    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
    [December 18, 2008]
    [Pages 1475-1476]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception Honoring the United States-Afghan Women's Council
    December 18, 2008

        Well, thank you for inviting me. [Laughter] A couple of things: One,
    Jack, thanks very much for lending the
    prestige of Georgetown to advance a noble cause that I agree is in our
    Nation's national security interests and our moral interests, and that
    is the empowerment of women in Afghanistan.
        Ambassador, thank you for coming; thank
    you for working with our Government.
        And I'm so proud of Laura. She could have
    come in and said, ``Oh, why did you

    [[Page 1476]]

    drag me into this?'' [Laughter] But instead chose to use her position to
    take on some important causes. And the advancement of women's rights in
    Afghanistan or freedom in Burma are noble causes that are essential to
    the peace of the world. And so I thank you for your leadership on this.
        I just came back from Afghanistan, Ambassador, and I told the people there that the United States will
    not forget them, that it's essential that the people in Afghanistan
    realize that even though the Presidents have changed, our commitment to
    Afghanistan remains very strong at the governmental level, as well as in
    the private sector. And I am confident that the Afghan Women's Council
    sends that same signal that you can take a risk for peace and freedom,
    that your courage won't be really isolated in the face of thugs who
    can't stand the idea of women having freedom.
        And so I take great heart in knowing that the Afghan Women's Council
    will survive beyond our time. Having said that, I can assure you that
    Laura is going to be involved, and so will I if
    she lets me. [Laughter]
        Anyway, I'm off to give a little talk here, but I did want to come
    by and thank you all very much. I thank you for representing the best of
    America, and I thank you for recognizing that sometimes hard things
    require a lot of effort. It is really hard to go from tyranny to
    freedom. But it's going to happen. It is inevitable, because freedom is
    universal.
        And so I'm glad to come by, and thanks for letting me butt in.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:15 a.m. in the Yellow Oval Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to John J. DeGioia, president,
    Georgetown University; and Afghanistan's Ambassador to the U.S. Said
    Tayeb Jawad. The transcript released by the Office of the Press
    Secretary also included remarks by the First Lady, Ambassador Jawad, and
    Dr. DeGioia. A tape was not available for verification of the content of
    these remarks.