    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [July 8, 2003]
    [Page 847]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to U.S. Embassy Personnel in Dakar
    July 8, 2003

        I thank you all very much for coming out to say hello. Laura and I are honored to be here with you all. I'm also, as
    you can see, traveling with quite distinguished company; our great
    Secretary of State Colin Powell is with us
    as well. I want to thank Ambassador Roth and
    his wife, Carol, for their service to our
    country.
        I'm here to thank our fellow citizens who are serving a great land.
    Thank you for your dedication and your love of country. I want to thank
    the foreign nationals who are helping our fellow citizens make sure the
    Embassy runs so well.
        This is an historic trip--oh, there's the Ambassador. But we are so honored to start our trip to this continent
    here in Senegal. I had the opportunity to go out to Goree Island and
    talk about what slavery meant to America. It's very interesting when you
    think about it, the slaves who left here to go to America, because of
    their steadfast--and their religion and their belief in freedom, helped
    change America. America is what it is today because of what went on in
    the past. Yet when I looked out over the sea, it reminded me that we've
    always got to keep history in mind. And one of the things that we've
    always got to know about America is that we love freedom, that we love
    people to be free, that freedom is God's gift to each and every
    individual. That's what we believe in our country.
        I'm here to spread that message of freedom and peace. Where we see
    suffering, America will act. Where we find the hungry, we will act.
    We're here not only on a mission of mercy; we're also here on a mission
    of alliance. And I want to thank you all for helping make that come
    true.
        May God bless you all. And may God continue to bless Senegal and
    America. Thank you all very much.

    Note: The President spoke at approximately 1 p.m. at Leopold Sedar
    Senghor International Airport. In his remarks, he referred to U.S.
    Ambassador to Senegal Richard Allan Roth and his wife, Carol.