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For Immediate Release
March 3, 2003
WASHINGTON -- The coalition that is currently engaged in the hard,
dangerous work to disarm Iraq is strong, broad and diverse.
Nearly 50 nations are committed to ridding Saddam Hussein's regime
of all its deadly, destructive and illegal weapons. To put this in
perspective, the combined population of coalition countries is
approximately 1.23 billion people, with a combined gross domestic
product of approximately $22 trillion. These countries are from every
continent on the globe, representing every major race, religion, and
ethnicity in the world.
Diverse as this coalition is, each member shares a common goal. We
seek nothing less than safety for our people. Many members have
suffered from terror themselves; all understand the awful price of
terrorism and the potentially catastrophic danger from weapons of mass
destruction.
But, vitally, all have the will to face the gravest threat of our
time -- the nexus between outlaw regimes, weapons of mass destruction,
and terrorism. The world has seen what happens when countries that
recognize emerging or present threats lack the will to meet them. Many
times in the last century -- and as recently as the last decade -- the
world failed to act in time to prevent a crisis or meet a threat. Some
of the members of this current coalition had to live with the deadly
and dreadful consequences of that failure for decades.
Some have only recently emerged from tyrannies imposed in no small
part because of that failure. Months ago, the prime minister of Estonia
told President Bush that he did not need an explanation of the need to
confront Iraq. Because the great democracies failed to act in 1930s,
his people lived in slavery for 50 years.
The members of this coalition have not failed to act. They are
contributing different personnel, services and materials, according to
their means and expertise. The British 1st Armored Division is engaging
well-equipped Iraqi units in the southeast, and securing the southern
oil field and the vital port city of Umm Qasr, through which tons of
humanitarian aid will soon flow. The Australian navy is providing
gunfire support to coalition troops in Southern Iraq, and clearing the
port of Umm Qasr of mines. Polish special forces have secured a key
Iraqi oil platform in the Gulf. A Danish submarine is monitoring Iraqi
intelligence and providing early warning. Czech and Slovak special
chemical and biological weapon response forces are in Kuwait, ready to
react to a potential Iraqi WMD attack anywhere in the theater.
Many more countries are providing supplies, logistical and
intelligence support, basing and over-flight rights, and humanitarian
and reconstruction aid. Other nations have the will to face terror,
though not the means to participate in operations. Every instance of
support, from every country -- no matter how small or large -- is
helping to win this war, and every one is valued.
As the war progresses, and the situation on the ground evolves, the
roles of many coalition members will grow. The farther coalition forces
move into Iraq, the more need there will be for various specialized
teams. And the more security improves, the more quickly relief and
reconstruction efforts will be able to proceed into more parts of Iraq,
with more coalition personnel providing essential services. And as the
broader war on terror and the struggle against the proliferation of
chemical, biological and nuclear weapons continues, all nations will
need, more than ever, to stand together to face the defining threats of
our time.
Like the end of the Cold War, and the end of World War II,
September 11 was one of the relatively rare earthquakes that cause
lasting tectonic shifts in international politics. Long established
alliances and venerable institutions are being tested. The
international community can rise to this challenge, as it has risen to
similar challenges in the past. The coalition currently assembled to
disarm Iraq shows the way. Together, we are determined to do all we
can to prevent Saddam Hussein, or terrorists with his weapons, from
repeating September 11 on a vaster scale. By continuing to work
together -- and by working to enlist as many countries as possible --
we can help prevent similar or worse disasters from arising from
another source at another time.
Ms. Rice is national security advisor to President Bush.
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