Text 5159, 133 rader
Skriven 2007-08-22 23:30:54 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (070822) for Wed, 2007 Aug 22
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Fact Sheet: Promoting Democracy to Help Make America Safer
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary August 22, 2007

Fact Sheet: Promoting Democracy to Help Make America Safer

ÿÿWhite House News

ÿÿÿÿÿ In Focus: Veterans

President Bush Draws On The Lessons From The Far East To Explain Why We
Must Keep Our Commitment To Democracy In The Middle East

Today, President Bush Will Address The Veterans Of Foreign Wars National
Convention In Kansas City And Further Illustrate Why Helping Democracies Of
The Middle East Stand Up To Violent Islamic Extremists Is The Reasonable
Path Toward A Safer World For The American People. Using the example of
Asia's development, he will show that there is long precedent for the work
we are doing in the Middle East that will make America safer _ and good
reason for confidence in our success.
  þ Discussions Of The Difficult Work Our Generation Is Undertaking In The
    Middle East Today Echo Arguments Made About The Far East Years Ago.
    There are many differences between the wars America fought in the Far
    East and the war on terror we are fighting today. But one important
    similarity is that at their core, they are all ideological struggles.
    We are still in the early hours of the current ideological struggle,
    but we know how the others ended _ and that knowledge helps guide our
    efforts today.
  þ Today, The Violent Islamic Extremists Who Fight Us In Iraq Are As
    Certain Of Their Cause As The Nazis, Imperial Japanese, And Soviet
    Communists Were Of Theirs _ And They Are Destined For The Same Fate. So
    long as we remain true to our ideals, we will defeat the extremists in
    Iraq and help that country's people stand up a functioning democracy in
    the heart of the Middle East, which will make America safer and more
    secure.

While There Were Many Doubters Along The Way, The Fruit Of American
Sacrifice And Perseverance In Asia Is A Freer, More Prosperous, And Stable
Continent.


In The Aftermath Of Japan's Surrender In World War II, Many Thought It
Na‹ve To Help The Japanese Transform Themselves Into A Democracy, But Today
A Democratic Japan Has Brought Peace And Prosperity To Its People. Then as
now, the critics argued that some people were simply not ready for
democracy. With every reform in Japan, experts stepped forward to assert
that a democratic Japan was a hopeless dream.For example, a former U.S.
ambassador to Japan who served as Truman's undersecretary of state told the
President flatly that "democracy in Japan would never work."
  þ 

    Japan Has Transformed From America's Enemy In The Ideological Struggle
    Of The 20th Century To One Of America's Strongest Allies In The
    Ideological Struggle Of The 21st Century. Japan's foreign trade and
    investment have helped jump-start the economies of others in the
    region. The Alliance between our two nations is the lynchpin of freedom
    and stability throughout the Pacific, which has added immeasurably to
    American security.

Critics Of The Korean War Argued That America Should Not Intervene To Save
South Korea From Communist Invasion, But Today South Korea Is A Strong,
Democratic Ally Of The United States. Then as now, critics argued that the
war was futile, that we never should have sent our troops in, or that
America's intervention was divisive here at home.For example, a Washington
Post reporter wrote that "Korea is an open wound. It is bleeding and there
is no cure for it in sight." Many of these criticisms were offered as
reasons for abandoning our commitments in Korea.
  þ 

    Without America's Intervention During The War _ And Our Willingness To
    Stick With The South Koreans After The War _ Millions Of South Koreans
    Would Now Be Living Under A Brutal And Repressive Regime. The Soviets
    and Chinese Communists would have learned the lesson that aggression
    pays. And the world would now be facing a larger, stronger, and more
    implacable threat.

Critics Of The Vietnam War Argued The Real Problem Was America's Presence
And That If We Would Just Withdraw, The Killing Would End. For example, a
New York Times columnist wrote that "it is difficult to imagine how [the
Vietnamese people's] lives could be anything but better with the Americans
gone."
  þ Three Decades Later, There Is A Legitimate Debate About How We Got Into
    The Vietnam War And How We Left, But One Unmistakable Legacy Of Vietnam
    Is That The Price Of America's Withdrawal Was Paid By Innocent Men,
    Women, And Children Throughout South East Asia.
  þ Some Argue That Our Withdrawal From Vietnam Carried No Price To
    American Credibility _ But The Terrorists See Things Differently. In an
    interview with a Pakistani paper after the 9/11 attacks, Bin Laden
    declared that "the American people had risen against their government's
    war in Vietnam. They must do the same today."

Helping Iraq Stand Up A Functioning Democracy Is Critical To The Safety Of
The American People


Like Past Enemies, The Terrorists Who Wage War In Iraq, Afghanistan, And
Other Places Kill Americans Because We Stand In The Way Of Their Goal To
Crush Freedom And Tolerance _ And They Will Be Defeated.
  þ Seeing The Iraqis Through As They Build Their Democracy Is Critical To
    Keeping The American People Safe From The Terrorists Who Want To Attack
    Us. Across the Middle East, ordinary Muslims want free societies where
    they are treated with dignity and respect. That is why millions of
    Iraqis and Afghans turned out at the polls, leaders have stepped
    forward at the risk of assassination, and hundreds of thousands have
    joined the security forces of their nations. These men and women are
    taking great risks to build a free and peaceful Middle East _ and for
    the sake of our own security, we must not abandon them.
  þ Elected Leaders In Washington Must Not Pull The Rug Out From Under Our
    Troops Just As They Are Gaining Momentum And Changing The Dynamic On
    The Ground In Iraq. U.S. forces have killed or captured an average of
    more than 1,500 al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists every month
    since January. And starting when the necessary additional troops
    arrived in June, they are carrying out a surge that is helping bring
    former Sunni insurgents into the fight against al Qaeda, clearing the
    terrorists out of population centers, and giving families in liberated
    Iraqi cities their first look at decent and normal life. We will
    support our troops, support our commanders, and give them everything
    they need to succeed.
  þ A Free Iraq Will Not Transform Into A Perfect Democracy Overnight, But
    It Will Be A Massive Defeat For Al Qaeda And A Source Of Hope For The
    Rest Of The Middle East. A free Iraq will be a friend and partner of
    the United States and an ally in the ideological struggle of the 21st
    century.

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