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Skriven 2005-02-17 23:33:00 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (050217) for Thu, 2005 Feb 17
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Global Message
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For Immediate Release
February 17, 2005

Global Message



From prepared remarks by Secretary of State Rice before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, 2/16/05

Unprecedented efforts have been undertaken since September 11, 2001 with
allies and friends around the world to defeat terrorism.

There's been significant progress in confronting the enemy abroad, removing
many of al-Qaida's top commanders, cutting off terrorist financing, and
putting pressure on states that sponsor or harbor terrorists or seek to
proliferate weapons of mass destruction.

The only force powerful enough to stop the rise of tyranny and terror, and
replace hatred with hope, is the force of human freedom.

America and her European allies must use the power of partnership to meet
the challenges of a changing world - particularly in the Broader Middle
East and North Africa.

Efforts to encourage political pluralism, economic openness and the growth
of civil society are critical to the future of the region.

The path of democratic reform in the Middle East will be difficult and
uneven. The spread of freedom is the work of generations, but it is also
urgent work that cannot be deferred.

From Morocco to Jordan to Bahrain, we are seeing elections and new
protections for women and minorities, and the beginnings of political
pluralism.

European leaders understand our common interest in building on recent
successes and stabilizing and advancing democratic progress in Afghanistan
and Iraq.

European leaders agree that it is time to close the book on past
differences over Iraq. It is time for all of us to help the Iraqi people
write a new book - the history of a democratic Iraq.
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