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| Europe |
| Cheney defends U.S. policy on Iraq |
| 2004-01-24 |
| Vice President Dick Cheney defended U.S. foreign policy and the decision to go to war in Iraq, in a speech to world leaders. But he also struck a conciliatory tone Saturday as he urged the United Nations to help with Iraq’s postwar political transition and good-naturedly took issue with critics in Europe who believe the United States sees itself as an imperial power. Cheney arrived in Rome on Saturday evening, where he was to meet with the pope and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Earlier Saturday, in a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Cheney did not retreat from administration policy but amplified it, saying the administration believed using force in Iraq had boosted its credibility in the campaign to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. But he said the Bush administration views military force as a last resort, and favored trying to resolve disputes diplomatically, in conjunction with international allies and institutions. But with allies like these... "Saddam Hussein can no longer harbor and support terrorists, and his long efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction are finally at an end," Cheney told the annual gathering of political, business and cultural leaders at the alpine retreat. Anti-American sentiment ran deep at last year’s gathering, because of the divide in Europe over whether to wage war in Iraq. Secretary of State Colin Powell was the most senior U.S. official to attend last year’s forum, and administration officials said the decision for Cheney to attend this year was, in part, an effort to convince critics in Europe that the administration wants to mend fences. "Cooperation among our governments, and effective international institutions, are even more important today than they have been in the past," Cheney said in his speech. He was polite and low-key when taking issue with the view voiced in France and elsewhere that Europe must unite against what critics see as a U.S. administration too willing to unilaterally flex its military and economic muscle. Hey, if you’ve got it, flaunt it! "Our choice is not between a unipolar world and a multipolar world," the vice president said. "Our choice is for a just, free and democratic world. That requires the insights, sacrifices and resources of all democratic nations." Administration critics view Cheney as an architect of what they consider to be a "go-it-alone" foreign policy, so it was noteworthy that his speech included a conciliatory call for international help in Iraq. "We urge all democratic nations -- and the United Nations -- to answer the Iraqi Governing Council’s call for support for the people of Iraq in making the transition to democracy," Cheney said... In his speech, Cheney said promoting economic and political reform across the Middle East would ultimately be the strongest weapon in the war on terrorism, and he said Western powers must nudge along reforms, regardless of whether the country at issue is Syria or Iran, or more pro-Western nations like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. President Mohammad Khatami of Iran took part in the forum. Many Europeans have applauded Iran’s recent promise to allow international inspection of its nuclear program. Cheney said the administration was "generally supportive" of the European engagement with Iran, but the senior official who briefed reporters sounded a skeptical note, saying it was "important to be aggressive" in the inspections and that the international community needed to maintain pressure and be "very careful that it doesn’t just become a head fake by the Iranians." In a sign of lingering suspicions about U.S. motives, Cheney was asked to respond to the notion that the United States was seeking an empire through military superiority. "We don’t see ourselves in that way," Cheney said. Cracking a smile, he said that if the United States had had imperial or territorial ambitions, that much of Europe and other countries that U.S. troops helped liberate would still be under U.S. control. "That’s not the way we operate," Cheney said. Sometimes, you gotta point out the obvious. But the fact that he was asked to respond to this is breathtaking. In his speech, Cheney said a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict would be critical to winning the broader war on terrorism. Although he said Israel should "avoid actions that undermine the long-term viability of a two-state solution," he made clear that the administration views Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as the biggest obstacle to peace. "Peace will not be achieved by Palestinian rulers who intimidate opposition, tolerate and profit from corruption and maintain ties to terrorist groups." |
| Posted by:Rafael |