[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 33 (Monday, August 16, 2004)]
[Pages 1567-1575]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America 
in Las Vegas, Nevada

August 12, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. Thank you all very much. Thank you all 
very much for coming. Thanks for the warm welcome. It's good to be back 
here in Nevada.
    Audience member. We love you!
    The President. Thank you. I want to thank Doug and the good folks 
here in this training facility for welcoming us. I appreciate your smart 
work and your hard work and your dedication to helping our fellow 
citizens gain the skills necessary to be able to find work.
    And I just want to talk a little bit about the importance of 
education, but the reason I'm so grateful that the Carpenters have been 
so hospitable here is that this is an example of what works. That's what 
we're interested in in life; we're interested in finding things that 
work and heralding them. And I want to thank Doug for your leadership.
    I'm not the only Bush who's recently been in Las Vegas. You might 
remember my wife was back here recently. She went on the Leno show the 
next night. [Laughter] She said something along the lines, what happens 
in Vegas stays in Vegas. [Laughter] I was interested in hearing her say 
that. [Laughter]
    She's doing great, by the way. I was a lucky fellow when she said 
yes. And she's a wonderful First Lady and great mom. I'm going to meet 
up with her here in a little bit to continue our journey throughout the 
West.
    Really what I'm doing is traveling around, letting the people know 
that I'm interested in earning your vote. I really believe that a person 
running for office--I'm also interested in letting people know I've got 
more to do to make this country a better place, a stronger place, and a 
safer place. And I appreciate the chance to come and talk about my 
vision for the future of this country here.
    I want to thank Doug, and I also want to thank his brother Mike. I'm 
not sure which one of them is prettier. [Laughter] But they're both 
smart, and they're both good Americans.
    I want to thank Dale Shoemaker for his leadership here. I want to 
thank Doug Banes and Andy Silins, Bill Irwin. These are all folks who 
make this facility work well--appreciate your hospitality. It's great to 
meet the workers from all around our country.
    I went to the facility next door where Doug and his folks are 
training people how to work on these big GE engines, and there's people 
from Fort Smith, Arkansas, and southern Indiana, and a fellow from 
McAllen, Texas. People from all around the country are here to gain the 
skills necessary to be able to work and put food on the table. And 
again, that's why I'm here. This is a program that works.
    I want to thank my friend the Governor, Kenny Guinn, for coming out 
to say hello. I appreciate him being here. Congressman Jon Porter--he's 
a good fellow, a really good fellow, and I appreciate him coming out. 
Congressman Jim Gibbons--he's from northern Nevada.
    I know we got members of the Nevada National Guard, First Squadron, 
221st Calvary. I appreciate you being here. Thanks for your service.
    I told you one of the things I'm working on is to make the country a 
better country. See, I know the strength of the country is

[[Page 1568]]

the hearts and souls of the citizens. Right here in Nevada, you've got a 
lot of loving citizens who are willing to help neighbors in need.
    When I landed today, I met a fellow named Mike Peschl. Where are 
you, Mike? There he is. Thank you for coming, Mike. Here's what Mike 
does. Mike has now worked on his 34th home for Habitat for Humanity. It 
is a--he spends every Saturday at a Habitat building site. What he is 
doing is helping to transform America one heart and one soul at a time. 
He knows what I know, that there's nothing better at a Habitat site to 
work with the eventual homeowner. And that accomplishes two things. One, 
it shows somebody, somebody cares about them. That's what Mike works--
Mike is loving a neighbor like he'd like to be loved himself. You know 
what else it does? It encourages an ownership society in America. We 
want more people owning things. We want more people owning their own 
home in this country.
    We'll continue rallying the armies of compassion all across the 
country. See, I understand Government can hand out money, but it cannot 
put hope in a person's heart or sense of purpose in a person's life. 
That's done when people have heard a call and are willing to put an arm 
around somebody who is lonely or hurts or is addicted and says, ``I love 
you, brother or sister. What can I do to help you?'' America will 
change. America will change one soul at a time.
    The stronger America is an America where people can find work. And I 
was obviously concerned about our country after a recession. That means 
people weren't working. It means we were going backwards.
    Of course, we started to recover from that recession, and then we 
got attacked, and that hurt our economy. Make no mistake about it, the 
attacks of September the 11th hurt. We had some corporate scandals. That 
hurt. And we've got people who don't tell the truth, it begins to shake 
the confidence of our economy. We dealt with these situations. I'm going 
to talk a little bit about the war later on, but we passed laws that say 
to our corporate citizens, ``You will be held to account if you do not 
tell the truth to your shareholders and your employees.''
    We've overcome the obstacles. You know why? We've got great workers. 
We've got productive, hard-working people in America. We've overcome 
these obstacles because the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, the small-
business sector of our economy is alive and well. We have overcome these 
obstacles because our farmers and ranchers are good. We've overcome 
these obstacles because we refuse to be intimidated. The spirit of 
America is strong, and our economy is strong as well.
    I also believe one of the reasons that we have overcome these 
obstacles is because we provided well-timed tax relief to the small 
businesses and the workers of America. If a construction worker has got 
more money in his pocket, he's going to demand an additional good or a 
service. And when they demand that additional good or a service, 
somebody has to produce the good or a service. And when somebody 
produces a good or a service, somebody is more likely to keep a job or 
find work. That's how the economy works. That's why the tax relief was 
important.
    We also helped people with families. If you're working and you've 
got a child, we helped you raise that child by raising the child credit. 
If you're married, we helped you with the marriage penalty. Let me--it's 
a backward Tax Code, isn't it, when you penalize marriage? We ought to 
be encouraging marriage in our country.
    We helped our small businesses.
    Listen, this economy is strong, it's getting stronger, there's still 
work to be done. I mean, think about it, the unemployment rate in this 
State is at 4.2 percent. People are working in Nevada. People can make a 
living in this State. National unemployment rate is at 5.5 percent. 
We're the strongest economy in the world amongst industrialized nations.
    But there's more to do. In order to keep jobs here at home, we need 
an energy policy in America to make us less dependent on foreign sources 
of energy. In order to keep jobs at home, we ought to be confident about 
our ability to compete in the world.
    There's some economic isolationists that want to wall us off. I 
think that's a mistake. Listen, we've opened up our markets. It's good 
for American consumers when there's

[[Page 1569]]

more products coming in for people to choose from. That's how you get 
better quality at better price. What I'm asking is for other countries 
to treat us the way we treat them, because we can compete with anybody, 
anyplace, anywhere in the world.
    In order to make sure jobs stay here, we got to have health care 
policies that make it more affordable for people to have health 
insurance. Most small businesses have trouble affording health 
insurance. Large businesses are fine. It's the small-business sector 
that is having trouble providing health insurance for our fellow 
citizens. And therefore, I think small businesses ought to be allowed to 
pool risk across jurisdictional boundaries so they can get the same 
discounts for health insurance that big companies get.
    Listen, we're going to use technology to help change health care to 
make it more efficient, to cut down on mistakes, and to help control 
costs. I mean, the health care industry needs to become modernized. It 
needs to welcome technology so that it can be a more efficient deliverer 
of services. We've got to make sure that the patient and doctor are 
central to the decisionmaking processes in health care, not Federal 
bureaucrats. That's why I'm for health savings accounts, which are 
important.
    We'll make sure the Medicare modernization bill I signed works, 
gives seniors choices and prescription drug coverage. We'll continue to 
provide community health centers for the poorest of our citizens. And to 
make sure that health care is available and affordable, we need medical 
liability reform. You know what I'm talking about in Nevada when it 
comes to medical liability reform. [Laughter] You've seen the costs of 
frivolous lawsuits. Ask your small-business neighbor what it's like to 
try to provide health care when the costs are going up because of these 
frivolous lawsuits. Ask your neighbors what it's like when there's a 
threat of lawsuit. That's why we need tort reform as well. These are 
practical ways to make sure this economy grows.
    And finally, to make sure this economy grows and continues to grow, 
we need to be wise about how we spend your money in Washington and keep 
your taxes low. Just be careful--all I ask you is be careful about all 
this talk about taxing the rich. You know how that goes. The so-called 
rich hire accountants and lawyers to maybe not pay as much and, 
therefore, in order to meet all these promises, guess who gets to end up 
stuck with the bill?
    Audience member. We do.
    The President. The working people. Be careful of this language. 
We've heard it before in American politics.
    Now, one of the reasons I'm here is because I understand the 
importance of education when it comes to making sure our workers are 
able to find jobs. Doug's outfit has been really innovative. In other 
words, what he says is, is that, ``We got the skilled workers. We got 
hard-working people, and now we want to match their desire to work and 
their skills with the jobs which actually exist.'' That's why we went 
and saw the--these big turbine-driven engines. People are looking for 
workers, people who know these engines. And so that's what the 
apprenticeship program was all about and the skill training programs are 
all about. It's the practical use of people's time so that people can do 
what they want to do, which is work. And my attitude is, is that we 
ought to listen carefully to the strategy employed by this union and 
implement it at places like our community colleges as well.
    See, there are a lot of people who want to work but the jobs, the 
nature of the jobs are changing. These jobs are changing. And therefore, 
they need help. They need a little extra education to be able to fill 
the new jobs. I think, for example, of meeting with textile workers. 
Their jobs left, but there's enough Government money to pay for the 
reeducation. And now they're in the health care field, and they're 
making more money in the new job after getting some additional 
education.
    That's what Doug understands, a little added value. If you help 
somebody with some extra training, they become more productive. And more 
productive workers makes more money. And so the Federal Government ought 
to be wise about how we use taxpayers' money, and that includes 
providing training at community colleges for people who want to work and 
need new skills to fill the jobs of the 21st century.

[[Page 1570]]

    So I've laid out a plan to double the number of workers that get 
reeducated, find additional skills so they can make more money. They've 
got to have innovative training accounts. They need less bureaucracy. If 
you look at the workforce training programs in the Government, if you 
put an objective look on them, you'll find that a lot of money goes to 
bureaucracy and not enough goes to the workers. And that's what we want 
to focus on. We want to focus on the people who we're trying to help. We 
want to make sure that--I believe we ought to increase our budgets for 
these training programs, and we'll call upon--continue to call upon 
Congress to do so, because it's money well-spent. See, I think the role 
of Government is to help people help themselves. And one way to do so is 
through good valid education programs, just like they do here at this 
site.
    Doug was telling me he went over to the Labor Department to tell 
them what-for, I guess, or at least to give them a little nudge in the 
right direction. But I appreciate that. The reason I bring that up is I 
do think it's very important to work with people like Doug and the union 
here, to help people understand that we need a million new jobs to fill 
the construction jobs over the next decade. And that's a challenge all 
of us have got to work on together.
    We've got to make it clear there are jobs available. That's why 
these job fair hosts need to be notified about the opportunities 
available for our citizens. That's why we need guidance counselors to 
understand. That's why the Governors, like Kenny, must understand that 
there are great career opportunities available for people in the 
construction field, and that there's also an opportunity for these good 
people to be able to be trained and get the skills necessary, like right 
here at this union hall.
    The other thing we've got to do is make sure our kids learn early, 
before it's too late. Listen, when I got up there, there was--too many 
of the kids were being shuffled from grade to grade without the skills 
necessary to succeed. It's time somebody said, ``Let's stop this 
practice. For the sake of our future, let's make sure we raise the 
standards and hold people accountable in our public schools.'' We did. 
We've increased funding at the Federal level for public schools by some 
49 percent since 2001. But now we're asking some questions like, ``Is 
the money being well-spent? Can you read? Can you write? Can you add and 
subtract?'' Seems like legitimate questions to ask. And if not, here is 
extra help to make sure our children can read, write, add and subtract--
early, before it is too late.

    There is more work to do to make sure a high school diploma means 
something. There is more work to do for intervention programs in junior 
high, for example. And there is more work to do to spend money to 
encourage our children in math and science, because the truth of the 
matter is, for example, those 1 million construction jobs are going to 
require a higher level skill than ever before. And our schools must lay 
the foundation to help these folks with the jobs of the 21st century. 
That's what we're talking about, and that's the kind of education 
program that makes sense. That's why I'm at this facility. Education is 
the best way to make sure we keep jobs right here in America.

    I want to talk about a couple more issues before I want to spend a 
little time on how to secure the country and make the world a more 
peaceful place. But I do want to talk about two issues related here to 
Nevada. One, water. I was raised in Midland, Texas. [Applause] There you 
go. [Laughter] Remember what it was like out there? No water. I 
understand how precious water is. People in Nevada understand how 
precious water is. And there is a role for the Federal Government. For 
example, there is a role for the Federal Government to resolve disputes 
like the Colorado River water dispute.

    I instructed Gale Norton, my Secretary of the Interior, to work with 
all parties to develop innovative strategies, to develop conservation 
plans to help meet Nevada's water needs. And there is an agreement in 
place. After years of discussion and adherence to the status quo, we've 
got an agreement. What I'm telling you is, is that we see problems, and 
this administration works to solve them. We see problems--[applause].

[[Page 1571]]

    Last summer we launched what's called Water 2025 initiative. Gale is 
a Westerner, by the way; she understands water needs. She understands 
the problems in the West. She understands there's competing interests 
for scarce water. This program promotes conservation, as I mentioned. It 
expands the use of voluntary water markets. It provides advanced 
technology, like automated pumping and canal controls. It funds research 
into new technologies to better deliver water and conserve resources. In 
other words, it is a comprehensive strategy to deal with a problem that 
needs to be dealt with.
    And we look forward to working with the States and the local 
authorities to better safeguard this precious resource. I know the mayor 
of Henderson is with us today. Mr. Mayor, we will listen to you. And I 
know Kenny will listen to you. This is an effort where we've all got to 
work together to bring the stakeholders in place so the people of this 
part of the world will have water not only today but in future years.
    And we're spending money. My budget for Water 2025 more than doubles 
the $8.4 million that had been spent to date to $21 million. I mean, 
we're beginning an effort to make sure that the people of this part of 
the world understand how precious your resource is and how best to not 
only conserve it and use it but to develop it in a way that will enable 
your quality of life to continue on.
    The other issue, of course, I want to talk about is Yucca Mountain. 
This is a vital question, and we need to keep facts, not politics, at 
the center of the debate. It's an issue that's been developing for a 
while. Since the 1987 congressional vote to focus exclusively on Yucca 
Mountain, Presidents have considered this issue, as did I. And when I 
campaigned here in this State, I said I would make a decision based upon 
science, not politics. I said I would listen to the scientists, those 
involved with determining whether or not this project could move forward 
in a safe manner. And that's exactly what I did. I listened to the 
people who know the facts and know the science, and made a decision.
    Now, I've listened also, as well, to your Governor and Senator 
Ensign and to the Congressmen and to your fine Attorney General. They 
didn't agree with my decision. I understand that. They made themselves 
very clear. And I said, ``Well, I appreciate your opinion, but I will--
I'll tell you what I will do. I will allow this process to be appealed 
to the courts and to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and I will stand 
by the decision of the courts and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.''
    Now, my opponent is trying to turn Yucca Mountain into a political 
poker chip. [Laughter] He says he's strongly against Yucca here in 
Nevada, but he voted for it several times. And so did his runningmate. 
My point to you is that, if they're going to change, one day they may 
change again. [Laughter] I think we need--I think you need straight talk 
on this issue. I think you need somebody who is going to do what he says 
he's going to do.
    Let me talk about one other subject. I know it's on your mind--it's 
clearly on my mind--and that's how best to secure our country. We--
they're--first of all, no President wants to be a war President. That 
was my last choice. And the enemy attacked us, and we got to respond.
    I'm going to share some lessons about September the 11th: first, the 
nature of the people that attacked us. I tell people that you cannot 
negotiate with these folks. You cannot reason with them. Their hearts 
are so filled with hatred, they're willing to take innocent life * like 
that. These are people that--they only understand one thing, and that is 
force and justice. And that's what they will get. We will pursue them 
wherever they exist. [Applause] Thank you all.
    * At this point, the President snapped his fingers.
    See, I understand we must pursue them overseas so we do not have to 
face them here at home. I understand. The second lesson is that this is 
a different kind of war than we were used to, and this is a shadowy 
network of cold-blooded killers that can hide in cities around the world 
where they can find safe haven. And therefore, in order to better secure 
America, we not only needed to say to them that we will bring you to 
justice, but we needed to say to their allies and people willing to 
harbor them, or feed them, or hide

[[Page 1572]]

them that you're just as guilty as those who came and killed the people 
in America.
    And when America speaks, it better mean what it says. And so when I 
said to the Taliban, ``Give them up, or face serious consequences,'' I 
meant exactly what I said. And today the world is safer and America is 
safer because Afghanistan has been liberated from the Taliban. I want 
you--just think about this--in less than 4 years' time, Afghanistan has 
gone from a brutal dictatorship that denied many young girls the right 
to go to school, that was more than willing to drag their moms or women 
into the public square and whip them and, in some cases, kill them, to a 
society in which over 8 million people have registered to vote. They're 
going to have Presidential elections in October. Afghanistan is an ally 
in the war on terror.
    Another lesson of September the 11th is that when we see a threat, 
we must take it seriously before it fully materializes. That is a vital 
lesson. It's a change, obviously, of doctrine because prior to 9/11, we 
used to think, ``Well, gosh, if we saw a threat, we're safe anyway. It 
may affect somebody somewhere else, but it surely can't affect 
America.'' That's what changed on that fateful day. And it's really 
important for our country to understand it. I want you to know I clearly 
understand that.
    And so, therefore, when we looked at--when we looked around the 
world and saw threats, we began to act in a different fashion. Now, 
look, I want--I would like to deal with all threats diplomatically. 
That's the first choice. The use of our military is the last option. And 
so we saw a threat with Saddam Hussein. You say, ``Why did you see a 
threat?'' Of course, we looked at intelligence and saw a threat, but we 
also remembered the nature of the regime of Saddam Hussein. He used 
weapons of mass destruction. He harbored terrorist organizations--Abu 
Nidal's organization. This is the guy that killed Leon Klinghoffer. He's 
a known terrorist, killed an American. He's in and out of Iraq. 
Actually, he received safe harbor in Iraq.
    Now, Zarqawi's network--he's the people--he's the guy now--he just 
beheads people like that to try to shake our will and our conscience. 
Saddam Hussein paid the families of suiciders. You know, paying people 
whose loved one goes and kills somebody is a part of a terrorist act. He 
is a dangerous man. He was shooting at our pilots.
    We had been to war with Saddam Hussein before. And he was a source 
of instability. And so I looked at the intelligence. Now remember, the 
United States Congress--I thought it was important to bring the 
Congress--get Congress involved with this very important matter. They 
understood the stakes. They looked at the intelligence. They remembered 
the nature of Saddam Hussein. Members of both political parties stood up 
and said, ``We support the President, if he has to use force, in using 
force''--including my opponent.
    It looked like for a while he was trying to squirm out of that vote. 
[Laughter] The other day, he said that knowing what we know today, he 
still--he agreed that the use of force in Iraq was necessary. I welcome 
that clarification. [Laughter] He's still got 82 days left in the 
campaign, though. [Laughter]
    I went to the United Nations. See, I--as I told you, I think 
diplomacy should be tried first. And I went to the United Nations, and 
the U.N. Security Council voted 15 to nothing that said to the tyrant, 
``Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.'' And so the world was 
once again saying to Saddam, ``You're a threat.'' Everybody recognized 
that in the post-9/11 world that a threat needed to be dealt with. He 
defied the world, as he had done for over a decade. He systematically 
deceived the inspectors. Remember, we sent inspectors in to try to find 
the truth, and they were systematically deceived. That's the reality. 
And so after a period of time, I had a choice to make. Tony Blair had a 
choice to make. Other leaders had choices to make. And that is, do we 
forget the lessons of the modern world and hope for the best and hope 
that Saddam Hussein all of a sudden miraculously changes his attitude 
about America and terrorism and weapons, or do we take action necessary 
to defend ourselves and to spread freedom and peace? And given that 
choice, I will take action every time.
    Knowing what we know today--no, I thought we were going to find 
stockpiles; everybody did. But he had the capability of making weapons. 
And if the world had

[[Page 1573]]

turned away from watching Saddam, that capability could have been passed 
on to terrorist enemies. It's a risk we could not afford to take. 
Knowing what I know today, I would have made the same decision, and the 
world is better off for it. The world is better off for it. Because 
America has led, the world is safer.
    We put together a great coalition. Over the next 4 years, I'll 
continue to work with our friends and allies. If you think about 
Afghanistan, there's nearly 40 nations there. If you think about Iraq, 
with allies and friends--Japan, South Korea, Great Britain, the Dutch, 
the Danes, Poles--countries all around the world understand what we 
know, that free societies are peaceful societies. They understand the 
stakes. They know what's really important. But I'll assure you, I'll 
never turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of 
other countries.
    I also want to say to the loved ones who are here, those whose loved 
one wear a uniform, the Government has an obligation to your husbands, 
wives, sons, or daughters to make sure you've got all--your loved one 
has all he or she needs to fulfill the mission. That's an important part 
of this debate. And I would ask you to ask your fellow citizens to 
remember what happened when I submitted a supplemental funding request 
to the United States Congress in September of last year. It was an $87 
billion request for more body armor and fuel and spare parts and 
ammunition, money necessary so that we could complete our missions. And 
it was overwhelmingly approved by the Congress. Members of both parties 
supported it; my opponent didn't. And he gave this explanation, he said, 
``I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it.'' 
[Laughter] I think you need somebody who speaks plainly and honors our 
commitment--honors the commitment of our Government to those who wear 
our uniform. And that $87 billion was necessary.
    I believe these are historic times. I believe history--historians 
will look back and say this was a really important period. This is a 
time where we need firm resolve and clear vision about the stakes. But 
not only must we stay on the offense to protect our country and not only 
make sure our homeland defenses are wise and the strategies are good and 
the people are well-compensated--and you've just got to know a lot of 
people are working hard to protect us--but we've got to also take on 
another mission, and that is to deal with the conditions that give rise 
to terrorism.
    So there's a long-term strategy, and it's spreading freedom. We, in 
America, understand that liberty can be a transforming power for 
societies. If you've got a loved one in Iraq--does anybody here have a 
loved one in Iraq? You do? Thank you. [Applause] Let me--I appreciate 
that. I want you to know that your loved one is serving the country and 
the world in a powerful way. Not only--as I said, we'll defeat people 
there so we don't have to face them here, but a free Iraq in the midst 
of the Middle East is going to be a transforming event. This is a part 
of the world where people--the people are desperate for freedom. This is 
a part of the world where people--they're frustrated, the deep 
resentments because they're not free. We in America believe everybody 
deserves to be free. We believe it's the Almighty God's gift to every 
man and woman on Earth--freedom.
    And therefore, I want you all to know that the long-term 
consequences of a free Iraq will make our children safer; it will make 
the children in other parts of the world safer as well. It's going to--
this is--these are transforming times.
    I'll tell you an interesting story--at least I think it is. I was 
having lunch with the Prime Minister of Japan--a dinner with him, and 
he's a friend of mine. And there I was sitting down with the head of a 
country that my dad fought against, and I'm sure some of your dads 
fought against him too. He was an enemy, and he represented a country 
which was an enemy of our country. We lost a lot of lives in World War 
II because we fought each other. And after World War II, my predecessor 
and others understood, however, that a country could be transformed by 
liberty, by the habits of liberty. And they stuck to their guns. They 
didn't listen to the critics and the pessimists. And eventually, Japan 
became a self-governing nation where the people were free.
    And therefore, the discussion had changed over a period of time, 
hadn't it, from one

[[Page 1574]]

where there was war, and Prime Minister Koizumi and I were now 
discussing peace. We were discussing how best we could deal together 
with Kim Chong-il and his nuclear weapons ambitions. We were talking 
about the peace. This country loves peace. I want there to be a peaceful 
world. But I was able to have that conversation in large part because 
after World War II, there was a strategy to help our enemies become free 
countries. Someday, an American President will be sitting down with an 
elected leader from Iraq, talking about the peace, talking about how to 
make the world a more peaceful place.
    That's what's at stake. And that's why it's really important for us 
to complete the mission. There's a lot of people watching America right 
now. They're wondering whether or not we've got what it takes to 
complete the mission. They hear things like, ``Well, I'm going to 
substantially reduce our troops in 6 months.'' That's a bad signal, as 
far as I'm concerned. It's a signal that says all the enemy has to do is 
wait us out. It means that the Iraqis who are worried about their 
future--after all, what they don't want to do is go back to the day 
where a tyrant could come and summarily execute them if he felt like it; 
therefore, they're afraid to take risks for peace. So they kind of say, 
``Well, I wonder whether or not this country really means what it 
says.'' It's essential that when America speaks, it means what it says, 
and that we should not be sending mixed signals to allies and enemy 
alike.
    We will succeed--we will succeed. You know why we're going to 
succeed? One, we do have what it takes.
    Audience member. [Inaudible]
    The President. We do have what it takes. We've got the vision and 
the courage and the willingness to serve a great cause. The other reason 
we'll succeed is because people want to be free. People from all walks 
of life want to be free. Mothers and dads in Iraq want to raise their 
children in a peaceful environment, just like moms and dads here in 
America do. People long for peace. They want peace. They've got peace in 
their hearts. They long for a world where--that is a decent world. And 
that stands in stark contrast to the enemy. And we've been called----
    Audience member. You rock, Mr. President! [Laughter]
    The President. Thank you, sir. Let me finish by one story that is a 
compelling story. I've told it several times here on this trip and out 
on the road. It's the story about the time seven Iraqi citizens came to 
see me in the Oval Office. The Oval Office is a powerful place. It's--
you know, people walk in and just get overwhelmed by the majesty of this 
shrine to democracy. I do, on a daily basis. And the only person I know 
that didn't was my mother, who walked in and continued to tell me what 
to do. Anyway--[laughter]--that's a cheap shot, I know.
    Anyway, the seven men come in. They--they're Iraqi citizens. All 
seven had had their right hands cut off by Saddam Hussein because the 
currency--his currency had devalued and he needed to blame somebody. And 
one fellow explained to me why him, and it was because he had sold 
dinars to buy, I think he said euros or dollars to buy gold so he could 
then manufacture jewelry. He was a small merchant. And so he picks these 
seven guys out and cuts their right hands off. And then burns an X in 
their foreheads and charges them for the operation.
    Fortunately, a documentary was made of the plights of these people. 
And a guy in Houston, Texas, saw it. He was a successful person who 
believed that you have a duty in life to help others, and flew these 
seven men over to Houston where they were fitted with new hands. And it 
was shortly thereafter that they came to see me. And it was--I'm telling 
you, it was a powerful moment to see the stark contrast between a 
society that--where somebody could just summarily say, ``I don't like 
you; I'm going to chop your hand off,'' and a society full of 
compassionate people that were willing to heal the hurt by helping these 
people with a new hand. And that's what we're really working on.
    I told these men there, I said, ``Come in the Oval Office. I want 
you to be in a place where the office is bigger than the person.'' 
That's what free societies that are stable societies do. They have 
institutions that are bigger than the people. ``And some day,'' I said 
to them, ``you will have institutions bigger than your people, so that 
never again can somebody summarily disfigure you.''

[[Page 1575]]

    And that's what we're talking about, really, when you think about 
it. We're talking about the difference between good and evil. We're 
talking about the difference between compassion and tyranny. And we're 
talking about a world in which people are able to realize their hopes 
and dreams and aspirations without fear of brutal tyranny. America will 
be safer and the world will be better because of the actions we are 
taking today.
    May God bless you all, and may God bless our country. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 11:02 a.m at the United Brotherhood of 
Carpenters and Joiners of America International Training Facility. In 
his remarks, he referred to Douglas J. McCarron, general president, 
Douglas J. Banes, general vice president, and Andris J. Siling, general 
secretary-treasurer, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of 
America; Mike McCarron, executive secretary treasurer, Southwest 
Regional Council of Carpenters; Dale Shoemaker, senior technical 
coordinator, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America 
International Training Facility; William K. Irwin, Jr., executive 
director, Carpenters International Training Fund; television talk show 
host Jay Leno; Gov. Kenny C. Guinn of Nevada; Mayor James B. Gibson of 
Henderson, NV; Nevada State Attorney General Brian Sandoval; former 
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab al 
Zarqawi; Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; Prime Minister 
Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; and Chairman Kim Chong-il of North Korea.