Since the days of Peter the Great, Russians have been maybe Europeans who didn’t share in the enlightenment and the reformation, or are they Mongol Asians with the European veneer. And they’ve gone back and forth.
BRENT SCOWCROFTSince the days of Peter the Great, Russians have been maybe Europeans who didn’t share in the enlightenment and the reformation, or are they Mongol Asians with the European veneer. And they’ve gone back and forth.
BRENT SCOWCROFTIt is beyond dispute that Saddam Hussein is a menace.
BRENT SCOWCROFTSaddam’s ouster will not necessarily lead to the same result, since Iraq lacks democratic traditions. Democracy doesn’t just consist of holding elections.
BRENT SCOWCROFTAfter all, we didn’t bring democracy to Germany in 1945; Hitler destroyed democracy there first.
BRENT SCOWCROFTThe Iraqis need help establishing a government. We have to provide them with security.
BRENT SCOWCROFTI think America has to do more than be a broker now. Because both the Palestinians are weak and Israel is very weak.
BRENT SCOWCROFTBut the central point is that any campaign against Iraq, whatever the strategy, cost and risks, is certain to divert us for some indefinite period from our war on terrorism.
BRENT SCOWCROFTI don’t think the Chinese look out at the world and want to overturn the system.
BRENT SCOWCROFTWho is the guarantor, if there is one, of a more stable world? It’s the United States.
BRENT SCOWCROFTThe radical elements in Islam are very dangerous. They want to achieve a return to the Islamic purity of the Middle Ages.
BRENT SCOWCROFTAmerica wants to work with friends, with allies, with people of good will, to make this a better world.
BRENT SCOWCROFTYes, Israel’s our ally. But, are the Palestinians our enemy? No, they are not.
BRENT SCOWCROFTMuch of what we know about mathematics and trade comes from the Arabs. Then came stagnation, and now they’re the West’s whipping boy. This is a problem that cannot be solved overnight, and certainly not militarily.
BRENT SCOWCROFTTo sum up, the position we took was that since we didn’t know the internal situation in Iraq nor Saddam Hussein, that our best bet was to take counsel from the people who did know him and who did deal with him.
BRENT SCOWCROFTRussia right now is searching for its soul. It’s trying to figure out what it really is.
BRENT SCOWCROFTMy point was that removing Saddam should not have been our highest priority. Fighting terrorism should have been our number one concern, followed by the Palestinian peace process.
BRENT SCOWCROFT