[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[May 9, 2003]
[Pages 457-461]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Commencement Address at the University of South Carolina in Columbia,
South Carolina
May 9, 2003
Thank you all very much. Thank you all. President Sorensen and Governor Sanford,
members of the South Carolina congressional delegation and State
officials, members of the faculty, trustees, the families, distinguished
guests, and members of the Class 2003, thank you for the warm welcome to
this great State and to this fine university. I'm honored to be with you
on graduation day as you all become proud alumni of the University of
South Carolina.
I work every day with a distinguished graduate of USC, and I brought
him along this afternoon, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card Jr. of the Class of 1971.
Andy Jr. is a superb public servant and
an honorable man. His loyalty to this university runs deep, and
sometimes he gets carried away. [Laughter] I don't mind the chicken
finger Wednesdays at the White House. [Laughter] I don't even mind his
shag dancing in the West Wing. [Laughter] But it's a little much when
Andy shows up on the day of the Clemson game dressed as ``Cocky.''
[Laughter]
I am so thankful for the invitation to be the speaker this
afternoon. When I arrived, I heard an old boy standing outside. He said,
``We're honored to have the President speaking with us today. It's
almost as good as last year when Lou Holtz was the
speaker.'' [Laughter]
Today marks a great achievement for this graduating class. You've
put your talents to good use; you're seeing the rewards of your hard
work. Congratulations to each one of you.
I also congratulate the men and women who gave their best to this
and every class, the fine professors of the University of South
Carolina. And I join the graduates in thanking the people whose love and
sacrifice made this day possible, the parents of the graduates of the
Class of 2003.
Forty-six years ago, Senator John F. Kennedy came to this campus to
address the graduating class of 1957. He spoke of the great problems of
that time, including, he said, ``untangling the strife-ridden, hate-
ridden Middle East.'' In the decades since, that strife and hate
sometimes seemed like a distant tragedy having little to do with
America.
After September the 11th, 2001, your generation and our whole
country knows
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better. In an age of global terror and weapons of mass destruction, what
happens in the Middle East greatly matters to America. The bitterness of
that region can bring violence and suffering to our own cities. The
advance of freedom and peace in the Middle East would drain this
bitterness and increase our own security.
So today I want to discuss with you a great goal for this Nation. We
will use our influence and idealism to replace old hatreds with new
hopes across the Middle East. A time of historic opportunity has
arrived. A dictator in Iraq has been removed
from power. The terrorists of that region are now seeing their fate--the
short, unhappy life of the fugitive. Reformers in the Middle East are
gaining influence, and the momentum of freedom is growing. We have
reached a moment of tremendous promise, and the United States will seize
this moment for the sake of peace.
The future of peace requires the defeat of terror. So America and a
large coalition of nations are waging a global and unrelenting war
against the terrorists, and we are winning.
In the battle of Afghanistan, we destroyed one of the most
oppressive regimes on Earth, and we destroyed many of the terrorists it
harbored. Across six continents, America and our friends and allies have
been hunting down the terrorists one by one and bringing them to
justice.
And in the battle of Iraq, we faced a regime that aided terrorists,
armed itself with weapons of mass destruction to threaten the peace, and
persecuted its own people. And today, that regime is no more.
During these 20 months, the world has seen the resolve of the
American people. And the world has seen the power and the skill and the
bravery of American Armed Forces. Our men and women in uniform have
acted with courage and decency, in the proudest traditions of this
Nation. And our Nation is grateful. And for those of you who are going
into the ROTC, you will be entering a military that will remain second
to none.
Our Nation is strong. Our greatest strength is that we serve the
cause of liberty. We support the advance of freedom in the Middle East
because it is our founding principle and because it is in our national
interest. The hateful ideology of terrorism is shaped and nurtured and
protected by oppressive regimes. Free nations, in contrast, encourage
creativity and tolerance and enterprise. And in those free nations, the
appeal of extremism withers away.
Free governments do not build weapons of mass destruction for the
purpose of mass terror. Over time, the expansion of liberty throughout
the world is the best guarantee of security throughout the world.
Freedom is the way to peace.
Some believe that democracy in the Middle East is unlikely, if not
impossible. They argue that the people of the Middle East have little
desire for freedom or self-government. These same arguments have been
heard before in other times, about other people. After World War II,
many doubted that Germany and Japan, with their histories of autocratic
rule and aggressive armies, could ever function as free and peaceful
societies. In the cold war we were told that imperial communism was
permanent and the Iron Curtain was there to stay.
In each of these cases--in Germany, in Japan, in Eastern Europe, and
in Russia--the skeptics doubted; then history replied. Every milestone
of liberty over the last 60 years was declared impossible until the very
moment it happened. The history of the modern world offers a lesson for
the skeptics: Do not bet against the success of freedom.
Freedom has advanced because the desire for liberty and justice is
found in every human heart. And the men and women of the Muslim world,
one-fifth of all humanity, share this hope of liberty. Freedom has
advanced because it is a way to lift
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millions out of poverty and improve their lives. Where freedom is
denied, people live in isolation and stagnation. Where freedom is
welcome, people in every culture can flourish. And freedom is advanced
in our time because at crucial moments brave men and women have worked
and sacrificed for it. And the United States has taken their side. This
is how dissidents and political prisoners became the leaders of newly
free countries. And this is how former enemies became loyal friends of
the United States.
The Middle East presents many obstacles to the advance of freedom.
And I understand that this transformation will be difficult. Recently, a
group of 30 Arab scholars issued a report describing a freedom deficit
in Arab countries, citing in particular a lack of human rights and poor
education. They also identified the social oppression of women as a
major barrier to progress. And they are correct. No society can succeed
and prosper while denying basic rights and opportunities to the women of
their country.
For all the challenges, we also see hopeful signs of change. About
half of all the Muslim people live under democratic rule in nations from
Turkey to Indonesia. The Governments of Bahrain and Morocco have held
recent and free elections. And Jordan will hold elections next month.
The people of Qatar have approved a new constitution guaranteeing basic
freedoms. Crown Prince Abdullah and the Taliban is not the wave of
the future. Free people, not tyrants or murderers, will set the course
of history.
Freedom is taking hold in Afghanistan and Iraq, countries of more
than 50 million newly liberated people, countries building for
themselves the institutions of self-government. And our Nation has
special responsibilities to these countries, responsibilities we will
keep. In Afghanistan, America and our allies are helping to build roads
and train police and rebuild schools. This summer, at townhall meetings
across the country, Afghans will discuss the working draft of a new
constitution. And in the fall, a national assembly will convene to
ratify the constitution of a free and democratic Afghanistan.
The Afghan people face continued struggles in rebuilding their
Government and the nation, but the days when women were beaten in the
streets and executed on soccer fields are over.
In Iraq, we are restoring electricity and water and providing
medicines and supplies and removing the thugs who threaten the peace and
order of the country. Iraqi citizens have conducted two major
conferences to discuss their country's future and place themselves to
the path of self-government.
Soon, Iraqis from every ethnic group will choose members of an
interim authority. The people of Iraq are building a free society from
the ground up, and they are able to do so because the dictator and his regime are no more.
America is working with governments and reformers throughout the
Middle East. We are strengthening ties through our Middle East
partnership initiative. As a further
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step, Secretary Powell and Trade
Representative Zoellick will meet with
regional leaders in Jordan next month to discuss an agenda of economic
and political and social progress. Progress will require increased
trade, the engine of economic development.
The combined GDP of all Arab countries is smaller than that of
Spain. Their peoples have less access to the Internet than the people of
sub-Sahara Africa. The Arab world has a great cultural tradition, but is
largely missing out on the economic progress of our time. Across the
globe, free markets and trade have helped defeat poverty and taught men
and women the habits of liberty. So I propose the establishment of a
U.S.-Middle East free trade area within a decade, to bring the Middle
East into an expanding circle of opportunity, to provide hope for the
people who live in that region.
We will work with our partners to ensure that small and mid-sized
businesses have access to capital and support efforts in the region to
develop central laws on property rights and good business practices. By
replacing corruption and self-dealing with free markets and fair laws,
the people of the Middle East will grow in prosperity and freedom.
Making the most of economic opportunities will require broader and
better education, especially among women who have faced the greatest
disadvantages. We will work to improve literacy among girls and women,
building on similar efforts in Afghanistan and Morocco and Yemen. We'll
provide resources for the translation of early reading books into Arabic
and donate those books to primary schools in the region.
And ultimately, both economic success and human dignity depend on
the rule of law and honest administration of justice. So America will
sponsor, with the Government of Bahrain, a regional forum to discuss
judicial reforms. And I'm pleased that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor Day has agreed to help lead this
effort.
As trade expands and knowledge spreads to the Middle East, as women
gain a place of equality and respect, as the rule of law takes hold, all
peoples of that region will see a new day of justice and a new day of
prosperity.
For generations, one of the most tragic problems in the Middle East
has been the conflict in the Holy Land. Yet now with a liberated Iraq,
with new leadership for the Palestinian people, with efforts of leaders
like President Mubarak and Crown Prince
Abdullah, to the Middle East to call all the parties to their
responsibilities. Secretary Powell leaves on this mission tonight. He
carries with him my personal commitment: America will work without
tiring to achieve two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side
in security and prosperity and in peace.
You are living in an historic time for our country. When America was
attacked 20 months ago, many thought that an age
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of fear and terror had arrived. Yet the world has seen something very
different. America is fighting against grave threats wherever they may
gather.
We're determined to help build a Middle East that grows in hope
instead of resentment. Because of the ideals and resolve of this Nation,
you and I will not live in an age of terror. We will live in an age of
liberty.
I wish each of you well in the careers and lives that await you. I
thank you for the invitation, for the honorary degree, and for the
privilege of sharing this proud day with the University of South
Carolina Class of 2003.
May God bless you, and may God continue to bless America. Thank you
very much.
Note: The President spoke at 3:16 p.m. in the Carolina Center. In his
remarks, he referred to Andrew A. Sorensen, president, and Lou Holtz,
head football coach, University of South Carolina; Gov. Mark Sanford of
South Carolina; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and President
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. The Office of the Press Secretary also released
a Spanish language transcript of this address.