[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 35 (Monday, September 1, 2003)]
[Pages 1110-1114]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the American Legion National Convention in St. Louis, 
Missouri

August 26, 2003

    The President. Thank you all. Thanks for that warm welcome. It is 
great to be here in St. Louis, Missouri, at the 85th annual convention 
of the American Legion. I wonder if I'm the only member here today from 
Post 77 in Houston, Texas.
    Audience member. No. [Laughter]
    The President. Seems like they'd have given you a better seat. 
[Laughter]
    It is always an honor to be with people who have served America and 
who love America. When the American Legion held its first caucus in this 
city back in 1919, Legionnaires dedicated this organization to the 
service of God and country. Times change, but those are still the right 
priorities. On behalf of your fellow citizens, I thank the American 
Legion and the Ladies Auxiliary for your idealism and for your faithful 
service to God and country.
    I'm honored to be traveling today with Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
Tony Principi. He served in Vietnam, and he serves his comrades in my 
Cabinet. He's a tireless advocate for our Nation's veterans. I want you 
to understand the facts of this good man's leadership. The budget for 
Veterans Affairs has gone up by $15 billion since I took office, a 30-
percent increase. And my budget for fiscal year 2004 includes the 
largest discretionary increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs 
ever requested by a President. The Department, under Tony's lead, has 
made major progress in reducing the backlog of veterans' disability 
claims and the number of veterans waiting for health care. And we will 
continue to work to make sure those backlogs are eliminated.
    I want to thank Ron Conley, the national commander of the American 
Legion, for his kind introduction and for his leadership of this 
distinguished group of citizens. I appreciate Senator Jim Talent and 
Congressman Todd Akin from the State of Missouri, who are here with us 
today. I thank Elsie Bailey, American Legion's lady auxiliary national 
president. I'm honored to be on the stage with Major General Patrick 
Brady, Medal of Honor recipient.
    I know in the audience somewhere is my friend Arlene Howard. There 
she is. Arlene, thank you. I don't know if you remember the speech I 
gave in front of the Congress right after the attacks of September the 
11th, but I held up the badge of one of the brave who were killed. It 
was the badge of Arlene's son. I'm honored you're here, Arlene. I 
appreciate you coming. I can't wait to give you a hug.
    I want to thank the board of directors for the invitation. And I 
want to thank you all for being such great Americans. The American 
Legion is an effective and respected voice for the veteran, and you 
speak with authority. In the years following the First World War, 
leaders of this organization helped to establish the U.S. Veterans 
Bureau. Following World War II, you helped secure passage of the GI 
bill. You've supported the memorials to those who fought in World War II 
and Korea and Vietnam, so the sacrifices of those wars are always 
remembered.
    For two generations, you have demanded a full accounting of 
Americans whose fate is undetermined. And my administration will

[[Page 1111]]

not rest until that accounting is complete. And having fought under the 
American flag and seen it folded and given to families of your friends, 
you are committed, as am I, to protecting the dignity of the flag in the 
Constitution of the United States.
    In the 20th century, the American flag and the American uniform 
stood for something unique in history. This Nation gained great power, 
and we used that power in the service of human freedom. Americans 
liberated continents and concentration camps. America's Armed Forces 
humbled tyrants and raised up and befriended nations that once fought 
against us. Our Nation led a great alliance against a Communist empire 
until that empire was gone and its captives were free. America's 
veterans have all been a part of this great story of perseverance and 
courage, and people and nations across the world are better off because 
of your service.
    On Memorial Day last year, I visited the military cemetery at 
Normandy and saw the grave of one of the founders of the American 
Legion, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. When Roosevelt landed 
with the first wave of his unit on D-day, he and his men found 
themselves in a different part of Utah Beach from the point they 
expected. Roosevelt quickly sized up the situation and called in a whole 
division to the new sector. Turning a challenge into an advantage, he 
declared, ``We'll start the war from here.''
    Well, a great challenge came to America on September the 11th, 2001. 
Enemies who plotted for years in secret carried out missions of murder 
on our own soil. It was a day of suffering and sorrow. It was also a day 
of decision for our country. As a united and resolute people, America 
declared, ``We'll start the war from here.''
    In this first war of the 21st century, America and all free nations 
are facing a new threat and fighting a new enemy, a global network of 
terror supported by outlaw regimes. We've seen the hand of the terrorist 
enemy in the attacks on our country. We've seen the deadly work of the 
terrorists in Bali, in Mombasa, in Riyadh, in Jakarta, in Casablanca. On 
a single day last week, we saw the true nature of the terrorists once 
again. In Baghdad, they attacked a symbol of the civilized world, the 
United Nations headquarters, and killed men and women who were there to 
bring humanitarian help to the Iraqi people. They killed a respected 
U.N. Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello from Brazil. And on 
the same day in Jerusalem, a terrorist murdered 21 innocent people who 
were riding a bus, including little children and 5 Americans.
    The terrorists' aim is to spread chaos and fear by killing on an 
ever-widening scale. They serve their cause by sacrificing the innocent. 
They celebrate the murder of women and children. They attacked the 
civilized world because they bear a deep hatred for the values of the 
civilized world. They hate freedom and religious tolerance and democracy 
and equality for women. They hate Christians and Jews and every Muslim 
who does not share their narrow and violent vision.
    No nation can be neutral in the struggle between civilization and 
chaos. Every nation that stands on the side of freedom and the value of 
human life must condemn terrorism and act against the few who would 
destroy the hopes of the many.
    Because America stands for freedom and tolerance and the rights of 
all, the terrorists have targeted our country. During the last few 
decades, the terrorists grew bolder, believing if they hit America hard, 
America would retreat and back down. Five years ago, one of the 
terrorists said that an attack could make America run in less than 24 
hours. They're learning something different today. The terrorists have 
not seen America running; they've seen America marching. They've seen 
the armies of liberation. They have seen the armies of liberation 
marching into Kabul and to Baghdad. The terrorists have seen speeding 
tank convoys and roaring jets and Special Forces arriving in midnight 
raids. And sometimes justice has found them before they could see 
anything coming at all.
    We've adopted a new strategy for a new kind of war. We will not wait 
for known enemies to strike us again. We will strike them in their camps 
or caves or wherever they hide before they hit more of our cities and 
kill more of our citizens. We will do everything in our power to deny 
terrorists weapons of mass destruction before they can commit

[[Page 1112]]

murder on an unimaginable scale. The security of this Nation and our 
friends requires decisive action. And with a broad coalition, we're 
taking that action around the globe. We are on the offensive against 
terror, and we will stay on the offensive against terror.
    In Afghanistan, we acted against the Taliban regime that harbored Al 
Qaida and ruled by terror. The Taliban felt pretty strong when they were 
whipping women in the streets and executing them in soccer fields. When 
our coalition moved in, the Taliban ran quickly for the caves. But the 
caves could not hide these killers from justice. We've sent a message 
that is understood throughout the world: If you harbor a terrorist, if 
you support a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, you're just as guilty 
as the terrorists. And the Taliban found out what we meant.
    Afghanistan today is a friend of the United States of America. 
Because we acted, that country is not a haven for terrorists and the 
people of America are safer from attack. That nation still faces 
challenges, and our coalition forces there still face dangers. Yet we're 
working every day to make sure that Afghanistan finds its future as a 
free and stable and peaceful nation.
    America and the new Afghan Army are working together in a major 
operation called Warrior Sweep, which is hunting down terrorists one by 
one. NATO is now taking a leading role in keeping Afghanistan secure. 
New roads are being built, medical clinics are opening, and many young 
girls are going to school for the first time, thanks to our coalition 
and the United States of America.
    The Al Qaida terrorists lost a base in Afghanistan, but they operate 
in many other places. We're on their trail, from Pakistan to the 
Philippines to the Horn of Africa. Earlier this month, we captured a 
major terrorist named Hambali. He's a known killer and was a close 
associate of September the 11th mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed. 
Hambali was one of the world's most lethal terrorists and is suspected 
of planning the attack on Bali and other recent acts of terror. We're 
making steady progress. Nearly two-thirds of known senior Al Qaida 
leaders, operational managers, and key facilitators have either been 
captured or killed.
    Now Al Qaida is wounded, yet not destroyed. It remains a grave 
danger to the American people. Terrorist networks are still finding 
recruits and still plotting attacks and still intending to strike our 
country. Yet our resolve is firm, and it is clear: No matter how long it 
takes, we will bring to justice those who plot against America.
    We've also pursued the war on terror in Iraq. America and our 
coalition removed a regime that built, possessed, and used weapons of 
mass destruction, a regime that sponsored terror, and a regime that 
persecuted its people. Our military coalition destroyed the Iraqi regime 
while taking extraordinary measures to spare innocent life. The battle 
of Iraq was conducted with the skill and honor of a great military, the 
United States Armed Forces.
    Because of our military, catastrophic weapons will no longer be in 
the hands of a reckless, unstable dictator. Because of our military, 
Middle Eastern countries no longer fear subversion and attack by Saddam 
Hussein. Because of our military, Iraq will no longer be a source of 
funding for suicide bombers in the Middle East. Because of our men and 
women in uniform, the torture chambers in Iraq are closed, the prison 
cells for children are empty, and the people who speak their minds need 
not fear execution.
    In all the debates over Iraq, we must never forget the brutal nature 
of the regime of Saddam Hussein. Mass grave sites, literally thousands 
of people buried in mass grave sites, were recently discovered by our 
troops. They contain the remains not only of executed men and women but 
of executed children as well. Our people in uniform, joined by fine 
allies, ended this nightmare in Iraq, removed a threat to the world, and 
they have made our Nation proud.
    The work of our coalition in Iraq goes on because that country is 
now a point of testing in the war on terror. The remnants of Saddam's 
regime are still dangerous, and terrorists are gathering in Iraq to 
undermine the advance of freedom. Al Qaida and the other global terror 
networks recognize that the defeat of Saddam Hussein's regime is a 
defeat for them. They know that a democratic Iraq in the heart of the 
Middle East would be a further defeat for their ideology

[[Page 1113]]

of terror. They know that the spread of peace and hope in the Middle 
East would undermine the appeal of bitterness, resentment, and violence. 
And the more progress we make in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists 
will become. Freedom is a threat to their way of life.
    They have sabotaged water mains and oil pipelines and attacked local 
police. Last week, they killed aid workers bringing food and medicine to 
the country. The terrorists have killed innocent Iraqis and Americans 
and U.N. officials from many nations. They have declared war on the 
entire civilized world, and the civilized world will not be intimidated. 
Retreat in the face of terror would only invite further and bolder 
attacks. There will be no retreat.
    We are on the offensive against the Saddam loyalists, the foreign 
fighters, and the criminal gangs that are attacking Iraqis and coalition 
forces. We're receiving more and more vital intelligence from Iraqi 
citizens, information that we're putting to good use. Our recent 
military operations have included almost 200 raids netting more than 
1,100 detainees. Since the end of major combat operations, we have 
seized more than 8,200 tons of ammunition, thousands of AK-47s, and 
rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.
    And as we help the Iraqi people establish security, we are working 
through that famous deck of cards. So far, of the 55 most wanted Iraqi 
leaders, 42 have been captured or killed. The brutal, vicious sons of 
the dictator are gone. Recently, we captured the former Vice President 
of Iraq. He was one of Saddam Hussein's most feared enforcers. And 
recently, as well, we captured the man known as ``Chemical Ali.'' He 
earned his nickname by ordering chemical weapon attacks on whole Iraqi 
villages, killing thousands of citizens. ``Chemical Ali's'' savage 
career is over. The search goes on for other former leaders of Iraq, and 
we will find them. After decades of smothering fear, the Iraqi people 
can be certain: The regime of Saddam Hussein is gone, and it is never 
coming back.
    Ultimately, the security of Iraq will be won by the Iraqi people 
themselves. They must reject terror, and they must join in their own 
defense. And they're stepping forward. More than 38,000 Iraqis have been 
hired as police officers. Iraqi police and border guards and security 
forces are increasingly taking on critical duties. Over 1,400 Iraqi 
civil defense corps volunteers are being trained to work closely with 
coalition forces. Twelve thousand Iraqis will be trained in the next 
year for the country's new army.
    At the same time, 31 countries have contributed 21,000 forces to 
build security in Iraq. I will continue to challenge other countries to 
join in this important mission.
    In most of Iraq today, there's steady progress toward reconstruction 
and civil order. Iraq's Governing Council, representing the nation's 
diverse groups, is steadily assuming greater responsibility over the 
country. The coalition provisional authority led by Ambassador Paul 
Bremer is implementing a comprehensive plan to ensure a successful, 
democratic Iraq and a better future for the Iraqi people.
    Building a free and peaceful Iraq will require a substantial 
commitment of time and resources, and it will yield a substantially 
safer and more secure America and the world. I'll work with the Congress 
to make sure we provide the resources to do the work of freedom and 
security.
    Iraq's progress toward self-determination and democracy brings hope 
to other oppressed people in the region and throughout the world. It is 
the rise of democracy that tyrants fear and terrorists seek to 
undermine. The people who yearn for liberty and opportunity in countries 
like Iran and throughout the Middle East are watching, and they are 
praying for our success in Iraq.
    More progress will come in Iraq, and it will require hard and 
sustained efforts. As many of you saw firsthand in Germany and Japan 
after World War II, the transition from dictatorship to democracy is a 
massive undertaking. It's not an easy task. In the aftermath of World 
War II, that task took years, not months, to complete. And yet the 
effort was repaid many times over as former enemies became friends and 
allies and partners in keeping the peace.
    Likewise, the work we do today is essential to the peace of the 
world and for the security of our country. America is a nation that 
understands its responsibilities and keeps its

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word. And we will honor our word to the people of Iraq and those in the 
Middle East who yearn for freedom. Murderers will not determine the 
future of Iraq, and they will not determine the future of the Middle 
East.
    In Jerusalem as in Baghdad, terrorists are trying to undermine the 
hopes of peace with acts of violence. Their desperation also grows as 
the parties move closer to a just settlement. But terrorists do not 
speak for the Palestinian people. They do not serve the Palestinian 
cause. And a Palestinian state will never be built on the foundation of 
violence.
    Now is the time for every true friend of the Palestinian people, 
every leader in the Middle East, and the Palestinian people themselves 
to cut off all money and support for terrorists and actively fight 
terror on all fronts. Only then can Israel be secure and the flag rise 
over an independent Palestine. And to bring that day closer, America 
will be a consistent friend of all who work for peace.
    For nearly 2 years, on many fronts, the United States and our 
friends have conducted a global campaign against terror. We met the 
enemy on desert sands and mountain passes, wherever they choose to 
gather and fight. We've had successes, yet our mission continues. The 
stakes could not be greater for the American people. All of us who have 
taken an oath to defend this Nation will do our duty.
    Our military forces in the war on terror are showing the definition 
of ``duty.'' In hostile conditions and remote parts of the earth, brave 
Americans are sacrificing for freedom and the security of others. Some 
have been wounded, and some have been killed. The veterans in this hall 
understand the loss and sadness that have come to military families. 
This Nation is grateful to every man and woman who serves, and we honor 
the memory of all who have fallen.
    We also remember what this fight is about. Our military is 
confronting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and in other places so 
our people will not have to confront terrorist violence in New York or 
St. Louis or Los Angeles. Our Armed Forces are doing the work they are 
called to do. They're taking the fight to the enemy so that America and 
our friends can live in peace.
    The war on terror is a test of our strength. It is a test of our 
perseverance, our patience, and our will. This Nation has been tested 
before. By the character of men and women like you, we've come through 
every trial. And so it is today. Our course is set. Our purpose is firm. 
No act of terrorists will weaken our resolve or alter their fate. Our 
only goal, our only option, is total victory in the war on terror. And 
this Nation will press on to victory.
    Thank you for having me. May God bless you, and may God continue to 
bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 3 p.m. at the St. Louis Convention Center. 
In his remarks, he referred to Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin (known as 
Hambali), Al Qaida's chief operational planner in Southeast Asia; Khalid 
Sheik Mohammed, senior Al Qaida leader responsible for planning the 
September 11 attack, who was captured in Pakistan on March 1; former 
President Saddam Hussein and former Vice President Taha Yasin Ramadan of 
Iraq; former Iraqi Ba'ath Party official Ali Hassan al-Majid (known as 
``Chemical Ali''); and L. Paul Bremer III, Presidential Envoy to Iraq. 
The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of these remarks.