[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 28 (Monday, July 14, 2003)]
[Page 891]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to U.S. Embassy Personnel in Dakar

July 8, 2003

    I thank you all very much for coming out to say hello. Laura and I 
are honored to be here with you all. I'm also, as you could see, 
traveling with quite distinguished company; our great Secretary of State 
Colin Powell is with us as well. I want to thank Ambassador Roth and his 
wife, Carol, for their service to our country.
    I'm here to thank our fellow citizens who are serving a great land. 
Thank you for your dedication and your love of country. I want to thank 
the foreign nationals who are helping our fellow citizens make sure the 
Embassy runs so well.
    This is an historic trip--oh, there's the Ambassador. But we are so 
honored to start our trip to this continent here in Senegal. I had the 
opportunity to go out to Goree Island and talk about what slavery meant 
to America. It's very interesting when you think about it, the slaves 
who left here to go to America, because of their steadfast--
[inaudible]--and their religion and their belief in freedom, helped 
change America. America is what it is today because of what went on in 
the past. Yet when I looked out over the sea, it reminded me that we've 
always got to keep history in mind. And one of the things that we've 
always got to know about America is that we love freedom, that we love 
people to be free, that freedom is God's gift to each and every 
individual. That's what we believe in our country.
    I'm here to spread that message of freedom and peace. Where we see 
suffering, America will act. Where we find the hungry, we will act. 
We're here not only on a mission of mercy; we're also here on a mission 
of alliance. And I want to thank you all for helping make that come 
true.
    May God bless you all. And may God continue to bless Senegal and 
America. Thank you all very much.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 1 p.m. at Leopold Sedar 
Senghor International Airport. In his remarks, he referred to U.S. 
Ambassador to Senegal Richard Allan Roth and his wife, Carol. A tape was 
not available for verification of the content of these remarks.