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Disarmament DocumentationBack to Disarmament Documentation US Secretary of State Colin Powell on 'winning the hearts and minds' of the Iraqi people, April 29'Powell Explains Elements of New U.N. Iraq Resolution', April 29, 2004. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY Remarks By Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen After Their Meeting Danish Prime Minister's Office ... QUESTION: Secretary Powell, nobody questions the strength of the U.S. military, but do you think there is room for improvement when it comes to winning the hearts and minds of Iraqis? SECRETARY POWELL: We always are trying just not to use our military force to find a solution to a problem, but to appeal that it is in their interest to cooperate with us, to work with us. I don't think that we have lost their hearts and minds. I think most of the Iraqi people know what we are doing and want to be a part of that. Most of the Iraqi people have said that they are glad that Saddam Hussein and his regime is gone. Why wouldn't they be? He wasted their treasure, he filled mass graves, he gassed his own people, he destroyed the wetlands in the south, he suppressed human rights. He was the worst kind of dictator who built palaces instead of schools and who destroyed his economy - from being one of the most wealthy nations at the beginning of the 1980s, to one of the most destitute nations at the beginning of this century. QUESTION: So you don't think there is any room for improvement... SECRETARY POWELL: I will get to it. So, let's just make sure we understand the circumstances we are involved in. Most people want democracy and they want freedom. The premise of your question is that they didn't - we don't have their hearts and minds. What we don't have are the hearts and minds of the thugs, the former regime elements, and the terrorists who have come to make trouble. We won't win their hearts and minds. What we have to do is defeat them. We will defeat them on the battlefield and we will also defeat them politically, by putting in place an interim government, a government that is sovereign and represents the interests of the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people, whose hearts and minds we have, will see that these thugs and criminals are attacking the government of the Iraqi people. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, we have just heard the Danish Prime Minister say that he felt very bad about the heavy American losses - eight soldiers alone today. At the same time, we see a New York Times poll saying that only 47% of the American population now supports your effort in Iraq. Do you see any kind of connection with the daily, heavy losses of American soldiers and the American support going down? SECRETARY POWELL: Obviously when casualties are going up, and April has been a particularly hard month for casualties, people see this on their televisions and they read about it in the newspapers, and they learn of losses in their own community. That causes them to stop and think and reflect: What are we doing? You can expect the polls to reflect that, but I think as we get on top of the security situation, and I think we will, and as we put in place an interim government, and as the U.N. gets more involved, and as the reconstruction effort picks up, and as the American people see that Iraqis are taking responsibility for their own future, then I think the polls will turn in the other direction. For example, there are Iraqi officers, former regime, who are now loyal to the new Iraq, who have stepped forward in Fallujah and have started to organize units. So we now see Iraqi units that have organized themselves to go in and help in the situation in Fallujah. If we can solve it that way, I think the American people will start to see, and people around the world will start to see, that Iraqis want peace, that Iraqis do not want the kind of violence that is being perpetrated against them now by these former regime elements, terrorists, and criminals who are taking advantage of an insecure situation. I think the polls will then move in the other direction. The American people understand what we are there for, know that what we are doing is the right thing, and I think that they will support the President over all. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, what would you put in the U.N. resolution in order to convince other countries, for instance France, that the new Iraqi government is having full sovereignty after June 30? SECRETARY POWELL: The resolution, I hope, will contain elements that would recognize that an interim sovereign government has been set up. I hope that there will an element that talks about the need for additional contributions to the military force, additional economic contributions, and provide a mandate for the Brahimi plan and provide a mandate for the plan moving forward especially toward elections to a national assembly early next year, a transitional government and then a full government at the end of 2005, early 2006. Those are the elements in common that everyone is talking about. I think there will be strong support for these elements. You mentioned France. France and Germany, and the others who disagreed so strongly with us last year, have indicated that they want to be part of this reconstruction effort. They don't what to see us go back to the days of Saddam Hussein. They know it is in their interest, as well as in our interest and the interest of the Iraqi people, for us all to work together going forward. The government will be given sovereignty. Obviously, because a large foreign military presence will still be required, under U.S. command, some would say well then you are not giving full sovereignty, but we are giving sovereignty, so that that sovereignty can be used to say: We invite you to remain. It is a sovereign decision. It is not that unusual. It happened in Europe where U.S. forces remained for many years under U.S. command but with another sovereign in charge of the country that we were in. The same was the situation in Korea for many years. I think those kinds of arrangements can be worked out. I think France and the other nations will recognize that we have given sovereignty when they see an Iraqi president, an Iraqi prime minister, an Iraqi deputy president, and a full Iraqi cabinet that is actually running the country and the CPA is no longer there, and an American ambassador is there performing as American ambassadors do everywhere else around the world. PRIME MINISTER RASMUSSEN: One final question. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, some countries have announced their withdrawal from Iraq. How does that affect the Danish position? Is there the need for more Danish support for your cause in Iraq? SECRETARY POWELL: We are disappointed that Spain decided that it had to withdraw, and withdraw rather abruptly. Most of the nations of the coalition have been as solid as Denmark has been, even during a month when things got very, very difficult. They are all staying with it. So, we have lost a few, but the many have remained and they remain firm in their determination to see this through to the end. The Prime Minister and I did not have any discussion about additional Danish troops, nor did the Foreign Minister and I. This is a matter for Denmark to decide. I only can say that we are enormously pleased at the contribution that Denmark has made in Iraq and in Afghanistan and the steadfastness that they have shown. Thank you very much. Source: US State Department, http://usinfo.state.gov. © 2003 The Acronym Institute. |