For Immediate Release
July 22, 2004

Global Message

From remarks by John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, 7/21/04

We live in a safer world today than we did a year ago. There are still regimes that support terrorism, but there are fewer today than before.

More than 40 nations are working together to ensure that Afghanistan no longer provides safe harbor to al Qaeda terrorists.

In Iraq, the coalition worked together to ensure as smooth a transfer of power as possible to the people of Iraq.

After years of isolation, the Libyan leader Colonel Qhadadfi came to the conclusion that his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction made his country and his regime not more, but less secure.

Sadly, North Korea has not made the strategic choice to move away from the destructive legacies of the past and place his people first.

The paths of North Korea and Libya have diverged -- Colonel Qhadadfi has made a strategic choice to put his people before his unjustified fears of a U.S. invasion. Kim Jong Il has not.