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Rice: U.S. Can Only Aid, Not Force, Democracy Abroad NewsMax.com Wires WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a largely philosophical speech, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday the United States cannot establish freedom and liberty in such countries as Iraq and Afghanistan. "We can only help create conditions so they can do it," she said at a 10th anniversary dinner of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, a coalition of some 400 American businesses and humanitarian, development and educational groups, all of whom support increased U.S. spending abroad. Rice drew applause with a reminder that President Bush has increased foreign aid spending every year he has been in office. She stressed the humanitarian side of the spending, citing support for programs to combat AIDS. "America has always been best when it leads not just from power, but from principle," Rice said. Story Continues Below
"I have no higher priority than to make sure that America's message is understood," she said. A former academic, Rice recalled the spread of communism in Europe after World War II and the skepticism that the Soviet Union would ever yield to a democratic regime. Drawing a parallel to today, she said Iraq and Afghanistan may seem far removed from democracy. "It's hard to believe that these countries are ever going to be stable," she said. And yet, Rice predicted confidently that Iraq and Afghanistan ultimately will embrace democracy, with U.S. help but not by the United States imposing it in the two countries.
© 2005 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
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