Powell Says Terrorist Arrests Illustrate U.S., Russian Cooperation
Small arms, missiles in terrorists' hands put everyone at risk
The arrests that took place August 12 in New York to stop an arms dealer from selling shoulder-fired surface-to-air
missiles to potential terrorists in the United States illustrates the significant cooperation between U.S. and Russia
intelligence agencies working to end this kind of arms trafficking, says Secretary of State Colin Powell.
"Small arms, surface-to-air missiles -- all of these in the hands of terrorists -- put us all at risk," Powell said in
an interview with the Univision Television Network August 13. "And, to think that there would be people in the world
that would traffic in a surface-to-air missile that would go up in the sky and hit [a] ... plane full of innocent people
as an act of terror is disgraceful to contemplate, but there are such people."
In all, U.S. federal authorities arrested three men for attempting to sell dozens of Russian-made, shoulder-fired SA-18
missiles to an FBI informant posing as a terrorist in a carefully crafted sting operation that lasted two years.
Powell said in the interview that the global war on terrorism is making progress, but a complete victory may not be easy
to predict.
"I think we are making progress and we'll be making more progress in the months and years ahead," he said. "You see the
Saudis are now cracking down. You saw what we did with the Russians. The Russians have their own terrorist problem in
Chechnya, which has now come into Moscow, so people are being bombed in Moscow. And so more and more nations are
realizing, 'hey, I cannot stand aside, this affects me too, these could be my innocent people.'"
Powell said, however, the key to battling terrorism is in sharing information among cooperative nations.
When asked how long the United States will have to maintain a military presence in Iraq, Powell said that will depend on
how quickly the mission is completed. "The mission," he said, "is a very simple one: secure the country, get the economy
going, allow the Iraqi people to create their own government based on a new constitution; and as soon as that government
is in place, a representative government, turn it over to them and leave. The United States has no desire to remain in
Iraq any longer than is absolutely necessary."
Following is the text of Powell's remarks:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
August 13, 2003
INTERVIEW
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
By Enrique Gratas of Univision Television Network
August 13, 2003
Washington, D.C.
(3:30 p.m. EDT)
MR. GRATAS: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, for this interview. How important is it for the war on terror the recent
crackdown on will-be arm dealers to sell missiles to terrorists to blow up American planes?
SECRETARY POWELL: Very important. And the arrests that took place yesterday were very significant because the United
States and the Russian Federation worked together to stop this kind of traffic in arms. Small arms, surface-to-air
missiles -- all of these in the hands of terrorists put us all at risk. And to think that there would be people in this
world that would traffic in a surface-to-air missile that would go up in the sky and hit an innocent plane full of
innocent people as an act of terror is disgraceful to contemplate, but there are such people. And that is why the world
must work together. All of us have a part to play in this campaign against terrorism, and I am pleased this time it
worked and we caught them.
MR. GRATAS: Do you think that the United States and the world will have a complete victory over terrorism someday?
SECRETARY POWELL: I don't know if we'll have a complete victory, but I think we are making progress and we'll be making
more progress in the months and years ahead. You see the Saudis are now cracking down. You saw what we did with the
Russians. The Russians have their own terrorist problem in Chechnya, which has now come into Moscow, so people are being
bombed in Moscow.
And so more and more nations are realizing, hey, I cannot stand aside, this affects me too, these could be my innocent
people. And as more and more of us work together and share intelligence, share police information, share tips, cooperate
with military forces and intelligence forces and police forces, we will do a better and better job in shutting down
terrorist activity and we'll have less to worry about in the future. But will it be totally solved at any time in my
lifetime? Probably not, but it will be a lot better.
MR. GRATAS: A lot of people, in the United States especially, are asking how long the U.S. forces will stay in Iraq.
SECRETARY POWELL: We can't give a precise answer because it's the mission that will dictate how long we are there. The
mission is a very simple one: secure the country, get the economy going, allow the Iraqi people to create their own
government based on a new constitution; and as soon as that government is in place, a representative government, turn it
over to them and leave. The United States has no desire to remain in Iraq any longer than is absolutely necessary.
A lot has been done. Schools are open. Factories are starting to open again. Oil is now being pumped out again. Fresh
crude left Iraq today. A lot of good things are happening, but you don't get enough attention on those good things
because we still see insecurity and violence. But slowly but surely, the country is improving. A Governing Council has
been formed. And so we will move deliberately down this path, but we will not abandon the Iraqi people until we know
that they have put in place a government of their own that they have confidence in and who will be able to run the
country in a way that that country will live in peace with its neighbors and no longer be developing weapons of mass
destruction.
MR. GRATAS: So you think a year will be a fair time?
SECRETARY POWELL: I am very reluctant to say whether it would be a year, two years, because we just don't know. The
mission will dictate. And the President has made it clear that we will stay as long as necessary, but not one day
longer.
MR. GRATAS: Still, the U.S. forces are still looking for weapons of mass destruction. Do you think those weapons will
ever be found?
SECRETARY POWELL: Yes, I think the weapons will be found and the programs that supported those weapons will be found.
Mr. David Kay, who is in charge of the research effort, has reported to us recently that more and more information is
coming forward as he is able to read all the documents that he's captured and as he is able to interview people who were
involved in these programs. And as he assembles this information and is in a position to present it, I think the people
of the world will see that the United States and other nations who felt as we did knew what we were talking about.
MR. GRATAS: Mr. Secretary, any misleading whatsoever occurred to the American people or to the world in general by your
administration in order to gain confidence to go to war with Iraq?
SECRETARY POWELL: No. I think we put forward the best case that we could. We believe that this was a dangerous regime
with a dangerous leader; not only did he have weapons of mass destruction, he violated basic standards of human rights,
he oppressed his people, he murdered his people and put them in mass graves, he destroyed he marshlands in the south.
And now he is gone and the Iraqi people will have a better life.
And I think that the case we made before the world was a case that was based on weapons of mass destruction principally,
but it was also a human rights case, a terrorism case that I presented at the United Nations, and I am confident that we
presented a case that was a solid case, that was a case that people could believe in, and the American people still
support the President by an overwhelming margin and believe that we did the right thing.
MR. GRATAS: Other issues, Latin America. And Mexican immigrant workers, millions of them believing the United States
negotiations between Mexico and the United States stopped. Nevertheless, you said in November last year in Mexico City
that you personally will push them to get some progress in the next six or seven months. Can you mention any progress in
those negotiations?
SECRETARY POWELL: We continue to have discussions with our Mexican colleagues. I was on the phone last week with Foreign
Secretary Derbez, and I expect to see him next month here in Washington.
These are very, very difficult issues, especially in the post-9/11 atmosphere. We have to make sure that we are securing
our borders and that we are doing it in a way that protects our society. But you know terrorism is not a real threat
from Mexico. Mexicans come here in order to earn a living, in order to raise families. Mexicans make an important
contribution to the United States economy and to the United States society and culture, and they also make an important
contribution to Mexico by the money they are able to send back and the skills they are able to send back and take back
to Mexico.
But we want to do it in a way that regularizes movement across the border in a safe way so that Mexicans are not put at
risk in their efforts to come to the United States. But we have found it very difficult to find the right answers to the
many issues that are out there -- regularization, ease of transit across the border, use of consulate documents.
And what I said last November I believe in very, very much, that we want to work on these issues. The President wants to
work on these issues, as he agreed he would do with President Fox two years ago at their first summit meeting. And for
the last several months since I made that statement, we have been working on a number of issues that we hope we will be
able to put forward and get agreement with our Mexican colleagues on that don't require legislative action, but we can
do with executive action on our part.
But each one of them is very complex, there are financial implications, and we are continuing to work on them. I have
not abandoned this cause.
MR. GRATAS: But it is not impossible to work out different issues and different solutions to finally legalize all these
people?
SECRETARY POWELL: We are trying to find the right answers. It is not practical to think that an amnesty of some kind
could be granted for all those who are not here with proper documentation. That would not be reasonable to assume and I
would not wish to mislead anyone.
But a lot of the other issues with respect to movement across the border in both directions I think can be dealt with,
and I look forward to continuing our discussions with the Mexican Government.
MR. GRATAS: So, hope and time?
SECRETARY POWELL: Hope and -- but more than hope. Hard work and with the goal of getting concrete results and concrete
achievements, agreements that both sides can see to demonstrate our good faith and the good faith of our Mexican
friends.
MR. GRATAS: Regarding Cuba, do you think it is time for Fidel Castro to go and start a democracy in Cuba? And if that is
the case, what the United States is doing to get rid of Fidel Castro and install a democracy in Cuba?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, I think the answer is yes, it's time for him to go. It's his 77th birthday and I was hoping, but
I knew better, that perhaps he would announce his retirement.
But it is not for the United States to install a democracy in Cuba. It is for the Cuban people, as they have been
increasingly demonstrated to their leaders who want a better life. There is now an opposition movement in Cuba. People
are signing petitions saying give us a chance to honestly determine who should be leading this country.
And what have we seen from Mr. Castro in recent months in response to this kind of movement within the Cuban population?
He's cracking down on people. He is making it more difficult for them to express their views.
What is he afraid of after all these decades of his revolution? Why does he have to crack down on his people? Why won't
he allow open speech? Why won't he allow people to speak out? Why won't he allow people to say, "We would like to have a
different form of government," if his revolution is so wonderful, if everybody is so in favor of his revolution? What is
he afraid of?
What he is afraid of is that his people might say, "Listen, there is a better world waiting out there for us if we had a
democratic form of government, if we had the right to vote for who should lead us. Instead, we are here in an economy
that is failing, with the international community more and more against us. Even the European Union that used to be
somewhat friendly to us is now criticizing us because of your abuses against the human rights of the Cuban citizens."
Yes, it's time for him to retire. He should have retired long ago. The Cuban people want a better life and I think when
he does retire, and perhaps at that point the Cuban people will have an opportunity to make different choices, honest
choices about how they are to be governed, and they can be welcomed into the community of democracies of America and the
community of democracies of the world.
MR. GRATAS: Can you tell the exiled Cuban community in the United States that President Bush and your Department is
doing the best to help them to fulfill this dream of finally getting a free Cuba?
SECRETARY POWELL: We are, I think, absolutely straightforward on this point. President Bush has spoken out clearly. He
has challenged Fidel Castro. If, you know, if you will move in the right direction, we are prepared to change our
policy. But Castro dare not move in the right direction, he dare not permit openness in his society because he might be
then forced into retirement, so we keep the pressure on.
We honor the obligations that we have and the commitments we have made to the Cuban people. And I think I can honestly
say that the United States is doing everything we can to keep the pressure on the regime and to keep hope in the hearts
of the Cuban people.
MR. GRATAS: Mr. Secretary, what is your opinion or the opinion of the American government about President Hugo Chavez of
Venezuela?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, President Chavez has taken some actions during the course of his presidency that we have not
approved of. He sometimes has some ideas with respect to democratic systems that don't quite comport with ours, or, we
believe, with the views of the Venezuelan people. But we believe that any changes that should take place in Venezuela
must be done in the constitutional way.
And through the work of the OAS and through the work of the friends of the OAS in Venezuela, we have now put in place a
way in which the Venezuelan people can express their views through a referendum that is provided for by the
constitution. And the United States will watch very carefully, and whatever disagreements we might have with President
Chavez, it is up to the Venezuelan people to decide what kind of democracy they wish to have.
MR. GRATAS: So you don't have any opinion about his personality in general?
SECRETARY POWELL: No, this is not -- this is not the time for personality disputes or discussions or whether I like him
or don't like him, favor him, don't favor him. The fact of the matter is he is the president of Venezuela. He was
elected to be the president of Venezuela by the Venezuelan people, but now the Venezuelan people have had questions
about his presidency and there is a significant opposition movement. And with the help of the OAS (Organization of
American States) and President (Jimmy) Carter and other people, a way has been found through a referendum to deal with
these issues concerning President Chavez's presidency.
MR. GRATAS: In Guatemala, a former military dictator, Efrain Rios Montt, is running for president -- for presidency and
he may become a president of Guatemala. Do you have any worries about that?
SECRETARY POWELL: It is a matter for the Guatemalan people to decide. As everyone knows, we have serious reservations
about his candidacy, but we also have confidence in the wisdom and will of the Guatemalan people to decide who their
president should be. And we will respond to their will by dealing in an appropriate way with whoever becomes president,
but we have serious reservations about General Rios Montt.
MR. GRATAS: Mr. Secretary, if President Bush is reelected, you are planning to stay or you are planning to leave?
SECRETARY POWELL: The only plan I have is to serve my President and to serve the United States to the best of my ability
and I don't have a term. I serve at the pleasure of the President. And so that is the only answer I ever give to this
question, I serve at the pleasure of the President.
And stories that say they know what I might or might not do, or the President might or might not want, are inaccurate
stories. I serve at his pleasure. He and I had wonderful discussions at his vacation home in Texas last week, and I am
looking forward to continuing to serve this President.
MR. GRATAS: So you are not planning to retire or to leave the administration if he is reelected in 2005?
SECRETARY POWELL: As I said, I serve at the pleasure of the President. And it would be most inappropriate for me, as a
public servant, in the position that I occupy, to do anything but say that I serve at the pleasure of the President.
MR. GRATAS: One more question. Regarding Latin America, some people think that you have relegated to second plane in
Latin America, that the United States doesn't have as much influence as it used to have, and even if we are a natural --
or your natural neighbors, it is not in the biggest interest of the United States to work with Latin America constantly
and aggressively. Is that the truth?
SECRETARY POWELL: No, it's not true. We are working constantly and aggressively with our neighbors. They're our
neighbors. They live next door. We have to work with the Latin American nations and we do. I was at an OAS meeting just
a couple of months ago to represent my government in Chile. On that same trip, I then went to Buenos Aires and met with
the new president, President Kirchner, and the new foreign minister, Foreign Minister Bielsa.
My colleague, Ambassador Zoellick, and I are working very hard on a Central American Free Trade Agreement. We're working
on a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. We're getting ready for a Mini Summit of the Americas some time next year. We
are looking forward to a variety of meetings in the course of the year. We are working with our Argentine friends on
their debt problems this summer.
President Lula has been here in the not-too-distant past, and he and President Bush had excellent conversations. And
President Bush listened to President Lula and his vision for Brazil. I have spent a great deal of time working on Plan
Colombia and the Andean Counterdrug Initiative. I have been to Colombia and met with all -- the whole leadership,
President Uribe and everyone else. I have met with the European Union to get more assistance for Colombia.
So I think the United States is hard at work in many ways working with our Latin American friends. Does it always rise
to page one news? No.
But is it important work? Is it real work? And is it work we are committed to? Yes.
Why? Because we live in the Western Hemisphere. Canada is our neighbor. Latin America is our neighbor. We are all linked
together by common values, common values that extend throughout this hemisphere, everywhere except for Cuba. Everywhere
else it is a democracy, free market, trying to figure out how it all works. And we have an obligation and a
responsibility to our Latin American friends, and this President and this Secretary of State are committed to satisfying
our obligations.
MR. GRATAS: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. Thank you.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you.