    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [July 24, 2007]
    [Pages 1005-1010]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to Military Personnel and Their Families at Charleston Air Force
    Base, South Carolina
    July 24, 2007

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you, Colonel. Thanks for the hospitality and kind introduction.
    I'm proud to be with the men and women of the Air Force, the Navy, the
    Marines, the Army, and the Coast Guard. Thanks for serving. Thanks for
    wearing the uniform of the United States of America.
        I'm proud to be back here in the great State of South Carolina. I'm
    proud to be with some of the Palmetto State's finest citizens. I'm glad
    to be eating lunch with you. The food is pretty good,
    Colonel. [Laughter] I always like
    a good barbeque. [Laughter]
        I also am proud to be with the military families. You know, our
    troops are obviously engaged in a tough struggle, tough fight, a fight
    that I think is noble and necessary for our peace. And so are our
    families. Our military families endure the separations. They worry about
    their loved ones. They pray for safe return. By carrying out these
    burdens, our military families are serving the United States of America,
    and this country is grateful to America's military families.
        I appreciate Colonel Millander
    leading the 437th Airlift Wing here at the Charleston Airbase. Thank you
    for the tour. Nice, big airplanes carrying a lot of cargo. [Laughter]
    And it's good to see the amazing operations that take place here to keep
    our troops supplied.
        I'm honored here to be with Deb as well.
    That's Red's wife. I call him Red;
    you call him Colonel. [Laughter] He did a smart thing; he married a
    woman from Texas. So did I. [Laughter] And Laura
    sends her very best to you all.
        I'm proud to be here with Mark
    Bauknight--Colonel Bauknight, acting commander of the 315th Airlift
    Wing, and his wife Leslie.
        I am traveling today with one of the true stalwarts of freedom, a
    man who understands the stakes of the war we're in and a man who
    strongly supports the military in accomplishing the mission that we've
    sent you to do, and that's Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. This base is represented by Congressman
    Henry Brown of South Carolina. He
    understands what I understand: When we have somebody in harm's way, that
    person deserves the full support of the Congress and the President. And
    you'll have the full support of the President of the United States
    during this war against these radicals and extremists.
        I appreciate the Lieutenant Governor of this State, Andre
    Bauer. Thanks for coming, Governor. I'm proud to
    be here with the speaker of the house of representatives for South
    Carolina, State Representative Bobby Harrell. Mr. Speaker, thanks for coming.
        We've got some mayors with us, and I appreciate the mayors being
    here today: Mayor Riley, Mayor
    Hallman, Mayor Summey. I'm honored that you all would take time out of your
    busy schedule to come by and pay tribute to these men and women who
    serve our Nation so ably.
        I'm proud to be with Chairman Tim Scott
    of the Charleston County Council. I'm proud to be with other State and
    local officials. And I'm really glad to be with you all. Thank you for
    your courage.
        Since the attacks of September the 11th, 2001, the airmen of Team
    Charleston have deployed across the globe in support in the war on
    terror. During the liberation of Afghanistan, aircrews from Team
    Charleston flew hundreds of sorties to transport troops and deliver
    supplies and help the liberation of 25 million people.
        Team Charleston is playing a crucial role in Iraq. Every day, C-17s
    lift off from Charleston carrying tons of vital supplies

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    for our troops on the frontlines. Your efforts are saving lives, and
    you're bringing security to this country. Every member of Team
    Charleston can take pride in a great record of accomplishment. And
    America is grateful for your courage in the cause of freedom. And your
    courage is needed.
        Nearly 6 years after the 9/11 attacks, America remains a nation at
    war. The terrorist network that attacked us that day is determined to
    strike our country again, and we must do everything in our power to stop
    them. A key lesson of September the 11th is that the best way to protect
    America is to go on the offense, to fight the terrorists overseas so we
    don't have to face them here at home. And that is exactly what our men
    and women in uniform are doing across the world.
        The key theater in this global war is Iraq. Our troops are serving
    bravely in that country. They're opposing ruthless enemies, and no enemy
    is more ruthless in Iraq than Al Qaida. They send suicide bombers into
    crowded markets; they behead innocent captives; and they murder American
    troops. They want to bring down Iraq's democracy so they can use that
    nation as a terrorist safe haven for attacks against our country. So our
    troops are standing strong with nearly 12 million Iraqis who voted for a
    future of peace, and they do so for the security of Iraq and the safety
    of American citizens.
        There's a debate in Washington about Iraq, and nothing wrong with a
    healthy debate. There's also a debate about Al Qaida's role in Iraq.
    Some say that Iraq is not part of the broader war on terror. They
    complain when I say that the Al Qaida terrorists we face in Iraq are
    part of the same enemy that attacked us on September the 11th, 2001.
    They claim that the organization called Al Qaida in Iraq is an Iraqi
    phenomenon, that it's independent of Usama bin Laden, and that it's not interested in attacking America.
        That would be news to Usama bin Laden.
    He's proclaimed that the ``third world war is raging in Iraq.'' Usama
    bin Laden says, ``The war is for you or for us to win. If we win it, it
    means your defeat and disgrace forever.'' I say that there will be a big
    defeat in Iraq, and it will be the defeat of Al Qaida.
        Today I will consider the arguments of those who say that Al Qaida
    and Al Qaida in Iraq are separate entities. I will explain why they are
    both part of the same terrorist network and why they are dangerous to
    our country.
        I'd like to start with some basic facts. Al Qaida in Iraq was
    founded by a Jordanian terrorist, not an Iraqi. His name was Abu Musab
    Al Zarqawi. Before 9/11, he ran a terrorist camp in Afghanistan. He was
    not yet a member of Al Qaida, but our intelligence community reports
    that he had longstanding relations with senior Al Qaida leaders, that he
    had met with Usama bin Laden and his chief
    deputy, Zawahiri.
        In 2001, coalition forces destroyed Zarqawi's Afghan training camp,
    and he fled the country, and he went to Iraq, where he set up operations
    with terrorist associates long before the arrival of coalition forces.
    In the violence and instability following Saddam's fall, Zarqawi was
    able to expand dramatically the size, scope, and lethality of his
    operation. In 2004, Zarqawi and his terrorist group formally joined Al
    Qaida, pledged allegiance to Usama bin Laden, and he promised to ``follow his orders in jihad.''
        Soon after, bin Laden publicly declared
    that Zarqawi was the ``Prince of Al Qaida in Iraq,'' and he instructed
    terrorists in Iraq to ``listen to him and obey him.'' It's hard to argue
    that Al Qaida in Iraq is separate from bin Laden's Al Qaida when the
    leader of Al Qaida in Iraq took an oath of allegiance to Usama bin
    Laden.
        According to our intelligence community, the Zarqawi-bin Laden merger gave Al Qaida in Iraq, quote, ``prestige
    among potential recruits and financiers.'' The merger also gave Al
    Qaida's senior leadership, quote, ``a foothold in Iraq to extend its

    [[Page 1007]]

    geographic presence to plot external operations and to tout the
    centrality of the jihad in Iraq to solicit direct monetary support
    elsewhere.'' The merger between Al Qaida and its Iraqi affiliate is an
    alliance of killers, and that is why the finest military in the world is
    on their trail.
        Zarqawi was killed by U.S. forces in June 2006. He was replaced by
    another foreigner, an Egyptian named Abu Ayyub al-Masri. His ties to the Al Qaida senior leadership are deep and
    longstanding. He has collaborated with Zawahiri for more than two
    decades. And before 9/11, he spent time with Al Qaida in Afghanistan,
    where he taught classes indoctrinating others in Al Qaida's radical
    ideology.
        After Abu Ayyub took over Al Qaida's
    Iraqi operations last year, Usama bin Laden
    sent a terrorist leader named Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi to help him. According to our intelligence community,
    this man was a senior adviser to bin Laden who served as his top
    commander in Afghanistan. Abd al-Hadi never made it to Iraq. He was
    captured and was recently transferred to the U.S. Naval Base at
    Guantanamo Bay. The fact that Usama bin Laden risked sending one of his
    most valued commanders to Iraq shows the importance he places on success
    of Al Qaida's Iraqi operations.
        According to our intelligence community, many of Al Qaida in Iraq's
    other senior leaders are also foreign terrorists. They include a Syrian
    who is Al Qaida in Iraq's emir in Baghdad, a Saudi who is Al Qaida in
    Iraq's top spiritual and legal advisor, an Egyptian who fought in
    Afghanistan in the 1990s and who has met with Usama bin Laden, a Tunisian who we believe plays a key role in
    managing foreign fighters. Last month in Iraq, we killed a senior Al
    Qaida facilitator named Mehmet Yilmaz, a Turkish national who fought
    with Al Qaida in Afghanistan and met the September the 11th mastermind,
    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and other Al
    Qaida leaders.
        A few weeks ago, we captured a senior Al Qaida in Iraq leader named
    Mashadani. Now, this
    terrorist is an Iraqi. In fact, he was the highest ranking Iraqi in the
    organization. Here's what he said, here's what he told us: The foreign
    leaders of Al Qaida in Iraq went to extraordinary lengths to promote the
    fiction that Al Qaida in Iraq is an Iraqi-led operation. He says, Al
    Qaida even created a figurehead whom they named Umar al-Baghdadi. The
    purpose was to make Iraqi fighters believe they were following the
    orders of an Iraqi instead of a foreigner. Yet once in custody,
    Mashadani revealed that al-Baghdadi is only an actor. He confirmed our intelligence that foreigners are
    the top echelons of Al Qaida in Iraq--they are the leaders--and that
    foreign leaders make most of the operational decisions, not Iraqis.
        Foreign terrorists also account for most of the suicide bombings in
    Iraq. Our military estimates that between 80 and 90 percent of suicide
    attacks in Iraq are carried out by foreign-born Al Qaida terrorists.
    It's true that today, most of Al Qaida in Iraq's rank-and-file fighters
    and some of its leadership are Iraqi. But to focus exclusively on this
    single fact is to ignore the larger truth: Al Qaida in Iraq is a group
    founded by foreign terrorists, led largely by foreign terrorists, and
    loyal to a foreign terrorist leader, Usama bin Laden. They know they're Al Qaida. The Iraqi people know they
    are Al Qaida. People across the Muslim world know they are Al Qaida. And
    there's a good reason they are called Al Qaida in Iraq. They are Al
    Qaida in Iraq.
        Some also assert that Al Qaida in Iraq is a separate organization
    because Al Qaida's central command lacks full operational control over
    it. This argument reveals a lack of understanding. Here is how Al
    Qaida's global terrorist network actually operates. Al Qaida and its
    affiliate organizations are a loose network of terrorist groups that are
    united by a common ideology and shared objectives and have differing
    levels of collaboration with Al Qaida senior leadership. In some cases,
    these groups have

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    formally merged into Al Qaida and take what's called a bayat, a pledge
    of loyalty to Usama bin Laden. In other
    cases, organizations are not formally merged with Al Qaida, but
    collaborate closely with Al Qaida leaders to plot attacks and advance
    their shared ideology. In still other cases, there are small cells of
    terrorists that are not part of Al Qaida or any other broader terrorist
    group, but maintain contact with Al Qaida leaders and are inspired by
    its ideology to conduct attacks.
        Our intelligence community assesses that Al Qaida in Iraq falls into
    the first of these categories. They are a full member of the Al Qaida
    terrorist network. The Al Qaida leadership provides strategic guidance
    to their Iraqi operatives. Even so, there have been disagreements,
    important disagreements between the leaders, Usama bin Laden, and the Iraqi counterparts, including Zawahiri's
    criticism of Zarqawi's relentless attacks on the Shi'a. But our
    intelligence community reports that Al Qaida's senior leaders generally
    defer to their Iraqi-based commanders when it comes to internal
    operations because distance and security concerns preclude day-to-day
    command authority.
        Our intelligence community concludes that, quote, ``Al Qaida and its
    regional node in Iraq are united in their overarching strategy.'' And
    they say that Al Qaida senior leaders and their operatives in Iraq,
    quote, ``see Al Qaida in Iraq as part of Al Qaida's decentralized chain
    of command, not as a separate group.''
        Here's the bottom line: Al Qaida in Iraq is run by foreign leaders
    loyal to Usama bin Laden, and like bin
    Laden, they are coldblooded killers who murder the innocent to achieve
    Al Qaida's political objectives. Yet despite all the evidence, some will
    tell you that Al Qaida in Iraq is not really Al Qaida and not really a
    threat to America. Well, that's like watching a man walk into a bank
    with a mask and a gun and saying he's probably just there to cash a
    check.
        You might wonder why some in Washington insist on making this
    distinction about the enemy in Iraq. It's because they know that if they
    can convince America we're not fighting bin Laden's Al Qaida there, they can paint the battle in Iraq as a
    distraction from the real war on terror. If we're not fighting bin
    Laden's Al Qaida, they can argue that our Nation can pull out of Iraq
    and not undermine our efforts in the war on terror. The problem they
    have is with the facts. We are fighting bin Laden's Al Qaida in Iraq,
    Iraq is central to the war on terror, and against this enemy, America
    can accept nothing less than complete victory.
        There are others who accept that Al Qaida is operating in Iraq but
    say its role is overstated. Al Qaida is one of the several Sunni
    jihadist groups in Iraq. But our intelligence community believes that Al
    Qaida is the most dangerous of these Sunni jihadist groups for several
    reasons. First, more than any other group, Al Qaida is behind most of
    the spectacular, high-casualty attacks that you see on your TV screens.
        Second, these Al Qaida attacks are designed to accelerate sectarian
    violence by attacking Shi'a in hopes of sparking reprisal attacks that
    inspire Sunnis to join Al Qaida's cause.
        Third, Al Qaida is the only jihadist group in Iraq with stated
    ambitions to make the country a base for attacks outside Iraq. For
    example, Al Qaida in Iraq dispatched terrorists who bombed a wedding
    reception in Jordan. In another case, they sent operatives to Jordan,
    where they attempted to launch a rocket attack on U.S. Navy ships in the
    Red Sea.
        And most important, for the people who wonder if the fight in Iraq
    is worth it, Al Qaida in Iraq shares Usama bin Laden's goal of making Iraq a base for its radical Islamic
    empire and using it as a safe haven for attacks on America. That is why
    our intelligence community reports, and I quote, ``compared with other
    leading Sunni

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    jihadist groups, Al Qaida in Iraq stands out for its extremism,
    unmatched operational strength, foreign leadership, and determination to
    take the jihad beyond Iraq's borders.''
        Our top commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, has said that Al Qaida is ``public enemy number one'' in
    Iraq. Fellow citizens, these people have sworn allegiance to the man who
    ordered the death of nearly 3,000 people on our soil. Al Qaida is public
    enemy number one for the Iraqi people; Al Qaida is public enemy number
    one for the American people. And that is why, for the security of our
    country, we will stay on the hunt, we'll deny them safe haven, and we
    will defeat them where they have made their stand.
        Some note that Al Qaida in Iraq did not exist until the U.S.
    invasion and argue that it is a problem of our own making. The argument
    follows the flawed logic that terrorism is caused by American actions.
    Iraq is not the reason that the terrorists are at war with us. We were
    not in Iraq when the terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in 1993.
    We were not in Iraq when they attacked our Embassies in Kenya and
    Tanzania. We were not in Iraq when they attacked the USS Cole in 2000.
    And we were not in Iraq on September the 11th, 2001.
        Our action to remove Saddam Hussein did not start the terrorist
    violence, and America withdrawal from Iraq would not end it. The Al
    Qaida terrorists now blowing themselves up in Iraq are dedicated
    extremists who have made killing the innocent the calling of their
    lives. They are part of a network that has murdered men, women, and
    children in London and Madrid, slaughtered fellow Muslims in Istanbul
    and Casablanca, Riyadh, Jakarta, and elsewhere around the world. If we
    were not fighting these Al Qaida extremists and terrorists in Iraq, they
    would not be leading productive lives of service and charity. Most would
    be trying to kill Americans and other civilians elsewhere, in
    Afghanistan or other foreign capitals or on the streets of our own
    cities.
        Al Qaida is in Iraq, and they're there for a reason. And
    surrendering the future of Iraq to Al Qaida would be a disaster for our
    country. We know their intentions. Hear the words of Al Qaida's top
    commander in Iraq when he issued an audio statement in which he said he
    will not rest until he has attacked our Nation's Capital. If we were to
    cede Iraq to men like this, we would leave them free to operate from a
    safe haven which they could use to launch new attacks on our country.
    And Al Qaida would gain prestige amongst the extremists across the
    Muslim world as the terrorist network that faced down America and forced
    us into retreat.
        If we were to allow this to happen, sectarian violence in Iraq could
    increase dramatically, raising the prospect of mass casualties. Fighting
    could engulf the entire region in chaos, and we would soon face a Middle
    East dominated by Islamic extremists who would pursue nuclear weapons
    and use their control of oil for economic blackmail or to fund new
    attacks on our Nation.
        We've already seen how Al Qaida used a failed state thousands of
    miles from our shores to bring death and destruction to the streets of
    our cities, and we must not allow them to do so again. So however
    difficult the fight is in Iraq, we must win it. And we can win it.
        Less than a year ago, Anbar Province was Al Qaida's base in Iraq and
    was written off by many as lost. Since then, U.S. and Iraqi forces have
    teamed with Sunni sheikhs who have turned against Al Qaida. Hundreds
    have been killed or captured. Terrorists have been driven from most of
    the population centers. Our troops are now working to replicate the
    success in Anbar in other parts of the country. Our brave men and women
    are taking risks, and they're showing courage, and we're making
    progress. For the security of our citizens and the peace of the world,
    we must give General Petraeus and his
    troops the time

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    and the resources they need so they can defeat Al Qaida in Iraq.
        Thanks for letting me come by today. I've explained the connection
    between Al Qaida and its Iraqi affiliate. I presented intelligence that
    clearly establishes this connection. The facts are that Al Qaida
    terrorists killed Americans on 9/11, they're fighting us in Iraq and
    across the world, and they are plotting to kill Americans here at home
    again. Those who justify withdrawing our troops from Iraq by denying the
    threat of Al Qaida in Iraq and its ties to Usama bin Laden ignore the clear consequences of such a retreat. If we
    were to follow their advice, it would be dangerous for the world and
    disastrous for America. We will defeat Al Qaida in Iraq.
        In this effort, we're counting on the brave men and women
    represented in this room. Every man and woman who serves at this base
    and around the world is playing a vital role in this war on terror. With
    your selfless spirit and devotion to duty, we will confront this mortal
    threat to our country, and we're going to prevail.
        I have confidence in our country, and I have faith in our cause
    because I know the character of the men and women gathered before me. I
    thank you for your patriotism. I thank you for your courage. You're
    living up to the motto, ``One Family, One Mission, One Fight!'' Thank
    you for all you do. God bless your families. God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:50 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., of Charleston, SC; Mayor Harry M. Hallman,
    Jr., of Mount Pleasant, SC; Mayor R. Keith Summey of North Charleston,
    SC; and Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-National
    Force--Iraq.