[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
[October 1, 2008]
[Pages 1261-1262]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Briefing on the Security Situation in Afghanistan
October 1, 2008

    I want to thank General McKiernan for 
giving me a briefing on Afghanistan.

Economic Stabilization Legislation

    Before I talk about our visit, I do want to say this: I appreciate 
Senator Harry Reid's leadership in the United 
States Senate when it comes to the financial rescue plan. I also 
appreciate Mitch McConnell's 
leadership as well. The Senate will be voting on a very important 
measure tonight. It's a--the rescue plan--the bill has been improved by 
raising--well, by other things, raising--temporarily raising the cap 
of--on FDIC insurance.
    It's very important for Members to take this bill very seriously. 
It's important to get credit flowing again so that small businesses in 
our communities will be able to finance their operations, so that local 
municipalities will be able to get the money they need to take care of 
the needs of local citizens, so that States will be able to meet their 
needs.
    It's very important for us to pass this piece of legislation so as 
to stabilize the situation so that it doesn't get worse and that our 
fellow citizens lose wealth and work.
    The Senate is going to take this bill up tonight. I'm hopeful 
they'll pass it, and then the House will have a chance to vote on it 
Friday morning. As I say, the bill is different, it's been improved, and 
I'm confident it will pass.
    General, thank you for coming. I 
appreciate your service to the country. General McKiernan is briefing me 
on the situation

[[Page 1262]]

in Afghanistan, what he is going to need to make sure that we continue 
helping this young democracy succeed.
    Obviously, this is a situation where there's been progress, and 
there are difficulties. There's been progress when you consider the fact 
that millions of young girls go to school that didn't have a chance to 
go to school before in Afghanistan. That's incredible progress. There's 
progress when you realize that health care needs are being met for the 
first time in--around Afghanistan. There's progress when there are roads 
being built so farmers can get product to market. That's progress.
    There's difficulties, of course, because killers can't stand this 
progress. And the general's job is to 
work with obviously not only our troops, but the thousands of troops 
from NATO countries there to provide the security so the progress 
continues. And there's been some tough fighting, and we honor our 
American troops who have sacrificed so that Afghanistan never becomes a 
safe haven again for extremists who would harm our citizens.
    We talked about the comprehensive strategy necessary to succeed. 
I've announced more troops for Afghanistan, and the general, of course, is continuing to assess his needs. But we 
also must make sure there's a civilian component that runs alongside our 
military, that there's good governance, and that there's aid programs 
that are effective and focused on the people of Afghanistan, and that 
the infrastructure progress continues to be made.
    And so I want to thank you for your service; thank you for your 
candid briefing, General. I want to thank 
your family as well as all the other families who are standing by the--
those who wear the uniform, as this Nation continues to defend her own 
security and defend young democracies.
    General, you and your troops are 
laying the foundation for peace. You're making a sacrifice today so that 
future generations of Americans don't have to worry about harm coming 
from a place like Afghanistan and future generations of Afghans can grow 
up in a hopeful society. And I'm proud to be your Commander in Chief.

Note: The President spoke at 3:01 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Gen. David D. McKiernan, USA, 
commander, NATO International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan. He 
also referred to H.R. 1424.