    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [October 28, 2006]
    [Pages 1943-1945]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina
    October 28, 2006

        Thank you all very much. You know, I was in the neighborhood and
    thought I'd stop by to say hello here at Team Charleston. I am proud to
    be here with the men and women of the 437th and the 315th Air Wings.
    Yes, I'm proud to be with members of the United States Air Force and the
    United States Navy--proud to be with the rest of you too. [Laughter]
        Laura sends her love, and she sends all her
    respect to those who support our military. I'm proud to be here with the
    Governor of the great State of South Carolina, Governor Mark
    Sanford, and his wife, Jenny, and their children. I thank Congressman Henry Brown for taking time out of a Saturday afternoon to come and
    say hello to his buddy, the President of the United States. I thank
    Colonel Glen Joerger for his hospitality. I
    thank Colonel Tim Wrighton. I thank you
    all for giving me a chance to come and share some thoughts with you.
        The first thought I want to say is, I am proud to be the Commander
    in Chief of such a fine group of young men and women. We have an amazing
    nation when people say, ``I want to volunteer to defend this country.''
    I am constantly amazed, enthralled, and buoyed by the fact that I'm the
    Commander in Chief of honorable, decent, courageous men and women. And I
    thank you for coming to say hello.
        I'm also proud to be here with our military families. I understand
    the sacrifices that you make on a daily basis for this country. So, as
    the President of the United States, I want to tell you plain and simple,
    the American people respect you, they appreciate you, and I'll do
    everything in my power to make sure the families and those who wear the
    uniform have all the support necessary to win this war on terror.
        I'm impressed by the record of the folks here at Charleston Air
    Force Base. I'm impressed by your accomplishments and what you've done
    on behalf of this grateful Nation. Since September the 11th, 2001, the
    folks who fly the airplanes, maintain the airplanes, and load the
    airplanes--and fill up the tires--[laughter]--have launched more than
    14,000 C-17 missions from here. You have airlifted more cargo to
    Operation Iraqi Freedom than any other unit in the United States. You
    are the only unit in the world tasked with providing strategic airlift
    to our Special Operation forces.
        The men and women here in Charleston have also done more than just
    provided supply to the war zones. You have provided humanitarian aid
    that has saved countless lives. The folks here have airdropped 2.4
    million rations of humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan at the
    start of Operation Enduring Freedom. You delivered 53,000 pounds of
    relief supplies to the tsunami victims in Indonesia. And after Hurricane
    Katrina, you delivered 2.5 million pounds of relief supplies and
    evacuated 2,400 citizens from New Orleans. You have

    [[Page 1944]]

    shown the great compassion of the American people, and I thank you for
    your service.
        We are engaged in a global war on terror. After September the 11th,
    2001, I vowed to the American people that I would use everything at our
    disposal to do the number-one job of government, and that is to protect
    you from further attack. And I have been aided in protecting the
    American people by the fine United States military.
        We face an enemy that knows no bounds and no conscience. They're
    ideologues, but their ideology is the exact opposite of ours. They kill
    innocent people to achieve their evil objectives. But make no mistake
    about it, they have objectives. They have clearly stated that they want
    to drive the United States from the world so they can establish a
    caliphate, a governing organization, from Indonesia to Spain that would
    allow them to spread their ideology of hate, allow them to dominate a
    society in which people could not worship freely or speak freely, in
    which people who did not adhere to their point of view would be
    punished. They seek safe haven from which to launch further attacks to
    achieve their objective. And their attacks would aim right here at the
    United States of America.
        I want you to think about a world in which rival forms of radicals
    competed for power in the Middle East to deny the hopes and aspirations
    of millions of people who simply want to live in peace. They would
    topple moderate governments. They would use oil as an economic weapon to
    bring the West to her knees. And to mix all that in with a country with
    a nuclear weapon, and 20 or 30 years from now, if that were to happen,
    people would look back and say, ``What happened to them in 2006? How
    come they couldn't see the challenge? How come they couldn't see the
    threats to a generation of Americans?''
        I'm proud to be with people who see the threats and know that the
    best way to protect the American people is to defeat the enemy overseas
    so we do not have to face them here at home.
        One of the lessons of September the 11th is that when this country
    sees a threat, we must deal with that threat before it fully
    materializes. If we see a threat, we must take care of that threat.
    Otherwise, that threat could come to haunt us, to destroy innocent life.
    I saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. The world
    saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein was the
    right decision, and the world is better for it.
        And now you're involved in this global war on terror, in the central
    front, which is Iraq. I know some in America don't believe Iraq is the
    central front in the war on terror, and that's fine. They can have that
    opinion. But Usama bin Laden knows it's a
    central front in the war on terror. He has called Iraq the third world
    war. He has said of Iraq that he will lead to victory or glory or
    humiliation. We have made our decision. Iraq will lead to victory and
    glory for the United States, for the Iraqis, and for the moderates
    around the world.
        And it's tough fighting, because the enemy understands the stakes of
    a free Iraq. It's hard fighting, and we've got a lot of brave citizens
    of ours in the midst of the fight. But we have a plan for victory. We
    are in Iraq to help that young democracy fight off the radicals and the
    extremists. We're in the fight in Iraq to make sure there is not a safe
    haven from which to launch further attacks on the United States. Our
    plan for victory says that we want an Iraq that can defend itself and
    govern itself and sustain itself.
        And we've got some great things going for us. We've got a military
    that is constantly adjusting to the enemy on the ground. We've got
    commanders who are wise and brave and are bringing justice to our
    enemies there in Iraq. And we've also got at our side brave Iraqis who
    have suffered unbelievable loss but yet still cling to the hope, as
    reflected in the voices and

    [[Page 1945]]

    votes of 12 million people who defied the car bombers and the
    terrorists. They want to live in freedom.
        I believe in the universality of freedom. I believe in everybody's
    soul is the desire to be free. It is in this country's interests that we
    defeat the enemy in Iraq and help this young democracy survive. You see,
    this is a different kind of war. And make no mistake about it, if the
    United States of America were to leave before the job is done, the enemy
    will follow us here. And that is why we will support our military, and
    that is why we will fight in Iraq, and that is why we will win in Iraq.
        And I thank you for being a part of this noble and just and
    important cause. You're fighting in a war that will set the course of a
    new century. The outcome will determine the destiny of millions across
    the world. The outcome of this fight will determine whether or not our
    children can grow up in the peace we want them to grow up in. Defeating
    the terrorists and the extremists is the challenge of our time and the
    calling of this generation. And like generations before us, we will do
    the hard work now, to make sure our children can grow up in freedom and
    peace.
        The time of war is a time of sacrifice. I know the sacrifices you
    all make. But some have paid the ultimate price. Really good men and
    women have lost their lives in this struggle. We will pray for their
    families. And I make them this pledge: We will honor their sacrifice by
    completing the mission, by defeating the terrorists, and by laying the
    foundation of peace for generations to come.
        I can't thank you enough for coming to say hello. May God bless you
    all, and may God continue to bless the United States.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:48 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Col. Glen G. Joerger, commander, USAF, 437th Airlift Wing; Col. Timothy
    J. Wrighton, USAF, commander, 315th Airlift Wing; former President
    Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida
    terrorist organization.