    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [February 24, 2006]
    [Pages 344-352]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the American Legion
    February 24, 2006

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for the warm welcome. Mr.
    Commander, thank you for letting me come by
    and visit with you about the subject of how to keep the peace and
    protect the United States of America. I'm proud to be with my fellow
    Legionnaires. Always a pleasure to be in the midst of veterans who
    served our country. I see some people who are not quite veterans yet
    that are with us, members who are serving all branches of Government,
    and I thank you all for coming. I appreciate your interest in the
    direction this country must continue to lead in order to protect
    ourselves and promote the peace.
        I want to thank Carol Van Kirk, who's the
    national president of the American Legion Auxiliary. Old Tom Bock is wise enough to always include the Auxiliary. He
    knows something about leadership. I want to thank Paul Hasz. I want to thank John Sommer, executive director. He spends quality time in the Oval
    Office, along with the commander. He's never shy to express his opinion,
    but that's what you pay him for. [Laughter]
        I want to thank the chairman of the Senate Arms Services Committee,
    Senator John Warner. Senator, it means a lot
    to me and it means a lot to the folks here that you take time to come
    here to be with them. And I'm honored you're here. Thanks for coming.
        The American Legion is one of America's great organizations. From
    your founding after World War I to today's war on terror, Legionnaires
    have fought for our freedom, and you fought for the brave veterans who
    defended our freedom as well. You served our country in uniform, and you
    serve our country in civilian life. The Legion was founded, in the words
    of your constitution, ``to build a sense of individual obligation to the
    community, state, and nation.'' And when Hurricane Katrina struck our
    Nation's gulf coast, Legion posts all across America swung into action
    to help neighbors in need.
        Take, for example, Post 338 in Bradner, Ohio. These good folks
    helped arrange medical transportation to reunite a sick child with his
    family after the family was forced apart because of the storm. Or Post
    27 in DeRidder, Louisiana, which turned its bingo hall into an emergency
    shelter for 41 kidney dialysis patients and their caregivers and their
    loved ones.
        I think it's very interesting what the post commander, Retired Navy
    Master Chief Bill Loftin, said--by the way, he
    said it when he was cooking hot meals and helped care for disabled
    evacuees. He put it this way: ``This is for human life. That's what the
    Legion is all about.'' In times of crisis, our citizens know
    Legionnaires always come through, and I appreciate you.
        Members of the American Legion are showing the heart of the Legion
    every single day, not just when catastrophe hits. Across America,
    Legionnaires and members of the Ladies Auxiliary volunteer in veterans
    hospitals, sponsor Scout troops and youth baseball, collect scholarship
    money for deserving students, including a special fund that the Legion
    established for the children of troops who've been killed in the war on
    terror. And I thank you for that as well.
        Our Nation is grateful for your service on and off the battlefield.
    As you serve

    [[Page 345]]

    your fellow Americans in need, you're also strongly supporting the
    American flag. It was a Legion that helped draft our Nation's first flag
    code back in 1923. And Legionnaires have been working ever since to
    ensure the flag is cherished and protected. I appreciate your leadership
    of the Citizens Flag Alliance, and like you, I support a constitutional
    amendment to protect the American flag.
        As veterans, you have placed the Nation's security before your own
    lives, and that sacrifice creates a debt that our country can never
    fully repay. Yet there are things Government can do, such as strongly
    support our veterans, and that's precisely what my administration is
    doing. The time when we're holding down discretionary spending, my 2007
    budget--with my 2007 budget, my administration will have increased
    funding for our veterans by $35 billion since I took office, which is an
    increase of 75 percent.
        We have made health care a top priority for my administration. With
    my 2007 budget, we'll increase VA's medical care budget by 69 percent
    since 2001. Our increased funding has given almost a million more
    veterans access to the VA medical care system. Since January 2002,
    disability claims are being processed 63 days faster than they were when
    I took office.
        In the last 4 years, we've committed almost $3 billion to modernize
    and expanding VA facilities so that more veterans can get care closer to
    home. We're working to ensure that veterans with the greatest needs--
    those with service disabilities and lower incomes and special needs--are
    given priority. We're making sure that our men and women returning from
    combat are the first in line for treatment.
        We're also getting results for veterans beyond the health care
    system. For more than a century, Federal law prohibited disabled
    veterans from receiving both their military retired pay and their VA
    disability compensation. Combat-injured and severely disabled veterans
    deserve better. I'm the first President in more than 100 years to sign
    concurrent receipt legislation. And I thank the Legion for working on
    these issues.
        Our Nation's debt extends not just to the veterans who served but
    also to the families who stood by them in war. I signed into law the
    Veterans Benefits Act, authorizing $1 billion in new and expanded
    benefits for disabled veterans, surviving spouses, and their children.
    The families of our veterans have served our country; our Nation will
    honor their service by standing with them in their time of need.
        As veterans you know what it means to leave your family, put on the
    uniform, and head off to war. And today in Afghanistan and Iraq and
    other fronts in this war on terror, a new generation of service men and
    women is carrying on your legacy of selfless sacrifice and courage under
    fire. As they fight dangerous enemies in distant lands, I know that you
    share America's pride in them, and I thank all of you for your strong
    support of our troops in harm's way. Their service is needed in these
    dangerous times.
        We remain a nation at war. The war reached our shores on September
    the 11th, 2001, when our Nation awoke to a sudden attack. Like
    generations before us, we have accepted new responsibilities, and we
    will confront these dangers with firm resolve.
        Our most important duty is to defend the American people, and so
    we're taking the fight to those who attacked us. We're taking the fight
    to those who share their murderous vision for future attacks. We will
    take this fight to the enemy without wavering, and we will prevail.
        The enemy we face is brutal and determined. The terrorists have an
    ideology; they share a hateful vision that rejects tolerance and crushes
    all dissent. They seek a world where women are oppressed, where children
    are indoctrinated, and those who reject their ideology of violence and
    extremism are threatened and often murdered.

    [[Page 346]]

        The terrorists have aims. They seek to impose their heartless
    ideology of totalitarian control throughout the Middle East. They seek
    to arm themselves with weapons of mass murder. Their stated goal is to
    overthrow moderate governments, take control of countries, and then use
    them as safe havens to launch attacks against Americans and other free
    nations. To achieve their aims, the terrorists have turned to the weapon
    of fear. They don't have the military strength to beat us. They can't
    beat us on the battlefield. They just cannot defeat the United States
    military. And so they're trying to break our will with stunning acts of
    violence. The terrorists do not understand America. They're not going to
    shake our will. We will stay in the hunt. We will never give in, and we
    will prevail.
        After the attacks of September the 11th, we have set forth a new
    strategy to do our duty to protect the American people. First, we're on
    the offensive, and we'll stay on the offensive, recognizing that we must
    defeat the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at
    home.
        Secondly, I've set a clear doctrine: America makes no distinction
    between the terrorists and the countries that harbor them. If you harbor
    a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorists, and you're an
    enemy of the United States of America.
        Thirdly, one of the clear lessons of September the 11th is that the
    United States of America must confront threats before they fully
    materialize. After September the 11th, I looked at the world and saw a
    clear threat in Saddam Hussein. Saddam
    Hussein was an enemy of the United States. He was firing at American
    military pilots patrolling the no-fly zones. He was a state sponsor of
    terror. He was in open defiance of more than a dozen United Nations
    resolutions. He had invaded his neighbors. He had brutalized his people.
    He had a history of using and producing weapons of mass destruction.
    Saddam defied the will of the world. And because we acted to remove this
    threat, Saddam Hussein is in prison, he's on trial for his crimes, and
    the world is better for it.
        Fourthly, we're advancing our security at home by advancing the
    cause of freedom across the world because, in the long run, the only way
    to defeat the terrorists is to defeat their dark vision of hatred and
    fear by offering the hopeful alternative of human freedom. That's what I
    want to talk to you about today--our forward strategy for freedom. I'll
    discuss why the advance of freedom is vital to our security and the
    peace of the world and how our efforts to spread liberty and democracy
    throughout the broader Middle East are progressing. I'm going to discuss
    with you our work to help the world's newest democracies build
    institutions of liberty that are the foundations for lasting peace. Our
    freedom agenda is based on a clear premise: The security of our Nation
    depends on the advance of liberty in other nations.
        On September the 11th, 2001, we saw that problems originating in an
    oppressive state 7,000 miles away could bring murder and destruction to
    our country. We saw that dictatorships shelter terrorists and feed
    resentment and radicalism and threaten the security of free nations. We
    know throughout history that democracies can replace resentment with
    hope and respect the rights of their citizens and our neighbors and join
    together to fight in this global war against terror.
        History has shown that free nations are peaceful nations. Think
    about all the bloodshed on the continent of Europe the past 100 years.
    In World War I and in World War II, there were bloody battles. Thousands
    of Americans went to Europe to fight in those wars and never came home.
    Democracy took hold in Europe, and today, Europe is whole, free, and at
    peace.
        Think about the example of the Far East. You know, my dad, like many of your relatives, went off to fight
    the Japanese as an 18-year-old fighter pilot; 60 years later, his son is
    working with the Prime Minister of Japan
    to keep the peace. And what took

    [[Page 347]]

    place between war and friendship was the development of a Japanese-style
    democracy. As we march into the future, America must be confident in the
    capacity of democracies to yield the peace we all want.
        We're committed to an historic long-term goal: To secure the peace
    of the world, we seek the end of tyranny in our world. Far from being a
    hopeless dream, the advance of freedom is the great story of our time.
    Just 25 years ago, at the start of the 1980s, there were only 45
    democracies on the face of the Earth. Today, there are 122. And in the
    past 4 years alone, more than 110 million human beings have joined the
    ranks of the free.
        In our time, we've witnessed revolutions of Rose and Orange and
    Purple and Tulip and Cedar, and these are just only the beginnings.
    Across the world, freedom is on the march, and we will not rest until
    the promise of freedom reaches people everywhere across the globe. It's
    in our national interest. It's important that we understand the capacity
    of freedom to yield the peace.
        In the march of freedom, some of the most important progress is
    taking place in a region that has known--has not known the blessings of
    liberty, and that's the broader Middle East. Since September the 11th,
    2001, the nation of Afghanistan has gone from the terror of the Taliban
    to a democratic Constitution, to successful Presidential elections, to
    the seating of a democratically elected Parliament.
        In less than 3 years, the nation of Iraq has gone from living under
    the boot of a brutal tyrant to liberation, to sovereignty, to free
    elections, to a constitutional referendum, and to elections for a fully
    constitutional government.
        By any standard or precedent of history, these two countries have
    made incredible progress on the road to a free society. America is
    inspired by Afghan and Iraqi determination to live in freedom.
        Freedom's progress in Afghanistan and Iraq is inspiring millions
    around the world to demand their liberty as well. In Lebanon, in
    Kyrgyzstan, voters have gone to the polls to choose their leaders in
    free elections. In other nations across the broader Middle East, hope is
    stirring at the prospect of change, and change is going to come. In that
    region that has known decades of tyranny and oppression, we're seeing
    the rise of a new generation whose hearts burn for freedom, and they
    will have freedom.
        As freedom spreads to new parts of the world, we're seeing something
    else as well, the uncertainty that often follows democratic change. Free
    elections are exhilarating events. Yet history teaches us that the path
    to a free society is long and not always smooth. I've seen that in our
    own history. In the years following the American Revolution, there were
    riots and uprisings and even a planned coup. In 1783, Congress was
    chased from Philadelphia by angry veterans demanding back pay, and
    Congress stayed on the run for 6 months. [Laughter] It was then that
    Congress learned, don't mess with America's veterans.
        It's important to remember that our first effort at a governing
    charter, the Articles of Confederation, failed, and it took over a
    decade after independence before we adopted our Constitution and
    inaugurated George Washington as our first President. Other countries
    have had similar experiences. After the collapse of communism in Eastern
    and Central Europe, nations like Slovakia and Romania and Ukraine
    struggled for many years to overcome the legacy of oppression before
    freedom finally took root.
        No nation in history has made the transition to a free society
    without setbacks and false starts. Free elections are an important step
    on the road to a free society, but they're the first step. What
    separates nations that succeed from those that falter is their progress
    in establishing a civil society based on free institutions. So, as we
    work for democratic change across the broader Middle East, we're also
    working

    [[Page 348]]

    to help new democracies establish the institutions that are the
    foundations of lasting free societies.
        Our efforts in the broader Middle East have been guided by a clear
    principle. Democracy takes different forms in different cultures. Yet
    all cultures, in order to be successful, have certain common truths,
    universal truths--rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, a
    free economy, freedom of women, and the freedom to worship. Societies
    that lay these foundations not only survive, but they thrive. Societies
    that don't lay these foundations risk backsliding into tyranny.
        This principle has guided our efforts in Iraq. When our coalition
    arrived in Iraq, we found a nation where almost none of these basic
    foundations existed. Decades of brutal rule by Saddam Hussein had destroyed the fabric of Iraqi civil society. Under
    Saddam, Iraq was a country where dissent was crushed, a centralized
    economy enriched a dictator instead of the people, secret courts meted
    out repression instead of justice, and Iraqis were brutally oppressed by
    Saddam's security forces. And when Saddam Hussein's regime fled Baghdad,
    they left behind a country with few civic institutions in place to hold
    Iraqi society together.
        So our coalition has worked to help the Iraqi people rebuild its
    civil society and the free institutions that sustain a democracy. And it
    has been very difficult work. Today, Iraq, though, does have a thriving
    free press, with hundreds of independent newspapers and magazines and
    talk radio shows where Iraqis openly debate the future course of their
    country. In spite of the difficulties, Iraq does have a emerging free
    market with an independent central bank and thousands of small
    businesses operating across the country.
        Iraq is building an independent judiciary that is replacing the rule
    of a tyrant with the rule of law, and which
    is now holding Iraq's former dictator to account for his crimes against
    the Iraqi people. Iraqis have adopted one of the most progressive
    democratic constitutions in the Arab world with protections for minority
    rights and women's rights. Iraqis now enjoy freedom of association, as
    we saw in the December elections, when parties and coalitions openly
    campaigned for the vote of the Iraqi people.
        We're carrying out our clear strategy of victory in Iraq. On the
    political side, we're helping Iraqis build a strong democracy so old
    resentments will be eased and the insurgency marginalized. On the
    economic side, we're continuing reconstruction efforts and helping
    Iraqis build a modern economy so all Iraqi citizens can experience the
    benefits of freedom.
        And on the security side, we're striking terrorist targets and, at
    the same time, training Iraqis which are becoming increasingly capable
    of carrying the fight to the enemy. Our strategy in Iraq is, as the
    Iraqis stand up, we'll stand down. Troop levels on the ground will be
    decided by commanders on the ground, not by politicians in Washington,
    DC.
        In all aspects of our strategy, we've learned from experiences.
    We've learned from the good advice of people like Chairman
    Warner. We're fixing what hadn't worked.
    We'll continue to make changes as necessary to complete the mission, to
    meet the objective, and that is a country which can sustain itself,
    defend itself, protect itself, and serve as a strong ally in the war on
    terror.
        For every terrorist working to stop freedom in Iraq, there are many
    more Iraqis and Americans and troops from around the world working to
    defeat them. There's still a lot of work to be done. The enemies of a
    free Iraq are working to stop Iraq's democratic progress. Democracy
    scares them. They understand a democratic Iraq will be a major defeat in
    their totalitarian aims.
        They're going to continue their campaign of violence and
    destruction. We saw their brutality again this week when terrorists
    bombed the Golden Mosque in Samarra.

    [[Page 349]]

    That mosque is one of the holiest sites in Shi'a Islam. This senseless
    attack is an affront to people of faith throughout the world. The United
    States strongly condemns this cowardly act of terror and the subsequent
    attacks on other mosques and holy sites in Iraq. We'll do everything in
    our power to help the Iraqi Government identify and bring to justice
    those responsible for the terrorist acts.
        This is a moment of choosing for the Iraqi people. This morning I
    talked to our Ambassador in Iraq, Zal Khalilzad, and General Casey.
    Zal is actively engaged with leaders of all political factions to ensure
    a common message of restraint and unity. He reports to me that the
    leaders are committed to stopping civil strife. The Government is taking
    concrete steps to determine how the attack happened and the necessary
    actions to help move the political process forward. The Ambassador
    reports many religious leaders are committed to a unified Iraq, a
    peaceful Iraq. The response by the Grand Ayatollah Sistani and many other leaders has been constructive and very
    important, and we appreciate their leadership. It's also been a test for
    the Iraqi security forces. General Casey reports that they're doing a
    fine job of enforcing curfew and working to restore order and calm.
        We can expect the days--coming days will be intense. Iraq remains a
    serious situation. But I'm optimistic, because the Iraqi people have
    spoken, and the Iraqi people made their intentions clear. In December,
    more than 11 million Iraqis sent a clear message to the world and to the
    terrorists: They want their freedom. They want their country to be a
    democracy. Each of these elections that took place last year saw larger
    and broader participation than the one that came before. And with the
    results from the December elections in, the Iraqi leaders are now
    working to form a new Government under a new Constitution with different
    factions competing for position and jockeying for power.
        Listen, the way ahead is going to require some patience as this
    process unfolds. The Iraqi Constitution requires two-thirds of the
    Parliament to form a government, which makes it harder to get agreement,
    but it helps ensure that all groups have a say in who governs them. The
    days ahead in Iraq are going to be difficult and exhausting. We're
    likely to see a lot of political bargaining. That doesn't happen under
    dictatorships. They seem orderly, particularly when one man makes all
    the decisions, and there is no need for negotiation or compromise.
        In democracies, different party advance competing agendas, and they
    seek their share of power. And yet they reach accommodation and respond
    to the will of the people. And Iraqis are doing all this for the first
    time in the midst of violence and terrorist attacks. Yet out of
    negotiations now taking place in Iraq, a free government will emerge
    that will represent the will of the Iraqi people, instead of that of a
    cruel dictator, and that will help us keep the peace.
        We're encouraging Iraqi leaders to reach out across political,
    religious, and sectarian lines and form a government that gives a voice
    to all Iraqis. And when a new Iraqi Government assumes office, Iraq's
    new leaders will face tough decisions on issues such as security and
    reconstruction and economic reform. This Government will need to provide
    effective leadership and earn the confidence of the Iraqi people by
    showing it can protect them. The Government will also need to put a stop
    to human rights abuses by security officers. By building free
    institutions and an inclusive society that provides minority rights,
    Iraqi leaders will bring the nation together, and this will help to
    defeat the terrorists and the Saddamists who are fighting Iraq's
    democratic progress.
        Some critics have pointed out that the free elections in the Middle
    East have put political power in the hands of Islamics and extremists,
    in the case of the Palestinian

    [[Page 350]]

    elections, a notorious--notorious terrorist organization. Critics argue
    that our policies of promoting democracy are backfiring and
    destabilizing the region. I strongly disagree. First, their argument
    rests on the false assumption that the Middle East was a bastion of
    stability before the United States came in and disturbed the status quo
    by promoting democracy.
        It was the status quo of the Middle East that led to the bombing of
    our Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. It was the status quo in the Middle
    East that led to the attack of the USS Cole that killed 17 American
    sailors. It was the status quo in the Middle East that produced 19
    hijackers and took planes and crashed them into the Pentagon and the
    World Trade Towers and killed nearly 3,000 innocent people on September
    the 11th, 2001. The status quo in the Middle East was dangerous and
    unacceptable, and our security demanded that we change it.
        Secondly, the idea that lasting stability can be achieved by denying
    people a voice in the future control of their destiny is wrong. It is,
    in large part, because people in the Middle East have been denied
    legitimate means to express dissent that radical extremism has
    flourished. And it's only by giving people in the Middle East the
    freedom to express their opinions and choose their leaders that we will
    be able to defeat radical extremism. As liberty spreads in the broader
    Middle East, freedom will replace despair and hope. And over time, the
    terrorist's temptation will fall away.
        Third, free societies do not take root overnight, especially in
    countries that have suffered from decades of tyranny and repression. It
    should come as no surprise that after 60 years of Western nations
    excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East, civil
    society in that region is not strong and those with the most extreme
    views are the most organized.
        It will take time for the people of this region to build political
    parties and movements that are moderate in their views and capable of
    competing in a free democratic system. Yet free elections cannot wait
    for perfect conditions. Free elections are instruments of change. By
    giving people an opportunity to organize, express their views, and
    change the existing order, elections strengthen the forces of freedom
    and encourage citizens to take control of their own destiny.
        Finally, as democracy takes root, the responsibilities of governing
    will have a moderating influence on those who assume power in free
    elections. It's easier to be a martyr than a mayor or a cabinet
    minister. When you're responsible for building roads and bridges and
    power stations and educating people and providing help, you're less
    likely to blow up health clinics and schools and bridges.
        In democracies, elected leaders must deliver real change in people's
    lives, or the voters will boot them out at the next election time. This
    is a lesson that the leaders of Hamas will now have to learn, as they
    take power after their election victory in the Palestinian Territories.
    Hamas campaigned on a platform of fighting corruption and improving
    social services, and that is how a Hamas Government will be judged by
    the Palestinian people. The leaders of Hamas have a choice to make. If
    they want the help of America and the international community to build a
    prosperous, independent Palestinian state, they must recognize Israel,
    disarm, reject terrorism, and work for lasting peace. The international
    community must continue to make clear to Hamas that democratically
    elected leaders cannot have one foot in the camp of democracy and one
    foot in the camp of terror. The world is waiting to see what choice
    Hamas makes.
        The international community is also speaking with one voice to the
    radical regime in Tehran. Iran is a nation held hostage by a small
    clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people and denying
    them

    [[Page 351]]

    basic liberties and human rights. The Iranian regime sponsors terrorists
    and is actively working to expand its influence in the region. The
    Iranian regime has advocated the destruction of our ally Israel. And the
    Iranian regime is defying the world with its ambitions for nuclear
    weapons.
        America will continue to rally the world to confront these threats,
    and Iran's aggressive behavior and pursuit of nuclear weapons is
    increasing its international isolation. When Iran's case was brought
    before the IAEA earlier this month, 27 nations voted against Iran,
    including Russia and China and India and Brazil and Sri Lanka and Egypt
    and Yemen. The only nations to support Iran were Syria, Cuba, and
    Venezuela. Now Iran's case will be taken up to the U.N. Security
    Council. The free world is sending the regime in Tehran a clear message:
    We're not going to allow Iran to have nuclear weapons.
        The world's free nations are also worried because the Iranian regime
    is not transparent. You see, a nontransparent society that is the
    world's premier state sponsor of terror cannot be allowed to possess the
    world's most dangerous weapons. So, as we confront Iran's nuclear
    weapons ambitions, we're also reaching out to the Iranian people to
    support their desire to be free, to build a free, democratic, and
    transparent society.
        To support the Iranian people's efforts to win their own freedom, my
    administration is requesting $75 million in emergency funds to support
    democracy in Iran. This is more than a fourfold increase over current
    levels of funding. These new funds will allow us to expand radio and
    television broadcasts into Iran. They will support reformers and
    dissidents and human rights activists and civil society organizers in
    Iran, so Iranians can organize and challenge the repressive policies of
    the clerical regime. They will support student exchanges, so we can
    build bridges of understanding between our people and expose more
    Iranians to life in a free society.
        By supporting democratic change in Iran, we will hasten the day when
    the people of Iran can determine their own future and be free to choose
    their own leaders. Freedom in the Middle East requires freedom for the
    Iranian people, and America looks forward to the day when our Nation can
    be the closest of friends with a free and democratic Iran.
        Freedom is on the march in the broader Middle East. The hope of
    liberty now reaches from Kabul to Baghdad to Beirut and beyond. Slowly
    but surely, we're helping to transform the broader Middle East from an
    arc of instability into an arc of freedom. And as freedom reaches more
    people in this vital region, we'll have new allies in the war on terror
    and new partners in the cause of moderation in the Muslim world and in
    the cause of peace.
        Bringing greater freedom to nations in the Middle East is the work
    of generations, and the advance of liberty still faces determined
    enemies. The terrorists know the stakes in the struggle. They know that
    as more people in the region embrace freedom, they will lose their safe
    havens, lose their recruits, and lose the sources of funding they need
    to advance their hateful ideology. And so they'll continue to fight
    freedom's progress with all the murderous hatred they can muster. They
    will continue to create images of violence and suffering for the
    cameras. The terrorists know that the only way they can defeat us is to
    break our will and force our retreat. And that's not going to happen so
    long as I'm the President of the United States.
        We will stay on the offense. We will continue to hunt down the
    terrorists wherever they hide. We'll continue to stand with the people
    of the Middle East as they step forward to claim their freedom. We can
    be confident in our cause because we have seen freedom conquer tyranny
    and secure the peace before. We've seen freedom arrive on waves of
    unstoppable progress to nations in Latin America and Asia and Africa and
    Eastern Europe. And now the hope

    [[Page 352]]

    of freedom is stirring in the Middle East, and no one should bet against
    it.
        We can also have confidence in our cause--we have the greatest force
    for freedom in the history of the world on our side, the men and women
    of the United States Armed Forces. They are serving with courage and
    distinction on many fronts in the war on terror. And I know America's
    veterans feel a special bond with them as they defend freedom in foreign
    lands.
        In this war, we've lost some really good men and women who left our
    shores to defend liberty and did not live to make the journey home.
    Others have returned from war with wounds the best medicine cannot heal.
    As veterans, you've lost friends and comrades in the field of battle,
    and you understand the sadness that has come to some of our Nation's
    military families. We pray for the families of the fallen, and we honor
    the memory of all who have given their lives in freedom's cause. And we
    will honor that memory by defeating the terrorists and spreading liberty
    and laying the foundation of peace for generations to come.
        I appreciate the Legion's support for our troops in the fight. I
    appreciate the example you have set for those who wear the uniform
    today.
        Before Veterans Day a few years ago, a group of soldiers serving in
    Iraq sent a letter to the American Legion Headquarters here in
    Washington. They wrote, ``Veterans of past wars will forever be in our
    hearts as American heroes. Their sacrifices give us courage, and their
    devotion reminds us of what we are fighting for.'' Our men and women on
    the frontlines are taking inspiration from the valor and courage that
    you've shown on the field of battle. When they face dark moments in the
    thick of the fight, they remember that you faced enemies as brutal and
    determined as those who threaten America today, and they remember how
    you prevailed. And now they're picking up your mantle and carrying on
    your fight. And like our veterans, they're bringing security to our
    citizens and freedom to the world.
        Thank you for your idealism. I thank you for your dedication to God
    and country. May God bless our veterans. May God bless our troops in
    uniform. And may God continue to bless our country.

    Note: The President spoke at 10 a.m. at the Capital Hilton Hotel. In his
    remarks, he referred to Tom Bock, national commander, and John Sommer,
    executive director, American Legion; Paul Hasz, commander, American
    Legion, District of Columbia; Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan;
    and Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., USA, commanding general, Multi-National
    Force--Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
    language transcript of these remarks.