    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [February 26, 2003]
    [Pages 216-220]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the American Enterprise Institute Dinner
    February 26, 2003

        Thank you all very much. Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm proud to
    be with the scholars and the friends and the supporters of the American
    Enterprise Institute. I want to thank you for overlooking my dress code
    violation. [Laughter] They were about to stop me at the door, but Irving
    Kristol said, ``I know this guy. Let him
    in.'' [Laughter]
        Chris, thank you for your very kind
    introduction, and thank you for your leadership. I see many
    distinguished guests here tonight, members of my Cabinet, Members of
    Congress, Justice Scalia, Justice
    Thomas, and so many respected writers and
    policy experts. I'm always happy to see your senior fellow, Dr. Lynne
    Cheney. Lynne is a wise and thoughtful
    commentator on history and culture and a dear friend to Laura and me. I'm also familiar with the good work of her
    husband. [Laughter] You may remember him, the
    former director of my Vice-Presidential search committee. [Laughter]
    Thank God Dick Cheney said yes.
        Thanks for fitting me into the program tonight. I know I'm not the
    featured speaker. I'm just a warmup act for Allan Meltzer. But I want to congratulate Dr. Meltzer for a
    lifetime of achievement and for tonight's well-deserved honor.
    Congratulations, Dr. Meltzer.
        At the American Enterprise Institute, some of the finest minds in
    our Nation are at work on some of the greatest challenges to our Nation.
    You do such good work that my administration has borrowed 20 such minds.
    I want to thank them for their service, but I also want to remind people
    that for 60 years, AEI scholars have made vital contributions to our
    country and to our Government, and we are grateful for those
    contributions.

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        We meet here during a crucial period in the history of our Nation
    and of the civilized world. Part of that history was written by others;
    the rest will be written by us. On a September morning, threats that had
    gathered for years, in secret and far away, led to murder in our country
    on a massive scale. As a result, we must look at security in a new way,
    because our country is a battlefield in the first war of the 21st
    century.
        We learned a lesson: The dangers of our time must be confronted
    actively and forcefully, before we see them again in our skies and in
    our cities. And we set a goal: We will not allow the triumph of hatred
    and violence in the affairs of men.
        Our coalition of more than 90 countries is pursuing the networks of
    terror with every tool of law enforcement and with military power. We
    have arrested or otherwise dealt with many key commanders of Al Qaida.
    Across the world, we are hunting down the killers one by one. We are
    winning. And we're showing them the definition of American justice. And
    we are opposing the greatest danger in the war on terror, outlaw regimes
    arming with weapons of mass destruction.
        In Iraq, a dictator is building and
    hiding weapons that could enable him to dominate the Middle East and
    intimidate the civilized world, and we will not allow it. This same
    tyrant has close ties to terrorist organizations and could supply them
    with the terrible means to strike this country, and America will not
    permit it. The danger posed by Saddam Hussein and his weapons cannot be
    ignored or wished away. The danger must be confronted. We hope that the
    Iraqi regime will meet the demands of the United Nations and disarm,
    fully and peacefully. If it does not, we are prepared to disarm Iraq by
    force. Either way, this danger will be removed.
        The safety of the American people depends on ending this direct and
    growing threat. Acting against the danger will also contribute greatly
    to the long-term safety and stability of our world. The current Iraqi
    regime has shown the power of tyranny to spread discord and violence in
    the Middle East. A liberated Iraq can show the power of freedom to
    transform that vital region, by bringing hope and progress into the
    lives of millions. America's interests in security and America's belief
    in liberty both lead in the same direction, to a free and peaceful Iraq.
        The first to benefit from a free Iraq would be the Iraqi people
    themselves. Today they live in scarcity and fear under a
    dictator who has brought them nothing but war
    and misery and torture. Their lives and their freedom matter little to
    Saddam Hussein, but Iraqi lives and freedom matter greatly to us.
        Bringing stability and unity to a free Iraq will not be easy. Yet
    that is no excuse to leave the Iraqi regime's torture chambers and
    poison labs in operation. Any future the Iraqi people choose for
    themselves will be better than the nightmare world that Saddam
    Hussein has chosen for them.
        If we must use force, the United States and our coalition stand
    ready to help the citizens of a liberated Iraq. We will deliver medicine
    to the sick, and we are now moving into place nearly 3 million emergency
    rations to feed the hungry. We'll make sure that Iraq's 55,000 food
    distribution sites, operating under the oil-for-food program, are
    stocked and open as soon as possible. The United States and Great
    Britain are providing tens of millions of dollars to the U.N. High
    Commission on Refugees and to such groups as the World Food Program and
    UNICEF to provide emergency aid to the Iraqi people.
        We will also lead in carrying out the urgent and dangerous work of
    destroying chemical and biological weapons. We will provide security
    against those who try to spread chaos or settle scores or threaten the
    territorial integrity of Iraq. We will seek to protect Iraq's natural
    resources from sabotage by a dying regime and ensure those

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    resources are used for the benefit of the owners, the Iraqi people.
        The United States has no intention of determining the precise form
    of Iraq's new Government. That choice belongs to the Iraqi people. Yet,
    we will ensure that one brutal dictator is not replaced by another. All
    Iraqis must have a voice in the new Government, and all citizens must
    have their rights protected.
        Rebuilding Iraq will require a sustained commitment from many
    nations, including our own. We will remain in Iraq as long as necessary
    and not a day more. America has made and kept this kind of commitment
    before, in the peace that followed a World War. After defeating enemies,
    we did not leave behind occupying armies; we left constitutions and
    parliaments. We established an atmosphere of safety, in which
    responsible, reform-minded local leaders could build lasting
    institutions of freedom. In societies that once bred fascism and
    militarism, liberty found a permanent home.
        There was a time when many said that the cultures of Japan and
    Germany were incapable of sustaining democratic values. Well, they were
    wrong. Some say the same of Iraq today. They are mistaken. The nation of
    Iraq, with its proud heritage, abundant resources, and skilled and
    educated people, is fully capable of moving toward democracy and living
    in freedom.
        The world has a clear interest in the spread of democratic values,
    because stable and free nations do not breed the ideologies of murder.
    They encourage the peaceful pursuit of a better life. And there are
    hopeful signs of a desire for freedom in the Middle East. Arab
    intellectuals have called on Arab governments to address the ``freedom
    gap'' so their peoples can fully share in the progress of our times.
    Leaders in the region speak of a new Arab charter that champions
    internal reform, greater political participation, economic openness, and
    free trade. And from Morocco to Bahrain and beyond, nations are taking
    genuine steps toward political reform. A new regime in Iraq would serve
    as a dramatic and inspiring example of freedom for other nations in the
    region.
        It is presumptuous and insulting to suggest that a whole region of
    the world, or the one-fifth of humanity that is Muslim, is somehow
    untouched by the most basic aspirations of life. Human cultures can be
    vastly different, yet the human heart desires the same good things
    everywhere on Earth. In our desire to be safe from brutal and bullying
    oppression, human beings are the same. In our desire to care for our
    children and give them a better life, we are the same. For these
    fundamental reasons, freedom and democracy will always and everywhere
    have greater appeal than the slogans of hatred and the tactics of
    terror.
        Success in Iraq could also begin a new stage for Middle Eastern
    peace and set in motion progress towards a truly democratic Palestinian
    state. The passing of Saddam Hussein's regime
    will deprive terrorist networks of a wealthy patron that pays for
    terrorist training and offers rewards to families of suicide bombers.
    And other regimes will be given a clear warning that support for terror
    will not be tolerated.
        Without this outside support for terrorism, Palestinians who are
    working for reform and long for democracy will be in a better position
    to choose new leaders, true leaders who strive for peace, true leaders
    who faithfully serve the people. A Palestinian state must be a reformed
    and peaceful state that abandons forever the use of terror.
        For its part, the new Government of Israel, as the terror threat is
    removed and security improves, will be expected to support the creation
    of a viable Palestinian state and to work as quickly as possible toward
    a final status agreement. As progress is made toward peace, settlement
    activity in the occupied territories must end. And the Arab states will
    be expected to meet their responsibilities to oppose terrorism, to
    support the emergence of a peaceful and

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    democratic Palestine, and state clearly they will live in peace with
    Israel.
        The United States and other nations are working on a roadmap for
    peace. We are setting out the necessary conditions for progress toward
    the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in
    peace and security. It is the commitment of our Government and my
    personal commitment to implement the roadmap and to reach that goal. Old
    patterns of conflict in the Middle East can be broken, if all concerned
    will let go of bitterness and hatred and violence and get on with the
    serious work of economic development and political reform and
    reconciliation. America will seize every opportunity in pursuit of
    peace. And the end of the present regime in Iraq would create such an
    opportunity.
        In confronting Iraq, the United States is also showing our
    commitment to effective international institutions. We are a permanent
    member of the United Nations Security Council. We helped to create the
    Security Council. We believe in the Security Council so much that we
    want its words to have meaning.
        The global threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
    cannot be confronted by one nation alone. The world needs today and will
    need tomorrow international bodies with the authority and the will to
    stop the spread of terror and chemical and biological and nuclear
    weapons. A threat to all must be answered by all. High-minded
    pronouncements against proliferation mean little unless the strongest
    nations are willing to stand behind them and use force if necessary.
    After all, the United Nations was created, as Winston Churchill said, to
    ``make sure that the force of right will, in the ultimate issue, be
    protected by the right of force.''
        Another resolution is now before the Security Council. If the
    Council responds to Iraq's defiance with more excuses and delays, if all
    its authority proves to be empty, the United Nations will be severely
    weakened as a source of stability and order. If the members rise to this
    moment, then the Council will fulfill its founding purpose.
        I've listened carefully as people and leaders around the world have
    made known their desire for peace. All of us want peace. The threat to
    peace does not come from those who seek to enforce the just demands of
    the civilized world. The threat to peace comes from those who flout
    those demands. If we have to act, we will act to restrain the violent
    and defend the cause of peace. And by acting, we will signal to outlaw
    regimes that in this new century, the boundaries of civilized behavior
    will be respected.
        Protecting those boundaries carries a cost. If war is forced upon us
    by Iraq's refusal to disarm, we will meet an enemy who hides his military forces behind civilians, who
    has terrible weapons, who is capable of any crime. The dangers are real,
    as our soldiers and sailors, airmen and marines fully understand. Yet,
    no military has ever been better prepared to meet these challenges.
        Members of our Armed Forces also understand why they may be called
    to fight. They know that retreat before a dictator guarantees even
    greater sacrifices in the future. They know that America's cause is
    right and just, liberty for an oppressed people and security for the
    American people. And I know something about these men and women who wear
    our uniform: They will complete every mission they are given with skill
    and honor and courage.
        Much is asked of America in this year 2003. The work ahead is
    demanding. It will be difficult to help freedom take hold in a country
    that has known three decades of dictatorship, secret police, internal
    divisions, and war. It will be difficult to cultivate liberty and peace
    in the Middle East, after so many generations of strife. Yet the
    security of our Nation and the hope of millions depend on us, and
    Americans do not turn away from duties because they are hard. We have
    met great tests in other

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    times, and we will meet the tests of our time.
        We go forward with confidence, because we trust in the power of
    human freedom to change lives and nations. By the resolve and purpose of
    America and of our friends and allies, we will make this an age of
    progress and liberty. Free people will set the course of history, and
    free people will keep the peace of the world.
        Thank you all very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:22 p.m. in the International Ballroom at
    the Washington Hilton Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Irving
    Kristol, senior fellow, and Christopher DeMuth, president, American
    Enterprise Institute; Allan H. Meltzer, recipient of the first Irving
    Kristol Award at the dinner; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.