    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [September 27, 2003]
    [Pages 1200-1201]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    September 27, 2003

        Good morning. Earlier this week, I spoke to the United Nations,
    which has become, like our country, a target of terrorism. In the past
    month, terrorists have made two bombing attacks on the U.N. headquarters
    in Baghdad, killing Iraqi citizens, U.N. officials, and international
    aid workers. On Tuesday, I conveyed the sympathy of our country for the
    losses of the U.N. and the gratitude of our country for the relief
    efforts of the U.N. in Iraq. I also expressed America's determination to
    fight and win the war on terror for the safety of our own people and for
    the benefit of all mankind.
        The world is safer today because, in Afghanistan, our broad
    coalition destroyed the training camps of terrorists and removed the
    brutal regime that sponsored terror. The world is safer today because we
    continue to hunt down Al Qaida and its terrorist allies and have
    captured or killed nearly two-thirds of Al Qaida's known leaders and key
    facilitators.
        The world is safer today because, in Iraq, our coalition ended a
    regime that cultivated ties to terror while it built weapons of mass
    destruction. And for the safety of the people of Iraq and of all free
    nations, our forces are now conducting a systematic campaign to defeat
    holdouts of the old regime and other terrorists who have joined them.
        In the struggle between terrorist killers and peaceful nations,
    there is no neutral ground. All nations must join in confronting this
    threat where it arises, before the terrorists can inflict even greater
    harm and suffering. And all nations should stand with the people of
    Afghanistan and Iraq as they build a future based on freedom and
    democracy.
        Our coalition is helping the Iraqi people to build a secure,
    hopeful, and self-governing nation which will stand as an example of
    freedom to all the Middle East. We are rebuilding more than a thousand
    schools, supplying and reopening hospitals,

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    rehabilitating powerplants, water and sanitation facilities, bridges,
    and airports. We are training Iraqi police, border guards, and a new
    army, so that the Iraqi people can assume full responsibility for their
    own security. Iraq now has its own Governing Council, has appointed
    interim government ministries, and is moving toward elections. Iraq's
    new leaders are showing the openness and tolerance that democracy
    requires, and also the courage. Yet every young democracy needs the help
    of friends. America is providing that help to Iraq, and all nations of
    good will should do their part as well.
        Our goal is a free Iraq, where the Iraqi people are responsible for
    their own affairs. We want Iraq's governmental institutions to be strong
    and to stand the test of time, so I called on the United Nations to take
    up vital responsibilities in this effort. America is now working with
    friends and allies on a new Security Council resolution which will
    expand the U.N.'s role in Iraq. As in the aftermath of other conflicts,
    the United Nations should assist in developing a constitution, training
    civil servants, and conducting free and fair elections. Many U.N.
    members, from the Philippines to Poland and now Germany, have expressed
    their commitment to helping build a democratic and stable Iraq.
        The stakes in Iraq are high, for the Middle East and beyond. If
    freedom and progress falter in the Middle East, that region will
    continue to export violence that takes lives in America and around the
    world. If democracy and tolerance and peace advance in that region, it
    will undermine the bitterness and resentment that feed terrorism. The
    terrorists understand this, so they have chosen to fight against order
    and liberty in Iraq. They must and they will be defeated. And I am
    confident that more nations will rally to the side of the Iraqi people
    and help them to build a free and peaceful nation.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 11:35 a.m. on September 26 in the
    Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on September
    27. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on September 26 but was embargoed for release until the
    broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
    language transcript of this address.