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President George W. Bush addresses his remarks on national security, homeland security and the Freedom Agenda Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008, at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. In his address President Bush said, "As President, I've had no higher responsibility than waging this struggle for the security and liberty of our people." White House photo by Chris Greenberg
Fact Sheet: President Bush's Freedom Agenda Helped Protect The American People
President Bush Has Advanced Liberty And Democracy As The Great Alternatives To Repression And Radicalism
President Bush has kept his pledge to strengthen democracy and
promote peace around the world. In his Second Inaugural
Address, President Bush pledged America to the ultimate goal of ending
tyranny in the world. He has promoted the spread of freedom as the
great alternative to the terrorists' ideology of hatred, because
expanding liberty and democracy will help defeat extremism and protect the
American people. President Bush also acted quickly and decisively to
help end international crises that arose during his term in office and to
confront regimes that threatened our Nation and world security. By
working to spread liberty in these volatile regions and combating the
conditions that can breed extremism, the President has helped make the
American people safer.
The President's Freedom Agenda Helped Emerging Democracies
Build The Institutions That Sustain Liberty
Under President Bush's leadership, the United States and
its partners freed 25 million Iraqis from the rule of Saddam Hussein, a
dictator who murdered his own people, invaded his neighbors, and
repeatedly defied United Nations resolutions. The
Administration supported the creation of a freely elected Iraqi
government that is operating under one of the most progressive
constitutions in the Arab world and helped train and equip more than half
a million Iraqi Army and police forces. U.S. and Iraqi forces have
made significant progress in reducing sectarian violence, restoring basic
security to Iraqi communities, and driving terrorists and illegal
militias out of their safe havens. Iraqi Security Forces are now
responsible for security in 13 of 18 provinces (including al-Qaeda in
Iraq's former stronghold of Anbar Province), and this increase in
security has helped clear the way for political and economic
development. Iraq's parliament passed important laws on provincial
powers, amnesty, and elections and also approved new strategic agreements
with the United States. Iraq's economy will increasingly
diversify, rely on private investment, and stand on its own. In
their 2008 budget, Iraqi funding for reconstruction exceeded U.S. funding
by more than ten to one, and American spending for large-scale
reconstruction projects is approaching zero. The Iraqi people are
looking forward to a new round of provincial elections in January and
national elections later in 2009. The Administration successfully
negotiated a Strategic Framework Agreement and a Security Agreement with
Iraq, which will further strengthen the relationship between our nations,
provide the United States with vital protections and authorities to
continue our mission to help stabilize Iraq, and establish a path for U.S.
forces to reduce their presence in Iraq and return home on success.
President Bush helped establish an emerging democratic Afghan
government and helped improve the lives of the Afghan people, especially
women and children. Together, we worked to ensure a stable
and safe environment to allow gains in local governance and economic
development to be sustained. Thanks to the courage of the Afghan
people and their international partners, a nation that was once a safe
haven for al Qaeda is now an emerging democracy, and we are committed to
its development and stability. More than six million children,
approximately two million of whom are girls, are now in Afghan schools,
compared to fewer than one million in 2001. In 2002, Presidents
Bush and Karzai launched the US-Afghan Women's Council. Mrs. Bush is
Honorary Chair of the Council, a public-private partnership that supports
Afghan women in the areas of political and economic participation,
literacy, and education, as well as legal awareness and access to health
care.
President Bush generated international pressure to end the
Syrian occupation of Lebanon and helped promote democracy and restore
civilian rule in Pakistan. He strengthened our
relationship with and support to a democratic Lebanon and called for
parliamentary elections in Pakistan that reflected the will of the
people and ended more than eight years of military rule.
President Bush laid the groundwork for a future
Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and a democratic Palestinian state by
launching direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority
(PA) at the Annapolis Conference and working with the PA to build
accountable institutions. President Bush was the first
U.S. President to call for a two-state solution, and he worked
to secure Israeli, Palestinian, and international support and committed
the United States to help create the conditions in which two democratic
states can live side by side in peace and security.
President Bush urged valued partners like Saudi Arabia to
move toward freedom. Saudi Arabia has taken action to
confront extremists, along with some initial steps to expand media and
religious freedoms. For example, in November 2008, Saudi King
Abdallah held a UN meeting on Interfaith Dialogue, in which President
Bush participated. Yet Saudi Arabia has a great distance still to
travel. The United States will continue to press nations like
Saudi Arabia and Egypt to open up their political systems, encourage
greater religious tolerance, and give a greater voice to their people.
The President has helped to create international organizations
to promote the spread of freedom abroad and more than doubled funding to
promote democracy worldwide. The President helped to launch
the Asia-Pacific Democracy Partnership (APDP). The APDP will
provide a venue in which free nations can work together to support
democratic values, strengthen democratic institutions, and assist those
who are working to build and sustain free societies across the Asia
Pacific region.
President Bush supported the inspiring strides that Europe
took toward a continent whole, free, and at peace. Over the
past eight years, the United States supported nations from the Baltic to
the Black Sea reach their goals of membership in NATO and the European
Union. The Administration supported the emergence of democracies in
Georgia and Ukraine through its support for civil society and democratic
activists during the successful Rose Revolution in Georgia and Orange
Revolution in Ukraine and continues to contribute to the strengthening of
democracy in both countries. In the wake of Russia's August 2008
invasion of Georgia, President Bush supported Georgia's sovereignty,
territorial integrity, and economic recovery, including a $1 billion
economic and humanitarian support package. The Administration
helped establish Kosovo as an independent, multi-ethnic democracy.
The United States Stood Up For People Suffering Under
Oppression
The President met with human rights activists from more than 35 countries.
President Bush focused international attention and applied
tough sanctions on oppressive regimes in Burma, Belarus, Cuba, Zimbabwe,
and other nations and bolstered civil society activists in countries such
as China, Cuba, and Venezuela. The United States imposed
travel and financial sanctions on repressive regimes, select individuals,
and those who provide them with material support. The President
established the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba to reassure the
Cuban people that the United States stands ready to help them transition
toward democracy and provided more than $400 million to promote freedom
and democracy in Cuba. He also supported pro-democracy forces in
Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua.
The United States is leading the global response to the
crisis in Darfur. The United States is the leading international donor to
Sudan, providing more than $5 billion in assistance to Sudan since 2005,
including $3.7 billion in humanitarian and peacekeeping assistance to
Darfur. In 2008, the United States provided half of the World
Food Program's food aid request for more than 6 million people throughout
Sudan and eastern Chad. In FY 2007, the United States gave more
than $1 billion in assistance to the people of Sudan, including
Darfur. Since 2004, direct and indirect U.S. support provided to
peacekeeping operations in Darfur has totaled more than $600
million.
President Bush announced steps to help the Burmese people
bring peaceful change and democratic transition to their country, where a
military junta has imposed a 19-year reign of fear. The
President and First Lady Laura Bush have been leading advocates for human
rights in Burma. The United States has increased its support for
Burmese struggling for freedom. The United States has also
tightened existing economic sanctions and levied new sanctions against
the leaders of the regime and their financial backers; imposed
sanctions on state-owned enterprises; imposed an expanded visa ban on
those responsible for the most egregious violations of human rights, as
well as their family members; called on the Government of Burma to uphold
its obligations to the UN Security Council; and facilitated the efforts
of humanitarian groups working to alleviate suffering in Burma. Mrs.
Bush was also active in supporting the Burmese people's demands for
reconciliation and basic human rights such as freedom of speech, worship,
association, and assembly. Mrs. Bush hosted an event at the UN
headquarters to draw international attention to human rights abuses in
Burma.
It is in the best interests of our Nation to alleviate the
despair that can allow extremism to take hold by fighting hunger and
disease, supporting basic education initiatives, and advancing global
economic development. President Bush has more than doubled
official development assistance since 2001 and invested more than $6.7
billion in 35 countries around the world that govern justly, invest in
their people, and respect economic freedom through the Millennium
Challenge Account. President Bush took unprecedented steps to fight
disease through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the
President's Malaria Initiative, the International Partnership on Avian
and Pandemic Influenza, and his initiative to combat neglected tropical
diseases. In addition, the United States opened markets for
trade and investment to create economic opportunity and lift people out
of poverty and has expanded support for basic education
initiatives. The President also increased the budget for the
National Endowment for Democracy by more than 150 percent since 2001.