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Bush Touts 'Freedom Agenda'
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ShareJune 05, 2007 11:19 AM
ABC News' Karen Travers Reports: In remarks to a conference on democracy and security in Prague on Tuesday, President Bush highlighted his "freedom agenda" and reiterated his goal of ending tyranny around the world.
"In my Second Inaugural Address, I pledged America to the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world. Some have said that qualifies me as a 'dissident president.' Standing for liberty in the world makes me a dissident, then I'll wear the title with pride."
The conference was convened by Jose Maria Aznar, Vaclav Havel, and Natan Sharansky.
Bush stressed that ending tyranny is not "imposing our values" on people who do not share them and said that is refuted every time people choose freedom. After citing the examples of Latin America, South Africa, Indonesia and the Ukraine, he pointed out the millions of Afghans and Iraqis who "defied the terrorists to elect free governments."
"At a polling station in Baghdad, an Iraqi man with one leg told a reporter, 'I would have crawled here if I had to.' Was democracy imposed on that man? Was freedom a value he did not share?" Bush said.
Bush was not as critical of Russia as he was in a statement earlier Tuesday in Prague. He said the U.S. has a "strong working relationship" with Russia and China but the friendship with those nations is "complex."
"In the areas where we share mutual interests, we work together. In other areas, we have strong disagreements," Bush said. "In Russia, reforms that once promised to empower citizens have been derailed, with troubling implications for democratic development. Part of a good relationship is the ability to talk openly about our disagreements. So the United States will continue to build our relationships with these countries -- and we will do it without abandoning our principles or our values."
June 5, 2007 in Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (0)
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