[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 25 (Monday, June 21, 2004)]
[Pages 1106-1111]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at Fort Lewis, Washington

June 18, 2004

    The President. Thank you all very much. It's great to be here in the 
State of Washington. I think the Senator would say it's great to be out 
of Washington--the other Washington. [Laughter] We're honored to be in 
your presence. We're honored to be with the soldiers who proudly wear 
our uniforms. And we're honored to be here with the families that 
support them.
    I want to thank Senator John McCain for joining us. It is a 
privilege to be introduced to our men and women in uniform by a man who 
brought such credit to the uniform. When he speaks of service and 
sacrifice, he speaks from experience. The United States military has no 
better friend in the United States Senate than John McCain.
    The men and women of Fort Lewis, Washington, have contributed 
mightily--mightily--to our efforts to defeat the terrorists, and I'm 
here to thank you for your efforts. I'm here to thank you on behalf of a 
grateful nation for what you have done, what you are doing, and what you 
will do to make sure America is more secure and the world is more 
peaceful.
    Many of you have recently returned from Iraq. Thank you for your 
service. Some have returned from Afghanistan. Some are preparing to head 
out for a second tour. You're defending your fellow citizens. You're 
extending the reach of freedom. You're making America incredibly proud.
    I appreciate General Jimmy Collins' hospitality. He found a pretty 
good sack for me last night. [Laughter] I also want to thank Linda for 
her hospitality as well.
    Today Senator McCain and I are joined by another fine Member of the 
United States Senate, Senator John Ensign from the State of Nevada. 
Appreciate you coming.
    Audience member. Yeah!
    The President. Have you actually heard of Ensign, or are you from 
Nevada?
    Audience member. I'm from Las Vegas.
    The President. Vegas--okay, good. [Laughter] Congressman Adam Smith 
is with us today. I appreciate you being here, Congressman. Thank you 
for coming.
    The Lieutenant Governor of the State of Washington, Brad Owen, and 
his wife, Linda, is with us. Thank you for coming, Governor. I 
appreciate you being here. I know we've got State and local officials 
here. If there's any mayors here, make sure you fill the potholes. 
[Laughter]
    Yesterday I met Nadine Gulit. Nadine and her daughter, Sheryl, 
started what's called Operation Support Our Troops. I see a lot of heads 
nodding. You see, these women are soldiers in the army of compassion. 
These are volunteers who have decided to take time out of their lives to 
help others. Oftentimes we talk about the great strength of America

[[Page 1107]]

being our military. We'll keep it strong. But the greatest strength of 
America is the hearts and souls of our fellow citizens, those of you who 
are willing to mentor a child, those of you who are willing to feed the 
hungry or find shelter for the homeless, those of you who are willing to 
love your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourselves. The 
reason I bring up--I want to thank Nadine for her compassion and for the 
example she has set.
    I'm especially grateful to the families who are here today. I see 
the pictures and the ribbons. Military service is a family commitment. 
And it's a big commitment, especially when you have a loved one serving 
in faraway lands or preparing to deploy. By loving and supporting a 
person in uniform, you're serving your country, and our Nation is really 
grateful to you.
    It's great to be here with ``America's Corps.'' I'm told the 1st 
Corps is the most decorated corps in the United States Army. You have a 
proud history, and you continue to make history. You're bringing great 
credit to the United States of America. Each of you is a volunteer. You 
sacrifice in the service of a higher calling, the cause of your Nation, 
and we are grateful for that sacrifice. People all over our country will 
join me in saying, ``Thank you for what you're doing for our country.''
    Our Government owes you more than gratitude. I've made a 
commitment--Senator McCain and Senator Ensign have made the same 
commitment--to the men and women of our military and their families: You 
will have all the resources and all the capabilities you need to fight 
and win the war on terror.
    On September the 11th, 2001, we learned that threats gathering on 
the other side of the world can arrive suddenly and bring tragedy to our 
great Nation. On that day, the enemy declared war on the United States 
of America, and war is what they got. I vowed to use every power, every 
tool, every asset at our disposal to bring justice to our enemies and to 
protect the American people. And that is exactly what we're doing today.
    This is a different kind of war, as you all have learned. Against 
this kind of threat, our military must be able to move swiftly to strike 
the enemy with precision and lethal power. And so, as we fight the war 
to protect America, we are transforming our forces and investing in the 
future. And much of that transformation takes place here at Fort Lewis. 
You're on the leading edge of change. You're on the leading edge of 
making sure this country will protect our citizens.
    We're working to develop more unmanned vehicles in space and on 
land, in air, and at sea. We're building better precision-guided 
munitions so we can strike freedom's enemies with greater effectiveness 
at greater distance and spare the innocent. We're developing better 
surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities so we can continuously 
locate and track moving targets from the air and from space, 24 hours a 
day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
    We're seeing every day that advanced weapons can make a critical 
difference in the war on terror, but the major difference in winning the 
war on terror is the people. The major difference is those who wear the 
uniform, a highly skilled, highly motivated, fantastic group of men and 
women.
    The soldiers of Fort Lewis are serving on the frontlines of the war 
on terror, and you're on the cutting edge of military transformation, 
and I thank you for that. This is the home of the Army's first two 
Stryker Brigades. These combat teams are built around 21st century 
armored vehicles that can maneuver in urban terrain and get soldiers to 
the fight with unmatched speed and stealth and power. In Samarra, Iraqis 
have taken to calling the Stryker Brigades the ``Ghost Riders'' because 
they arrive in near total silence and strike the enemy without warning. 
The terrorists in Iraq have plenty to fear from the ``Ghost Riders'' of 
Fort Lewis, Washington.
    Fort Lewis is also home to many of our Nation's Special Operations 
forces, who are redefining war on our terms. In Afghanistan, Special Ops 
with high-tech weapons joined with tribal warriors on horseback to help 
remove the Taliban regime in just 49 days. In Iraq, Special Operations 
teams fanned out across the country, pinpointing targets and preparing 
landing strips and securing oilfields and hunting for Scuds, all before 
the dictator even knew what hit him. Today, our

[[Page 1108]]

Special Operation forces are hunting the enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan 
and elsewhere, carrying swift justice to those who would harm Americans.
    These great capabilities are deployed in a great cause. America and 
free nations face a new totalitarian threat, a real threat to our 
security. It's not just from a single superpower but from networks of 
terrorists, allied with outlaw regimes. This enemy seeks to control 
nations in the Middle East. They seek to destroy moderate governments. 
They seek to impose a dark, dim vision of the world, a vision which 
subjugates women to second-class citizenry, a vision which will not 
allow others to express their opinion, a vision which will stamp out all 
forms of religion except their narrowly constructed view of religion.
    These killers will kill innocent people in order to shake our will 
and confidence. They want us to forget our duty. They want us to cower 
in the face of their cowardice. They have vowed to destroy America. They 
want to gain weapons of mass destruction. But like aggressors of another 
time, the terrorists have chose the wrong enemy in the United States of 
America.
    You can't reason with these people. There's no need to negotiate 
with them. Therapy is not going to work. [Laughter] To win this war, we 
will stay on the offensive and bring them to justice. Thanks to your 
hard work, we're making progress. We are slowly but surely dismantling 
the Al Qaida network. There is no cave or hole deep enough to hide from 
American justice.
    We will be strong and we will be relentless in our duty to protect 
our fellow citizens. To win this war, we will deal with states that 
harbor the terrorists. Right after September the 11th, I laid out a new 
doctrine which said, ``If you harbor a terrorist, you're just as guilty 
as the terrorists.'' I also am mindful of this: When the President of 
the United States speaks, he must mean what he says.
    I mean what I said, and the Taliban found that out, thanks to the 
United States military and our friends. Today, because our coalition 
acted, there are no terror training camps in Afghanistan. And if there 
are, if they're thinking about them, we will find them and destroy them. 
The Taliban regime no longer is in power. The country is free. Thanks to 
our coalition, hospitals and clinics are being built and rehabilitated. 
Thanks to the actions your loved ones and you have taken in Afghanistan, 
many young girls now go to school for the first time in their life. And 
this September, Afghans will hold free elections.
    To win this war, we are confronting regimes with ties to terror that 
arm to threaten the peace. We will remove threats before they arrive, 
instead of waiting for the next attack, the next catastrophe. That is 
one of the lessons of September the 11th we must never forget.
    Saddam Hussein's regime posed a threat to the American people and 
people around the world. Iraq was a country in which millions of people 
lived in fear and many thousands disappeared into mass graves. This was 
a regime that tortured children in front of their parents. This was a 
regime that had invaded its neighbors. This is a regime that had used 
chemical weapons before. It had used weapons not only against countries 
in its neighborhood but against its own citizens. This is a regime which 
gave cash rewards to families of suicide bombers. This is a regime that 
sheltered terrorist groups. This is a regime that hated America.
    And so we saw a threat, and it was a real threat. And that's why I 
went to the United Nations. The administration looked at the 
intelligence, saw a threat, and remembered the facts and saw a threat. 
The Congress, members of both political parties, looked at the 
intelligence. They saw a threat. The members of the United Nations 
Security Council looked at the intelligence and saw a threat and voted 
unanimously to send the message to Mr. Saddam Hussein, ``Disarm, or face 
serious consequences.'' As usual, he ignored the demands of the free 
world. So I had a choice to make, either to trust the word of a madman 
or defend America. Given that choice, I will defend America every time.
    Thanks to our troops and thanks to the troops of our friends, one of 
the most evil and brutal regimes in history no longer exists. Iraq is 
better off today; America is more secure today because Saddam Hussein 
sits in a prison cell.
    To win this war, we will not only keep the pressure on the enemy; we 
will spread freedom and democracy throughout the Middle

[[Page 1109]]

East. We will spread freedom and democracy as an alternative to 
bitterness and terror. We believe that when men and women are given the 
opportunities and choices of a free society, they will turn their energy 
to the pursuits of peace. That's what we believe. We fully understand 
freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty 
God's gift to every man and woman in this world.
    And our enemies understand the power of free societies. They 
understand that the spread of freedom will be a major defeat for their 
dark vision. And so freedom--those who long for freedom in Iraq and 
those who help the Iraqis to see freedom and those who long for freedom 
in Afghanistan and those who are helping the Afghans achieve freedom 
faced deadly and determined enemies. We're fighting those enemies with 
skill and courage.
    You know, our American soldiers not only are showing great courage 
and bravery, but they're showing great respect for the cultures of those 
countries. That's because we have sent decent people into harm's way, 
good, honorable men and women who represent the best of America.
    These are difficult tasks, I know, and they're hard tasks. And 
people wonder whether we'll succeed. I know that. But I'm here to tell 
you, these are essential tasks for our security and for peace of the 
world. You see, by fighting the terrorists in distance land--distant 
lands, you are making sure your fellow citizens do not face them here at 
home. By helping the rise of democracy in Iraq and throughout the world, 
you are giving people an alternative to bitterness and hatred, and that 
is essential to the peace of the world.
    This week, President Karzai came to the White House and the U.S. 
Capitol and thanked the American people and thanked our soldiers and 
their families for helping to free his country and for being a friend. 
The President of Iraq came to America last week and expressed his 
gratitude as well. These are thankful people, because they know what 
you've done. They've seen firsthand the power of liberation. See, they 
have seen our mission. We don't come to conquer. We come to liberate, 
and we will stand with them until their freedom is secure.
    We're moving forward with a five-point plan for Iraqi self-
government. We're handing over authority to a sovereign Iraqi 
government. We're encouraging more international support for the Iraqi 
transition. We're helping the Iraqis take responsibility for their own 
security. We're continuing to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure, and we are 
moving toward free elections. A turning point will come in less than 2 
weeks. On June the 30th, full sovereignty will be transferred to the 
interim government. The Coalition Provisional Authority will cease to 
exist. An American Embassy will open in the capital of a free Iraq.
    Iraq's new leaders are rising to their responsibilities. That's what 
you're seeing. They're assuming responsibility. Our coalition and the 
United Nations are working to prepare the way for national elections. 
The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to endorse the 
Iraqi interim government and their plans for political transition. The 
Iraqi people are making steady progress toward a free society in a 
partnership with the United States of America and many other nations. 
And we will not let thugs and killers stand in the way of democracy in 
Iraq.
    It is essential that Iraq gain the means of self-defense. So we're 
now leading an international effort to train new Iraqi security forces. 
You see, there are now 200,000 Iraqis on duty or in training in various 
branches of the Iraqi security operations. And we need work. We need 
more--there's more work to do. They need to work better. I know that, 
and one way to do so is to build Iraqi chains of command, because Iraqi 
citizens, naturally, want to take orders from Iraqi officers. So we're 
helping to prepare a new generation of Iraqi military commanders who 
will take the lead in defending their country.
    And we're beginning to see results of people stepping up to defend 
themselves. Iraqi police and Civil Defense Corps have captured several 
wanted terrorists, including Umar Baziyani. He was a key lieutenant of 
this killer named Zarqawi who's ordering the suiciders inside of Iraq. 
By the way, he was the fellow who was in Baghdad at times prior to our 
arrival. He was operating out of Iraq. He was an Al Qaida associate. 
See, he was

[[Page 1110]]

there before we came. He's there after we came. And we'll find him, and 
he will be brought to justice, for the sake of peace and security.
    The commander of Task Force Olympia--you might have heard of him--
Brigadier General Carter Ham said recently about a response by Iraqi 
forces in Mosul that the Iraqi forces stood strong. I suspect General 
Ham is someone who likes to tell the truth. In Najaf, Iraqi police are 
back on the streets. The citizens are glad to see them there. See, they 
want what we want. They want their families to grow up in a peaceful 
society. In Al Kharma, soldiers of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps were 
awarded medals for valor after battling insurgents and rescuing a 
wounded marine. ``I feel very, very bad the marine was shot because 
they're like my brothers,'' said one of the decorated Iraqi soldiers, 
``but I'm ready to go out again. I'm always ready,'' he said.
    You see, these brave Iraqis are setting an example for their fellow 
citizens. They're staying in the fight. They're taking the battle to the 
terrorists and the foreign fighters and the Saddam holdouts. They're 
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 the sacrifice of Iraqi patriots.
    The future of a free Iraq is now coming into view. As the interim 
government assumes sovereignty 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 who they really are. They're not 
fighting foreign forces. They're fighting the Iraqi people. They're the 
enemies of democracy and hope. They are the enemies of a peaceful future 
for Iraq.
    As President al-Yawr of Iraq said last week, ``These people who are 
doing these things are the armies of the darkness.'' That's what the 
President said, of Iraq. These are the enemies of the Iraqi nation. They 
are trying to take Iraq back to the dark ages that we used to live in, 
until last year. The President and I share the same resolve. Iraq will 
never return to the dark ages of tyranny. Iraq will be a free nation.
    At the same time that we're helping the Iraqis bring the terrorists 
to justice, we're helping the Iraqi people to rebuild the basic 
infrastructure of their country. This is tough work. It's hard work. 
It's hard work to go from a society terrorized by a tyrant to a free 
society, but we have done this kind of work before.
    I want you to listen to how the New York Times described conditions 
in Germany in November 1946. This was 18 months after the fall of 
Berlin. ``Germany is a land in an acute stage of economic, political, 
and moral crisis. The basic elements of recovery and peace are lacking. 
European capitals are frightened by the prospect of a German collapse. 
In every military headquarters, one meets alarmed officials doing their 
best to deal with the consequences of the occupation policy they admit 
has failed.''
    Fortunately, the pessimists did not have their day. Fortunately, our 
predecessors had great faith in the power of free societies to change 
society. Fortunately, our predecessors stood firm in the face of 
cynicism and doubt. Because, you see, we helped the German people rise 
above hunger and hopelessness. We helped them resist the designs of the 
Soviet Union. We overcame many obstacles because we knew that the hope 
for a secure America was a peaceful and democratic Europe.
    We face the same challenges today. It's just in a different part of 
the world. There are those who doubt. There are those who are 
pessimistic. Fourteen months have passed since the fall of Baghdad--14 
months. And today, in spite of the insurgency, in spite of the attempts 
of the terrorists, Iraq's economy is moving forward and democracy is 
taking hold. Most Iraqi cities and many towns now have local councils 
chosen by their communities, which are handling problems such as trash 
collection and traffic, sanitation, and education. More than 170 
newspapers have begun publishing. Dozens of political parties have 
formed. At one Iraqi university, a team is translating the great works 
of democracy into Arabic.
    Life is getting better for the Iraqi people, who have suffered for 
decades. Our coalition

[[Page 1111]]

has rehabilitated thousands of schools. We're training thousands of 
secondary school teachers in modern teaching methods. Electric power is 
being restored, despite continued attacks, and is no longer distributed 
based on loyalty to Saddam Hussein. Iraqi oil revenues have now reached 
more than $11 billion since liberation. And as Prime Minister Alawi 
pointed out last week, those revenues are not being used to build gaudy 
palaces for Saddam Hussein; they're being used to serve the Iraqi 
people.
    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. They see freedom taking root, and 
these killers know they have no future in a free Iraq. They want us to 
abandon our mission. That's what they want. They want us to break our 
word. And so they're attacking us, and they're attacking free Iraqis. 
They don't understand our country. They don't understand our resolve. 
When America says we'll do something, we are going to do it and finish 
the job.
    We're not intimidated, and neither is the new Iraqi Prime Minister. 
He went to the scene of yesterday's bombing in Baghdad. He stood amongst 
the rubble. He said, ``This was a cowardly attack.'' He said, ``We're 
going to face these escalations. The Iraqi people are going to prevail, 
and the government of Iraq is determined to go ahead in confronting the 
enemies, whether they are here in Iraq or anywhere else in the world.'' 
That's what the Prime Minister of Iraq said. He and I share the same 
determination.
    You see, these terrorists will fail. They will fail because the 
Iraqi people will not accept a return to tyranny. They will fail because 
the resolve of America and our allies will not be shaken. And they will 
fail because of the courageous men and women like you who are standing 
in their way.
    All who serve in the United States military can take great pride in 
the work you've accomplished. Your fellow citizens know your work is not 
easy. The days are hot. The mission is hard work. Many of you face long 
deployments, sometimes longer than you expected. You've missed your 
families, and believe me, they miss you. You've said farewell to brave 
friends who did not return. We pray for their families. We pray that the 
good Lord will comfort them in their grief. Our Nation will never forget 
their sacrifice and their service.
    All of you are sacrificing for the cause of this country, and 
America has needed that sacrifice. By standing for the cause of freedom, 
you're making our world more peaceful. By fighting terrorists abroad, 
you're making the American people more secure at home. And by acting in 
the best traditions of duty and honor, you're making our country and 
your Commander in Chief very proud.
    May God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 8:10 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Gen. James M. Collins, USA, deputy commanding general, 1st Corps and 
Fort Lewis; 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; 
and Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, USA, commander, Task Force Olympia.