    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [November 11, 2003]
    [Pages 1509-1513]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Heritage Foundation President's Club Luncheon
    November 11, 2003

        Ed, thank you very much. It's an honor
    to be here. I appreciate your invitation. I want to thank you for your
    decades of leadership in the conservative movement. Presidents come and
    go, except here at the Heritage Foundation. [Laughter] I appreciate
    being with your good bride, Linda, the
    trustees of the Heritage, the longtime Heritage supporters, and the
    Ronald Reagan Fellow at Heritage, a man who is a fine leader, a fine
    Attorney General, Ed Meese.
        It's appropriate that we gather in the building named for Ronald
    Reagan. The Heritage Foundation emerged as an
    important voice in Washington during the Reagan years. The American
    people gave Ronald Reagan his mandate for leadership. Yet it was the
    Heritage Foundation, with a book by that title, from which he drew ideas
    and inspiration. Ever since, in the councils of Washington, Heritage has
    been an advocate for free enterprise, traditional values, and the
    advance of liberty around the world. My administration has benefited
    from your good work, and so has our country. Thank you for what you do.
        We meet on Veterans Day, and I know there are many veterans in this
    room. On behalf of the Nation, I thank you for your service to our
    country. The title of ``veteran'' is a term of great respect in America.
    All who served, whether for a few years or for many, have put the
    Nation's needs above their own. All stood ready if the order came to
    risk everything for their country's cause. Our wars have taken from us
    some of our finest citizens and every hour of the lifetimes they had
    hoped to live. And the courage of our military has given us every hour
    we live in freedom.
        In every generation, members of the Armed Forces have been loyal to
    one another and faithful to the ideals of America. After the Second
    World War, returning veterans often said they had just been doing their
    jobs, or didn't talk about their service at all. Yet they knew the
    stakes of the fight they had been in and the magnitude of what they had
    achieved. Long after putting away his uniform, one American expressed
    his pride in having served in World War II. He said, ``I feel like I
    played my part in turning this from a century of darkness into a century
    of light.'' This is true of all who have served and sacrificed in the
    struggles of the 20th century. They maintained the greatest fighting
    force in the world. They kept our country free, and we're grateful to
    them all.

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        We come to this Veterans Day in a time of war. And today's military
    is acting in the finest traditions of the veterans who came before them.
    They've given all that we've asked of them. They are showing bravery in
    the face of ruthless enemies and compassion to people in great need. Our
    men and women in uniform are warriors, and they are liberators, strong
    and kind and decent. By their courage, they keep us safe; by their
    honor, they make us proud.
        When we lose such Americans in battle, we lose our best. And the
    time--this time of brave achievement is also a time of sacrifice. Not
    far from this place, at Army and Navy medical centers, young
    servicemembers are recovering from injuries of war. Not far from here,
    at Arlington National Cemetery, as in hometowns across America, we have
    laid to rest young men and women who died in distant lands. For their
    families, this is a terrible sorrow, and we pray for their comfort. For
    the Nation, there is a feeling of loss, and we remember and we honor
    every name.
        Our people in uniform know the cost and risk of war. They also know
    what is at stake in this war. Army Command Sergeant Major Ioakimo
    Falaniko recently lost his son, Private
    Jonathan Falaniko, in an attack near
    Baghdad. Father and son both served in Iraq in the same unit, the 1st
    Armored Division's Engineer Brigade. At his son's memorial service,
    Command Sergeant Major Falaniko said this: ``What our country brings to
    Iraq is a chance for freedom and democracy. We're making a difference
    every day. My son died for a good cause. He answered the Nation's
    call.''
        Our mission in Iraq and Afghanistan is clear to our servicemembers
    and clear to our enemies. Our men and women are fighting to secure the
    freedom of more than 50 million people who recently lived under two of
    the cruelest dictatorships on Earth. Our men and women are fighting to
    help democracy and peace and justice rise in a troubled and violent
    region. Our men and women are fighting terrorist enemies thousands of
    miles away in the heart and center of their power so that we do not face
    those enemies in the heart of America. Our men and women are fighting
    for the security of America and for the advance of freedom, and that is
    a cause worth fighting for.
        The work we are in is not easy, yet it is essential. The failure of
    democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq would condemn every advocate of
    freedom in those two countries to prison or death and would extinguish
    the democratic hopes of millions in the Middle East. The failure of
    democracies in those two countries would provide new bases for the
    terrorist network and embolden terrorists and their allies around the
    world. The failure of democracy in those two countries would convince
    terrorists that America backs down under attack, and more attacks on
    America would surely follow.
        The terrorists cite the examples of Beirut and Somalia as evidence
    that America can be made to run. Five years ago, one of the terrorists
    said that an attack could make America retreat in less than 24 hours.
    The terrorists are mistaken.
        The United States will complete our work in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
    Democracy in those two countries will succeed, and that success will be
    a great milestone in the history of liberty. A democratic revolution
    that has reached across the globe will finally take root in the Middle
    East. The stagnation and isolation and anger of that region will give
    way to progress and opportunity. America and the world will be safer
    from catastrophic violence because terror is not the tool of the free.
        The United States has made an unbreakable commitment to the success
    of freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. We have a strategy to see that
    commitment through. In Afghanistan, we're helping to build a free and
    stable democracy as we continue to track down and destroy Taliban and Al
    Qaida forces. Following years of cruel oppression,

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    the Afghan people are living with hope, and they're making steady
    progress.
        In Iraq, the terrorists have chosen to make a stand and to test our
    resolve. Their violence is concentrated in a relatively small area of
    that country. Yet the terrorists are dangerous. For the sake of Iraq's
    future, for the sake of America's security, these killers must be
    defeated.
        After the swift advance of our coalition to Baghdad and the removal
    of Saddam Hussein from power, some remnants
    of the regime fled from the battlefield. Over time, Ba'ath Party and
    Fedayeen fighters and other Saddam loyalists have organized to attack
    our forces, to terrorize international aid workers, and to murder
    innocent Iraqis. These bitter holdouts would rather see Iraqis dead than
    see them free.
        Foreign jihadists have arrived across Iraq's borders in small groups
    with the goal of installing a Taliban-like regime. Also present in the
    country are some terrorists from Ansar Islam and from Al Qaida, who are
    always eager to join in the killing and who seek revenge after their
    defeat in Afghanistan. Saddam loyalists and
    foreign terrorists may have different long-term goals, but they share a
    near-term strategy: to terrorize Iraqis and to intimidate America and
    our allies.
        Recent reporting suggests that despite their differences, these
    killers are working together to spread chaos and terror and fear. Since
    the fall of Saddam Hussein, 93 percent of
    terror attacks have occurred in Baghdad and five of Iraq's 18 provinces.
    The violence is focused in 200 square miles known as the Ba'athist
    Triangle, the home area of Saddam Hussein and most of his associates.
    Here, the enemy is waging the battle, and it is here that the enemy will
    be defeated.
        In the last few months, the adversary has changed its composition
    and method, and our coalition is adapting accordingly. We're employing
    the latest battlefield technology to locate mortar positions and
    roadside bombs. Our forces are moving against specific targets based on
    intelligence gathered from Iraqis. We're conducting hundreds of daily
    patrols. Last month alone, we made 1,500 raids against terrorists. The
    recent operations have resulted in the capture or death of more than
    1,000 killers, the seizure of 4,500 mortar rounds; 1,600 rocket-
    propelled grenades have been seized, thousands of other weapons and
    military equipment. Our coalition is on the offensive in Iraq, and we
    will stay on the offensive.
        The long-term security of Iraq will be assured by the Iraqis
    themselves. One hundred and eighteen thousand Iraqis are now serving as
    police officers and border guards, civil defense personnel, and in the
    facilities protection service. Iraq's security forces join in operations
    with our troops, and they patrol towns and cities independently. Some
    700 troops are now serving in the new Iraqi army. Thousands more are
    being trained, and we expect to see 35,000 Iraqi troops in the field by
    the end of next year. Increasingly, the Iraqi people are assuming the
    responsibilities and the risks of protecting their own country. And
    their willingness to accept these duties is one of the surest signs that
    the Iraqis want freedom and that the Iraqis are headed toward self-
    government.
        Under our strategy, increasing authority is being transferred to the
    Iraqi people. The Iraqi Governing Council has appointed ministers who
    are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Iraqi government.
    The Council has also begun the process that will lead to a new
    constitution. No friend or enemy should doubt Iraq liberty will find a
    lasting home.
        Iraqis are a proud people, and they want their national
    independence. And they can see the difference between those who are
    attacking their country and those who are helping to build it. Our
    coalition is training new police; the terrorists are trying to kill
    them. We're protecting pipelines and powerplants for the good of the
    Iraqi people; the terrorists are trying to blow them up.

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    We're turning authority over to Iraqi leaders; the terrorists are trying
    to assassinate them. We're offering aid and self-rule and hope for the
    future; the terrorists offer nothing but oppression and death. The vast
    majority of Iraqis know exactly what is going on in their country today.
    Having seen the worst of tyranny, the Iraqi people will reject the
    return of tyranny.
        After decades of a dictator's sustained assault on Iraq's society
    and dignity and spirit, a Jeffersonian democracy will not spring up in a
    matter of months. We know that our Ba'athist and terrorist enemies are
    ruthless and cunning. We also know that the lives of Iraqis have
    improved greatly in 7 short months. Yet, we know the remaining tasks are
    difficult.
        We also know a few things about our own country. America gained its
    own independence and helped free much of the world by taking on
    difficult tasks. We're a confident people, and we have a reason to be
    confident. Our Armed Forces are skilled and powerful and humane. They're
    the best in the world. I will keep them that way.
        We've got good friends and allies serving with us in Iraq. There are
    32 countries standing beside our troops. Our commanders have the
    capabilities they have requested, and they're meeting a changing enemy
    with flexible tactics. The Congress has provided the resources we need
    to support our military and to improve the daily lives of newly
    liberated people. Other nations and organizations have stepped up to
    provide more than $18 billion to the emerging democracies of Afghanistan
    and Iraq. The peoples of those two countries are sacrificing for their
    own liberty. And the United States once again is fighting in the cause
    of our Nation, the great cause of liberty. And we know that the cause of
    liberty will prevail.
        Much is asked of us, and we have answered this kind of challenge
    before. In the summer of 1948, the Soviet Union imposed a sudden and
    total blockade on the city of Berlin in order to force the allies out.
    More than 2 million people would soon be without food or fuel or
    medicine. The entire world watched and wondered if free peoples would
    back down, wondered whether free people would abandon their commitments.
    It was at the outset of the cold war, and the will and the resolve of
    America were being measured.
        In an urgent meeting, all the alternatives were discussed, including
    retreat. When the moment of decision came, President Harry Truman said
    this: ``We stay in Berlin, period. We stay in Berlin, come what may.''
    By the determination of President Truman, America and our allies
    launched the Berlin airlift and overcame more than 10 months of siege.
    That resolve and the daring of our military saved a city and held back
    the Communist threat in Europe.
        Nearly four decades later, Ronald Reagan
    came to West Berlin with the same kind of resolve, and vision beyond the
    cold war. When he called on the Soviets to tear down that wall, he was
    asserting a confident new doctrine. He believed that communism can not
    only be contained but transcended, that no human barrier could hold back
    the spread of human liberty. The triumph of that vision eventually
    turned enemies into friends, healed a divided continent, and brought
    security and peace to Europe and America.
        Two years into the war on terror, the will and resolve of America
    are being tested in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Again the world is
    watching. Again we will be steadfast. We will finish the mission we have
    begun, period.
        We are not only containing the terrorist threat, we are turning it
    back. We believe that freedom is the right of every person. We believe
    that freedom is the hope of every culture. We believe that freedom is
    the future of every nation in the Middle East. And we know as Americans
    that the advance of freedom is the surest path to peace.
        May God bless you all.

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    Note: The President spoke at 1:16 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building and
    International Trade Center. In his remarks, he referred to Edwin J.
    Feulner, president, The Heritage Foundation, and his wife, Linda
    Leventhal; former Attorney General Edwin Meese III; and former President
    Saddam Hussein of Iraq.