[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
[October 6, 2001]
[Pages 1198-1199]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
October 6, 2001

    Good morning. Today I want to update Americans on our global 
campaign against terror. The United States is presenting a clear choice 
to every nation: Stand with the civilized world, or stand with the 
terrorists. And for those nations that stand with the terrorists, there 
will be a heavy price.
    America is determined to oppose the state sponsors of terror. Yet we 
are equally determined to respect and help the men and women those 
regimes oppress. Our enemy is not the Arab world. Many friendly Arab 
governments are, themselves, the targets of extremist terror. Our enemy 
is not Islam, a good and peace-loving faith that brings direction and 
comfort to over one billion people, including millions of Americans. And 
our enemy is not the people of any nation, even when their leaders 
harbor terrorists. Our enemy is the terrorists themselves and the 
regimes that shelter and sustain them.
    Afghanistan is a case in point. Its Taliban regime has made that 
nation into a sanctuary and training ground for international 
terrorists, terrorists who have killed innocent citizens of many 
nations, including our own. The Taliban promotes terror abroad and 
practices terror against its people, oppressing women and persecuting 
all who dissent.
    The Taliban has been given the opportunity to surrender all the 
terrorists in Afghanistan and to close down their camps

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and operations. Full warning has been given, and time is running out.
    The Afghan people, however, are the victims of oppression, famine, 
and misrule. Many refugees from that unfortunate nation are on the move, 
and sadly, many Afghans are on the verge of starvation.
    America respects the Afghan people, their long tradition, and their 
proud independence, and we will help them in this time of confusion and 
crisis in their country.
    America has long been the largest source of food and humanitarian 
assistance to Afghanistan. This week I announced an additional $320 
million in aid to the Afghan people, to those within Afghanistan and 
those who have fled across borders. Despite efforts by the Taliban to 
disrupt these critical aid shipments, we will deliver food and seeds, 
vaccines and medicine by truck and even by draft animals. Conditions 
permitting, we will bring help directly to the people of Afghanistan by 
airdrops.
    This aid will help Afghans make it through the upcoming winter. For 
the longer term, I urge Congress to make funds available so that one day 
the United States can contribute, along with other friends of 
Afghanistan, to the reconstruction and development of that troubled 
nation.
    Helping people in great need is a central part of the Jewish, 
Christian, and Islamic traditions, as well as many other faiths. It is 
also a central part of the American tradition. Even as we fight evil 
regimes, we are generous to the people they oppress. Following World War 
II, America fed and rebuilt Japan and Germany, and their people became 
some of our closest friends in the world.
    In the struggle ahead, we will act in accordance with American 
ideals. We're offering help and friendship to the Afghan people. It is 
their Taliban rulers and the terrorists they harbor who have much to 
fear.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 2:50 p.m. on October 5 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 6. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
October 5 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.