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...governments; and, work for the empowerment of individuals. Without trying to claim that we have reached all of our goals for the Western Hemisphere there is still much to do I would like to go over some of the progress that has been made since my last visit here.
But before I do, I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my personal thanks and that of the people of the United States for the support being provided by our neighbors in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It is truly humbling to see the many offers of support that are coming in, often from countries that themselves have been recent victims of hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Now, on the subject of U.S. relations with the Western Hemisphere, if you follow only what you read in the newspapers, you would likely conclude that we have done little or nothing except to verbally spar with Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. To be sure, Castro and Chavez represent the polar opposite of progress in the hemisphere. However, our focus is much broader, focusing on our positive and constructive vision for our neighborhood.
If we had all been together in this room five years ago, I suspect we would have agreed on several critical objectives that we would have wanted to achieve in order to advance freedom and prosperity in the region.
* We would have noted that there were fewer violent conflicts in the region, but we would have vowed to work to bring peace and security to all countries in the region.
* We would have highlighted the need to get corruption under control and make governments more responsive and transparent.
* We would have wanted to break down trade barriers and promote investment.
* We would have talked about the need to raise education levels throughout the hemisphere.
* We most certainly would have called for strengthened democracy and the rule of law in every country in the...
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