    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [March 15, 2002]
    [Pages 414-418]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Fayetteville, North Carolina
    March 15, 2002

        The President. Thank you all.
        Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
        The President. Thank you all very much. At ease! [Laughter] General
    McNeill, thank you very much. For a warrior,
    you're pretty

    [[Page 415]]

    darn articulate. Thank you all for such a warm welcome. It's great to be
    here in Cumberland County, North Carolina.
        I'm also honored to be here with fine men and women who wear our
    uniform from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the world's finest fighting
    soldiers. For generations, Fort Bragg has stood for the best in the
    United States military. And now, along with those stationed at Pope Air
    Force Base, you're playing a crucial role, a vital role, a successful
    role in our defense of freedom, in our war against terror. I'm proud of
    your service. I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
        I want to thank General Holland,
    commander in chief, Headquarters U.S. Special Operations Command. I want
    to thank General Brown. I want to thank all
    the fine men and women of the 18th Airborne Corps, the Special Forces,
    and the Special Operation units. It is good to be with the fine folks of
    the 43d Airlift Wing.
        I am honored to be traveling with members of the North Carolina
    congressional delegation, two of whom you've just heard from,
    Congressman McIntyre, Congressman
    Hayes. Congressman Etheridge is with us today, as is my friend Elizabeth Dole. Thank you all for coming.
        One week ago, this coliseum was the scene of graduation ceremonies
    for the latest group of soldiers to have earned the right to wear the
    Green Beret. In doing so, they will join the ranks of some of the best
    and bravest citizens we have. The soldiers and sailors and airmen of the
    U.S. Special Operations Command are the best in the world, and the world
    is seeing how tough and how brave they are today.
        Our Special Operations forces know the danger that awaits them. This
    is a dangerous battle that we face, a dangerous war. And I'm proud of
    the courage not only of the soldiers who volunteer for battle but for
    the loved ones who remain behind. Not only am I proud of our soldiers, I
    am proud of the wives and husbands and sons and daughters and moms and
    dads. And on behalf of a grateful nation, we thank you as well. We
    appreciate your courage and your sacrifice.
        Two young men from the Special Forces were recently laid to rest,
    Chief Warrant Officer Stanley Harriman and Air Force Tech Sergeant John
    Chapman. I want their families to know that we pray with them, that we
    honor them, and they died in a just cause, for defending freedom, and
    they will not have died in vain. Because of such soldiers, a vicious
    regime has been toppled in Afghanistan, and an entire people have been
    liberated from oppression. Because of American soldiers and our brave
    allies and friends who have fought beside them, the Taliban is out of
    business.
        At the beginning of this war, I made it very clear--as clear as a
    fellow from Texas could make it--either you're with us, or you're
    against us. And if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if
    you try to hide a terrorist, you are just as guilty as the murderers who
    killed innocent Americans on September the 11th. And thanks to the
    mighty United States military, the Taliban found out exactly what I
    meant.
        But the world has seen we are not conquerors; we're liberators. We
    fight for freedom, and at the same time, we have saved a people from
    mass starvation. We fight for freedom, but at the same time, we're
    clearing away minefields, rebuilding roads, and opening up hospitals. We
    fight for freedom, and yet, next week schools will reopen in
    Afghanistan, and for the first time, many young girls will go to school
    for the first times in their lives.
        We haven't been at this struggle very long. I know it seems like a
    long time for those of you whose loved ones are overseas. But we've been
    at it for 6 months, and we've made a lot of progress. And you know what?
    The terrorists have now figured out they picked on the wrong people.
    They must have thought we were soft. They must have thought we were so
    materialistic that we wouldn't fight for values that we loved. They must
    have thought that we were so

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    self-absorbed that the word ``sacrifice'' had left the American
    vocabulary. And my, were they wrong.
        Thousands of terrorists have been brought to justice. But I want you
    to know, my fellow citizens, we will not relent. We will not slow down
    until the threat of global terrorism has been destroyed. I have made
    this message clear to the American people. I have made this message
    clear to our vast coalition, and I've made this message clear to our
    enemies, and our military has delivered the message.
        We have finished the first phase of our war against terror. You see,
    when we routed out the Taliban, we completed that phase, and now we're
    entering a second stage of what I think will be a long war. It's a
    sustained campaign, a tireless, relentless campaign to deny sanctuary,
    to deny safe haven to terrorists who would threaten citizens anywhere in
    the world, threaten our way of life, threaten our friends, threaten our
    allies. These terrorists are now on the run, and we intend to keep them
    on the run.
        Oh, we know their strategy. They want to try to regroup, and they
    want to hit us. We're doing everything we can to stop them. No, we know
    their strategy. We also know they're the most committed, the most
    dangerous, the least likely to surrender. Folks, these are trained
    killers who hate freedom, and so long as they're on the loose, we're in
    danger. And therefore, in order to keep them from harming any of our
    citizens again, we're going to hunt them down one by one. This mighty
    Nation will not blink; we will not yield. We will defend the innocent
    lives of the American people by bringing terrorist killers to justice.
        Obviously, as you well know, we found some of them bunched up in the
    Shahi-Kot Mountains. And we sent our military in, and they're not
    bunched up anymore. [Laughter] And when we find them bunched up again,
    we'll send our military in, and the same thing will happen. You know,
    they've got these leaders that are so bold that they're willing to send
    youngsters to their suicide while they try to hide in deep caves. But
    they're going to find out there is not a cave deep enough to escape the
    long arm of American justice.
        And so as fellow citizens, you need to know the strategy of this new
    phase is this: We want every terrorist to be made to live like an
    international fugitive, on the run, with no place to settle, no place to
    organize, no place to hide, no governments to hide behind, not even a
    safe place to sleep. And we're going to stay at it. You watch, we're
    going to stay at it for however long it takes. And the good news is, the
    American people are united and patient and understand the nature of the
    struggle ahead. And for that I'm grateful, and so are the men and women
    who wear the uniform of the United States military.
        At the same time, the civilized world must take seriously the
    growing threat of terror on a catastrophic scale. We've got to prevent
    the spread of weapons of mass destruction, because there is no margin
    for error and there is no chance to learn from any mistake. The United
    States and her allies will act deliberately. We'll be deliberate, but
    inaction is not an option. Men who have no respect for life must never
    be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death. I have made it
    clear that we will not let the most dangerous regimes in the world team
    up with killers and, therefore, hold this great Nation hostage. Whatever
    it takes to defend the liberty of America, this administration will do.
        I want you to know that even though we have made great progress in 6
    short months, I am aware that history will judge us not based upon the
    beginning of this campaign but how it ends. Great challenges lie ahead,
    and we're in for a long struggle. And therefore, we must make sure that
    our United States military must have everything it needs to meet the
    objective.

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        And just like our military has responsibilities, I have
    responsibilities as the Commander in Chief to the military. In every
    stage of the war on terror, I can assure you our actions will be
    carefully planned and carefully prepared. Our objectives will be clear.
    We will be deliberate, but when we act, we'll be decisive. I will give
    clear orders, and I will make sure that you have every tool you need to
    do your job.
        I've asked Congress for a one-year increase of more than $48 billion
    for national defense. This is the largest defense increase in a
    generation, because we're at war, and Congress needs to pass this
    budget. And by the way, it includes another pay raise for people who
    wear the uniform.
        Nothing is more important than the national security of our
    country--nothing is more important--so nothing is more important than
    our defense budget. I've heard some of them talking about, you know,
    ``It's too big,'' up there. Let me just make this as clear as I can make
    it: The price for freedom is high, but it's never too high, as far as
    I'm concerned.
        As you know, if you follow the budget process, oftentimes Congress
    waits until the last days of the fiscal year in order to pass the
    defense budget. That's bad budgeting practices in times of peace. It's
    really bad budgeting practices in times of war. I expect the United
    States Congress to not only pass the budget as I submitted; I expect
    them to make it the first order of business, so we can plan for this
    war.
        Now is not the time to play politics with the defense budget. Now is
    the time to get it out first and get it on my desk. We need to send that
    clear message that not only are we in this for the long haul, but the
    elected Representatives of the United States people understand it as
    well. I'm proud of the bipartisan spirit that exists in our war against
    terror. Now, let's just make sure we've got some good budgeting
    practices to go along with it.
        We're working hard to make sure the homeland is secure. I'll never
    forget, right after September the 11th, I went to see some high school
    kids, and they were seniors. And it dawned on me that--obviously on
    them, too--that this is the first high school class that had ever seen
    an attack on the homeland like this, at least on the 48 States that are
    contiguous. And it reminded me then--and I've never forgotten it--that
    oceans no longer matter when it comes to making us safe, that we have a
    giant obligation, an obligation I take very seriously here at home, to
    make sure we do everything we can to protect innocent life.
        So you need to know that anytime we get a hint about somebody may be
    thinking about doing something, we're on them. Every time we get a
    scintilla of evidence that somebody might be trying to get in here or
    burrow in our society, we're doing everything we can--everything we
    can--to protect the American people. We honor our Constitution, but
    we're on alert. And so are many of you all, and I want to thank you for
    that.
        We've got a good first-responders initiative. We've got a great
    initiative on bioterrorism. We're making our borders more secure. We
    want to make sure we know who's coming in and who's coming out. We want
    to make sure the INS is reformed. [Laughter] As you might--could tell by
    the news that day, I was plenty hot--[laughter]--when I read about the
    bureaucratic inefficiency of this agency. We're going to do everything
    we can to reform it. We want to button up the homeland as best as we
    possibly can.
        But my attitude is this: The best way to secure the homeland is to
    unleash the mighty United States military and hunt them down and bring
    them to justice. And the best way to fight evil at home is to love your
    neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. The best way to stand
    squarely in the face of those who hijacked a good religion is to live a
    life that helps people in need.

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        You know, the true strength of our country is much greater than our
    military. The true strength of America are the hearts and souls of
    loving American citizens. And we have an obligation in our free society
    to work to make our society as compassionate and as kind as it can
    possibly be.
        Today I had the honor, when I landed here, to meet Jane
    Davis. Where are you, Jane? There she is. Jane,
    thank you. Don't clap yet until you hear about her. She's the wife of
    Colonel Gary Matteson of Fort Bragg. The
    reason I mention Jane is because she is an example of what I'm talking
    about, about the strength of the country. Right after September the
    11th, she left North Carolina to volunteer at Ground Zero in New York
    City. Nobody had to tell Jane. There wasn't a Government edict. There
    wasn't a telegram from Washington, DC, directing her to go to Ground
    Zero. She followed her heart. She knew it was the right thing to do.
    It's the Jane Davises that really defined America for the world to see.
        And you can be--you can help a neighbor in all kinds of ways. You
    can walk across a street to a shut-in and say, ``What can I do to help
    your day?'' Or you can mentor a child, or you can teach in a classroom.
    If you want to help, you can get on the Internet and dial up
    usafreedomcorps.gov and see. And we've got a member of the Senior Corps
    here, which is a part of the USA Freedom Corps. If you want to be
    involved, there's all kinds of ways--all you've got to do to act. But if
    you're interested in joining the war against terror, do something to
    make your community a more vibrant and kind place.
        It is what I like to call the gathering momentum of millions of acts
    of kindness that define America for what we are. And I'm proud to be the
    President of a nation that is dedicated and firm in our defense of
    liberty, that will stand strong when we defend freedom and not blink or
    tire. And likewise, I'm proud to be the President of a nation whose true
    strength are the hearts and souls of citizens from all walks of life.
        May God bless you all, and may God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:54 a.m. at the Cumberland County Coliseum
    Complex. In his remarks, he referred to Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill, USA,
    commanding general, 18th Airborne Corps; Gen. Charles R. Holland, USAF,
    commander in chief, Headquarters U.S. Special Operations Command; Lt.
    Gen. Bryan D. Brown, USA, commander, U.S. Army Special Operations
    Command; North Carolina senatorial candidate Elizabeth Dole; and Col.
    Gary N. Matteson, USA, commander, Womack Army Medical Center.