Rice Says Iraq Must Not Be Given Up to 'merciless Killers'

Associated Press ^ | Sep 30, 2005 | Geoff Mulvihill

[baystaterebel]

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday the United States must not abandon its mission in Iraq and Americans must realize the consequences of ceding the country to "merciless killers."

Rice told students at Princeton University that the Bush administration's focus on the spread of democracy in the Middle East was both a moral obligation and a tough-minded response to global terrorism.

"From Cairo and Ramallah to Beirut and Baghdad, they are now finding new spaces of freedom," Rice said.

The United States must not be afraid to use all its influence in the world - political, economic, cultural and military, Rice said.

"In a world where evil is still very real, democratic principles must be backed with power in all its forms," Rice said. "Any champion of democracy who promotes principle without power can make no real difference in the lives of oppressed people."

[baystaterebel]

Rice 08!

[La Enchiladita]

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice delivers a keynote address Friday, Sept. 30, 2005, at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J., during a celebration marking the 75th anniversary of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. (AP Photo/Jose F. Moreno)

[CBart95]

She's fine right where she is.

[Inyokern]

I am glad they put quotation marks around "merciless killers." It would be wrong for the press to make value judgements about people who blow up crowded marketplaces.

One man's merciless killer might be Michael Moore's freedom fighter.

[ex-snook]

Does Rice know what is going on? After all this time why can't Iraq come up with sufficent people to overcome terrorist killers or is this no longer a fight against terrorism but a religious civil war and she doesn't know the difference.

[TomasUSMC]

After all this time why can't Iraq come up with sufficient people to overcome terrorist killers

---

Your right. Last year the Iraqis had 3 ( wow 3) battalions combat ready, today they have 1. Why don't we see Martial Law and a Nationwide Draft in Iraq? Because they have US.

And what will the final product be anyway? According to the new Iraqi Constitution and the new Prime Minister:

now we are fighting to support an Iraq that will have Sharia Law, that will have mullahs overseeing the Iraqi Supreme Court, that will have a constitution that states "No Law shall contradict Islam!".

a bunch of mullahs will oversee the Iraqi Supreme Court (Article 89)...

Article (89): The Supreme Judiciary Council will exercise the following powers:

1st - administering and supervising the federal judiciary system.
2nd - nominating the head and members of the Supreme Federal Court and presenting their names to parliament for endorsement.
3rd - nominating the head of the Federal Cassation Court, the chief prosecutor and the head of the Judiciary Inspection Department, and presenting them to parliament for approval.
4th - proposing the annual budget for the federal judiciary system and presenting it to parliament for approval.

AND A NEW PM that says.....
....Iraq's Prime Minister is Ibrahim al-Jaafari....
Asked if his government would institute Islamic Shari'a law, al-Jaafari replied: "Yes … that is only natural in a country that is populated mainly by Muslims."

"This is a new chapter in relations with Iraq," enthused Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref during al-Jaafari's visit. Agha Panayi, an Iranian intelligence official, has offered a similarly enthusiastic assessment: "Throughout Iraq, the people we supported are in power."

Fight for Freedom YES - fight for Islam NO.

[Loyal Buckeye]

The thing that frosts me is that those in congress will not step and flat out support our efforts in Iraq. Instead, many are more worried about their careers than doing what is right.

[Hank Rearden]

When's it going to be time for Iraqis to take all the risks and assume the responsibility of defending their own Islamic craphole?

This is not an idle inquiry; are we out of Haiti or Bosnia yet?