Posted on 01/30/2003 10:09:40 AM PST by PhiKapMom
RNC Research Briefing
30 January 2003
From The Wall Street Journal
Eight European Leaders Are As One With President Bush.
Thursday, January 30, 2003
(Editor's note: This article is written by Jose María Aznar, Jose-Manuel Durão Barroso, Silvio Berlusconi, Tony Blair, Vaclav Havel, Peter Medgyessy, Leszek Miller and Anders Fogh Rasmussen.)
The real bond between the U.S. and Europe is the values we share: democracy, individual freedom, human rights and the rule of law. These values crossed the Atlantic with those who sailed from Europe to help create the United States of America. Today they are under greater threat than ever.
The attacks of Sept. 11 showed just how far terrorists--the enemies of our common values--are prepared to go to destroy them. Those outrages were an attack on all of us. In standing firm in defense of these principles, the governments and people of the U.S. and Europe have amply demonstrated the strength of their convictions. Today more than ever, the trans-Atlantic bond is a guarantee of our freedom.
We in Europe have a relationship with the U.S. which has stood the test of time. Thanks in large part to American bravery, generosity and farsightedness, Europe was set free from the two forms of tyranny that devastated our continent in the 20th century: Nazism and communism. Thanks, too, to the continued cooperation between Europe and the U.S. we have managed to guarantee peace and freedom on our continent. The trans-Atlantic relationship must not become a casualty of the current Iraqi regime's persistent attempts to threaten world security.
In today's world, more than ever before, it is vital that we preserve that unity and cohesion. We know that success in the day-to-day battle against terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction demands unwavering determination and firm international cohesion on the part of all countries for whom freedom is precious.
The Iraqi regime and its weapons of mass destruction represent a clear threat to world security. This danger has been explicitly recognized by the U.N. All of us are bound by Security Council Resolution 1441, which was adopted unanimously. We Europeans have since reiterated our backing for Resolution 1441, our wish to pursue the U.N. route, and our support for the Security Council at the Prague NATO Summit and the Copenhagen European Council.
In doing so, we sent a clear, firm and unequivocal message that we would rid the world of the danger posed by Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. We must remain united in insisting that his regime be disarmed. The solidarity, cohesion and determination of the international community are our best hope of achieving this peacefully. Our strength lies in unity.
The combination of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism is a threat of incalculable consequences. It is one at which all of us should feel concerned. Resolution 1441 is Saddam Hussein's last chance to disarm using peaceful means. The opportunity to avoid greater confrontation rests with him. Sadly this week the U.N. weapons inspectors have confirmed that his long-established pattern of deception, denial and noncompliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions is continuing.
Europe has no quarrel with the Iraqi people. Indeed, they are the first victims of Iraq's current brutal regime. Our goal is to safeguard world peace and security by ensuring that this regime gives up its weapons of mass destruction. Our governments have a common responsibility to face this threat. Failure to do so would be nothing less than negligent to our own citizens and to the wider world.
The U.N. Charter charges the Security Council with the task of preserving international peace and security. To do so, the Security Council must maintain its credibility by ensuring full compliance with its resolutions. We cannot allow a dictator to systematically violate those resolutions. If they are not complied with, the Security Council will lose its credibility and world peace will suffer as a result. We are confident that the Security Council will face up to its responsibilities.
Messrs. Aznar, Durão Barroso, Berlusconi, Blair, Medgyessy, Miller and Fogh Rasmussen are, respectively, the prime ministers of Spain, Portugal, Italy, the U.K., Hungary, Poland and Denmark. Mr. Havel is the Czech president.
Too late...MUD
We need the word spread from all sources printing this info.
Bump!!!
What is it with these reporters..
I listened to the Italian PM and Bush speak on Fox*. Very cool!
*From the comfort of my massive SUV with XM radio.
This is heavily paraphrased, but "We will never forget that we owe our Freedom and Democracy to the US. We will not forget that Americans lost their lives for it."
It might be worth trying to get the actual transcript of it, as I'm sure that it won't be on the evening newscasts tonight. I'll look for it.
Oh, and now FNC is carrying a live press conference with Blair and Aznar from Madrid.
Since they owe their entire existence to the sponsorship and protection of the United States, you would think they could show at least a little gratitude by joining the multi-national coalition. Their experience in terrorism should make them very good allies in the War On Terrorism.
Washinton's other "New Europe" allies such as Macedonia, Albania, Croatia and Slovenia also have not declared any support for the upcoming liberation of Iraq. They too owe their entire existence as "independent" states to the benevolent intervention of the United States. And yet, they have taken the earliest opportunity to stab their sponsor in the back.
Isn't it sad? Doesn't it make you weep? America, which has done so much to betray WWII allies like the Serbs, to sponsor the allies of Adolf Hitler instead, has been backstabbed in turn by states originally created by the German Nazis.
Looks as though they will always be more loyal to Germany than the United States, as if that should be any surprise.
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