[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 130 (Friday, October 7, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2066-E2068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PRESIDENT DISCUSSES WAR ON TERROR AT NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 2005

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, President Bush 
addressed supporters of the National Endowment for Democracy about the 
War on Terrorism. As he spoke at the Ronald Reagan International Trade 
Center about our country's continued efforts to spread democracy and 
defeat terrorism around the globe, I was reminded of the tremendous 
parallels between the 40th and 43rd Presidents of the United States.
  Over 20 years ago, Ronald Reagan advanced the idea of peace through 
strength. Today, we are witnessing the greatest spread of freedom in 
the history of the world. I am grateful for President Bush's leadership 
and his continued commitment to turning Ronald Regan's vision into a 
reality.
  Please see the following copy of President Bush's speech.

       The President: Thank you all. Thank you all. Please be 
     seated. Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm honored once 
     again to be with the supporters of the National Endowment for 
     Democracy. Since the day President Ronald Reagan set out the 
     vision for this Endowment, the world has seen the swiftest 
     advance of democratic institutions in history. And Americans 
     are proud to have played our role in this great story.
       Our nation stood guard on tense borders; we spoke for the 
     rights of dissidents and the hopes of exile; we aided the 
     rise of new democracies on the ruins of tyranny. And all the 
     cost and sacrifice of that struggle has been worth it, 
     because, from Latin America to Europe to Asia, we've gained 
     the peace that freedom brings.
       In this new century, freedom is once again assaulted by 
     enemies determined to roll back generations of democratic 
     progress. Once again, we're responding to a global campaign 
     of fear with a global campaign of freedom. And once again, we 
     will see freedom's victory.
       Vin, I want to thank you for inviting me back. And thank 
     you for the short introduction. I appreciate Carl Gershman. I 
     want to welcome former Congressman Dick Gephardt, who is a 
     board member of the National Endowment for Democracy. It's 
     good to see you, Dick. And I appreciate Chris Cox, who is the 
     Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and 
     a board member for the National Endowment of Democracy, for 
     being here, as well. I want to thank all the other board 
     members.
       I appreciate the Secretary of State, Condi Rice, who has 
     joined us--alongside her, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld. 
     Thank you all for being here. I'm proud, as well, that the 
     newly sworn-in Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the first Marine 
     ever to hold that position, is with us today--General Peter 
     Pace. I thank the members of the Diplomatic Corps who are 
     here, as well.
       Recently our country observed the fourth anniversary of a 
     great evil, and looked back on a great turning point in our 
     history. We still remember a proud city covered in smoke and 
     ashes, a fire across the Potomac, and passengers who spent 
     their final moments on Earth fighting the enemy. We still 
     remember the men who rejoiced in every death, and Americans 
     in uniform rising to duty. And we remember the calling that 
     came to us on that day, and continues to this hour: We will 
     confront this mortal danger to all humanity. We will not 
     tire, or rest, until the war on terror is won.
       The images and experience of September the 11th are unique 
     for Americans. Yet the evil of that morning has reappeared on 
     other days, in other places--in Mombasa, and Casablanca, and 
     Riyadh, and Jakarta, and Istanbul, and Madrid, and Beslan, 
     and Taba, and Netanya, and Baghdad, and elsewhere. In the 
     past few months, we've seen a new terror offensive with 
     attacks on London, and Sharm el-Sheikh, and a deadly bombing 
     in Bali once again. All these separate images of destruction 
     and suffering that we see on the news can seem like random 
     and isolated acts of madness; innocent men and women and 
     children have died simply because they boarded the wrong 
     train, or worked in the wrong building, or checked into the 
     wrong hotel. Yet while the killers choose their victims 
     indiscriminately, their attacks serve a clear and focused 
     ideology, a set of beliefs and goals that are evil, but not 
     insane.
       Some call this evil Islamic radicalism; others, militant 
     Jihadism; still others, Islamo-fascism. Whatever it's called, 
     this ideology is very different from the religion of Islam. 
     This form of radicalism exploits Islam to serve a violent, 
     political vision: the establishment, by terrorism and 
     subversion and insurgency, of a totalitarian empire that 
     denies all political and religious freedom. These extremists 
     distort the idea of jihad into a call for terrorist murder 
     against Christians and Jews and Hindus--and also against 
     Muslims from other traditions, who they regard as heretics.
       Many militants are part of global, borderless terrorist 
     organizations like al Qaeda, which spreads propaganda, and 
     provides financing and technical assistance to local 
     extremists, and conducts dramatic and brutal operations like 
     September the 11th. Other militants are found in regional 
     groups, often associated with al Qaeda--paramilitary 
     insurgencies and separatist movements in places like Somalia, 
     and the Philippines, and Pakistan, and Chechnya, and Kashmir, 
     and Algeria. Still others spring up in local cells, inspired 
     by Islamic radicalism, but not centrally directed. Islamic 
     radicalism is more like a loose network with many branches 
     than an army under a single command. Yet these operatives, 
     fighting on scattered battlefields, share a similar ideology 
     and vision for our world.
       We know the vision of the radicals because they've openly 
     stated it--in videos, and audiotapes, and letters, and 
     declarations, and websites. First, these extremists want to 
     end American and Western influence in the broader Middle 
     East, because we stand for democracy and peace, and stand in 
     the way of their ambitions. Al Qaeda's leader, Osama bin 
     Laden, has called on Muslims to dedicate, quote, their 
     ``resources, sons and money to driving the infidels out of 
     their lands.'' Their tactic to meet this goal has been 
     consistent for a quarter-century: They hit us, and expect us 
     to run. They want us to repeat the sad history of Beirut in 
     1983, and Mogadishu in 1993--only this time on a larger 
     scale, with greater consequences.
       Second, the militant network wants to use the vacuum 
     created by an American retreat to gain control of a country, 
     a base from which to launch attacks and conduct their war 
     against non-radical Muslim governments. Over the past few 
     decades, radicals have specifically targeted Egypt, and Saudi 
     Arabia, and Pakistan, and Jordan for potential takeover. They 
     achieved their goal, for a time, in Afghanistan. Now they've 
     set their sights on Iraq. Bin Laden has stated: ``The whole 
     world is watching this war and the two adversaries. It's 
     either victory and glory, or misery and humiliation.'' The 
     terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in their war 
     against humanity. And we must recognize Iraq as the 
     central front in our war on terror.
       Third, the militants believe that controlling one country 
     will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all 
     moderate governments in the region, and establish a radical 
     Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia. With 
     greater economic and military and political power, the 
     terrorists would be able to advance their stated agenda: to 
     develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to 
     intimidate Europe, to assault the American people, and to 
     blackmail our government into isolation.
       Some might be tempted to dismiss these goals as fanatical 
     or extreme. Well, they are fanatical and extreme--and they 
     should not be dismissed. Our enemy is utterly committed. As 
     Zarqawi has vowed, ``We will either achieve victory over the 
     human race or

[[Page E2067]]

     we will pass to the eternal life.'' And the civilized world 
     knows very well that other fanatics in history, from Hitler 
     to Stalin to Pol Pot, consumed whole nations in war and 
     genocide before leaving the stage of history. Evil men, 
     obsessed with ambition and unburdened by conscience, must be 
     taken very seriously--and we must stop them before their 
     crimes can multiply.
       Defeating the militant network is difficult, because it 
     thrives, like a parasite, on the suffering and frustration of 
     others. The radicals exploit local conflicts to build a 
     culture of victimization, in which someone else is always to 
     blame and violence is always the solution. They exploit 
     resentful and disillusioned young men and women, recruiting 
     them through radical mosques as the pawns of terror. And they 
     exploit modern technology to multiply their destructive 
     power. Instead of attending faraway training camps, recruits 
     can now access online training libraries to learn how to 
     build a roadside bomb, or fire a rocket-propelled grenade--
     and this further spreads the threat of violence, even within 
     peaceful democratic societies.
       The influence of Islamic radicalism is also magnified by 
     helpers and enablers. They have been sheltered by 
     authoritarian regimes, allies of convenience like Syria and 
     Iran, that share the goal of hurting America and moderate 
     Muslim governments, and use terrorist propaganda to blame 
     their own failures on the West and America, and on the Jews. 
     These radicals depend on front operations, such as corrupted 
     charities, which direct money to terrorist activity. They're 
     strengthened by those who aggressively fund the spread of 
     radical, intolerant versions of Islam in unstable parts of 
     the world. The militants are aided, as well, by elements of 
     the Arab news media that incite hatred and anti-Semitism, 
     that feed conspiracy theories and speak of a so-called 
     American ``war on Islam''--with seldom a word about American 
     action to protect Muslims in Afghanistan, and Bosnia, 
     Somalia, Kosovo, Kuwait, and Iraq.
       Some have also argued that extremism has been strengthened 
     by the actions of our coalition in Iraq, claiming that our 
     presence in that country has somehow caused or triggered the 
     rage of radicals. I would remind them that we were not in 
     Iraq on September the 11th, 2001--and al Qaeda attacked us 
     anyway. The hatred of the radicals existed before Iraq was an 
     issue, and it will exist after Iraq is no longer an excuse. 
     The government of Russia did not support Operation Iraqi 
     Freedom, and yet the militants killed more than 180 Russian 
     schoolchildren in Beslan.
       Over the years these extremists have used a litany of 
     excuses for violence--the Israeli presence on the West Bank, 
     or the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia, or the defeat 
     of the Taliban, or the Crusades of a thousand years ago. In 
     fact, we're not facing a set of grievances that can be 
     soothed and addressed. We're facing a radical ideology with 
     inalterable objectives: to enslave whole nations and 
     intimidate the world. No act of ours invited the rage of 
     the killers--and no concession, bribe, or act of 
     appeasement would change or limit their plans for murder.
       On the contrary: They target nations whose behavior they 
     believe they can change through violence. Against such an 
     enemy, there is only one effective response: We will never 
     back down, never give in, and never accept anything less than 
     complete victory.
       The murderous ideology of the Islamic radicals is the great 
     challenge of our new century. Yet, in many ways, this fight 
     resembles the struggle against communism in the last century. 
     Like the ideology of communism, Islamic radicalism is 
     elitist, led by a self-appointed vanguard that presumes to 
     speak for the Muslim masses. Bin Laden says his own role is 
     to tell Muslims, quote, ``what is good for them and what is 
     not.'' And what this man who grew up in wealth and privilege 
     considers good for poor Muslims is that they become killers 
     and suicide bombers. He assures them that his--that this is 
     the road to paradise--though he never offers to go along for 
     the ride.
       Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy teaches that 
     innocent individuals can be sacrificed to serve a political 
     vision. And this explains their cold-blooded contempt for 
     human life. We've seen it in the murders of Daniel Pearl, 
     Nicholas Berg, and Margaret Hassan, and many others. In a 
     courtroom in the Netherlands, the killer of Theo Van Gogh 
     turned to the victim's grieving mother and said, ``I do not 
     feel your pain--because I believe you are an infidel.'' And 
     in spite of this veneer of religious rhetoric, most of the 
     victims claimed by the militants are fellow Muslims.
       When 25 Iraqi children are killed in a bombing, or Iraqi 
     teachers are executed at their school, or hospital workers 
     are killed caring for the wounded, this is murder, pure and 
     simple--the total rejection of justice and honor and morality 
     and religion. These militants are not just the enemies of 
     America, or the enemies of Iraq, they are the enemies of 
     Islam and the enemies of humanity. We have seen this kind of 
     shameless cruelty before, in the heartless zealotry that led 
     to the gulags, and the Cultural Revolution, and the killing 
     fields.
       Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy pursues 
     totalitarian aims. Its leaders pretend to be an aggrieved 
     party, representing the powerless against imperial enemies. 
     In truth they have endless ambitions of imperial domination, 
     and they wish to make everyone powerless except themselves. 
     Under their rule, they have banned books, and desecrated 
     historical monuments, and brutalized women. They seek to end 
     dissent in every form, and to control every aspect of life, 
     and to rule the soul, itself. While promising a future of 
     justice and holiness, the terrorists are preparing for a 
     future of oppression and misery.
       Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy is dismissive 
     of free peoples, claiming that men and women who live in 
     liberty are weak and decadent. Zarqawi has said that 
     Americans are, quote, ``the most cowardly of God's 
     creatures.'' But let's be clear: It is cowardice that seeks 
     to kill children and the elderly with car bombs, and cuts the 
     throat of a bound captive, and targets worshipers leaving a 
     mosque. It is courage that liberated more than 50 million 
     people. It is courage that keeps an untiring vigil against 
     the enemies of a rising* * *.
       And Islamic radicalism, like the ideology of communism, 
     contains inherent contradictions that doom it to failure. By 
     fearing freedom--by distrusting human creativity, and 
     punishing change, and limiting the contributions of half the 
     population--this ideology undermines the very qualities that 
     make human progress possible, and human societies successful. 
     The only thing modern about the militants' vision is the 
     weapons they want to use against us. The rest of their grim 
     vision is defined by a warped image of the past--a 
     declaration of war on the idea of progress, itself. And 
     whatever lies ahead in the war against this ideology, the 
     outcome is not in doubt: Those who despise freedom and 
     progress have condemned themselves to isolation, decline, 
     and collapse. Because free peoples believe in the future, 
     free peoples will own the future.
       We didn't ask for this global struggle, but we're answering 
     history's call with confidence, and a comprehensive strategy. 
     Defeating a broad and adaptive network requires patience, 
     constant pressure, and strong partners in Europe, the Middle 
     East, North Africa, Asia and beyond. Working with these 
     partners, we're disrupting militant conspiracies, destroying 
     their ability to make war, and working to give millions in a 
     troubled region of the world a hopeful alternative to 
     resentment and violence.
       First, we're determined to prevent the attacks of terrorist 
     networks before they occur. We're reorganizing our government 
     to give this nation a broad and coordinated homeland defense. 
     We're reforming our intelligence agencies for the incredibly 
     difficult task of tracking enemy activity, based on 
     information that often comes in small fragments from widely 
     scattered sources, here and abroad. We're acting, along with 
     the governments from many countries, to destroy the terrorist 
     networks and incapacitate their leaders. Together, we've 
     killed or captured nearly all of those directly responsible 
     for the September the 11th attacks; as well as some of bin 
     Laden's most senior deputies; al Qaeda managers and 
     operatives in more than 24 countries; the mastermind of the 
     USS Cole bombing, who was chief of al Qaeda operations in the 
     Persian Gulf; the mastermind of the Jakarta and the first 
     Bali bombings; a senior Zarqawi terrorist planner, who was 
     planning attacks in Turkey; and many of al Qaeda's senior 
     leaders in Saudi Arabia.
       Overall, the United States and our partners have disrupted 
     at least ten serious al Qaeda terrorist plots since September 
     the 11th, including three al Qaeda plots to attack inside the 
     United States. We've stopped at least five more al Qaeda 
     efforts to case targets in the United States, or infiltrate 
     operatives into our country. Because of this steady progress, 
     the enemy is wounded--but the enemy is still capable of 
     global operations. Our commitment is clear: We will not 
     relent until the organized international terror networks are 
     exposed and broken, and their leaders held to account for 
     their acts of murder.
       Second, we're determined to deny weapons of mass 
     destruction to outlaw regimes, and to their terrorist allies 
     who would use them without hesitation. The United States, 
     working with Great Britain, Pakistan, and other nations, has 
     exposed and disrupted a major black-market operation in 
     nuclear technology led by A.Q. Khan. Libya has abandoned its 
     chemical and nuclear weapons programs, as well as long-range 
     ballistic missiles. And in the last year, America and our 
     partners in the Proliferation Security Initiative have 
     stopped more than a dozen shipments of suspected weapons 
     technology, including equipment for Iran's ballistic missile 
     program.
       This progress has reduced the danger to free nations, but 
     has not removed it. Evil men who want to use horrendous 
     weapons against us are working in deadly earnest to gain 
     them. And we're working urgently to keep weapons of mass 
     destruction out of their hands.
       Third, we're determined to deny radical groups the support 
     and sanctuary of outlaw regimes. State sponsors like Syria 
     and Iran have a long history of collaboration with 
     terrorists, and they deserve no patience from the victims of 
     terror. The United States makes no distinction between those 
     who commit acts of terror and those who support and harbor 
     them, because they're equally as guilty of murder. Any 
     government that chooses to be an ally of terror has also 
     chosen to be an enemy of civilization. And the civilized 
     world must hold those regimes to account.
       Fourth, we're determined to deny the militants control of 
     any nation, which they

[[Page E2068]]

     would use as a home base and a launching pad for terror. For 
     this reason, we're fighting beside our Afghan partners 
     against remnants of the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies. 
     For this reason, we're working with President Musharraf to 
     oppose and isolate the militants in Pakistan. And for this 
     reason, we're fighting the regime remnants and terrorists in 
     Iraq. The terrorist goal is to overthrow a rising democracy, 
     claim a strategic country as a haven for terror, destabilize 
     the Middle East, and strike America and other free nations 
     with ever-increasing violence. Our goal is to defeat the 
     terrorists and their allies at the heart of their power--and 
     so we will defeat the enemy in Iraq.
       Our coalition, along with our Iraqi allies, is moving 
     forward with a comprehensive, specific military plan. Area by 
     area, city by city, we're conducting offensive operations to 
     clear out enemy forces, and leaving behind Iraqi units to 
     prevent the enemy from returning. Within these areas, we're 
     working for tangible improvements in the lives of Iraqi 
     citizens. And we're aiding the rise of an elected government 
     that unites the Iraqi people against extremism and violence. 
     This work involves great risk for Iraqis, and for Americans 
     and coalition forces. Wars are not won without sacrifice--and 
     this war will require more sacrifice, more time, and more 
     resolve.
       The terrorists are as brutal an enemy as we've ever faced. 
     They're unconstrained by any notion of our common humanity, 
     or by the rules of warfare. No one should underestimate the 
     difficulties ahead, nor should they overlook the advantages 
     we bring to this fight.
       Some observers look at the job ahead and adopt a self-
     defeating pessimism. It is not justified. With every random 
     bombing and with every funeral of a child, it becomes more 
     clear that the extremists are not patriots, or resistance 
     fighters--they are murderers at war with the Iraqi people, 
     themselves.
       In contrast, the elected leaders of Iraq are proving to be 
     strong and steadfast. By any standard or precedent of 
     history, Iraq has made incredible political progress--from 
     tyranny, to liberation, to national elections, to the writing 
     of a constitution, in the space of two-and-a-half years. With 
     our help, the Iraqi military is gaining new capabilities and 
     new confidence with every passing month. At the time of our 
     Fallujah operations 11 months ago, there were only a few 
     Iraqi army battalions in combat. Today there are more than 80 
     Iraqi army battalions fighting the insurgency alongside our 
     forces. Progress isn't easy, but it is steady. And no fair-
     minded person should ignore, deny, or dismiss the 
     achievements of the Iraqi people.
       Some observers question the durability of democracy in 
     Iraq. They underestimate the power and appeal of freedom. 
     We've heard it suggested that Iraq's democracy must be on 
     shaky ground because Iraqis are arguing with each other. But 
     that's the essence of democracy: making your case, debating 
     with those who you disagree--who disagree, building consensus 
     by persuasion, and answering to the will of the people. We've 
     heard it said that the Shia, Sunnis and Kurds of Iraq are too 
     divided to form a lasting democracy. In fact, democratic 
     federalism is the best hope for unifying a diverse 
     population, because a federal constitutional system respects 
     the rights and religious traditions of all citizens, while 
     giving all minorities, including the Sunnis, a stake and a 
     voice in the future of their country. It is true that the 
     seeds of freedom have only recently been planted in Iraq--but 
     democracy, when it grows, is not a fragile flower; it is a 
     healthy, sturdy tree.
       As Americans, we believe that people everywhere--
     everywhere--prefer freedom to slavery, and that liberty, once 
     chosen, improves the lives of all. And so we're confident, as 
     our coalition and the Iraqi people each do their part, Iraqi 
     democracy will succeed.
       Some observers also claim that America would be better off 
     by cutting our losses and leaving Iraq now. This is a 
     dangerous illusion, refuted with a simple question: Would the 
     United States and other free nations be more safe, or less 
     safe, with Zarqawi and bin Laden in control of Iraq, its 
     people, and its resources? Having removed a dictator who 
     hated free peoples, we will not stand by as a new set of 
     killers, dedicated to the destruction of our own country, 
     seizes control of Iraq by violence.
       There's always a temptation, in the middle of a long 
     struggle, to seek the quiet life, to escape the duties and 
     problems of the world, and to hope the enemy grows weary of 
     fanaticism and tired of murder. This would be a pleasant 
     world, but it's not the world we live in. The enemy is never 
     tired, never sated, never content with yesterday's brutality. 
     This enemy considers every retreat of the civilized world as 
     an invitation to greater violence. In Iraq, there is no peace 
     without victory. We will keep our nerve and we will win that 
     victory.
       The fifth element of our strategy in the war on terror is 
     to deny the militants future recruits by replacing hatred and 
     resentment with democracy and hope across the broader Middle 
     East. This is a difficult and long-term project, yet there's 
     no alternative to it. Our future and the future of that 
     region are linked. If the broader Middle East is left to grow 
     in bitterness, if countries remain in misery, while radicals 
     stir the resentments of millions, then that part of the world 
     will be a source of endless conflict and mounting danger, and 
     for our generation and the next. If the peoples of that 
     region are permitted to choose their own destiny, and advance 
     by their own energy and by their participation as free men 
     and women, then the extremists will be marginalized, and the 
     flow of violent radicalism to the rest of the world will 
     slow, and eventually end. By standing for the hope and 
     freedom of others, we make our own freedom more secure.
       America is making this stand in practical ways. We're 
     encouraging our friends in the Middle East, including Egypt 
     and Saudi Arabia, to take the path of reform, to strengthen 
     their own societies in the fight against terror by respecting 
     the rights and choices of their own people. We're standing 
     with dissidents and exiles against oppressive regimes, 
     because we know that the dissidents of today will be the 
     democratic leaders of tomorrow. We're making our case through 
     public diplomacy, stating clearly and confidently our belief 
     in self-determination, and the rule of law, and religious 
     freedom, and equal rights for women, beliefs that are right 
     and true in every land, and in every culture.
       As we do our part to confront radicalism, we know that the 
     most vital work will be done within the Islamic world, 
     itself. And this work has begun. Many Muslim scholars have 
     already publicly condemned terrorism, often citing Chapter 5, 
     Verse 32 of the Koran, which states that killing an innocent 
     human being is like killing all humanity, and saving the life 
     of one person is like saving all of humanity. After the 
     attacks in London on July the 7th, an imam in the United Arab 
     Emirates declared, ``Whoever does such a thing is not a 
     Muslim, nor a religious person.'' The time has come for all 
     responsible Islamic leaders to join in denouncing an ideology 
     that exploits Islam for political ends, and defiles a noble 
     faith.
       Many people of the Muslim faith are proving their 
     commitment at great personal risk. Everywhere we have engaged 
     the fight against extremism, Muslim allies have stood up and 
     joined the fight, becoming partners in a vital cause. Afghan 
     troops are in combat against Taliban remnants. Iraqi soldiers 
     are sacrificing to defeat al Qaeda in their own country. 
     These brave citizens know the stakes--the survival of their 
     own liberty, the future of their own region, the justice and 
     humanity of their own tradition--and that the United States 
     of America is proud to stand beside them.
       With the rise of a deadly enemy and the unfolding of a 
     global ideological struggle, our time in history will be 
     remembered for new challenges and unprecedented dangers. And 
     yet the fight we have joined is also the current expression 
     of an ancient struggle between those who put their faith in 
     dictators and those who put their faith in the people. 
     Throughout history, tyrants and would-be tyrants have always 
     claimed that murder is justified to serve their grand 
     vision--and they end up alienating decent people across the 
     globe. Tyrants and would-be tyrants have always claimed that 
     regimented societies are strong and pure--until those 
     societies collapse in corruption and decay. Tyrants and 
     would-be tyrants have always claimed that free men and women 
     are weak and decadent--until the day that free men and women 
     defeat them.
       We don't know the course of our own struggle--the course 
     our own struggle will take--or the sacrifices that might lie 
     ahead. We do know, however, that the defense of freedom is 
     worth our sacrifice. We do know the love of freedom is the 
     mightiest force of history. And we do know the cause of 
     freedom will once again prevail.
       May God bless you.

                          ____________________