*EPF308 02/05/2003
Transcript: Defense Official Says Terror War is Not "Between Civilizations"
(Assistant Secretary Rodman leads security forum delegation to Morocco) (2760)

Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Peter Rodman, leading an American delegation to Morocco, said the war against terrorism pits all civilized nations against "a very virulent form of extremism which threatens all of us."

"The United States does not view this war on terrorism as a war between civilizations. It is not the West against the Muslim world. It is certainly not the United States against the Muslim world," said Rodman, speaking at a press conference the in Rabat January 28.

Rodman was in Morocco for the first meeting of the Defense Consultative Commission (DCC), a bilateral opportunity for the two countries to discuss security cooperation. He described the Commission as "a forum for Morocco to give us the benefit of its wisdom and its advice, and for the United States to convey our thinking on a number of issues."

He was repeatedly questioned on the U.S. policy towards Iraq, and although he stated he had not come to the region to discuss the Bush Administration's policies towards Iraq, "I can say that our friends did convey their thoughts to us, and I was able to explain American thinking."

"This is not an American problem. It is not a bilateral problem between the United States and Iraq. It is a threat to the entire region, and a defiance of the international community," Rodman told reporters.

Prior to his arrival in Morocco, the assistant secretary traveled to Tunisia and Algeria. He described the U.S. relationship with Algeria as "new and interesting" and said he was pleased by his visit.

"It seems that the end of the Cold War and the global war on terrorism, have given us some things to talk about, so our relationship with Algeria is just developing," he said.

Turning to Morocco's conflict over the Western Sahara territory, Rodman said the United States is supportive of former Secretary of State James Baker's diplomatic mission as a United Nations mediator. "The United States is trying to be fair and to support UN mediation of that conflict, and so we are trying hard not to make things complicated," said Rodman.

He also said the United States supports Moroccan King Mohammad's efforts towards greater democracy and economic reforms. Rodman noted, "American support for Morocco and sympathy for Morocco go very deep in the United States among the American people."

Following is a transcript of Assistant Secretary Rodman's press conference in Rabat:

(begin transcript)

Transcript of the Press Conference by
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Department of Defense

Residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Rabat, Morocco,
On January 28, 2003, at 4:15 PM

A/S Rodman: Thank you very much. I am very pleased to be leading the American delegation to this first meeting of the Defense Consultative Commission (DCC). This is a bilateral forum in which civilian and military leaders on both sides in the security area meet in order to strengthen our cooperation in this field. This Defense Consultative Commission is a continuation and an expansion of a forum which has existed for many, many years. Morocco is a traditional friend of the United States, and has been a strategic friend of the United States for many years. So we are pleased to continue this partnership because we value Morocco as a friend, and its security is important to us.

Question: I have three questions. First question, what countries have you visited and what was the position of your counterparts in those countries on Iraq and did they voice their opposition to a military attack on Iraq or just endorse your plan?

A/S Rodman: I spent a week in the region, first visiting Tunisia, then Algeria, and now Morocco. Iraq was not the main subject of my discussions in any of these places. I think I should leave it to these governments to speak for themselves on that important subject.

Question: Second question, given the sensitivity of the issue, could you share with us what you told the GOM on Mubarak, a close Moroccan associate of Usama bin Laden, and how this relates to your war against terrorism?

A/S Rodman: This was not a part of our discussions today, and I am not conversant with all of the details of this matter in any case. I should say something about the war on terrorism, however. The United States does not view this war on terrorism as a war between civilizations. It is not the West against the Muslim world. It is certainly not the United States against the Muslim world. It is all of the civilized nations of the world against a very virulent form of extremism which threatens all of us. We are very proud of our relationship with Morocco and we especially appreciate that Morocco has been able to cooperate in a number of ways in this war against terrorism. The United States has many, many friends in the Muslim world and the Arab world. We are very proud of those relationships and we want to keep them.

Question: I would like you to please clarify what you meant when you said that Morocco was a strategic friend of the U.S.

A/S Rodman: The United States has long-standing relations in the security field in which we, for example, try to support Morocco's defense capability. We have, for a long time, provided assistance in the form of equipment, training, and other forms of cooperation in order to help strengthen Morocco. And both sides are very conscious of common strategic interests in the region. These are some of the subjects that we discussed at our meetings.

Question: How can you then explain the small amount of military aid given to Morocco in comparison to what the U.S. gives other countries?

A/S Rodman: President Bush is about to unveil his budget next week, and I am sure the numbers will show how much support we can provide Morocco in the coming year. I expect it will be an increase over previous years in some categories.

Question: What are the goals of the DCC? And how it relates to Iraq (inaudible)?

A/S Rodman: The main purpose is bilateral. It is, as I said earlier, the continuation of a forum that has existed for a long time, to support our bilateral cooperation and to discuss issues of security in the region. That kind of a dialogue is another sign of the maturity of our relationship with each other. Let me say one other thing. It is not a forum for reaching agreements on these other topics. It is a forum to have a good exchange of views. It is a forum for Morocco to give us the benefit of its wisdom and its advice, and for the United States to convey our thinking on a number of issues.

Question: Powell is quoted in "Le Monde" today as having said that the President does not want war, he wants peace. So, if the inspectors' mission is extended and no WMD are found, will you call off the military strike against Iraq?

A/S Rodman: I have been away from Washington for several days, so I think my leaders in Washington and New York should be the ones to express American policy on the most recent questions, such as what happens next with the inspectors.

Question: To us, it sounds like the U.S. is determined to wage war regardless of what the inspectors find. Your comment?

A/S Rodman: Let me make a general point about what the source of this problem is. The basic problem is that in 1991, after the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein made a fundamental decision. He made a fundamental decision to try to keep his weapons of mass destruction -- to keep these weapons in spite of UN Security Council Resolution 687 and no matter what cost Iraq would bear for this decision. And, for twelve years, he has not deviated from this original decision, even after Resolution 1441. We know he still has many of these weapons; we know he is still pursuing these kinds of weapons. He is hiding them from the inspectors. The inspectors are doing a heroic job, but it is very difficult for a handful of human beings to inspect every square meter of a large country. The tragedy of Iraq is that Saddam made this decision even though it has brought great suffering to the Iraqi people. The decision that President Bush and the leaders of other countries on the UN Security Council have to face now is whether we know enough to conclude that he is still cheating. It may be that we know enough already to know exactly what the situation is. But this is of course a political decision that the political leaders will have to make, not a technical decision.

Question: During your current visit and discussions in the Maghreb, could you tell us a little bit about the cooperation in the fight against terrorism?

A/S Rodman: All of the countries are working with us in the war against terrorism, and to speak in general terms, that is really the focus of our security discussions in this period.

Question: Did the leaders convey to you their public's opposition to a military strike against Iraq?

A/S Rodman: I repeat that the purpose of my mission was not to discuss Iraq, though it was an opportunity to exchange points of view on the subject. I can say that our friends did convey their thoughts to us, and I was able to explain American thinking. But I really do not want to go into any more detail.

Question: Is the evidence that you are holding against Saddam coming from the testimony of Iraqi defectors?

A/S Rodman: There are many sources of information, including the United Nations inspectors' reports from before, as well as the one you mentioned. But all together it is enough to convince the American government and obviously the British, and others, that Saddam Hussein right now possesses weapons of mass destruction that he is concealing.

Question: The U.S. claims that it supports human rights, yet the USG didn't do anything to stop Saddam when he was using chemical weapons against his people in the 80's. How can you explain that?

A/S Rodman: I believe that the United States government did express its point of view at that period of time, but the threat now is very direct and very visible, and he is now defying 17 UN Security Council resolutions. President Bush went to the United Nations on September 12 and said: This is not an American problem. It is not a bilateral problem between the United States and Iraq. It is a threat to the entire region, and a defiance of the international community. And President Bush strongly urged the United Nations to step up to this challenge as a matter of international unity.

Question: As Morocco carries out kidnappings, arrests, and other illegal measures against suspects, how can human rights be reconciled to the campaign against terrorism?

A/S Rodman: We have close relations with His Majesty, the King of Morocco, and we have many decades of friendship with Morocco. My mission here was to talk about cooperation in the security field which both countries see as of mutual interest. We can see that His Majesty is moving Morocco in the direction of greater democracy, just as he is making courageous decisions in the economic field. So we wish His Majesty and the Moroccan government, well on the path they are embarked upon. But at the same time there is a threat of terrorism which all of us face in different ways.

Question: I have a very short question. How far have you come in catching Usama Bin Laden?

A/S Rodman: I think he is hiding somewhere. (Laughter). Maybe that is good news. Al Queda used to have a base in Afghanistan. They had headquarters, they had training camps, they had a state within a state in Afghanistan. They no longer have that kind of safehaven anywhere. We know that Al Quaeda is still very dangerous; they have a more decentralized structure and they have spread out in many countries of the world. They are seeking to attack the United States again, or American interests in many parts of the world. So we know they are very dangerous. But one of the very important developments since September 11 is the great cooperation of the international community and the cooperation of many countries to try and defeat Al Quaeda.

Question: What is the USG going to do to support Morocco's claim in the Western Sahara? Did the Moroccans raise it with you?

A/S Rodman: This is a very difficult problem but it is not the mission of the U.S. Department of Defense to be involved. Secretary James Baker is actively involved in this issue as mediator. So while it was educational for me to learn about the issue, it was not the purpose of my visit. The United States government, I know, supports Secretary Baker's efforts.

Question: Could you tell us about U.S.-Moroccan cooperation in tracking down former Al Quaeda members given that there are 17 Moroccans in Guantanamo Bay?

A/S Rodman: I am not going to go into detail.

Question: Would you please comment on Secretary Powell's comment that there are links between Saddam and Al Quaeda?

A/S Rodman: The United States government has been saying this for many months. It is the unanimous opinion of the American government, including of its intelligence community, that there are links between Al Quaeda and the Iraqi government going back 10 years. There are many contacts between them. We know that many of those contacts have been on the subject of chemical and biological weapons. We know that Al Quaeda has sought training and expertise from Iraq and from other sources in this area. We are not going to reveal all of the sources of our information, but we are convinced of this. Saddam and Al Quaeda may have ideological differences, but they seem to agree completely in their opinion of the United States.

Question: Why is the U.S. suddenly moving to strengthen its relations with Algeria?

A/S Rodman: Our relations with Morocco and Tunisia are long-standing. They are traditional friends of the United States, and we have bilateral military discussions with them that we have had for many years. Our relationship with Algeria is new. It seems that the end of the Cold War, and the global war on terrorism, have given us some things to talk about, so our relationship with Algeria is just developing.

Question: (inaudible)

A/S Rodman: I had very good talks in Algeria. I was received by the President and we had good talks. This is an interesting new relationship, but of course the American interest in the Maghreb includes Morocco and Tunisia as traditional friends and I don't think the United States intends to do anything that would harm the overall stability of the region. In fact, our interest is in better relations among the Maghreb countries, that would certainly be one of the objectives we would have. But again, this relationship with Algeria is new and I was pleased by my visit there.

Question: We have reports that the United States handed over a Moroccan suspect to the GOM. Isn't that a violation of human rights and international laws?

A/S Rodman: I am not going to discuss that subject.

Question: The United States conducted a military exercise in the south in the Sahara, can we interpret that as a recognition by the USG of Moroccan claims to the land?

A/S Rodman: The answer is no. The United States is trying to be fair and to support UN mediation of that conflict, and so we are trying hard not to make things complicated.

Question: It has often been said that Morocco is a close ally, but that's not reflected in your budgetary figures.

A/S Rodman: I don't want to discuss what the President may announce when he announces his budget next week. But I do believe that we will do our best to increase our support of Morocco. One of the results of September 11 is that our Congress is more understanding of the needs of national security and international security. American support for Morocco and sympathy for Morocco go very deep in the United States among the American people.

Thank you.

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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