[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 36 (Monday, September 11, 2006)]
[Pages 1557-1565]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to the Military Officers Association of America

September 5, 2006

    Thank you all. Please be seated. General Hendrix, thank you for the 
invitation to be here. Thanks for the kind introduction. I'm honored to 
stand with the men and women of the Military Officers Association of 
America. I appreciate the board of directors who are here and the 
leaders who have given me this platform from which to speak. I'm proud 
to be here with active members of the United States military. Thank you 
for your service. I'm proud to be your Commander in Chief.
    I want to--pleased also to stand with members of the diplomatic 
corps, including many representing nations that have been attacked by Al 
Qaida and its terrorist allies since September the 11th, 2001. Your 
presence here reminds us that we're engaged in a global war against an 
enemy that threatens all civilized nations. And today, the civilized 
world stands together to defend our freedom; we stand together to defeat 
the terrorists; and

[[Page 1558]]

we're working to secure the peace for generations to come.
    I appreciate my Attorney General joining us today, Al Gonzales. 
Thank you for being here. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael 
Chertoff, is with us. Three Members of the United States Senate--I might 
say, three important Members of the United States Senate--Senate 
President pro tem Ted Stevens of Alaska. Thank you for joining us, 
Senator. Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Thad Cochran 
of Mississippi. The chairman of the Armed Services Committee, John 
Warner of Virginia.
    I thank Norb Ryan, as well, for his leadership. I do appreciate all 
the folks that are at Walter Reed who have joined us today. I'm going to 
tell the parents of our troops, we provide great health care to those 
who wear the uniform. I'm proud of those folks at Bethesda and Walter 
Reed--are providing you the best possible care to help you recover from 
your injuries. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for joining us here 
today. May God bless you in your recovery.
    Next week, America will mark the fifth anniversary of September the 
11th, 2001, terrorist attacks. As this day approaches, it brings with it 
a flood of painful memories. We remember the horror of watching planes 
fly into the World Trade Center and seeing the towers collapse before 
our eyes. We remember the sight of the Pentagon broken and in flames. We 
remember the rescue workers who rushed into burning buildings to save 
lives, knowing they might never emerge again. We remember the brave 
passengers who charged the cockpit of their hijacked plane and stopped 
the terrorists from reaching their target and killing more innocent 
civilians. We remember the cold brutality of the enemy who inflicted 
this harm on our country--an enemy whose leader, Usama bin Laden, 
declared the massacre of nearly 3,000 people that day, I quote, ``an 
unparalleled and magnificent feat of valor, unmatched by any in 
humankind before them.''
    In 5 years since our Nation was attacked, Al Qaida and terrorists it 
has inspired have continued to attack across the world. They've killed 
the innocent in Europe and Africa and the Middle East, in central Asia 
and the Far East and beyond. Most recently, they attempted to strike 
again in the most ambitious plot since the attacks of September the 
11th--a plan to blow up passenger planes headed for America, over the 
Atlantic Ocean.
    Five years after our Nation was attacked, the terrorist danger 
remains. We're a nation at war, and America and her allies are fighting 
this war with relentless determination across the world. Together with 
our coalition partners, we've removed terrorist sanctuaries, disrupted 
their finances, killed and captured key operatives, broken up terrorist 
cells in America and other nations, and stopped new attacks before 
they're carried out. We're on the offense against the terrorists on 
every battlefront, and we'll accept nothing less than complete victory.
    In the 5 years since our Nation was attacked, we've also learned a 
great deal about the enemy we face in this war. We've learned about them 
through videos and audio recordings and letters and statements they've 
posted on web sites. We've learned about them from captured enemy 
documents that the terrorists have never meant for us to see. Together, 
these documents and statements have given us clear insight into the mind 
of our enemies--their ideology, their ambitions, and their strategy to 
defeat us.
    We know what the terrorists intend to do because they've told us--
and we need to take their words seriously. So today I'm going to 
describe, in the terrorists' own words, what they believe, what they 
hope to accomplish, and how they intend to accomplish it. I'll discuss 
how the enemy has adapted in the wake of our sustained offensive against 
them and the threat posed by different strains of violent Islamic 
radicalism. I'll explain the strategy we're pursuing to protect America 
by defeating the terrorists on the battlefield and defeating their 
hateful ideology in the battle of ideas.
    The terrorists who attacked us on September the 11th, 2001, are men 
without conscience--but they're not madmen. They kill in the name of a 
clear and focused ideology, a set of beliefs that are evil but not 
insane. These Al Qaida terrorists, and those who share their ideology, 
are violent Sunni extremists. They're driven by a radical and perverted 
vision of Islam that rejects tolerance,

[[Page 1559]]

crushes all dissent, and justifies the murder of innocent men, women, 
and children in the pursuit of political power. They hope to establish a 
violent political utopia across the Middle East, which they call a 
``caliphate,'' where all would be ruled according to their hateful 
ideology. Usama bin Laden has called the 9/11 attacks--in his words--``a 
great step towards the unity of Muslims and establishing the righteous--
caliphate.''
    This caliphate would be a totalitarian Islamic empire encompassing 
all current and former Muslim lands, stretching from Europe to north 
Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. We know this because Al 
Qaida has told us. About 2 months ago, the terrorist Zawahiri--he's Al 
Qaida's second in command--declared that Al Qaida intends to impose its 
rule in ``every land that was a home for Islam, from Spain to Iraq.'' He 
went on to say, ``The whole world is an open field for us.''
    We know what this radical empire would look like in practice, 
because we saw how the radicals imposed their ideology on the people of 
Afghanistan. Under the rule of the Taliban and Al Qaida, Afghanistan was 
a totalitarian nightmare--a land where women were imprisoned in their 
homes; men were beaten for missing prayer meetings; girls could not go 
to school; and children were forbidden the smallest pleasures, like 
flying kites. Religious police roamed the streets, beating and detaining 
civilians for perceived offenses. Women were publicly whipped. Summary 
executions were held in Kabul's soccer stadium in front of cheering 
mobs. And Afghanistan was turned into a launching pad for horrific 
attacks against America and other parts of the civilized world, 
including many Muslim nations.
    The goal of these Sunni extremists is to remake the entire Muslim 
world in their radical image. In pursuit of their imperial aims, these 
extremists say there can be no compromise or dialog with those they call 
infidels--a category that includes America, the world's free nations, 
Jews, and all Muslims who reject their extreme vision of Islam. They 
reject the possibility of peaceful coexistence with the free world. 
Again, hear the words of Usama bin Laden earlier this year: ``Death is 
better than living on this Earth with the unbelievers among us.''
    These radicals have declared their uncompromising hostility to 
freedom. It is foolish to think that you can negotiate with them. We see 
the uncompromising nature of the enemy in many captured terrorist 
documents. Here are just two examples: After the liberation of 
Afghanistan, coalition forces searching through a terrorist safe house 
in that country found a copy of the Al Qaida charter. This charter 
states that ``there will be continuing enmity until everyone believes in 
Allah. We will not meet the enemy halfway. There will be no room for 
dialog with them.'' Another document was found in 2000 by British police 
during an antiterrorist raid in London--a grisly Al Qaida manual that 
includes chapters with titles such as ``Guidelines for Beating and 
Killing Hostages.'' This manual declares that their vision of Islam 
``does not make a truce with unbelief, but rather confronts it.'' The 
confrontation calls for ``the dialog of bullets; the ideals of 
assassination, bombing, and destruction; and the diplomacy of the cannon 
and machine gun,'' end quote.
    Still other captured documents show Al Qaida's strategy for 
infiltrating Muslim nations, establishing terrorist enclaves, 
overthrowing governments, and building their totalitarian empire. We see 
this strategy laid out in a captured Al Qaida document found during a 
recent raid in Iraq, which describes their plans to infiltrate and to 
take over Iraq's western Anbar Province. The document lays out an 
elaborate Al Qaida governing structure for the region that includes an 
Education Department, a Social Services Department, a Justice 
Department, and an Execution Unit responsible for ``Sorting out, Arrest, 
Murder, and Destruction.''
    According to their public statements, countries that have--they have 
targeted stretch from the Middle East to Africa to Southeast Asia. 
Through this strategy, Al Qaida and its allies intend to create 
numerous, decentralized operating bases across the world, from which 
they can plan new attacks and advance their vision of a unified, 
totalitarian Islamic state that can confront and eventually destroy the 
free world.

[[Page 1560]]

    These violent extremists know that to realize this vision, they must 
first drive out the main obstacle that stands in their way--the United 
States of America. According to Al Qaida, their strategy to defeat 
America has two parts. First, they're waging a campaign of terror across 
the world. They're targeting our forces abroad, hoping that the American 
people will grow tired of casualties and give up the fight. And they're 
targeting America's financial centers and economic infrastructure at 
home, hoping to terrorize us and cause our economy to collapse.
    Bin Laden calls this his ``bleed-until-bankruptcy plan,'' end quote. 
And he cited the attacks of 9/11 as evidence that such a plan can 
succeed. With the 9/11 attacks, Usama bin Laden says, ``Al Qaida spent 
$500,000 on the event, while America lost--according to the lowest 
estimate--$500 billion,'' meaning that every dollar of Al Qaida defeated 
a million dollars of America. Bin Laden concludes from this experience 
that ``America is definitely a great power, with unbelievable military 
strength and a vibrant economy, but all these have been built on a very 
weak and hollow foundation.'' He went on to say, ``Therefore, it is very 
easy to target the flimsy base and concentrate on their weak points, and 
even if we're able to target one-tenth of these weak points, we will be 
able to crush and destroy them.''
    Secondly, along with this campaign of terror, the enemy has a 
propaganda strategy. Usama bin Laden laid out this strategy in a letter 
to the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, that coalition forces uncovered in 
Afghanistan in 2002. In it, bin Laden says that Al Qaida intends to 
launch, in his words, ``a media campaign to create a wedge between the 
American people and their Government.'' This media campaign, bin Laden 
says, will send the American people a number of messages, including 
``that their Government will bring them more losses, in finances and 
casualties.'' And he goes on to say that ``they are being sacrificed to 
serve the big investors, especially the Jews.'' Bin Laden says that by 
delivering these messages, Al Qaida ``aims at creating pressure from the 
American people on the American Government to stop their campaign 
against Afghanistan.''
    Bin Laden and his allies are absolutely convinced they can succeed 
in forcing America to retreat and causing our economic collapse. They 
believe our Nation is weak and decadent and lacking in patience and 
resolve. And they're wrong. Usama bin Laden has written that the 
``defeat of American forces in Beirut in 1983 is proof America does not 
have the stomach to stay in the fight.'' He's declared that ``in 
Somalia, the United States pulled out, trailing disappointment, defeat, 
and failure behind it.'' And last year, the terrorist Zawahiri declared 
that Americans ``know better than others that there is no hope in 
victory. The Vietnam specter is closing every outlet.''
    These terrorists hope to drive America and our coalition out of 
Afghanistan so they can restore the safe haven they lost when coalition 
forces drove them out 5 years ago. But they've made clear that the most 
important front in their struggle against America is Iraq--the nation 
bin Laden has declared the ``capital of the caliphate.'' Hear the words 
of bin Laden: ``I now address the whole Islamic nation: Listen and 
understand. The most serious issue today for the whole world is this 
third world war that is raging in Iraq.'' He calls it ``a war of destiny 
between infidelity and Islam.'' He says, ``The whole world is watching 
this war,'' and that it will end in ``victory and glory or misery and 
humiliation.'' For Al Qaida, Iraq is not a distraction from their war on 
America--it is the central battlefield where the outcome of this 
struggle will be decided.
    Here is what Al Qaida says they will do if they succeed in driving 
us out of Iraq. The terrorist Zawahiri has said that Al Qaida will 
proceed with ``several incremental goals. The first stage: Expel the 
Americans from Iraq. The second stage: Establish an Islamic authority or 
amirate, then develop it and support it until it achieves the level of 
caliphate. The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular 
countries neighboring Iraq. And the fourth stage: The clash with 
Israel.''
    These evil men know that a fundamental threat to their aspirations 
is a democratic Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend 
itself. They know that given a choice, the Iraqi people will never 
choose to live in the totalitarian state the extremists hope to

[[Page 1561]]

establish. And that is why we must not and we will not give the enemy 
victory in Iraq by deserting the Iraqi people.
    Last year, the terrorist Zarqawi declared in a message posted on the 
Internet that democracy ``is the essence of infidelity and deviation 
from the right path.'' The Iraqi people disagree. Last December, nearly 
12 million Iraqis from every ethnic and religious community turned out 
to vote in their country's third free election in less than a year. Iraq 
now has a unity government that represents Iraq's diverse population, 
and Al Qaida's top commander in Iraq breathed his last breath.
    Despite these strategic setbacks, the enemy will continue to fight 
freedom's advance in Iraq, because they understand the stakes in this 
war. Again, hear the words of bin Laden in a message to the American 
people earlier this year. He says, ``The war is for you or for us to 
win. If we win it, it means your defeat and disgrace forever.''
    Now, I know some of our country hear the terrorists' words and hope 
that they will not or cannot do what they say. History teaches that 
underestimating the words of evil and ambitious men is a terrible 
mistake. In the early 1900's, an exiled lawyer in Europe published a 
pamphlet called ``What Is To Be Done?''--in which he laid out his plan 
to launch a Communist revolution in Russia. The world did not heed 
Lenin's words and paid a terrible price. The Soviet Empire he 
established killed tens of millions and brought the world to the brink 
of thermonuclear war. In the 1920's, a failed Austrian painter published 
a book in which he explained his intention to build an Aryan super-state 
in Germany and take revenge on Europe and eradicate the Jews. The world 
ignored Hitler's words and paid a terrible price. His Nazi regime killed 
millions in the gas chambers and set the world aflame in war before it 
was finally defeated at a terrible cost in lives.
    Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as 
clear as Lenin and Hitler before them. The question is: Will we listen? 
Will we pay attention to what these evil men say? America and our 
coalition partners have made our choice. We're taking the words of the 
enemy seriously. We're on the offensive; we will not rest; we will not 
retreat; and we will not withdraw from the fight until this threat to 
civilization has been removed.
    Five years into this struggle, it's important to take stock of 
what's been accomplished and the difficult work that remains. Al Qaida 
has been weakened by our sustained offensive against them. And today, it 
is harder for Al Qaida's leaders to operate freely, to move money, or to 
communicate with their operatives and facilitators. Yet Al Qaida remains 
dangerous and determined. Bin Laden and Zawahiri remain in hiding in 
remote regions of this world. Al Qaida continues to adapt in the face of 
our global campaign against them. Increasingly, Al Qaida is taking 
advantage of the Internet to disseminate propaganda and to conduct 
virtual recruitment and virtual training of new terrorists. Al Qaida's 
leaders no longer need to meet face to face with their operatives. They 
can find new suicide bombers and facilitate new terrorist attacks 
without ever laying eyes on those they're training, financing, or 
sending to strike us.
    As Al Qaida changes, the broader terrorist movement is also 
changing, becoming more dispersed and self-directed. More and more, 
we're facing threats from locally established terrorist cells that are 
inspired by Al Qaida's ideology and goals but do not necessarily have 
direct links to Al Qaida, such as training and funding. Some of these 
groups are made up of homegrown terrorists, militant extremists who were 
born and educated in Western nations, were indoctrinated by radical 
Islamists or attracted to their ideology, and joined the violent 
extremist cause. These locally established cells appear to be 
responsible for a number of attacks and plots, including those in Madrid 
and Canada and other countries across the world.
    As we continue to fight Al Qaida and these Sunni extremists inspired 
by their radical ideology, we also face the threat posed by Shi'a 
extremists who are learning from Al Qaida, increasing their 
assertiveness, and stepping up their threats. Like the vast majority of 
Sunnis, the vast majority of Shi'a across the world reject the vision of 
extremists. And in Iraq, millions of Shi'a have defied terrorist threats 
to vote in free elections and have shown their desire to live in 
freedom. The Shi'a extremists want to deny them this right.

[[Page 1562]]

This Shi'a strain of Islamic radicalism is just as dangerous and just as 
hostile to America and just as determined to establish its brand of 
hegemony across the broader Middle East. The Shi'a extremists have 
achieved something that Al Qaida has so far failed to do: In 1979, they 
took control of a major power, the nation of Iran, subjugating its proud 
people to a regime of tyranny and using that nation's resources to fund 
the spread of terror and pursue their radical agenda.
    Like Al Qaida and the Sunni extremists, the Iranian regime has clear 
aims: They want to drive America out of the region, to destroy Israel, 
and to dominate the broader Middle East. To achieve these aims, they are 
funding and arming terrorist groups like Hizballah, which allow them to 
attack Israel and America by proxy. Hizballah, the source of the current 
instability in Lebanon, has killed more Americans than any terrorist 
organization except Al Qaida. Unlike Al Qaida, they've not yet attacked 
the American homeland. Yet they're directly responsible for the murder 
of hundreds of Americans abroad. It was Hizballah that was behind the 
1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 241 
Americans. And Saudi Hizballah was behind the 1996 bombing of Khobar 
Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans, an attack conducted by 
terrorists who we believe were working with Iranian officials.
    Just as we take the words of the Sunni extremists seriously, we must 
take the words of the Shi'a extremists seriously. Listen to the words of 
Hizballah's leader, the terrorist Nasrallah, who has declared his hatred 
of America. He says, ``Let the entire world hear me. Our hostility to 
the Great Satan, America, is absolute. Regardless of how the world has 
changed after 11 September, death to America will remain our 
reverberating and powerful slogan: Death to America.''
    Iran's leaders, who back Hizballah, have also declared their 
absolute hostility to America. Last October, Iran's President declared 
in a speech that some people ask--in his words--``whether a world 
without the United States and Zionism can be achieved. I say that this 
goal is achievable.'' Less than 3 months ago, Iran's President declared 
to America and other Western powers: ``Open your eyes and see the fate 
of pharaoh. If you do not abandon the path of falsehood, your doomed 
destiny will be annihilation.'' Less than 2 months ago, he warned, ``The 
anger of Muslims may reach an explosion point soon. If such a day comes, 
America and the West should know that the waves of the blast will not 
remain within the boundaries of our region.'' He also delivered this 
message to the American people: ``If you would like to have good 
relations with the Iranian nation in the future, bow down before the 
greatness of the Iranian nation and surrender. If you don't accept to do 
this, the Iranian nation will force you to surrender and bow down.'' 
America will not bow down to tyrants.
    The Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies have demonstrated their 
willingness to kill Americans, and now the Iranian regime is pursuing 
nuclear weapons. The world is working together to prevent Iran's regime 
from acquiring the tools of mass murder. The international community has 
made a reasonable proposal to Iran's leaders and given them the 
opportunity to set their nation on a better course. So far, Iran's 
leaders have rejected this offer. Their choice is increasingly isolating 
the great Iranian nation from the international community and denying 
the Iranian people an opportunity for greater economic prosperity. It's 
time for Iran's leader to make a different choice. And we've made our 
choice. We'll continue to work closely with our allies to find a 
diplomatic solution. The world's free nations will not allow Iran to 
develop a nuclear weapon.
    The Shi'a and Sunni extremists represent different faces of the same 
threat. They draw inspiration from different sources, but both seek to 
impose a dark vision of violent Islamic radicalism across the Middle 
East. They oppose the advance of freedom, and they want to gain control 
of weapons of mass destruction. If they succeed in undermining fragile 
democracies like Iraq and drive the forces of freedom out of the region, 
they will have an open field to pursue their dangerous goals. Each 
strain of violent Islamic radicalism would be emboldened in their 
efforts to topple moderate governments and establish terrorist safe 
havens.
    Imagine a world in which they were able to control governments, a 
world awash with

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oil, and they would use oil resources to punish industrialized nations. 
And they would use those resources to fuel their radical agenda and 
pursue and purchase weapons of mass murder. And armed with nuclear 
weapons, they would blackmail the free world and spread their ideologies 
of hate and raise a mortal threat to the American people. If we allow 
them to do this, if we retreat from Iraq, if we don't uphold our duty to 
support those who are desirous to live in liberty, 50 years from now, 
history will look back on our time with unforgiving clarity and demand 
to know why we did not act.
    I'm not going to allow this to happen, and no future American 
President can allow it either. America did not seek this global 
struggle, but we're answering history's call with confidence and a clear 
strategy. Today we're releasing a document called the ``National 
Strategy for Combating Terrorism.'' This is an unclassified version of 
the strategy we've been pursuing since September the 11th, 2001. This 
strategy was first released in February 2003; it's been updated to take 
into account the changing nature of this enemy. This strategy document 
is posted on the White House web site, whitehouse.gov, and I urge all 
Americans to read it.
    Our strategy for combating terrorism has five basic elements. First, 
we're determined to prevent terrorist attacks before they occur, so 
we're taking the fight to the enemy. The best way to protect America is 
to stay on the offense. Since 9/11, our coalition has captured or killed 
Al Qaida managers and operatives and scores of other terrorists across 
the world. The enemy is living under constant pressure, and we intend to 
keep it that way--and this adds to our security. When terrorists spend 
their days working to avoid death or capture, it's harder for them to 
plan and execute new attacks.
    We're also fighting the enemy here at home. We've given our law 
enforcement and intelligence professionals the tools they need to stop 
the terrorists in our midst. We passed the PATRIOT Act to break down the 
wall that prevented law enforcement and intelligence from sharing vital 
information. We created the terrorist surveillance program to monitor 
the communications between Al Qaida commanders abroad and terrorist 
operatives within our borders. If Al Qaida is calling somebody in 
America, we need to know why in order to stop attacks.
    I want to thank these three Senators for working with us to give our 
law enforcement and intelligence officers the tools necessary to do 
their jobs. And over the last 5 years, Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement have used those tools to break up terrorist cells and to 
prosecute terrorist operatives and supporters in New York and Oregon and 
Virginia and Texas and New Jersey and Illinois, Ohio, and other States. 
By taking the battle to the terrorists and their supporters on our own 
soil and across the world, we've stopped a number of Al Qaida plots.
    Second, we're determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to 
outlaw regimes and terrorists who would use them without hesitation. 
Working with Great Britain and Pakistan and other nations, the United 
States shut down the world's most dangerous nuclear trading cartel, the 
A.Q. Khan network. This network had supplied Iran and Libya and North 
Korea with equipment and know-how that advanced their efforts to obtain 
nuclear weapons. And we launched the Proliferation Security Initiative, 
a coalition of more than 70 nations that is working together to stop 
shipments related to weapons of mass destruction on land, at sea, and in 
the air. The greatest threat this world faces is the danger of 
extremists and terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction, and 
this is a threat America cannot defeat on her own. We applaud the 
determined efforts of many nations around the world to stop the spread 
of these dangerous weapons. Together, we pledge we'll continue to work 
together to stop the world's most dangerous men from getting their hands 
on the world's most dangerous weapons.
    Third, we're determined to deny terrorists the support of outlaw 
regimes. After September the 11th, I laid out a clear doctrine: America 
makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those 
that harbor and support them, because they're equally guilty of murder. 
Thanks to our efforts, there are now three fewer state sponsors of 
terror in the world than there were on September the 11th, 2001. 
Afghanistan and Iraq have been transformed from terrorist states

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into allies in the war on terror. And the nation of Libya has renounced 
terrorism and given up its weapons of mass destruction programs and its 
nuclear materials and equipment. Over the past 5 years, we've acted to 
disrupt the flow of weapons and support from terrorist states to 
terrorist networks. And we have made clear that any government that 
chooses to be an ally of terror has also chosen to be an enemy of 
civilization.
    Fourth, we're determined to deny terrorist networks control of any 
nation or territory within a nation. So, along with our coalition and 
the Iraqi Government, we'll stop the terrorists from taking control of 
Iraq and establishing a new safe haven from which to attack America and 
the free world. And we're working with friends and allies to deny the 
terrorists the enclaves they seek to establish in ungoverned areas 
across the world. By helping governments reclaim full sovereign control 
over their territory, we make ourselves more secure.
    Fifth, we're working to deny terrorists new recruits by defeating 
their hateful ideology and spreading the hope of freedom--by spreading 
the hope of freedom across the Middle East. For decades, American policy 
sought to achieve peace in the Middle East by pursuing stability at the 
expense of liberty. The lack of freedom in that region helped create 
conditions where anger and resentment grew and radicalism thrived and 
terrorists found willing recruits. And we saw the consequences on 
September the 11th, when the terrorists brought death and destruction to 
our country. The policy wasn't working.
    The experience of September the 11th made clear, in the long run, 
the only way to secure our Nation is to change the course of the Middle 
East. And so America has committed its influence in the world to 
advancing freedom and liberty and democracy as the great alternatives to 
repression and radicalism. We're taking the side of democratic leaders 
and moderates and reformers across the Middle East. We strongly support 
the voices of tolerance and moderation in the Muslim world. We're 
standing with Afghanistan's elected Government against Al Qaida and the 
Taliban remnants that are trying to restore tyranny in that country. 
We're standing with Lebanon's young democracy against the foreign forces 
that are seeking to undermine the country's sovereignty and 
independence. And we're standing with the leaders of Iraq's unity 
Government as they work to defeat the enemies of freedom and chart a 
more hopeful course for their people. This is why victory is so 
important in Iraq. By helping freedom succeed in Iraq, we will help 
America and the Middle East and the world become more secure.
    During the last 5 years, we've learned a lot about this enemy. We've 
learned that they're cunning and sophisticated. We've witnessed their 
ability to change their methods and their tactics with deadly speed, 
even as their murderous obsessions remain unchanging. We've seen that 
it's the terrorists who have declared war on Muslims, slaughtering huge 
numbers of innocent Muslim men and women around the world.
    We know what the terrorists believe. We know what they have done, 
and we know what they intend to do. And now the world's free nations 
must summon the will to meet this great challenge. The road ahead is 
going to be difficult, and it will require more sacrifice. Yet we can 
have confidence in the outcome, because we've seen freedom conquer 
tyranny and terror before. In the 20th century, free nations confronted 
and defeated Nazi Germany. During the cold war, we confronted Soviet 
communism, and today, Europe is whole, free, and at peace.
    And now, freedom is once again contending with the forces of 
darkness and tyranny. This time the battle is unfolding in a new 
region--the broader Middle East. This time we're not waiting for our 
enemies to gather in strength. This time we're confronting them before 
they gain the capacity to inflict unspeakable damage on the world, and 
we're confronting their hateful ideology before it fully takes root.
    We see a day when people across the Middle East have governments 
that honor their dignity and unleash their creativity and count their 
votes. We see a day when, across this region, citizens are allowed to 
express themselves freely; women have full rights; and children are 
educated and given the tools necessary to succeed in life. And we see a 
day when all the nations of the Middle East are allies in the cause of 
peace.

[[Page 1565]]

    We fight for this day, because the security of our own citizens 
depends on it. This is the great ideological struggle of the 21st 
century--and it is the calling of our generation. All civilized nations 
are bound together in this struggle between moderation and extremism. By 
coming together, we will roll back this grave threat to our way of life. 
We will help the people of the Middle East claim their freedom, and we 
will leave a safer and more hopeful world for our children and our 
grandchildren.
    God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 1:15 p.m. at the Capital Hilton Hotel. In 
his remarks, he referred to Gen. John W. Hendrix, USA, (Ret.), chairman 
of the board, and Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan, Jr., USN, (Ret.), 
president, Military Officers Association of America; President Mahmud 
Ahmadi-nejad of Iran; and A.Q. Khan, former head of Pakistan's nuclear 
weapons program.