*EPF202 09/21/2004
Transcript: Powell Says Insurgency in Iraq Must Be Defeated
(Secretary of state reaffirms commitment to a democratic Iraq) (1510)

Secretary of State Colin Powell reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to confronting the insurgency in Iraq and supporting the Iraqi interim government's efforts to hold elections by January 2005.

"I personally believe that we will win this war in Iraq. We are facing a difficult insurgency right now and the insurgency has to be defeated. There's no question about it," the secretary said during a September 21 interview with ABC News.

Powell responded to recent statements from leading Republican senators, who have raised concerns about the turmoil in Iraq. It is "absolutely wrong" to embrace the attitude that the coalition forces are on the verge of defeat, Powell said.

He said that such attitudes reflect fears in a time of difficulty. Powell went on to express confidence in the U.S. commanders in the field and in the determination of the Iraqi people to restore security and normalcy to their country.

He spoke of the increasing number of Iraqis joining the national security forces, establishing community councils and preparing for elections as evidence that progress is being made.

"There is no substitute for going forward and defeating this insurgency and helping the Iraq people get what they want, which is a democracy," Powell said.

Following is a transcript of Powell's interview:

(begin transcript)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(New York, New York)
September 21, 2004

INTERVIEW

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell On ABCs Good Morning America

September 21, 2004
New York, New York

(7:05 a.m. EDT)

MS. SAWYER: Joining us now is the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and it's good to have you with us this morning.

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you. Good morning, Diane.

MS. SAWYER: The President is appearing at the UN today, expected to give more reassurances about Iraq on the way to democracy, and yet Americans wake up to beheadings, to the fact that there's a 4000 percent increase in the violent attacks on American soldiers in Iraq in the last five months.

I have a personal question to you: Do you personally believe we are winning the war in Iraq?

SECRETARY POWELL: I personally believe that we will win this war in Iraq. We are facing a difficult insurgency right now and the insurgency has to be defeated. There's no question about it. We can't, in any way, paper that over. But I am confident that our military commanders and the Iraqi armed forces, who are being rapidly built up now under the direction of General Petraeus, and with the leadership of brave men like Prime Minister Allawi, who we will see here in New York this week, this is an insurgency that can be defeated.

It has to be defeated because look what lies at the other end of that insurgency: a democratic Iraq that's trying to get ready for elections now. The American Congress, the American people, have generously provided reconstruction money to help the country get back up on its feet. There is no substitute for going forward and defeating this insurgency and helping the Iraq people get what they want, which is a democracy.

MS. SAWYER: John Kerry -- very tough speech yesterday in which he said the prospect of a war with no end in sight is what we're facing right now in Iraq, and accused the administration of arrogance, incompetence, colossal failure of judgment, and he even invoked you at one point. Here I'm going to play the tape:

Senator Kerry: "His two main rationales, weapons of mass destruction and the al-Qaida September 11th connection, have both been proved false by the President's own weapons inspectors and by the 9/11 Commission. And just last week, Secretary of State Powell acknowledged those facts."

Colossal failure of judgment and mistaken premises for going to war, and he cites you.

SECRETARY POWELL: Well, he had the same premise for going to war that we did, and that was that we believed that Saddam Hussein had the intention and the capability for having weapons of mass destruction and we believed he had stockpiles in place. It turned out, so far, that we have not found those stockpiles and we are unlikely to find them. But the basis upon which we went to war was because of the inherent danger of this man, with his weapons of mass destruction that he has used in the past against his own people and against his neighbors; and his human rights record and his complete ignoring of UN resolutions for 12 years made it clear to us that he was a danger and he had to be dealt with. And Senator Kerry felt that at the time.

MS. SAWYER: But, Mr. Secretary, I want to ask about the Republicans who are now coming forward and saying something different. They're saying that the administration, at the very least, has got to start -- stop giving just standard reassurances when Americans are facing a disconnect. Fifty-five Americans, soldiers, died in Iraq in August alone; 1,000 -- more than 1,000 -- injured there. And I'm going to play again what three Republican senators -- we're talking about Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, John McCain of Arizona, Dick Lugar of Indiana -- had to say:

Senator Hagel: "No, I don't think we're winning. The fact is we're in trouble. We're in deep trouble in Iraq."

Question: "Is the President being straight with the American people?" Senator McCain: "Perhaps not as straight as maybe we'd like to see."

Senator Lugar: "This is incompetence in the administration..."

SECRETARY POWELL: It is a difficult struggle that we are in right now. There's no question about it. Insurgencies are tough. But to say that we can't deal with it, this sort of attitude that we're on the verge of defeat, is absolutely wrong. We're building up Iraqi forces at a rapid rate. We've put in one of our best generals in to do it. We're reprogramming money for that purpose.

There are Iraqis who are standing in line to come and be part of the police force, be part of a new Iraq. There are brave Iraqis who are going out every day to their jobs to set up community councils, to set up electoral registration points. There are hospitals that are being opened. There are many good things that are going on. And many of our allies are standing right there with us -- the United Kingdom, Australia, so many others.

And so it is a tough time right now. We knew it was going to be tough. We said that when we transferred sovereignty the insurgents weren't going to simply go away; they were going to take that moment of vulnerability when it was a new government, to attack, and that's what they are doing. And we have been in combat before. We have faced these kinds of difficult moments before. And this is the time to not take counsel of our fears and say everything is falling apart.

MS. SAWYER: So these Republican senators are taking counsel of their fears?

SECRETARY POWELL: They are, I think, taking some counsel of the fears that exist that it is a difficult time, and where is it leading? Where it's leading is to the defeat of this insurgency in good time, and with the application of resources it can be done, and then going toward elections at the end of this year, the beginning of next year.

And this is the time for us to not start talking about we're going to get out next year. What we're going to do is complete the work we've started. A dictator is gone. Saddam Hussein is no longer in Baghdad as a threat. He's in Baghdad as a prisoner. Reconstruction will become more evident as we spend more of the money that Congress has been generous in making available to us.

We regret the kinds of tragedies that we saw yesterday and my heart goes out to the family of Mr. Armstrong. And it just shows you the nature of the evil that we're dealing with. It shows you the nature of the people we're dealing with. And we can't just wilt in the face of this kind of challenge. We have to meet the challenge. And the Iraqis are prepared to meet the challenge with us.

We have two countries -- the President will talk to this today. Two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, that want to be free, that want to be democracies, and that were held in bondage by terrorists and by dictators. Both those dictators are now gone: the Taliban in Afghanistan, Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The difficult task of putting these nations on stable, democratic foundations is moving forward and this is the time to just keep moving forward and not talk about we're going to get out next year.

MS. SAWYER: Secretary of State Colin Powell, thank you for being here.

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you, Diane.

(end transcript)

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

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