    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [December 2, 2002]
    [Pages 2145-2148]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for
    Fiscal Year 2003 in Arlington, Virginia
    December 2, 2002

        Thank you, Mr. Secretary. And thank
    you for your leadership. Thank you for your candor. Thank you--you're
    doing a fabulous job on behalf of the American people. It's an honor for
    me to be here today with the leaders of our military, the good folks who
    are serving our country, to sign the 2003 defense authorization bill.
        We're a nation at war. America must understand we're at war. But
    those who wear the uniform must understand how proud all of America is
    for your service to our great country. On behalf of a grateful nation,
    I'm here to thank you.
        Our military is making good progress in this war. We've liberated an
    oppressed and friendless people. We're hunting down the terrorists all
    across the globe. We're performing our missions with speed and skill.
    You have the strong, united support of this great land, and this bill
    should reflect the strong and united support of the United States
    Congress.
        And I want to thank the Members of the Congress who are here on
    stage, Senator Warner and Congressman Duncan
    Hunter. And Members of the Senate and the
    Congress who are with us, I want to

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    thank you for your good work on this important legislation.
        I appreciate so very much all those who work in the
    Secretary's office who worked hard on
    this bill. I want to thank the Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs who are here
    and the Vice Chairmen are with us and those who represent the enlisted
    personnel of our military.
        Most of all, I want to say a word about Bob Stump, Chairman Stump, who couldn't be with us today,
    distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who has served
    our Nation well. He's a dedicated public servant who has decided to
    retire. And as the Secretary said, this
    bill is appropriately named for this fine American. We will miss him,
    and we wish Bob and his family all the very best.
        I want to thank the service Secretaries who are here with us. And I
    want to thank you all for coming.
        The legislation I sign this afternoon was passed by Congress in a
    remarkable spirit of unity. It sets priorities of our Defense Department
    in a critical, critical period for our country. Our country has
    unprecedented challenges, and we're facing them with unmatched
    technology, careful planning, and the finest traditions of valor.
        We're rewarding the service and sacrifice of our military families
    with higher pay, improved facilities, and better housing. We're
    procuring the best weapons we possibly can and the best equipment, while
    adding funds for operations and maintenance as well. We're investing in
    missile defenses and all new technologies we need to gain every
    advantage--every advantage--in the battlefields of the future.
        And since intelligence is playing a critical role in our ability to
    achieve military victory, this new law creates a new high-level position
    within the Department of Defense called the Under Secretary for
    Intelligence.
        This generation of Armed Forces has been given two difficult tasks,
    fighting and winning a war and, at the same time, transforming our
    military to win the new kind of war. In the first stages of our fight
    against terror, we've already seen the future face of warfare, forces
    that are more agile and mobile and lethal, along with weapons that are
    smarter and tactics that are more inventive. These priorities are
    reflected in this year's budget. You'll see them reflected in every
    military budget I submit and sign as your President.
        America's military is strong. And that's the way it should be. Our
    Nation and the world are safer that way. Now and in the future, we will
    maintain a military that is second to none. And the greatest strength of
    America's military is the cause we all serve. That cause is freedom in a
    world at peace. Today, that cause is being challenged by determined
    enemies. And we will not rest, and we will not relent until our freedom
    is secure.
        Our troops in Afghanistan remain engaged in a difficult and
    dangerous mission. We're hunting down trained killers. And that's all
    they are, nothing but a bunch of coldblooded killers. We're destroying
    their weapons. The Secretary reports to
    me in the White House that, day after day, we're finding giant caches of
    weapons which we're destroying. And while we hunt them down--hunt the
    killers down, we'll continue to help the Afghan people as they work to
    build lives of dignity and lives of security. Afghanistan is no longer a
    safe haven for hijackers and bombmakers and assassins. Thanks to the
    United States military, the terrorist training camps are closed. Many
    terrorists have met their fate in the caves and mountains of
    Afghanistan. Others are now in custody.
        Yet we know that many terrorists are still at large. They hide and
    they plot in over 60 different countries. We face an enemy that's
    attacked cities in America, embassies and airplanes in Africa, ships in
    the Gulf, tourists in Bali. This enemy lives like a parasite. They plot
    in shadows. They prey on failed states. And they ally themselves with
    outlaw regimes.

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        Defeating this enemy requires fighting a different kind of war, what
    we call the first war of the 21st century. We're pursuing the terrorists
    wherever they dwell. It doesn't matter where they hide; we're after
    them, one by one. We follow them wherever they run. They think they can
    run; they can't run far enough from the long arm of justice of the
    United States. We're freezing their finances. We're disrupting their
    plots. We're killing them or capturing them, one person at a time.
    That's how you win the first war of the 21st century, a war we are going
    to win.
        Some of the successes in this war will make headlines, and sometimes
    you won't even know about it. But all the terrorists can be certain of
    this: Their hour of justice will come. And that hour has already arrived
    for an increasing number of field generals of the terrorist army.
    Recently, we took a guy named al-Nashiri into custody. Until last month he was the top Al Qaida
    operative, the top Al Qaida leader in the Gulf region. He was plotting
    and planning. But today this much is certain: He won't be executing any
    more attacks against the United States and our friends like the attack
    he masterminded against the U.S.S. Cole.
        Success in the war on terror will only come by taking every measure
    to protect innocent people from sudden and catastrophic violence. And we
    must oppose the threat of such violence from any source. We oppose the
    terror network and all who harbor and support the terrorists. And we
    oppose a uniquely dangerous regime that possesses the weapons of mass
    murder, has used those weapons, and could supply those weapons to
    terrorist networks.
        Saddam Hussein's regime has a long
    history of aggression against his neighbors and hostility towards
    America. It has a long history of ties to terrorists. The dictator has a
    long history of seeking biological and chemical and nuclear weapons,
    even while U.N. inspectors were present in his country. Now the world
    has told him the game is over. The U.N. Security Council, the NATO
    Alliance, and the United States are united. Saddam Hussein will fully
    disarm himself of weapons of mass destruction, and if he does not, the
    United States will lead a coalition to disarm him.
        As the U.N. weapons inspections process gets underway, we must
    remember that inspections will not--will only work--will only work if
    Iraq fully complies. You see, the inspectors are not in Iraq to play
    hide-and-seek with Mr. Saddam Hussein.
    Inspectors do not have the duty or the ability to uncover terrible
    weapons hidden in a vast country. The responsibility of inspectors is
    simply to confirm the evidence of voluntary and total disarmament. It is
    Saddam Hussein who has the responsibility to provide that evidence as
    directed and in full. Any act of delay, deception, or defiance will
    prove that Saddam Hussein has not adopted the path of compliance and has
    rejected the path of peace.
        In the inspections process, the United States will be making one
    judgment: Has Saddam Hussein changed his behavior of the last 11 years?
    Has he decided to cooperate willingly and comply completely, or has he
    not? So far the signs are not encouraging. A regime that fires upon
    American and British pilots is not taking the path of compliance. A
    regime that sends letters filled with protests and falsehoods is not
    taking the path of compliance.
        On or before the 8th of December, Iraq must provide a full and
    accurate declaration of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic
    missile programs. That declaration must be credible and complete, or the
    Iraqi dictator will have demonstrated to the
    world once again that he has chosen not to change his behavior.
        Americans seek peace in this world. We're a peaceful nation. War is
    the last option for confronting threats. Yet the temporary peace of
    denial and looking away from danger would only be a prelude to broader
    war and greater horror. America

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    will confront gathering dangers early, before our options become limited
    and desperate. By showing our resolve today, we are building a future of
    peace.
        In the decisions and missions to come, our military will carry the
    values of America and the hopes of the world. The people of Iraq, like
    all human beings, deserve their freedom. And the people of Afghanistan,
    with the help of the United States Armed Forces, have gained their
    freedom.
        One guardsman from Florida tells of meeting a member of the new
    Afghan national army. This Afghan soldier said he enlisted to honor the
    memory of his brother who was killed by the Taliban and to ensure that
    his own son would live in freedom. The Florida guardsman wrote home that
    ``being here makes me realize that people are giving up their lives to
    have a fraction of the freedoms we take for granted.'' He said,
    ``Talking to one soldier made me realize how lucky I am to have been
    born in the United States of America. I'm honored to have met an Afghan
    patriot,'' he wrote.
        Every time I visit this building or any American base around the
    world, I'm honored to meet American patriots. The men and women of our
    military bring credit to our flag and security to our country. On behalf
    of the American people, I thank you for all you've done, for all you
    will do in the cause of freedom and the cause of peace.
        And now I'm pleased to sign the Bob Stump National Defense
    Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:30 p.m. in the auditorium at the
    Pentagon. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary of Defense Donald H.
    Rumsfeld, who introduced the President; and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Al
    Qaida's chief of operations for the Persian Gulf. H.R. 4546, approved
    December 2, was assigned Public Law No. 107-314. The Office of the Press
    Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.