[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[February 13, 2003]
[Pages 169-173]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville
February 13, 2003

    Thank you all very much. Admiral, thank 
you for that--for those kind words, and thanks for the warm welcome. I'm 
honored to be with the service men and women and families of the 
Jacksonville naval

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community. I'm proud to be at Naval Station Mayport.
    Last August, the sailors and pilots of the ``Big John'' returned 
from 4 months in the North Arabian Sea, where you served in Operation 
Enduring Freedom. With your outstanding performance, you proved that 
``Jack is back.'' [Laughter]
    Some of you here have served in the U.S.S. Enterprise battlegroup. 
You were among the first American ships in the Afghan theater. And when 
it came time to strike the terrorists in Afghanistan, you were ready on 
arrival. Together, the ``Big John'' and the ``Big E'' launched thousands 
of sorties from their decks, supporting coalition forces on the ground. 
You helped liberate the Afghan people. You defended the American people, 
and each and every one of you here has made America proud.
    The United States Navy carries the might and the mission of America 
to the farthest parts of this world. In this challenging period for our 
country, great tasks lie ahead for the Navy and for our entire military. 
And I know we can depend on you, because this United States military is 
second to none.
    I appreciate Admiral Natter for his 
leadership. I want to thank the Governor of Florida 
for his leadership too. [Laughter] He's doing everything just like his 
mother told him to. [Laughter] I'm listening to 
the same mother, I want you to know. [Laughter]
    I want to thank the members from the congressional delegation. Ander 
Crenshaw, who represents this district, I 
know he's a strong supporter of the military families living here in 
Jacksonville, and I appreciate John Mica coming 
as well. These are two Members of the United States Congress that I know 
I can count on when it comes to making sure this United States military 
is strong and ready.
    I want to thank State Senator Jim King and his 
wife, Linda, for being here today. I appreciate 
all the leadership from different battlegroups here--based here.
    Today when I landed on Air Force One, I met a fellow named Arden 
Battle. He is a machinist mate, senior chief, 
U.S. Navy. Let me tell you something. He represents the spirit of this 
military that makes me proud. Not only are we tough and good fighters, 
he leads hundreds of your fellow sailors into volunteering in the 
community in Jacksonville, Florida. He and others like him serve as a 
role model for young kids. He mentors. He and his group teach children 
how to read. He not only serves this country to keep the peace, he 
serves this country to be more compassionate for all of our citizens.
    My call to you is, a lot of people look up to you because you wear 
the uniform. Do your duty. Not only work hard to be a good soldier and 
sailor, but also love somebody like you'd like to be loved yourself.
    I want to thank Arden and all those of you 
who have heard a call to become involved in your neighborhoods and your 
communities to help somebody who hurts. America is a better place for 
your compassion and your love.
    I want to thank the other community leaders who are here. I want to 
thank those of you who support our military, but I'm particularly 
grateful to all the military families who are here with us today. Family 
members serve and sacrifice for our Nation. Each one of you knows that 
Navy life is rewarding, but it can be dangerous. It can be difficult. 
Every day our military families are putting America's interests first, 
and America thanks you.
    Across this great land, I hear it all the time: The people of this 
country admire our men and women in uniform. They're praying for you. 
They're concerned about you and your families. Our people in uniform and 
families deserve our gratitude, and you deserve our support.
    Last year I signed the largest increase in defense spending in a 
generation. Last

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week I sent a budget to Congress with another significant increase in 
defense spending. Those who wear our uniform and their families deserve 
the best possible housing, the best possible pay, and the best possible 
training. With the support of this Congress, I will make sure that our 
military has every resource, every weapon, everything you need to defend 
America and to keep the peace.
    Across six decades, ever since World War II, Mayport has been 
providing the ``Finest Service to the Finest Fleet.'' This port has been 
home to generations of sailors who fought America's battles with 
distinction and courage. Now you're called to defend our freedom and to 
defend the security of America against a new kind of enemy.
    This enemy reaches across oceans. It targets the innocent. There are 
no rules of war for these coldblooded killers. They seek biological and 
chemical and nuclear weapons to commit murder on a massive scale. This 
enemy will not be restrained by mercy or by conscience. This enemy will 
be stopped, and it will be stopped by the might and will of the United 
States and our friends and our allies.
    The terrorists brought this war to us, and now we're taking it back 
to them. We're on their trail. We're smoking them out. We've got them on 
the run. We're hunting them down one by one, all across the world. With 
our allies, we've arrested or otherwise dealt with--[laughter]--many of 
the key commanders of Al Qaida. And that includes the terrorists who 
planned the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole.
    So far, more than 3,000 suspected terrorists have been arrested in 
many countries. Just about that number met a different kind of fate. 
They're not a problem anymore.
    The world changed on September the 11th, 2001. You see, we learned 
that oceans no longer protect us, that a threat that gathers on the 
other side of the Earth can strike our own cities, can kill our own 
people. That's what we learned. And I'm not going to forget that lesson. 
You see, we saw what terrorists could do with four airplanes as weapons. 
We're not going to wait and see what they can do with even deadlier 
weapons.
    Today, the gravest danger in the war on terror, the gravest danger 
facing America and the world, is outlaw regimes that seek and possess 
nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. These regimes could use such 
weapons for blackmail, terror, mass murder. They could also give or sell 
those weapons to terrorist allies who would use them without the least 
bit of hesitation. That's the reality of the world we live in, and 
that's what we're going to use every ounce of our power to defeat.
    We have an obligation to protect America and the Americans. We 
understand our responsibility, and jointly we'll do just that. We'll 
protect America and our friends and allies from these thugs.
    The civilized world has awakened to the growing danger posed by the 
Iraqi regime. Twelve years ago, Saddam Hussein agreed to disarm as a condition of suspending the Gulf 
war. Three months ago, the United Nations Security Council gave him a 
final chance to meet that obligation. Saddam Hussein is not disarming. 
He's deceiving.
    America has laid out the facts for the world to see. Saddam 
Hussein has chemical weapons programs and the 
means to use them. Saddam Hussein has biological weapons program and the 
means to deliver those weapons. He has secretly attempted to obtain 
materials needed to produce nuclear weapons. Saddam Hussein aids and 
protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaida. He harbors a senior 
Al Qaida leader who ordered the assassination of an American diplomat, 
the same man who plotted against Spain and Italy and the Republic of 
Georgia and Russia and Great Britain and France and Germany. The Iraqi 
regime is engaged in a massive campaign to conceal its weapons of mass 
destruction and its ties to terrorists, and that deception continues 
today.

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    At any moment during the last 97 days--and during the last 12 
years--Saddam Hussein could have completely 
and immediately disarmed himself. Instead, he's used all this time to 
build and to hide weapons. He must be hoping that by stalling he'll buy 
himself another 12 years. He's wrong. This country will not accept a 
serious and mounting threat to our Nation, our people, and our friends 
and allies.
    Military force is always this Nation's last option. Yet if force 
becomes necessary to disarm Iraq and enforce the will of the United 
Nations, if force becomes necessary to secure our country and to keep 
the peace, America will act deliberately; America will act decisively; 
and America will act victoriously with the world's greatest military.
    America will also be acting with friends and allies. An overwhelming 
majority of NATO members oppose the threat of Iraq and understand that 
tough choices may be necessary to keep the peace. Many nations have 
offered to provide forces or other support to disarm the Iraqi regime. 
Every nation of the Gulf Cooperation Council has agreed to help defend 
and protect Kuwait. And now the world's most important multilateral body 
faces a decision.
    The decision is this for the United Nations: When you say something, 
does it mean anything? You've got to decide, if you lay down a 
resolution, does it mean anything? The United Nations Security Council 
can now decide whether or not it has the resolve to enforce its 
resolutions.
    I'm optimistic that the U.N. Security Council will rise to its 
responsibilities and this time ensure enforcement of what it told Saddam 
Hussein he must do. See, I believe, when it's 
all said and done, free nations will not allow the United Nations to 
fade into history as an ineffective, irrelevant debating society. I'm 
optimistic that free nations will show backbone and courage in the face 
of true threats to peace and freedom.
    If there is a conflict, American forces will act in the honorable 
traditions of our military and in the highest moral traditions of this 
country. Our military will be fighting the oppressors of Iraq, not the 
people of Iraq. America's military fights not to conquer but to 
liberate.
    In case of conflict, this great Nation is already putting plans and 
supplies into place so that food and other humanitarian relief will flow 
quickly to the Iraqi people. You see, we seek more than the defeat of 
terror; we seek an advance of freedom and a world at peace. That is the 
charge that history has given us, and that is a charge we will keep.
    In crucial hours, the success of our cause will depend on the men 
and women of our military. You serve this Nation's ideals, and you live 
out those ideals in your code and in your character. I've seen your love 
of country and your devotion to a cause larger than yourself. I've seen 
your discipline, your idealism, and your sense of honor. I know that 
every mission you are given will be carried out with skill and unselfish 
courage.
    The first time the U.S.S. Enterprise was ever deployed in a crisis 
was October 1962, when President John F. Kennedy ordered it to 
quarantine Cuba, which was arming itself with nuclear missiles aimed at 
our Nation. President Kennedy understood that dangers to freedom had to 
be confronted early and decisively. He said of the cold war, ``These are 
extraordinary times. We face an extraordinary challenge. Our strength as 
well as our convictions have imposed upon this Nation the role of leader 
in freedom's cause.''
    Today, at the dawn of a new century, America is still the leader in 
freedom's cause. And our generation is called to a central role in this 
Nation's history. As Americans, we can be confident: The American people 
are strong and resolute. The American Armed Forces are brave and ready, 
and in freedom's cause, we will prevail.

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    May God bless you all. May God bless our family--your families--and 
may God continue to bless the United States of America.

Note: The President spoke at 11:58 a.m. at the Echo Foxtrot Pier. In his 
remarks, he referred to Adm. Robert J. Natter, USN, commander, U.S. 
Atlantic Fleet; Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; and President Saddam Hussein 
of Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of these remarks.