Remarks by Otto Reich, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
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REMARKS BY OTTO REICH, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS, AT THE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES TOPIC: U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE LOCATION: WILLARD INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, WASHINGTON, D.C. TIME: 8:35 A.M. EST DATE: TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2002 (Applause.) MR. REICH: Well, I didn't expect quite this many people either, but it's nice to see so many friends, former colleagues, unindicted coconspirators. (Laughter.) That was supposed to get a better laugh than that. (Laughter.) That was a joke. (Laughter.) It is good to be back at CSIS. As John Hamre said, I go back quite a ways at CSIS -- actually 1971. I was getting my masters at Georgetown University, and the late Jim Theberge (ph) was director of the Latin American program at CSIS, which was, at that time, still associated with Georgetown. And there was a contest or requests for proposals, or whatever you want to call it, for two Ph.D. theses and one masters thesis. And not being a scholar, frankly, I didn't think I had much of a chance. But somebody said, "Look, you might as well apply, submit a masters thesis proposal, and you get a fellowship if you are selected." Well, I was selected. And, frankly, I think that changed my career considerably, because I did spend a little bit more time studying than I had been. I had to give up a little tennis in the process. But as a result of that and many other very fortunate turns in the road, I am now in this position, and I get to speak to a group of people who know more about this subject than I do. Anyway, I'm grateful to CSIS for that important moment in my career and for this invitation here today. I also want to thank -- well, a number of people who have already been singled out, like Mike, George Forreol (ph), who had the position of director of Latin-American studies program at CSIS for a very long time and who did a very good job. And I think the kind of audience here today is an indication of George's work. I want to thank Mike Zarin (ph), who helped me with these remarks. If you like what I'm going to say, you can thank Mike. If you don't, Mike's -- it's his fault. (Laughter.) He helped put my thoughts together, frankly, much more coherently and cohesively than I could have. Well, I want to -- I do want to leave some time for questions and answers, because, with an audience like this, I think it would be, frankly, not a good use of my time to just talk to you -- or not a good use of your time. I want to try to engage in a conversation, to the extent that we have time. Let me just tell you briefly how the Bush administration feels about this region. From the very first days of the administration, President Bush and Secretary Powell have given a high priority to Latin America and the Caribbean and Canada, the entire western hemisphere. The president truly believes that our future is inextricably tied to that of our hemispheric neighbors, having been a governor of a border state, having a sister-in-law from Mexico. His brother, Jeb, is the governor of another border state, a sea border, and has lived for two years in Venezuela and speaks Spanish fluently. President Bush's first trip was to Mexico. In the first eight months of the administration, the president met with half a dozen hemispheric counterparts. His second trip was to Canada. He energetically led the U.S. participation in the April 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, where he affirmed his belief that this will be the century of the Americas. President Bush hosted President Fox at this White House's first and only state dinner so far, because it happened five days before September 11. This is a president who feels at home in this hemisphere, who feels comfortable with its leaders, who is knowledgeable of its people, its challenges, and its opportunities. And Secretary Powell shares that priority. The president and the secretary have given me the mandate and responsibility to boldly and creatively pursue this administration's highest priorities in the region. It is an honor for me to be a part of this grand endeavor, to serve this president and secretary in the noble pursuit of freedom in our home hemisphere. As he has often said himself, Secretary Powell forged an enduring relationship with many of his foreign minister colleagues, first in Quebec and then again, most dramatically, in that extremely difficult and uncertain time after the terrorists struck our great country on September 11. The secretary was in Lima, Peru, that day to sign the OAS Inter- American Democratic Charter. He often speaks of the incredible outpourings of grief and sympathy, of the pledges of support and solidarity, of the concrete steps that have resulted from those pledges, both bilaterally and collectively, via the Rio Treaty and any number of other special OAS commissions. In the aftermath of September 11, however, we began to hear some rumblings from various corners, both here at home and in the region, that the administration's commitment to the hemisphere was little more than rhetorical. There were those who expressed great uncertainty about when or even if the administration would turn its attention back to the region, and, if so, how. Let me assure that that critique of waning interest was wide of the mark. In the months immediately following that tragic day in September, this administration, from the most senior levels on down, quite rightly focused its attention and energies on the most immediate task, the safety and security of our people and our homeland. It was as inevitable as it was appropriate that prosecuting the war on terrorism would take center stage. On top of all that, there was the calamity of the president and secretary not having their nominee for assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs in place. That's me. (Laughter.) That added another challenge to boldly and creatively pursuing the president's and secretary's goal for the region. But early in the new year, as the first phase of the war on terrorism was well underway, and yours truly finally arrived in office, the administration began looking for ways to reinvigorate our Latin-American agenda, looking for ways to regain the momentum that was slowed as a result of September 11. And why? Precisely because this administration believes our future and those of our neighbors are bound together and that only through sustained and collaborative engagement can we together strengthen freedom, create and spread prosperity, and ensure every citizen of the Americas has a chance to live in peace and security. It is hard to exaggerate all that we have at stake here. Democratic, political, and economic stability in our home region reduces the scale of illegal migration, drug trafficking, terrorism, and economic turmoil and allows us to concentrate greater efforts and resources on exploiting positive opportunities, both closer to home and farther afield. It also promotes expanded trade and investment. We already sell more to Latin America and the Caribbean than to the European Union. Our trade within NAFTA is greater than that with the EU and Japan combined. We sell more to Mercosur than to China. Latin America and the Caribbean is our fastest- growing export market. But ours is also a troubled region, one that is experiencing an array of challenges. It is a region that is hurting economically, suffering the effects of the U.S. and global economic slowdown, a sharp drop in coffee and other commodity prices, natural disasters, and the post-September 11 decline in tourism and remittances. It is a region in which many citizens and some leaders are beginning to question the wisdom of the political and economic reforms on which they have embarked during the past 10 to 15 years. At a more fundamental level, however, it is a region that is experiencing the consequences of poor governance and incomplete reforms. Latin Americans, in growing numbers, are expressing discontent, not so much with democracy or the economic model their countries are pursuing, but rather with the quality of the democracy and the perceived inability of freer markets to deliver economic growth and higher standards of living. Although the region, broadly, is experiencing multiple challenges, there are bright spots, too. After a decade of reforms, the hemisphere has become increasingly integrated into the world economy. The need to trade and attract foreign investment and capital helps dissuade those tempted to pursue anti-liberal policies. Those countries -- Chile and El Salvador, just to name two - - that have stayed the course on reform -- maintaining fiscal discipline, liberalizing trade regimes, privatizing inefficient state industries, deregulating internal markets, and investing in their own people -- are weathering the economic downturn better than most. For their parts, Uruguay and Costa Rica are islands of relative political, social, and economic stability. Although many challenges to market economics and representative democracy will persist and could get more difficult as the global economy continues to sputter, there are no credible alternative models on the horizon. Our challenge is to work with Latin-American leaders and their citizens to improve the quality of their democracy and the ability of freer markets to deliver on reform's promises. The president's trip to Mexico, Peru, and El Salvador next week is a concrete manifestation of the administration's commitment to the region.