Kid Frost, East Side Story Full Album Zip
Kathy Douds
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, thank you for joining me on this rather quick trip over and back. I think it will be an interesting and exciting trip, and it certainly is an important one. We have a very powerful delegation already there and theyve been doing terrific work under the leadership of Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky, as well as Andrew Natsios, whos been there and now hes with us, going back over after some other side trips, and with representation from (inaudible), and all of the other agencies. Christie Todd Whitman is there now.
Ive been getting regular reports from them, several times a day for the last week or so, and Im pleased at the progress that has been made on the Johannesburg plan of action, unlike some previous conferences. Some of you may have memories of Durban last year.
This is a conference where people came to do serious work, to debate important issues, and come up with a plan of action that was not just rhetoric, but things people could actually get their teeth into and execute on. Thats why Im particularly pleased about the very fine reception that our initiative for partnerships, different kinds of partnerships, received, and that so many other nations are responding to that idea of public/private partnerships. As you know, weve announced a number of them already: water, energy, Congo Basin Initiative, housing initiative that youll hear more about tomorrow.
Im pleased that other nations are joining in this because sustainable development is not just aid. Sustainable development is aid, its education, its the environment, its trading, its opening up economies, it is good governance, it is the rule of law, it is ending corruption. All of these things have to be taken into account, and I think that the strategy that the United States has brought to this summit reflects all of that. With the Presidents Millennium Challenge Account that youre all familiar with, an additional 5 billion dollars a year, when we get it implemented in 3 years time will go to those countries that are in need but that have also demonstrated a willingness to put in place the rule of law, good governance, educating their youngsters, and taking care of their resources and ending corruption. Thats the right way to go about it.
Ill also be making the point to the summit participants that they have to remember that 80 percent of the resources that are available to help developing nations are in the private sector. That once again reinforces the importance of partnerships and reinforces the importance of making your country a welcoming place for private partnerships where the money will be used properly. It will be protected by the rule of law. It will not be wasted, and it will go to the benefit of the people. So Im very pleased at everything Ive heard from the delegation so far and Ill be briefed by Undersecretary Dobriansky and the others when I arrive.
Im also appreciative of the NGOs who have traveled from the United States, as well as a number of private citizens and political figures, and Im bringing over with me now one more very important figure who Im sure you all recognize Chris Tucker, famous movie star, comedian, but more than that, a committed young man who is making a mark for himself not only in the world of entertainment, but by his presence here. Other things we have done with Chris that have shown that he realizes that at this point in his life, with all of his success that hes already enjoyed, he has to use part of his time and energy to give back and think about people in need. Chris, its a great pleasure to have you with us, and now youve got the rest of the interview.
MR. TUCKER: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Thank you, and its an honor, thank you for having me here on the trip. Im excited about the trip and about the conference. South Africa is very important and Im just looking forward to seeing the important solutions and different things that can be done to help the problems on the continent of Africa. So Im looking forward to the conference. Thank you.
SECRETARY POWELL: It is quite a busy day tomorrow, with lots of bilateral meetings with different heads of state. Well talk about, first and foremost, the summit and the outcome of the summit. Well thank them for their participation and cooperation. Then there are a variety of bilateral issues with each of them that Ill take up.
With President Mbeki, Im sure we will talk about the situation in the Congo and some of the success that weve seen recently with his leadership, and well show our support for that effort. Im sure that we will also discuss the difficult situation in Zimbabwe, a country that is desperately in need and doesnt have all of those things that I described earlier that are essential for drawing in trade and investment in your country.
Im seeing the Prime Minister of Russia tomorrow night, Im sure that we will discuss a variety of trade issues. Id like to review with him how things are several months after the summit meeting in Moscow back in late June. We will shake hands and congratulate ourselves on having solved the great chicken war of 2002, finally.
There are a variety of other leaders, I expect to see the Albanian President, the Danish Prime Minister, and a number of other leaders. Im going to try to keep the focus though on sustainable development and the summit. Im sure there will be regional issues theyll want to talk about, of course.
QUESTION: There have been a lot of protests, the United States is getting a lot of flack for things, the NGOs and some of these developing countries feel the US has not done enough. Do you think theres a kind of dichotomy between what the US is actually doing and the perception that youre not giving enough?
If I can ask on Zimbabwe, there have been some reports that the United States would join a call by other nations at the conference for Mugabe to go. Do you think its time for him to step down, and will you be talking to other leaders about this?
SECRETARY POWELL: I guess its our place in the world as the largest economy in the world and the wealthiest country in the world to be looked at for leadership in helping developing nations. I think the United States has provided that leadership, especially President Bush with his commitment to expanded AGOA action, with his leadership in getting the Doha round of trade talks going, and passage of the Trade Promotion Act recently which will liberalize trade even more - also with the Millennium Challenge Account, with what we have done on getting the Global Health Fund up and running to deal with HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis. With just the regular aid account seeing real increases in the first two years of this administration. Ive been able to get increases in the regular accounts before we even go to the Millennium Challenge Accounts.
The President has also made a strong commitment to providing anti retroviral drugs to break the mother-child transmission of the HIV virus. A number of education programs, Im going to be announcing more of those in the very near future, related to the Middle East. So I think weve got a very, very good record.
Wed like to do more. Were always trying to find ways to do more, but I think that we have done a lot and I think weve had a good story to tell, a good story to rest on. It is always the case, though, that people will comment on the United States and occasionally criticize us for not doing even more. I think weve got a good record and I think its a record we can all be proud of defending.
With respect to the second part of your question, on Zimbabwe we have long felt that the people of Zimbabwe would be better off if there had been a change in leadership. The election recently held, we think, was fatally flawed. I have spoken out about this regularly, the United States government has spoken out about this regularly.
For those of you who were with me on my Africa trip last year, at the University of (inaudible) in South Africa, I spoke directly to the challenge that Mugabe was presenting to Africa and to the world. We could see improper behavior, we could see corrupt governance, and the world should speak out about it and stand up to this kind of action.
We have not seen any improvement in the situation since then. Im not aware of a specific call at the summit for his removal so I have nothing to say to that. Ill perhaps learn more about that when I arrive, but I would not want to hypothesize about what we might do if there was such a call. Ive only heard the report that you mention but I havent seen anything officially and I dont know who is making the call.
QUESTION: Okay, Ill ask the dreaded Iraq question. Do you feel that there is a split in the administration over what should be done on Iraq? Or is this a normal discussion within an administration? I mean, the Vice Presidents words seemed to be much stronger than yours along going ahead with an intervention against them.
SECRETARY POWELL: We are discussing Iraq and we are discussing every aspect of the issue. We are discussing the threat that this regime presents to the rest of the world. We are discussing the simple reality that for almost 12 years now, the Iraqi regime has refused to comply with a number of UN resolutions and dozens of conditions that they were supposed to meet. So they have affronted the international community.
It is a challenge not just to the United States but to the international community and to the United Nations. We are discussing within the administration and with our friends and allies and with the international community and the United Nations how we should respond to this. It is a serious matter. There can be no question that he continues to pursue these kinds of weapons of mass destruction. He threw out, or made it impossible for the inspectors to continue 4 years ago. So it is a very serious issue and were discussing it in a very serious way.
b37509886e