Britain’s foreign secretary believes worries over Iraq must not halt push for democracy

Eds: Miliband speech due at 1800GMT

By DAVID STRINGER

Associated Press Writer

LONDON (AP) – Western powers must continue to press for the spread of democracy – through military means if necessary - despite public concerns over wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Britain’s foreign secretary planned to say in a speech Tuesday.

David Miliband, in a lecture prepared for delivery at Oxford University, will say that debates over the legitimacy of the 2003 U.S.-led Iraq war, or poor postwar planning, must not be allowed to blunt the desire to foster democracy, particularly in the Middle East, according to excerpts of his speech released in advance.

Spreading democratic governance remains the “best long-term defense against global terrorism and conflict,” Miliband was expected to say.

“My plea is not to let divisions over those conflicts obscure our national interest, never mind our moral impulse, in supporting movements for democracy.”

The 42-year-old foreign secretary believes the rise of authoritarian powers such as China, and postelection violence in Kenya, also threatened the continued spread of democracy, according to the excerpts. Miliband will call for a new commitment from China and other emerging economies on economic transparency and tackling corruption.

He was also using the lecture, an annual talk in honor of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, to pledge renewed support for civilian led democracy movements.

“There has been a pause in democratic advance … countries with new democratic systems are struggling to establish roots. Now with the economic success of China, we can no longer take the forward march of democracy for granted.”

He planned to say while the political right, including neo-conservatives in the U.S., remained certain over the need to spread democracy, those on the left – traditionally the domain of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Labour Party – worried over the use of military means.

“In fact, the goal of spreading democracy should be a great progressive project – the means need to combine both soft and hard power.”