    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [October 4, 2001]
    [Pages 1189-1191]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to Department of State Employees
    October 4, 2001

        Thank you very much. Please be seated. Thank you all. Mr.
    Secretary, I'm honored you invited me back.
    [Laughter] I'm glad to be back to be able to say thanks, on behalf of
    the American people, to the patriots who work for our Department of
    State. Thanks for your hard work. Thanks for your dedication. Thanks for
    your love of America.
        I'm also here to announce an initiative to help the Afghan people in
    a time of crisis and in a time of need. America will stand strong and
    will oppose the sponsors of terror, and America will stand strong and
    help those people who are hurt by those regimes.
        Mr. Secretary, I am proud of your
    leadership. Last time I came, I predicted you would be a great Secretary
    of State. You have not let me down. And neither have the folks who work
    at the State Department, not only here in Washington but in Embassies
    throughout the world. America is proud of your service. And America is
    comforted by the fact that we are united as we stand to fight terror.
        We are engaged in a noble cause, and that is to say loud and clear
    to the evildoers that we reject you, that we will stand firm against
    terror, and that this great Nation, along with many other nations, will
    defend freedom.
        I want to thank those of you who have worked extra long hours to
    help forge this fantastic coalition that we're building, a coalition of
    people all around the world who understand that the evil acts could have
    happened to them, just like they happened to us. People understand that
    now is the time to take a stand, to seize this moment, to say that out
    of this evil act will come good. And the State Department has helped
    lead the way. And I'm proud of your efforts, and I'm proud of your hard
    work.
        After all, many of you understand the effects of terror. We had two
    of our Embassies bombed. Your colleagues were injured and died. I mean,
    the State Department has been on the frontline of battling terror and
    the frontline of seeing the effects of terror. And the American people
    appreciate the heroism of the people who serve our country overseas.
        This is a unique type of war. It's a war that is going to require us
    building a broad coalition of nations who will contribute, one way or
    the other, to make sure that we all win. Some nations may be willing to
    commit troops, if that's a decision that we

    [[Page 1190]]

    make. Other nations will help in cutting off funding.
        Truth of the matter is, the first shot we fired in this war against
    evildoers was when the Secretary and I and
    the Secretary of Treasury said, we're going
    to find their money, and we're going to starve them of their money.
    We're going to find their bank accounts, and we will freeze them. We're
    going to talk to banks all around the world and make it clear that if
    they are on our side, if they join the folks who are fighting evil, that
    they've got to do everything they can to cut off their funds. When we
    starve them of their funds, we starve them of their capacity to move
    against freedom.
        I'm proud of the coalitions that we've built. I'm proud of the fact
    that the Secretary of State and the able
    team here at the State Department is a results-oriented group of folks.
    We've said not only, ``Join the coalition''; we've said, ``Here's what
    we expect you to do. Here is your assignment.'' One of the things the
    American people appreciate about our administration is that we're
    results-oriented folks, that we expect there to be results. We expect,
    if you're on our team, that we want your performance.
        And it's making a difference. As I announced the other day, we've
    collectively rounded up 150 terrorists, people associated with the Al
    Qaida organization. Thanks to the Secretary of State's work and others' work and the work of people around the
    world, we've convinced those who joined our coalition to rout out
    terrorists, to find them, to incarcerate them, to question them, to find
    out what's in their mind and what their future activities may be. And
    we're making great progress.
        This is a strong coalition. It's a strong coalition because we've
    got great leadership, but it's a strong coalition because we're right,
    because--it's a strong coalition because we've made it clear, this is
    not a war between Christianity or Judaism and Islam. As a matter of
    fact, the teachings of Islam make it clear that peace is important, that
    compassion is a part of life. This is a war between good and evil. And
    we have made it clear to the world that we will stand strong on the side
    of good, and we expect other nations to join us.
        This is not a war between our world and their world. It is a war to
    save the world, and people now understand that. And I want to thank you
    for all your work of making that simple, yet profound, mission clear.
        We have no compassion for terrorists in this country. We have no
    compassion, nor will we have any compassion for any state that sponsors
    them. Oh yes, we're a compassionate nation, but our compassion is
    limited.
        We have great compassion, however, for the millions around the world
    who are victims of hate, of victims of oppressive government, including
    the people who live in Afghanistan. Today I'm announcing, along with the
    Secretary of State, that America will
    contribute an additional $320 million in humanitarian assistance for
    Afghans for more food, more medicine, to help the innocent people of
    Afghanistan deal with the coming winter. This is our way of saying that
    while we firmly and strongly oppose the Taliban regime, we are friends
    of the Afghan people.
        We will work with the U.N. agencies such as the World Food Program
    and work with private volunteer organizations to make sure this
    assistance gets to the people. We will make sure that not only the folks
    in Afghanistan who need help get help, but we will help those who have
    fled to neighboring countries to get help as well.
        There's no question that we're an angry people about what happened
    to our country. But in our anger, we must never forget we're a
    compassionate people as well. We will fight evil, but in order to
    overcome evil, the great goodness of America must come forth and shine
    forth. And one way to do so is to help the poor souls in Afghanistan.
    And we're going to do so.

    [[Page 1191]]

        I want to remind the world that helping people in need is a central
    part of not only the Christian faith but of Judaism and the Hindu faith
    and of course a central part of Islamic traditions. And that's why our
    coalition is more than just one to rout terrorism out of the world. It's
    one to bind together, to knit those traditions in a way that helps
    people in need.
        You know, I talked to a lot of world leaders, and Colin has as well. And I told him, ``Through our tears, we
    see opportunity, that in our sadness and grief, we see an opportunity to
    not only defend freedom but to make the world more peaceful.''
        I see an opportunity at home when I hear the stories of Christian
    and Jewish women alike, helping women of cover, Arab American women, go
    shop because they're afraid to leave their home. I see a great
    opportunity when I see moms and dads spend more time with their children
    here at home. I see out of this sadness and grief an opportunity for
    America to reexamine our culture, to reexamine how we view the need to
    help people in need, whether it be in our own neighborhood and around
    the world.
        I see out of this evil will come good, not only here at home, as
    youngsters all of a sudden understand the definition of sacrifice, the
    sacrifice of those brave souls on Flight 93, who after the Twenty-third
    Psalm said, ``Let's roll,'' to save America.
        I see an opportunity as well to bring peace to the world, the likes
    of which we've never seen. I appreciate the Secretary of State's hard work in the Middle East. It has been diligent.
    It has been consistent. It has been true to the principles of America,
    that in order for there to be peace, we must reduce the level of
    violence. I see an opportunity to make sure the subcontinent is more
    peaceful. No, in our grief and in our sadness, I see an opportunity to
    make the world a better place for generations to come. And we will seize
    the opportunity.
        I fully understand that some will grow weary and some will tire--not
    this administration and not the people of the State Department. I know
    there will be some nations that will become frustrated over time because
    we're fighting a different kind of campaign. But we won't weary. This is
    a nation that has determined--made a determination to rise up in a
    united way, to not only spread good will around the world but to find
    terrorists where they may live and may hide, and those who harbor them,
    and bring them to justice.
        Now is the time. Now is the time for this great Nation to lead. And
    I'm proud of the Secretary of State and the
    hard-working people of the State Department for joining us in this
    cause.
        Thank you for letting me come by again. May God bless you all, and
    may God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:25 a.m. in the Dean Acheson Auditorium
    at the Department of State headquarters building.