    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [January 31, 2008]
    [Pages 134-141]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the War on Terror in Las Vegas, Nevada
    January 31, 2008

        Thanks for the warm welcome. Thank you. So what Ranson didn't tell you is he believes in free speech, and
    that's what I'm here to give. [Laughter] I appreciate the invitation.
    [Laughter] Sharon, thank you very much as
    well.
        I'm honored to be here with the Governor.
    Governor--the Governor has been a friend of mine for a long time. We
    served together in Washington. He came back to Nevada--[laughter]--to
    serve the great State. As my wife said, when you get over there, don't
    mispronounce it again. [Laughter] I learned my lesson. But, Governor,
    thank you for being here. I appreciate all the State and local officials
    who are here, and I want to thank you for giving me a chance to come by
    and share some thoughts about the world in which we live.
        I do appreciate very much your advocacy of open markets, ownership.
    I believe the ownership society is necessary for a hopeful America. We
    want people owning their homes. We want people owning and managing their
    own health care accounts. We want people managing their pension plans.
    We ought to trust people. And at my State of the Union--one of the
    themes at the State of the Union was that government ought to trust
    people and empower them to make their own decisions about their future.
    And this institute does that, and I appreciate it very much. I thank you
    for being on the forefront of good, optimistic thought.
        The world in which we live is a dangerous world, but a world full of
    great opportunity. We're involved in an ideological struggle, the likes
    of which we have seen before in our history. It's an ideological
    struggle between those of us who love freedom and human rights and human
    dignity and those who want to impose their dark vision on how people
    should live their lives.

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    This is a--not a political conflict--I mean, a religious conflict. And
    I'll tell you why: Because the--one of the tactics--and the main tactic
    of those enemies of freedom--is to murder the innocent to achieve their
    objectives. Religious people do not murder the innocent.
        And so we're facing this ideological struggle of people who use
    asymmetrical warfare. What distinguishes this ideological struggle from
    previous ideological struggles, those with--against fascism or
    communism, is that in this war, individuals use weapons to kill innocent
    people--car bombs and suicide vests. And they do so to frighten the
    West. They do so to create chaos and confusion. They do so with the aim
    of creating vacuums into which their hateful ideology can flow. And
    that's why you see the September 11th attacks, in London, in Madrid, in
    Jordan, attacks around the world. Some will say these are just isolated
    moments of--where all we need is a good, strong law enforcement
    response. I think they're all part of an ideological struggle.
        And the interesting development that is taking place in the
    beginnings here of the 21st century is the freedom movement is on the
    march. I'm not surprised, and you shouldn't be either. I believe there
    is an Almighty. I believe the gift of that Almighty to every man, woman,
    and child is freedom. I believe that people, if given a chance, will
    always go to freedom, and that's what you're beginning to see.
        And yet every time freedom tries to advance, these ideologues murder
    innocent people--in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Israel, in
    Palestine. People who can't stand the thought of free societies unleash
    their hatred by killing innocent people. And the great challenge facing
    America and the world is, one, will we recognize the challenge? Do we
    understand the consequences of success and failure? And will the United
    States be bold and stay in the lead? And my answer is, we have been, we
    will continue to be, and we must be engaged in making sure we lay the
    foundation of peace for the sake of our children and grandchildren.
        We will prevail. We will prevail in this ideological struggle
    because liberty is powerful, liberty is hopeful. The enemy we face can
    only convince people to join their cause is when they find hopelessness.
    And so our strategy is threefold: one, protect the homeland; two, stay
    on the offense against these folks; and three, provide an alternative, a
    hopeful alternative to despair and doubt and hopelessness.
        So today I want to spend some time on the strategy. The first--our
    most important job in government, whether it be the Federal Government,
    State government, or local government, is to protect you. And remember
    the lessons of September the 11th, that oceans cannot protect us, that
    we face coldblooded killers who, in our case, resorted to mass murder to
    send a message. We've got--you know, thankfully there hasn't been an
    attack on our homeland since then. That's not for the lack of effort by
    these evil people.
        I hope you take heart in knowing there are a lot of really fine
    people working long, long hours to get the best information possible to
    protect the homeland. There's a--unbelievably dedicated folks. And as I
    said in the State of the Union the other night, we owe these folks a
    debt of gratitude. And we owe them more; we owe them the tools necessary
    to protect the American people.
        And one such tool in this different kind of war is to fully
    understand the intentions, the motives, the plans of people who use
    suicide and bombs to kill the innocent. If these terrorists and
    extremists are making phone calls into our country, we need to know why
    they're calling, what they're thinking, and what they're planning. In
    order to protect the American people, our professionals need to have the
    tools necessary to do their job you expect them to

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    do. And one such tool is a surveillance program that guarantees the
    rights of our citizens, but doesn't extend those same guarantees to
    those who would do us harm.
        Congress passed such a bill last year. They recognized that this
    tool was important to protect America. And yet, unfortunately, the bill
    they passed is set to expire tomorrow--or was set to expire tomorrow.
    Now, it's an interesting train of logic, isn't it? The tool was
    necessary 6 months ago, and yet it was set to expire as if the threat to
    our country was set to expire. But it's not. There's still ongoing
    threats.
        I will sign today, here in Las Vegas, an extension, 15-day extension
    to the Protect America Act. This will give people in Congress time to
    pass a good piece of legislation that makes sure that our professionals
    have the tools necessary to do their job and provides liability
    protection to carriers who it is assumed helped us in protecting the
    American people. This Protect America Act and its strengthening is
    essential to the security of the United States of America. I will sign
    the extension, but I expect members from both political parties to get
    this work done so our professionals can protect the American people.
        The second part of our strategy is to stay on the offense against
    these folks--I mean, every day, stay on the offense, an unrelenting
    effort to find them and bring them to justice. It's hard to plot, plan,
    and attack America if you're running and hiding. It's hard to recruit if
    you're cutting off money. It is hard to spread your poison if other
    reasonable people join the cause. And so we spend a lot of time doing
    everything we can to keep the pressure on these folks. And we got some
    good people working it.
        I repeat to you: I know there's some good folks who think this is
    just simply a law enforcement matter; it is not. This is an effort that
    requires all assets of the United States and requires coalitions working
    together. I mean, we need to be sharing intelligence. We need our
    military on the hunt. We need to be working with allies to keep the
    pressure on them. And that's exactly what we're doing. America must not
    relent. If our most important job is to protect the American people, we
    have got to stay on the offense and defeat the enemy overseas so we do
    not have to face them here at home.
        The third part of our strategy is to spread liberty. I love to tell
    folks that one of the most unique relationships I had as your President
    was with the Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister Koizumi. He's no longer the Prime Minister, but for a good
    period of time during my Presidency, he was. You might remember, he's
    the fellow that Laura and I took to Elvis's place in Memphis. [Laughter]
    He loved Elvis, and he wanted to go to Elvis's place. [Laughter] And it
    was a--we had a--it was a remarkable experience. [Laughter]
        Even more remarkable was the fact that the United States had no
    stronger ally in defeating terror, no stronger ally than understanding
    the power of freedom to be transformative. I say ``no stronger ally.''
    Tony Blair was strong; there was a lot, but so
    was Prime Minister Koizumi. What's ironic
    about that is that my dad fought the
    Japanese, and many of your relatives fought the Japanese. They were the
    sworn enemy of the United States of America. I mean, there was
    unbelievable hatred in our culture toward the Japanese. After all, they
    attacked us--the second largest attack on American soil--the first being
    that on September the 11th, 2001.
        And yet 60 years later, the son of a Navy fighter pilot was sitting at the table with the Prime
    Minister of the former enemy strategizing
    on how to win this ideological war. I find it ironic. The summary I've
    come away with is that liberty is transformative. People want to be
    free, and if given the chance, will be free, do the hard work necessary
    to be free. And liberty has got the capacity to transform an enemy to an
    ally.

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        And therefore, we ought to have confidence in liberty's power to
    bring the peace we want, and not shy away from helping people realize
    the great blessings of freedom. We've got to be confident in the
    transformative powers of liberty, recognizing that deep in everybody's
    soul is the desire to be free. I recognize that is a--there are some in
    the world who dismiss the capacity of liberty to take hold in parts of
    the world. There used to be a foreign policy that advocated stability as
    the cornerstone of our policy. But stability just masked the
    hopelessness that seethed beneath the surface. If you believe this is an
    ideological struggle, like I do, then it's paramount to help people
    realize a different ideology than that of the enemy. And that's what
    you're seeing unfold.
        And the two most evident places that that's happening right now is
    in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both those countries are part of the war on
    terror. These aren't separate, you know, wars; they're part of the same
    war--different theaters, certainly different circumstances, but the
    outcome is essential for our security. And so I want to spend a little
    time on Afghanistan and a little time on Iraq.
        In Afghanistan--the interesting lesson on Afghanistan for the world
    to see is that how the vision of the enemy would be implemented; in
    other words, these poor folks had the Taliban as their oppressors. The
    Taliban also, as you might remember, provided safe haven to those who
    came and attacked us. But if you lived in Afghanistan in those days and
    were a mom of a child, particularly a female child, you had no hope.
    These thugs didn't believe in freedoms; they didn't believe in women
    having equal status; they didn't believe young girls should be educated.
    And if you dared express your opinion that didn't mesh with theirs,
    you'd be whipped in the public square or killed. These are brutal
    people. That's the vision that these folks have for the world. That's
    what they want. Some Americans probably just missed that and say, ``Oh,
    that's just a pipedream, pie-in-the-sky on their part.''
        I think the United States needs to take that vision seriously. I
    think it's in our interest to liberate people. I think it's in our
    interest that when we find human suffering, we help deal with it.
        In Afghanistan, I am proud to report that the United States of
    America, thanks to a brave military, liberated 25 million people and
    gave them a chance to realize the blessings of liberty. Since liberation
    from the Taliban and since Al Qaida was routed out of that country,
    where they no longer had safe havens to plot and plan an attack, the
    people of Afghanistan voted for a President; they voted for a
    parliament; girls now go to school; highways are being built; health
    clinics are being constructed around the country.
        Is it perfect Government? No, but neither were we. I would remind
    our fellow citizens that we believed all men were created equal and for
    a 100 years had slaves. Afghanistan is working on their--on democracy.
    And it's hard work. It's not easy. It's like, it doesn't happen
    overnight. But it's in our interest to help them. It's in our interest
    to help them because we believe that liberty is transformative. And a
    part of the world that was once a safe haven for an enemy that attacked
    us will be a more hopeful place when freedom takes hold.
        The other night to the Nation I said, we're sending 3,200 marines in
    to supplement our troops there. And the reason why is because this enemy
    is relentless in trying to overthrow this democracy, and it's in our
    interest to stop them. You see, we've got to do the hard work now to
    make sure that a future generation of Americans can grow up in peace.
        In Iraq, the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right
    decision. The world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power, and
    so are the Iraqi people. There has been some interesting progress in
    Iraq. They wrote a Constitution. They voted.

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    Imagine a society going from a brutal tyrant to being able to vote in a
    short period of time.
        And yet the enemy--in this case, Al Qaida as well as militia,
    militia fighters, some sponsored by Iran, some of them just pure
    criminals--resented the fact that freedom was moving and in early 2006
    began a campaign, and they were looking like they were successful. There
    was unspeakable violence, and I was concerned about it. I was concerned
    about it because I understand the consequences of failure for our peace,
    for the future peace for our children.
        I had to make a tough decision. And the decision I made was based on
    the considered judgment of military people, considered judgment of a lot
    of folks who were following Iraq. It was not based upon any Gallup poll
    or focus group. It was based upon what was right for the future of the
    United States, and that is, as opposed to pulling troops out, send more
    in. And we went in to--with a counterinsurgency strategy, all aimed at,
    of course, helping the Iraqis stand up and do the hard work necessary,
    but in the meantime, making sure that when the enemy was cleaned out of
    neighborhoods, there was somebody there to provide security for the
    folks.
        Our surge, by the way, was more than just military. We surged
    diplomats and public service officials, Provincial Reconstruction Teams
    to make sure that in neighborhoods where an enemy had been routed--and
    we had folks there, along with the Iraqis, to provide security--that
    there was also a opportunity to improve life for the average citizen.
    The Iraqis surged. They created 100,000 new soldiers and police. But
    curiously enough--and I don't know whether a lot of our citizens
    understand this--80,000 local citizens stepped up and said: ``We want to
    help patrol our own neighborhoods. We're sick and tired of violence and
    extremists.''
        I'm not surprised that that happens. I believe Iraqi moms want the
    same thing that American moms want, and that is for their children to
    grow up in peace. That's what I believe. I don't believe that people
    welcome violence. They got sick of it. People want to be free. People
    want to live in peace, whether you're Methodist or a Muslim, whether
    you're American or Iraqi. And what you're watching play out now is that
    folks are becoming more confident in their capacity to self-govern.
    They're becoming confident that if they step up and expose these
    extremists or push these extremists out of their neighborhood, there
    will be enough muscle to help them.
        The surge is working. I know some don't want to admit that, and I
    understand. But the terrorists understand the surge is working. Al Qaida
    knows the surge is working. They thought they could live safely in Anbar
    Province. This was the place from which they were going to launch
    attacks throughout Iraq and throughout the Middle East. This is a place
    where they proudly proclaimed, ``This is our safe haven.'' They no
    longer have a safe haven in Anbar Province; they're on the run. We're
    going to keep them on the run, and it's in our interests for our own
    security to keep them on the run.
        As a result of our successes, some of our troops are coming home. A
    Marine expeditionary unit and one Army brigade came home in December.
    It's not going back. I don't know whether my fellow citizens understand
    that or not. We surged; we accomplished missions; the Iraqis are more
    capable. The commanders on the ground say that now we can do the same
    job with less troops. So folks came home for Christmas. It is
    anticipated that five [four] 1A* more Army brigades and two Marine
    battalions will be coming home by July. That's over 20,000 troops will
    be coming home because we've been successful, that's why.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        * 1AWhite House correction.

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        You know, a lot of folks say, ``Well, what's next, Mr. President?''
    And my answer is, we have come too far in this important theater in this
    war on terror not to make sure that we succeed. And therefore, any
    further troop reductions will be based upon commanders and conditions.
    Iraq is important for our security. I will be making decisions based
    upon success in Iraq. The temptation, of course, is for people to say,
    ``Well, make sure you do the politically right thing.'' That's not my
    nature. That's not exactly what we're going to do.
        The fundamental question is whether or not democracy can take hold.
    In other words, the security situation is improving, and therefore, will
    there be efforts by the Iraqi people to seize the moment? Reconciliation
    is taking place at the local level. People--as I told you, the basic
    instinct of people is to want to live in peace, and one way you do that
    is you put this horrible past as best you can behind you and look
    forward.
        So the two things I look for are, one, economic development--you
    know, a good economy will lead to a more hopeful future, therefore,
    causing people to be more likely to reconcile--and politics. On the
    economic front, the interesting thing about Iraq, as opposed to
    Afghanistan, is that they've got assets and a lot of money. And we, of
    course, want to help them build the ministries and the bureaucracies
    necessary to make sure that money gets spent on people. I know that may
    sound counterintuitive to you, but governments do need the capacity to
    take a budget and distribute monies throughout the country in an
    equitable basis in order for people to say, ``Well, this experience in
    democracy is worthwhile.'' I just want to make sure the bureaucracy
    doesn't get too big when you do it.
        And so we--you know, we chart business startups and markets. And all
    I can tell you is, I talk to our Ambassador
    and General Petraeus on a weekly basis,
    and they report that markets that were once shut down in dismal places
    as a result of attacks are beginning to come back and flourish, and life
    is improving dramatically. Baghdad--the capital of Baghdad is--which was
    once subject to unbelievable sectarian violence--is improving, and life
    is returning, and that's positive.
        And so we watched a lot about the inflation rates and unemployment
    rates. And they're doing pretty well--they really are--given the fact
    that they've come from a tyrannical regime that let the infrastructure
    of the country fall apart.
        The other question is politics. One of the lessons of democracy is a
    lot of times what happens at the local level informs people who are at
    the central Government level. And competition is pretty healthy in the
    democracy. As I told you, the local folks are reconciling; they're
    getting along better; they understand they have a common future. And the
    people in Baghdad are beginning to respond. They pass budgets. They're
    now arguing about their 2008 budget. I'm not sure which Government does
    their budget work better, ours or theirs. [Laughter] I can tell you
    this: We definitely have an issue with earmarks. [Laughter] I don't know
    if they do yet or not. [Laughter]
        And by the way, I'm going to do something about earmarks. I signed
    an Executive order the other day, basically saying if you slip these--
    slip this spending into bills that don't get debated or voted on, we're
    not going to spend your money. And this Executive order will--
    [applause]. Let me rephrase that: The money will be spent, but just not
    on those projects necessarily--[laughter]--not on those projects
    necessarily. And this Executive order goes beyond my Presidency.
        But they passed budgets. They're sharing oil revenues. They need to
    pass a law codifying the oil issue there, but they are sharing oil
    revenues. And they've got revenues, mainly from oil, and they're
    distributing those revenues to the Provinces. They passed a pension law
    and a de-

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    Ba'athification law, which basically is a part of reconciling with the
    past. They're now in the process of debating a Provincial powers law.
        And what's important about that is the--there's a constant debate in
    free societies--at least in our free society--about the relationship
    between the Federal Government and State governments. The
    Governor is most interested in that debate.
    [Laughter] We believe to the best extent possible that we ought to
    devolve power. Of course, we even take it--this group here, including
    me--takes it a step further. We devolve power not only in local
    government but more importantly to individuals, which help define the
    political landscape of both State and locals.
        But this debate is now ongoing in Iraq. Isn't it interesting? I know
    4 years seems like an eternity, particularly in this world of instant
    news and 24-hour whatever on TV. But it's--but Saddam is removed and now
    a Government elected by the people debating the proper role between
    central Government and Provincial government. And that's an important
    debate. And it's ongoing in the Council of Representatives now, and we
    anticipate them passing that bill.
        What I'm telling you is you're watching a democracy evolve. You're
    watching people become more confident in their ability to self-govern.
    And it's important that we help them. It's important we help them for
    our own security, and it's important that we help them as a part of this
    freedom movement. People have said, ``Freedom can't take hold in the
    Middle East.'' I strongly disagree. I believe freedom will take hold in
    the Middle East, and Iraq is an essential part of this strategy.
        We will succeed in Iraq. We will succeed because the Iraqi people
    want to succeed. And it's in our interest to help them. Success in Iraq
    will show the world that freedom can take root in the Middle East and
    inspire others. Success in Iraq will mean that we'll have a ally in this
    struggle against extremists in the heart of the Middle East. Success in
    Iraq will send an interesting message to its neighbor, Iran.
        Failure in Iraq would cause people to doubt the sincerity of the
    United States when it comes to keeping commitments. Failure in Iraq
    would embolden the extremists. Failure in Iraq would say to thugs and
    killers, the United States is a paper tiger. Failure in Iraq would
    embolden other extremists in the Middle East. Failure in Iraq would
    embolden Iran. It's in our strategic interests that we succeed, and we
    will succeed. We have done this kind of work together.
        I said in my speech the other day that it is vital for this
    generation to do the hard work. It is vital for this generation to
    assume the responsibilities of peace and take the lead so that when we
    look back 30 to 40 years from now, people will say, ``Thank goodness
    America didn't lose faith with liberty. Thank goodness they didn't
    abandon a value system that they believe is universal.'' And I believe
    an American President will be sitting down with elected leaders from the
    Middle East saying the same thing to audiences in Nevada that I said
    about Prime Minister Koizumi.
        I hope that you are inspired by the fact that people are willing to
    take risks for freedom. I hope these examples of Iraqi citizens who step
    forward to protect their neighborhoods and their families and children
    inspire you. They certainly inspire me. I hope you're inspired by
    political figures who defy killers. They inspire me. And I hope you're
    inspired by our military.
        I want to tell you an interesting story. When I was in Reno, I met
    a guy--a family named the Krissoff family.
    They had lost a son in Iraq. He was a marine. And one of my duties is to
    meet with the families of the fallen. I did so last night in northern
    California. It's an inspiring experience, by the way. It is a--you know,
    in many ways, the comforter becomes comforted by the spirit and--of
    these--and pride of these families.

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        And so I met the Krissoffs. Mr. Krissoff is a 60-year-old guy--I shouldn't be calling him
    ``mister'' because I'm a little older than he is--[laughter]--but he's a
    baby boomer just like me and a successful doctor. He said something very
    interesting to me. He said that he wanted to honor his country and honor
    his son by joining the military. I looked at the guy and said, yes,
    okay. [Laughter] I said, ``Why don't you?'' He said, ``Well, some of the
    folks think I'm a little old.'' [Laughter] I said, ``I don't,'' with him
    being a younger fella. [Laughter] So I helped him. And in the--
    Laura's box at the State of the Union sat
    Lieutenant Commander Bill Krissoff, serving the United States of
    America.
        Ours is a fabulous country. We are a dedicated, compassionate
    people, aiming to lay the foundation of peace for generations to come. I
    told you early, some see the world and tremble; I see the world and see
    opportunities. And the great opportunity before us is to lay the
    foundation of peace, and that is exactly what we're doing. God bless.
        Thank you all. Okay, I got a little bit of business to do. If you
    don't mind sitting down for just a second, I am now going to sign this
    15-day extension to give Members of the House and the Senate time to get
    this bill to my desk for the sake of our security. And thank you for
    witnessing this.

    [At this point, the President signed the bill.]

        Thank you all very much. God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:30 a.m. at the Emerald at Queensridge. In
    his remarks, he referred to Ranson W. Webster, chairman of the board of
    directors, and Sharon J. Rossie, president, Nevada Policy Research
    Institute; Gov. James A. Gibbons of Nevada; former Prime Minister Tony
    Blair of the United Kingdom; and Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, commanding
    general, Multi-National Force--Iraq. He also referred to Executive Order
    13457, which is listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume; and H.R.
    5104, approved January 31, which was assigned Public Law No. 110 09182.