[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

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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.