    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 12, 2002]
    [Pages 1580-1581]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Heads of United Nations General Assembly
    Delegations in New York City
    September 12, 2002

        Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Laura and I appreciate
    you all coming. It's an honor to be with you tonight. I want to
    apologize for the photo line taking so long. I'm the person to blame; I
    talked too much. But thank you for coming. I appreciate so very much all
    the Presidents who are here and the Prime Ministers who are here and the
    Foreign Ministers who are here, the Ambassadors to U.N. who are here.
        I want to thank my citizens from our country who are here. I
    appreciate John Negroponte, the
    Ambassador to the United Nations. I want to thank the Members of the
    United States Congress who are here. I see one, two, three, four, five--
    they're everywhere. These guys know a good free meal when they see one.
    [Laughter]
        I especially want to say a word of praise to Kofi Annan, who is the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for
    his strong leadership and his good heart and his decency. I enjoy
    working with him a lot. He's a class act, as we say in the State of
    Texas, and I know you all agree with me in that.
        We gather tonight here in a place--right next to a place of great
    tragedy and great sorrow. And we also gather in a garden of great hope
    and renewal. From this room, we can view the empty space where these
    magnificent towers once stood and remember those who perished one year
    and one day ago. And in this room, we see and feel the common commitment
    of our nations to build a better world, to work hard to see to it that
    good can overcome evil.
        Ever since it opened in 1988, the Winter Garden has been one of New
    York's most beautiful public spaces, a place where people gathered to
    hear music and view art against the backdrop of one of the world's
    greatest skylines. September the 11th, in just a few moments, that
    skyline was a scene of fire and murder. This atrium was filled with
    steel and glass, and history turned a page. Scores of nations lost
    citizens that day. And in the 366 days since, scores of nations have
    committed themselves to confronting and combating the threat of global
    terror.
        Our nations have enjoyed--have employed the powers of law
    enforcement, of diplomacy, military force, and financial controls to
    bring justice--not to seek revenge but to bring justice--and to prevent
    further attacks. Much has been accomplished, and it's important to
    remember much remains to be done. On behalf of the people of the United
    States, on behalf of the good people of this land, I want to thank every
    nation that has joined us in this great global struggle.
        The terrible losses of September the 11th are close to our thoughts
    tonight, but so are the common hopes of our nations for a better world,
    a world beyond terror. And again, this room is a powerful symbol

    [[Page 1581]]

    of these hopes. In one short remarkable year, the Winter Garden has been
    reborn. The speed and success of this rebuilding effort is a testament
    to the optimism and determination of the people of New York and the
    people of the world. More than one million pounds of marble for this
    building was quarried in Italy and Spain. As one quarry official stated,
    ``We didn't consider this a job. It was a duty.''
        Now the world is called to urgent duties. We're called upon to
    reaffirm great founding purposes of the United Nations, universal
    standards of human dignity, and a global system of peace and security.
    We're called to confront great challenges to these ideals, from poverty
    and disease to terror and the aggression of tyrants.
        By our determination, by our faith, by cooperation, we can and we
    will meet these tests. And by our efforts, we will lift the lives of
    people on every continent.
        Thank you all for coming tonight. May God bless your countries, and
    may God bring peace to the world.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:55 p.m. in the Winter Garden at the World
    Financial Center.