    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [February 21, 2004]
    [Pages 248-250]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    February 21, 2004

        Good morning. This week, I traveled to Fort Polk in Louisiana to
    visit with soldiers and family members who are giving vital service in
    the war on terror. Fort Polk is home to some of the Army's oldest and
    finest units. Since September the 11th, 2001, Fort Polk has trained and
    deployed more than 10,000 troops to fight the terrorist enemy worldwide,
    including in Afghanistan and Iraq. Thanks to their bravery and skill,
    America is waging this fight with focus and determination.
        Over the last 29 months, many terrorists have learned the meaning of
    justice. Nearly two-thirds of Al Qaida's known leaders have been
    captured or killed. The terrorists are

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    on the run, with good reason to fear what the night might bring. Success
    in the war on terror also requires that we confront regimes that might
    arm terrorists with the ultimate weapons. America is determined to meet
    this danger and to deny terrorists and dangerous regimes the ability to
    threaten us with the world's most deadly weapons.
        For 12 years, the former dictator of Iraq
    defied the international community. He refused to disarm or account for
    his illegal weapons and programs. My administration looked at the
    intelligence information, and we saw a threat. Members of Congress
    looked at the intelligence, and they saw a threat. The United Nations
    Security Council looked at the intelligence, and it saw a threat. All of
    us knew Saddam Hussein's history. He waged aggressive wars against
    neighboring countries and aspired to dominate the Middle East. He
    cultivated ties to terrorists. He built weapons of mass destruction. He
    hid those weapons. And he used chemical weapons against thousands of
    Iraqis and Iranians. Saddam Hussein doubted our resolve to enforce our
    word. Now he sits in a prison cell while his country moves toward a
    democratic future.
        Today in Iraq, our coalition faces deadly attacks from a remnant of
    Saddam's supporters joined by foreign
    terrorists. Recently we intercepted a letter sent by a senior Al Qaida
    associate named Zarqawi to one of Usama
    bin Laden's top lieutenants. The letter describes a terrorist strategy,
    to tear Iraq apart with ethnic violence, to undermine Iraqi security
    forces, to demoralize our coalition, and to prevent the rise of a
    sovereign, democratic government. This terrorist outlines his efforts to
    recruit and train suicide bombers and boasts of 25 attacks on innocent
    Iraqis and coalition personnel. And he urges Al Qaida members to join
    him in waging war on our coalition and on the people of Iraq.
         Zarqawi and men like him have made
    Iraq the central front in our war on terror. The terrorists know that
    the emergence of a free Iraq will be a major blow against the worldwide
    terrorist movement. In this, they are correct.
        But we have seen this enemy before, and we know how to deal with
    them. Fighting alongside the people of Afghanistan, we are defeating the
    terrorists in that country, and fighting alongside the people of Iraq,
    we will defeat the terrorists there as well. Iraq, like Afghanistan,
    will be free.
        Our coalition is working with Iraq's Governing Council to draft a
    basic law with a bill of rights. We're working with Iraqis and the
    United Nations to prepare for a transition to full Iraqi sovereignty.
    The establishment of a free Iraq will be a watershed event in the
    history of the Middle East, helping to advance the spread of liberty
    throughout that vital region. And as freedom takes hold in the greater
    Middle East, the people of the region will find new hope, and America
    will be more secure.
        Two-and-a-half years ago, on a clear September morning, the enemies
    of America brought a new kind of war to our shores. Three days later, I
    stood in the rubble of the Twin Towers. My resolve today is the same as
    it was then: I will not relent until the terrorist threat to America is
    removed.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 11:35 a.m. on February 20 in the
    Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on February
    21. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on February 20 but was embargoed for release until the
    broadcast. In his address, the President referred to Usama bin Laden,
    leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; and senior Al Qaida
    associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. The Office of the Press Secretary also
    released a Spanish language transcript of this address.

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