    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
    [July 24, 2008]
    [Pages 1047-1051]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the President's Freedom Agenda
    July 24, 2008

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Henrietta, thank you for the kind introduction. I am honored to join
    you all today to express America's solidarity with those who yearn for
    liberty around the world.
        Captive Nations Week was first observed in 1959, at a time when
    Soviet communism seemed ascendant. Few people at that first gathering
    could have envisioned then what the--that the cold war would end the way
    it did, with the triumph of the shipyard workers in Poland, a Velvet
    Revolution in Prague, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the peaceful
    collapse of the Soviet Union. Captive Nation Week is a chance for us to
    reflect on that remarkable history and to honor the brave dissidents and
    democracy activists who helped secure freedom's victory in the great
    ideological struggle of the 20th century.
        Captive Nation Week is also a chance to reflect on the challenges we
    face in the 21st century: the challenge of the new ideological struggle
    against violent extremism. In this struggle, we can go forward with
    confidence. Free nations have faced determined enemies before and have
    prevailed, and we will prevail again.
        I appreciate your leadership of USAID, Henrietta, and I want to thank all those who work for this very
    important agency.

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    I appreciate you being on the frontlines of compassion and decency and
    liberty.
        I'm honored to be here with the Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez. The Cuban dissidents have no
    better friend than Carlos Gutierrez. Think about America: Carlos was
    raised--born in Cuba. Today, he sits in the Cabinet of the President of
    the United States. I love what our country represents. And, Carlos, I
    thank you for serving.
        I'm proud to be here with Ambassador John Negroponte; he's the Deputy Secretary of the Department of State.
    Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England is
    with us. Ambassador Mark Dybul, U.S. Global
    AIDS Coordinator; thanks for coming, Mark. Other members of the
    administration--a lot of members from the diplomatic corps; thank you
    for coming. I'm proud to be in your presence.
        I believe America's a hope for the world because we are a nation
    that stands strongly for freedom. We believe that every man, woman, and
    child is given the gift of liberty by our Creator. That's a fundamental
    belief of the United States. This cherished belief has guided our
    leaders from America's earliest days.
        We see this belief in George Washington's assertion that freedom's
    cause, as he put it--the cause is ``the cause of mankind.''
        We see it in Lincoln's summoning of ``the spirit which prizes
    liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere.''
        We see it in Wilson's pledge to make the world ``safe for
    democracy'' in World War I, and FDR's determination to make America the
    ``arsenal of democracy in World War II.''
        We see it in Kennedy's promise to ``pay any price . . . to assure
    the survival and success of liberty,'' and Ronald Reagan's call to
    ``move toward a world in which all people are at last free to determine
    their own destiny.''
        Over the years, different Presidents, from different eras, different
    political parties, have acted to defend and advance the cause of
    liberty. These actions included bold policies such as the Lend-Lease
    Act, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, the creation of NATO and the
    Voice of America, support for freedom fighters in Central America, and
    the liberation of Grenada and Panama. Because we were steadfast in
    liberty's defense, the cause of freedom prevailed.
        At the dawn of a new century, our belief in the universality of
    freedom is being challenged once again. We saw the challenge on
    September the 11th, 2001. On that day, terrorists, harbored by a
    tyrannical regime thousands of miles from America, brought death and
    destruction to our shores. We learned important lessons: To protect
    America, we must fight the enemy abroad so we don't have to face them
    here, and to protect America, we must defeat the ideology of hatred by
    spreading the hope of freedom.
        For the past 7 years, this is exactly what we've done. Since 9/11,
    we recognized that we're at war, and we must stop new attacks before
    they happen, not wait until after they happen. So we're going after--
    we're giving our intelligence and law enforcement and homeland security
    professionals the tools they need to stop the terrorists before they
    strike again. We're transforming our military to meet the threats of a
    new century. We're putting pressure on the enemy. We've captured or
    killed thousands of terrorists, including most of those responsible for
    the September the 11th attacks. We've removed regimes in Afghanistan and
    Iraq that threatened our citizens and the peace in the world. And now
    we're helping the people of those two nations fight the terrorists who
    want to establish new safe havens from which to launch attacks on
    America and our friends.
        In the long run, though, the best way to defeat the terrorists is to
    offer a hopeful alternative to their murderous ideology, and that
    alternative is based on human liberty.
        We've seen a hopeful beginning for the cause of liberty at the start
    of the 21st

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    century. Over the last 7 years, we've seen the citizens in Afghanistan
    and Iraq emerge from tyranny to establish representative Governments.
    We've seen citizens in Georgia and Ukraine stand up for their right to
    free and fair elections. We've seen people in Lebanon take to the
    streets to demand their independence. We've seen strides toward
    democracy taken by nations such as Kuwait and Liberia, Mauritania,
    Morocco, and Pakistan.
        It's in our national interest to continue liberty's advance, because
    we know from history that the advance of freedom is necessary for our
    security and for world peace. Just think about World War II. During that
    conflict, Japan and Germany were enemies of America who invaded their
    neighbors and destabilized the world. And today, Japan and Germany are
    strong democracies and good friends and strong allies in the cause of
    peace.
        During the cold war, the nations of Central and Eastern Europe were
    part of the Warsaw Pact alliance that was poised to attack Western
    Europe. Today, most of those nations are members of the NATO alliance,
    who are using their freedom to aid the rise of other young democracies.
    In these experiences, we have seen the transformative power of freedom.
    We've seen that free societies don't harbor terrorists or launch
    unprovoked attacks on their neighbors. Free societies are peaceful
    societies, and that is why the United States of America must continue to
    cause--to lead the cause of freedom.
        Over the past 7 years, we've learned that leading the cause of
    freedom requires combating hopelessness in struggling nations. Combating
    hopelessness is in America's security interests, because the only way
    our enemies can recruit people to their dark ideology is to exploit
    distress and despair. Combating hopelessness is in our moral interests.
    Americans believe that to whom much is given, much is required. So the
    challenge for America in the years ahead is to continue to help people
    in struggling nations achieve freedom from corruption, freedom from
    disease, freedom from poverty, freedom from hunger, and freedom from
    tyranny.
        In the years ahead, America must continue to use our foreign
    assistance to promote democracy and good government. Increased aid alone
    will not help nations overcome institutional challenges that hold entire
    societies back. To be effective, our aid must be targeted to encourage
    the development of free and accountable institutions.
        In the past 7 years, we've more than doubled the Federal budget for
    democracy and governance and human rights programs. We've increased the
    budget for the National Endowment of Democracy more--by more than 150
    percent since 2001. We've transformed the way we deliver aid by creating
    the Millennium Challenge Account, which is a new approach to foreign
    assistance, which offers support to developing nations that fight
    corruption and govern justly and open their economies and invest in the
    health and education of their people. The challenge for future
    Presidents and future Congresses will be to ensure that America's
    generosity remains tied to the promotion of transparency and
    accountability and prosperity.
        In the years ahead, America must continue to promote free trade and
    open investment. Over the long term, trade and investment are the best
    ways to fight poverty and build strong and prosperous societies. Over
    the past 7 years, we expanded the African Growth and Opportunity Act,
    which is spreading prosperity by dramatically increasing trade between
    the United States and Africa; implemented free trade agreements with 11
    countries, creating hope and opportunity for both our citizens and the
    citizens of these nations. We're striving to make this the year that the
    world completes an ambitious Doha trade agreement; we'll open up new
    markets for Americans' goods and services and help alleviate poverty
    around the world. The challenge

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    for future Presidents and future Congresses is to reject the false
    temptation of protectionism and keep the world open for trade.
        In the years ahead, America must continue to fight against disease.
    Nations afflicted with debilitating public health crises cannot build
    strong and prosperous societies for their citizens. America's helping
    these nations replace disease and despair with healing and hope. We're
    working in 15 African nations to cut the number of malaria-related
    deaths in half. Our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, is
    supporting the treatment of more than 1.7 million people. And Congress
    will soon pass legislation to significantly expand this vital
    initiative. We're expanding our efforts to train health workers for the
    poorest countries, to treat key neglected tropical diseases, such as
    river blindness and hookworm. The challenge for future Presidents and
    future Congresses will be to continue this commitment so that we can
    lift the shadow of malaria and HIV/AIDS and other diseases once and for
    all.
        In the years ahead, America must continue to lead the fight against
    global hunger. Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug once said, ``You can't build peace on empty stomachs.''
    Americans are answering the call to feed the hungry. This year, the
    United States has provided more than $1.8 billion in new funds to
    bolster global food security. We're the world's largest provider of food
    aid. But I strongly believe we must transform the way that our food aid
    is delivered. One innovative proposal is to purchase up to 25 percent of
    our food assistance directly from farmers in developing nations. This
    would help build up local agriculture; it will help break the cycle of
    famine. And I ask the United States Congress to approve this measure as
    soon as possible. The challenge for future Presidents and future
    Congresses will to--be to find still other innovative ways to alleviate
    hunger while promoting greater self-reliance in developing nations.
        In the years ahead, America must continue to lead the cause of human
    rights. The Soviet dissident Andrei Amalrik
    once compared a tyrannical state to a soldier who holds a rifle on his
    enemy until his arms finally tire and the prisoner escapes. It's
    important we never strengthen the arms. The role of free nations like
    ours is to put pressure on the arms of the world's tyrants and
    strengthen the prisoners who are striving for their liberty.
        For the past 7 years, we've spoken out against human rights abuses
    by tyrannical regimes like those in Iran, Sudan, and Syria and Zimbabwe.
    We've spoken candidly about human rights with nations with whom we've
    got good relations, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia and China. In keeping
    with this commitment, today I renew my call for the release of all
    prisoners of conscience around the world, including Ayman Nour of Egypt, Aung San Suu Kyi
    of Burma, Oscar Biscet of Cuba,
    Riad Seif of Syria.
        To ensure our Government continues to speak out for those who have
    no other voice, I recently issued a directive instructing all senior
    U.S. officials serving in undemocratic countries to maintain regular
    contact with political dissidents and democracy activists. The challenge
    for future Presidents and future Congresses is to ensure that America
    always stands with those seeking freedom and never hesitates to shine
    the light of conscience on abuses of human rights around the world.
        As Henrietta mentioned, with us today
    are individuals who suffered terribly in the cause of freedom and whose
    stories inspire our country. And their examples of resilience and
    resolve should give us courage. I'm not going to mention all the ones I
    met, but I'd like to make--mention some.
        First, we stand with Blanca Gonzalez.
    Her son Normando Hernandez Gonzalez remains in Castro's
    gulag for speaking the truth about the Cuban regime. Bienvenido.
        We stand with Olga Kozulina. Her father
    Alexander Kozulin remains in prison in

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    Belarus for the ``crime'' of running for President. Welcome.
        We stand with Manouchehr Mohammadi.
    Both he and his brother were viciously tortured by the Iranian
    authorities. He was the only one who survived and escaped. Welcome to
    America.
        We stand with Cho Jin Hae, who witnessed
    several of her family members starve to death in North Korea. She
    herself was tortured by the Communist authorities.
        I thank you all for coming. I thank the others who took time out of
    their day to meet me as well. I appreciate your testament to the
    universal desire for freedom.
        This morning, I have a message for all those throughout the world
    who languish in tyranny. I know there are moments when it feels like
    you're alone in your struggle. And you're not alone; America hears you.
    Millions of our citizens stand with you, and hope still lives, even in
    bleak places and in dark moments.
        Even now, change is stirring in places like Havana and Damascus and
    Tehran. The people of these nations dream of a free future, hope for a
    free future, and believe that a free future will come. And it will. May
    God be with them in their struggle. America always will be.
        Thank you for letting me come by, and may God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:26 a.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building
    and International Trade Center. In his remarks, he referred to U.S.
    Agency for International Development Administrator Henrietta H. Fore;
    Egyptian opposition politician Ayman Nour; Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of
    the National League for Democracy in Burma; Cuban dissident Oscar Elias
    Biscet Gonzalez; Syrian political activist Riad Seif; and former
    President Fidel Castro Ruz of Cuba. The Office of the Press Secretary
    also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.