[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 40 (Monday, October 8, 2001)]
[Pages 1415-1417]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to Department of State Employees

October 4, 2001

    Thank you very much. Please be seated. Thank you all. Mr. Secretary, 
I'm honored you invited me back. [Laughter] I'm glad to be back to be 
able to say thanks, on behalf of the American people, to the patriots 
who work for our Department of State. Thanks for your hard work. Thanks 
for your dedication. Thanks for your love of America.
    I'm also here to announce an initiative to help the Afghan people in 
a time of crisis and in a time of need. America will stand strong and 
will oppose the sponsors of terror, and America will stand strong and 
help those people who are hurt by those regimes.
    Mr. Secretary, I am proud of your leadership. Last time I came, I 
predicted you would be a great Secretary of State. You have not

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let me down. And neither have the folks who work at the State 
Department, not only here in Washington but in Embassies throughout the 
world. America is proud of your service. And America is comforted by the 
fact that we are united as we stand to fight terror.
    We are engaged in a noble cause, and that is to say loud and clear 
to the evildoers that we reject you, that we will stand firm against 
terror, and that this great Nation, along with many other nations, will 
defend freedom.
    I want to thank those of you who have worked extra long hours to 
help forge this fantastic coalition that we're building, a coalition of 
people all around the world who understand that the evil acts could have 
happened to them, just like they happened to us.
    People understand that now is the time to take a stand, to seize 
this moment, to say that out of this evil act will come good. And the 
State Department has helped lead the way. And I'm proud of your efforts, 
and I'm proud of your hard work.
    After all, many of you understand the effects of terror. We had two 
of our Embassies bombed. Your colleagues were injured and died. I mean, 
the State Department has been on the frontline of battling terror and 
the frontline of seeing the effects of terror. And the American people 
appreciate the heroism of the people who serve our country overseas.
    This is a unique type of war. It's a war that is going to require us 
building a broad coalition of nations who will contribute, one way or 
the other, to make sure that we all win. Some nations may be willing to 
commit troops, if that's a decision that we make. Other nations will 
help in cutting off funding. Truth of the matter is, the first shot we 
fired in this war against evildoers was when the Secretary and I and the 
Secretary of Treasury said we're going to find their money, and we're 
going to starve them of their money.
    We're going to find their bank accounts, and we will freeze them. 
We're going to talk to banks all around the world and make it clear that 
if they are on our side, if they join the folks who are fighting evil, 
that they've got to do everything they can to cut off their funds. When 
we starve them of their funds, we starve them of their capacity to move 
against freedom.
    I'm proud of the coalitions that we've built. I'm proud of the fact 
that the Secretary of State and the able team here at the State 
Department is a results-oriented group of folks. We've said, not only 
join the coalition; we've said, here's what we expect you to do. Here is 
your assignment. One of the things the American people appreciate about 
our administration is that we're results-oriented folks, that we expect 
there to be results. We expect if you're on our team, that we want your 
performance. And it's making a difference.
    As I announced the other day, we've collectively rounded up 150 
terrorists, people associated with the Al Qaida organization. Thanks to 
the Secretary of State's work and others' work and the work of people 
around the world, we've convinced those who joined our coalition to rout 
out terrorists, to find them, to incarcerate them, to question them, to 
find out what's in their mind and what their future activities may be. 
And we're making great progress.
    This is a strong coalition. It's a strong coalition because we've 
got great leadership, but it's a strong coalition because we're right. 
Because it's a strong coalition, because we've made it clear, this is 
not a war between Christianity or Judaism and Islam. As a matter of 
fact, the teachings of Islam make it clear that peace is important, that 
compassion is a part of life. This is a war between good and evil. And 
we have made it clear to the world that we will stand strong on the side 
of good, and we expect other nations to join us.
    This is not a war between our world and their world. It is a war to 
save the world, and people now understand that. And I want to thank you 
for all your work of making that simple, yet profound, mission clear.
    We have no compassion for terrorists in this country. We have no 
compassion, nor will we have any compassion for any state that sponsors 
them. Oh yes, we're a compassionate nation, but our compassion is 
limited. We have great compassion, however, for the millions around the 
world who are victims of hate, of victims of oppressive government, 
including the people who live in Afghanistan.

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    Today I'm announcing, along with the Secretary of State, that 
America will contribute an additional $320 million in humanitarian 
assistance for Afghans for more food, more medicine, to help the 
innocent people of Afghanistan deal with the coming winter. This is our 
way of saying that, while we firmly and strongly oppose the Taliban 
regime, we are friends of the Afghan people.
    We will work with the U.N. agencies such as the World Food Program 
and work with private volunteer organizations to make sure this 
assistance gets to the people. We will make sure that not only the folks 
in Afghanistan who need help get help, but we will help those who have 
fled to neighboring countries to get help as well.
    There's no question that we're an angry people about what happened 
to our country. But in our anger, we must never forget we're a 
compassionate people as well. We will fight evil, but in order to 
overcome evil, the great goodness of America must come forth and shine 
forth. And one way to do so is to help the poor souls in Afghanistan. 
And we're going to do so.
    I want to remind the world that helping people in need is a central 
part of not only the Christian faith but of Judaism and the Hindu faith 
and of course a central part of Islamic traditions. And that's why our 
coalition is more than just one to rout terrorism out of the world. It's 
one to bind together, to knit those traditions in a way that helps 
people in need.
    You know, I talked to a lot of world leaders, and Colin has as well. 
And I told him, ``Through our tears, we see opportunity, that in our 
sadness and grief, we see an opportunity to not only defend freedom but 
to make the world more peaceful.''
    I see an opportunity at home when I hear the stories of Christian 
and Jewish women alike, helping women of cover, Arab-American women, go 
shop because they're afraid to leave their home. I see a great 
opportunity when I see moms and dads spend more time with their children 
here at home.
    I see out of this sadness and grief an opportunity for America to 
reexamine our culture, to reexamine how we view the need to help people 
in need, whether it be in our own neighborhood and around the world.
    I see out of this evil will come good, not only here at home, as 
youngsters all of a sudden understand the definition of sacrifice, the 
sacrifice of those brave souls on Flight 93 who, after the 23d Psalm 
said, ``Let's roll to save America.''
    I see an opportunity as well to bring peace to the world, the likes 
of which we've never seen. I appreciate the Secretary of State's hard 
work in the Middle East. It has been diligent. It has been consistent. 
It has been true to the principles of America, that in order for there 
to be peace, we must reduce the level of violence.
    I see an opportunity to make sure the subcontinent is more peaceful. 
No, in our grief and in our sadness, I see an opportunity to make the 
world a better place for generations to come. And we will seize the 
opportunity. I fully understand that some will grow weary and some will 
tire--not this administration and not the people of the State 
Department.
    I know there will be some nations that will become frustrated over 
time because we're fighting a different kind of campaign. But we won't 
weary. This is a nation that has determined--made a determination to 
rise up in a united way, to not only spread good will around the world 
but to find terrorists where they may live and may hide, and those who 
harbor them, and bring them to justice. Now is the time. Now is the time 
for this great Nation to lead. And I'm proud of the Secretary of State 
and the hardworking people of the State Department for joining us in 
this cause.
    Thank you for letting me come by again. May God bless you all, and 
may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 10:25 a.m. in the Dean Acheson Auditorium 
at the Department of State headquarters building.