[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 17 (Monday, April 29, 2002)]
[Pages 668-669]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

April 20, 2002

    Good morning. This week Secretary of State Colin Powell returned 
from the Middle East and reported on his intensive and productive 
meetings.
    In this region, we are confronting hatred that is centuries old and 
disputes that have lingered for decades. Yet, America has a vision for 
peace, and by calling all the leaders of the Middle East to their 
responsibilities, Secretary Powell made progress toward peace.
    To defuse the current crisis, the Palestinian Authority must act on 
its words of condemnation against terror. Israel must continue its 
withdrawals. All Arab nations must confront terror in their own region. 
All parties must stop funding or inciting terror and must state clearly 
that a murderer is not a martyr; he or she is just a murderer.
    All parties must realize that the only long-term solution is for two 
states, Israel and Palestine, to live side by side in security and 
peace. This will require hard choices and real

[[Page 669]]

leadership by Israelis and Palestinians and their Arab neighbors.
    The time is now for all of us to make the choice for peace. America 
will continue to work toward this vision of peace in the Middle East, 
and America continues to press forward in our war against global terror. 
We will use every available tool to tighten the noose around the 
terrorists and their supporters. And when it comes to the threat of 
terror, the only path to safety is the path of action.
    In the days just after September the 11th, I told the American 
people our war against terrorism would be a different war, fought on 
many fronts. And we are making progress on many fronts. Yesterday the 
United States and the world's other leading industrialized nations 
blocked the financial assets of another 10 terrorists and terrorist 
organizations. This joint action among close allies is an important step 
in choking off the financial pipeline that pays for terrorist training 
and attacks.
    A total of 161 nations around the world have joined together to 
block more than $100 million of suspected terrorist assets. The United 
States also works with our friends and allies around the world to round 
up individual terrorists, such as Abu Zubaydah, a top Al Qaida leader 
captured in Pakistan. From Spain to Singapore, our partners are breaking 
up terrorist cells and disrupting their plans. Altogether, more than 
1,600 terrorists and their supporters have been arrested or detained in 
95 foreign nations.
    In Afghanistan, the United States and its partners are pressing 
forward with a military campaign against Al Qaida and the Taliban. More 
than a dozen of our NATO Allies are contributing forces to this fight. 
Right now, hundreds of Royal Marines from Great Britain are leading an 
operation to clear and seal off regions where our enemies are trying to 
regroup to commit murder and mayhem and to undermine Afghanistan's 
efforts to build a lasting peace.
    And we're working with nations such as Yemen, the Philippines, and 
Georgia that seek our help in training and equipping their military 
forces to fight terror in some of the world's distant corners.
    We're making progress. Yet, nothing about this war will be quick or 
easy. We face dangers and sacrifices ahead. America is ready; the morale 
of our military is high; the will of our people is strong. We are 
determined; we are steadfast; and we will continue for as long as it 
takes, until the mission is done.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 10:10 a.m. on April 19 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on April 20. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
April 19 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.