[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[March 11, 2008]
[Pages 346-353]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville
March 11, 2008

    Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you for the warm welcome. 
Nothing better than being introduced by a fellow Texan. [Applause] And it's good to see some of my Texas buddies 
here--[applause]--like my friend Evans from 
Dallas. Good to see you, Tony. Thanks for letting me come by.
    This is kind of a rambunctious crowd. [Laughter] I really am pleased 
to be with you. For 64 years, this association has brought together some 
of the most memorable voices of the--our Christian community here in 
America. You've preached the blessings of grace and understanding and 
patience. I've needed all three during my time as President. [Laughter]
    I was very young when I first learned about obedience to a higher 
power, and my mother sends her best to you. 
[Laughter] I am surrounded by strong women and have been all my 
wife. [Laughter] And speaking about a strong and 
gracious woman, Laura sends her love and best.
    We have something else in common: Each of us has had doors opened to 
us by the same man. He led the way 
for America's religious broadcasters. He brought the Gospel to millions, 
and many years ago, he helped me change my life. And today, this good 
man is recovering from surgery in North Carolina, and please join me in 
sending our love and prayers to Billy Graham. A lot of Americans love 
Billy Graham, and I'm one. So, Billy, we're thinking about you.
    He has led countless Americans to 
the grace and goodness of the Almighty, and each of you performs the 
same mission every day. You renew the poor in spirit, you bring comfort 
to those in anguish, and you show millions the path to salvation and the 
peace of God.
    I thank you for guiding the faithful. I thank you for strengthening 
America's families. I thank you for standing up for our values, 
including the right to life. And I appreciate your firm belief in the 
universality of freedom. I believe and I know most of you, if not all of 
you, believe that every man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth 
has been given the great gift of liberty by an Almighty God. And today I 
want to speak about this precious gift, the importance of protecting 
freedom here at home, and the call to offer freedom to others who have 
never known it.
    But before I do, I do want to thank Dr. Ron Harris and his wife Judy, straight out of 
Arlington, Texas. Appreciate other members of the National Religious 
Broadcasters Executive Committee. I thank Dr. Frank Wright and his wife Ruth.
    I appreciate Members of Congress who have come today: Congressman 
Mike Pence of Indiana, Congressman Lincoln 
Davis of Tennessee, and Congresswoman Marsha 
Blackburn of Tennessee. Thank you all for 
coming. Proud to be with you.
    This organization has had many important missions, but none more 
important than ensuring our airways--America's airways--stay open to 
those who preach the good news. The very first amendment to our 
Constitution includes the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion. 
Founders believed these unalienable rights were

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endowed to us by our Creator. They are vital to a healthy democracy, and 
we must never let anyone take those freedoms away.
    I mention this because there's an effort afoot that would jeopardize 
your right to express your views on public airways. Some Members of 
Congress want to reinstate a regulation that was repealed 20 years ago. 
It has the Orwellian name called the fairness doctrine. Supporters of 
this regulation say we need to mandate that any discussion of so-called 
controversial issues on the public airwaves includes equal time for all 
sides. This means that many programs wanting to stay on the air would 
have to meet Washington's definition of balance. Of course, for some in 
Washington, the only options--opinions that require balancing are the 
ones they don't like. [Laughter]
    We know who these advocates of so-called balance really have in 
their sights: shows hosted by people like Rush Limbaugh or James Dobson or many 
of you in here today. By insisting on so-called balance, they want to 
silence those they don't agree with. The truth of the matter is, they 
know they cannot prevail in the public debate of ideas. They don't 
acknowledge that you are the balance, that you give voice--[applause]. 
The country should not be afraid of the diversity of opinions. After 
all, we're strengthened by diversity of opinions.
    If Congress truly supports the free and open exchange of ideas, then 
there is a way they can demonstrate that right now. Republicans have 
drafted legislation that would ban reinstatement of the so-called 
fairness doctrine. Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in the House of 
Representatives have blocked action on this bill. So in response, nearly 
every Republican in the House has signed onto what's called a discharge 
petition that would require Congress to hold an up-or-down vote on the 
ban. Supporters of this petition are only 24 signatures away.
    I do want to thank Mike Pence, who is with us 
today, and Congressman Greg Walden for pressing 
this effort and defending the right for people to express themselves 
freely. And I urge other Members to join in this discharge petition. But 
I'll tell you this: If Congress should ever pass any legislation that 
stifles your right to express your views, I'm going to veto it.
    We love freedom in America, and we're the leader of the world not 
because we try to limit freedom, but because we've helped to spread it. 
You and I know that freedom has the power to transform lives. You and I 
know that free societies are more peaceful and more prosperous. You and 
I know that if given the chance, men and women and children in every 
society on Earth will choose a life of freedom, if just given a chance. 
Unless, of course, you don't believe freedom is a gift from the 
Almighty. The liberty we value is not ours alone. Freedom is not 
America's gift to the world; it is God's gift to all humanity.
    It is no coincidence that the region of the world that is the least 
free is also the most violent and dangerous. For too long, the world was 
content to ignore oppression--oppressive forms of government in the 
Middle East in the name of stability.
    The result was that a generation of young people grew up with little 
hope of improving their lives, and many fell under the sway of violent 
extremism. The birthplace of three of the world's great religions became 
the home of suicide bombers. And resentments that began on the streets 
in the Middle East killed innocent people in trains and airplanes and 
office buildings around the world.
    September the 11th, 2001, was such a day. We saw firsthand how the 
lack of freedom and opportunity in the Middle East directly affects our 
safety here at home. Nineteen men killed nearly 3,000 people because 
someone convinced them that they were acting in the name of God. Murder 
of the innocent to achieve political objectives is wrong and must be 
condemned.
    These murderers were not instruments of a heavenly power; they were 
instruments

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of evil. And we have seen their kind before. It's important not to 
forget the lessons of history. We must remember the extermination of 
Jews in Nazi death camps were--was evil. The crimes of Pol Pot were 
evil. And the genocide in Rwanda was conducted because people's hearts 
were hardened. This kind of enemy must be confronted, and this kind of 
enemy must be defeated.
    This is the calling of our time. Generations are often called into 
action for the defense of liberty, and this is such a time. Since 9/11, 
we're on the offense. My most important duty and the most important duty 
of those of us who serve you in Government is to protect the innocent 
from attack. And so we're on the offense. My view is, is that if we 
press the enemy, if we bring them to justice, if we defeat them 
overseas, we won't have to face them here--is the best strategy to 
protect America in the short term.
    But that only works in the short term. The best way to defeat the 
enemy in the long term is to defeat their hateful ideology with a vision 
based upon hope, and that is, a society is based upon liberty. If you 
believe in the universality of freedom, then you'll recognize that 
people, if given a chance--just given a chance--will seize the moment 
and marginalize the extremists and isolate the radicals.
    Hopeful societies are those which will eventually provide the 
protection we want here in America. And it'll happen, unless America 
loses its vision and its nerve. It's going to happen, unless we forget 
the lessons of history.
    I want to share one story with you. Some of you may have heard me 
tell you this before. But one of my best friends in the international 
community, someone with whom I spent a lot of time talking about how to 
defeat extremism and defend the peace, was the Prime Minister of 
Japan. And what I found most interesting 
was the history of my family. My father, 
like many of your relatives, signed up to fight the sworn enemy, the 
Japanese. And 60 years later, his son is at the peace table planning and 
thinking about how we can confront this form of extremism in the short 
term and the long term. Something happened between Ensign Bush and Bush 
President 43. And what happened was, Japan adopted liberty as the core 
of its political system.
    Freedom can transform societies. Freedom can--transforms enemies 
into allies. And someday, if the United States is steadfast and 
optimistic, people will--a President will be able to say, amazing thing 
happened; I sat down at the table with a leader of Muslims' nations, all 
aiming to keep the peace, to spread freedom, and keep America secure.
    We're engaged in this struggle all across the world. And of course, 
the two most notable theaters in this ideological struggle are 
Afghanistan and Iraq. Some seem to believe that one of these battles is 
worth fighting and the other isn't. In other words, there is a good war 
and a bad war. You know, these--the enemy are fighting hard in both 
countries to seize power and impose their brutal vision. The theaters 
are part of the same war, the same calling, the same struggle. And 
that's why it is essential we succeed.
    Seven years ago, Afghanistan was a haven for America's enemies. 
Under the protection of the Taliban, the September 11th--9/11 hijackers 
trained and plotted. We worked with--because we worked with brave 
Afghans, because we upheld doctrine that said, if you harbor a 
terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist, we removed the 
Taliban from power, thereby freeing 25 million people from the clutches 
of a brutal, barbaric regime.
    The camps used by the terrorists have been dismantled. The Taliban 
was removed from power. And then we took on a task that we knew would be 
as difficult but as essential for keeping our enemies from regaining 
power, and that is, we offered to help the Afghan people replace tyranny 
with freedom. We did the short-term job

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of denying safe haven, but we did something else. We said, we want to 
help you live lives based upon liberty. And it was a daunting task, when 
you really put it in perspective. The Afghan people had little 
experience with democracy. It's a foreign concept. We've grown up in it 
here. In Afghanistan, you say democracy, they're not exactly sure what 
you're talking about.
    Afghan people under the Taliban didn't have any constitution or any 
of the normal institutions of a free and stable government. Afghanistan 
was one of the poorest countries in the world, with few natural 
resources and a population that thought it was condemned to unspeakable 
suffering.
    In the entire nation, there were only 30 miles of paved road. Only 9 
percent of the population had access to health care. Under the strict 
control of the Taliban, women were treated like chattel, and girls could 
not attend school. Children lived in hatred and misery, and they were 
not even permitted an act as simple as flying a kite. It was a backward, 
brutal society.
    But we had better aspirations for the people of Afghanistan. We set 
our sights high because we believe in the universality of freedom. We 
trusted in the power of freedom to transform the country, a certain 
trust that has to go with basic principles in life. And we're seeing the 
results. Eight million Afghans went to the polls to elect a 
President for the first time in their history. 
Afghans drafted a new Constitution and elected a National Assembly. With 
the support of international partners, the Afghan economy has doubled in 
size. There are now more than 1,500 miles of paved roads. A majority of 
the population has access to health care. Women have seats in the 
parliament. Girls attend school again. And one small but telling sign is 
this: Afghan children are flying kites again.
    A free society is emerging, and the fundamental question facing the 
United States of America and our friends and allies is, is it worth it 
and necessary? I believe it is necessary, and I strongly believe it's 
worth it. Afghanistan has got a lot of challenges. They got to overcome 
corruption; they got to fight narcotics trafficking; and they got to 
strengthen the Government at all levels. They face a vicious and brutal 
enemy that is determined to regain power and deny the people of 
Afghanistan their freedom.
    We saw the nature of this enemy when Taliban extremists invaded an 
Afghan school. They kidnaped six teachers. They beat the schoolchildren 
with sticks to scare them away from attending classes. We saw the nature 
of this enemy when extremists beheaded the principal of an Afghan high 
school and forced his wife and children to watch. We saw the nature of 
this enemy last summer when Taliban extremists paid an Afghan boy to 
push a cart carrying explosives into a crowded marketplace, and the 
terrorists detonated the cart, killing the boy and Afghan security 
officials.
    This enemy sees no value in human life. And they continue their 
campaign of bloody and horrific attacks, all attempting to demoralize 
the people of Afghanistan and all attempting to wait the coalition out. 
For the sake of humanity and for the sake of the safety of our people, 
for the sake of human life and human dignity, and for the sake of the 
security of the United States of America, we will stop this murderous 
movement now, before it finds a new path to power. The temptation is to 
say--[applause]. I believe it is important for administrations to 
confront problems now and not pass them on to other people. And that's 
the choice I have made for the sake of peace and freedom.
    Our forces made progress last year in partnering with local Afghans 
against the enemy in eastern Afghanistan, which was an insurgent 
stronghold. Now the Taliban and its allies are seeking to launch new 
attacks against the people. In other words, these are relentless 
killers. Their methods and their immorality have alienated many of the 
people who once supported them.

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    It's amazing what happens when there's a contrast--ideological 
contrast presented to people with clarity. Do you want to live in 
freedom, or do you want your little girl denied the opportunity to go to 
school? Afghans across the country are fighting back. More than 50,000 
Afghans have stepped forward to serve the Afghan Army; 76,000 have 
joined the police force. They've invested in this fight, and they need 
our help. That's what they're saying: They want help. And we're going to 
give it to them. It's in our interests that we support these people.
    In the year ahead, the United States will work with our allies and 
the Afghan people in an aggressive effort to counter the enemy. This 
spring, the United States is increasing our military commitment to the 
country. We're sending a Marine expeditionary unit and an infantry 
battalion, totaling more than 3,200 additional marines, to train Afghan 
forces and to support the offense against the Taliban in southern 
Afghanistan.
    NATO allies and other partners are also in the fight. Many of these 
allies, particularly the Canadians and the Australians, the Dutch, the 
Danes, and the British, are taking on some of the most difficult 
missions in dangerous areas. You may have recently heard about one young 
Brit who fought against the Taliban. It was Prince Harry of Wales. When he returned to England, he said this: 
``If you spoke to a lot of the other guys who came off the plane with 
me, there are plenty of people willing to go back and serve their 
country.'' And we admire that spirit, and so do the people of 
Afghanistan.
    In a few weeks, I'm going to attend the NATO summit in Bucharest. 
I'm going to thank our allies for standing with the people, the brave 
people of this young democracy. I will remind them that we're not only 
in a mission to protect our own security, we're on a humanitarian 
mission that will free young girls to be able to realize their dreams.
    I will also ask NATO to join the United States in doing even more. 
Now is the time for nations to make the hard decisions necessary so our 
children can grow up in a more peaceful world. I will call upon more 
international assistance to help Afghanistan on the road to freedom. We 
know what's at stake, and we know what we have to do. And so we're going 
to help the people of Afghanistan realize the blessings of liberty.
    The other front in this ideological struggle is Iraq. And just as we 
did in Afghanistan, we removed a lethal threat to our national security. 
The decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision early in my 
Presidency, it is the right decision at this point in my Presidency, and 
it will forever be the right decision.
    And again we took on a difficult task that we knew was essential to 
keeping America's enemies from gaining power. We did not take the easy 
path of replacing one dictator with another. Instead, we offered Iraqis 
a chance to build a future of freedom. In that effort, our coalition 
faced--also faced daunting challenges. Like Afghanistan, Iraq had little 
experience with true democracy. Iraqis held nationwide votes for 
President, but it turns out, only one candidate was on the ballot. In 
1995, Saddam Hussein received 99 percent of the vote. And 7 years later, 
he did a little better--[laughter]--he got 100 percent of the vote. 
[Laughter]
    As Iraqis lived through these grotesque charades, they were rounded 
up at random by secret police. Women were raped by Iraqi authorities. 
Citizens were mutilated and dumped into mass graves. And Shi'a and Sunni 
and Kurds were oppressed and pitted against one another.
    Despite the divisions and challenges, I believed, as did many in my 
administration, that freedom has the power to transform this country, 
that freedom has the power to provide hope after despair. And so we 
reached out to the population, and the Iraqi people responded. Together, 
Shi'a,

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Kurds, and an increasing number of Sunnis joined America to advance a 
bold vision, and that is to build a lasting democracy in the heart of 
the Middle East.
    Twelve million Iraqis braved threats of violence and went to the 
polls to elect a representative Government. You might remember those 
days of people waving purple-ink-stained fingers. Iraqis drafted one of 
the most democratic Constitutions in the Arab world. And hundreds of 
thousands of Iraqis have raised their hands and risked their lives to 
defend their nation.
    The enemy saw these advances and were determined to stop them. They 
mounted horrific acts of violence designed to exploit sectarian 
divisions and incite further killing. And in these acts, we again saw 
the nature of the enemy. We saw the nature of this enemy when they 
killed a young boy and then boobytrapped his body so it would explode 
when his family came to retrieve him. We saw the nature of this enemy 
when terrorists put children in the backseat of a car so they could pass 
a security checkpoint and then blew up the car with the children still 
inside. We saw the nature of the enemy just over a month ago when they 
sent two mentally retarded, troubled Iraqi women wearing suicide vests 
into crowded marketplaces. The vests exploded, killing the women and 
dozens of innocent people.
    Anyone who doubts the importance of defeating this vicious enemy 
need only imagine what would happen if we were driven out of Iraq before 
the job was finished. What would happen if they seized territory from--
to be able to have safe haven? And what would happen if they seized oil 
fields and used their wealth to attack America and our allies?
    These are vicious people who know no bounds of humanity. They would 
not hesitate to murder. It's essential for our citizens to understand 
this. And that is why this war must be fought, and that is why this 
war--this enemy must be defeated.
    I wish I didn't have to talk about war. No President wants to be a 
war President. But when confronted with the realities of the world, I 
have made the decision that now is the time to confront, now is the time 
to deal with this enemy, and now is the time to spread freedom as the 
great alternative to the ideology they adhere to. [Applause] Thank you 
all.
    Just over a year ago, things were not going well in Iraq. Terrorists 
and extremists were succeeding in their efforts to plunge Iraq into 
chaos. American peace and security required us to defeat this enemy, 
just as I said. So my administration reviewed our strategy and changed 
course, with victory in mind. I sent reinforcements into Iraq in a 
dramatic policy that's now being called the surge.
    We also changed the way our troops were used. U.S. and Iraqi forces 
began living together among the Iraqi people to help drive the 
terrorists out. Our forces stayed around to ensure the terrorists did 
not return. We launched a civilian surge to help local governments 
deliver economic resources in the wake of the security gains. We 
launched a diplomatic surge, with an expanded and active role for 
international organizations like the United Nations and the G-8. We've 
encouraged its neighbors to help this young society flourish and recover 
from the brutality of a dictator.
    The Iraqi people saw these efforts. They had renewed faith in 
America's commitment to the fight. As you can imagine, during that 
period of time, a lot of folks were wondering: ``Is America going to 
stay with us? Do they understand our deep desire to live in freedom? Can 
we count on them?'' And when they found out they could, they launched a 
surge of their own. Increasing numbers of Sunni leaders have turned 
against the terrorists and begun to reclaim their communities. The 
Government in Baghdad has stepped forward as well. They've added more 
than 100,000 new Iraqi soldiers and police during last year. They're 
beginning to pass laws in

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Baghdad. They passed a budget on time. [Laughter]
    Folks who were involved in the insurgency have now decided they want 
to be a part of their Government. The Iraqi people have begun to see 
what freedom offers. They've seen what the enemy plans, and they have 
chosen to stand on the side of freedom. And America stands with them.
    Next month, General Petraeus and 
Ambassador Ryan Crocker will return to 
Washington to report on the progress in Iraq and offer their 
recommendations. And I will carefully consider their recommendations. I 
can report this to you, though, that since the surge began, sectarian 
killings are down; Al Qaida has been driven from many strongholds it 
once held. I strongly believe the surge is working, and so do the 
Iraqis.
    And as a return on our success--in other words, as we get more 
successful--troops are able to come home. They're not coming home based 
upon defeat or based upon opinion polls or based upon focus groups or 
based upon politics, they're coming home because we're successful. And 
the pace of that withdrawal has been determined, and then the commanders 
will take a further assessment. But I want to assure you, just like I 
assure military families and the troops, the politics of 2008 is not 
going to enter into my calculation; it is the peace of the years to come 
that will enter into my calculation.
    The gains in Iraq are tenuous, they're reversible, and they're 
fragile. And there is much more work to be done. This enemy is 
resilient, and they attack. They use asymmetrical warfare; they use 
suicide vests. Just yesterday the enemy killed eight of our soldiers in 
two separate attacks. And I know you join me in offering our prayers to 
their loved ones, that the good Lord will provide them strength and 
comfort during the ultimate test.
    We mourn every loss of life. We also know that the reason why the 
enemy uses such brutal tactics is they're trying to shake our nerve. And 
frankly, that's not hard to do in America because we're a compassionate 
people. We value life, and we care. We really do want to reach out to 
others, and when we see this kind of horrific killing, it affects us, 
all of us.
    It also must send a message to us that we must be determined and 
steadfast. We're determined to defeat this enemy, and you just got to 
know, so are the people of Iraq. Millions who have suffered decades of 
tyranny and torment now are beginning to see hope. And for the sake of 
the security and for the sake of peace and for the sake of generation of 
kids coming up, the United States will help the Iraqis succeed.
    And the effects of a free Iraq and a free Afghanistan will reach 
beyond the borders of those two countries. I believe that success of 
these two countries will show others the way. It will show others what's 
possible. And we undertake this work because we believe that every human 
being bears the image of our Maker. That's why we're doing this. No one 
is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave.
    People of all faiths and all backgrounds deserve the chance at a 
future of their own choosing. That's what America believes. After all, 
those were the ideals that helped create our Nation. Those ideals were 
an honorable achievement of our forefathers, and now it's the urgent 
requirement of this generation.
    The work before our country is hard, and it has risks. It's just 
hard work. And yet I don't see that as a reason to avoid it. Our enemies 
are ruthless, but they're going to be defeated. They've got the capacity 
to blow people up through these suicides, but you notice none of the 
leaders ever are the suicide bombers, however. [Laughter] But we got 
something more powerful. We got determination, we got will, and we got 
freedom at our disposal.
    Evil in some form will always be with us, and we must never be 
afraid to face it. I know you understand that. I also know that you 
understand that for those who are on the frontlines and for those who 
struggle

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against evil, they can be helped through prayer. And I appreciate your 
prayers. I appreciate your prayers to help comfort millions of people. I 
appreciate the fact that you pray for our troops and their families. And 
I appreciate the prayers that you have directed my way. I feel your 
prayer. I am--I can't tell you how meaningful they have been, to help 
Laura and me deal with--do our job. And I can 
report to you this: that the prayers of the people have affected us, and 
that being the President has been a joyous experience.
    And so I thank you for what you do. I thank you for giving me a 
chance to come and share some of my thoughts with you. God bless you, 
and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 11 a.m. at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and 
Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Ronald L. Harris, 
chairman, National Religious Broadcasters Executive Committee, who 
introduced the President; Anthony T. Evans, founder and president, The 
Urban Alternative; evangelist Rev. William F. Graham, Jr.; Frank Wright, 
president, National Religious Broadcasters; radio show host Rush 
Limbaugh; James Dobson, radio show host and founder of Focus on the 
Family; former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; President 
Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan; and Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, commanding 
general, Multi-National Force--Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary 
also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.