For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 4, 2004
Dr. Condoleezza Rice Discusses Iraq and the Middle East
Room 459, Eisenhower Executive Office Building
May 3, 2004
1:24 P.M. EDT
Q Dr. Rice, thank you for giving us in Al Arabiya this chance
to talk to us. We have to be clear about these pictures and images
of abused Iraqi prisoners. The pictures are everywhere in the
media. In the street, some people are saying that Saddam's had
better than American -- this came in a time that U.S. engaging in
heavy, heavy public diplomacy. How do you see this?
DR. RICE: The President spoke about these terrible pictures the
other day when he said that he was personally sickened by them.
And we all feel outraged at these pictures. I won't speak to the
individual cases. People will have their individual rights
respected as they are -- as they go through process.
But I can -- I want to assure people in the Arab world, Iraq,
around the world, and the American people, that the President is
determined to get to the bottom of it, to know who is responsible
and to make sure that whoever is responsible is punished for it
and held accountable.
And he's determined to find out if there is any wider problem
than just what happened at Abu Ghraib. And so he has told
Secretary Rumsfeld that he expects an investigation, a full
accounting. Americans do not do this to other people. Those
pictures were awful because America -- American men and women in
uniform, active and reserve, are serving in Iraq at great
sacrifice. People are losing their lives. We came there to help to
liberate the people of Iraq. We came there to build schools, and
to build clinics, and we want very much that the images of
Americans should be the images of helping the Iraqi people. It's
simply unacceptable that anyone would engage in the abuse of Iraqi
prisoners. And we will get to the bottom of it. And those who are
responsible will be punished.
Q The American image right now is under heavy -- in the area.
The story is developing every day. What kind of strategy do you
have right now to manage this crisis? It's getting a crisis,
really, in the area, in the Middle East, and still, the story is
developing. So what kind of strategy you have right now to manage
this crisis coming out of this --
DR. RICE: It's just extremely important that we continue to
talk to the people of the region directly. I was just with the
Jordanian Foreign Minister. And we will have other Arab leaders in
the United States very soon. It's important for us to go on Al
Arabiya and to talk directly to your viewers and your listeners.
The President will speak directly to the Arab world. We want
everyone to understand that the United States believes in peace.
We believe in the ability of men and women to pursue happy lives,
to pursue those happy lives in a context in which they can speak
freely, and in which they can pursue prosperity for their
children. And the United States has tried in the Arab world and
around the world to stand for a set of values. We believe that
when people hear our story, that they will understand, at least,
then for themselves.
Q To prevent this from happening again, to improve the
situation inside the Iraqi prisons right now, could you tell us
about any procedures being done just to improve the situation, as
today, after this happened?
DR. RICE: Well, already, there is a general -- General Miller,
who has gone out to take over the administration of the Iraqi
prisons. That happened a few weeks ago. He's experienced. He will
make certain that the operation is one of which we would be --
really be proud.
Obviously, people have to be incarcerated if they've done
something wrong, but they should be treated with dignity. We will
also -- the President has told Secretary Rumsfeld that he wants a
full investigation of what happened. And he wants to know if
there's something that we need to do systemically in the training
of our people, in what people are told to do. We want to know the
full picture, and so there will be a full investigation.
It will be transparent. The United States is an open society.
And one good thing about democracies is that when something like
this happens, democracies themselves react. The American people
are reacting. The American Congress is reacting. The American
President is reacting because no American wants to be associated
with any dehumanizations now of the Iraqi people. And we are
deeply sorry for what has happened to these people, and what the
families must be feeling. It's just not right. And we will get to
the bottom of what happened.
Q If you allow me, I'm going to move to another issue, the road
map. And this administration endorsed the Sharon plan, and last
week the Likud rejected the plan. Are you still stating that you
are endorsing this plan? Are you endorsing only Sharon on this? Or
what?
DR. RICE: We believe and the President believed that what he is
endorsing is an opportunity that if Israel can find a way to
disengage, to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza and from the
four West Bank settlements, that that gives a new opportunity to
Palestinians to begin to build their state. It's not the end of
the road -- it's the beginning of the road. We believe that the
road map and the two-state solution, and the President's June 24th
vision will eventually get us to the point that you have two
states -- Israel and Palestine -- living side-by-side in peace.
The President has been very clear that all of the issues have
to be negotiated between the parties. It has to be mutually
acceptable to the parties, but we have been for three years unable
to get everything moving. And we saw in what Prime Minister Sharon
was proposing an opportunity to get moving again along the road
map. We don't know what will happen inside Israel. It's up to the
Israelis and their political system to decide how to proceed. But
we still think it's a good idea, and we hope that we'll have a
chance to pursue the opportunity.
Q I have last question here. Critics are saying by endorsing
Sharon from -- by this administration, like U.S. negotiating with
Sharon on behalf of Palestinians -- why are putting their way of
just talking about this road map -- how do you react to that?
DR. RICE: The President remains completely committed to the
road map as the viable way to get to a two-state solution. But
when you have the Israeli Prime Minister come to you and say,
we'll withdraw unilaterally from the Gaza and from four West Bank
settlements, we believe that that is worth doing, that it is a
good thing is Israel begins to withdraw from land, because -- and
to tear down settlements. All of the negotiations that we've had
over many, many years, we've never been able to see the
Palestinians actually recover land. If the Sharon plan or some
version of it goes forward, then the Palestinians will begin to
recover land. And it's that opportunity to which the President was
reacting. We believe that the Palestinians need an opportunity to
build the institutions of their state.
The President was the first President to say that there should
be a Palestinian state and it ought to be called Palestine. That
is really a tremendous change, really. It was a tremendous change
in American policy. This President stands for peace. He believes
that Palestinians deserve a better future than they have had till
now. He believes that Israelis deserve also to live in peace. And
he believes that they can live in peace.
Q Dr. Rice, thank you for this time you gave to us. And we'd
love to have you again and again.
DR. RICE: Thank you very much. Thank you.
