*EPF102 11/22/2004
Byliner: Rumsfeld Says U.S. Leads the World Toward Democracy
(Op-ed column by the U.S. secretary of defense) (1090)

(This column by Donald H. Rumsfeld, the U.S. secretary of defense, was published in the Miami Herald November 22 and is in the public domain. There are no republication restrictions.)

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U.S. Leads the World Toward Peace, Freedom, Democracy
Donald H. Rumsfeld

President Bush's vision of a free, democratic Iraq -- and its potential to usher in historic change in the region -- has been met in some corners with skepticism.

The skeptics should focus on the president's visit to Chile this past weekend and his meetings with Latin American leaders. They would be able to observe the powerful draw of freedom. They also would see a remarkable success story in a region that only a short time ago was plagued by violence, civil wars and dictatorships.

I recently returned from a visit to a number of Latin American nations, culminating in a hemisphere-wide conference of defense ministers in Ecuador. With the exception of Cuba -- a dictatorship whose last days may yet to be written -- the countries in the region are for the most part on a path to democracy, freedom and respect for human dignity. Latin American leaders are working well together on collective security measures. They are performing admirably as peacekeepers in Haiti and other regions of the world. They seek a closer collaboration with North America in combating the menaces of drug trafficking, hostage taking, trafficking in humans, criminal gangs and terrorism.

Each country in the region is going about this in its own way, based on its historic traditions, culture and political interests. They have come a long way in a short time.

Take El Salvador, for example. A few decades ago, El Salvador was divided by civil war. But Americans came to El Salvador's aid and helped it confront the forces tearing the country apart. Today El Salvador is a democracy that has fostered reconciliation among its various factions and is working with other nations in defense of freedom.

Such is the nature of historic change; it is rarely gradual. Latin America is far from the only example. Consider that at the end of the 1980s nearly every one of the countries of Eastern Europe was still dominated by the Soviet tyranny. Yet within a decade, those former Soviet satellites were liberated and on a path to democracy.

SOVIET UNION COLLAPSED

The lies and fear that held the Soviet Union together collapsed with stunning swiftness, vindicating such democratic visionaries as Ronald Reagan, Vaclav Havel, Margaret Thatcher and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. It has been noted before that it took 10 years of struggle to eradicate communism in Poland. But with that victory, communism vanished within 10 months in Hungary, 10 weeks in East Germany, 10 days in Czechoslovakia and 10 hours in Romania.

In Asia, too, democracy has proven infectious. In a span of some 50 years, a region once thought by some to be ill-suited for self-government has embraced democracy and freedom.

In the Balkans as well, we have seen great progress from chaos and despair to improving democratic conditions and freedom over the past decade.

At the dawn of this century, few would have dreamed that just four years later, Afghanistan would be governed by a democratically elected moderate Muslim leader. Indeed, those familiar with Afghanistan's long history of oppression of women would likely have scoffed if you had told them that the first person to vote in Afghanistan's national elections would be a 19-year-old Afghan woman.

The lesson that history teaches is this: The great sweep of human history, in every region of the world, is for freedom. And amid violence and chaos and ugliness, the right to live as free men and women remains a powerful force, a compelling force, indeed a winning force.

This gives those on the side of liberty in Iraq an incalculable advantage. Success there cannot be guaranteed, to be sure, but there is good reason for hope.

The coming months will be a crucial period for Iraq. Elections in January will determine whether the Iraqi people are committed to the path of democracy and freedom. It will offer minority groups in the country an unprecedented opportunity to settle disputes as part of a political process, rather than by force of arms.

In the interim, to be successful, areas of the country cannot be allowed to remain under the control of insurgents, regime holdovers and foreign terrorists. At the request of the interim Iraqi government, U.S. forces have worked with Iraqi security personnel to free Fallujah from these enemies of Iraq's progress. And coalition forces stand ready to assist the Iraqi government and the Iraqi security forces in confronting and defeating those enemies in other regions of the country. The Iraqi people must have confidence that a new government can provide security for them and their families; such security is the foundation on which the pillars of democracy and opportunity are built.

To be sure, there are difficulties. Iraq's government is young, and the country has no experience with the challenges inherent in free expression and democratic consensus building. Iraqi security forces must grow in skill and confidence, though the performance of many Iraqi troops in Fallujah -- including those who gave their lives for a free Iraq -- warrants optimism. Many Sunnis remain skeptical of the political process, and it is essential that they be drawn in by the Iraqi government.

In the Middle East, and even among some of our longtime allies, there is concern about America's intentions in Iraq. Anti-American skepticism, of course, can be an excuse to remain uninvolved in what is a hard struggle there. And no doubt the leaders of some nations in the region may fear that a sweep of freedom that begins in Iraq might eventually come to engulf them.

FRIENDS AND ALLIES

The United States has demonstrated again and again its respect for democracy and the right of free nations to make their own sovereign choices. And if there truly are skeptics about America's interests in Iraq, let them witness our partnership with Latin America, which today continues to bear fruit. Let them observe our close friendship with Eastern Europe and our friends and allies in Asia. And let them see for themselves why America remains the leader of the free world and an inspiration for millions of others hoping to live in freedom.

[Donald H. Rumsfeld is the U.S. secretary of defense.]

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

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