[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
[August 20, 2008]
[Pages 1146-1150]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Orlando, 
Florida
August 20, 2008

    Thank you all very much. Thank you for the warm welcome. And I am 
proud to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I spoke to you when I was 
a Presidential candidate, and this is the fifth time that I have spoken 
to your national convention as your President. And every time I've been 
honored to meet with members of the VFW, I come away from these meetings 
with my--inspired by your love of country, by your devotion for duty, 
and for the example you set for those who wear the uniform today.
    I also appreciate the fact that you're here in spite of the weather. 
[Laughter] Tropical Storm Fay set a challenge for this convention, but 
your members were wise enough to hang around. I do want to thank the 
citizens of--the officials of the State of Florida for working hard to 
make sure that people were ready to address the storm. We watched this 
very carefully, and I must say that the people of this State worked hard 
to make sure that this convention and other lives were saved. We 
appreciate the work of the local officials. And of course, we'll 
continue to monitor the storm as it moves through the area.
    I do want to thank my friend George Lisicki for his leadership as your national commander. He's done a 
fine job on behalf of the VFW. I know firsthand; I've had him to the 
Oval Office. He's not afraid to speak his mind; I listen. And I know 
you're proud of the job he has done. And I'm also--[applause]. And I 
want to thank his wife Gloria for putting up 
with him. [Laughter]
    I do want to thank Bob Wallace, the 
executive director of the VFW. He has worked very hard to represent you, 
and he's done so in fine fashion.
    I'm proud to be here with Glen Gardner, 
incoming national commander-in-chief of the VFW, and his wife 
Jean. I've known Glen for a long time; I admire 
him. I told him I'm fixing to retire, so I'm not going to be around to 
work with him. But no doubt in my mind he'll do a fine job on behalf of 
the VFW.
    I want to thank Virginia Carman, 
national president of the Ladies Auxiliary. Dixie Hild is the incoming national president of the Ladies 
Auxiliary. I want to thank the rest of the leadership for letting me 
come by to visit with you.
    I met an interesting person here today, a woman named Keela 
Carr. When I go to a city, I like to herald 
people who are volunteering on behalf of the country. Keela has walked 
from California to Washington, DC, to thank the veterans for their 
service to the United States of America. And I'm proud to have met Keela 
Carr. And I want to thank you for doing what you're doing, Keela.
    And I want to thank the members of the Armed Forces that are here 
today. There is no greater honor than being the Commander in Chief of 
the United States

[[Page 1147]]

military, and I'm proud to be in your presence.
    America owes the men and women of the VFW a debt that can really 
never be repaid. You fought for our freedoms, and then when you came 
home, you volunteered to continue to serve this Nation. Together with 
your Ladies and Men's Auxiliaries, members of this organization donate 
13 million hours of community service every year. You mentor youth 
groups; you sponsor blood drives. You send packages to the military 
units deployed overseas; you provide vital services to your fellow 
veterans at home. In the VFW, we see the best of the American spirit, 
and America honors your service in and out of uniform.
    When the history of the last 8 years is finally written, it will 
show how closely and effectively my administration and the VFW have 
worked together on behalf of Americans' veterans. My budget includes 
nearly $94 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which means 
we have nearly doubled the funding for veterans since I took office.
    We've worked together to modernize and expand VA facilities and got 
$5.5 billion of taxpayers' monies in the budget to do so. The VFW and my 
administration have worked hard to expand grants to help homeless 
veterans in all 50 States and the District of Columbia because we 
strongly believe no veteran who served in distant lands should have to 
live without shelter in the land they fought to defend.
    We believe that combat-injured and severely disabled veterans 
deserve to receive both their military retired pay and their VA 
disability compensation. I was the first President in more than 100 
years to sign concurrent receipt legislation.
    We have worked effectively and diligently to provide for those 
returning home from the frontlines today. My administration implemented 
recommendations from Senator Dole and 
Secretary Shalala to help our wounded 
warriors build lives of hope and promise and dignity. We're investing 
hundreds of millions of dollars to develop new treatments for conditions 
like traumatic brain injuries and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
    Earlier this year, I was pleased to sign a piece of legislation that 
the VFW has long championed, a GI bill for the 21st century.
    We also owe something to your brothers-in-arms who never returned 
home. We will always cherish the memories of those who made the ultimate 
sacrifice. We will never stop searching until we can account for every 
missing soldier, sailor, airman, coastguardsman, and marine.
    Over the past 7\1/2\ years, I have seen the VFW's devotion to our 
men and women in uniform. I have been impressed, I have been inspired by 
your support of the military. You understand that our men and women in 
uniform deserve our full support because they are defending America in 
our Nation's first war in the 21st century. That war reached our shores 
on September the 11th, 2001, a day that you have not forgotten, and 
neither have I. On that day, 19 men armed with box cutters brought 
killing and carnage to our homeland. We're at war against determined 
enemies, and we must not rest until that war is won.
    This war cannot be won, however, if we treat terrorism primarily as 
a matter of law enforcement. Law enforcement is an essential part of our 
strategy, but our strategy cannot be limited to law enforcement alone. 
After the world--first World Trade Center attack in 1993, our law 
enforcement community succeeded in tracking down several of the killers, 
prosecuting them, and putting them into jail. But 8 years later, Al 
Qaida terrorists came back to finish the job. The lesson is this: In 
order to do our duty, our solemn duty, which is to protect the homeland 
from further harm, we must keep the pressure on the enemy, we must keep 
the extremists on the run. In order to do so, we must use all assets of 
national power, including the United States military.

[[Page 1148]]

    So in this war, with your strong support, we are taking the fight to 
the enemy. Over the past 7 years, America and our allies have captured 
or killed hundreds of Al Qaida leaders and operatives in more than two 
dozen countries. We'll continue to battle the terrorists overseas so we 
do not have to face them here at home.
    We're on several fronts in this war on terror. A major front is 
Afghanistan, where we removed a dangerous regime that harbored the 
terrorists who plotted the September the 11th attacks. Because we acted, 
the Afghan people have been liberated, a nation that was once a training 
ground for terrorists has become an ally in the war on terror. We built 
a strong coalition of nations including every member of the NATO 
alliance to help the Afghan people defend their young democracy. And we 
will ensure that that country never becomes a safe haven again for 
terrorists who seek to launch attacks on America or our allies.
    Another front in the same war against the extremists is Iraq. We 
removed a brutal dictator who murdered his own people, who paid the 
families of suiciders, who invaded his neighbors, who was an enemy of 
the United States, who repeatedly defied the United Nations. Because we 
acted, the dictator is gone, 25 million Iraqis are free. Removing Saddam 
Hussein was right then, and it is right today.
    In 2006, as you well know, the situation in Iraq was deteriorating. 
Some back in Washington said the war was lost. They were willing to give 
up on the mission; they were willing to leave a struggling democracy to 
its own fate. But failure in Iraq could have spread chaos across the 
region, emboldened Iran, emboldened the terrorists, and given them a new 
base from which to launch operations against America and allies. I 
believe this would have been a disaster for America, and so do the men 
and women of the VFW.
    Early last year, after consultations with our commanders--and the 
Commander in Chief must always listen to the commanders and not the 
latest opinion poll--I ordered a surge of forces into Iraq. I remember 
briefing the leaders of the VFW on my decision. Since the surge began, 
violence in Iraq has dropped; civilian deaths and sectarian killings are 
down. Slowly but steadily, political and economic progress is taking 
place. Iraq's a rising democracy; Iraq's an ally against these 
extremists. And our troops have become home--begun to come home under 
our policy of return on success. We all look forward to the day when 
even more of our troops come home. And the VFW understands that the only 
way to bring them home is with victory.
    To ensure that we have the capabilities to prevail in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, or wherever the terrorists make their stand, we've 
transformed the United States military. Our branches of the military are 
working together better than ever. We've more than doubled funding for 
our Special Operations Command so our forces can hunt the terrorists no 
matter where they hide. We've increased the number of unmanned aerial 
vehicles in our arsenal. We're moving American forces from cold war 
garrisons in Europe and Asia so they can deploy rapidly anywhere in the 
world. We're going to increase the size of our ground forces. We'll make 
our troops more lethal and more agile so they can remain on the offense 
against the enemy. America's future leaders must remember that the war 
on terror will be won on the offense, and that's where our military must 
stay.
    We're keeping the pressure on the enemy. And as we've done so, we've 
defended this homeland. Nearly 7 years have passed without another 
attack on our soil. This is not for the lack of trying by the 
terrorists. Our intelligence and law enforcement professionals have 
worked with our allies to stop major Al Qaida attacks, including a plot 
to blow up transatlantic flights from London and a plan to strike the 
tallest skyscraper in Los Angeles. We owe these fine professionals our 
thanks, and

[[Page 1149]]

we owe them something more: the tools necessary to be able to do their 
job.
    Since 9/11, we've given American defenders what they need. We formed 
a new Department of Homeland Security. We overhauled the Nation's 
intelligence community. We shifted the FBI's focus from investigating 
terrorist attacks to preventing terrorist attacks. We passed the PATRIOT 
Act, which tore down the wall that once prevented law enforcement and 
intelligence officers from sharing vital information. We created a new 
National Counterterrorism Center. We established a program at the CIA to 
interrogate key terrorist leaders captured in the war on terror. We 
worked with Congress to pass legislation that allows our intelligence 
professionals to quickly and effectively monitor terrorist 
communications.
    We have used all these tools to stop new attacks. And I'm pleased to 
report to the American people that these tools will be available for 
future administrations to protect the American people for years to come.
    And in this war, we're countering the terrorists' dark and hateful 
ideology by offering a more hopeful vision, and that's one based on 
freedom. On September the 11th, we saw how the terrorists exploit 
hopelessness and despair to recruit young men for their evil plots 
against America. We learned that our Nation's security depends on 
combating the conditions that give rise to terror by aiding the rise of 
free societies. We're engaged in the great ideological struggle of our 
time, between the forces of freedom and the forces of tyranny. So we, 
America and our allies, will support young democracies. We're standing 
with brave democratic reformers.
    Over the past 7 years, we've seen liberty on the march; seen 
citizens in Afghanistan and Iraq establish representative governments 
after decades of tyranny. We've seen the people of Lebanon take to the 
streets and demand their independence. We've seen citizens of the former 
Soviet republicans--republics stand up for their right for free and fair 
elections.
    One of the most inspiring chapters of history was written by the 
Georgian people during the Rose Revolution of 2003. In the years that 
followed, the Georgian people have held free elections, they've 
established a democratic form of government. Georgia's also sent troops 
to Afghanistan and Iraq to help others realize the blessings of liberty. 
Georgia has stood for freedom around the world; now the world must stand 
for freedom in Georgia.
    For nearly 2 weeks, the world has watched Georgia's young democracy 
come under siege. Russian forces invaded the country in a 
disproportionate response to a long-simmering conflict in Georgian 
regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The world has come together to 
condemn this assault. Yesterday Secretary Rice met with members of the NATO alliance to discuss 
the ongoing situation. Our countries agreed that Russia must honor its 
commitment to withdraw its troops from Georgia and to return to the 
status quo before the hostilities began on August the 6th.
    The alliance is considering seriously the implications of Russia's 
actions for the NATO-Russia relationship. The alliance determined that 
business as usual cannot continue with Russia. And the alliance agreed 
to help Georgia by sending NATO teams to assess the country's needs and 
by forming a new NATO-Georgia Commission.
    The United States of America will continue to support Georgia's 
democracy. Our military will continue to provide needed humanitarian aid 
to the Georgian people. South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia. 
And the United States will work with our allies to ensure Georgia's 
independence and territorial integrity.
    The people in this room understand the benefits of liberty because 
you fought to defend it and bring it to others. As young men, many of 
you battled the forces of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan on the 
battlefields of World War II. In

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those days, it would have been hard for you to imagine that the enemies 
you were fighting would become some of America's closest allies. Six 
decades later, Germany and Japan are strong democracies; they are two of 
our closest allies.
    In your own lifetimes, you have seen firsthand the power of liberty 
to transform societies and yield the peace we all want. I believe, and 
people in this hall believe, that the power of freedom is unstoppable. I 
believe it because I believe in an Almighty that has given every man, 
woman, and child on the face of the Earth freedom. And I know freedom 
yields the peace we want. If America maintains our confidence in our 
ideals, is willing to take the lead, freedom will once again prevail. 
And we'll be able to look at a generation of Americans coming up and 
say, ``We did our duty; we defended America and laid the foundation of 
peace for generations to come.''
    We can also be confident, in every generation, freedom has found 
brave defenders in the men and women of our Armed Forces. You know, 
through the years, I've received a lot of heartfelt letters from our 
military families. One of them was from a woman in Texas named Sue 
Stoner. Sue's husband is a decorated Air Force 
veteran of Vietnam and the Gulf war. Last year during a trip to Fort 
Hood, the couple witnessed their 6-year-old granddaughter Mikayla do 
something that every American should do as well. The little girl bounded 
over to a wounded stranger in Army fatigues and said, ``I just wanted to 
say thank you for serving our country.'' As Mikayla's proud grandmother 
tells it, the soldier leaned forward on his walker and said, 
``Sweetheart, I did it for you.''
    Every one of you put on the uniform for the same reason. You risked 
your life, you sacrificed so Americans like Mikayla could grow up in 
freedom. We will always honor your service. We will never forget your 
sacrifice.
    This is the last time I will address a veterans convention as the 
Commander in Chief. Over the past 70 years--7\1/2\ years, I've been 
honored to get to know many of your members. I've relied on your 
counsel. I have benefited from your wisdom. I have been extremely 
grateful for your prayers.
    I know you share with me a deep love for America and an awesome 
pride in those who defend her. When I meet with our troops, they always 
inspire me with their sense of duty and honor. They are America's finest 
citizens. I am confident that our troops will always be able to count on 
the fellowship and the support and the love of the men and women of the 
VFW. May God bless you, and may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 11:46 a.m. at the Orange County Convention 
Center. In his remarks, he referred to former Sen. Robert J. Dole and 
former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala, 
Cochairs, President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded 
Warriors. A portion of these remarks could not be verified because the 
tape was incomplete.