Bush: Mideast Must Move Toward Democracy

AP ^ | 11-06-03 | TERENCE HUNT

[Indy Pendance]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Repudiating decades of U.S. policy, President Bush said Thursday the United States and its allies have been wrong in "excusing and accommodating" a lack of freedom in the Middle East. He prodded Saudi Arabia and Egypt to lead Arab nations toward democracy.

Mindful of widespread anger and mistrust in the Muslim world toward the United States, Bush also said that as democratic governments emerge in the Middle East, they should reflect their own cultures and "will not and should not look like us."

He said it would take time for democracy to spread and the United States would be "patient and understanding."

Bush's speech appeared aimed at complaints in the Arab world that the United States has long tolerated corrupt, undemocratic regimes in return for stability and a reliable supply of oil. Washington began to rethink its policy after the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001, and the emergence of deep hostility in the Mideast toward the United States. Fifteen of the Sept. 11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia.

"Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe - and in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty," the president said in a groundbreaking conclusion.

"As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish," he said, "it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment and violence ready for export. And with the spread of weapons that can bring catastrophic harm to our country and to our friends, it would be reckless to accept the status quo."

Bush spoke before the National Endowment for Democracy, an organization formed during the Reagan administration to promote global freedom. In another step crucial to his policy in the Middle East, Bush later signed into law an $87.5 billion package for military and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan

"With this act of Congress, no enemy or friend can doubt that America has the resources and the will to see this war through to victory," Bush said.

Middle East scholars said Bush's appeal for democracy lacked any followup programs.

"No new programs announced, no new money for promoting democracy - just rhetoric," said Martin Indyk, who had been assistant secretary of state for the Middle East in the Clinton administration

"The rhetoric isn't going to move the hardliners in Iran, Yasser Arafat or the governments in Saudi Arabia and Egypt who are now scared of the consequences of the kind of political liberalization that the president is preaching to them," Indyk said.

Bush put Iraq at the center of hopes for democracy.

"The failure of Iraqi democracy would embolden terrorists around the world, increase dangers to the American people and extinguish the hopes of millions in the region," he said.

While a few governments have made moves toward democracy, most countries in the region are ruled by authoritarian regimes and royal families. "Basically every Arab country has an autocratic regime," said Judith Kipper of the Council on Foreign Relations. "Some are more benign than others but there's no real democracy in the Arab world."

Bush said some skeptics assert the traditions of Islam are incompatible with representative government.

"It should be clear to all that Islam - the faith of one-fifth of humanity - is consistent with democratic rule," the president said. He said democratic progress has been found in predominantly Muslim countries including Turkey, Indonesia, Senegal, Albania, Niger and Sierra Leone.

There was mixed reaction to his speech in the region.

In Amman, Jordan, businessman Khalid Salim said: "I support completely President Bush's speech concerning democracy in the Middle East and hope that his words will be in effect soon."

However, worker Samer Hussein said angrily: "With the justification of democracy, Bush and the Americans plan to occupy Arab and Muslim lands. We tell him, we do not want his democracy."

Bush said the absence of freedom in the Mideast has had terrible consequences, including widespread poverty and denial of school and rights for women.

Mideast leaders should ask themselves if they will be remembered "for resisting reform or for leading it," Bush said. In particular, he singled out the two powerhouses: Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

"The Saudi government is taking first steps toward reform, including a plan for gradual introduction of elections," Bush said. "By giving the Saudi people a greater role in their own society, the Saudi government can demonstrate true leadership in the region."

Saudi Arabia's monarchy recently promised its first-ever popular elections, for local city councils, but has set no date.

Turning to Egypt, the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel, Bush said, "The great and proud nation of Egypt has shown the way toward peace in the Middle East and now should show the way toward democracy in the Middle East. ... It's the only path to national success and dignity."