[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 36 (Monday, September 11, 2006)]
[Pages 1553-1554]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

September 2, 2006

    Good morning. This week, I spoke to the American Legion in Salt Lake 
City. I thanked the military veterans for their lifetime of service to 
our country. And I gave them an update on the war that America is now 
fighting in defense of freedom in our time.
    We're approaching the fifth anniversary of the September the 11th 
attacks--and since that day, we have taken the fight to the enemy. Yet 
this war is more than a military conflict; it is the decisive 
ideological struggle of the 21st century. On one side are those who 
believe in freedom and moderation--the right of all people to speak, 
worship, and live in liberty. On the other side are those driven by 
tyranny and extremism--the right of a self-appointed few to impose their 
fanatical views on all the rest. We did not ask for this war, but we're 
answering history's call with confidence--and we will prevail.
    We are using every element of national power to defeat the 
terrorists. First, we're staying on the offense against the terrorists, 
fighting them overseas so we do not have to face them here at home. 
Second, we made it clear to all nations, if you harbor terrorists, 
you're as guilty as the terrorists; you're an enemy of the United 
States, and you will be held to account. And third, we have launched a 
bold new agenda to defeat the ideology of the enemy by supporting the 
forces of freedom and moderation in the Middle East and beyond.
    A vital part of our strategy to defeat the terrorists is to help 
establish a democratic Iraq, which will be a beacon of liberty in the 
region and an ally in the global war on terror. The terrorists 
understand the threat a democratic Iraq poses to their cause, so they've 
been fighting a bloody campaign of sectarian violence which they hope 
will plunge that country into a civil war. Our commanders and diplomats 
on the ground believe that Iraq has not descended into a civil war. They 
report that only a small number of Iraqis are engaged in sectarian 
violence, while the overwhelming majority want peace and a normal life 
in a unified country. America will stand with the Iraqi people as they 
protect their new freedom and build a democracy that can govern itself, 
sustain itself, and defend itself.
    Working side by side with Iraqi forces, we recently launched a major 
new campaign to end the security crisis in Baghdad. This operation is 
still in its early stages, yet the initial results are encouraging. The 
people of Baghdad are seeing their security forces in the streets, 
dealing a blow to criminals and terrorists. According to one military 
report, a Sunni man in a diverse Baghdad neighborhood said this about 
the Shi'a soldiers on patrol: ``Their image has changed. Now you feel 
they are there to protect you.'' Over the coming weeks and months, the 
operation will expand throughout Baghdad until Iraq's democratic 
Government is in full control of the capital. This work is difficult and 
dangerous, but Iraqi forces are determined to succeed, and America is 
determined to help them.
    Here at home, some politicians say that our best option is to pull 
out of Iraq, regardless of the situation on the ground. Many of these 
people are sincere and patriotic, but they could not be more wrong. If 
America were to pull out before Iraq can defend itself, the consequences 
would be disastrous. We would be handing Iraq over to the terrorists, 
giving them a base of operations and huge oil riches to fund their 
ambitions. And we know exactly where those ambitions lead. If we give up 
the fight in the streets of Baghdad, we will face the terrorists in the 
streets of our own cities. The security of the civilized world depends 
on victory in the war on terror, and that depends on victory in Iraq, so 
America will not leave until victory is achieved.
    For all the debate, American policy in the Middle East comes down to 
a straightforward

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choice: We can allow the Middle East to continue on the course that led 
to September the 11th, and a generation from now, our children will face 
a region dominated by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with 
nuclear weapons. Or we can stop that from happening by rallying the 
world to confront the ideology of hate, by supporting the forces of 
liberty and moderation in the region, and by helping give the people of 
the Middle East a future of hope. And that is the choice America has 
made.
    The path to victory will be uphill and uneven, and it will require 
more patience and sacrifice from our Nation. Yet we can be confident of 
the outcome, because America will not waver and because the direction of 
history leads toward freedom.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 9:55 a.m. on August 31 at the Grand 
America Hotel in Salt Lake City, UT, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on 
September 2. The transcript was made available by the Office of the 
Press Secretary on September 1 but was embargoed for release until the 
broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this address.