Speech by U.S. Ambassador Marie T. Huhtala Speech to the Commonwealth Study Conference Association of Malaysia (COSCAM) Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: U.S. Policy in the Post-Iraq Era

July 14, 2003 – Royal Commonwealth Society, No. 4 Jalan Berah,
Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur

Thank you for that welcome and for the invitation to your tea talk today.

American Foreign Policy is a huge topic, and if I were to try to be comprehensive we’d be here for hours, if not days.  So I propose to give you a general overview of how the United States sees the world in the wake of the Iraq war and discuss a few specific issues of primary importance to us all.  Following that, I look forward to a lively question-and-answer session with you.

It is not inaccurate to follow the general convention of calling our era the post-9/11 age.  U.S. and world history took a new direction as a result of the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and we are now living in a much more tumultuous and challenging period.

In the years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and before 9/11, world leaders began to describe our growing inter-dependence by speaking of the “global village.”  In this new millennium, people are able to travel, to communicate, to trade and to exchange ideas at a pace that was unimaginable just a few decades ago.   We now know this applies to terrorists just as much as responsible leaders.  We still live in a global village, but we also confront a global threat.

The Internet may prove to be the greatest force for technological change since the motor vehicle, but we are still only seeing it in its infancy.  Already it is hard to imagine how people could function in the world of today without the recent inventions that we all take for granted, like e-mail, electronic banking and cell-phones.

But these advances are also being exploited very effectively by terrorists and transnational criminals.  They too can use the Internet and other new technologies to make their own connections, to acquire information and to spread violence and suffering to new locations.  Al Qaeda uses web pages and chat rooms to send messages and directions to its operatives around the world.  Hundreds of suicide bombers, drug dealers, human smugglers and kidnappers do the same.  Thus technology can be used to threaten tourism and travel, disrupt international trade and destabilize international security just as easily as it can be used to improve them.

We cannot return to a simpler time, nor would we want to give up the advantages of modern medicine, the conveniences of modern banking or the efficiencies of modern communications.  But we have to confront these transnational threats and prevent the misuse of our technology for evil.

There has been a lot of talk about understanding the root causes of terrorism. While I agree that every effort must be made to attack the world’s many political, social and economic problems, terrorism is an asymmetric, transnational and urgent threat.  We cannot wait until all of the other problems of the world have been resolved, because terrorist organizations will not wait until then.  They will continue to kill innocent civilians and wreak havoc on countries’ economies in the interim.  Addressing this urgent problem effectively means that all nations must work together to deter terrorism now, using a variety of bilateral and multilateral tools, including law enforcement cooperation, training, financial controls, military ties and joint operations.

Working together, we can make it impossible for hate groups that practice or condone terrorism to operate freely, and we can deny terrorists access to their financial front organizations, to unrestricted travel and to their deadly weapons.  That is the primary goal of U.S. foreign and domestic policy today.

Now, let me turn to some specific issues.  First, Afghanistan.  Our military action in late 2001 has been characterized as mere revenge for 9/11, but that is not at all the case.  We attacked the Taliban for sound strategic reasons, because it provided a secure logistics base for Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, the organization that attacked the U.S. on 9/11 and posed the single largest challenge to world peace and stability.  In addition, the Taliban had imposed a terrible regime on Afghanistan, bringing repression to its people, denying education to girls, forcing women out of their jobs and destroying the holy symbols of other religions.

With support and authority from the United Nations, the U.S. and many other countries took action in October 2001.   Today, Al Qaeda is on the run, with over 65 percent of their former leaders killed or captured.  The women of Afghanistan again have access to schools and work.  Afghanistan is rebuilding its society with support from many members of the United Nations and repairing the damage left by over 20 years of endless war.  The security situation, while precarious, is improving.  While much remains to be done, almost every Afghani will honestly tell you that the situation in the country today is far better today than it was a few years ago.

The same is true for Iraq.  Like the Taliban, Saddam Hussein had sought to turn back the clock and imposed the cruelest forms of tyranny.  While he dreamed of an Iraqi empire that stretched across the Middle East like Saladin’s, his means of ruling his country more closely resembled those of Josef Stalin.

Saddam Hussein killed millions of Muslims during his reign.  He used poisonous gas to kill his own people.  After the war we continue to discover mass graves where tens of thousands of murdered Iraqis were buried.  Torture was common, thousands of men, women and children were locked up in prisons, and millions of Iraqis lived in daily fear.

The conflict in Iraq that began in March of this year was not a unilateral action.  UN Security Council Resolution 1441, passed unanimously in November 2002, gave UN member countries the right to act if Iraq continued its defiance of the United Nations.  As all of you know, the U.S. sought a follow-up UN resolution that was never voted upon.  Eventually we took action with the United Kingdom and 40 other Coalition partners because there seemed no other way to resolve this urgent issue.  Thankfully, the Coalition was able to rout Saddam and overturn his government in just three weeks.

The situation in Iraq remains unstable, as the frequent killings of Coalition troops and Iraqis demonstrate.  But living conditions are improving daily as essential services are restored, schools reopen and humanitarian assistance flows in.  America’s priority remains to see Iraq rejoin the world as a democratic, peaceful and prosperous nation, led by its own people.  We have no aspirations to stay in Iraq a day longer than required to restore order and help rebuild the country.

Iraq was once a brilliant center of education, of trade and of religion and science.  It can become one again, and rejoin the world community as a fully functioning democracy.

Just yesterday, the first significant milestone in postwar Iraq occurred when Iraqis inaugurated their new governing council.  This council, made up of 25 Iraqis representing all the country’s main political factions and ethnic groups, will have real political muscle, including the power to name ministers and approve the 2004 budget.  It will decide on a process to write a new constitution and eventually hold the first democratic elections in Iraq.

I know that debate continues in many quarters over the threat that Saddam Hussein posed to other countries, and the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.  No one can deny that Saddam evaded and ignored 12 years of United Nations resolutions and UN demands reveal the location of his biological, chemical and nuclear weapon programs and destroy them.  We have to ask ourselves whether he would have defined international will in this way, even incurring punishing sanctions as a result, if he did not have something major to hide – I think not!

Ongoing investigations will reveal the location of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.  Whether these turn out to be in large or small amounts is not really important.  It only takes a few micrograms of anthrax, a few drops of Sarin or a few ounces of uranium to kill thousands of people and cause unimaginable suffering.  This is not a threat any one can responsibly ignore.

Another regime that severely threatens international peace and stability is North Korea.  Its belligerent behavior, enormous military arsenal and burgeoning nuclear program threatens South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and by extension every nation in Asia.  Beyond the nuclear threat, its government has been involved in plots to smuggle weapons around the world, and is also deeply engaged in the narcotics trade, exporting ecstasy, methamphetamines and other drugs around the region.

The U.S. has pursued a consistently responsible and multilateral approach with regard to the serious challenges posed by North Korea.  We are deeply concerned by the DPRK’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty and its threats to bring disastrous conflict to Northeast Asia.  We have pushed for a diplomatic solution, working closely with North Korea’s neighbors – China, Russia, South Korea and Japan – to find a way to step back from confrontation on the Korean peninsula.

Kim Jong-Il and his government need to realize they are not only defying the United States, but also the United Nations and the entire world community with their recent belligerent actions.  The UN, ASEAN, and the EU have joined us in condemning North Korea’s actions and calling on them to resume peaceful cooperation with the rest of the world.

The U.S. remains willing to sit down at a negotiating table with North Korea and its neighbors to find ways to return International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to North Korea and to return North Korea to the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.  At the same time, we continue to provide food aid to the North Korean people and are prepared to discuss ways for the North to ensure food security and sustainable energy supplies without resorting to nuclear weapons.

We firmly believe that compromise and cooperation can bring to the people of North Korea many of the economic and social benefits that have long been denied to them.  We will work with our international partners to convince their government of that.

Another area where the U.S. is deeply engaged is the Middle East.  That is a place where, for too long, nations have lived in fear of their neighbors and innocent civilians on both sides have become targets in a pointless cycle of revenge.  The Middle East is home to some of the holiest sites of Islam, Christianity and Judaism, and if that region is ever to realize its potential for development, the conflict between Israel and its neighbors must be resolved.

The United States is one of four proponents of the Road Map to Peace in the Middle East, together with the UN, the EU and Russia.  President Bush is the first U.S. leader to call, on the record, for the right of Palestinians to have their own self-governed state, coexisting side-by-side with Israel.

But the key word is coexisting.  Neither country can survive or prosper if it must live under the constant threat of attacks by terrorist groups or the armed forces of its neighbor.  The only way to achieve lasting peace in the region is for both sides to rein in the groups that seek to undermine the peace process with car bombings, suicide attacks and commando raids.

As the Road Map outlines, there are a number of initial steps that both sides can take to show their support for this approach.  It recognizes the legitimate right of authorities in both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to protect the security of their people while calling on them to stop violence and terrorism.  The Road Map envisions a final and comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by 2005, and sets out a series of steps to achieve that goal.

Our government, and President Bush personally, are committed to supporting the Road Map process.  The President, the Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor have all visited the Middle East in the past two months to advance the negotiating process and encourage both sides to make the compromises needed to move forward.

We are very encouraged by recent developments, including the return by Israel of much of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and by ceasefire agreements reached between the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister and groups like Hamas.  We have recently provided $20 million in direct financial assistance through the Palestine Authority for the Palestinian people.  We anticipate there will be many difficulties ahead – obstacles in the road, if you will – but believe the destination can be reached if both sides remain committed to it.

One day we hope to see a Middle East free of violence, with holy sites in all locations open for the faithful to visit freely, and two states existing side by side in peace.  My government is expending a great deal of energy to achieve this peaceful solution, and we will continue to do so.
 
There is a common misperception that the U.S. no longer cares about the needs of the developing world.  In fact, at the APEC summit last year, President Bush put forward a new plan called the Millennium Challenge that will triple the amount of foreign aid the U.S. annually provides to the developing world.   And the President has suggested a new way to help ensure that our assistance, and that of other donor countries, goes to the people who need it most.

We will ensure our funding goes to build schools, community health clinics and basic sanitation facilities, not Swiss bank accounts for corrupt officials.  We will direct our foreign aid to nations with open, transparent institutions who spend their resources on the true needs of their peoples.

Of course, U.S. humanitarian assistance in times of greatest need – like natural disasters and famines – will continue to flow wherever it is needed.   We have recently established a U.S. Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS relief, which almost triples our current spending on this terrible epidemic.  This is a five-year, $15 billion plan that will prevent 7 million new HIV infections, treat 2 million people living with the disease and care for 10 million HIV-infected and orphaned children.  President Bush also announced the U.S. will contribute $200 million to the UN’s Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.  We were the first nation to contribute to this Fund, which now has pledges from around the world totaling over $3.3 billion.

At the same time, we continue to pay our large share of the support for UN agencies like UNHCR, UNDP and WHO.  And this year the U.S. is proudly rejoining UNESCO.

I’d like to conclude my remarks with a few words about the US-Malaysia bilateral relationship.  The U.S. and Malaysia have long enjoyed a strong, mutually beneficial relationship, and we continue to do so.

As everyone knows, there are areas where our two governments do not share the same view.  That is true of Malaysia’s relations with many other countries, and it is equally true of America’s relations with many other countries, including some of our closest allies.

But what truly matters, in most cases, are not words but actions.  And the U.S. and Malaysia continue to enjoy healthy ties in our economic, security and cultural relationships.

Malaysia is the 11th-largest trading partner of the United States of America, and the U.S. remains Malaysia’s largest export market and its largest single source of foreign investment.  We are working together closely through the WTO and APEC processes to open up new areas of trade between our nations and to make it easier for companies in both countries to do business.

American tourists continue to visit Malaysia in the thousands, and even Sipadan Island remains a popular destination.  Our public announcement informing Americans about the kidnappings on Sipadan three years ago remains in force, but it does not advise Americans to defer travel there and it is constantly under review.  When conditions warrant, the announcement will be cancelled.

Thousands of Malaysian students continue to pursue higher education at U.S. universities, and we encourage them to do so.  Fortunately the visa delays we experienced last year are a thing of the past as our new streamlined systems are now in place.  Malaysia enjoys one of the highest rates of U.S. visa approvals for all categories, but the application process now takes a bit longer, so we advise people to apply well in advance of their planned travel.

In the area of security, particularly counter-terrorism, we have outstanding cooperation.  In fact, Malaysia is one of our best partners in addressing the problem of terrorism in the Southeast Asia region.  It has done a great job in investigating and arresting members of Jemaah Islamiya and other groups that threaten the violent overthrow of local governments.

My government was particularly pleased to see Malaysia open the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Counter-Terrorism in Kuala Lumpur on July 1. We are prepared to provide considerable assistance to the Center in the form of training courses and other programs, to be determined through discussions with the Center’s leadership.  We believe this Center will play an important role in strengthening the ability of  ASEAN member nations to fight terrorism, and we look forward to sharing the experience and expertise we have developed in this critical field.

In summary, U.S. foreign policy is focused on a range of issues in a very complex world.  Like our partners around the world, we face a variety of urgent threats, many of which, like terrorism, will require intense global cooperation to resolve.  We will do our best to turn mutual interests into shared values, to give people around the world the gifts of hope and opportunity, and to find meaningful solutions for even the thorniest problems.  With the help of friends like Malaysia, we hope to make the world a better place for all its peoples, free of the threats of war, terrorism and nuclear blackmail, a world where nations can live in safety and health and pursue peaceful development.

Thank you for your attention.
 

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