Remarks at Ceremony Awarding Major Non-NATO Ally Status to Kuwait

Thank you, Secretary Rumsfeld. Esteemed colleagues from Kuwait, ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to represent Secretary Powell, who wanted to be here himself, but was called to service out of the country. I do bring with me today his highest regards for the people of Kuwait as we mark this important occasion.

“Major Non NATO Ally” is a distinction the President of the United States confers on very few countries. Joining together in this fashion as formal allies conveys not only the deepest respect but also durable responsibilities. And that is entirely appropriate. Indeed, today we are not truly embarking on a new relationship, we are recognizing a longstanding and strong partnership, one founded on mutual strategic interests and long-term security and forged in the hot fires of war and liberation.

The regime of Saddam Hussein was horrific for the people of Iraq and it may well take generations for the scar tissue to form over that country’s open wounds. But Iraq’s agony has been painful for all our people, as well. Indeed, for Kuwait, the full cost of enduring a hostile occupation can never truly be calculated, nor can the value of all the lives lost. But today and soon under a sovereign and free Iraqi government we will continue to do all we can to account for the disappeared, to compensate the people of Kuwait for the misery they endured, and to reassure them that the past will never be repeated.

I understand there is an Arab proverb that says: “for every glance behind us, we must look twice to the future.” And so, while we will never forget all of the suffering of the last 13 years, we now must focus our vision on the future. Indeed, scores of nations are working together to build a future of peace and prosperity for the region. The United States will continue to push for success as the anchor of that great coalition and, little more than a decade after its own liberation, Kuwait is leading the way and serving as an example to all its neighbors. I want to offer the gratitude of the American people for Kuwait’s considerable moral and material contributions to our shared interest in a free Iraq and regional stability.

Our two nations stood by each other at great national sacrifice through years of war. Today, we must be prepared to do all that is necessary to secure a lasting peace. And so as we turn to face the future, we will stand together as we always have. From this day forward, we will stand as allies.