Bush Accuses Iran Of Funding Terror At U.N. - Video Inside
Transcript: Bush accuses Iran of funding terror at UN
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Published: Tuesday September 19, 2006
United States President George W. Bush has used part of his appearance before the United Nations to address the Iranian people, accusing their leaders of funding terrorism and pursuing nuclear weapons RAW STORY has learned.
"You deserve an opportunity to determine your own future," Bush told the people of Iran.
"The greatest obstacle to this future is that your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation's resources to fund terrorism and fuel extremism and pursue nuclear weapons."
Bush also praised the push for democracy in the middle east, referring to the goal as "the calling of our generation."
A full transcript of Bush's remarks follows:
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Mr. Secretary-General, Madame President, distinguished delegates, and ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for the privilege of speaking to this General Assembly.
Last week America and the world marked the fifth anniversary of the attacks that filled another September morning with death and suffering. On that terrible day, extremists killed nearly 3,000 innocent people, including citizens of dozens of nations represented right here in this chamber.
Since then, the enemies of humanity have continued their campaign of murder. Al Qaeda and those inspired by its extremist ideology have attacked more than two dozen nations, and recently a different group of extremists deliberately provoked a terrible conflict in Lebanon.
At the start of the 21st century, it is clear that the world is engaged in a great ideological struggle between extremists who use terror as a weapon to create fear and moderate people who work for peace.
Five years ago, I stood at this podium and called on the community of nations to defend civilization and build a more hopeful future. This is still the great challenge of our time.
It is the calling of our generation.
This morning I want to speak about the more hopeful world that is within our reach, a world beyond terror, where ordinary men and women are free to determine their own destiny, where the voices of moderation are empowered and where the extremists are marginalized by the peaceful majority. This world can be ours if we seek it and if we work together.
The principles of this world beyond terror can be found in the first sentence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document declares that the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom and justice and peace in the world.
One of the authors of this document was a Lebanese diplomat named Charles Malik, who would go on to become president of this assembly. Mr. Malik insisted that these principles apply equally to all people, of all regions, of all religions, including the men and women of the Arab world that was his home.
In the nearly six decades since that document was approved, we have seen the forces of freedom and moderation transform entire continents. Sixty years after a terrible war, Europe is now whole, free and at peace, and Asia has seen freedom progress and hundreds of millions people lifted out of desperate poverty.
The words of the Universal Declaration are as true today as they were when they were written.
As liberty flourishes, nations grow in tolerance and hope and peace. And we're seeing that bright future begin to take root in the broader Middle East. Some of the changes in the Middle East have been dramatic, and we see the results in this chamber.
Five years ago, Afghanistan was ruled by the brutal Taliban regime, and its seat in this body was contested. Now this seat is held by the freely elected government of Afghanistan, which is represented today by President Karzai.
Five years ago, Iraq's seat in this body was held by a dictator who killed his citizens, invaded his neighbors, and showed his contempt for the world by defying more than a dozen U.N. Security Council resolutions. Now Iraq's seat is held by a democratic government that embodies the aspirations of the Iraq people, represented today by President Talabani.
With these changes, more than 50 million people have been given a voice in this chamber for the first time in decades.
Some of the changes in the Middle East are happening gradually, but they are real. Algeria has held its first competitive presidential election, and the military remained neutral. The United Arab Emirates recently announced that half of its seats in the Federal National Council will be chosen by elections. Kuwait held elections in which women were allowed to vote and run for office for the first time. Citizens have voted in municipal elections in Saudi Arabia, and parliamentary elections in Jordan and Bahrain, and in multiparty presidential elections in Yemen and Egypt.
These are important steps, and the governments should continue to move forward with other reforms that show they trust their people.
Every nation that travels the road to freedom moves at a different pace, and the democracies they build will reflect their own culture and traditions. But the destination is the same: a free society where people live at peace with each other and at peace with the world.
Some have argued that the democratic changes we're seeing in the Middle East are destabilizing the region. This argument rests on a false assumption that the Middle East was stable to begin with. The reality is that the stability we thought we saw in the Middle East was a mirage. For decades, millions of men and women in the region have been trapped in oppression and hopelessness, and these conditions left a generation disillusioned and made this region a breeding ground for extremism.
Imagine what it is like to be a young person living in a country that is not moving toward reform. You're 21 years old, and while your peers in other parts of the world are casting their ballots for the first time, you are powerless to change the course of your government. While your peers in other parts of the world have received educations that prepare them for the opportunities of a global economy, you have been fed propaganda and conspiracy theories that blame others for your country's shortcomings.
And everywhere you turn, you hear extremists who tell you that you can escape your misery and regain your dignity through violence and terror and martyrdom.
For many across the broader Middle East, this is the dismal choice presented every day. Every civilized nation, including those in the Muslim world, must support those in the region who are offering a more hopeful alternative. We know that when people have a voice in their future, they are less likely to blow themselves up in suicide attacks. We know that when leaders are accountable to their people, they are more likely to seek national greatness in the achievements of their citizens rather than in terror and conquest.
So we must stand with democratic leaders and moderate reformers across the broader Middle East. We must give them voice to the hopes of decent men and women who want for their children are the same things we want for ours. We must seek stability through a free and just Middle East, where the extremists are marginalized by millions of citizens in control of their own destinies.
Today, I'd like to speak directly to the people across the broader Middle East. My country desires peace. Extremists in your midsts spread propaganda claiming that the West is engaged in a war against Islam. This propaganda is false and its purpose is to confuse you and justify acts of terror. We respect Islam, but we will protect our people from those who pervert Islam to sow death and destruction.
Our goal is to help you build a more tolerant and hopeful society that honors people of all faiths and promotes the peace.
End Part I
