[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.