[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.