For Immediate Release
July 7, 2004

Global Message

From remarks by Secretary of State Powell, Mulia Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia, 7/2/04

Saddam Hussein was responsible for the deaths of thousands of his own Muslim citizens. He gassed them with chemical weapons.

Saddam Hussein filled mass graves. He tolerated no democracy, freedom, or individual rights.

Saddam Hussein deprived his people of the wealth of the nation. The oil of Iraq and the revenue that come from it went to weapons and aggressive intent.

People of the world should watch and listen carefully to the charges against Saddam Hussein. Watch the Iraqi people decide his guilt or innocence through their courts.

Saddam Hussein was presented to the Iraqi people and to the world on television -- so he could say what he wanted and show his defiance. This would not have happened two years ago with someone he had arrested.

There will be a new kind of justice in Iraq. Hopefully, it will be clear to all people that it is better for the people of Iraq to run their own country -- without Saddam Hussein.