    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [September 30, 2006]
    [Pages 1736-1737]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    September 30, 2006

        Good morning. Today I want to talk to you about a matter of national
    security that has been in the news, the National Intelligence Estimate
    on terrorism. The NIE is a classified document that analyzes the threat
    we face from terrorists and extremists. Parts of this classified
    document were recently leaked to the press. That has created a heated
    debate in our Nation's Capital and a lot of misimpressions about the
    document's conclusions. I believe the American people should read the
    document themselves and come to their own conclusions, so I declassified
    its key judgments.
        The National Intelligence Estimate confirms that we are up against a
    determined and capable enemy. The NIE lists four underlying factors that
    are fueling the extremist movement: first, longstanding grievances such
    as corruption, injustice, and a fear of Western domination; second, the
    jihad in Iraq; third, the slow pace of reform in Muslim nations; and
    fourth, pervasive anti-Americanism. It concludes that terrorists are
    exploiting all these factors to further their movement.
        Some in Washington have selectively quoted from this document to
    make the case that by fighting the terrorists in Iraq, we are making our
    people less secure here at home. This argument buys into the enemy's
    propaganda that the terrorists attack us because we are provoking them.
    Here is what Prime Minister Tony Blair said this
    week about that argument: ``This terrorism isn't our fault. We didn't
    cause it. It's not the consequence of foreign policy.'' Prime Minister
    Blair is right. We do not create terrorism by fighting terrorism. The
    terrorists are at war against us because they hate everything America
    stands for and because they know we stand in the way of their ambitions
    to take over the Middle East. We are fighting to stop them from taking
    over Iraq and turning that country into a safe haven that would be even
    more valuable than the one they lost in Afghanistan.
        Iraq is not the reason the terrorists are at war against us. Our
    troops were not in Iraq when terrorists first attacked the World Trade
    Center in 1993 or when terrorists blew up our Embassies in Kenya and
    Tanzania or when they bombed the USS Cole or when they killed nearly
    3,000 people on September the 11th, 2001. Five years after the 9/11
    attacks, some people in Washington still do not understand the nature of
    the enemy. The only way to protect our citizens at home is to go on the
    offense against the enemy across the world. When terrorists spend their
    days working to avoid capture, they are less able to plot, plan, and
    execute new attacks on our people. So we will remain on the offense
    until the terrorists are defeated and this fight is won.
        In my recent speeches, I've said we are in the early hours of a long
    struggle for civilization and that our safety depends on the outcome of
    the battle in Iraq. The National Intelligence Estimate declares, quote,
    ``Perceived jihadist success there would inspire more fighters to
    continue the struggle elsewhere.'' It also says that, quote, ``Should
    jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have
    failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the
    fight.''
        Withdrawing from Iraq before the enemy is defeated would embolden
    the terrorists. It would help them find new recruits to carry out even
    more destructive attacks on our Nation, and it would give the terrorists
    a new sanctuary in the heart of the Middle East, with huge oil riches to
    fund their ambitions. America must not allow this to happen. We are a
    nation that keeps its commitments to those who long for liberty and want
    to live in peace. We will stand with the nearly 12 million Iraqis who
    voted

    [[Page 1737]]

    for their freedom, and we will help them fight and defeat the terrorists
    there so we do not have to face them here at home.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:55 a.m. on September 29 in the
    Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on September
    30. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on September 29 but was embargoed for release until the
    broadcast. In his address, the President referred to Prime Minister Tony
    Blair of the United Kingdom. The Office of the Press Secretary also
    released a Spanish language transcript of this address.