From Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz's Prepared Testimony for the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee:
We are committed to helping Iraqis build what could be a model for
the Middle East: a government that protects the rights of its citizens,
that represents all ethnic and religious groups, and that will help
bring Iraq into the international community of peace-seeking nations.
Success in Iraq will continue to demoralize those who preach
doctrines of hatred, oppression and subjugation. It will encourage
those who dream the ancient dream of freedom.
Most delays in restoring services in Iraq are not primarily a
result of the war, but rather of decades of tyrannical neglect. Iraq's
wealth was poured into building palaces and tanks and procuring weapons
of mass destruction - instead of caring for the Iraqi people.
Our most urgent task in the post-Saddam era is to establish secure
and stable conditions throughout the country that will provide the
basics of normal life and services. Beyond that, it is important to
create a climate in which people can express their political views free
of fear and intimidation.
Perhaps, the single most important factor in achieving a more
secure environment is the active engagement and support of the people
of Iraq.
We continue to work towards the establishment of an Iraqi Interim
Administration. It will assume increasingly greater responsibility for
the administration of Iraq. The IIA will draw from all of Iraq's
religious and ethnic groups and will provide a way for Iraqis to begin
immediately to direct their country's economic and political
reconstruction.