For Immediate Release
October 1, 2003

Global Message

From remarks by Secretary Powell at the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum in Detroit, 9/29/03

Without a transformation of the Middle East, the region will remain a source of violence and terrorism fueled by poverty, by alienation, and by despair. We will not let that happen.

There is a struggle to defend the values we share with the vast majority of Arabs and Muslims. These are values we hold in common with all people who aspire to peace, prosperity and dignity. This is a struggle that we must contest with every tool: military, diplomatic, political, and economic.

We have ended the Taliban's backward and bloody reign in Afghanistan, we have put al-Qaida on the run, and we have mobilized the world against terrorism. And we have removed Saddam Hussein as a roadblock on the path to hope, not just for the Iraqi people, but for every man, woman and child in the Middle East.

This President has three major policy initiatives that bear directly on the problems of economic and political frustration:

• The Millennium Challenge Account, a revolution in American economic development assistance policy.
• A comprehensive approach to supporting growth and economic opportunity focused on trade.
• The U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative, supporting those in the region already working on economic opportunity, expanding popular participation, and improving education.