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Skriven 2006-03-07 23:33:26 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0603071) for Tue, 2006 Mar 7
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Vice President's Remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
2006 Policy Conference
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
March 7, 2006

Vice President's Remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
2006 Policy Conference
The Washington D.C. Convention Center
Washington, D.C.



10:10 A.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Thank you. (Applause.) Well, you made my day. (Laughter.) Well, thank you
very much. And, Ed, thank you for the kind introduction. And let me thank
all of you for that very warm welcome. It's a delight to be here this
morning.

I want to thank the distinguished guests who've joined us, especially
Israel's ambassador to the United States, Danny Ayalon. (Applause.) I also
want to recognize the substantial delegation of student attendees from all
over the U.S.: Welcome to Washington, it's good to see you here.
(Applause.)

I'm grateful to the board of AIPAC for inviting me to be part of your 2006
Policy Conference. It's obviously a very well attended and successful
event. And to everyone attending the conference, I bring personal greetings
from our President, George W. Bush. (Applause.)

As always, AIPAC has brought together a large and public-minded group,
representing different parts of America, many callings in life, and varied
points of view on the issues of the day. Gathered here this morning, some
of us are Republicans; some of us are Democrats. Yet all of us share a
fundamental belief -- that the freedom and security of Israel are vital
interests to the United States of America. (Applause.)

Nearly 58 years ago, in May of 1948, the new Jewish state was declared. On
the day Israel came into being it was 12 midnight in Jerusalem -- six
o'clock in the evening here in Washington. Eleven minutes later, Harry S.
Truman made America the first nation to recognize Israel. (Applause.) From
that moment to this very day, the United States has counted Israel as a
special and valued friend that shares our basic principles.

As fellow democracies, both founded in struggle, we have shown our devotion
to the ideals of liberty, equality, and the dignity of every person. We
have shown, as well, great resolve and deep faith in times of testing and a
true willingness to work and sacrifice for the cause of peace. We are, as
President Bush has said, natural allies. There is no doubt that America's
commitment to Israel's security is solid, enduring and unshakeable.
(Applause.)

Over the years, our two peoples have also known the good fortune of having
some very capable, resolute leaders come along when they were most needed.
In my career I've had the privilege of meeting a long line of Israeli
statesmen and women, including many prime ministers, starting with Yitzhak
Rabin in the mid '70's. And in recent days I've been feeling especially
grateful to have had many years of a relationship and friendship with Ariel
Sharon. (Applause.)

The Prime Minister's life has been in many respects a reflection of
Israel's modern history. He gave decades of service to Israel -- fighting
in all of its wars, rising to high office, and leading the nation with
purpose. When their country came under attack, Israelis knew that Ariel
Sharon would stand in the line of fire. And in the effort to achieve peace,
which requires so much wisdom, and boldness, and vision -- Israelis again
placed their trust in this fearless member of the pioneering generation.
Last year at AIPAC's policy conference, Prime Minister Sharon said, "I am
willing to make painful compromises for peace ...There is one thing on
which we will not make any compromises -- not now and not in the future --
and that is our security." (Applause.)

Today Ariel Sharon's voice is silent, and our thoughts are with him as he
battles for his life. It's a comfort to know that his deeds will live on,
and in our memory the man himself will stand like a rock. We honor him as
one of the great statesmen of our time, and a man of peace. (Applause.)

As a small country in a tough part of the world, Israel has always had to
be on guard against enemies to have a clear-eyed view of potential threats,
and to confront dangers squarely. Throughout its history, the country has
faced sudden, random acts of terrorism -- attacks intended to shake
Israel's confidence and break the will of its people. Yet Israel has held
firm, and has defended itself with patience, with moral courage, and
decisive action. Those are the very qualities by which freedom is
preserved, innocent lives are protected, and wars are won. And by those
qualities, Israel, and the United States, and all civilized nations will
win the war on terror. (Applause.)

To prevail in this fight, we must understand the nature of the enemy. As
Israelis have seen so many times, and as America experienced on September
11th, 2001, the terrorist enemy is brutal and heartless. This enemy wears
no uniform, has no regard for the rules of warfare, and is unconstrained by
any standard of decency or morality. We are dealing with enemies who plot
and plan in secret, then attempt to slip into a country, blend in among the
innocent, and kill without mercy.

This enemy has a set of beliefs -- and we saw the expression of those
beliefs in the rule of the Taliban. They seek to impose a dictatorship of
fear, under which every man, woman, and child lives in total obedience to a
narrow, hateful ideology. This ideology rejects tolerance, denies freedom
of conscience, and demands that women be pushed to the margins of society.
Such beliefs can be imposed only through force and intimidation, so those
who refuse to bow to the tyrants will be brutalized or killed -- and no
person or group is exempt.

The terrorists have targeted people of every nationality and every
religious faith, including Muslims who disagree with them. The war on
terror is a fight against evil; victory in this war will be a victory for
peaceful men and women of every religious faith. (Applause.)

This enemy also has a set of clear objectives. The terrorists want to end
all American and Western influence in the Middle East. Their goal in that
region is to seize control of a country, so they have a base from which to
launch attacks and wage war against governments that do not meet their
demands. The terrorists believe that by controlling one country, they will
be able to target and overthrow other governments in the region, and
ultimately to establish a totalitarian empire that encompasses a region
from Spain, across North Africa, through the Middle East and South Asia,
all the way around to Indonesia.

They have made clear, as well, their ultimate ambitions: to arm themselves
with chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons; to destroy Israel; to
intimidate all Western countries; and to cause mass death here in the
United States.

Some might look at these ambitions and wave them off as extreme and mad.
Well, these ambitions are, indeed, extreme and they are mad. They are also
real, and we must not wave them off. We must take them seriously. We must
oppose them. And we must defeat them. (Applause.)

Over the last several decades, Americans have seen how the terrorists
pursue their objectives. Simply stated, they would hit us, but we would not
hit back hard enough. In Beirut in 1983, terrorists killed 241 Americans,
and afterward U.S. forces withdrew from Beirut. In 1993 we had the killing
of American soldiers in Mogadishu, and the bombing of the World Trade
Center in New York. Then came the attack on the Saudi National Guard
Training Center in Riyadh in 1995; the killings at Khobar Towers in 1996;
the attack on our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998; and, of course,
the attack on the USS Cole in 2000. With each attack, the terrorists grew
more confident in believing they could strike America without paying a
price -- and indeed, believing that if they killed enough Americans, they
could change American policy.

So they continued to wage those attacks -- making the world less safe and
eventually striking the United States in our homeland on September 11th.
And we've seen the work of terrorists in many attacks since 9/11 -- in
Jerusalem, Riyadh, Casablanca, Istanbul, Karachi, Mombassa, Bali, Jakarta,
Najaf, Baghdad, London and Madrid. The terrorists have declared war on the
civilized world. And America will lead the civilized world to victory.
(Applause.)

We have a strategy of our own in this fight. First, we are absolutely
determined to prevent attacks before they occur, and so we are on the
offensive against the terror networks. (Applause.) At home and with
coalition partners abroad, we've broken up terror cells, tracked down
terrorist operatives, and put heavy pressure on their ability to organize
and plan attacks. The work is difficult and very often perilous, and there
is much yet to do. But we've made tremendous progress against an enemy that
dwells in the shadows. We've counted on the skill and the dedication of our
professionals in law enforcement, intelligence, and homeland security --
and, of course, on the United States military. They have been superb, and
they make us proud each and every day. (Applause.)

Second, we are determined to deny safe haven to the terrorists. Since the
day our country was attacked, we have applied the Bush Doctrine: Any person
or government that supports, protects, or harbors terrorists is complicit
in the murder of the innocent, and will be held to account. (Applause.)

Third, we are working to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, and to keep those weapons out of the hands of killers. In the
post-9/11 world, the United States and our allies are determined: we will
not live at the mercy of terrorists or regimes that could arm them with
chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. This requires that we deal with
threats before they fully materialize. (Applause.)

The President has put it very well: "Terrorists and terror states do not
reveal these threats with fair notice, in formal declarations -- and
responding to such enemies only after they have struck first is not
self-defense, it's suicide." (Applause.) By whatever means are necessary --
whether diplomatic or military -- we will act to protect the liberty and
lives of our people. (Applause.)

Fourth, we are determined to deny the terrorists the control of any nation,
which they would use as a home base and a staging ground for terrorist
attacks against others. That is why we continue to fight Taliban remnants
and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. That's why we are working with
President Musharraf to oppose and isolate the terrorist element in
Pakistan. And that is why we are fighting the Saddam remnants and
terrorists in Iraq. (Applause.)

Our strategy in Iraq is clear, our tactics will remain flexible, and we'll
keep at the work until we finish the job. (Applause.) On the security side,
our forces are hunting down high-value targets like Zarqawi and his
lieutenants. Our soldiers and Marines are conducting smart, focused,
aggressive, counterterrorism operations in the areas where the terrorists
are known to be concentrated. And our coalition continues to train more
Iraqi forces that are effective, well trained and well equipped, and
prepared to assume increased responsibility for their country's security.

As the security force grows in strength and the political process advances,
we'll be able to decrease troop levels without losing our capacity to
defeat the terrorists. And going forward, any decisions about troop levels
will be driven by conditions on the ground and the judgment of our
commanders -- not by artificial timelines set by politicians in Washington,
D.C. (Applause.)

Progress in Iraq has not come easily, but it has been steady. A short time
ago, the Iraqi people had an appointed government, no popularly elected
legislature, no permanent constitution and no recent experience with free
national elections. In less than two years' time they've voted for a
transitional government, drafted a progressive, democratic constitution in
the heart of the Arab world, then approved the document in a national
referendum, and elected a new government under its provisions. And in each
successive election in Iraq there has been less violence, broader
participation, and bigger voter turnout -- over 70 percent turn-out in the
most recent election. (Applause.) Iraqis have shown that they value their
own liberty and are determined to chart the future of their own country.

It is not hard to see why the terrorists oppose and rage against the rise
of democracy in Iraq. They know that as liberty advances, as men and women
are given a say in the affairs of their country, they turn their creative
gifts to the pursuits of peace. People who live in freedom are able to
choose their own destiny, and this gives them real hope for material
progress in their own lives, and a better future for their children. As
democracy advances, ideologies that stir anger and hostility lose their
appeal, and terrorists lose recruits, safe havens, and sources of funding.

For that reason, our strategy for victory in the war on terror has a fifth
and crucial element: Across the broader Middle East, we will work to
replace hatred and resentment with democracy and hope. (Applause.)

Supporting political freedom and peaceful change in a troubled part of the
world is a long-term commitment. And we already know that the work will be
difficult. Yet there is no alternative. On 9/11, the United States learned
that problems boiling in a far-off region of the world could lead directly
to a sudden and murderous attack right here on our own soil. For decades in
the Middle East, millions of people have known nothing but dictatorship and
heavy-handed rule -- resulting in misery, bitterness, and the ideologies of
violence. If we simply accept the status quo, that region will be a source
of conflict and mounting violence for this generation and beyond.

If the peoples of that region are given the rights of free men and women,
and live under elected, accountable governments, and have a chance to work
and succeed in hopeful societies, then the flow of radicalism and hate will
one day come to an end.

In this way, as the President has said, America's ideals and interests are
one and the same: The survival of liberty in our own land increasingly
depends on the success of liberty in other lands; the best hope for peace
in the world is the expansion of freedom throughout the world. (Applause.)

As Americans, we have faith in democracy, but no illusions. We know that it
takes time and effort and patience for democratic values and free
institutions to take hold, and the greater Middle East has a long way to
go. The promise of democracy rests ultimately on free elections and the
ability of free peoples to hold accountable those who govern them -- but
that is only the beginning.

A functioning democracy requires institutions that endure beyond a single
vote. Democracy requires the protection of minority rights, religious
liberty, equality before the law, freedom of expression, and an inclusive
society in which every person belongs. And those who win elections have a
duty to nurture institutions and laws that serve the peaceful aspirations
of their people.

Such duties now belong to the newly elected government in the Palestinian
territories. I recognize that the outcome of last month's election has
caused some to question whether democracy is truly the way toward peace in
the Middle East. They argue that, by promoting democratic change, we are
actually destabilizing the region and undermining hopes for peace. I
believe that's a faulty argument.

For one thing, it's hard to claim that you get lasting stability and peace
by denying people a voice in their own government. In fact, the denial of
legitimate means of expressing dissent is one of the causes of extremism in
the Middle East. For decades, many thought it was worth tolerating
oppression for the sake of stability in that region. But we were only
buying time as problems multiplied, and demagogues stirred resentment, and
the ideologies of violence took hold.

We must make a clean break with that history of failed policy. By helping
the peoples of that region gain the freedom to express their views, to have
open debate, and to choose their own leaders, we have a better chance of
defeating the radicalism that threatens us all. (Applause.)

An alternative to democratic rule is command and control by a tiny elite.
That's unfortunately what we have seen for much of the past decade in the
Palestinian territories -- and we're still living with the legacy of
corruption, broken promises, abject poverty, the collapse of the rule of
law and, ultimately, the outbreak of a terrorist campaign on Israel's
doorstep. The Hamas candidates pledged to fight corruption and to improve
social services, and they'll be held to that standard by the Palestinian
people. If the leaders of Hamas desire the help of America and the
international community to build an independent, prosperous Palestinian
state, then the way forward is very clear. The Palestinian government must
recognize Israel's right to exist. (Applause.) And Hamas must renounce
terror and dismantle the infrastructure of terror. (Applause.) One thing is
certain: The United States will not be a party to the establishment of a
Palestinian state that sponsors terror and violence. (Applause.)

Nearly four years ago President Bush committed himself to the vision of two
states, living side by side in peace and security. At the same time, he
made it clear: There is simply no way to achieve that peace until all
parties fight terror.

Ladies and gentlemen, one of the basic truths of the world we live in today
is that George W. Bush is a man of his word. (Applause.) The policies of
the United States reflect our ideals and the commitments we've made as a
nation. And we will be consistent. We will not abandon our belief in
democracy. We will not abandon our opposition to terrorism. And we will not
abandon our commitment to the security of our friends and allies. Israel
can count on the United States of America. (Applause.)

Over the past four years, other free nations have risen in the broader
Middle East. America will remain on the side of democratic reformers, and
the reformers are on the side of history. Across that region, the political
dialogue has been transformed -- and politicians, scholars, students, and
men and women from every walk of life are talking about freedom, equal
rights, and accountable institutions of government. One leader in Lebanon
said: "When I saw the Iraqi people voting, it was the start of a new Arab
world...The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is
changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it."

Indeed, the whole world can see the change, and the rising hope in places
like Lebanon. Now that Syrian troops have left that country, the Syrian
government must stop trying to interfere with the future of free Lebanon.
(Applause.) America is committed to a sovereign, independent, Lebanon,
dismantling all armed militias, and control by Lebanon's government over
all of Lebanon's territory. (Applause.)

The inquiry into the assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri should
be carried out in full, so the killers can be brought to justice and all
those involved -- no matter what their official positions may be -- can be
held accountable. (Applause.) America supports the Lebanese people in their
aspirations for freedom and democracy. They deserve the right to decide
their country's future, and they deserve a President who truly represents
them and who looks to the future, not to the past. (Applause.)

America supports, as well, the democratic aspirations of the people of
Iran. (Applause.) Iranians have endured a generation of repression at the
hands of a fanatical regime. That regime is one of the world's primary
state sponsors of terror. The current President has spoken openly of wiping
Israel off the map, and of a world without America. He's made despicable
statements doubting the crimes of the Nazis, aligning himself with the rest
of the fantasy-world Holocaust deniers.

The regime in Tehran also continues to defy the world with its nuclear
ambitions. Of course, this matter may soon go before the U.N. Security
Council. The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present
course, the international community is prepared to impose meaningful
consequences. (Applause.) For our part, the United States is keeping all
options on the table in addressing the irresponsible conduct of the regime.
(Applause.) And we join other nations in sending that regime a clear
message: We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. (Applause.)

The people of Iran can be absolutely certain that we respect them, their
country, and their long history as a great civilization -- and we stand
with them. Iranians desire and deserve to be free from tyranny and
oppression in their own homeland. Freedom in the Middle East requires
freedom for the Iranian people -- and America looks forward to the day when
our Nation can be the closest of friends with a free and democratic Iran.
(Applause.)

In the months and years ahead, America will continue to support democracy
as the expression of our ideals for the sake of our own security, as well
as for that of our friends and allies. And we will continue to act with the
kind of resolve that has made these past five years a time of progress in
the broader Middle East.

Consider for a moment where we were five years ago, when President Bush and
I took office. The secret planning for the attacks of 9/11 was already well
underway. Hijackers had been recruited; funds raised; training had taken
place. Some of the hijackers were already in the United States. In
Afghanistan, the Taliban were in power. Al Qaeda was operating training
camps that in the late '90s turned out thousands of terrorists. In Iraq,
Saddam Hussein was in power, overseeing, along with his two malevolent
sons, one of the bloodiest regimes of the 20th century.

Five years ago, there was a serious problem with proliferation, especially
in the nuclear area. A. Q. Khan, the man who helped put Pakistan's nuclear
program in place, had established a network that was providing nuclear
weapons technology to rogue states including North Korea and Iran. And
Moammar Ghadafi of Libya, one of the A.Q. Khan network's biggest customers,
was spending millions to acquire nuclear weapons.

Today the picture is very different. The Taliban regime is now history, and
25 million Afghans are free. (Applause.) We have captured or killed
hundreds of al Qaeda; put its leaders on the run; and closed the camps that
had trained the killers. (Applause.) Saddam Hussein wakes up every day in a
jail cell, his sons are dead -- (applause) -- and Iraqis by the millions
have embraced democracy. (Applause.) Iraq's leaders reflect the decency of
the Iraqi people, and no dictator is taking their money and giving it to
the families of suicide bombers. (Applause.)

Only days after Saddam was captured, the leader of Libya announced he would
turn over all of his weapons of mass destruction materials. (Applause.) A
short time later, Libya's uranium and centrifuges were sent to a U.S.
facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. (Applause.) And the A.Q. Khan
proliferation network has been shut down. (Applause.)

Our great country, which over the decades has aided the rise of new
democracies in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, now serves that cause in
the Middle East -- with courage, and firm purpose, and a level of
generosity by the American people not seen since the Marshall Plan.

Five years ago, many would have found it hard to imagine that all these
changes were on the way. And, obviously, they did not just happen. Because
we've been willing to act on our convictions, we live in a better world
today. We cannot know every turn that lies ahead in the fight against
terror, and tyranny, and proliferation. Yet at every point, we will be
patient and resolute -- because the supporters of democracy will need our
help, and the enemies of democracy will test our will. And we will be
confident, because events are moving in the direction of human liberty.
Freedom's cause is the right cause, and every action we take in support of
it makes this world better and safer for our children. (Applause.)

Once again, ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate your hospitality this
morning. The President and I are grateful for your counsel, for your
commitment to the security of our country, and for all you do on behalf of
America's friendship with Israel.

Thank you very much. (Applause.)

END 10:43 A.M. EST

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