|  | |  | Friday, March 19, 2004 |
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Iraq
President Bush (Mar. 19): "One year ago, military forces of a strong coalition entered Iraq.... Today, as Iraqis join the free peoples of the world, we mark a turning point for the Middle East, and a crucial advance for human liberty. ...every nation now has an interest in a free, successful, stable Iraq." [more]
Middle East
Deputy Secretary Armitage (Mar. 18): "We understand and respect several things: First of all, each of the states in the Middle East have a unique culture and a unique history, and it's to be valued and treasured. Second of all, there are already, in every state in the region, varying degrees of reform. . . . And our view is that where there is reform, then we, in the international community, should be willing to assist it, and aid it, and help it, but in no way can we direct it." [full text]
 Women's History Month
Beth Payne, U.S. Consul in Baghdad, assists and protects American citizens in Iraq and facilitates travel to the U.S. She has been in Baghdad since June 2003. Learn more about careers at the State Department, including registration for the Apr. 24 Foreign Service Written Exam.
 CultureConnect Ambassador Mary Wilson
CultureConnect is an exchange program focused on young audiences ages 12-25. Through this program, American volunteers -- prominent in the worlds of music, theater, sports, and literature -- visit foreign countries to engage with young people and undertake projects in their areas of accomplishment. Mary Wilson, who left the slums of Detroit to become part of the most successful female singing group in recording history -- the Supremes -- is a CultureConnect Ambassador and is now on a trip to Oman, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, where she reached out to children in some of Dhaka's poorest neighborhoods.
| | |  | |  The Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs has released the first edition of "WHA In Focus," a newsletter about issues and events in the hemisphere. The first edition highlights the events surrounding the resignation of Haiti's former president Jean Bertrand Aristide.
The U.S. and Honduras are working together to protect Honduras' pre-Columbian heritage.
| | Under Secretary Dobriansky addressed freedom, health, and prosperity in remarks to the Helms International Diplomacy Lecture.
New "Country Background Notes" released for Greece, Latvia, Macedonia, and Sudan.
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