[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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