---------- Forwarded message ---------- >Exchange between Secretary of State Madeline Albright and an audience >questioner. The occasion was a 2/18/98 forum at Ohio State University >(featuring Albright, Secretary of Defense William Cohen and National >Security Adviser Samuel Berger and broadcast live on CNN) designed to >prepare the US public for an attack on Iraq. Albright and co. were >disrupted throughout by antiwar chants and audience shouts. > > >Questioner: I have a question for Secretary Albright: Why bomb Iraq when >other countries have committed similar violations? (Applause) Turkey, for >example, has bombed Kurdish citizens, Saudi Arabia has tortured political >and religious dissidents. Why does the U.S. apply different standards of >justice to these countries? (shouting and applause) > >Albright: Let me say that when there are problems such as you have >described, we point them out and make very clear our opposition to them, but >there is no one that has done to his people or to his neighbors what Saddam >Hussein has done, or what he is thinking about doing (shouting) I am very... > >Q:What about Indonesia? You turned my microphone... > >Albright: I say that the record will show that Saddam Hussein has produced >weapons of mass destruction which he's clearly not collecting for his own >personal pleasure, but in order to use. And therefore he is qualitatively >and quantitatively different from every brutal dictator that has appeared >recently. And we are very concerned about him specifically and what his >plans might be. > >Judy Woodruff, CNN: You have a followup? > >Q: Thank you. My microphone's off. There we are. What do you have to say >about dictators in countries like Indonesia, who we sell weapons to, yet >they are slaughtering people in East Timor (roar)? What do you have to say >about Israel who is slaughtering Palestinians, who imposed martial law? What >do you say about that? Those are our allies. Why do we sell weapons to these >countries? Why do we support them? Why do we bomb Iraq when it commits >similar problems? (roar) > >Albright: There are various examples of things that are not right in this world >and the United States is trying...(roar) I really am surprised that people >feel that it is necessary to defend the rights of Saddam Hussein when what >we ought to be thinking about is how to make sure that he does not use >weapons of mass destruction. (roar) Just a moment. > >Questioner: I am not defending Saddam Hussein. I am not defending him in >the least. What I am saying is that there needs to be consistent application >of US foreign policy. (clapping) We cannot support people who are committing >the same violations because they are political allies. That is not >acceptable. We cannot violate UN resolutions when it is convenient to us. >(she tries to say something) You're not answering my question, Madame >Albright. (roar) > >Albright: I suggest sir that you study very carefully what American foreign >policy is, what we have said exactly about the cases that you have >mentioned. Every one of them have been pointed out. Every one of them we >have clearly stated our policy on. And if you would like, as a former >professor, I would be delighted to spend 50 minutes with you describing >exactly what we are doing on those subjects. > >Woodruff: Secretary..Secretary Albright had already said she was willing to >meet with some of you after the forum. Let's respect that. The more time you >take shouting, the more time you take away from people who have questions. >Secretary I do have a brief follow up and that is on this point. There are >many countries that have these biological and chemical weapons. Six >countries in the Middle East alone. You've stated why Saddam Hussein should >be singled out, but it is puzzling to people to wonder why its OK for these >other countries to have biological and chemical weapons but not him. > >Albright: I think that it is clear that other countries have weapons of mass >destruction. It is a question of whether there is a proclivity to use them >and Saddam Hussein is a repeat offender and I think it is very important for >us to make clear that the United States and the civilized world cannot deal >with somebody who is willing to use those weapons of mass destruction on his >own people, not to speak of his neighbors. ------------
