[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 25 (Monday, June 21, 2004)]
[Pages 1084-1088]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida

June 16, 2004

    Thanks for coming. Thanks for the warm welcome. It is great to be 
back in Florida with the fine men and women of MacDill Air Force Base. 
You know, I told my dad I was coming here today, and he suggested I drop 
in by parachute. [Laughter] I told him I thought I'd wait for my 80th 
birthday. [Laughter]
    With us today by satellite are American service men and women in 
Afghanistan and Iraq. You are stationed in faraway lands, but you're 
always in the thoughts of your fellow Americans. You face hard duty. 
You've endured the heat of the Persian Gulf and the harsh winters of 
Central Asia. You're serving with honor and pride. You're making our 
country safer, and your country is proud of you. Thank you for your 
service.
    I also know that we're on Armed Forces radio and TV. We're carried 
to the bases and ships around the world. Wherever your duty has taken 
you, I want you to know that you are a part of a great force for good in 
this world. The defense of our country, the security of our friends, and 
the peace of the world depend on you. Thank you for working hard and for 
bringing credit and honor to the United States military.
    I want to thank General Lance Smith and his wife, Linda. I want to 
thank General John Abizaid, who is not with us today, and his wife, 
Kathy. I want to thank General Doug Brown. I want to thank Colonel Brian 
Kelly and wife, Susan. I want to thank a member of my Cabinet who's 
traveled here, a veteran of the United States military, the Secretary 
for the Department of Veteran Affairs, Secretary Tony Principi.

[[Page 1085]]

    Someday you'll be veterans. Our Government will honor our commitment 
to our veterans, past, present, and future.
    I want to thank Mayor Pam Iorio for being here today, the mayor of 
Tampa, Florida, and Mayor Rick Baker, the mayor of St. Petersburg, 
Florida. Thank you all for coming today. I'm honored you're here, and 
thank you for providing such important support for the men and women who 
wear our Nation's uniform.
    I want to thank my friends Darryl Worley and Mark Wills for being 
here today. These boys can sing.
    I know we've got people from the Tampa Bay Lightning here. It seems 
like it would be hard to skate on ice in this kind of weather. 
[Laughter] But I know the general manager, Jay Feaster, is with us, and 
John Tortorella, the coach, is with us. Congratulations on being champs.
    I just had the honor of meeting Master Sergeant Gina Carnesecchi on 
Air Force One. I'll tell you why I want to bring up Gina. She is a 
veteran of--she's been deployed, let me put it to you that way. She came 
back; she helped start Operation Lighthouse here at MacDill. It's a 
program to encourage troops and their families. She helps organize care 
packages and makes sure families are able to communicate with a loved 
one abroad. She's a volunteer. She serves our Nation as a master 
sergeant. In her spare time, she volunteers to help make somebody's life 
better.
    You see, the strength of America is the hearts and souls of the 
American people. The strength of this country is because we've got 
thousands of people from all walks of life who have heard the universal 
call to love a neighbor just like they would like to be loved 
themselves. For those of you who are helping to make somebody's life 
better, I thank you on behalf of a grateful nation.
    MacDill is the home of the U.S. Central Command. The Command was 
activated in the early 1980s. Back then, America needed CENTCOM to help 
protect our allies from aggression and to support the Afghan freedom 
fighters. Now, at the start of a new century, the men and women of 
CENTCOM have liberated two nations and have rescued more than 50 million 
people from tyranny. Today, your Nation is counting on you to ensure the 
defeat of terrorists, to secure America, and to advance freedom 
throughout the Middle East. That's our mission.
    I'm grateful to the fine men and women of the 6th Air Mobility Wing, 
which established the air bridge that got troops and supplies into the 
theaters of operations. Some of you deployed to Iraq with the 447th Air 
Expeditionary Group. Your job was to move cargo and passengers in and 
out of the Baghdad International Airport every day. Last Thanksgiving, I 
was one of those passengers, and I appreciated the on-time arrival.
    MacDill is also the headquarters for our quiet warriors, the United 
States Special Operations Command. It is the nature of Special Ops that 
many of your victories are unseen and must remain secret, but I know 
about them. [Laughter] Our Special Operations force are the worst 
nightmare of America's worst enemies, and you're making us proud.
    All who wear the uniform can know that America appreciates your 
service and your sacrifice. Our Government owes you more than gratitude. 
I made a commitment to the men and women of our military, a commitment 
to their loved ones: You will have the resources you need to fight and 
win the war on terror.
    Here at CENTCOM, the Coalition Village flies the flags of 65 nations 
that are doing their part in the war on terror. On behalf of our 
country, I thank all our friends and allies for serving with America in 
the cause of freedom.
    I last came to MacDill during the first week of Operation Iraqi 
Freedom. In that battle, we and our allies acted with speed and 
precision to destroy a brutal regime, while sparing innocent Iraqis. Our 
coalition showed the world, when we see a threat to America and our 
friends, we will take decisive action, and when we promise to act, we 
mean exactly what we say.
    Because America and our allies acted, one of the most brutal, evil 
regimes is gone forever. This was a regime that tortured children in 
front of their parents. This was a regime that used chemical weapons 
against whole villages. It gave cash rewards to families of suicide 
bombers. It sheltered terrorist groups. Iraq was a country in which 
millions

[[Page 1086]]

of people lived in fear and many thousands disappeared into mass graves. 
That was the life in Iraq for more than a generation, until the 
Americans arrived. Because America and our allies acted, an aggressive 
threat to the security of the Middle East and to the peace of the world 
is gone forever. America is safer because Saddam Hussein sits in a 
prison cell.
    When our forces were bringing down the dictator and his regime, I 
said here at MacDill that our work would not end with the liberation of 
Iraq. I pledged that we would help the Iraqi people to find the benefits 
and assume the duties of self-government. We're keeping our commitment.
    All of you understand that freedom in Iraq and freedom in 
Afghanistan have deadly and determined enemies. Our men and women in 
those countries are fighting freedom's enemies with skill and courage. 
You're showing great respect for the holy sites in those countries. 
You're helping to bring opportunity and security to nations that have 
known years of cruel oppression.
    These are difficult tasks, but they are essential tasks. By fighting 
the terrorists in distant lands, you are making sure your fellow 
citizens do not face them here at home. By helping the rise of democracy 
in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and throughout the world, you are giving people 
an alternative to bitterness and hatred, and that is essential to the 
peace of the world.
    Yesterday, President Karzai of Afghanistan came to the White House 
and to the U.S. Capitol and thanked the American people for helping to 
free his country and for being a friend to the Afghan people. The 
President of Iraq came to America last week and expressed his gratitude 
for the sacrifices of the American people and our troops. These two 
Presidents and the nations they serve know the character of the American 
Armed Forces. They're seeing the nature of your mission as well. We have 
come not to conquer but to liberate people, and we will stand with them 
until their freedom is secure.
    We're moving forward with our five-point plan for Iraqi self-
government. We're handing over authority to a sovereign Iraqi 
government. We're encouraging more international support for Iraq's 
political transition. We're helping Iraqis take responsibility for their 
own security. We're continuing to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure, and 
we're helping Iraq move to free elections. A turning point will come 2 
weeks from today. On June the 30th, governing authority will be 
transferred to a fully sovereign interim government, the Coalition 
Provisional Authority will cease to exist, an American Embassy will open 
in Baghdad.

    Iraq's new leaders are rising to their responsibilities. Together 
with our coalition and the United Nations, they are working to prepare 
the way for national elections by next January. In July, Iraqis from 
every part of the country will gather for a national conference that 
will choose an interim national council to advise and support Prime 
Minister Alawi and his cabinet. The U.N. Security Council has voted 
unanimously to endorse the Iraqi interim government and the plan for 
Iraq's political transition. The Iraqi people are making steady 
progress, and we will not let thugs and killers stand in the way of a 
free and democratic Iraq.

    As Iraq gains self-government, it is essential that Iraq gain the 
means of self-defense. So we're now leading an international effort to 
help train Iraq's new security forces. There are now more than 200,000 
Iraqis on duty and in training in various branches of the Iraqi security 
forces. We're working to build and strengthen Iraqi chains of command. 
We've learned from our experiences, Iraqi soldiers naturally want to 
take orders from Iraqi officers. So we're helping to prepare a new 
generation of Iraqi military commanders who will lead the security 
forces of a free and sovereign Iraq.

    Those of you in Iraq are seeing results of your work. Iraqi police 
and Civil Defense Corps have recently captured several terrorists, 
including Umar Baziyani, a key lieutenant of the terrorist named 
Zarqawi. Recently, in Mosul, the Civil Defense Corps successfully 
repelled attacks on government buildings. The U.S. commander on the 
ground, Brigadier General Carter Ham, said the Iraqi forces stood 
strong. In Najaf, Iraqi police are now patrolling the streets. They're 
being greeted warmly by their fellow citizens.

[[Page 1087]]

    You see, these brave Iraqis are stepping up. They're setting an 
example for their fellow citizens. They're staying in the fight, taking 
the battle to the terrorists and Saddam holdouts. They are securing a 
future of liberty and opportunity for their children and their 
grandchildren. And when the history of modern Iraq is written, the 
people of Iraq will know their freedom was finally secured by the 
courage and by the determination of Iraqi patriots.
    There are many challenges yet to come. We can expect more violence 
in the weeks and months ahead, but the future of a free Iraq is now 
coming into view. As the interim government assumes authority and Iraqi 
security forces defend their country, our coalition will play a 
supporting role. And this is an essential part of our strategy for 
success. Terrorists who attack a self-governing Iraq are showing us and 
the Iraqis who they really are. They're not fighting foreign forces. 
They're fighting the Iraqi people. They're not just enemies of America. 
They're enemies of democracy and hope. They're enemies of a peaceful 
future in Iraq. As Prime Minister Alawi of Iraq said last week, ``Anyone 
involved in these attacks is nothing more than a traitor to the cause of 
Iraq's freedom and the freedom of its people.'' He went on to say, 
``These are not freedom fighters. These are terrorists and foreign 
fighters opposed to our very survival as a free state.''
    The Prime Minister and I share the same resolve: The traitors will 
be defeated. Their greatest fear is an Iraqi government of, by, and for 
the Iraqi people. And no matter what the terrorists plan, no matter what 
they attempt, a democratic, free Iraq is on the way.
    At the same time, our coalition is helping the Iraqi people to 
rebuild the basic infrastructure of their country. This is work that 
America has done before. I want you to remember this. In 1947, 2 years 
after the Nazi surrender, there was still starvation in Germany. 
Reconstruction seemed to be faltering. The Marshall plan had not yet 
begun. Soon Berlin would be blockaded on the orders of Joseph Stalin. 
Some questioned whether a free and stable Germany could emerge from the 
rubble.
    Fortunately, America and our allies were optimistic. They stood 
firm. We helped the German people overcome these challenges and resist 
the designs of the Soviet Union. We overcame many obstacles because we 
knew that the only hope for a secure America was a peaceful and 
democratic Europe. And because we persevered, because we had faith in 
our values, because we were strong in the face of adversity, Germany 
became the stable, successful, great nation that it is today.
    Fourteen months have passed since the fall of Baghdad, and today, in 
spite of terrorist insurgency, Iraq's economy is moving forward. Markets 
are beginning to thrive. New businesses have opened. A stable new 
currency is in place. Dozens of political parties are organizing. 
Hundreds of courts of law are opening across the country. Today in Iraq, 
more than 170 newspapers are being published, and I saw the other day 
that they've even got talk radio. I don't know if they've contacted Rush 
yet. [Laughter]
    Life is better in other ways for the people of Iraq. Electric power 
is being restored and is no longer being distributed based on loyalty to 
Saddam Hussein's regime. Our coalition has rehabilitated nearly 2,500 
schools, and over 1,200 more should be completed by the end of the year. 
All of Iraq's hospitals and most medical clinics are open and are 
serving the people. Since the liberation, the vast majority of Iraqi 
children under 5 years old have been vaccinated for polio, measles, 
tuberculosis, and other diseases. In the south of Iraq, our coalition is 
reflooding the wetlands that Saddam Hussein systematically drained to 
decimate the Marsh Arabs. We're bringing back a 5,000-year civilization 
to life.
    This summer will bring another milestone for our friends the Iraqis. 
Under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, members of the Iraqi national 
soccer team were imprisoned and tortured when they failed to perform. 
Last month, inspired by love of country rather than the fear of a 
dictator, the Iraqi team won an upset victory over Saudi Arabia and 
earned its first trip ever to compete in the Olympic Games. All 
countries gathered in Greece will be able to cheer for the athletes from 
a free Iraq.
    With each step forward on the path to self-government and self-
reliance, the terrorists will grow more desperate and more violent. They 
see Iraqis taking their country back.

[[Page 1088]]

They see freedom taking root. The killers know they have no future in a 
free Iraq. They want America to abandon the mission and to break our 
word. So they're attacking our soldiers and free Iraqis. They're doing 
everything in their power to prevent the full transition to democracy. 
And we can expect more attacks in the coming few weeks, more car bombs, 
more suiciders, more attempts on the lives of Iraqi officials.
    But our coalition is standing firm. New Iraq's leaders are not 
intimidated. I will not yield, and neither will the leaders of Iraq. As 
the Iraqi President al-Yawr said last week, ``They will try to increase 
the incidents and the violence for a while, but we're committed; we're 
consistent; we are focused.''
    The terrorists will fail. They will fail because the Iraqi people 
will not accept a return to tyranny. The terrorists will fail because 
the resolve of America and our allies will not be shaken. And the 
terrorists will fail because courageous men and women like you are 
standing in their way.
    All who serve in the United States military--in Iraq, in 
Afghanistan, and at points across America and around the world--can take 
pride in the great work you have accepted. Your fellow citizens know 
that your work is not easy. The days are hot. Your mission is hard. Many 
of you have faced long deployments, sometimes longer than you expected. 
You've missed your families; your families miss you. Some of you have 
lost comrades, good men and women you will never forget, and America 
will never forget them either.
    You're sacrificing greatly for our country, and our country has 
needed that sacrifice. By standing for the cause of freedom, you're 
making the world more peaceful. By fighting terrorists abroad, you're 
making the American people more secure here at home. And by acting in 
the best traditions of duty and honor, you're making our country and 
your Commander in Chief incredibly proud.
    May God bless you. And may God continue to bless the United States.

Note: The President spoke at 10:38 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Gen. John P. Abizaid, USA, combatant commander, and Lt. Gen. Lance L. 
Smith, USAF, deputy commander, U.S. Central Command; Gen. Bryan D. 
``Doug'' Brown, USA, commander, U.S. Special Operations Command; Col. 
Brian T. Kelly, USAF, commander, 6th Operations Group, MacDill Air Force 
Base; country music entertainers Darryl Worley and Mark Wills; President 
Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan; President Ghazi al-Ujayl al-Yawr and Prime 
Minister Ayad al-Alawi of the Iraqi interim government; senior Al Qaida 
associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi and his lieutenant Umar Baziyani, who was 
captured in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 30; Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, USA, 
commander, Task Force Olympia; and talk radio show host Rush Limbaugh.