[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 37 (Monday, September 18, 2006)]
[Pages 1597-1601]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Address to the Nation on the War on Terror

September 11, 2006

    Good evening. Five years ago, this date--September the 11th--was 
seared into America's memory. Nineteen men attacked us with a barbarity 
unequaled in our history. They murdered people of all colors, creeds, 
and nationalities and made war upon the entire free world. Since that 
day, America and her allies have taken the offensive in a war unlike any 
we have fought before. Today, we are safer, but we are not yet safe. On 
this solemn night, I've asked for some of your time to discuss the 
nature of the threat still before us, what we are doing to protect our 
Nation, and the building of a more hopeful Middle East that holds the 
key to peace for America and the world.

[[Page 1598]]

    On 9/11, our Nation saw the face of evil. Yet on that awful day, we 
also witnessed something distinctly American: ordinary citizens rising 
to the occasion and responding with extraordinary acts of courage. We 
saw courage in office workers who were trapped on the high floors of 
burning skyscrapers and called home so that their last words to their 
families would be of comfort and love. We saw courage in passengers 
aboard Flight 93, who recited the 23d Psalm and then charged the 
cockpit. And we saw courage in the Pentagon staff who made it out of the 
flames and smoke and ran back in to answer cries for help. On this day, 
we remember the innocent who lost their lives, and we pay tribute to 
those who gave their lives so that others might live.
    For many of our citizens, the wounds of that morning are still 
fresh. I've met firefighters and police officers who choke up at the 
memory of fallen comrades. I've stood with families gathered on a grassy 
field in Pennsylvania who take bittersweet pride in loved ones who 
refused to be victims and gave America our first victory in the war on 
terror. I've sat beside young mothers with children who are now 5 years 
old and still long for the daddies who will never cradle them in their 
arms. Out of this suffering, we resolve to honor every man and woman 
lost, and we seek their lasting memorial in a safer and more hopeful 
world.
    Since the horror of 9/11, we've learned a great deal about the 
enemy. We have learned that they are evil and kill without mercy but not 
without purpose. We have learned that they form a global network of 
extremists who are driven by a perverted vision of Islam--a totalitarian 
ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance, and despises all 
dissent. And we have learned that their goal is to build a radical 
Islamic empire where women are prisoners in their homes, men are beaten 
for missing prayer meetings, and terrorists have a safe haven to plan 
and launch attacks on America and other civilized nations. The war 
against this enemy is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive 
ideological struggle of the 21st century and the calling of our 
generation.
    Our Nation is being tested in a way that we have not been since the 
start of the cold war. We saw what a handful of our enemies can do with 
box cutters and plane tickets. We hear their threats to launch even more 
terrible attacks on our people. And we know that if they were able to 
get their hands on weapons of mass destruction, they would use them 
against us. We face an enemy determined to bring death and suffering 
into our homes. America did not ask for this war, and every American 
wishes it were over. So do I. But the war is not over, and it will not 
be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious. If we do 
not defeat these enemies now, we will leave our children to face a 
Middle East overrun by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with 
nuclear weapons. We are in a war that will set the course for this new 
century and determine the destiny of millions across the world.
    For America, 9/11 was more than a tragedy. It changed the way we 
look at the world. On September the 11th, we resolved that we would go 
on the offense against our enemies, and we would not distinguish between 
the terrorists and those who harbor or support them. So we helped drive 
the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. We put Al Qaida on the run and 
killed or captured most of those who planned the 9/11 attacks, including 
the man believed to be the mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He and 
other suspected terrorists have been questioned by the Central 
Intelligence Agency, and they provided valuable information that has 
helped stop attacks in America and across the world. Now these men have 
been transferred to Guantanamo Bay so they can be held to account for 
their actions. Usama bin Laden and other terrorists are still in hiding. 
Our message to them is clear: No matter how long it takes, America will 
find you, and we will bring you to justice.
    On September the 11th, we learned that America must confront threats 
before they reach our shores, whether those threats come from terrorist 
networks or terrorist states. I'm often asked why we're in Iraq when 
Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks. The answer is 
that the regime of Saddam Hussein was a clear threat. My administration, 
the Congress, and the United Nations saw the threat. And after 9/11, 
Saddam's regime posed a risk that the world

[[Page 1599]]

could not afford to take. The world is safer because Saddam Hussein is 
no longer in power. And now the challenge is to help the Iraqi people 
build a democracy that fulfills the dreams of the nearly 12 million 
Iraqis who came out to vote in free elections last December.
    Al Qaida and other extremists from across the world have come to 
Iraq to stop the rise of a free society in the heart of the Middle East. 
They have joined the remnants of Saddam's regime and other armed groups 
to foment sectarian violence and drive us out. Our enemies in Iraq are 
tough, and they are committed, but so are Iraqi and coalition forces. 
We're adapting to stay ahead of the enemy, and we are carrying out a 
clear plan to ensure that a democratic Iraq succeeds.
    We're training Iraqi troops so they can defend their nation. We're 
helping Iraq's unity Government grow in strength and serve its people. 
We will not leave until this work is done. Whatever mistakes have been 
made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, 
the terrorists would leave us alone. They will not leave us alone. They 
will follow us. The safety of America depends on the outcome of the 
battle in the streets of Baghdad. Usama bin Laden calls this fight ``the 
third world war''--and he says that victory for the terrorists in Iraq 
will mean America's ``defeat and disgrace forever.'' If we yield Iraq to 
men like bin Laden, our enemies will be emboldened; they will gain a new 
safe haven; they will use Iraq's resources to fuel their extremist 
movement. We will not allow this to happen. America will stay in the 
fight. Iraq will be a free nation and a strong ally in the war on 
terror.
    We can be confident that our coalition will succeed because the 
Iraqi people have been steadfast in the face of unspeakable violence. 
And we can be confident in victory because of the skill and resolve of 
America's Armed Forces. Every one of our troops is a volunteer, and 
since the attacks of September the 11th, more than 1.6 million Americans 
have stepped forward to put on our Nation's uniform. In Iraq, 
Afghanistan, and other fronts in the war on terror, the men and women of 
our military are making great sacrifices to keep us safe. Some have 
suffered terrible injuries, and nearly 3,000 have given their lives. 
America cherishes their memory. We pray for their families. And we will 
never back down from the work they have begun.
    We also honor those who toil day and night to keep our homeland 
safe, and we are giving them the tools they need to protect our people. 
We've created the Department of Homeland Security. We have torn down the 
wall that kept law enforcement and intelligence from sharing 
information. We've tightened security at our airports and seaports and 
borders, and we've created new programs to monitor enemy bank records 
and phone calls. Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement and 
intelligence professionals, we have broken up terrorist cells in our 
midst and saved American lives.
    Five years after 9/11, our enemies have not succeeded in launching 
another attack on our soil, but they've not been idle. Al Qaida and 
those inspired by its hateful ideology have carried out terrorist 
attacks in more than two dozen nations. And just last month, they were 
foiled in a plot to blow up passenger planes headed for the United 
States. They remain determined to attack America and kill our citizens, 
and we are determined to stop them. We will continue to give the men and 
women who protect us every resource and legal authority they need to do 
their jobs.
    In the first days after the 9/11 attacks, I promised to use every 
element of national power to fight the terrorists, wherever we find 
them. One of the strongest weapons in our arsenal is the power of 
freedom. The terrorists fear freedom as much as they do our firepower. 
They are thrown into panic at the sight of an old man pulling the 
election lever, girls enrolling in schools, or families worshiping God 
in their own traditions. They know that given a choice, people will 
choose freedom over their extremist ideology. So their answer is to deny 
people this choice by raging against the forces of freedom and 
moderation. This struggle has been called a clash of civilizations. In 
truth, it is a struggle for civilization. We are fighting to maintain 
the way of life enjoyed by free nations. And we're fighting for the 
possibility that good and decent people across the Middle East can raise 
up societies based on freedom and tolerance and personal dignity.

[[Page 1600]]

    We are now in the early hours of this struggle between tyranny and 
freedom. Amid the violence, some question whether the people of the 
Middle East want their freedom and whether the forces of moderation can 
prevail. For 60 years, these doubts guided our policies in the Middle 
East. And then on a bright September morning, it became clear that the 
calm we saw in the Middle East was only a mirage. Years of pursuing 
stability to promote peace had left us with neither. So we changed our 
policies and committed America's influence in the world to advancing 
freedom and democracy as the great alternatives to repression and 
radicalism.
    With our help, the people of the Middle East are now stepping 
forward to claim their freedom. From Kabul to Baghdad to Beirut, there 
are brave men and women risking their lives each day for the same 
freedoms that we enjoy. And they have one question for us: Do we have 
the confidence to do in the Middle East what our fathers and 
grandfathers accomplished in Europe and Asia? By standing with 
democratic leaders and reformers, by giving voice to the hopes of decent 
men and women, we're offering a path away from radicalism. And we are 
enlisting the most powerful force for peace and moderation in the Middle 
East: the desire of millions to be free.
    Across the broader Middle East, the extremists are fighting to 
prevent such a future. Yet America has confronted evil before, and we 
have defeated it--sometimes at the cost of thousands of good men in a 
single battle. When Franklin Roosevelt vowed to defeat two enemies 
across two oceans, he could not have foreseen D-day and Iwo Jima, but he 
would not have been surprised at the outcome. When Harry Truman promised 
American support for free peoples resisting Soviet aggression, he could 
not have foreseen the rise of the Berlin Wall, but he would not have 
been surprised to see it brought down. Throughout our history, America 
has seen liberty challenged, and every time, we have seen liberty 
triumph with sacrifice and determination.
    At the start of this young century, America looks to the day when 
the people of the Middle East leave the desert of despotism for the 
fertile gardens of liberty and resume their rightful place in a world of 
peace and prosperity. We look to the day when the nations of that region 
recognize their greatest resource is not the oil in the ground but the 
talent and creativity of their people. We look to the day when moms and 
dads throughout the Middle East see a future of hope and opportunity for 
their children. And when that good day comes, the clouds of war will 
part, the appeal of radicalism will decline, and we will leave our 
children with a better and safer world.
    On this solemn anniversary, we rededicate ourselves to this cause. 
Our Nation has endured trials, and we face a difficult road ahead. 
Winning this war will require the determined efforts of a unified 
country, and we must put aside our differences and work together to meet 
the test that history has given us. We will defeat our enemies. We will 
protect our people. And we will lead the 21st century into a shining age 
of human liberty.
    Earlier this year, I traveled to the United States Military Academy. 
I was there to deliver the commencement address to the first class to 
arrive at West Point after the attacks of September the 11th. That day I 
met a proud mom named RoseEllen Dowdell. She was there to watch her son, 
Patrick, accept his commission in the finest Army the world has ever 
known. A few weeks earlier, RoseEllen had watched her other son, James, 
graduate from the Fire Academy in New York City. On both these days, her 
thoughts turned to someone who was not there to share the moment, her 
husband, Kevin Dowdell. Kevin was one of the 343 firefighters who rushed 
to the burning towers of the World Trade Center on September the 11th 
and never came home. His sons lost their father that day but not the 
passion for service he instilled in them. Here is what RoseEllen says 
about her boys: ``As a mother, I cross my fingers and pray all the time 
for their safety. But as worried as I am, I'm also proud, and I know 
their dad would be too.''
    Our Nation is blessed to have young Americans like these, and we 
will need them. Dangerous enemies have declared their intention to 
destroy our way of life. They're not the first to try, and their fate 
will be the same as those who tried before. Nine-Eleven showed us why. 
The attacks were meant to

[[Page 1601]]

bring us to our knees, and they did, but not in the way the terrorists 
intended. Americans united in prayer, came to the aid of neighbors in 
need, and resolved that our enemies would not have the last word. The 
spirit of our people is the source of America's strength. And we go 
forward with trust in that spirit, confidence in our purpose, and faith 
in a loving God who made us to be free.
    Thank you, and may God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 9:01 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, senior Al 
Qaida leader responsible for planning the September 11, 2001, terrorist 
attacks, who was captured in Pakistan on March 1, 2003; Usama bin Laden, 
leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; and former President 
Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary also released 
a Spanish language transcript of this address.