    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [March 21, 2002]
    [Pages 467-471]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in El Paso, Texas
    March 21, 2002

        Thank you all. Thank you all very much. So, Laura and I were heading
    down to Mexico, and we decided to stop to see a lot of our friends. And
    there's no better place to see a lot of our friends than El Paso, Texas.
        I want to thank you all for coming out. I want to thank you for
    being here. As you know, I had a change of address, but my home is still
    Texas. I love to be with my fellow Texans, and I'm really happy that
    Laura came with me today. As you know, she's
    doing a great job as First Lady.
        I'm a lucky man to have Laura as a wife. Some
    people are wondering how lucky she is to have me as a husband.
    [Laughter] But I attribute the fact that she has done such a fabulous
    job to this: Every summer when she was a kid, she came to El Paso,
    Texas.
        I'm also honored to be traveling today with a fantastic Secretary of
    State, Colin Powell. Colin Powell has
    cobbled together one of the great coalitions ever, a coalition
    determined to fight terror wherever we find it. Mr. Secretary, thank you
    for your love for America; thank you for your love for freedom; and
    thank you for your service to this country.
        You know, when the enemy hit us, I knew we needed a strategy to
    protect our homeland. We needed a strategy to--something to put in place
    to do the very best we can to protect our citizens. And I turned to a
    friend of mine to lead the strategy, the former Governor of the State of
    Pennsylvania, a strong leader, a capable man, a Vietnam vet, Tom
    Ridge.
        I'm proud to be on the stage with a man who's doing a fabulous job
    for the people of Texas, the Governor of the State of Texas, Rick
    Perry. And I was proud to travel from Washington,
    DC, back to his home territory with a fine Congressman, a man who
    understands the border, a man who loves Texas, Henry Bonilla.
        We've really come for more than just to see our friends. We've come
    down to highlight the importance of our border and the importance of our
    relationship and friendship with Mexico. First, I want to make this
    clear--somebody asked me the other day--they asked this question. They
    said, ``Because of the war on terror, have you--is your interest in
    Mexico diminished?'' I said, ``Not at all.'' A strong and prosperous
    Mexico is good for America. And the best foreign policy is a foreign
    policy that insists that our own neighborhood be prosperous and peaceful
    and democratic.
        Mexico is an incredibly important part of the futuro de los Estados
    Unidos. And the border, la frontera, is a very important part of our
    relationship. It is essential that Americans understand the nature of
    this border. And that's why I'm going to be going to a border crossing
    point to make this point: On the one hand, we want the legal commerce,
    the people who travel back and forth on a daily basis, the brothers and
    sisters on both sides of the border, the relatives that have been coming
    back and forth for years, to be able to do so in an efficient and easy
    way. We want that kind of traffic, that kind of border crossing to be
    done in an expeditious way. It's good for Juarez, and it's good for El
    Paso, Texas.
        Rick mentioned the amount of commerce that takes place. The commerce
    that takes place between Mexico and Texas and the United States is good
    for both countries. It's good for the United States; it's good for
    Mexico. And therefore, we must work to make sure our border is
    modernized so that the commerce that takes place can move more freely,
    can be expedited so as it makes it easier for people to have jobs and
    find work.

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        On the other hand, we want to use our technology to make sure that
    we weed out those who we don't want in our country, the terrorists, the
    ``coyotes,'' the smugglers, those who prey on innocent life.
        And so we're making good progress in the modernization of our
    border. And that's what I'm going to go talk about today, and that's
    what I'm going to highlight. I want this border to be modern. I want it
    to have the very best technology. I don't want it to be a neglected part
    of our country. I want it to be a place where we spend a lot of time and
    focus on it, so that it works the best it can possibly work.
        It also is important for our country to understand how I feel about
    our neighbor to the south. First of all, I approach Mexico with the
    spirit of friendship and the spirit of mutual respect and the spirit of
    resolve. I want to thank the Mexican leaders--and will do so in person
    tonight--for their steady and strong resolve in their efforts to join us
    in our fight against terror, in our efforts to join us in the fight
    against drug cartels, in our efforts to make sure our relationship is as
    hopeful and as together as possible.
        And so today I've sent up an emergency request to the United States
    Congress of $27 billion, $5 billion of which will be spent on our
    airports and on our borders, to make sure Americans are more secure and
    more safe than ever before.
        My most important job as your President is to protect Americans from
    any attack. I think about this all the time. I walk into the Oval Office
    every morning, and I sit at this fantastic desk that Teddy Roosevelt sat
    at and that Franklin Roosevelt sat at, John Kennedy sat at, Ronald
    Reagan sat at. These are--imagine what it feels like for a fellow from
    Midland, Texas. It's an honor. But every morning I read about potential
    threats to America. And I take them seriously, and so should we all. And
    that's why we're working hard to make the border work better. That's why
    we're working hard to beef up our Coast Guard, so that our ports are
    more secure. That's why we take every single threat seriously.
        If we get any kind of hint, any kind of nudge that the evil ones may
    be coming after us, I can assure you we're reacting. We're sharing
    information the likes of which we've never shared before. Our country's
    on alert, and our governments, the Federal, the State, and the local
    governments, are doing everything we can--I mean everything we can--to
    protect the homeland.
        But I want you to know how I feel. The best way to protect the
    homeland, the best way to make sure Americans can grow up in a peaceful
    country, is to find terrorists wherever they hide and bring them to
    justice. And that's what we're going to do.
        We're in for a long struggle. And I think Texans understand that,
    and so do Americans. We're a united people. We're a resolved people,
    because we understand that we fight for something we hold dear, and that
    is our freedoms.
        Sometimes it seems like the terror threat may be going away, but all
    you've got to do is look on your TV today, be reminded about how evil
    these murderers are. Today we had a terrible suicide bombing in Israel,
    and innocent lives were lost. And there was one in Peru yesterday, where
    people lost their life. And this morning Laura and I met Milton
    Green and his son,
    who lost a wife and a mother when they were going to church, when they
    were praying to the Almighty God, and a suicide killer came in in
    Pakistan and took their lives.
        This is a dangerous world. Too many people are losing their lives to
    murderers. History has called us into action. We cannot let the
    terrorists take over freedom-loving societies, and we will not.
        America will fight terror wherever we find it, and as well we will
    call upon leaders around the world to do so as well. Mr. Arafat must do more to stop the violence in the Middle East.
    And I want to assure you all, the Secretary of State and I will remind leaders of their obligation to defend

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    innocent people, of their obligation to stamp out terrorists wherever
    they light, of their obligation to make sure they uphold this doctrine:
    If you harbor a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist, if you feed a
    terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorists themselves. And if
    you're interested in knowing what that means, just ask the Taliban.
    Thanks to our mighty United States military and thanks to our vast
    coalition, we upheld that doctrine.
        But I'm proud of this: Our country and our friends do not seek
    revenge; we seek justice. And we sent brave, brave U.S. soldiers into
    Afghanistan not as conquerors but as liberators. It may be hard for some
    of the youngsters here to believe, but the government that we just
    routed in Afghanistan would not let young girls go to school. That
    changed. This week young girls will be going to school for the first
    time, because we got that barbaric regime out of power.
        And we're not stopping. And we're not stopping. And that's why I
    submitted the largest increase in defense spending in two generations to
    the United States Congress. We can't afford to stop, for the sake of our
    children and our grandchildren. And I expect the United States Congress
    to honor my request for this important reason: Anytime we put a U.S.
    soldier into harm's way, we expect that soldier to have the best
    equipment, the best training, an additional pay raise.
        I know it's a lot of money. I know it's a lot of money, my request,
    but let me just tell you this: I want to remind you all, we fight for
    freedom. This country stands strong for freedom, and we will not relent
    to any terrorists who think they can take our freedom or the freedom
    from anybody else in the world away from us. And therefore, the budget I
    submitted to Congress, while it may be high, the price of freedom is
    never too high, as far as I'm concerned.
        I ask for your patience and unity because I understand the nature of
    the enemy we fight. They've got these leaders over there that are
    willing to send youngsters to their suicidal death, and they try to find
    a cave they can hide in. There's no cave deep enough for American
    justice.
        It doesn't matter for me how long it takes. It doesn't matter how
    long it takes. We're going to hunt them down one by one and bring them
    to justice. If they bunch up again in Afghanistan like they did in the
    Shahi-Kot Mountain Range, we'll send our soldiers in there. The last
    time they bunched up, they didn't like the results. No matter where they
    light, we're going to get them. We're going to treat them for what they
    are, international terrorists. And we're going to keep them on the run.
        It is in the interests not only of our country but the interest of
    the world that our Nation be steady and strong and determined. And you
    can bet, so long as I am your President, we will be determined and
    steady and strong and defend our freedom with all our might.
        I believe this: I believe as a result of our being strong and steady
    and determined, the world will be more peaceful after we rout out these
    terrorist killers. I believe we have a chance to solve some problems
    around the world that some people had given up hope on. I believe that
    the United States, by leading our coalition, can lead the world to a
    more peaceful tomorrow. And that's my goal, and that's my dream. Out of
    our strength and out of our resolve will come a peaceful tomorrow for
    children who not only live in America but children who live all across
    the world.
        And I want to tell you one other thing I believe about America is,
    out of this evil will come some incredible good. I believe strongly that
    the evil ones didn't know who they were attacking. They thought we
    would--they thought we would roll over. They thought we were so
    materialistic and self-absorbed that we wouldn't respond. They probably
    thought we were going to sue them. [Laughter] Not only did they

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    not understand our resolve, but they didn't understand that this Nation
    is not going to let evil prevail.
        They understand--I get asked all the time--I want you to hear me on
    this--I get asked all the time by people around America, ``What can I do
    to help in the war on terror?'' I'll tell you what you can do. In order
    to stand squarely in the face of evil, do some good. Love a neighbor
    just like you'd like to be loved yourself. Reach out to somebody in
    need. Make sure somebody who's hungry has food, somebody who needs love
    has love, somebody who needs to be taught how to read is taught to read.
    You see, it's the gathering momentum of millions of acts of kindness
    that will define this Nation and allow us to stand squarely in the face
    of evil.
        And there's no doubt in my mind that the good people of El Paso,
    Texas, and those who live at Fort Bliss are going to do exactly that. I
    know El Paso. I know the hearts and souls of the citizens who live here.
    I know full well the love and compassion that exists throughout the
    neighborhoods in this great city in this part of the State.
        Today I had the honor of meeting Rosario Piedra. She brought her whole family. [Laughter] She came out
    to see this magnificent Air Force One. She was there because Rosario is
    the kind of person I'm talking about. She takes her obligation as a U.S.
    citizen very seriously. She knows there's something more to life than
    just serving yourself. She's in charge of Girl Scout troops, teaching
    young girls values that will stay with them for the rest of their life.
    She works after-school programs to help children that need a little
    extra help. It is this kind of citizen that makes our country unique and
    different.
        I want to share with you this thought, that the most meaningful
    event of September the 11th, in many ways, was Flight 93. I want you all
    to remember what took place. On that flight were people who had been
    told on their telephones that Washington and New York was under attack.
    They knew their plane had been hijacked. They got on the plane, and they
    told their loved ones they loved them. They said a prayer. They said,
    ``Let's roll,'' and they served something greater than themselves. They
    served humanity. It is that spirit of sacrifice, it is that spirit of
    serving something greater than yourself that is alive and well and
    strong in our great land.
        And as you love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself,
    remember that you represent that spirit; you represent the best of our
    country; and you join us all in standing squarely in the face of
    evildoers. This great country is the finest country on the face of the
    Earth, and we're going to show the world exactly that.
        And so I want to thank you all. Laura and I love El Paso. We love
    our friends. May God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:33 a.m. at El Paso International
    Airport. In his remarks, he referred to Milton Green, whose wife,
    Barbara, was killed in the March 17 terrorist attack at the Protestant
    International Church in Islamabad, Pakistan, and their son, Zachary, who
    survived the attack; and Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian
    Authority. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
    language transcript of these remarks.

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