*EPF302 11/24/2004
Text: State Department Employee Killed in Baghdad
(Secretary Powell says James Mollen was working to improve Iraqi education) (240)

Following is the text of Secretary of State Colin Powell's November 24 statement on the death of James Mollen, a State Department official who was murdered in Baghdad:

(begin text)

U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman

November 24, 2004
2004/1279

Statement by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell

Death of James Mollen in Baghdad

I was profoundly saddened to learn of the murder of State Department official Jim Mollen today in Baghdad. Jim was the U.S. Embassy's Senior Consultant to the Iraqi Ministers of Education and Higher Education.

The Department of State and I grieve over this tragic loss. We offer Jim's family and friends our condolences. We too have lost one of our own.

Jim dedicated his life to a noble cause: improving the quality of education for thousands of Iraqis. Jim volunteered for service in Iraq one year ago, and helped rebuild a country for a captive people who had suffered so much for so long. His sacrifice and heroism embody the greatest American virtues: courage, commitment, charity and an abiding faith in the promise of a better tomorrow.

Jim's sacrifice will not be in vain. His State Department colleagues and the American people will not waiver in their commitment to building a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. We will stand resolute against the forces that took Jim's life, and we will prevail.

(end text)

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

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