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Skriven 2005-01-28 23:33:00 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0501282) for Fri, 2005 Jan 28
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President Thanks Secretary of State Rice at Swearing-In Ceremony
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 28, 2005

President Thanks Secretary of State Rice at Swearing-In Ceremony




U.S. Department of State

9:58 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Laura and I are honored to be
here. Over the past four years, America has benefited from the wise counsel
of Dr. Condoleezza Rice and our family has been enriched by our friendship
with this remarkable person. We love her -- I don't know if you're supposed
to say that about the Secretary of State. (Laughter.)

Condi's appointment and confirmation of Secretary of State marks a
remarkable transition in what is already a career of outstanding service
and accomplishment.

Today also marks an opportunity to honor another career defined by service
and accomplishment. Throughout a lifetime spent in public service, Colin
Powell has asked nothing in return. For over four decades, millions at home
and abroad have benefited from his bravery, his dignity and his integrity.
He's left our nation a better place than it was when he began his career in
public service as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. His
magnificent wife, Alma, I am certain is pleased that a grateful nation is
giving back her husband -- (laughter) -- and all of us admire and
appreciate the service of Colin Powell. (Applause.)

I appreciate the fact that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg administered the
oath. It was neighborly of her to do that. (Laughter.) I want to thank
Congresswoman Jane Harman from California for joining us, as well as
Juanita Millender-McDonald from California. We're honored you both are
here. Thanks for taking time to honor your fellow Californian, Condi Rice.
(Applause.)

I see sitting between you two is a fine American in Andrew Young. Welcome,
Andy. Thank you for coming. I shouldn't start going around the room,
heralding all the -- (laughter) -- accomplished souls who are here. I do
want to thank members of the diplomatic corps for coming. I appreciate Your
Excellencies taking time to honor Condi. I want to thank the distinguished
guests and members -- folks who work at the State Department for joining
us, as well. It's a good thing to come and honor your new boss. (Laughter.)
Good diplomacy. (Laughter.)

Colin Powell leaves big shoes to fill at the State Department, but Condi
Rice is the right person to fill them. As National Security Advisor, she
has led during a time when events not of our choosing have forced America
to the leading edge of history. Condi has an abiding belief in the power of
democracy to secure justice and liberty, and the inclusion of men and women
of all races and religions in the courses that free nations chart for
themselves.

A few days from now, these convictions will be confirmed by the Iraqi
people, when they cast their ballots in Iraq's first free elections in
generations. Sunday's election is the first step in a process that will
allow Iraqis to write and pass a constitution that enshrines
self-government and the rule of law. This history is changing the world,
because the advent of democracy in Iraq will serve as a powerful example to
reformers throughout the entire Middle East. On Sunday, the Iraqi people
will be joining millions in others parts of the world who now decide their
future through free votes.

In Afghanistan, the people have voted in the first free presidential
elections in that nation's 5,000-year history. The people of Ukraine have
made clear their own desire for democracy. The Palestinians have just
elected a new President who has repudiated violence. Freedom is on the
march, and the world is better for it. (Applause.) Widespread hatred and
radicalism cannot survive the advent of freedom and self-government. Our
nation will be more secure, the world will be more peaceful, as freedom
advances. Condi Rice understands that.

And the terrorists understand that, as well. And that is why they are now
attacking Iraqi civilians in an effort to sabotage elections. We applaud
the courage of ordinary Iraqis for their refusal to surrender their future
to these killers.

No nation can build a safer and better world alone. The men and women of
the State Department are doing a fine job of working with other nations to
build on the momentum of freedom. I know our nation will be really well
served when the good folks at the State Department join with Condi Rice to
face the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. In the coming
months and years, we must stop the proliferation of dangerous weapons and
materials. We must safeguard and expand the freedom of international
marketplace and free trade. We must advance justice and fundamental human
rights. We must fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases and reduce poverty.

Each task will require good relations with nations around the world, and
each will require a Secretary who will lead by character and conviction and
wisdom. To meet these times and tasks, America has its best in Dr.
Condoleezza Rice, now Secretary Condoleezza Rice, our 66th Secretary of
State. (Applause.)

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you, Mr. President, for those wonderful remarks. I
want to thank also First Lady Laura Bush. The President and Mrs. Bush have
been really a strong support system for me here and good friends, and I
want to thank you for that.

I want to thank the members of my family and my friends who are here -- a
number are here from Birmingham, Alabama, and they represent generations of
Rices and Rays, who believed that a day like this might somehow be
possible.

I'm honored by your confidence in me, Mr. President, and I'm deeply
grateful for the opportunity you've given me to serve as this country's
66th Secretary of State.

Let me say, too, in echoing the President's comments, that I'm, indeed,
fortunate to succeed a man of the character and quality of Colin Powell,
who served with such distinction, who's done so much to strengthen the
State Department, so much to carry forward America's message and goals and
so much to help me, personally, in so many ways.

In the past four years, America has seen great trials and great
opportunities. Under your leadership, Mr. President, our nation has risen
to meet the challenges of our time, fighting tyranny and terror and
securing the blessings of freedom and prosperity for a new generation.

Now it's time to build on those achievements to make the world safer and
even more free. We must use American diplomacy to help create a balance of
power that favors freedom. The time

for diplomacy is now. Standing for the cause of liberty is as old as our
country itself. Indeed, it was our very first Secretary of State, Thomas
Jefferson, who said, "The God who gave us live, gave us liberty at the same
time." America's story is the story of men and women ceaselessly striving
to ensure that we as a nation live up to the ideals set forth by our
forefathers. Our founders realized that they, like all human beings, were
flawed creatures, and that any government created by man would not be
perfect. Even the great authors of our liberty sometimes fell short of
their ideals -- even Thomas Jefferson, himself. Yet, our forebears
established a democratic system of, by and for the people that contained
within it the means for citizens and -- of conviction and of courage to
correct its flaws.

The enduring principles enshrined in our Constitution made it possible for
impatient patriots -- like Frederick Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln, and
Martin Luther King -- to move us ever closer to our founding ideals. And so
it is only natural that through the decades America would associate itself
with those around the world who also strive to secure freedom for
themselves and for their children.

September 11, 2001, made us see more clearly than ever how our values and
our interests are linked and joined across the globe. That day of fire made
us see that the best way to secure a world of peace and hope is to build a
world of freedom. We do not simply seek the absence of terrorism. We seek a
world where the aspirations for freedom of men and women triumph. Today, it
is more fitting than ever that our nation should pursue a foreign policy
that is grounded in democratic principles and aligns itself with the
efforts of all those around the globe who share our love of liberty.

In all that lies ahead, the primary instrument of American diplomacy will
be the Department of State, and the dedicated men and women of its foreign
and civil services and our foreign service nationals. More than half a
century ago, Dean Acheson and his officers stood present at the creation,
in helping President Truman secure a world half free, while hoping that
there would one day be a world fully free.

Mr. President, here with us today are some of the newest members of the
State Department. The young officers here today are present at the
transformation. And they will carry forward long into the future the work
that we are undertaking to realize your vision of a world where all people
live in freedom.

Under your leadership, Mr. President, we at the Department of State will
conduct a foreign policy that sees the world clearly as it is. But, Mr.
President, we will not accept that today's reality has to be tomorrow's. We
will work in partnership with allies and reformers across the globe,
putting the tools of diplomacy to work to unite, strengthen and widen the
community of democracies.

We fully recognize that the hard work of freedom is the task of
generations. Yet, it is also the urgent work that cannot be deferred. And,
ultimately, the impatient souls all around the world who struggle and
stumble and rise again to take up freedom's cause will succeed -- for the
great mover of history is the power of the human spirit.

Mr. President, you have given us our mission, and we are ready to serve our
great country and the cause of freedom for which it stands.

Thank you. (Applause.)

END 10:11 A.M. EST
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