nations growstronger and dictatorships grow weaker. In the middle of the 20th century, some imagined that the centralplanning and social regimentation were a shortcut to national strength. In fact, the prosperity, and socialvitality and technological progress of a people are directly determined by extent of their liberty. Freedomhonors and unleashes human creativity -- and creativity determines the strength and wealth of nations. Libertyis 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 freedomrests upon the choices and the courage of free peoples, and upon their willingness to sacrifice. In thetrenches of World War I, through a two-front war in the 1940s, the difficult battles of Korea and Vietnam, andin missions of rescue and liberation on nearly every continent, Americans have amply displayed our willingnessto 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 theworld. A global nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union ended peacefully -- as did the Soviet Union. Thenations of Europe are moving towards unity, not dividing into armed camps and descending into genocide. Everynation has learned, or should have learned, an important lesson: Freedom is worth fighting for, dying for, andstanding for -- and the advance of freedom leads to peace.

And now we must apply that lesson in our own time. We've reached another great turning point -- and theresolve 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 fromexile, the leaders of new democracies will arrive. Communism, and militarism and rule by the capricious andcorrupt are the relics of a passing era. And we will stand with these oppressed peoples until the day of theirfreedom finally arrives.

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 freedomleads to national wealth. China's leaders will also discover that freedom is indivisible -- that social andreligious freedom is also essential to national greatness and national dignity. Eventually, men and women whoare 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 focusof American policy for decades to come. In many nations of the Middle East -- countries of great strategicimportance -- democracy has not yet taken root. And the questions arise: Are the peoples of the Middle Eastsomehow beyond the reach of liberty? Are millions of men and women and children condemned by history orculture to live in despotism? Are they alone never to know freedom, and never even to have a choice in thematter? I, for one, do not believe it. I believe every person has the ability and the right to be free.

Some skeptics of democracy assert that the traditions of Islam are inhospitable to the representativegovernment. This "cultural condescension," as Ronald Reagan termed it, has a long history. After theJapanese 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, andI quote, "most uncertain at best" -- he made that claim in 1957. Seventy-four years ago, The SundayLondon Times declared nine-tenths of the population of India to be "illiterates not caring a fig forpolitics." Yet when Indian democracy was imperiled in the 1970s, the Indian people showed theircommitment 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 ofprogress. In fact, the daily work of democracy itself is the path of progress. It teaches cooperation, thefree exchange of ideas, and the peaceful resolution of differences. As men and women are showing, fromBangladesh 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 democraticrule. Democratic progress is found in many predominantly Muslim countries -- in Turkey and Indonesia, andSenegal 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 constitutedgovernments. They succeed in democratic societies, not in spite of their faith, but because of it. A religionthat demands individual moral accountability, and encourages the encounter of the individual with God, isfully 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 oflagging political development." The freedom deficit they describe has terrible consequences, of thepeople of the Middle East and for the world. In many Middle Eastern countries, poverty is deep and it isspreading, women lack rights and are denied schooling. Whole societies remain stagnant while the world movesahead. These are not the failures of a culture or a religion. These are the failures of political and economicdoctrines.

As the colonial era passed away, the Middle East saw the establishment of many military dictatorships. Somerulers adopted the dogmas of socialism, seized total control of political parties and the media anduniversities. They allied themselves with the Soviet bloc and with international terrorism. Dictators in Iraqand Syria promised the restoration of national honor, a return to ancient glories. They've left instead alegacy of torture, oppression, misery, and ruin.

Other men, and groups of men, have gained influence in the Middle East and beyond through an ideology oftheocratic terror. Behind their language of religion is the ambition for absolute political power. Rulingcabals like the Taliban show their version of religious piety in public whippings of women, ruthlesssuppression 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 andworking society, they left behind suffering and starvation.

Many Middle Eastern governments now understand that military dictatorship and theocratic rule are astraight, 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 vastnatural resources, they do not respect or develop their greatest resources -- the talent and energy of men andwomen working and living in freedom.

Instead of dwelling on past wrongs and blaming others, governments in the Middle East need to confront realproblems, and serve the true interests of their nations. The good and capable people of the Middle East alldeserve 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 adiverse new parliament; King Mohammed has urged it to extend the rights to women. Here is how His Majestyexplained his reforms to parliament: "How can society achieve progress while women, who represent halfthe 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 iscorrect: The future of Muslim nations will be better for all with the full participation of women.

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 multipartypolitical system; Kuwait has a directly elected national assembly; and Jordan held historic elections thissummer. Recent surveys in Arab nations reveal broad support for political pluralism, the rule of law, and freespeech. These are the stirrings of Middle Eastern democracy, and they carry the promise of greater change tocome.

As changes come to the Middle Eastern region, those with power should ask themselves: Will they beremembered for resisting reform, or for leading it? In Iran, the demand for democracy is strong and broad, aswe 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 tolegitimacy.

For the Palestinian people, the only path to independence and dignity and progress is the path ofdemocracy. And the Palestinian leaders who block and undermine democratic reform, and feed hatred andencourage violence are not leaders at all. They're the main obstacles to peace, and to the success of thePalestinian people.

The Saudi government is taking first steps toward reform, including a plan for gradual introduction ofelections. By giving the Saudi people a greater role in their own society, the Saudi government candemonstrate 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 showthe way toward democracy in the Middle East. Champions of democracy in the region understand that democracy isnot 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 asWesternization. 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, orparliamentary systems. And working democracies always need time to develop -- as did our own. We've taken a200-year journey toward inclusion and justice -- and this makes us patient and understanding as other nationsare at different stages of this journey.

There are, however, essential principles common to every successful society, in every culture. Successfulsocieties limit the power of the state and the power of the military -- so that governments respond to thewill of the people, and not the will of an elite. Successful societies protect freedom with the consistent andimpartial rule of law, instead of selecting applying -- selectively applying the law to punish politicalopponents. Successful societies allow room for healthy civic institutions -- for political parties and laborunions and independent newspapers and broadcast media. Successful societies guarantee religious liberty -- theright to serve and honor God without fear of persecution. Successful societies privatize their economies, andsecure the rights of property. They prohibit and punish official corruption, and invest in the health andeducation of their people. They recognize the rights of women. And instead of directing hatred and resentmentagainst others, successful societies appeal to the hopes of their own people.

These vital principles are being applies in the nations of Afghanistan and Iraq. With the steady leadershipof President Karzai, the people of Afghanistan are building a modern and peaceful government. Next month, 500delegates will convene a national assembly in Kabul to approve a new Afghan constitution. The proposed draftwould establish a bicameral parliament, set national elections next year, and recognize Afghanistan's Muslimidentity, while protecting the rights of all citizens. Afghanistan faces continuing economic and securitychallenges -- it will face those challenges as a free and stable democracy.

In Iraq, the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council are also working together tobuild a democracy -- and after three decades of tyranny, this work is not easy. The former dictator ruled byterror and treachery, and left deeply ingrained habits of fear and distrust. Remnants of his regime, joined byforeign terrorists, continue their battle against order and against civilization. Our coalition is respondingto recent attacks with precision raids, guided by intelligence provided by the Iraqis, themselves. And we'reworking closely with Iraqi citizens as they prepare a constitution, as they move toward free elections andtake increasing responsibility for their own affairs. As in the defense of Greece in 1947, and later in theBerlin Airlift, the strength and will of free peoples are now being tested before a watching world. And wewill meet this test.