[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.