USA foreighn policy.pdf

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F OREIGN P OLICY A GENDA / S EPTEMBER 2006

Senior Editor George R. Clack Managing Editor Michael Jay FriedmanContributing Editors Mark Betka Mildred S. Neely Photo Researcher Kenneth E. WhiteCover Designer Tim Brown

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FOREIGN POLICY AGENDA

e J OURNAL USA

COVER PHOTOS ©AP Images: (Clockwise from upper left)President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush with schoolchildren at the Great Wall of China; an Iraqi woman after voting inBaghdad; Kashmiris unloading American-donated relief aid in Pakistan;a Congolese girl with USAID food aid; and Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice in Moscow.


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FOREIGN POLICY AGENDA U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE / SEPTEMBER 2006 / VOLUME 11 / NUMBER 3

http://usinfo.state.gov/pub/ejournalusa.html

U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

IntroductionCONDOLEEZZA R ICE , SECRETARY OF STATE

African Affairs JENDAYI E. F RAZER , A SSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE

East Asian and Pacific AffairsCHRISTOPHER R. H ILL, A SSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE

European and Eurasian AffairsD ANIEL FRIED , A SSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE

Near Eastern AffairsC. D AVID W ELCH , A SSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE

South and Central Asian AffairsR ICHARD A. B OUCHER , A SSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE

Western Hemisphere AffairsT HOMAS A. S HANNON JR ., A SSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE

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President George W. Bush discusses his plan for global AIDS relief at the EisenhowerExecutive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2005.

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Introduction

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D e p a r t m e n t o f

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In 1790, when Thomas Jeffersonassumed his duties as the first U.S.Secretary of State, his entire staff

consisted of a chief clerk, three assistantclerks, and a messenger. The young nation maintainedtwo diplomatic missions—in Britain and France—and 10consular posts. Today the United States has diplomaticrelations with some 180 nations and maintains over 250diplomatic posts around the world. Through multilateralinstitutions, many under the aegis of the United Nations,

we engage with other nations to address issues ranging frompeacekeeping and human rights to humanitarian relief andtrade.

The goal of American diplomacy is as sweeping as our

diplomatic representation around the world. President Bushsaid in his second inaugural address: “It is the policy of theUnited States to seek and support the growth of democraticmovements and institutions in every nation and culture withthe ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” With thischarge, the United States faces tremendous challenges andtremendous opportunities, comparable, I believe, to thosefaced by our diplomatic predecessors who, sixty years ago,helped to transform countries devastated by World War IIinto thriving democracies, allies who joined us in the longstruggle of the Cold War.

To meet the extraordinary challenges of the 21st century,the Department of State is pursuing “transformational

diplomacy.” The goal of transformational diplomacy is to work with others to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their peopleand conduct themselves responsibly in the internationalsystem. We seek to use America’s diplomatic power to helpothers better their own lives and transform their own futures.

Countries such as China, India, South Africa, Indonesia,and Brazil are playing an increasingly prominent role on the

world stage. Democratic reform has begun and is spreading

in the Middle East. The UnitedStates is working with our manypartners to promote freedom inevery part of the globe.

This is not the work of months or even years, but ofgenerations. Yet we face urgent issues everywhere, from theglobal threat of terrorism to the fight against AIDS in Africaand many other regions. The United States is helping toeducate girls in Afghanistan. With others, we have used ourmilitary and economic power to bring peace to the Balkans,relief to the tsunami-devastated Asia Pacific region, and helpto the earthquake victims of Pakistan. We are engaged inthe pursuit of peace in East Africa and in the strengtheningof democratic governance and fundamental rights and

liberties in the Americas. We are transforming traditionalinstitutions, like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with our European partners to meet the demands of the newcentury.

In the six essays that follow, the senior State Departmentofficials who manage our daily relationships on theinternational stage offer their perspectives on the policyobjectives and priorities of America’s global diplomacy.

Jendayi Frazer is Assistant Secretary of State for Africa,Christopher R. Hill for East Asia and the Pacific, andDaniel Fried for Europe and Eurasia. C. David Welch is

Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Richard A. Boucher for South and Central Asia, and Thomas A.

Shannon for the Western Hemisphere. While the details of U.S. policy objectives differ regionto region, a common thread runs throughout all of ourdiplomatic efforts: we will champion freedom, respect forthe individual, and a commitment to the opportunity for abetter life for all human beings everywhere.

Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State


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African Affairs


My vision and priorities for U.S. Africa policyderive directly from President Bush’s chargeto make the world safer and better, and the

Secretary’s guidance to use America’s diplomatic powerto help foreign citizens better their own lives, build theirown nations, and transform their own futures. Translatedto Africa, the key priorities are to support the spreadof political freedom throughout the continent; expandeconomic opportunity and growth; address the uniquechallenge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic; and reinforce African initiatives to end conflict and fight terror. Wesucceed as African countries take their place squarely in

the community of democracies building an internationalsystem based on our shared values, and contributing toglobal peace and prosperity. In my academic career andduring my government service, including as my nation’s Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, I havestudied and learned much about the challenges that the African people face. Now, as Assistant Secretary of State,I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Africannations to meet those challenges and serve my owncountry at the same time.

After 25 years of studying and working on U.S. policytoward Africa, I can attest that there has never been a moreauspicious time to consolidate the progress and promiseof the continent. Democracy in Africa is spreading, withmore than 50 democratic elections in the past four years.Economic expansion on the continent is at an eight-yearhigh, with 20 countries registering growth each of the pastfive years. Six major wars have ended in the past six years:in Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo,Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Sudan’s north-south 22-yearcivil war. Africans are taking control of their collectivedestiny through institutions like the African Union and

its New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)program, which contributes to better governance andfriendlier ties among states. The Bureau of African Affairs is capitalizing on these historic shifts by engagingand helping to build the institutions that will sustainprogress across generations. We are instituting an “Era ofPartnership” with Africa.

Jendayi E. Frazer

Jendayi E. Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of African Affairs

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SUPPORTING THE SPREAD OF POLITICAL FREEDOM IN A FRICA

The United States will continue to support theinstitutions essential for democracy—a free press, anindependent judiciary, a sound financial system, andvibrant political parties. Over the next two years,strengthening the electoral infrastructure will be a priority

since, in many African countries, elections have becomeflash points for conflict: losers frequently contest results with policy issues taking a second place to ballot theft andstreet protest. We will work in two areas: (1) building thecapacity of independent national electoral commissions toconduct free, fair, and transparent elections that engenderpublic confidence; (2) encouraging all candidates andpolitical parties to “earn their votes” by focusing onservice delivery and policy debate to gain support.

Working with civil society groups and advocating forpress freedom will remain core to my efforts to promoteand protect human rights and basic freedoms.

The prospects are good. In the last decade, morethan two-thirds of Africa’s 48 countries have held freeelections. Moreover, in 1990 Freedom House (a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that promotes liberaldemocracy throughout the world) classified four sub-

Saharan African countries as free; 20 as partly free; and24 as not free. In 2006, the numbers have reversed: 34are free or partly free and only 14 were classified as notfree. The trend offers a ray of hope for the continent with34 of the 48 countries now on the freedom path.

Even so, we cannot take progress for granted. One keyis to embed the values of freedom in transnational Africaninstitutions like the NEPAD Secretariat and Peer ReviewMechanism. If the institutions that link African nations

U.S. First Lady Laura Bush (standing, center) and Ghana’s president, John Agyekum (right), at the Accra Teacher Training Center where Mrs . Bushlaunched the Afr ica Initiative Textbooks Program.

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FIGHTING HIV/AIDS AND M ALARIA

It was a privilege to be President Bush’s choice to beU.S. Ambassador to South Africa. But this assignmentput me at ground zero of the devastation caused by theHIV/AIDS pandemic, face to face with the men, women,and children suffering and dying from HIV/AIDS.

Having studied and worked on U.S. policy toward Africa for over 25 years, I am sadly familiar with thedevastation caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. ThePresident’s Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief(PEPFAR) offers the first chance at winning the war

against this deadly disease. In 2000 our assistance forglobal HIV/AIDS was around $300 million; now, at$15 billion over a five-year period, the United States hasprovided more resources than all other donor nationscombined. Through the President’s leadership, theUnited States initiated wide-scale treatment for Africans,transforming not only lives but also health care systems,as we helped create the medical infrastructure necessaryto support treatment from only 50,000 people to over550,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa in just two years.

Twelve of the 15 focus PEPFAR countries are in Africa, which is the largest recipient of this bold initiative. We aim to prevent 7 million new infections, treat 2million HIV-infected individuals, and offer care to 10million individuals who are infected with, or affected by,HIV/AIDS.

The President’s recently announced malaria initiativealso mobilizes global efforts to combat a major killer thatstrikes especially hard at Africa’s children. Malaria is bothpreventable and treatable, yet every year it kills almost1.2 million people. Estimated yearly economic loss dueto malaria is about $12 billion; a crippling 1.3 percent

annual loss in GDP growth in countries where the diseaseis endemic. The President’s initiative currently targetsseven African countries to eradicate this killer. We aimto cover 175 million people in 15 African countries byincreasing funding of malaria prevention and treatmentto $1.2 billion over five years. Working together—donor and African governments, private corporations,foundations, voluntary organizations—we can reach ourgoal of reducing malaria deaths by 50 percent in eachtarget country.

Alexandra Zekas (center), Chad Country Manager for the Ambassadors Gir ls’ Scholarship Program (AGSP), talks with girls in a school in Chad. TheAGSP, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will provide 550,000 scholarships to schoolgirls in sub-Saharan Africa.

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ENDING W ARS AND COMBATING TERROR AND V IOLENCE

We will support efforts to mediate conflicts between African nations and strengthen African capacity to

carry out peace support operations and to fight terror.Since 2001, when I was senior director for Africa atthe National Security Council, the administration’sapproach to working collectively with lead Africanmediators and multilaterally with the African Union,the United Nations, and sub-regional organizationslike the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) has succeeded. Largely as a result of thispartnership, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleafhas become Africa’s first elected woman president. Shereplaced one of the continent’s worst dictators, formerLiberian President Charles Taylor, who now sits in TheHague to be tried for war crimes by the Special Court forSierra Leone. I am proud of the role American diplomatsand Marines played to end Liberia’s 14-year war.

We will train 40,000 African peacekeepers throughthe Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) and Africa Contingency Operations and Training Assistance(ACOTA) programs. Our investment of $600 millionover five years will yield global dividends. Africans aresharing the burden of international peace and securityby supplying 30 percent of U.N. peacekeeping forces worldwide. Four countries—Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria,and South Africa—are among the top ten U.N. troopcontributors. Another program, the Women’s Justiceand Empowerment Initiative, extends the effort to helpvictims of abuse and sexual violence recover their dignity.

I rely on the East Africa Counterterrorism and theTrans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiatives to providerobust and multifaceted programs to deny terrorists safe-havens, operational bases, and recruitment opportunities. We must reach out to counter the despair that can feedextremist ideology. As we confront America’s gravestthreats of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction, we have willing partners and ready modelsin Africa. Extreme poverty in Africa has not providedfertile recruiting grounds for extremist ideology. South Africa’s renunciation of nuclear weapons has proved thatabandoning WMD and nuclear ambitions can enhance a

country’s global standing and influence.Together with our Ambassadors and embassies in

Africa, I will pursue our Africa policy priorities covering48 sub-Saharan African countries. As we move forward,our relations with Africa’s strong democratic andeconomic reformers (like Benin, Botswana, Ghana, Mali,Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, and others), and with itsmost influential powers—Nigeria and South Africa—willbe critical. We will invest in success, not chase crises.

The strength of our partnership with Africa is builton people-to-people ties. America’s cultural links with Africa are intrinsic: we share a common heritage.Through public diplomacy and youth outreach, wecontinue to strengthen bonds and illustrate the linkbetween America’s well-being and Africa’s progress. Weare moving beyond traditional exchanges among foreignpolicy diplomats to incorporate a cultural diplomacythat enriches understanding and builds common causebetween Americans and Africans. Through our AfricAliveinitiative, we have engaged with eminent persons such as Angelique Kidjo, Bono, Salif Keita, and NBA basketballstar Dikembe Mutombo. We also screened the Academy Award-winning South African filmTsotsito help institutean Era of Partnership.

I am confident that our Africa policy will provesuccessful. Many fine men and women, American and Africans, work every day to achieve that common success. With the innovative initiatives and historic resourcesat hand, together we will advance freedom, peace, andprosperity in Africa.

For more information:http://www.state.gov/p/af/ http://usinfo.state.gov/af/

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Africa

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (right)greets South African Foreign Affairs MinisterNkosazana Dlamini-Zuma at the U.S. StateDepartment in Washington, D.C.

Presidential election posters in Kinshasa, DemocraticRepublic of Congo, preceding the country’s firstdemocratic election in more than 40 years.

Facoumba Gueye (left), a volunteer with theU.S. Agency

for International Development (USAID)-sponsored DigitalFreedom Initiative, explains howinformation technologycan help clothing merchant Omar Fall increase efficiencyand profits. Through the Digital Freedom Initiative,USAID works together with leading U.S. companies topromote economic growth for entrepreneurs and smallbusinesses in developing countries.

On Senegal’s remote island of Carabane, a project of theU.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)provided training for the technicians who installed this water pump, which brings safe drinking water to theisland’s inhabitants.

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In Sauri in western Kenya,a womantakes a break from clearing thebush to make space to plant maize.Sauri is part of an experiment inpoverty reduction sponsored byprivate donations through ColumbiaUniversity’s Earth Institute.

This 37-year-old woman is attending a nighttimeliteracy class in Gabarone, Botswana. One of theaims of U.S. assistance is the empowerment of women and girls.

Ambassador RandallTobias, Director of U.S.Foreign Assistance andUSAID Administrator,applauds First LadyLaura Bush after a speech

describing additions tothe President’s MalariaInitiative in June 2006 in Washington, D.C.

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N o other part of the globe holds greater potentialbenefits and challenges for the United Statesthan East Asia. The region is home to someof our most stalwart security and trade partners, to anestablished power—Japan—and a rising power—China—and to a political and economic dynamism that is theenvy of other regions. The region accounts for nearlya third of the Earth’s population; a quarter of globalGDP; a disproportionate share of global growth; and26 percent of our exports, including about 37 percent

of our agricultural exports—in all, some $810 billion intwo-way trade with the United States. In every regard—geopolitically, militarily, diplomatically, economically, andcommercially—East Asia is vital to the national securityinterests of the United States. At their core, the United States’ long-term, strategicforeign policy priorities are very simple. We want to see a world that is democratic, prosperous, stable, secure, andat peace. Our policies toward the East Asia-Pacific regionare based on these global objectives, and we are engaged

extensively throughout the region to advance thesefundamental goals.

F AVORABLE TRENDS

As I have traveled throughout the region over thepast year, I have seen a dynamic wave of transformationtaking place. For example, since January 2004, successfulelections have taken place not only in establisheddemocracies—Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, the

Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan—butalso in newly democratized Indonesia, the world’s mostpopulous Muslim-majority nation.

We have also seen a rise in prosperity and economicopportunity throughout the region, fueled by China’srapid development and by broad recovery from thefinancial crisis of the late 1990s among member countriesof the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).Regional economies are moving toward greater economicopenness, lower trade barriers, and regional cooperation.

East Asian and Pacific AffairsChristopher R. Hill

Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of EastAsian and Pacific Affairs


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Income levels have climbed, and extreme poverty has, onthe whole, declined. Several of the fastest growing worldeconomies in 2005 were in East Asia.

Today, East Asia is largely at peace. The region hasnot seen a single major military conflict for more than25 years. Notwithstanding occasional terrorist attacks, wehave seen a widespread rejection of terrorism.

As East Asia has emerged politically and economically,it has also come together as a region. We are witnessing expanding regional cooperation—politically,economically, and culturally—through the region’smajor institutions, such as the Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC) forum, ASEAN, and the ASEANRegional Forum (ARF).

R EMAINING CHALLENGES

Against this backdrop of favorable trends, several threatsremain. Chief among them is the situation in North Korea, where the Pyongyang regime continues to challenge theinternational community through its pursuit of nuclear weapons. To deal with this challenge, we have establishedthe Six-Party Talks framework aimed at obtaining thedismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear programs in apermanent, thorough, and transparent manner.

We continue to pay close attention to evolving cross-Strait relations. We pursue our “one China” policy inaccordance with the three communiqués issued jointlyby the United States and the People’s Republic ofChina (PRC) in 1972, 1979, and 1982 and the TaiwanRelations Act passed by Congress in 1979. We donot support Taiwan independence and are opposed tounilateral steps by either the PRC or Taiwan that wouldchange the status quo. We urge both sides to engage indirect dialogue to reach a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait differences, absent the threat or use of force and ina manner acceptable to people on both sides of the Strait.

There is a growing realization throughout the regionthat terrorism threatens all governments and that the best way to confront this threat is by working together. We arealso continuing to look for ways to help regional states

that have sovereign responsibilities for ensuring securityof the vital Strait of Malacca trade route to enhance theirmaritime law enforcement capabilities and cooperation.

Finally, we must work with allies and friends in theregion to promote national reconciliation and democracyin Burma. The country’s continued estrangement fromthe international community is an increasingly worrisomeproblem for the region, especially for ASEAN.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (fourth from the left in the front row) poses with other participants in the 13th ASEAN Regional Forumin Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July 2006.

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TRANSFORMATIONAL D IPLOMACY

To make our diplomacy more effective, Secretary ofState Condoleezza Rice has embarked on a programto revise the way the State Department does its work.She describes this “transformational diplomacy” as“work[ing] with our many partners around the world tobuild and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their people and conductthemselves responsibly in the international system.”Integral to this effort is a broad and vigorous programof public diplomacy—promoting the national interestand the national security of the United States throughunderstanding, informing, and influencing foreignpublics and broadening dialogue between Americancitizens and institutions and their counterparts abroad.

BILATERAL ENGAGEMENT

In considering the tasks embodied in the objective

of transformational diplomacy—to promote democracy,good governance, and responsibility in the internationalsystem—no effort offers greater potential challenges orrewards than engagement with China.

The success we have in achieving our long-termstrategic vision in East Asia will depend in large measureon China’s role as an emerging regional and global power.The United States welcomes a confident, peaceful,and prosperous China. We want to see China take onan increasing role as a responsible stakeholder in the

international system, and we are working toward thatend.

Like China, Southeast Asia is changing rapidly, withmany countries advancing along the road of economicdevelopment and prosperity. Southeast Asia offers fertile

ground for our transformational diplomacy effortsto support reforms being undertaken by the peoplesof the region that will promote democracy and goodgovernance, foster broad-based and sustainable economicdevelopment, strengthen their societies, and make themstronger partners.

A case in point is Indonesia, which has emerged fromover three decades of authoritarian rule to become the world’s third-largest democracy. In 2004, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono became Indonesia’s first-ever directly electedpresident. He has launched an ambitious reform agendaand is working to fight corruption and strengthenIndonesia’s young democratic institutions, while creatingconditions for sustained economic growth, which isessential to the country’s development and stability.

In recent years, we have invested considerable time,effort, and resources into supporting the efforts ofCambodia and Vietnam to integrate fully into regionalinstitutions and the global economy and to institutereforms that improve their peoples’ lives. The APECLeaders’ Meeting, to be held in Vietnam in November2006, will highlight both Vietnam’s emergence as adynamic regional power and our increasingly warmbilateral relationship. We have begun negotiations on aFree Trade Agreement with Malaysia to strengthen ties toa country that is already our 10th-largest trading partner.

R EGIONAL ENGAGEMENT

One of the favorable trends in the Asia-Pacific regionis toward greater regional cooperation, which includesthe development of regional organizations. We arebroadening our engagement with these organizationsto discuss issues of common interest that can be moreeffectively addressed multilaterally.

We are deeply involved in the Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC) forum, an association of 21economies bordering the Pacific Ocean that are workingcooperatively to enhance the security and prosperityof our region. For the United States, APEC is thekey institution for pursuing trade and investmentliberalization and addressing issues that demandmultilateral cooperation, such as confronting the threat ofan avian influenza pandemic and ensuring secure trade inthe region.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill and Chinese

Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei prior to a meeting at the ChineseEmbassy in Tokyo, Japan, in April 2006.

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The United States is an enthusiastic participant inthe ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)—the region’s onlybroadly inclusive institution dedicated to security issues—and has begun discussions with ASEAN governmentson an ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership, which willinclude new cooperation on political/security, economic,and socio-cultural issues.

We actively assist Pacific area programs, primarilythrough regional organizations like the Secretariat of thePacific Community and the Pacific Island Forum, byproviding economic, technical, and development supportto the 22 nations and territories of the Pacific.

We will continue to watch the East Asia Summit(EAS) to gain an understanding of its relationship to theregional fora which we actively support and participate inand to our goals for the region.

STRENGTHENING OF A LLIANCES AND P ARTNERSHIPS

To address threats to regional peace and security,President Bush has emphasized the strengthening andrevitalization of alliances. The ties we have with our fivekey allies and a key partner in the region have improvedsignificantly since 2001, but the challenge of continuing

this progress will occupy our time in the coming years.The United States and Australia have a long historyof working together as the closest of allies, and ourrelationship is the best it has ever been. Australia stands with us in Afghanistan and Iraq—sending forces to theconflicts and playing a major role in reconstruction. Weshare a commitment to nonproliferation, to combatingterrorism and international trafficking in persons, andother transnational issues.

President Bush has called Japan “a force for peace andstability in this region, a valued member of the worldcommunity, and a trusted ally of the United States.” We continue to work closely with Japan, advancing ourrelations toward a more mature partnership, one in which

Japan plays an increasingly effective role in advancing ourmutual interests regionally and globally.

Our relationship with South Korea is moving beyondits original security rationale as the Republic of Koreabegins to play a global political role commensurate withits economic stature. South Korea is the third-largesttroop-contributing state to international operations inIraq, and we have decided to initiate negotiations ona bilateral free trade agreement that, when concluded, will make Korea our third-largest free trade partner afterCanada and Mexico.

Both Thailand and the Philippines are major non-NATO allies and important partners in the war againstterrorism. Thailand has contributed troops to coalitionefforts in Afghanistan and Iraq and is another country where we are engaged in free trade negotiations. U.S.and Philippine armed forces cooperate closely, and we areengaged in a jointly funded, multi-year program calledPhilippine Defense Reform aimed at modernizing thestructure of the Philippine defense establishment.

Our arrangements with Singapore, not a treaty ally butan increasingly close partner, give us access to world-classport and airfield facilities strategically located along keytransportation routes. Singapore is playing an active rolein regional efforts to safeguard the vital sea lanes that passthrough the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

CONCLUSION We are moving forward throughout the East Asia and

Pacific region to achieve our objectives of strengtheningstability, security, and peace and expanding opportunitiesfor democracy and prosperity.

My travels have given me optimism that, despite somedifficult obstacles, the favorable trends I have outlinedcan be built upon in the years to come.

For more information:http://www.state.gov/p/eap/ http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/

South Korean veterans demonstrate in support of strengthening theU.S.-Korea alliance in August 2006.

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East Asia and the Paci c

U.S. Secretary of State CondoleezzaRice speaks with teachers at an Islamicschool in Jakarta, Indonesia. Her tripto the world’s most populous Muslimnation demonstrated U.S. support forIndonesia’s burgeoning democracy and itsfight against terrorism.

Red Cross volunteers unload boxesof relief supplies from the U.S.government in Leyte province inthe Philippines following a massivelandslide in February 2006.

This miniature humanoid robot, HRP-2mChoromet, was developed by the NationalInstitute of Advanced Science and Technology incollaboration with four other firms in Tokyo, Japan.

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East Asia and the Paci c

Participating in a humanitarianmission from the hospital shipUSNS Mercy , an American dentalofficer observes a tooth extractionby a Filipino dentist in Isabella, thePhilippines.

The Seoul, Republic of Korea,Metropolitan Subway is one ofthe most heavily used subwaysystems in the world, with wellover eight million trips daily on

the system’s nine lines.

Children are being bussed to school, buildingsupplies and fish are being brought to market, andaid is being delivered by organizations such as WorldVision (shown in the photo) along this highway, acenterpiece of the U.S. government’s reconstructionpackage following the tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia.

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My nearly 30 years of foreign service assignmentsat home and abroad taught me that America’spartnership with Europe, resting on shared

democratic principles, remains the center of Americanforeign policy. Together, the United States and Europemobilized our values to defend ourselves during theCold War, ultimately to prevail in that struggle, andfinally to build a Europe whole, free, and at peace afterthe fall of the Berlin Wall, helping people throughoutEurope find their own path to freedom. I saw this in myservice in the Soviet Union, in Yugoslavia, and in Polandduring the intense years of its democratic transition.

Our common values—and the hard-won knowledge thatfreedom, security, and prosperity within the Euro-Atlanticcommunity depend on their extension throughout the world—drive our mutual commitment to promotedemocracy and freedom, bring peace to troubled regions,and foster global prosperity.

As in any long-term partnership, Europe and theUnited States have occasional differences, but these aresecondary compared to the values and common intereststhat bind us. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO) remains our principal security alliance, andmany of our strongest multilateral partnerships are withEurope-anchored organizations: the European Union,the Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE), and the Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development (OECD).

Our common values ensure that the European- American partnership will endure even as it evolves tomeet new challenges. Many of the 20th century’s greatinternational questions were essentially about the politicaland economic organization of Europe, but the post-9/11 world poses challenges about whether freedom can stand

and grow throughout much of the world. As a result, the Euro-Atlantic partners now worktogether in troubled regions across the globe.

THE BROADER M IDDLE E AST AND N ORTH A FRICA (BMENA)

For too long, the world’s democracies accepteda stagnant and undemocratic status quo in theBroader Middle East. We sought stability, but instead

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authoritarianism and dysfunctionality incubated a hostile,anti-democratic ideology and brought the world greaterinstability. Our long-term interests in this part of the world depend on the advance of freedom and justice, andthe spread of functioning market economies throughoutthis region. We must be realistic about the near-termdifficulties but bold in our mid- and long-term objectives.

Europe and America share a vision of a democraticMiddle East. Together we have launched initiatives tostrengthen reformers there. The Forum for the Future bringstogether government and nongovernmental representativesfrom countries of the broader Middle East and North Africaand the G8 (leading financial/industrial) nations. Two newinstitutions established under the forum’s auspices work tostrengthen the civil society institutions on which democracyand prosperity rely. As Secretary Rice has said, theFoundation for the Future “looks to indigenous reformersto draw upon their ideas and their ideals to nurture grassroots organizations that support the development ofdemocracy. The Foundation will provide grants to help

civil society strengthen the rule of law, to protect basiccivil liberties, and ensure greater opportunity for healthand education.” An accompanying Fund for the Future aims tostimulate economic growth and job creation. With initialcontributions from Egypt, Morocco, Denmark, and theUnited States, the Fund supplies promising small andmedium businesses the capital they need to create jobsand spur economic growth. It reflects, Secretary Rice says,“new international consensus that greater democratic and

economic reform is essential for thisregion.”

The United States, the EuropeanUnion, Russia, and the UnitedNations are committed to finding

a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We are pressingthe Palestinian leadership to actdecisively against terror, recognizeIsrael’s right to exist, meet itsinternational commitments, andbuild a practicing democracybased on tolerance and liberty. Weencourage Israel to do its part tosupport Palestinians to establisha state rooted in democracy andthe rule of law, living in peace andsecurity with Israel.

The U.S.-European partnershipprovides critical support for the

rapid, historic transformation of Afghanistan, whichremains under pressure from terrorists. As NATO troopsincrease their presence across that nation, they bringsecurity and the possibility for development to the long-suffering population. U.S.-European cooperation in the war on terror starts with giving Afghanistan, the one-timehome of al-Qaida, the chance to build a democratic andprosperous nation at peace with itself and its neighbors.

The United States has worked closely with the “EU-3” (France, Britain, Germany) to convince the Iranianregime to cooperate with the international communityand abandon its efforts to develop nuclear weapons.Because a more democratic Iran will be a better, moreresponsible partner in the region and the world, theUnited States and Europe are determined to reach out tothe Iranian people and society.

Europe and the United States support the newdemocratically elected government of Iraq and its effortsto bring security, prosperity, and lasting democracy tothe Iraqi people. Our differences with some European

countries over the decision to remove Saddam Husseinfrom power belong to the past. Success in Iraq is ourcommon interest, and will set the stage for the advance offreedom in the heart of the Middle East.

The United States and Europe are working togetherurgently both to stop the fighting and to create theconditions for a lasting settlement between Israel andLebanon, meaning among other things that Hizballahmust no longer be free to attack Israel at will. We want to see Lebanon fully sovereign and free of foreign


NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (right) and Georgian Prime Minister ZurabNogaideli at a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, in July 2006.

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domination and foreign forces, at peace with Israel, andliving in security.

Y OUNG D EMOCRACIES

The United States and Europe are working togetherto support the young, still vulnerable democraciesin Ukraine and Georgia. The Orange and Roserevolutions inspired freedom-seeking people aroundthe world. We are committed to help Ukrainians,Georgians, and others along the “Frontiers of Freedom”consolidate their democratic gains. In Belarus, wherethe illegitimate Lukashenka regime has suppressed freespeech and cracked down on those who seek democraticdevelopment, the United States has worked hand-in-hand with the European Union carefully to applypressure; travel bans and financial sanctions target theclique helping Lukashenka maintain the last dictatorshipin Europe. We continue to reach out to the people ofBelarus.

The United States and Europe support Russia’sdevelopment into a vibrant, market-oriented democracyand aim to deepen a partnership to advance globalsecurity, peace, and prosperity. We cooperate with Russiato pursue common interests, including nonproliferation,ending terrorism, and promoting health. At the sametime, we have concerns about worrying trends in Russia’sdemocratic development and about Russia’s approachtoward some of its neighbors, including some aspects ofRussian use of energy resources.

The United States and Europehave joined together to resolvethe last major issue in the region:Kosovo’s final status. As part of thiseffort, we are prepared to reach out

to all the countries of the region,especially Serbia, and bring theminto Euro-Atlantic institutions.

The United States and Europeanallies are working in concert toachieve a final peace agreement inSouthern Sudan. We are determinedto end the killing in Darfur, andare working with the U.N., NATO,the EU, and African Union on anurgent basis to stop the violence.

SECURITY AND P EACE

The United States and Europe are working together to extend in the world the peace thatthe transatlantic community has known for decades.

NATO is America’s premier alliance, the strategiclink between North America and Europe, and the coresecurity arm of the transatlantic democratic community.Together, Europe, Canada, and the United States aretransforming NATO to meet 21st-century challenges. At the start of 1994, NATO was a military alliance of16 countries, oriented toward countering a Soviet Unionthat no longer existed; it had never conducted a militaryoperation. By 2004, NATO had 26 members and 31partnerships across Eurasia, the Mediterranean, andthe Persian Gulf. It was engaged in eight simultaneousmilitary operations, from the Balkans to Afghanistan,performing tasks ranging from humanitarian assistance tostability operations. NATO is an alliance in action.

We work every day with European partners tostrengthen our anti-terrorist efforts and jointly to helpother states improve their counter-terrorist abilities. Ourcooperation extends to information- and intelligence-

sharing, dismantling terrorist cells, interdicting terroristlogistics, and pursuing anti-money laundering efforts.The most acute danger we and Europe face is the

prospect of weapons of mass destruction in the handsof terrorists and their sponsors. Under the globalProliferation Security Initiative, the United States andEurope join other countries in agreeing to take effectivemeasures to interdict the transfer or transport of weaponsof mass destruction, their delivery systems, and relatedmaterials.

The Heavy Bomber Elimination Program, a U.S. congressional initiative, has provided more than

$650 million to Ukraine to scrap its strategic nuclear arsenal in compliance with the START Iand Conventional Forces in Europe treaties. This Tu-22MS Backfire bomber is being dismantledas part of that program.

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Europe and Eurasia

U.S. President George W. Bush andGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel waveupon his arrival in Stralsund, Germany,in July 2006.

Organization for Security andCooperation in Europe (OSCE)

observers watch as an electoralcommission member gives instructionsto an Albanian man in a pollingstation in Macedonia’s capital, Skopje,during parliamentary elections in July2006.

Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blairposes with British soldiers at Shaibahlogistics base in Basra, Iraq, during hisfourth visit to Iraq in December 2005.

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Europe and Eurasia

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressesa media conference after a NATO foreign ministersmeeting at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia,Bulgaria, in April 2006.

The participants in the July 2006 G8Summit pose during the official photosession in front of the ConstantinePalace in St. Petersburg, Russia.

U.S. Under Secretary of State for PublicDiplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hugheschats with Turkish children as she presents

them with books about the United Statesduring a visit to the Turkish EducationVolunteers Foundation Education Park inIstanbul, in September 2005.

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Near Eastern Affairs

The responsibilities of the State Department’sBureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) stretchfrom Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean to the

eastern borders of Iran. In the big bureaucracy, we arehighly visible but surprisingly small in personnel andresource terms. The 19 countries in our region runthe gamut from small nations to populous and ancientcivilizations such as Egypt and Iran. It includes two-thirds of the globe’s proven oil reserves and is the cradleof the three great monotheistic religions. It is the landof Jerusalem and Mecca, of Bethlehem and Babylon, ofholy wars and holy men. It is where civilization beganand the alphabet was invented, where the light of classical

civilization survived when it flickered during Europe’sdark ages. It is the region with the most challenging andvolatile of America’s foreign policy issues.

It has been my great good fortune to spend asignificant part of my adult life working on and livingin this fascinating and frustrating, intense, and beautifulpart of the world. My children, my wife Gretchen, andso many friends and colleagues share this powerful anddeep interest in and respect for this region. The MiddleEast can inspire with its promise and disappoint with

its tragedy but can never be forgotten. From the naturalbeauty of Wadi Rum, the vastness of Saudi Arabia’sEmpty Quarter and the legendary cedars of Lebanon tothe intriguing markets of old Cairo, of proud Aleppo andIsfahan to dynamic Dubai booming in the Gulf, the NearEast presents a stunning physical environment. But thisis surpassed by a rapidly growing mosaic of more than350 million restless and very diverse inhabitants who arenot so different from us—they too seek to secure livesof dignity, of safety from fear, and of hopes for a betterfuture for themselves and their children. I know many ofthem as colleagues and as life-long friends.

DEEP AND ENDURING CHALLENGES

The challenges of the United States in the Middle Eastare deep and enduring. We seek to promote cooperationagainst global terrorism and work to prevent attacksagainst us and our friends, champion aspirations forhuman dignity and reform, and work for a lasting peacefor Israel, the Palestinians, and their neighbors.

All of our policy objectives are based on twounderlying pillars. The first is promoting freedom,

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justice and human dignity—workingto end tyranny, to promote effectivedemocracies, and to extend prosperitythrough free and fair trade and wisedevelopment policies. The second

pillar of our global strategy is toconfront the challenges of our time by working with a growing community ofdemocracies on many of the problems we face—from the threat of pandemicdisease to proliferation of weaponsof mass destruction, to terrorism,to human trafficking, to naturaldisasters—which reach across nationaland regional borders.

While we seek positive change that will translate into a better life for allthe people of the region, we workclosely with governments, with civilsociety, and with others on a widespectrum of priority issues. We deeplyrespect and seek to nurture importantand deeply rooted relationships withEgypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. We welcome their steps towards reform and encourage moreto be done. We support and encourage their efforts tocounter extremist ideology and promote moderation andtolerance. We appreciate their constructive work on manydifferent fronts, from regional cooperation to promotingan end to regional conflicts to fighting terrorism.

We are working alongside Iraqis to secure a united,stable, and democratic Iraq. The process of developinga stable political system that produces a competent andstrong national unity government that reflects the needsand interests of all Iraqis is an Iraqi effort, but they haveour sincere and unwavering support.

We continue to workfor the President’s vision ofa two-state solution withIsraelis and Palestiniansliving in peace, stability,prosperity, and dignity. Fartoo many lives have beenlost on both sides as a resultof violence and terroristaction. While we recognize

and fully respect the politicalprocess that brought it topower, we have serious andlong-standing concerns aboutHamas. Any Palestiniangovernment that encouragesor tolerates terrorism againstinnocents not only increasesviolence against the Israelis,but does great harm to the

U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem Jacob Walles (center) looks over boxes containing supplies donated to the Palestinians by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) at a warehouse in Ramallahin May 2006.

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes showsa book about football to some young Moroccans during ceremonies marking the openingof Morocco’s second “American Corner,” a cultural center-cum-cyber cafe-cum-library, inDaoudiate, a district of Marrakesh.

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interests of the Palestinian people, ensuring their furtherisolation. The United States will have no contact withsuch a government and we are working with many othersin the region and the world to demand that it abandonits support for terror, recognize Israel’s right to exist, andabide by previous agreements.

We are focused on Iran’s challenge to the internationalcommunity. The regime in Tehran regularly floutsinternational norms and its responsibilities to theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), supportsviolence and terror in Iraq, Lebanon, and around the world, and refuses to bring to justice senior al-Qaidamembers it detained in 2003. It continues to provideLebanese Hizballah and Palestinian terrorist groups withextensive funding, training, and weapons. As President

Bush and Secretary Rice have made clear, America stands with the Iranian people, who suffer under the regime’scontinued repression and economic mismanagement. Weseek to one day be the best of friends with the Iranianpeople.

DEMOCRACY AND R EFORM

We continue to support the path of democracy andreform enunciated by the Lebanese government. Lebanon

has accomplished much over the past year—the Lebanesehave compelled Syrian troops to withdraw and theyhave held free and fair elections. After a destructive warprovoked by Hizballah, UNSCR 1701 provides theessentialframework to support the Lebanese people as they

work to reassert their independence, strengthen theirdemocracy, reestablish the sovereignty of the Lebanesegovernment and armed forces over all their territory,and implement their call for national dignity, truth, and justice.

We are striving to express our solidarity with theSyrian people. Their aspirations for a better life ofdignity are thwarted by an atavistic regime that cracksdown harshly on Syrian civil society, seeks to intimidatethe Lebanese, fails to control its border with Iraq, andsponsors Palestinian and Hizballah terrorist groups. We continue to highlight the critical importance ofSyrian regime compliance with U.N. Security CouncilResolutions 1644, 1636, 1559, 1595, and 1701, and ourcontinued commitment to see an end to Syrian supportfor Hizballah’s armed agression in Lebanon and to bringto justice those responsible for former Lebanese PrimeMinister Hariri’s assassination.

In Saudi Arabia, a partnership was initiated by King Abdulaziz and President Roosevelt in February 1945,and has been continued by a succession of kings andpresidents. Saudi Arabia is the symbolic heart of theMuslim world—the birthplace of Islam and location ofits two holiest cities. We look for the Kingdom to take aleading role in ensuring the predominance of a moderateform of Islam and in expanding citizen participation,increasing opportunities for women, and promoting avibrant private economic sector.

North Africa, a region with which the United Stateshas had relations since our independence, is growing inimportance to our regional and strategic interests. Morethan one-half of Arabs live in this region, counting Egypt.Our reestablishment of more normal relations withLibya has occurred against the background of historicachievements in that country’s renunciation of terrorism

and its WMD and long-range ballistic missile programs.Morocco has emerged as a regional leader and key U.S.partner on reform. Algeria has also embarked on a path toserious reform following a decade of domestic upheaval. We are encouraging Tunisia to match its tremendouseconomic and social record with a comparable effort atpolitical reform. These countries have further to go withrespect to political and economic reform and respectfor human rights, but we are prepared to help them. We are also aware that they face a common threat from

Assistant Secretary of State David Welch speaks during apress conference after a meeting with the Lebanese primeminister in Beirut, Lebanon, in January 2006.

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religious extremism and have developed the Trans-SaharaCounterterrorism Initiative as one way to deal with it.This will require steady work to support U.N. efforts toresolve the longstanding dispute over the Western Sahara, whose resolution is ultimately the key to true regional

cooperation.

CONCLUSION

All of these issues constitute a challenging anddifficult agenda. Some of these crises have now occupiedpolicymakers and governments for decades. But we knowthat the voices of reform, for positive change, and forgreater humanity in governance did not originate fromthe West; they came from regional leaders both insideand outside government. We readily acknowledge thatdemocracy will develop in the region with its own MiddleEastern characteristics and with its own timing. We are

providing tangible support to reformers and peacemakersin the region so that conflict will diminish, democracycan spread, education can thrive, economies can grow,and women can be empowered. We are heartened byrecent important progress in Kuwait and Qatar in the

field of women’s rights. We work diligently to supportall of this change in an environment of mutual respectand humility, deeply conscious of the need to respectthe traditions and culture of the region and to listen tothe people, even when their voices are raised in anger orcriticism.

For more information:http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/

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Near East

A member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersand the onsite Iraqi contractor discuss theelectrical situation at the Diwaniyah Maternity andChildren’s Hospital in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq.

An estimated 15,000 Egyptian jobshave been created as a result of aU.S.-brokered agreement that hasdramatically increased Egypt’s trade

with Israel. This worker is at a textilefactory in Cairo.

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Near East

Students walk throughthe entrance to Hassan II Ain Chock University inCasablanca, Morocco.

Officials from the U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID) monitor humanitarian

supplies being delivered in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 29, 2006. This delivery included 20,000blankets, 2,000 tarpaulins, and seven one-tonmedical kits designed to support 100,000 peoplefor three months.

A camel keeper waits for tourists on the beach with the Jumeira Residence construction site in thebackground in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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South and Central Asia

Last year Secretary Rice decided to consolidatepolicy responsibility for the South and Central Asian nations into one bureau. This change makes

good sense, because South and Central Asia should bedealt with as a unit. In addition to deep cultural andhistoric ties, our major policy goals for the 21st century,such as winning the war on terror, finding outlets forenergy supplies, achieving prosperity through economiccooperation, and exploiting democratic opportunities,are of central importance in all the countries of thisregion. At the same time, in each country—Afghanistan,Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal,Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—we encounter unique andchallenging issues with which to deal.

Our success in South and Central Asia is criticallyimportant to our national interests. September 11thcemented our realization that stability in the region was ever more vital. What the United States seeksin the region is a continuing spread of democraticstability. We are helping regional states find peace andprosperity through the virtuous combination of political

and economic freedom. We seek to champion changeand reform to produce a more stable, prosperous, andintegrated region. This is in line with a central objectiveof American global foreign policy as articulated byPresident Bush: “It is the policy of the United States toseek and support the growth of democratic movementsand institutions in every nation and culture with theultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.”

The United States will work with the governmentsand peoples of South and Central Asia, practicing whatSecretary Rice has termed “transformational diplomacy.”She explains that “… transformational diplomacy isrooted in partnership; not in paternalism. In doing things with people, not for them, we seek to use America’sdiplomatic power to help foreign citizens better their ownlives and to build their own nations and to transformtheir own futures.”

EDUCATION , G ROWTH , AND COOPERATION

Education, particularly of women and girls, is ourstrongest foreign policy tool in the region. It is the

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foundation for accelerating social, political, and economicdevelopment in all areas: reducing infant/maternalmortality and improving health care, basic hygiene,literacy, civic participation, and economic growth, amongothers. The United States will devote significant resourcesto educational projects in the region.

Programs to encourage and stimulate economicgrowth with a broad impact on regional populations,ranging from micro-enterprise development to tradefacilitation and custom reforms, areall essential components of creatinghealthy economies and tradingpartners. Thanks to reforms andexport opportunities, Pakistan andIndia are both growing at more than8 percent, and Afghanistan is growingat 14 percent. Kazakhstan’s economicreforms and hydrocarbon deposits willsoon catapult it into the first ranks ofenergy exporters.

Promoting closer cooperation inall spheres both within and betweenSouth and Central Asia is a highpriority. We are fostering Central Asia’snatural partnership with Afghanistanand the tremendous potential forcross-border trade and commerce.One important objective is to fund agreatly expanded Afghan power grid, with connections to underutilized

energy sources in Central Asia. It’sa winning solution for both sides,providing much-needed energy to Afghanistan and serving as a majorsource of future revenue for countries

like Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.Generating long-term stability

through regional cooperation inenergy, trade, and communicationsis an area where the United Statescan offer technical assistance. As agovernment, it is not our role tocarry out large-scale energy andinfrastructure projects. But, wehave a key interest in using ourexpertise, in combination with othermultilateral partners and donors, tostimulate such activities.

Strengthening these ties andhelping to build new ones in energy,

infrastructure, transportation, and other areas willincrease the stability of the entire region, but will notbe at the expense of already existing relationships. We will continue to emphasize the involvement of Central Asian nations with Euro-Atlantic institutions. Their links with NATO, the European Union, the Organization forSecurity and Cooperation in Europe, and with individualEuropean nations must remain an important part of theirfuture.


Kashmiris unload American-donated relief aid from a United Nations helicopter at Sharda village

in Pakistan, following the 2005 ear thquakes there.

Pakistani Joint Secretary Fardosh Alim (center) waves to the crowd at the India-Pakistan jointcheck post at Wagha, India, on the day a new cross-border service opened as a result of efforts

to improve ties between the two nations.

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STRATEGIC P ARTNERSHIPS

We are building a global strategic partnership withIndia, the world’s largest democracy and likely to be themost populous nation in 20 years. India and the UnitedStates are both multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religiousdemocracies with increasingly converging interests onthe world’s most important issues. Opening new areas toeconomic cooperation and concluding a civilian nuclearpartnership are two of the most important paths we arecurrently following. We are also looking at all the areas where both of our international interests can be advanced

through our partnership. These include agriculture,democracy building, disaster relief, education, and scienceand technology.

We are continuing America’s long friendship withPakistan, a key ally in the war on terror. PresidentMusharraf has made the important decision to move hiscountry away from extremism and towards a future as amodern democracy, and we fully support this undertaking. We are working with political parties, civil society, andinstitutions such as the election commission to assure

successful parliamentary elections in 2007, and wecontinue to make clear that we are deeply committed tohelping the Pakistani people recover from the devastatingearthquake of last October.

A stable and friendly relationship between India andPakistan is essential for peace and stability in the regionand beyond. We are encouraged by continuing progressin the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan.Confidence-building measures, such as the opening ofbus and rail links, are helping to build a constituency forpeace in both nations. We will continue to encouragepeace efforts between the two countries, including moving

toward resolution of the question of Kashmir. Afghanistan, at the center of this region, can be a bridgethat links South and Central Asia, rather than a barrierthat divides them. Stability, democracy, and economicdevelopment in Afghanistan remain top priorities forthe United States and for our partners as well. The Afghanistan Compact and Interim Afghan NationalDevelopment Strategy documents unveiled in January atthe London Conference on Afghanistan map out specificsecurity, governance, and development benchmarks for

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher (right) joins (from left to right) Herve Jouanjean, deputydirector-general of the European Union Commission for External Relations; Yasushi Akashi, Japanese peace envoy to Colombo; and Er ik Solheim,Norwegian minister of international development, at the start of a meeting about Sri Lanka’s peace process in May 2006.

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the next five years; our support is vital to achieving theseimportant goals. We must continue to deal decisively withthe violent remnants of al-Qaida, the Taliban, and otherinsurgents that are still at large. The huge opium cropin Afghanistan poses a grave threat to Asia, Europe, and

the United States, with the potential to fuel insurgencies,destroy economies, and corrupt governments. Through afive-pillar approach of information, income alternatives,eradication, enforcement and interdiction, and fairapplication of the law, Afghanistan is moving against thedrug trade, and we are helping.

We are working to end strife and promote stabilityelsewhere in the region. In Sri Lanka, we continue to work with our international partners to preserve a fragilepeace process and bring resolution to the violent struggleagainst the government by Tamil separatists. Nepal alsofaces a difficult situation. Popular demonstrations forcedKing Gyanendra to reinstate parliament and acknowledgethe people’s sovereignty, but the country still faces manychallenges on the path to restored democracy, peace, anddevelopment, including a continuing insurrection by theMaoists. While the United States is cautiously optimistic,this is the very beginning of a process of entrenchingdemocracy in Nepal, and U.S. and other countries’ strongsupport will be important to ensuring the success of thenew government. In Bangladesh, a moderate Muslimdemocracy recently threatened by political violenceand extremism, we are looking forward to free andfair parliamentary elections next year with the full andactive participation of all parties.

Central Asian nations are dealing with similarchallenges of fighting terror, building sustainable growth,and meeting the demands of their people for economicand political opportunity. Some leaders, such as those inTurkmenistan and Uzbekistan, have responded negatively

and we must manage our relationships accordingly.However, Central Asia is also a region of tremendouspromise. Oil and gas production in the Caspian Seabasin, particularly in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan,could make a significant contribution to global energy

security. Kazakhstan may be emerging as a regionalengine of economic growth and reform. Kyrgyzstan isstruggling to consolidate democratic gains and keepreforms on track.

CONCLUSION Throughout the region, traditions of tolerant faith

and scientific learning, which stretch back a millennium,provide a shield against imported strains of violentextremism. As we help the governments and peoples ofthe region to strengthen their institutions promotinggrowth, peace, and stability, we also seek to encouragethose members of society who have begun to reform,to promote change, to open their economies, and tocooperate with their neighbors. With nearly a quarterof the world’s population, abundant resources, and ageneration of young people with unprecedented dreams,South and Central Asia has great global potential toserve as a democratic and economically vibrant force forpositive change. The United States should have a rolein fostering such change, in which all in the region canshare.

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American field specialist for theInternational Organization for Migration(IOM) Matt George makes a cast out ofcardboard for a boy in Kashmir.

Pakistani women light candles to markInternational Women’s Day in Multan, Pakistan,in March 2005.

An Afghan election worker countsballots as observers watch her inKabul, Afghanistan, in September2005. Some 12 million votes were castin simultaneous parliamentary andprovincial council elections.

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U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South andCentral Asia Richard Boucher visits the Salaam BaalakTrust, a shelter for street children funded by the U.S.government in New Delhi, India, in August 2006.

A girl practices her Urdu writing skillsat a village school in Bhair Sodian, innortheastern Pakistan.

Children play a computer cricket game at

“Hole in the Wall,” an informal computereducation program supported by the AmericanEmbassy School in partnership with the

American Women’s Association, an Indiannongovernmental organization (NGO), and theNational Institution of Information Technology.

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Western Hemisphere Affairs

Ihave spent my 22 years in the Foreign Service working in Latin America and Africa. I am what is known as a “dusty roads” diplomat. I

have dedicated myself to countries in transition—countries that have struggled to make democracy realfor their people, and to provide the prosperity andsecurity necessary for human development.

Because of this experience, I know whatdemocracy means to the disenfranchised. know what economic opportunity means to the poorand excluded. And I know what freedom meansto peoples attempting to gain control of their own

destinies. I have experienced first hand the dramatictransformational role the United States can playduring such transitions.

When Secretary Rice asked me to return to theState Department to become the Assistant Secretaryfor Western Hemisphere Affairs, she charged me with revitalizing our diplomacy, building new andlasting partnerships in the Americas, and articulatingthe president’s commitment to individual freedomand social justice.

I have sought to meet this responsibility byimplementing an agenda in the Americas that isboth straightforward and comprehensive: the UnitedStates is committed to working with our partnersin the Americas to consolidate democracy, promoteprosperity, invest in people, and enhance the securityof the hemisphere’s democratic states.

Our policy reflects a common agenda shapedthrough the Summit of the Americas process. It isbased on two guiding principles, both enshrined in theInter-American Democratic Charter:

• The peoples of the Americas have a right to

democracy and their governments have an obligation topromote and defend it.• Democracy is essential for the social, political, and

economic development of the peoples of the Americas.

CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRACY

The Americas have made an historic commitmentto democracy. This commitment is to more than anelectoral process. It is also to the fundamental rights

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and liberties that underlie our open societies, to theinstitutions and constitutional procedures that givestructure to our democratic states, to the developmentof the political parties and civil societies that representour citizens, and to the democratic governance necessaryto create just and fair societies in which all citizens havea covenant.

The United States is committed to fosteringdemocratic governance and protecting fundamentalrights and liberties in the Americas. Working bilaterally—through our foreign assistance programs and diplomatic

outreach—and multilaterally—through the Organizationof American States and the other institutions of theInter-American System, we are helping our partners inthe Americas attack poverty, inequality, and politicalmarginalization and exclusion. We are standing up totyranny, especially in Cuba. And we are working toensure that all the peoples of the Americas have the rightsand the capabilities to enjoy and express their citizenshipin all its dimensions: political, economic, and social.

PROMOTING PROSPERITY

The Americas are experiencing a revolutionin expectations. People expect their democraticgovernments to be responsive and accountable, andto deliver the benefits of free markets, trade, andeconomic integration to all citizens. Access to economicopportunity and the social mobility that it creates arenow understood to be fundamental components ofsocial justice.

The United States is helping to create economic

opportunity in the Americas through our free tradeagenda, now encompassing two-thirds of the grossdomestic product of the hemisphere. We are also working through our foreign assistance programs,especially the Millennium Challenge Corporation, tofight corruption, promote the rule of law, and createthe kind of democratic and just governance necessaryto ensure that economic opportunity is not trapped byelites but instead courses through society.

A Nicaraguan farmer receives medical attention from U.S. Army reservists on a humanitarian aid mission to rural workers in El Sol, Nicaragua, in July 2006.

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no longer comes from other states. Instead, it comesfrom non-state actors, such as terrorists, drug and peopletraffickers, and organized crime. It is also comes fromnatural disasters, environmental disasters, and pandemics.

The United States, working through the Summit of

the Americas and the Organization of American States,has helped reshape the hemisphere’s security agenda andinstitutions. We have built new forms of cooperationthat go beyond traditional military and securityassistance. Through law enforcement and intelligencecooperation, increased communication betweendisaster and emergency management agencies, andbetter coordination among environmental and medicalauthorities, we are creating the ability to respond to newthreats. We are building a new understanding of thelinkage between security and our economic prosperityand the well-being of our democratic institutions. Weare also building a hemisphere in which open societiesare protected and resilient.

Our agenda in the Americas is positive, people-focused, and committed to our fundamental political,economic, and social values. It is based on cooperationand collaboration, and it is committed to opendiscussion with our partners and to the common

institutions of the Inter-American System that we share with the other 33 democratic states of the Americas.

Our agenda recognizes the transformationalpower of democracy. It understands the central rolethat economic and social development play withindemocracy; and it asserts that all political and economicactivity must enhance and respect human dignity andindividual freedom.

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Members of the U.S. military construct a schoin Honduras as part of New Horizons, a JointTask Force (JTF) humanitarian exercise.

Mexican actress Salma Hayek holds a child whilespeaking with Nicaraguan youths during a visit tothe Quincho Barrilete Foundation in Managua,Nicaragua. She and American actress Ashley Judd weretraveling together to promote a global initiative called“YouthAIDS,” a program to educate young people aboutHIV/AIDS.

Shown here following the signing othe U.S.-Peru Trade Agreement atthe Organization of American State(OAS) in April 2006 in WashingtonD.C., are (left to right) then-U.S. TraRepresentative Robert Portman, PerMinister of Production David LemoPeruvian President Alejandro ToledoDeputy U.S. Trade Representative SSchwab, and Peruvian Foreign TradeMinister Alfredo Ferrero Diez Cans

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Ambassador John F. Maisto, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), is among theparticipants from 34 countries at the 36th General Assembly of the OAS in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in June2006.

Western Hemisphere

Nicaraguans with relatives inthe United States wave U.S.and Nicaraguan flags during aholiday celebration in Managua,Nicaragua.

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Documents

USA foreighn policy.pdf