    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [May 23, 2007]
    [Pages 606-612]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Commencement Address at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New
    London, Connecticut
    May 23, 2007

        The President. Thank you all. Thank you; go ahead and sit down.
    Admiral Allen, thank you for that kind
    introduction. Admiral Burhoe,
    congratulations on your promotion. Academy staff and faculty,
    Congressman Chris Shays, State and
    local officials, distinguished guests, proud families, and, most
    importantly, members of the class of 2007: Thanks for having me.
        It's a privilege to stand with the future leaders of the United
    States Coast Guard. Before you receive your degrees today, I want to
    make sure that you have learned your indoc. What is the Coast Guard?
        Cadets. Mr. President, the Coast Guard is the hard nucleus about
    which the Navy forms in times of war, sir!
        The President. I'm not going to--[applause]. I probably shouldn't
    relay that to the Secretary of the Navy.
    [Laughter]
        I see a few ``RCF Warriors'' out there. Some of you earned demerits
    for failing to correct your storage; others got caught crawling under
    the fence on your way to Connecticut College. [Laughter] However you got
    bagged, help has arrived. [Laughter] In keeping with longstanding
    tradition, I hereby absolve all cadets who are on restriction for minor
    conduct offenses. I'll leave it to Admiral Burhoe to define exactly what ``minor'' means. [Laughter]
        More than 6,000 young Americans applied to join the Coast Guard
    Academy class of 2007, and today just 228 will walk across this stage to
    receive your diploma and commission. You're a select few, and each of
    you worked really hard to get to this moment: survived R-Day, Swab
    Summer, and Friday morning drill practice with a kind and gentle soul,
    Chief Dillmann. [Laughter] You learned to
    brace up, do orderlies, square meals, and eat ``hamsters'' with your
    eyes in the boat. You arrived on this campus as swabs, and today you
    will leave as proud officers of the United States Coast Guard. Your
    teachers are proud, your parents are thrilled, and your Commander in
    Chief is grateful for your devotion to duty. Congratulations to you all.
        You didn't make it to this day on your own. Many of you had the help
    of a special faculty member who mentored you along the way. Others made
    it through as a result

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    of the intervention of one man: Hopley Yeaton. He's the patron saint of
    the Square Root Club. For moms and dads, the Square Root Club is an
    association of students whose GPA is so low that when you take its
    square root, it grows larger. [Laughter] Fortunately, they didn't have
    that club where I went to college--[laughter]. Perhaps you'll make me an
    honorary member. [Laughter]
        Whether you're graduating today at the top of your class or by the
    skin of your teeth, your presence on this field is a tremendous
    accomplishment. And it would not have been possible without the support
    of the families who believed in you and encouraged you. So I ask all the
    parents and loved ones here today to stand and be recognized by the
    class of 2007.
        The degree you've earned will command respect wherever you go, and
    you will carry the lessons you learned here for the rest of your lives.
    This Academy has tested your minds, your bodies, and your character, and
    having passed these trials, you now embark on a voyage as officers in
    the oldest continuous marine time--maritime service.
        The history of the Coast Guard dates back more than two centuries to
    the Revenue Cutter Service, established under the Presidency of George
    Washington, or as I call him, the first George W. [Laughter] Since its
    inception, the Coast Guard has conducted search and rescue missions,
    enforced our maritime laws, protected our marine environment, come to
    the aid of stranded boaters, and helped staunch the flow of illegal
    drugs and illegal migrants to our shores. And in this new century, the
    Coast Guard continues to carry out these vital missions.
        Americans rely on the Coast Guard in times of disaster. When
    Hurricane Katrina hit our Nation's gulf coast, the men and women of the
    Coast Guard swung into action: hanging from helicopters, pulling people
    off rooftops and out of trees, and rescuing more than 33,000 people.
    When storms and floods and tragedy strike, Americans know that they can
    count on the United States Coast Guard.
        Americans relied on the Coast Guard on September the 11th, 2001.
    After terrorists struck the tin--Twin Towers, the Coast Guard station on
    Staten Island put out a call for all available boats and organized a
    massive flotilla of military and civilian craft that evacuated hundreds
    of thousands of people from lower Manhattan. It was the largest
    waterborne evacuation in our Nation's history. And in the days that
    followed, the men and women of the Coast Guard stayed on the job,
    assisting operations at Ground Zero, sending chaplains to comfort the
    bereaved, and coordinating a round-the-clock defense of New York Harbor
    and other vital ports. In a time of crisis, the Coast Guard did its job
    and did it well.
        On September the 11th, the homefront you protect became a
    battlefront in a new and unprecedented war. That day, our Nation changed
    forever and so did the mission of the United States Coast Guard. This
    service assumed new and essential responsibilities: to defend our Nation
    against terrorist infiltration and to help stop new attacks before they
    kill our people.
        As part of Operation Noble Eagle, the men and women of the Coast
    Guard are protecting more than 360 ports and more than 95,000 miles of
    coastline. Overseas, the Coast Guard is conducting maritime intercept
    operations in the Persian Gulf, patrolling the waters off Guantanamo
    Bay, Cuba. The men and women of the Coast Guard are serving with
    courage, and the American people are grateful to live behind your Shield
    of Freedom.
        Soon you'll join your fellow coasties in carrying out these and
    other missions, and this Academy has prepared you well for the new
    challenges you will face in this war on terror. During your time here,
    you've taken courses in terrorist tactics and counterterrorism
    strategies; you've studied radiation detection, remote sensing, and the

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    handling of hazardous materials; you participated in military exercises
    that have prepared you for the threats of this new century.
        You'll need all this training to help keep your fellow citizens
    safe. In this war, we face a brutal enemy that has already killed
    thousands in our midst and is determined to bring even greater
    destruction to our shores. We're blessed that there has not been another
    terrorist attack on our homeland in the past 5\1/2\ years. This is not
    for lack of effort on the part of the enemy. Since 9/11, Al Qaida and
    its allies have succeeded in carrying out horrific attacks across the
    world; Al Qaida leaders have repeatedly made clear they intend to strike
    our country again.
        In January of last year, Usama bin Laden
    warned the American people, quote, ``Operations are under preparation,
    and you will see them on your own ground once they are finished,'' end
    quote. Seven months later, British authorities broke up the most
    ambitious known Al Qaida threat to the homeland since the 9/11 attacks:
    a plot to blow up passenger airplanes flying to America. Our
    intelligence community believes that this plot was just 2 or 3 weeks
    away from execution. If it had been carried out, it could have rivaled
    9/11 in death and destruction.
        This was not the first Al Qaida plot that has been foiled since 9/
    11. In December 2001, we captured an Al Qaida operative named Ali Salih
    al-Mari. Our intelligence community
    believes that Ali Salih was training in poisons at an Al Qaida camp in
    Afghanistan and had been sent to the United States before September the
    11th to serve as a sleeper agent ready for follow-on attacks. He was
    ordered to our country by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh
    Mohammed, who is now in U.S. custody.
    Our intelligence community believes that KSM brought Ali Salih to meet
    Usama bin Laden, where he pledged his
    loyalty to the Al Qaida leader and offered himself up as a martyr. Among
    the potential targets our intelligence community believes this Al Qaida
    operative discussed with KSM were water reservoirs, the New York Stock
    Exchange, and United States military academies such as this one.
        We also broke up two other post-9/11 aviation plots. The first, in
    2002, was a plot by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to repeat the destruction of 9/11 by sending
    operatives to hijack an airplane and fly into the tallest building on
    the west coast. During a hearing at Guantanamo Bay just 2 months ago,
    Khalid Sheikh Mohammad stated that the intended target was the Library
    Tower in Los Angeles. And in 2003, we uncovered and stopped a plot led
    by another suspected senior Al Qaida operative named Abu Bakr al-
    Azdi. Our intelligence community believes
    this plot was to be another east coast aviation attack, including
    multiple airplanes that had been hijacked and then crashing into targets
    into the United States.
        There is a reason that these and other plots have thus far not
    succeeded. Since September the 11th, we have taken bold action at home
    and abroad to keep our people safe.
        To help stop new attacks on our country, we have undertaken the most
    sweeping reorganization of the Federal Government since the start of the
    cold war. We created the new Department of Homeland Security, merging 22
    different Government organizations, including the Coast Guard, into a
    single Department with a clear mission: to protect America from future
    attacks.
        To stop new attacks on our country, we've strengthened our Nation's
    intelligence community. We created the position of the Director of
    National Intelligence to ensure our intelligence agencies operate as a
    single, unified enterprise. We created the National Counterterrorism
    Center, where the FBI, the CIA, and other agencies work side by side to
    track terrorist threats across the world. We directed the National
    Security Agency to monitor international terrorist communications. We
    established a program run by the CIA to

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    detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives. These measures
    are vital; these measures are working; and these measures have helped
    prevent an attack on our homeland.
        To help stop new attacks on our country, we passed the PATRIOT Act,
    breaking down the walls that had prevented Federal law enforcement and
    intelligence communities from sharing information about potential
    terrorist activities. We've transformed the FBI into an agency whose
    primary focus is stopping terrorist attacks. We've expanded the number
    of FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces from 35 before 9/11 to more than 100
    today. And we saw their effectiveness recently when one of these teams
    helped disrupt a plot by a group of Al Qaida-inspired extremists to kill
    American soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
        To help stop new attacks on our country, we launched the BioWatch
    program, placing state-of-the-art equipment in major U.S. cities to
    detect biological agents. To help prevent terrorists from bringing
    nuclear and radiological weapons into our county, we're placing
    radiation detectors in all major U.S. ports. We placed advanced
    screening equipment and U.S. Homeland Security personnel at foreign
    ports, so we can prescreen cargo headed for America. We're determined to
    stop the world's most dangerous men from striking America with the
    world's most dangerous weapons. And the Coast Guard is on the frontline
    of this battle.
        To help stop new attacks on our country, we've strengthened
    international cooperation in the fight against terror. A coalition of
    more than 90 nations--nearly one-half of the world--is working together
    to dry up terrorist financing and bring terrorist leaders to justice. We
    launched the Proliferation Security Initiative, a vast coalition of
    nations that are working to stop shipments of weapons of mass
    destruction on land, at sea, and in the air. With our allies, we have
    uncovered and shut down the A.Q. Khan
    network, which had supplied nuclear-related equipment and plans to
    terrorist states, including Iran and North Korea. With Great Britain, we
    convinced the leader of Libya
    to abandon his country's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. The key
    components of Libya's nuclear program are now locked up in a storage
    facility right here in the United States. And today the world is safer
    because Libya is out of the nuclear weapons business.
        All these steps are making our country safer, but we're not yet
    safe. To strike our country, the terrorists only have to be right once;
    to protect our country, we have to be right 100 percent of the time. And
    that means the best way to protect our people is to take the fight to
    the enemy. So after 9/11, I vowed to America that we would go on the
    offense against these terrorists, fighting them across the world so we
    do not have to face them here at home. And since 9/11, that is precisely
    what that United States of America has done.
        In Afghanistan, we removed a regime that gave sanctuary and support
    to Al Qaida as they planned the 9/11 attacks. Today, because we acted,
    the terrorist camps in Afghanistan have been shut down, 25 million
    people have been liberated, and the Afghan people have an elected
    Government that is fighting terrorists, instead of harboring them.
        The Taliban and Al Qaida are seeking to roll back Afghanistan's
    democratic progress, but forces from 40 nations, including every member
    of NATO, are helping the Afghan people defend their democratic gains.
    Earlier this month, Afghan, American, and NATO forces tracked down and
    killed a top Taliban commander in Afghanistan. His death has sent a
    clear message to all who would challenge Afghanistan's young democracy:
    We drove Al Qaida and the Taliban out of power, and they're not going to
    be allowed to return to power.
        In Iraq, we removed a cruel dictator who harbored terrorists, paid
    the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, invaded his

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    neighbors, defied the United Nations Security Council, pursued and used
    weapons of mass destruction. Iraq, the United States, and the world are
    better off without Saddam Hussein in power.
        And today, the Iraqi people are building a young democracy on the
    rubble of Saddam Hussein's tyranny. In December 2005, nearly 12 million
    Iraqis demonstrated their desire to be free, going to the polls and
    choosing a new Government under the most progressive, democratic
    Constitution in the Arab world.
        In 2006, a thinking enemy responded to this progress and struck back
    with brutality. They staged sensational attacks that led to a tragic
    escalation of sectarian rage and reprisal. If the sectarian violence
    continued to spiral out of control, the Iraqi Government would have been
    in danger of collapse. The ensuing chaos would embolden Iran, which is
    fueling the violence, and Al Qaida, a key driver of Iraq's sectarian
    conflict. The chaos could eventually spread across the Middle East, and
    generations of Americans would be in even greater danger.
        So I had a choice to make: withdraw our troops, or send
    reinforcements to help the Iraqis quell the sectarian violence. I
    decided to send more troops with a new mission: to help the Iraqi
    Government secure their population and get control of their capital
    city.
        As we carry out the new strategy, the Iraqi Government has a lot of
    work to do. They must meet its responsibility to the Iraqi people and
    achieve benchmarks it has set, including adoption of a national oil law,
    preparations for Provincial elections, progress on a new de-
    Ba'athification policy, and a review of the Iraqi Constitution. The
    Iraqi people must see that their Government is taking action to bring
    their country together and give all of Iraqis a stake in a peaceful
    future.
        And now in 2007 we are at a pivotal moment in this battle. There are
    many destructive forces in Iraq trying to stop this strategy from
    succeeding; the most destructive is Al Qaida. Al Qaida knows that a
    democratic Iraq is a threat to their ambitions to impose their hateful
    ideology across the Middle East. Al Qaida knows that our presence in
    Iraq is a direct threat to their existence in Iraq. Our security depends
    on helping the Iraqis succeed and defeating Iraq--Al Qaida in Iraq.
        Some in our country question whether the battle in Iraq is part of
    the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there's no doubt. Hear the
    words of Usama bin Laden. He calls the
    struggle in Iraq a ``war of destiny.'' He proclaimed: ``The war is for
    you or for us to win. If we win it, it means your defeat and disgrace
    forever.''
        Bin Laden is matching his words with
    action. He attempted to send a new commander to Iraq, an Iraqi-born
    terrorist named Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi. According to our intelligence
    community, this terrorist had been a senior adviser to bin Laden; he
    served as his top commander in Afghanistan; he was responsible for all
    Al Qaida's military operations against our coalition in that country.
    Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi never made it to Iraq. He was captured last year.
    He was recently transferred to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay.
        There is a reason that bin Laden sent
    one of his most experienced paramilitary leaders to Iraq. He believes
    that if Al Qaida can drive us out, they can establish Iraq as a new
    terrorist sanctuary. Our intelligence community believes that, quote,
    ``Al Qaida leaders see victory in Iraq--the heart of the caliphate and
    currently the most active front in their war--as a religious and
    strategic imperative.'' If Al Qaida succeeds in Iraq, they would pursue
    their stated goals of turning that nation into a base from which to
    overthrow moderate governments in the region, impose their hateful
    ideology on millions, and launch new attacks on America and other
    nations. Victory in Iraq is important for Usama bin Laden, and victory
    in Iraq is vital for the United States of America.

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        I've often warned our fellow citizens that if we fail in Iraq, the
    enemy will follow us home. Many ask, ``How do you know?'' Today I'd like
    to share some information with you that attests to Al Qaida's
    intentions. According to our intelligence community, in January 2005,
    Usama bin Laden tasked the terrorist
    Zarqawi, who was then Al Qaida's top leader in Iraq, with forming a cell
    to conduct terrorist attacks outside of Iraq. Bin Laden emphasized that
    America should be Zarqawi's number-one priority in terms of foreign
    attacks. Zarqawi welcomed this direction. He claimed that he had already
    come up with some good proposals.
        To help Zarqawi in these efforts, our intelligence community reports
    that bin Laden then tasked one of his top
    terrorist operatives, Hamza Rabia, to send Zarqawi a briefing on Al
    Qaida's external operations, including information about operations
    against the American homeland. Our intelligence community reports that a
    senior Al Qaida leader, Abu Faraj al-Libi, went further and suggested that bin Laden actually send
    Rabia himself to Iraq to help plan external operations. Abu Faraj later
    speculated that this effort--if this effort proved successful, Al Qaida
    might one day prepare the majority of its external operations from Iraq.
        In May of 2005, Abu Faraj was
    captured and taken into CIA custody. Several months later, in December
    2005, Rabia was killed in Pakistan. Several months after that, in June
    of 2006, the terrorist Zarqawi was killed by American forces in Iraq.
    Successes like these are blows to Al Qaida. They're a testament to the
    steps we have taken to strengthen our intelligence, work closely with
    partners overseas, and keep the pressure on the enemy by staying on the
    offense.
        Despite our pressure, despite the setbacks that Al Qaida has
    suffered, it remains extremely dangerous. As we've surged our forces in
    Iraq, Al Qaida has responded with a surge of its own. The terrorists'
    goal in Iraq is to reignite sectarian violence and break support for the
    war here at home. And they believe they're succeeding. A few weeks ago,
    Al Qaida's number two, second in command, Zawahiri, issued a video in which he gloated that Al Qaida's
    ``movement of violence has forced the Americans to accept a pullout,
    about which they only differ in regard to its timing.'' We can expect Al
    Qaida to continue its campaign of high-profile attacks, including deadly
    suicide bombings and assassinations. And as they do, our troops will
    face more fighting and increased risks in the weeks and months ahead.
        The fight in Iraq is tough, but my point today to you is, the fight
    is essential to our security. Al Qaida's leaders inside and outside of
    Iraq have not given up on their objective of attacking America again.
        You know, many critics compare the battle in Iraq to the situation
    we faced in Vietnam. There are many differences between the two
    conflicts, but one stands out above all: The enemy in Vietnam had
    neither the intent nor the capability to strike our homeland; the enemy
    in Iraq does. Nine/Eleven taught us that to protect the American people,
    we must fight the terrorists where they live so that we don't have to
    fight them where we live.
        The question for our elected leaders is, do we comprehend the danger
    of an Al Qaida victory in Iraq, and will we do what it takes to stop
    them? However difficult the fight in Iraq has become, we must win it. Al
    Qaida is public enemy number one for Iraq's young democracy. Al Qaida is
    public enemy number one for America as well. And that is why we must
    support our troops; we must support the Iraqi Government; and we must
    defeat Al Qaida in Iraq.
        We're thankful to the military, the intelligence, and law
    enforcement personnel who work tirelessly to stop new attacks on our
    country. With every plot they foil, every terrorist they capture, we
    learn more about the enemy's plans and persistence. In the minds of Al
    Qaida leaders, 9/11 was just

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    a downpayment on violence yet to come. It's tempting to believe that the
    calm here at home after September the 11th means that the danger to our
    country has passed. I see the intelligence every day. The danger has not
    passed. Here in America, we're living in the eye of a storm. All around
    us, dangerous winds are swirling, and these winds could reach our shores
    at any moment.
        The men and women of the Coast Guard know how to navigate the storm.
    We're counting on you to help America weather the challenges that lie
    ahead. As you begin your Coast Guard careers, you can approach the
    future with confidence because our Nation has faced dangerous enemies
    before and emerged victorious every time. Terrorists can try to kill the
    innocent, but they cannot kill the desire for liberty that burns in the
    hearts of millions across the Earth. The power of freedom defeated the
    ideologies of fascism and communism in the last century, and freedom
    will defeat the hateful ideologies of the terrorists in this century.
        Victory in this struggle will require valor and determination and
    persistence, and these qualities can be found in abundance in the class
    of 2007. Your class has chosen a motto: Let Courage Part the Seas.
    America will be counting on your courage in the years to come. You will
    take your oath as Coast Guard officers in a time of war, knowing all the
    risks your service entails. I thank each of you for your bold decision
    to wear the uniform. My call to you is this: Trust in the power of
    freedom to overcome tyranny and terror, show leadership in freedom's
    defense and character in all you do, be ready for anything.
        The coasties who came before you never thought that they would be
    organizing a flotilla in New York Harbor or patrolling distant coasts in
    the Persian Gulf. Like them, you will serve in ways you cannot imagine
    today. But if you bring the skills and creativity you learned at this
    Academy to every task, our Nation's security will be in good hands.
        You leave this Academy strong and resolved to be worthy of the
    traditions of commissioned officers in the United States Coast Guard. I
    respect your passion for service and the courage of your choice. Your
    country is grateful and proud of each of you. Congratulations. God
    bless. Semper Paratus.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:41 a.m. in the Alumni Building. In his
    remarks, he referred to Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe, USCG, superintendent,
    and Chief Petty Officer Karl Dillmann, USCG, Delta Company Chief, U.S.
    Coast Guard Academy; A.Q. Khan, former head of Pakistan's nuclear
    weapons program; and Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi, leader of
    Libya.