Top > World > 2005 > December > 2005-12-18

Iraq Remarks by U.S. Secretary of State

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice made these comments at the Heritage Foundation before Iraqis went to the polls on Thursday:

"All across Iraq today, representatives from some 300 political parties are staging rallies, they`re holding televised debates, they`re hanging campaign posters, and they`re taking their case to the Iraqi people. They are asking for the consent of the governed. As this historic moment approaches, we in America are engaging in our own historic debate."

"Many Americans have asked questions about our nation`s role in Iraq. And, in recent weeks, President Bush has responded by clearly describing our national strategy for victory in Iraq. The American people want to know who we and the Iraqis are fighting and that we can win. And President Bush has answered, explaining the nature of the enemy that we face and why failure is not an option."

"The final enemy we face, the terrorists, are a small but deadly group, motivated by the global ideology of hatred that fuels Al Qaida. And they will stop at nothing to make Iraq the heart of a totalitarian empire that encompasses the entire Islamic world. If we quit now, we will give the terrorists exactly what they want. We will desert Iraq`s democrats at their time of greatest need."

"In abandoning future generations in the Middle East to despair and terror, we would also condemn future generations in the United States to insecurity and fear."