    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [October 23, 2007]
    [Pages 1370-1377]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the National Defense University
    October 23, 2007

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for the warm welcome.
    Madam President--[laughter]--thank you for
    that kind introduction. Thank you for welcoming me back to the National
    Defense University. I really enjoy coming here. After all, this is a
    great American institution that has educated our Nation's top military
    leaders and national security thinkers for more than a century.
        Today, you're training the next generation of leaders to prevail in
    the great ideological struggle of our time: the global war on terror.
    We're at war with a brutal enemy. We're at war with coldblooded killers
    who despise freedom, reject tolerance, and kill the innocent in pursuit
    of their political vision. Many of you have met this enemy on the
    battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq; you have served with valor in the
    defense of our country. Students here at NDU have earned 3 Purple Hearts
    and more than 90 Bronze Stars since the war on terror began. All of you
    who wear the uniform are helping to protect this country, and the United
    States of America is grateful for your service.
        In this war, we're on the offense against the enemy, and that's the
    only way to be.

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    We'll fight them in foreign lands so we don't have to face them here in
    America. We'll pursue the terrorists across the world. We'll take every
    lawful and effective measure to protect ourselves here at home.
        In an age when terrorist networks and terrorist states are seeking
    weapons of mass destruction, we must be ready to defend our Nation
    against every possible avenue of attack. I've come today to discuss the
    actions we're taking to keep our people safe and to update you on the
    progress of an initiative I announced on this very campus in 2001, and
    that is our efforts to defend America against a ballistic missile
    attack. My administration made a commitment to the American people then
    that we will defend you against all forms of terror, including the
    terror that could arrive as a result of a missile. And we're keeping
    that commitment.
        Another topic of concern is the devastation caused by the wildfires
    in southern California. All of us across this Nation are concerned for
    the families who have lost their homes and the many families who have
    been evacuated from their homes. We send our prayers and thoughts with
    those who've been affected, and we send the help of the Federal
    Government as well.
        Last night I declared an emergency, which will open up the
    opportunity for us to send Federal assets to help the
    Governor and those who are fighting
    these fires. Today I have sent Secretary Chertoff and Director Paulison
    of the FEMA to go out to California to listen and to develop an
    inventory of supplies and help that we can provide.
        I appreciate very much the fact that the senior Senator from Alaska has joined us; no stronger supporter
    for the United States military than Ted Stevens. We're proud you're
    here, Senator. Thank you for coming. I appreciate--[applause]. I want to
    thank Congressman Todd Akin for joining us as
    well, from the State of Missouri. Proud you're here, Congressman.
    Appreciate both of you all taking your time.
        There's a lot of high-ranking officials here, but I do want to
    single out one, that would be your Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
    Staff, United States marine
    James ``Hoss'' Cartwright. General, thank you for coming. Appreciate you
    being here. Thanks for letting me come by.
        The men and women of the National Defense University understand what
    is at stake in today's war. First of all, you understand we're in war.
    And secondly, you understand the stakes of this war. September the 11th,
    2001, terrorists struck us 5 miles from this very spot; they crashed a
    plane into the Pentagon and killed 184 men, women, and children. And
    from this campus, you could see the smoke billowing across the Potomac.
    You lost one of your own that day, Navy Captain Bob Dolan, class of
    1998, who was working in the Pentagon office when the plane hit it. With
    us today are four NDU students and one professor who helped with the
    rescue effort. These souls pulled victims from the wreckage, they
    provided emergency medical care, and they flew choppers to support
    recovery operations at the site of the attack. The attack that day was
    personal for people here at NDU. I took it personally as well.
        With the presence--with the passage of time, the memories of
    September the 11th have grown more distant. That's natural. That's what
    happens with time. And for some, there's the temptation to think that
    the threats to our country have grown distant as well. They have not.
    And our job, for those of us who have been called to protect America, is
    never to forget the threat and to implement strategies that will protect
    the homeland. On 9/11, we saw that oceans which separate us from other
    continents no longer separates us from danger. We saw the cruelty of the
    terrorists. We saw the future they intend for us. They intend to strike
    our country again. Oh, some dismiss that as empty chatter; I'm telling
    you, they intend to strike our country again. And the next time, they
    hope

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    to cause destruction that will make 9/11 pale by comparison.
        This new kind of threat has required a new kind of war, and we're
    prosecuting that war on many fronts. Our Armed Forces have captured or
    killed thousands of extremists and radicals. We have removed terrorist
    regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq that had supported terrorists and
    threatened our citizens. In these two nations, we liberated 50 million
    people from unspeakable tyranny, and now we're helping them build stable
    democracies that can govern justly and protect their citizens and serves
    as allies in this war against extremists and radicals.
        And one of the real challenges we face is, will we have confidence
    in the liberty to be transformative? Will we lose faith in the
    universality of liberty? Will we ignore history and not realize that
    liberty has got the capacity to yield the peace we want? And so this
    administration, along with many in our military, will continue to spread
    the hope of liberty in order to defeat the ideology of darkness, the
    ideology of the terrorists, and work to secure a future of peace for
    generations to come. That's our call.
        In this new war, the enemy seeks to infiltrate operatives into our
    country and attack us from within. They can't beat our Army; they can't
    defeat our military. And so they try to sneak folks in our country to
    kill the innocent, to achieve their objectives. And that's one of the
    reasons we passed the PATRIOT Act. And over the past 6 years, our law
    enforcement and intelligence officers have used the tools in this good
    law to break up terror cells and support networks in California, in New
    York, in Ohio, in Virginia, in Florida, and other States.
        In this new war, the enemy uses advanced technology to recruit
    operatives and to train suicide bombers and to plan and plot new attacks
    on our country. And so we passed the Protect America Act, which
    strengthened our ability to collect foreign intelligence on terrorists
    overseas. It closed a dangerous gap in our intelligence. Unfortunately,
    this law is set to expire on February the 1st, 101 days from now. Yet
    the threat from Al Qaida is not going to expire 101 days from now. So I
    call on Congress to make sure our intelligence professionals have the
    tools they need to keep us safe by strengthening the Protect America Act
    and making it the permanent law of the land.
        In this new war, the enemy conspires in secret, and often the only
    source of information on what the terrorists are planning is the
    terrorists themselves. So we established a program at the Central
    Intelligence Agency to question key terrorist leaders and operatives
    captured in the war on terror. This program has produced critical
    intelligence that has helped us stop a number of attacks, including a
    plot to strike the U.S. Marine camp in Djibouti, a planned attack on the
    U.S. consulate in Karachi, a plot to hijack a passenger plane and fly it
    into Library Tower in Los Angeles, California, or a plot to fly
    passenger planes into Heathrow Airport and buildings into downtown
    London.
        Despite the record of success and despite the fact that our
    professionals use lawful techniques, the CIA program has come under
    renewed criticism in recent weeks. Those who oppose this vital tool in
    the war on terror need to answer a simple question: Which of the attacks
    I have just described would they prefer we had not stopped? Without this
    program, our intelligence community believes that Al Qaida and its
    allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the
    American homeland. This CIA program has saved lives; it is vital to the
    security of the American people.
        In this new war, the enemy seeks weapons of mass destruction that
    would allow them to kill our people on an unprecedented scale. So we're
    working with friends and allies to stop our enemies from getting

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    their hands on these weapons. We increased funding for a threat
    reduction program that is helping us to secure nuclear warheads and
    fissile materials in Russia. We launched the Global Threat Reduction
    Initiative that has removed enough material for more than 30 nuclear
    bombs from around the world. We launched the Container Security
    Initiative and other programs to detect and stop the movement of
    dangerous materials in foreign ports and intercept these materials
    before they are placed on vessels destined for the United States.
        With Russia, we launched the Global Initiative To Combat Nuclear
    Terrorism, a coalition of more than 60 nations that are using their own
    resources to stop the illicit spread of nuclear materials. We
    established the Proliferation Security Initiative, a coalition of more
    than 80 nations working to intercept shipments of weapons of mass
    destruction on land and at sea and in the air. With our allies, we're
    going after the proliferators and shutting down their financial
    networks. And through these and other efforts, the message should be
    clear to the enemy: We're not going to allow mass murderers to gain
    access to the tools of mass destruction.
        The war on terror will be won on the offense, and that's where I
    intend to keep it, on the offense. Yet protecting our citizens is--also
    requires defensive measures here at home. It's a new kind of war. It's a
    different conflict that you're studying here at NDU. It requires us to
    use all assets to keep the pressure on the enemy. There should be no day
    where they do not feel the pressure of the United States of America and
    our allies.
        But at home, we've got to put defensive measures in place, measures
    that we have never had to put in place before. Since 2001, we've taken
    unprecedented actions to protect our citizens. After all, it's our most
    solemn duty in Washington, DC, to protect the American people. We
    created the Department of Homeland Security. We established a new
    Northern Command at the Department of Defense. We established new
    programs to protect our cities against biological and radiological
    attacks. We beefed up airport and seaport security at home. We've
    instituted better visa screening for those entering our country. Since
    September of 2001, my administration has provided more than $23 billion
    to America's State and local first-responders for equipment and training
    and other vital needs.
        One of the most important defensive measures we have taken is the
    deployment of new capabilities to defend America against ballistic
    missile attack. On 9/11, we saw the damage our enemies could do by
    hijacking planes loaded with jet fuel and turning them into missiles and
    using them to kill the innocent. Today, dangerous regimes are pursuing
    far more powerful capabilities and building ballistic missiles that
    could allow them to deliver these weapons to American cities.
        The ballistic missile threat to America has been growing for
    decades. In 1972, just nine countries had ballistic missiles. Today,
    that number has grown to 27, and it includes hostile regimes with ties
    to terrorists. When I took office, our Nation had no capability to
    defend the American people against long-range ballistic missile attacks.
    Our research, development, and testing program was hampered by a lack of
    funding. Our efforts to develop and deploy missile defense were
    constrained by the ABM Treaty, a 30-year-old agreement negotiated with a
    Soviet Union that no longer existed.
        So one of my administration's first national security initiatives
    was to reinvigorate our country's efforts to defend against ballistic
    missile attack. Here at the National Defense University, I announced
    America's intention to move beyond the ABM Treaty and deploy missile
    defenses to protect our people, our forces abroad, and our allies around
    the world against limited attacks. I also pledged that as we build these
    defenses, America would undertake significant

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    reductions in nuclear weapons, and that we would establish a new
    approach to deterrence that would leave behind the adversarial legacy of
    the cold war and allow us to prepare for the threats of the 21st
    century. Over the past years, we have delivered on those pledges.
        The first step we took was to withdraw from the ABM Treaty. At the
    time, critics warned of a disaster, with some declaring that our--my
    decision could ``give rise to a dangerous new arms race with Russia.''
    Russia did not agree with my decision to withdraw. Yet President
    Putin declared that the decision at the
    time ``does not pose a threat to Russia.'' And far from a new arms race,
    he announced that Russia would join the United States in making historic
    reductions in our deployed offensive nuclear arsenals.
        The second step we took was to make missile defense operational,
    while continuing our research and development efforts. Instead of
    spending decades trying to develop a perfect shield, we decided to begin
    deploying missile defense capabilities as soon as the technology was
    proven ready and then build on that foundation by adding new
    capabilities as they matured. By the end of 2004, we had a rudimentary
    capability in place to defend against limited missile attacks by rogue
    states or an accidental launch. As new technologies come on line, we
    continue to add to this system, making it increasingly capable and
    moving us closer to the day when we can intercept ballistic missiles of
    all ranges, in every stage of flight, from boost to mid-course and
    terminal.
        The third step we took was to reach out to the world and involve
    other nations in the missile defense effort. Since 2001, we've worked
    closely with countries such as Israel and Italy and Germany and Japan
    and the Netherlands and Britain and others on missile defense. Together
    with our friends and allies, we're deploying early warning radars and
    missile interceptors and ballistic missile defense ships. We're working
    to jointly develop new missile defense capabilities. As a result of this
    collaboration, missile defense has gone from an American innovation to a
    truly international effort to help defend free nations against the true
    threats of the 21st century.
        Our decision to make missile defense operational was validated in
    July of last year, when North Korea launched a series of destabilizing
    ballistic missile tests, including testing a system our intelligence
    community believes is capable of reaching the United States. Had these
    tests taken place just a few years earlier, they would have underscored
    America's vulnerability to a ballistic missile attack. Instead, because
    of the decisions we took in 2001 and because of the hard work of people
    in this room, our military had in place a capability to track the North
    Korean vehicle and engage it if it threatened our country. So a test
    North Korea intended to showcase its power became a demonstration that
    the pursuit of ballistic missiles will ultimately be fruitless, because
    America and our allies are building and deploying the means to defend
    against this threat.
        Last month, the Missile Defense Agency conducted its 30th successful
    ``hit to kill'' test since 2001. We got a lot of smart people working on
    this project, and they're proving that our vision can work. With this
    most recent success, our military commanders believe we can now have a
    credible system in place that can provide the American people with a
    measure of protection against threats emanating from Northeast Asia. The
    next step is to take a system that has passed demanding tests in the
    Pacific theater and deploy elements of it to Europe so we can defend
    America and our NATO allies from attacks emanating from the Middle East.
        The need for missile defense in Europe is real, and I believe it's
    urgent. Iran is pursuing the technology that could be used to produce
    nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles of increasing range that could
    deliver them. Last November, Iran conducted

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    military exercises in which it launched ballistic missiles capable of
    striking Israel and Turkey as well as American troops based in the
    Persian Gulf. Iranian officials have declared that they are developing
    missiles with a range of 1,200 miles, which would give them the
    capability to strike many of our NATO allies, including Greece, Romania,
    Bulgaria, and possibly Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. Our intelligence
    community assesses that with continued foreign assistance, Iran could
    develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the
    United States and all of Europe before 2015. If it chooses to do so and
    the international community does not take steps to prevent it, it is
    possible Iran could have this capability. And we need to take it
    seriously now.
        Today, we have no way to defend Europe against the emerging Iranian
    threat, and so we must deploy a missile defense system there that can.
    This system will be limited in scope. It is not designed to defend
    against an attack from Russia. The missile defenses we can employ would
    be easily overwhelmed by Russia's nuclear arsenal. Russia has hundreds
    of missiles and thousands of warheads. We're planning to deploy 10
    interceptors in Europe. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do the
    math. [Laughter]
        Moreover, the missile defenses we will deploy are intended to deter
    countries who would threaten us with ballistic missile attacks. We do
    not consider Russia such a country. The cold war is over. Russia is not
    our enemy. We're building a new security relationship, whose foundation
    does not rest on the prospect of mutual annihilation.
        As part of the new relationship, we're inviting Russia to join us in
    this cooperative effort to defend Russia, Europe, and the United States
    against an emerging threat that affects us all. For his part, President
    Putin has offered the use of radar
    facilities in Azerbaijan and southern Russia. We believe these sites
    could be included as part of a wider threat monitoring system that could
    lead to an unprecedented level of strategic cooperation between our two
    countries.
        For our part, we're planning to deploy a system made up of 10
    ground-based interceptors located in Poland and an X-band tracking radar
    located in the Czech Republic. Such a system would have the capacity to
    defend countries in Europe that would be at risk from a long-range
    attack from the Middle East. We're also working with NATO on developing
    capabilities to defend countries against short- and medium-range attacks
    from the Middle East. We want to work on such a system with Russia,
    including through the NATO-Russia Council, see. The danger of ballistic
    missile attacks is a threat we share, and we ought to respond to this
    threat together.
        The effort to develop ballistic missile defenses is part of a
    broader effort to move beyond the cold war and establish a new
    deterrence framework for the 21st century. In 1960, President Eisenhower
    spoke to the students at this campus. He told them, ``Our first priority
    task is to develop and sustain a deterrent commanding the respect of any
    potential aggressor.'' And during those early years of the cold war,
    deterrence required building a nuclear force large enough to survive and
    retaliate after a Soviet first strike.
        Today, our adversaries have changed. We no longer worry about a
    massive Soviet first strike. We worry about terrorist states and
    terrorist networks that might not be deterred by our nuclear forces. To
    deal with such adversaries, we need a new approach to deterrence. This
    approach combines deep reductions in offensive nuclear forces with new,
    advanced conventional capabilities and defenses to protect free people
    from nuclear blackmail or attack.
        So in 2001, I directed the Department of Defense to achieve a
    credible deterrent--a credible deterrent--with the lowest number of
    nuclear weapons consistent with our national security needs, including
    our obligations to our allies. These reductions

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    were eventually codified in the Moscow Treaty, which commits the United
    States and Russia to reduce our operationally deployed strategic nuclear
    warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 within 5 years from now.
        Since the Moscow Treaty took effect, the United States has retired
    all of our Peacekeeper ICBMs and reduced our operationally deployed
    strategic nuclear warheads from more than 6,000 when I took office to
    fewer than 3,800 today. When the rest of the reductions we have set in
    motion are completed, the total U.S. nuclear stockpile will be one-
    quarter its size at the end of the cold war, the lowest level since the
    Eisenhower administration.
        As we reduce our nuclear arsenal, we're investing in advanced
    conventional capabilities. These include new unmanned aerial combat
    vehicles and next-generation long-range precision weapons that allows us
    to strike enemies quickly, at great distances, without using nuclear
    weapons. We're investing in the next generation of missile defenses
    because these systems do more than defend our citizens; they also
    strengthen deterrence.
        Think of it this way: A terrorist regime that can strike America or
    our allies with a ballistic missile is likely to see this power as
    giving them free rein for acts of aggression and intimidation in their
    own neighborhoods. But with missile defenses in place, the calculus of
    deterrence changes in our favor. If this same terrorist regime does not
    have confidence their missile attack would be successful, it is less
    likely to engage in acts of aggression in the first place. We would also
    have more options for dealing with their aggression if deterrence fails.
        In addition to strengthening our deterrent, missile defense also
    strengthens our counterproliferation efforts. One reason for the
    dramatic proliferation of ballistic missile technology over the past 30
    years is that America and our allies had no defense against them. By
    deploying effective defenses, we reduce incentives to build ballistic
    missiles because rogue regimes are less likely to invest in weapons that
    cannot threaten free nations.
        Missile defense also helps us dissuade nations from developing
    nuclear weapons. Through our missile defense partnerships with nations
    in Asia and Europe and the Middle East, we can help friends and allies
    defend against missile attack. These defenses will build their
    confidence, and these defenses will make it less likely that they will
    feel the need to respond to the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North
    Korea by developing nuclear weapons of their own.
        Missile defense is a vital tool for our security. It's a vital tool
    for deterrence. And it's a vital tool for counterproliferation. Yet
    despite all these benefits, the United States Congress is cutting
    funding for missile defense.
        Congress has cut our request for missile defenses in Europe by $139
    million, which could delay deployment for a year or more and undermine
    our allies who are working with us to deploy such a system on their
    soil. Congress has eliminated $51 million from the Airborne Laser
    program, a critical effort that will allow us to intercept missiles in
    the boost stage of flight when they're still over the country that
    launched them. Congress has slashed $50 million from the Multiple Kill
    Vehicle program that will help us defeat both the incoming warhead and
    the decoys deployed to overcome our defenses. Congress has cut $50
    million from the Space Tracking and Surveillance System, a constellation
    of space satellites that can help us more effectively detect and track
    ballistic missiles headed for our country. Each of these programs is
    vital to the security of America, and Congress needs to fully fund them.
        The greatest threat facing our Nation in the 21st century is the
    danger of terrorist networks or terrorist states armed with weapons of
    mass destruction. We're taking decisive action at home and abroad to
    defend our people from this danger. With

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    bold investments today, we can ensure that the men and women in this
    hall have the tools you need to confront the threats of tomorrow. We
    will ensure that you have the tools necessary to do the solemn duty of
    protecting the American people from harm.
        I want to thank each of you for stepping forward to serve our
    country. You're courageous folks. Because of your willingness to
    volunteer in a time of war, there's no doubt in my mind we can prevail
    in this war. It requires determination, resolve, steadfast--
    steadfastness in the face of a brutal enemy. And having served as the
    Commander in Chief for nearly 6\3/4\ years, there's no doubt in my mind
    that the United States military has that resolve and has that courage.
        God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:08 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Lt. Gen. Frances C. Wilson, USMC, president, National Defense
    University; Gov. Arnold A. Schwarzenegger of California; and President
    Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.