    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [September 11, 2006]
    [Pages 1638-1642]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Address to the Nation on the War on Terror
    September 11, 2006

        Good evening. Five years ago, this date--September the 11th--was
    seared into America's memory. Nineteen men attacked us with a barbarity
    unequaled in our history. They murdered people of all colors, creeds,
    and nationalities and made war upon the entire free world. Since that
    day, America and her allies have taken the offensive in a war unlike any
    we have fought before. Today, we are safer, but we are not yet safe. On
    this solemn night, I've asked for some of your time to discuss the
    nature of the threat still before us, what we are doing to protect our
    Nation, and the building of a more hopeful Middle East that holds the
    key to peace for America and the world.
        On 9/11, our Nation saw the face of evil. Yet on that awful day, we
    also witnessed something distinctly American: ordinary citizens rising
    to the occasion and responding with extraordinary acts of courage. We
    saw courage in office workers who were trapped on the high floors of
    burning skyscrapers and called home so that their last words to their
    families would be of comfort and love. We saw courage in passengers
    aboard Flight 93, who recited the 23d Psalm and then charged the
    cockpit. And we saw courage in the Pentagon staff who made it out of the
    flames and smoke and ran back in to answer cries for help. On this day,
    we remember the innocent who lost their lives, and we pay tribute to
    those who gave their lives so that others might live.
        For many of our citizens, the wounds of that morning are still
    fresh. I've met firefighters and police officers who choke up at the
    memory of fallen comrades. I've stood with families gathered on a grassy
    field in Pennsylvania who take bittersweet pride in loved ones who
    refused to be victims and gave America our first victory in the war on
    terror. I've sat beside young mothers with children who are now 5 years
    old and still long for the daddies who will never cradle them in their
    arms. Out of this suffering, we resolve to honor every man and woman
    lost, and we seek their lasting memorial in a safer and more hopeful
    world.
        Since the horror of 9/11, we've learned a great deal about the
    enemy. We have learned that they are evil and kill without mercy but not
    without purpose. We have learned that they form a global network of
    extremists who are driven by a perverted vision of Islam, a totalitarian
    ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance, and despises all
    dissent. And we have learned that their goal is to build a radical
    Islamic empire where women are prisoners in their homes, men are beaten
    for missing prayer meetings, and terrorists have a safe haven to plan
    and launch attacks on America and other civilized nations. The war
    against this enemy is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive
    ideological struggle of the

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    21st century and the calling of our generation.
        Our Nation is being tested in a way that we have not been since the
    start of the cold war. We saw what a handful of our enemies can do with
    box cutters and plane tickets. We hear their threats to launch even more
    terrible attacks on our people. And we know that if they were able to
    get their hands on weapons of mass destruction, they would use them
    against us. We face an enemy determined to bring death and suffering
    into our homes. America did not ask for this war, and every American
    wishes it were over. So do I. But the war is not over, and it will not
    be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious. If we do
    not defeat these enemies now, we will leave our children to face a
    Middle East overrun by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with
    nuclear weapons. We are in a war that will set the course for this new
    century and determine the destiny of millions across the world.
        For America, 9/11 was more than a tragedy. It changed the way we
    look at the world. On September the 11th, we resolved that we would go
    on the offense against our enemies, and we would not distinguish between
    the terrorists and those who harbor or support them. So we helped drive
    the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. We put Al Qaida on the run and
    killed or captured most of those who planned the 9/11 attacks, including
    the man believed to be the mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He and
    other suspected terrorists have been questioned by the Central
    Intelligence Agency, and they provided valuable information that has
    helped stop attacks in America and across the world. Now these men have
    been transferred to Guantanamo Bay so they can be held to account for
    their actions. Usama bin Laden and other
    terrorists are still in hiding. Our message to them is clear: No matter
    how long it takes, America will find you, and we will bring you to
    justice.
        On September the 11th, we learned that America must confront threats
    before they reach our shores, whether those threats come from terrorist
    networks or terrorist states. I'm often asked why we're in Iraq when
    Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/
    11 attacks. The answer is that the regime of Saddam Hussein was a clear
    threat. My administration, the Congress, and the United Nations saw the
    threat. And after 9/11, Saddam's regime posed a risk that the world
    could not afford to take. The world is safer because Saddam Hussein is
    no longer in power. And now the challenge is to help the Iraqi people
    build a democracy that fulfills the dreams of the nearly 12 million
    Iraqis who came out to vote in free elections last December.
        Al Qaida and other extremists from across the world have come to
    Iraq to stop the rise of a free society in the heart of the Middle East.
    They have joined the remnants of Saddam's
    regime and other armed groups to foment sectarian violence and drive us
    out. Our enemies in Iraq are tough, and they are committed, but so are
    Iraqi and coalition forces. We're adapting to stay ahead of the enemy,
    and we are carrying out a clear plan to ensure that a democratic Iraq
    succeeds.
        We're training Iraqi troops so they can defend their nation. We're
    helping Iraq's unity Government grow in strength and serve its people.
    We will not leave until this work is done. Whatever mistakes have been
    made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out,
    the terrorists would leave us alone. They will not leave us alone. They
    will follow us. The safety of America depends on the outcome of the
    battle in the streets of Baghdad. Usama bin Laden calls this fight ``the third world war,'' and he says
    that victory for the terrorists in Iraq will mean America's ``defeat and
    disgrace forever.'' If we yield Iraq to men like bin Laden, our enemies
    will be emboldened; they will gain a new safe haven; they will use
    Iraq's resources to fuel their extremist movement.

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    We will not allow this to happen. America will stay in the fight. Iraq
    will be a free nation and a strong ally in the war on terror.
        We can be confident that our coalition will succeed because the
    Iraqi people have been steadfast in the face of unspeakable violence.
    And we can be confident in victory because of the skill and resolve of
    America's Armed Forces. Every one of our troops is a volunteer, and
    since the attacks of September the 11th, more than 1.6 million Americans
    have stepped forward to put on our Nation's uniform. In Iraq,
    Afghanistan, and other fronts in the war on terror, the men and women of
    our military are making great sacrifices to keep us safe. Some have
    suffered terrible injuries, and nearly 3,000 have given their lives.
    America cherishes their memory. We pray for their families. And we will
    never back down from the work they have begun.
        We also honor those who toil day and night to keep our homeland
    safe, and we are giving them the tools they need to protect our people.
    We've created the Department of Homeland Security. We have torn down the
    wall that kept law enforcement and intelligence from sharing
    information. We've tightened security at our airports and seaports and
    borders, and we've created new programs to monitor enemy bank records
    and phone calls. Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement and
    intelligence professionals, we have broken up terrorist cells in our
    midst and saved American lives.
        Five years after 9/11, our enemies have not succeeded in launching
    another attack on our soil, but they've not been idle. Al Qaida and
    those inspired by its hateful ideology have carried out terrorist
    attacks in more than two dozen nations. And just last month, they were
    foiled in a plot to blow up passenger planes headed for the United
    States. They remain determined to attack America and kill our citizens,
    and we are determined to stop them. We will continue to give the men and
    women who protect us every resource and legal authority they need to do
    their jobs.
        In the first days after the 9/11 attacks, I promised to use every
    element of national power to fight the terrorists, wherever we find
    them. One of the strongest weapons in our arsenal is the power of
    freedom. The terrorists fear freedom as much as they do our firepower.
    They are thrown into panic at the sight of an old man pulling the
    election lever, girls enrolling in schools, or families worshiping God
    in their own traditions. They know that given a choice, people will
    choose freedom over their extremist ideology. So their answer is to deny
    people this choice by raging against the forces of freedom and
    moderation. This struggle has been called a clash of civilizations. In
    truth, it is a struggle for civilization. We are fighting to maintain
    the way of life enjoyed by free nations. And we're fighting for the
    possibility that good and decent people across the Middle East can raise
    up societies based on freedom and tolerance and personal dignity.
        We are now in the early hours of this struggle between tyranny and
    freedom. Amid the violence, some question whether the people of the
    Middle East want their freedom and whether the forces of moderation can
    prevail. For 60 years, these doubts guided our policies in the Middle
    East. And then on a bright September morning, it became clear that the
    calm we saw in the Middle East was only a mirage. Years of pursuing
    stability to promote peace had left us with neither. So we changed our
    policies and committed America's influence in the world to advancing
    freedom and democracy as the great alternatives to repression and
    radicalism.
        With our help, the people of the Middle East are now stepping
    forward to claim their freedom. From Kabul to Baghdad to Beirut, there
    are brave men and women risking their lives each day for the same
    freedoms that we enjoy. And they have one question for us: Do we have
    the confidence to do in the Middle East what our fathers

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    and grandfathers accomplished in Europe and Asia? By standing with
    democratic leaders and reformers, by giving voice to the hopes of decent
    men and women, we're offering a path away from radicalism. And we are
    enlisting the most powerful force for peace and moderation in the Middle
    East, the desire of millions to be free.
        Across the broader Middle East, the extremists are fighting to
    prevent such a future. Yet America has confronted evil before, and we
    have defeated it, sometimes at the cost of thousands of good men in a
    single battle. When Franklin Roosevelt vowed to defeat two enemies
    across two oceans, he could not have foreseen D-Day and Iwo Jima, but he
    would not have been surprised at the outcome. When Harry Truman promised
    American support for free peoples resisting Soviet aggression, he could
    not have foreseen the rise of the Berlin Wall, but he would not have
    been surprised to see it brought down. Throughout our history, America
    has seen liberty challenged, and every time, we have seen liberty
    triumph with sacrifice and determination.
        At the start of this young century, America looks to the day when
    the people of the Middle East leave the desert of despotism for the
    fertile gardens of liberty and resume their rightful place in a world of
    peace and prosperity. We look to the day when the nations of that region
    recognize their greatest resource is not the oil in the ground but the
    talent and creativity of their people. We look to the day when moms and
    dads throughout the Middle East see a future of hope and opportunity for
    their children. And when that good day comes, the clouds of war will
    part, the appeal of radicalism will decline, and we will leave our
    children with a better and safer world.
        On this solemn anniversary, we rededicate ourselves to this cause.
    Our Nation has endured trials, and we face a difficult road ahead.
    Winning this war will require the determined efforts of a unified
    country, and we must put aside our differences and work together to meet
    the test that history has given us. We will defeat our enemies. We will
    protect our people. And we will lead the 21st century into a shining age
    of human liberty.
        Earlier this year, I traveled to the United States Military Academy.
    I was there to deliver the commencement address to the first class to
    arrive at West Point after the attacks of September the 11th. That day I
    met a proud mom named RoseEllen Dowdell.
    She was there to watch her son, Patrick,
    accept his commission in the finest Army the world has ever known. A few
    weeks earlier, RoseEllen had watched her other son, James, graduate from the Fire Academy in New York City. On
    both these days, her thoughts turned to someone who was not there to
    share the moment, her husband, Kevin Dowdell. Kevin was one of the 343
    firefighters who rushed to the burning towers of the World Trade Center
    on September the 11th and never came home. His sons lost their father
    that day but not the passion for service he instilled in them. Here is
    what RoseEllen says about her boys: ``As a mother, I cross my fingers
    and pray all the time for their safety. But as worried as I am, I'm also
    proud, and I know their dad would be too.''
        Our Nation is blessed to have young Americans like these, and we
    will need them. Dangerous enemies have declared their intention to
    destroy our way of life. They're not the first to try, and their fate
    will be the same as those who tried before. Nine-Eleven showed us why.
    The attacks were meant to bring us to our knees, and they did, but not
    in the way the terrorists intended. Americans united in prayer, came to
    the aid of neighbors in need, and resolved that our enemies would not
    have the last word. The spirit of our people is the source of America's
    strength. And we go forward with trust in that spirit, confidence in our
    purpose, and faith in a loving God who made us to be free.
        Thank you, and may God bless you.

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    Note: The President spoke at 9:01 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, senior Al
    Qaida leader responsible for planning the September 11, 2001, terrorist
    attacks, who was captured in Pakistan on March 1, 2003; Usama bin Laden,
    leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; and former President
    Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary also released
    a Spanish language transcript of this address.