“We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the
mercy of bullies.”
President George W. Bush in his Second Inaugural Address, Jan. 20.
“Q: I wonder if here and now, you will specifically condemn this abuse of human rights by a key American ally. And if you won’t, sir, then what, in a practical sense, do your fine words mean?
President Bush: I’m unaware of the case … I appreciate His Majesty’s understanding of the need for democracy to advance in the greater Middle East. We visited with him at the G8, and he has been a strong advocate of the advance of freedom and democracy.”
Presidential press conference Jan. 26. President Bush is asked to comment on the arrest of a pro-democracy activist in Jordan.