    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [June 28, 2005]
    [Pages 1072-1078]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Address to the Nation on the War on Terror From Fort Bragg, North
    Carolina
    June 28, 2005

        Thank you. Please be seated. Good evening. I'm pleased to visit Fort
    Bragg, ``Home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces.'' It's an
    honor to speak before you tonight.
        My greatest responsibility as President is to protect the American
    people, and that's your calling as well. I thank you for your service,
    your courage, and your sacrifice. I thank your families who support you
    in your vital work. The soldiers and families of Fort Bragg have
    contributed mightily to our efforts to secure our country and promote
    peace. America is grateful, and so is your Commander in Chief.
        The troops here and across the world are fighting a global war on
    terror. The war reached our shores on September the 11th, 2001. The
    terrorists who attacked us and the terrorists we face murder in the name
    of a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance, and
    despises all dissent. Their aim is to remake the Middle East in their
    own grim image of tyranny and oppression by toppling governments, by
    driving us out of the region, and by exporting terror.
        To achieve these aims, they have continued to kill in Madrid,
    Istanbul, Jakarta, Casablanca, Riyadh, Bali, and elsewhere. The
    terrorists believe that free societies are essentially corrupt and
    decadent and with a few hard blows, they can force us to retreat. They
    are mistaken. After September the 11th, I made a commitment to the
    American people: This Nation will not wait to be attacked again. We will
    defend our freedom. We will take the fight to the enemy.
        Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war. Many terrorists who kill
    innocent men, women, and children on the streets of

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    Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives
    of our citizens in New York, in Washington, and Pennsylvania. There is
    only one course of action against them, to defeat them abroad before
    they attack us at home. The commander in charge of coalition operations
    in Iraq, who is also senior commander at this base, General John
    Vines, put it well the other day. He said,
    ``We either deal with terrorism and this extremism abroad, or we deal
    with it when it comes to us.''
        Our mission in Iraq is clear. We're hunting down the terrorists.
    We're helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on
    terror. We're advancing freedom in the broader Middle East. We are
    removing a source of violence and instability and laying the foundation
    of peace for our children and our grandchildren.
        The work in Iraq is difficult, and it is dangerous. Like most
    Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is
    horrifying, and the suffering is real. Amid all this violence, I know
    Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it,
    and it is vital to the future security of our country. And tonight I
    will explain the reasons why.
        Some of the violence you see in Iraq is being carried out by
    ruthless killers who are converging on Iraq to fight the advance of
    peace and freedom. Our military reports that we've killed or captured
    hundreds of foreign fighters in Iraq who have come from Saudi Arabia and
    Syria, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, and others. They are making
    common cause with criminal elements, Iraqi insurgents, and remnants of
    Saddam Hussein's regime who want to restore
    the old order. They fight because they know that the survival of their
    hateful ideology is at stake. They know that as freedom takes root in
    Iraq, it will inspire millions across the Middle East to claim their
    liberty as well. And when the Middle East grows in democracy and
    prosperity and hope, the terrorists will lose their sponsors, lose their
    recruits, and lose their hopes for turning that region into a base for
    attacks on America and our allies around the world.
        Some wonder whether Iraq is a central front in the war on terror.
    Among the terrorists, there is no debate. Hear the words of Usama bin
    Laden: ``This third world war is raging'' in
    Iraq. ``The whole world is watching this war.'' He says it will end in
    ``victory and glory, or misery and humiliation.''
        The terrorists know that the outcome will leave them emboldened or
    defeated. So they are waging a campaign of murder and destruction. And
    there is no limit to the innocent lives they are willing to take.
        We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who exploded car bombs
    along a busy shopping street in Baghdad, including one outside a mosque.
    We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who sent a suicide bomber
    to a teaching hospital in Mosul. We see the nature of the enemy in
    terrorists who behead civilian hostages and broadcast their atrocities
    for the world to see.
        These are savage acts of violence, but they have not brought the
    terrorists any closer to achieving their strategic objectives. The
    terrorists, both foreign and Iraqi, failed to stop the transfer of
    sovereignty. They failed to break our coalition and force a mass
    withdrawal by our allies. They failed to incite an Iraqi civil war. They
    failed to prevent free elections. They failed to stop the formation of a
    democratic Iraqi Government that represents all of Iraq's diverse
    population. And they failed to stop Iraqis from signing up in large
    number with the police forces and the army to defend their new
    democracy.
        The lesson of this experience is clear: The terrorists can kill the
    innocent, but they cannot stop the advance of freedom. The only way our
    enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September the 11th,
    if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi, and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like
    bin

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    Laden. For the sake of our Nation's security, this will not happen on my
    watch.
        A little over a year ago, I spoke to the Nation and described our
    coalition's goals in Iraq. I said that America's mission in Iraq is to
    defeat an enemy and give strength to a friend--a free, representative
    government that is an ally in the war on terror and a beacon of hope in
    a part of the world that is desperate for reform. I outlined the steps
    we would take to achieve this goal: We would hand authority over to a
    sovereign Iraqi Government. We would help Iraqis hold free elections by
    January 2005. We would continue helping Iraqis rebuild their nation's
    infrastructure and economy. We would encourage more international
    support for Iraq's democratic transition, and we would enable Iraqis to
    take increasing responsibility for their own security and stability.
        In the past year, we have made significant progress. One year ago
    today, we restored sovereignty to the Iraqi people. In January 2005,
    more than 8 million Iraqi men and women voted in elections that were
    free and fair and took time on--and took place on time.
        We continued our efforts to help them rebuild their country.
    Rebuilding a country after three decades of tyranny is hard, and
    rebuilding while at war is even harder. Our progress has been uneven,
    but progress is being made. We're improving roads and schools and health
    clinics. We're working to improve basic services like sanitation,
    electricity, and water. And together with our allies, we'll help the new
    Iraqi Government deliver a better life for its citizens.
        In the past year, the international community has stepped forward
    with vital assistance. Some 30 nations have troops in Iraq, and many
    others are contributing nonmilitary assistance. The United Nations is in
    Iraq to help Iraqis write a constitution and conduct their next
    elections. Thus far, some 40 countries and 3 international organizations
    have pledged about $34 billion in assistance for Iraqi reconstruction.
    More than 80 countries and international organizations recently came
    together in Brussels to coordinate their efforts to help Iraqis provide
    for their security and rebuild their country. And next month, donor
    countries will meet in Jordan to support Iraqi reconstruction.
        Whatever our differences in the past, the world understands that
    success in Iraq is critical to the security of our nations. As German
    Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said at the
    White House yesterday, ``There can be no question, a stable and
    democratic Iraq is in the vested interest of not just Germany but also
    Europe.''
        Finally, we have continued our efforts to equip and train Iraqi
    security forces. We made gains in both the number and quality of those
    forces. Today, Iraq has more than 160,000 security forces trained and
    equipped for a variety of missions. Iraqi forces have fought bravely,
    helping to capture terrorists and insurgents in Najaf and Samarra,
    Fallujah and Mosul. And in the past month, Iraqi forces have led a major
    antiterrorist campaign in Baghdad called Operation Lightning, which has
    led to the capture of hundreds of suspected insurgents. Like free people
    everywhere, Iraqis want to be defended by their own countrymen, and we
    are helping Iraqis assume those duties.
        The progress in the past year has been significant, and we have a
    clear path forward. To complete the mission, we will continue to hunt
    down the terrorists and insurgents. To complete the mission, we will
    prevent Al Qaida and other foreign terrorists from turning Iraq into
    what Afghanistan was under the Taliban, a safe haven from which they
    could launch attacks on America and our friends. And the best way to
    complete the mission is to help Iraqis build a free nation that can
    govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself.
        So our strategy going forward has both a military track and a
    political track. The principal task of our military is to find and
    defeat the terrorists, and that is why we

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    are on the offense. And as we pursue the terrorists, our military is
    helping to train Iraqi security forces so that they can defend their
    people and fight the enemy on their own. Our strategy can be summed up
    this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.
        We've made progress, but we have a lot more work to do. Today, Iraqi
    security forces are at different levels of readiness. Some are capable
    of taking on the terrorists and insurgents by themselves. A large number
    can plan and execute antiterrorist operations with coalition support.
    The rest are forming and not yet ready to participate fully in security
    operations. Our task is to make the Iraqi units fully capable and
    independent. We're building up Iraqi security forces as quickly as
    possible, so they can assume the lead in defeating the terrorists and
    insurgents.
        Our coalition is devoting considerable resources and manpower to
    this critical task. Thousands of coalition troops are involved in the
    training and equipping of Iraqi security forces. NATO is establishing a
    military academy near Baghdad to train the next generation of Iraqi
    military leaders, and 17 nations are contributing troops to the NATO
    training mission. Iraqi army and police are being trained by personnel
    from Italy, Germany, Ukraine, Turkey, Poland, Romania, Australia, and
    the United Kingdom. Today, dozens of nations are working toward a common
    objective, an Iraq that can defend itself, defeat its enemies, and
    secure its freedom.
        To further prepare Iraqi forces to fight the enemy on their own, we
    are taking three new steps: First, we are partnering coalition units
    with Iraqi units. These coalition-Iraqi teams are conducting operations
    together in the field. These combined operations are giving Iraqis a
    chance to experience how the most professional armed forces in the world
    operate in combat.
        Second, we are embedding coalition transition teams inside Iraqi
    units. These teams are made up of coalition officers and noncommissioned
    officers who live, work, and fight together with their Iraqi comrades.
    Under U.S. command, they are providing battlefield advice and assistance
    to Iraqi forces during combat operations. Between battles, they are
    assisting the Iraqis with important skills, such as urban combat and
    intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance techniques.
        Third, we're working with the Iraqi Ministries of Interior and
    Defense to improve their capabilities to coordinate antiterrorist
    operations. We're helping them develop command and control structures.
    We're also providing them with civilian and military leadership
    training, so Iraq's new leaders can effectively manage their forces in
    the fight against terror.
        The new Iraqi security forces are proving their courage every day.
    More than 2,000 members of Iraqi security forces have given their lives
    in the line of duty. Thousands more have stepped forward and are now
    training to serve their nation. With each engagement, Iraqi soldiers
    grow more battle-hardened, and their officers grow more experienced.
    We've learned that Iraqis are courageous and that they need additional
    skills, and that is why a major part of our mission is to train them so
    they can do the fighting. And then our troops can come home.
        I recognize that Americans want our troops to come home as quickly
    as possible. So do I. Some contend that we should set a deadline for
    withdrawing U.S. forces. Let me explain why that would be a serious
    mistake. Setting an artificial timetable would send the wrong message to
    the Iraqis, who need to know that America will not leave before the job
    is done. It would send the wrong signal to our troops, who need to know
    that we are serious about completing the mission they are risking their
    lives to achieve. And it would send the wrong message to the enemy, who
    would know that all they have to do is wait us out. We will stay in Iraq
    as long as we are needed and not a day longer.

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        Some Americans ask me, ``If completing the mission is so important,
    why don't you send more troops?'' If our commanders on the ground say we
    need more troops, I will send them. But our commanders tell me they have
    the number of troops they need to do their job. Sending more Americans
    would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in
    this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to
    stay forever, when we are, in fact, working for the day when Iraq can
    defend itself and we can leave. As we determine the right force level,
    our troops can know that I will continue to be guided by the advice that
    matters, the sober judgment of our military leaders.
        The other critical element of our strategy is to help ensure that
    the hopes Iraqis expressed at the polls in January are translated into a
    secure democracy. The Iraqi people are emerging from decades of tyranny
    and oppression. Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Shi'a and Kurds were brutally oppressed, and the
    vast majority of Sunni Arabs were also denied their basic rights, while
    senior regime officials enjoyed the privileges of unchecked power. The
    challenge facing Iraqis today is to put this past behind them and come
    together to build a new Iraq that includes all of its people.
        They're doing that by building the institutions of a free society, a
    society based on freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of
    religion, and equal justice under law. The Iraqis have held free
    elections and established a Transitional National Assembly. The next
    step is to write a good constitution that enshrines these freedoms in
    permanent law. The Assembly plans to expand its constitutional drafting
    committee to include more Sunni Arabs. Many Sunnis who opposed the
    January elections are now taking part in the democratic process, and
    that is essential to Iraq's future.
        After a constitution is written, the Iraqi people will have a chance
    to vote on it. If approved, Iraqis will go to the polls again to elect a
    new Government under their new, permanent constitution. By taking these
    critical steps and meeting their deadlines, Iraqis will bind their
    multiethnic society together in a democracy that respects the will of
    the majority and protects minority rights.
        As Iraqis grow confident that the democratic progress they are
    making is real and permanent, more will join the political process. And
    as Iraqis see that their military can protect them, more will step
    forward with vital intelligence to help defeat the enemies of a free
    Iraq. The combination of political and military reform will lay a solid
    foundation for a free and stable Iraq.
        As Iraqis make progress toward a free society, the effects are being
    felt beyond Iraq's borders. Before our coalition liberated Iraq, Libya
    was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Today, the leader of
    Libya has given up his
    chemical and nuclear weapons programs. Across the broader Middle East,
    people are claiming their freedom. In the last few months, we've
    witnessed elections in the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon. These
    elections are inspiring democratic reformers in places like Egypt and
    Saudi Arabia. Our strategy to defend ourselves and spread freedom is
    working. The rise of freedom in this vital region will eliminate the
    conditions that feed radicalism and ideologies of murder, and make our
    Nation safer.
        We have more work to do, and there will be tough moments that test
    America's resolve. We're fighting against men with blind hatred and
    armed with lethal weapons, who are capable of any atrocity. They wear no
    uniform. They respect no laws of warfare or morality. They take innocent
    lives to create chaos for the cameras. They are trying to shake our will
    in Iraq, just as they tried to shake our will on September the 11th,
    2001. They will fail. The

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    terrorists do not understand America. The American people do not falter
    under threat, and we will not allow our future to be determined by car
    bombers and assassins.
        America and our friends are in a conflict that demands much of us.
    It demands the courage of our fighting men and women. It demands the
    steadfastness of our allies, and it demands the perseverance of our
    citizens. We accept these burdens because we know what is at stake. We
    fight today because Iraq now carries the hope of freedom in a vital
    region of the world, and the rise of democracy will be the ultimate
    triumph over radicalism and terror. And we fight today because
    terrorists want to attack our country and kill our citizens, and Iraq is
    where they are making their stand. So we'll fight them there. We'll
    fight them across the world, and we will stay in the fight until the
    fight is won.
        America has done difficult work before. From our desperate fight for
    independence to the darkest days of a Civil War to the hard-fought
    battles against tyranny in the 20th century, there were many chances to
    lose our heart, our nerve, or our way. But Americans have always held
    firm, because we have always believed in certain truths. We know that if
    evil is not confronted, it gains in strength and audacity and returns to
    strike us again. We know that when the work is hard, the proper response
    is not retreat; it is courage. And we know that this great ideal of
    human freedom entrusted to us in a special way and that the ideal of
    liberty is worth defending.
        In this time of testing, our troops can know: The American people
    are behind you. Next week, our Nation has an opportunity to make sure
    that support is felt by every soldier, sailor, airman, coast guardsman,
    and marine at every outpost across the world. This Fourth of July, I ask
    you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom by
    flying the flag, sending a letter to our troops in the field, or helping
    the military family down the street. The Department of Defense has set
    up a web site, americasupportsyou.mil. You can go there to learn about
    private efforts in your own community. At this time when we celebrate
    our freedom, let us stand with the men and women who defend us all.
        To the soldiers in this hall and our service men and women across
    the globe: I thank you for your courage under fire and your service to
    our Nation. I thank our military families. The burden of war falls
    especially hard on you. In this war, we have lost good men and women who
    left our shores to defend freedom and did not live to make the journey
    home. I've met with families grieving the loss of loved ones who were
    taken from us too soon. I've been inspired by their strength in the face
    of such great loss. We pray for the families, and the best way to honor
    the lives that have been given in this struggle is to complete the
    mission.
        I thank those of you who have reenlisted in an hour when your
    country needs you. And to those watching tonight who are considering a
    military career, there is no higher calling than service in our Armed
    Forces. We live in freedom because every generation has produced
    patriots willing to serve a cause greater than themselves. Those who
    serve today are taking their rightful place among the greatest
    generations that have worn our Nation's uniform. When the history of
    this period is written, the liberation of Afghanistan and the liberation
    of Iraq will be remembered as great turning points in the story of
    freedom.
        After September the 11th, 2001, I told the American people that the
    road ahead would be difficult and that we would prevail. Well, it has
    been difficult, and we are prevailing. Our enemies are brutal, but they
    are no match for the United States of America, and they are no match for
    the men and women of the United States military.
        May God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:02 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Usama bin Laden,

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    leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; senior Al Qaida associate
    Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Col.
    Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi, leader of Libya. The Office of the Press
    Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.