[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[May 31, 2003]
[Pages 574-578]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the People of Poland in Krakow, Poland
May 31, 2003

    My friend, Mr. President, it's 
really good to be with you again and, of course, the First 
Lady. Mr. Prime Minister, Your Eminence, distinguished guests, citizens of 
Poland. I'm honored to be in the city of Krakow, where so many landmarks 
give witness to Poland's history and Poland's faith.
    From this castle, Polish kings ruled for centuries in a tradition of 
tolerance. Below this hill lies the market square where Kosciuszko swore 
loyalty to the first democratic constitution of Europe. And at Wawel 
Cathedral in 1978, a Polish cardinal began his journey to a conclave in 
Rome and entered history as Pope John Paul II, 
and I are pleased to make our second visit to this beautiful country, 
and we bring with us the friendship and the good wishes of the American 
people.
    In Warsaw 2 years ago, I affirmed the commitment of my country to a 
united Europe, bound to America by close ties of history, of commerce, 
and of friendship. I said that Europe must finally overturn the bitter 
legacy of Yalta and remove the false boundaries and spheres of influence 
that divided this continent for too long. We have acted on this 
commitment. Poland, the United States, and our Allies have agreed to 
extend NATO eastward and southward, bringing the peace and security of 
our Alliance to the young democracies of Europe.
    As the Atlantic Alliance has expanded, it has also been tested. 
America and European countries have been called to confront the threat 
of global terror. Each nation has faced difficult decisions about the 
use of military force to keep the peace. We have seen unity and common 
purpose. We have also seen debate, some of it healthy, some of it 
divisive.
    I have come to Krakow to state the intentions of my country. The 
United States is committed to a strong Atlantic Alliance to ensure our 
security, to advance human freedom, and to keep peace in the world.

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    Poland struggled for decades to gain freedom and to fully 
participate in life in Europe, and soon you will be a member of the 
European Union. You also struggled to become a full member of the 
Atlantic Alliance, yet you have not come all this way, through 
occupations and tyranny and brave uprisings, only to be told that you 
must now choose between Europe and America. Poland is a good citizen of 
Europe, and Poland is a close friend of America, and there is no 
conflict between the two.
    America owes our moral heritage of democracy and tolerance and 
freedom to Europe. We have sacrificed for those ideals together, in the 
great struggles of the past. In the Second World War, the forces of 
freedom came together to defeat nazism. In the cold war, our 
transatlantic Alliance opposed imperial communism. And today, our 
alliance of freedom faces a new enemy, a lethal combination of terrorist 
groups, outlaw states seeking weapons of mass destruction, and an 
ideology of power and domination that targets the innocent and justifies 
any crime.
    This is a time for all of us to unite in the defense of liberty and 
to step up to the shared duties of free nations. This is no time to stir 
up divisions in a great Alliance.
    For America, our resolve to fight terror was firmly set on a single 
day of violence and sorrow. The attacks of September the 11th, 2001, 
changed my country. On that morning, the American people saw the hatred 
of our enemies and the future of grief they intend for us. The American 
Government accepted a mission to strike and defeat the terror network 
and to hold accountable all who harbor it and all who support it.
    For my country, the events of September the 11th were as decisive as 
the attack on Pearl Harbor and the treachery of another September, in 
1939. And the lesson of all those events is the same: Aggression and 
evil intent must not be ignored or appeased; they must be opposed early 
and decisively.
    We are striving for a world in which men and women can live in 
freedom and peace, instead of fear and chaos. And every civilized nation 
has a stake in the outcome. By waging this fight together, we will speed 
the day of final victory.
    One of the main fronts in this war is right here in Europe, where Al 
Qaida used the cities as staging areas for their attacks. Europe's 
capable police forces and intelligence services are playing essential 
roles in hunting the terrorists. And Poland has led the effort to 
increase antiterror cooperation amongst Central and Eastern European 
nations, and America is grateful.
    Some challenges of terrorism, however, cannot be met with law 
enforcement alone. They must be met with direct military action. The 
Taliban regime in Afghanistan chose to support and harbor Al Qaida 
terrorists, and so that regime is no more. The dictator in Iraq pursued weapons of mass murder, cultivated ties to 
terror, and defied the demands of the United Nations, so his regime has 
been ended.
    In the battles of Afghanistan and Iraq, Polish forces served with 
skill and honor. America will not forget that Poland rose to the moment. 
Again you have lived out the words of the Polish motto: ``For your 
freedom and ours.''
    In order to win the war on terror, our Alliances must be strong. 
Poland and America are proud members of NATO, and NATO must be prepared 
to meet the challenges of our time. This is a matter of capability and a 
matter of will. Our common security requires European Governments to 
invest in modern military capabilities, so our forces can move quickly 
with a precision that can strike the guilty and spare the innocent. NATO 
must show resolve and foresight to act beyond Europe, and it has begun 
to do so. NATO has agreed to lead security forces in Afghanistan and to 
support our Polish Allies in Iraq. A strong NATO Alliance, with a broad

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vision of its role, will serve our security and the cause of peace.
    The greatest threat to peace is the spread of nuclear, chemical, and 
biological weapons, and we must work together to stop proliferation. The 
countries of the G-8 committed last year to aiding Russia and others in 
securing and eliminating deadly weapons that remain from the Soviet era. 
I welcome Poland's decision to join this effort. And I call on America's 
G-8 partners to follow through on their financial commitments so that we 
can stop proliferation at one of its sources.
    When weapons of mass destruction or their components are in transit, 
we must have the means and authority to seize them. So today I announce 
a new effort to fight proliferation called the Proliferation Security 
Initiative. The United States and a number of our close allies, 
including Poland, have begun working on new agreements to search planes 
and ships carrying suspect cargo and to seize illegal weapons or missile 
technologies. Over time, we will extend this partnership as broadly as 
possible to keep the world's most destructive weapons away from our 
shores and out of the hands of our common enemies.
    In the last 20 months, the world has seen the determination of my 
country and many others to fight terror. Yet, armed force is always the 
last resort. And Americans know that terrorism is not defeated by 
military power alone. We believe that the ultimate answer to hatred is 
hope. And as we fight the forces of terror, we must also change the 
conditions in which terror can take root.
    Terrorism is often bred in failing states, so we must help nations 
in crisis to build a civil society of free institutions. The ideology of 
terror takes hold in an atmosphere of resentment and hopelessness, so we 
must help men and women around the world to build lives of purpose and 
dignity. In the long term, we add to our security by helping to spread 
freedom and alleviate suffering. And this sets a broad agenda for 
nations on both sides of the Atlantic.
    In Africa, the spread of HIV/AIDS threatens millions and the 
stability of an entire continent. The United States has undertaken a 
comprehensive, $15-billion effort to prevent AIDS and to treat AIDS and 
provide humane care for its victims. I urge our partners in Europe to 
make a similar commitment, so we can work together in turning the tide 
against AIDS.
    Global hunger is a chronic challenge, and we have a crisis in 
Africa. The United States is establishing an emergency fund so we can 
rush help to countries where the first signs of famine appear. The 
nations of Europe can greatly help in this effort with emergency funds 
of their own. I hope European Governments will reconsider policies that 
discourage farmers in developing countries from using safe biotechnology 
to feed their own people.
    Wealthy nations have the responsibility to help the developing world 
and to make certain our help is effective. Through the Millennium 
Challenge Account, I have proposed a 50-percent increase in America's 
core development assistance. This aid will go to where it will do the 
most good, not to corrupt elites but to nations that are ruled justly, 
nations that invest in the health and education of their people, and 
nations that encourage economic freedom. If European Governments will 
adopt the same standards, we can work side by side in providing the kind 
of development aid that helps transform entire societies.
    One of the greatest sources of development and growth in any society 
is trade. America and Europe should lead the effort to bring down global 
trade barriers. A world that trades in freedom can bring millions of 
people into a growing circle of prosperity.
    And America and Europe must work closely to develop and apply new 
technologies that will improve our air and water quality and protect the 
health of the world's people.

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    America and Europe are called to advance the cause of freedom and 
peace, and these two commitments are inseparable. It is human rights and 
private property, the rule of law and free trade and political openness 
that undermine the appeal of extremism and create the stable environment 
that peace requires. We are determined to demonstrate the power of these 
ideals in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq. And these ideals 
will provide the foundation for a reformed and peaceful and independent 
Palestinian state.
    Today in the Middle East, the emergence of new Palestinian 
leadership which has condemned terror is a hopeful sign that the parties 
can agree to two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in 
peace and security.
    Early next week, I will go to the Middle East to meet with the 
Palestinian ``Abu Mazen'' and Israeli Prime 
Ministers and other leaders in the region. I 
will remind them that the work ahead will require difficult decisions. I 
will remind them that for peace to prevail, all leaders must fight 
terrorism and shake off old arguments and old ways. No leader of 
conscience can accept more months and years of humiliation and killing 
and mourning. I will do all that I can to help the parties reach an 
agreement and then to see that that agreement is enforced.
    To meet these goals of security and peace and a hopeful future for 
the developing world, we welcome, we need the help, the advice, and the 
wisdom of our European friends and allies. New theories of rivalry 
should not be permitted to undermine the great principles and 
obligations that we share. The enemies of freedom have always preferred 
a divided Alliance because when Europe and America are united, no 
problem and no enemy can stand against us.
    Within an hour's journey of this castle lies a monument to the 
darkest impulses of man. Today I saw Auschwitz, the sites of the 
Holocaust and Polish martyrdom, a place where evil found its willing 
servants and its innocent victims. One boy imprisoned there was branded 
with the number A70713. Returning to Auschwitz a lifetime later, Elie 
Wiesel recalled his first night in the camp: ``I 
asked myself, `God, is this the end of your people, the end of mankind, 
the end of the world?'''
    With every murder, a world was ended. And the death camps still bear 
witness. They remind us that evil is real and must be called by name and 
must be opposed. All the good that has come to this continent, all the 
progress, the prosperity, the peace, came because beyond the barbed 
wire, there were people willing to take up arms against evil.
    And history asks more than memory, because hatred and aggression and 
murderous ambitions are still alive in the world. Having seen the works 
of evil firsthand on this continent, we must never lose the courage to 
oppose it everywhere.
    Through the years of the Second World War, another legacy of the 
20th century was unfolding here in this city of Krakow. A young 
seminarian, Karol Wojtyla,