Condi's stump speech?
(Rice's speech before the Southern Baptist Conference -- a very unusual venue for a Secretary of State, unless she's about to get involved in domestic politics.)
....
Our world needs America's leadership now more than ever. As we celebrate our freedom here today, our thoughts turn to the many people throughout the world who are not as fortunate as we are. We're mindful that many men and women beyond our shores still live at the mercy of thieves and thugs and petty tyrants. We're mindful that many still suffer from scourges like poverty and disease that are offensive to human dignity. And of course we're mindful that too many people of faith can only whisper to God in the silent sanctuaries of their conscience because they fear persecution for their religious beliefs. These are tragedies. These are tragedies, but they are also threats in the making. For in today's world, we have learned that whenever freedom and tolerance are on the march, we are secure. But when these ideals are in retreat we are vulnerable. As long as governments practice and propagate hatred, as long as half of the human race lives on less than $2 a day, as long as entire countries remain sources of rage and stagnation, our world will neither be stable, nor just.
So here, ladies and gentlemen, is the choice before our country, before us as Americans. Will we lead in the world or will we withdraw? Will we rise to the challenges of our time or will we shrink from them? America is a country of vast wealth and power, to be sure. But just as important, we are a nation of great compassion and conscience and democratic principle. So as we consider our future role in the world, we must reflect on some important questions. We must ask ourselves: If not for America, who would rally other nations to conscience to the international defense of religious liberty?
President Bush has made clear that the best relations with the United States are reserved for those governments that respect the beliefs of their people. When you go to a place like China as I have and you sit in a church with Chinese Christians, you cannot help but marvel at their faith and their courage. If America does not rally support for people everywhere who desire to worship in peace and freedom then I ask you: Who will? (Applause.)
You see, religious freedom is an issue that demands moral clarity. And ladies and gentlemen, America's message could not be clearer. Government simply has no right to stand between the individual and the All Mighty. (Applause.) If not for America, who would rally a great coalition and work to end the horrific international crime of human trafficking? Slavery did not end in the 19th century. It remains a tragic reality for thousands of people, mostly women and young girls, who are stolen and beaten and bought and sold like freight.
Under President Bush's leadership, the United States has launched a new abolitionist movement to end the illicit trade in human beings. (Applause.) We are rooting out the perpetrators and helping to care for their victims. We are calling to account any nation that turns a blind eye to human trafficking. And we have made this promise to every person still held captive. So long as America has anything to say about it, slavery will have no place in the modern world. (Applause.)
If not for America, who would rally likeminded countries in the global fights against HIV/AIDS? As Southern Baptists, you are not new to this struggle. You are a part of a vast international coalition that aims to turn the tide. And Americans are, by far, the largest contributor to these global efforts.
Three years ago, President Bush decided to do even more, so he launched the largest international effort by one nation to combat a single disease. Today with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief, America is spreading the message of prevention -- the ABC method. We are enabling men and women to live with the disease and we are providing care to many of the orphans who are left behind. The fight against HIV/AIDS is one of the great moral causes of the 21st century and America is answering the call. (Applause.)
If not for America, who would rally other compassionate countries to support peace and justice in Sudan? It was our diplomacy that helped to end Sudan's civil war between North and South which claimed the lives of more than two million people. Now we are working to ease the suffering and end the violence in Darfur. The United States helped to pave the way by signing -- to the signing of a peace agreement last month. We are providing nearly all of the food aid that is being sent to the people of Darfur and we are working to increase security under a UN peacekeeping mission.
Ladies and gentlemen, I've visited the camps in Darfur. I've spoken with the people. I've seen abused women and young children who have endured a kind of suffering that few of us can fathom. For the sake of peace, for the sake of justice, and for the sake of human dignity, we will help the people of Darfur experience peace and freedom. We will help them. (Applause.) We will help the people of Darfur to rebuild their lives. We will help them to return to their homes because no child deserves to grow up in a refugee camp. (Applause.)
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, we must consider one further question which is this: If not for America, who would rally freedom-loving nations to defend liberty and democracy in our world? Nearly five years after the tragedy of September 11th, the United States is leading a great coalition of countries in a global war on terrorism. When possible, we are bringing terrorists to justice. And when necessary, we are bringing justice to the terrorists. (Applause.) This is the fate that our troops delivered last week to the terrorist Zarqawi and now he will never harm, he will never murder, he will never terrorize innocent people again. (Applause.) That is what America stands for. (Applause.)
Yet, we must do more than just capture or kill individual terrorists and we're doing that. We're striking at the very source of terror itself by summoning a vision of hope that outshines any ideology of hatred. The United States is supporting the democratic aspirations of all people, regardless of their culture or their race or their religion. We are leading the cause of freedom not because we believe that free peoples will always agree with us. They will not. That is their right and America will defend that right. We are doing this because we believe, and because we are seeing our belief confirmed, that all people deserve to and desire to live in freedom. (Applause.)
You see, human beings share certain basic aspirations. They want to choose those who are going to govern them. They want a good job, an education, protection from injustice, the freedom to worship as they please, the future that will be better for their children. We are standing with people everywhere who desire these fundamental freedoms. We're standing with them all across the Middle East and we're standing with them shoulder-to-shoulder in Afghanistan and in Iraq. In those two countries alone, we have given more than 55 million people an opportunity to flourish in freedom, not a guarantee of success but a chance. A chance to lift up democratic institutions that reflect their own cultures and customs, a chance to experience justice under laws of their own making and a chance to change the character of their countries and of their region.
This mission has been extremely difficult. I know it's been far more difficult than many of us imagined it would be. And I realize how hard it can be to remain hopeful when we hear of death squads and beheadings and sectarian strife in Iraq and when we see the daily devastation of evil people killing the innocent. And it's hard; it's especially hard when we remember our men and women in uniform who have made the ultimate sacrifice. (Applause.)
Yet, as we mourn each and every one of these lives, we also affirm that the goal of democracy in Iraq is worth the cost and worth the sacrifice. Just yesterday, we saw a powerful reminder of that fact. As I sat at Camp David yesterday, watching the President of the United States embrace the duly-elected Prime Minister of a free Iraq, I thought to myself; who would have thought that's possible only a few years ago? Who could have imagined that these two democratic leaders would be standing together in Baghdad in the very same palace where Saddam Hussein and his henchmen conducted their tyranny, plundered their country and condemned thousands, hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis to death?
(This is a partial excerpt. The entire speech is here.)
....
Our world needs America's leadership now more than ever. As we celebrate our freedom here today, our thoughts turn to the many people throughout the world who are not as fortunate as we are. We're mindful that many men and women beyond our shores still live at the mercy of thieves and thugs and petty tyrants. We're mindful that many still suffer from scourges like poverty and disease that are offensive to human dignity. And of course we're mindful that too many people of faith can only whisper to God in the silent sanctuaries of their conscience because they fear persecution for their religious beliefs. These are tragedies. These are tragedies, but they are also threats in the making. For in today's world, we have learned that whenever freedom and tolerance are on the march, we are secure. But when these ideals are in retreat we are vulnerable. As long as governments practice and propagate hatred, as long as half of the human race lives on less than $2 a day, as long as entire countries remain sources of rage and stagnation, our world will neither be stable, nor just.
So here, ladies and gentlemen, is the choice before our country, before us as Americans. Will we lead in the world or will we withdraw? Will we rise to the challenges of our time or will we shrink from them? America is a country of vast wealth and power, to be sure. But just as important, we are a nation of great compassion and conscience and democratic principle. So as we consider our future role in the world, we must reflect on some important questions. We must ask ourselves: If not for America, who would rally other nations to conscience to the international defense of religious liberty?
President Bush has made clear that the best relations with the United States are reserved for those governments that respect the beliefs of their people. When you go to a place like China as I have and you sit in a church with Chinese Christians, you cannot help but marvel at their faith and their courage. If America does not rally support for people everywhere who desire to worship in peace and freedom then I ask you: Who will? (Applause.)
You see, religious freedom is an issue that demands moral clarity. And ladies and gentlemen, America's message could not be clearer. Government simply has no right to stand between the individual and the All Mighty. (Applause.) If not for America, who would rally a great coalition and work to end the horrific international crime of human trafficking? Slavery did not end in the 19th century. It remains a tragic reality for thousands of people, mostly women and young girls, who are stolen and beaten and bought and sold like freight.
Under President Bush's leadership, the United States has launched a new abolitionist movement to end the illicit trade in human beings. (Applause.) We are rooting out the perpetrators and helping to care for their victims. We are calling to account any nation that turns a blind eye to human trafficking. And we have made this promise to every person still held captive. So long as America has anything to say about it, slavery will have no place in the modern world. (Applause.)
If not for America, who would rally likeminded countries in the global fights against HIV/AIDS? As Southern Baptists, you are not new to this struggle. You are a part of a vast international coalition that aims to turn the tide. And Americans are, by far, the largest contributor to these global efforts.
Three years ago, President Bush decided to do even more, so he launched the largest international effort by one nation to combat a single disease. Today with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief, America is spreading the message of prevention -- the ABC method. We are enabling men and women to live with the disease and we are providing care to many of the orphans who are left behind. The fight against HIV/AIDS is one of the great moral causes of the 21st century and America is answering the call. (Applause.)
If not for America, who would rally other compassionate countries to support peace and justice in Sudan? It was our diplomacy that helped to end Sudan's civil war between North and South which claimed the lives of more than two million people. Now we are working to ease the suffering and end the violence in Darfur. The United States helped to pave the way by signing -- to the signing of a peace agreement last month. We are providing nearly all of the food aid that is being sent to the people of Darfur and we are working to increase security under a UN peacekeeping mission.
Ladies and gentlemen, I've visited the camps in Darfur. I've spoken with the people. I've seen abused women and young children who have endured a kind of suffering that few of us can fathom. For the sake of peace, for the sake of justice, and for the sake of human dignity, we will help the people of Darfur experience peace and freedom. We will help them. (Applause.) We will help the people of Darfur to rebuild their lives. We will help them to return to their homes because no child deserves to grow up in a refugee camp. (Applause.)
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, we must consider one further question which is this: If not for America, who would rally freedom-loving nations to defend liberty and democracy in our world? Nearly five years after the tragedy of September 11th, the United States is leading a great coalition of countries in a global war on terrorism. When possible, we are bringing terrorists to justice. And when necessary, we are bringing justice to the terrorists. (Applause.) This is the fate that our troops delivered last week to the terrorist Zarqawi and now he will never harm, he will never murder, he will never terrorize innocent people again. (Applause.) That is what America stands for. (Applause.)
Yet, we must do more than just capture or kill individual terrorists and we're doing that. We're striking at the very source of terror itself by summoning a vision of hope that outshines any ideology of hatred. The United States is supporting the democratic aspirations of all people, regardless of their culture or their race or their religion. We are leading the cause of freedom not because we believe that free peoples will always agree with us. They will not. That is their right and America will defend that right. We are doing this because we believe, and because we are seeing our belief confirmed, that all people deserve to and desire to live in freedom. (Applause.)
You see, human beings share certain basic aspirations. They want to choose those who are going to govern them. They want a good job, an education, protection from injustice, the freedom to worship as they please, the future that will be better for their children. We are standing with people everywhere who desire these fundamental freedoms. We're standing with them all across the Middle East and we're standing with them shoulder-to-shoulder in Afghanistan and in Iraq. In those two countries alone, we have given more than 55 million people an opportunity to flourish in freedom, not a guarantee of success but a chance. A chance to lift up democratic institutions that reflect their own cultures and customs, a chance to experience justice under laws of their own making and a chance to change the character of their countries and of their region.
This mission has been extremely difficult. I know it's been far more difficult than many of us imagined it would be. And I realize how hard it can be to remain hopeful when we hear of death squads and beheadings and sectarian strife in Iraq and when we see the daily devastation of evil people killing the innocent. And it's hard; it's especially hard when we remember our men and women in uniform who have made the ultimate sacrifice. (Applause.)
Yet, as we mourn each and every one of these lives, we also affirm that the goal of democracy in Iraq is worth the cost and worth the sacrifice. Just yesterday, we saw a powerful reminder of that fact. As I sat at Camp David yesterday, watching the President of the United States embrace the duly-elected Prime Minister of a free Iraq, I thought to myself; who would have thought that's possible only a few years ago? Who could have imagined that these two democratic leaders would be standing together in Baghdad in the very same palace where Saddam Hussein and his henchmen conducted their tyranny, plundered their country and condemned thousands, hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis to death?
(This is a partial excerpt. The entire speech is here.)
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