[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 7 (Monday, February 19, 2007)]
[Pages 165-173]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

February 15, 2007

    Thank you all. Thank you, Mr. President. [Laughter] That's got kind 
of a nice ring to it. [Laughter] Chris, thanks for inviting me. I 
appreciate the chance to come and share some thoughts with the men and 
women of AEI. I admire AEI a lot; I'm sure you know that. After all, I 
have been consistently borrowing some of your best people. More than 20 
AEI scholars have worked in my administration. A few have returned to 
the fold; you're going to have to wait 2 more years to get another one 
to return to the fold. Dick Cheney is occupied. [Laughter] He sends his 
best.
    I appreciate what the AEI stands for. This institute has been a 
tireless voice for the principles of individual liberty, free 
enterprise, limited government, and a strong national defense. And no 
one embodied these principles better than the late Ambassador Jeane 
Kirkpatrick. She was a professor, author, diplomat, Presidential 
adviser, and a key architect in our victory in the cold war.
    In 2003, I had the honor of asking her to lead the U.S. delegation 
to the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva. And I would like to share 
with you what she told that commission. She said, ``[America's] national 
policy is to assert that all human beings are born free; all human 
beings are equal in inherent rights and human dignity.'' That's the 
policy of the Bush administration as well. I believe in the universality 
of freedom, and I believe that this country--this grand country of ours 
has an obligation to help people realize the blessings of freedom. I 
appreciate so very much that Jeane Kirkpatrick was such a well-spoken 
advocate for that basic truth. I am proud to join you in paying tribute 
to her life and the legacy of a great American stateswoman.
    I appreciate the board of directors of the AEI for giving me this 
forum. Thanks for trying to stay on the leading edge of thought as well. 
It's really important that ideas be conceived, circulated, and embraced. 
I want to thank Members of the Congress who have joined us today--there 
they are. Good, yes. [Laughter] All friends--Pete King from New

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York, Trent Franks from Arizona, Mario Diaz-Balart from Florida, and 
fellow Texan Mike McCaul. Thanks for coming; appreciate you being here. 
I thank the members of the diplomatic corps who have joined us; proud 
you're here. Thanks for taking time out of a busy schedule to come and 
hear this address. I appreciate members of the United States Armed 
Forces who have joined us. I thank the dignitaries and friends of the 
AEI and members of my administration who have joined. Don't linger--
[laughter]--get back to work. But thank you for being here. [Laughter] I 
fully expect you to stay awake for the entire address. [Laughter]
    As scholars and thinkers, you are contributing to a nationwide 
debate about the direction of the war on terror. A vigorous debate is 
healthy for our country--it really is--and I welcome the debate. It's 
one of the true hallmarks of a free society, where people can get up and 
express their beliefs in a open forum. Yet 5 years into this war, there 
is one principle of which every member of every party should be able to 
agree on--in other words, after all the debate, there is one thing we 
all ought to be able to agree on, and that is: We've got to fight the 
terrorists overseas so we don't have to face them here at home again.
    We're acting on that principle. Since the attacks of September the 
11th, we have been on the offense. I believe the best way to do our duty 
in securing the homeland is to stay on the offense. And we're not alone. 
That's what our fellow citizens have got to understand. We're not in 
this fight against extremists and murderers alone.
    Recently in the Philippines, that country's special forces conducted 
raids in which they killed two top leaders of an Al Qaida-affiliated 
terrorist organization--a group that we believe was responsible for 
kidnapping four American citizens and killing two of them. In Tunisia, 
authorities recently broke up a terrorist cell that was planning to 
attack the American and British Embassies. In Spain, police captured 
several fugitives wanted for aiding the escape of terrorists responsible 
for the Madrid train bombings. In the past year, nations including 
Denmark, Italy, France, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Turkey, Canada, and 
Britain have broken up terrorist cells. The enemy is active, and so are 
those of us who love freedom. It's in the interests of the United States 
to encourage other nations not to relent and not to give in, but to keep 
the pressure on those who try to have their way by murdering the 
innocent. And that's exactly what we'll continue to do.
    This war against the terrorists, this war to protect ourselves, 
takes place on many fronts. One such front is Iraq. We're on the offense 
in Iraq, as we should be, against extremists and killers. I recently 
announced a new strategy for Iraq. It's a plan that demands more from 
the Iraqi Government. Not only do we demand more from the Iraqi 
Government, but so do--the Iraqi people demand more from the Iraqi 
Government. They want to live in peace. It's important for our fellow 
citizens to understand, a mother in downtown Baghdad wants her child to 
be able to walk the streets peacefully, just like mothers here in 
America want their children to be able to go to a playground and play 
peacefully.
    I made Baghdad the top security priority. In other words, it's 
important, in order to achieve our objective, that the capital city of 
this grand country be secure. And I sent reinforcements to our troops so 
they can accomplish that mission. I spent a lot of time with members of 
my administration thinking about the way forward in Iraq. And we 
listened to a lot of opinions and a lot of different ideas. In the end, 
I chose this course of action because it provides the best chance for 
success.
    And the reason why I mention success is, it's important for us to 
succeed. It's important for us to help this young democracy fight off 
the extremists so moderation can prevail. It's important for us to stand 
with this young democracy as they live--as they try to build a society 
under the most modern Constitution written in the Middle East, a 
Constitution approved by millions of their citizens.
    One of the interesting things that I have found here in Washington 
is, there is strong disagreement about what to do to succeed, but there 
is strong agreement that we should not fail. People understand the 
consequences of failure. If we were to leave this young democracy before 
the job is done, there would be chaos, and out of chaos would become

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vacuums, and into those power vacuums would flow extremists who would be 
emboldened, extremists who want to find safe haven.
    As we think about this important front in the war against extremists 
and terrorists, it's important for our fellow citizens to recognize this 
truth: If we were to leave Iraq before the job is done, the enemy would 
follow us home.
    Our new commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, is now on the 
ground in Baghdad. I visited him by secure video yesterday. He reports 
that coalition troops are arriving on schedule. He says the Iraqi 
Government is following through on its commitment to deploy three 
additional army brigades in the capital. Prime Minister Maliki has said, 
``Part of our strategy is to put more Iraqis in the fight in the capital 
city to achieve our objective,'' and he's doing that. So far, 
coordination between Iraqi and coalition forces has been good--they are 
beginning joint operations to secure the city by chasing down the 
terrorists and insurgents and the criminals and the roaming death 
squads. They're doing what the Iraqi people want in Baghdad--they want a 
peaceful life.
    The initial signs of progress are encouraging. Yet it's important 
for us to recognize that this is the beginning of what will be a 
difficult operation in the Iraqi capital. Our troops are risking their 
lives. As they carry out the new strategy, they need our patience, and 
they need our support. When General David Petraeus' nomination was 
considered 3 weeks ago in the United States Senate, the Senators voted 
unanimously to confirm him to his new position, and I appreciate that 
affirmation, that strong statement for this good general.
    Now the House is debating a resolution that disapproves of our new 
strategy. This may become the first time in the history of the United 
States Congress that it has voted to send a new commander into battle 
and then voted to oppose his plan that is necessary to succeed in that 
battle.
    Members of Congress have every right to express their opinion, and I 
fully expect them to do so. The resolution they're now debating is 
nonbinding. Soon the Congress is going to vote on a piece of legislation 
that is binding--a bill to provide emergency funding for our troops. Our 
men and women in uniform are counting on their elected leaders to 
provide them with the support they need to accomplish their mission. We 
have a responsibility--Republicans and Democrats have a responsibility 
to give our troops the resources they need to do their job and the 
flexibility they need to prevail.
    As we implement a new strategy in Iraq, we are also taking new steps 
to defeat the terrorists and extremists in Afghanistan. My 
administration has just completed a top-to-bottom review of our strategy 
in that country, and today I want to talk to you about the progress we 
have made in Afghanistan, the challenges we face in Afghanistan, and the 
strategy we're pursuing to defeat the enemies of freedom in Afghanistan.
    It wasn't all that long ago that we learned the lessons of how 
terrorists operate. It may seem like a long time ago--5 years is a long 
time in this day and age of instant news cycles--but it really isn't all 
that long ago, when you think about the march of history. In 
Afghanistan, we saw how terrorists and extremists can use those safe 
havens, safe havens in a failed state, to bring death and destruction to 
our people here at home.
    It was an amazing turning point in the history of our country, 
really, when you think about it. It was a defining moment for the 21st 
century. Think about what I just said, that in the remote reaches of the 
world, because there was a failed state, murderers were able to plot and 
plan and then execute a deadly attack that killed nearly 3,000 of our 
citizens. It's a lesson that we've got to remember. And one of the 
lessons of that September the 11th day is that we cannot allow 
terrorists to gain sanctuary anywhere; we must not allow them to 
reestablish the safe haven they lost in Afghanistan.
    Our goal in Afghanistan is to help the people of that country to 
defeat the terrorists and establish a stable, moderate, democratic state 
that respects the rights of its citizens, governs its territory 
effectively, and is a reliable ally in this war against extremists and 
terrorists. Oh, for some that may seem like an impossible task. But it's 
not impossible if you believe what Jeane Kirkpatrick said, and that 
freedom is universal; that we believe

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all human beings desire to live in freedom and peace.
    Over the past 5 years, we've made real progress toward the goal I 
just described. In 2001, Afghanistan was a totalitarian nightmare--a 
land where girls could not go to school, where religious police roamed 
the streets, where women were publicly whipped, where there were summary 
executions in the Kabul soccer stadium, and where the terrorists 
operated freely--they ran camps where they planned and trained for 
horrific attacks that affected us and other nations.
    Today, 5 short years later, the Taliban have been driven from power, 
Al Qaida has been driven from its camps, and Afghanistan is free. That's 
why I say, ``We have made remarkable progress.'' Afghanistan has a 
democratically elected President named Hamid Karzai. I respect him. I 
appreciate his courage. Afghanistan has a National Assembly chosen by 
the Afghan people in free elections.
    Under the Taliban, women were barred from public office. Today, 
Afghanistan's Parliament includes 91 women. President Karzai has 
appointed the first woman to serve as a Provincial Governor.
    Under the Taliban, free enterprise was stifled. Today, the Afghan 
economy has doubled in size since liberation. Afghanistan has attracted 
$800 million in foreign investment during that time.
    Under the Taliban, there were about 900,000 children in school. 
Today, more than 5 million children are in school--about 1.8 [million] * 
of them are girls.
    * White House correction.
    Under the Taliban, an estimated 8 percent of Afghans had access to 
basic health care. Today, the United States has built or renovated 681 
health clinics across the country. Now more than 80 percent of Afghans 
have access to basic health coverage--health care.
    Under the Taliban, Afghans fled the country in large numbers, 
seeking safety abroad. Today, more than 4.6 million Afghan refugees have 
come home, in one of the largest return movements in history.
    In today's Afghanistan, people are free to speak their minds, 
they're free to begin to realize dreams. In today's Afghanistan, there's 
a NATO Alliance that is taking the lead to help provide security for the 
people of Afghanistan. In today's Afghanistan, the terrorists who once 
oppressed the Afghan people and threatened our country are being 
captured and killed by NATO forces and soldiers and police of a free 
Afghanistan. Times have changed. Our work is bringing freedom. A free 
Afghanistan helps make this country more secure.
    We face a thinking enemy, and we face a tough enemy. They watch our 
actions; they adjust their tactics. And in 2006, this enemy struck back 
with vengeance. As freedom began to spread, an enemy that cannot stand 
the thought of a free society tried to do something about it, tried to 
stop the advance of this young democracy. It's not the only place in the 
world where the enemy struck back in 2006. They struck back in Iraq. 
They struck in Lebanon. This should be a lesson for our fellow citizens 
to understand--where these group of people find freedom, they're willing 
to resort to brutal tactics.
    It's an interesting enemy, isn't it--an enemy that can't stand the 
thought of somebody being able to live a peaceful life, a life of hope, 
an optimistic life. And it's an enemy we've got to take seriously.
    Across Afghanistan last year, the number of roadside bombs almost 
doubled, direct fire attacks on international forces almost tripled, and 
suicide bombings grew nearly fivefold. These escalating attacks were 
part of a Taliban offensive that made 2006 the most violent year in 
Afghanistan since the liberation of the country.
    And so the fundamental question is, how do you react? Do you say, 
``Maybe it's too tough? Let's just kind of let this young democracy 
wither and fade away.'' Do we forget the lessons of September the 11th? 
And the answer is, absolutely not.
    And so the Taliban offensive that was launched was turned back by 
incredible courage of the Afghan soldiers and by NATO forces that stood 
strong. You see, I believe the Taliban felt that they could exploit 
weakness. I believe that they said to themselves, ``If we can--we'll 
test NATO and cause NATO leaders to turn their back on this young 
democracy.'' After the fierce battles

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throughout the year 2006, the Taliban had failed in their objective of 
taking and holding new territory.
    In recent months, the intensity of the fighting has died down--
that's only natural. It does every year when the snow and ice set in 
there in Afghanistan. But even in these winter months, we stayed on the 
offense against the Taliban and Al Qaida. This January, NATO 
reconnaissance units observed a major Taliban incursion from Pakistan--
with about 150 Taliban fighters crossing the border into the Paktika 
Province. So NATO and Afghan forces launched a coordinated air assault 
and ground assault, and we destroyed the Taliban force. A large number 
of enemy fighters were killed; they were forced to retreat, where they 
were engaged by Pakistani troops.
    Just 2 weeks ago, NATO launched an air strike against Taliban 
fighters who had seized the town of Musa Qala in Helmand Province--a key 
Taliban commander was brought to justice.
    The snow is going to melt in the Hindu Kush Mountains, and when it 
does, we can expect fierce fighting to continue. The Taliban and Al 
Qaida are preparing to launch new attacks. Our strategy is not to be on 
the defense, but to go on the offense. This spring, there is going to be 
a new offensive in Afghanistan, and it's going to be a NATO offensive. 
And that's part of our strategy--relentless in our pressure. We will not 
give in to murderers and extremists.
    And we're focused on five key goals that I want to share with you. 
First, the United States and our allies will help President Karzai 
increase the size and capabilities of the Afghan security forces. After 
all, for this young democracy to survive in the long term, they'll have 
their own security forces that are capable and trained. We don't have to 
teach them courage. These folks understand courage. They're willing to 
fight for their country. They're willing to defend this young democracy. 
And so it's in our interest and the interest of NATO countries to 
provide training so they have more strong fighters--so we're going to 
increase the size of the national police from 61,000 to 82,000 by the 
end of 2008. And we'll help them develop new specialties: new civil 
order brigades; counternarcotics; and border surveillance.
    We're going to increase the Afghan Army. Today, it's 32,000--that's 
not enough to do the job in this vast country--to 70,000 by the end of 
2008. It's one thing to get them trained and one thing to get them 
uniforms, but they're also going to have to have ways to move around 
their country. So we're going to add Commando battalions, a helicopter 
unit, combat support units. In other words, we're going to help this 
young democracy have a fully integrated security force that will respond 
to the commands of the elected officials.
    Capable troops need intelligence. This is a war that requires good 
intelligence on all fronts. So the United States and our allies will 
work with Afghanistan's leaders to improve human intelligence networks, 
particularly in the areas that are threatened by the Taliban. Together 
with the Afghan Government and NATO, we created a Joint Intelligence 
Operations Center in Kabul--so all the forces fighting the terrorists in 
Afghanistan have a common picture of the enemy. That may sound simple to 
those of us who have gotten used to sophisticated systems to protect 
ourselves. This is important innovation in Afghanistan.
    America and our allies are going to stand with these folks. That's 
the message I want to deliver to the Afghanistan people today. Free 
debates are important, but our commitment is strong: We will train you; 
we will help you; and we will stand with you as you defend your new 
democracy.
    The second part of our strategy is to work with our allies to 
strengthen the NATO force in Afghanistan. Today, Afghanistan is NATO's 
most important military operation. Isn't it interesting that NATO is now 
in Afghanistan? I suspect 20 years ago, if a President stood in front of 
AEI and said, ``I'll make a prediction to you that NATO would be a force 
for freedom and peace outside of Europe,'' probably never would have 
invited the person back. [Laughter] Today, NATO is in Afghanistan. And I 
thank the leaders of the NATO countries for recognizing the importance 
of Afghanistan in our own security and enhancing the security of our own 
countries.

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    For NATO to succeed, member nations must provide commanders on the 
ground with the troops and the equipment they need to do their jobs. 
Many allies have made commitments of additional forces and support, and 
I appreciate those commitments, but not nearly as much as the people in 
Afghanistan appreciate them. Norway, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic 
have all agreed to send special operation forces to Afghanistan. 
Britain, Poland, Turkey, and Bulgaria have agreed to additional troops. 
Italy has agreed to send aircraft. Romania will contribute to the EU 
police mission. Denmark, Greece, Norway, and Slovakia will provide 
funding for Afghan security forces. Iceland will provide airlift. The 
people of Afghanistan need to know that they've got a lot of friends in 
this world who want them to succeed.
    For NATO to succeed, allies must make sure that we fill the security 
gaps. In other words, when there is a need, when our commanders on the 
ground say to our respective countries, ``We need additional help,'' our 
NATO countries must provide it in order to be successful in this 
mission.
    As well, allies must lift restrictions on the forces they do provide 
so NATO commanders have the flexibility they need to defeat the enemy 
wherever the enemy may make a stand. The alliance was founded on this 
principle: An attack on one is an attack on all. That principle holds 
true whether the attack is on the home soil of a NATO nation or on 
allied forces deployed on a NATO mission abroad. By standing together in 
Afghanistan, NATO forces protect our own people. And they must have the 
flexibility and rules of engagement to be able to do their job.
    Third, the United States and our allies will help President Karzai 
improve Provincial governance and develop Afghanistan's--and to help 
develop Afghanistan's rural economy. Many Afghans in remote regions 
fight with the Taliban simply because there are no other jobs available. 
The best way to dry up Taliban recruits is to help Afghanistan's 
Government create jobs and opportunity. So NATO is operating 25 
Provincial Reconstruction Teams across the country. These teams are made 
up of civilian and military experts. They are helping the Afghan 
Government extend its reach into distant regions; they're improving 
security; and they're helping to deliver reconstruction assistance. In 
other words, I just described military operations that are necessary, 
but in order for these young democracies to survive, there's got to be 
more than just military. There has to be political development and 
tangible evidence that a government can provide opportunity and hope. 
And these Provincial Reconstruction Teams do just that.
    These teams will help build irrigation systems, improve power 
production, provide access to microcredit. The idea is to encourage 
entrepreneurship, job formation, enterprise. These teams will undertake 
new efforts to train Provincial and local leaders. We take democracy for 
granted. Democracy hasn't exactly been rooted deeply in the Afghan 
history. It takes awhile for people to understand how to function as an 
elected official. It takes help for people to understand the obligations 
to respond to the people. And these teams will train Provincial and 
local leaders.
    Another key element to bringing stability to Afghanistan is building 
roads. Lieutenant General Eikenberry, who served with distinction in 
Afghanistan, just finished his tour; he was the senior commander there. 
He said, really, something very interesting that caught my attention, he 
said, ``Where the roads end in Afghanistan, the Taliban begin.'' And so 
in order to help the security of this country, the international 
community has stepped up its road-building campaign across Afghanistan. 
So far, the United States and other nations have completed construction 
of more than 4,000 miles of roads--that sounds like a lot, and it is a 
lot. We're also talking about a big country.
    Much of the ring road--we call it the ring road--that links 
Provincial capitals to Kabul is pretty well complete. And that's 
important, because, first of all, road building brings jobs to young men 
who might be recruited by the Taliban. But roads enable people to get 
commerce to centers of trade. In other words, roads promote enterprise. 
Enterprise provides hope. Hope is what defeats this ideology of 
darkness. And so we're going to build another 1,000 roads [1,000 miles 
of roads] * in 2007. It's an important effort, and

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our allies need to follow through on their commitments to help this 
young democracy have a road system that will enable it to flourish and 
survive.
    * White House correction.
    Fourth, the United States and our allies will help President Karzai 
reverse the increase in poppy cultivation that is aiding the Taliban. 
After a decline in 2005, Afghanistan saw a marked increase in poppy 
cultivation last year. This is a direct threat to a free future for 
Afghanistan. I have made my concerns to President Karzai pretty clear--
not pretty clear, very clear--and that in order for him to gain the 
confidence of his people and the confidence of the world, he's got to do 
something about it, with our help.
    The Taliban uses drug money to buy weapons--they benefit from this 
cultivation--and they pay Afghans to take up arms against the 
Government. And so we're helping the President in a variety of ways to 
deal with the problem. First, he has established what's called a Central 
Narcotics Tribunal in Kabul. One way to deal with the drug problem is 
for there to be a push back to the drug dealers, and a good way to push 
back on the drug dealers is, convict them and send them to prison. He 
has improved the Afghan Eradication Force--this is mobile units that can 
deploy across the country to help governors in their eradication 
efforts.
    We're supporting him. We're supporting him through direct aid on 
these mobile units, and we're supporting him to expand alternative 
livelihood programs. I mean, look, these poppy growers are trying to 
make a living. And the idea is to provide these farmers with credit and 
seeds and fertilizer and assistance to bring their products to market. 
So the strategy to eliminate poppies is to encourage the Government to 
eradicate and to provide alternative means for a livelihood and to help 
have the roads so that when somebody grows something somebody wants to 
buy in Kabul, there's a road to be able to take the product along to the 
markets.
    It's important, and we're going to stay focused on the poppy issue. 
And when the President and his Government is able to make progress on 
it, it will really inspire countries who want to help to do more.
    Finally, we're going to help President Karzai fight corruption. And 
one place where he needs help is in the judicial system. There's nothing 
more discouraging when justice is not fair. And Afghans too often see 
their courts run by crooked judges. It's important to have the 
confidence of the people in a free society. Crooked judges makes it hard 
to earn that confidence.
    And so we're--President Karzai, to his credit, has established a 
Criminal Justice Task Force that is now after public corruption. This 
task force has 400 prosecutors, [prosecutions] * and there are ongoing 
investigations. The United States, Britain, and Norway are providing 
full-time prosecutors, judges, police, and defense attorneys to mentor 
their Afghan counterparts, and I appreciate our own citizens going over 
there. Must be neat, really--I guess ``neat'' isn't a sophisticated 
word, but it must be heartening to be somebody who's helping this young 
democracy develop a judicial system that is worthy. And I cannot--thank 
our citizens for taking time out of their lives to go.
    * White House correction.
    The United States has built or renovated 40 judicial facilities; 
we've distributed more than 11,000 copies of the Afghan Constitution; 
we've trained more than 750 Afghan judges and lawyers and prosecutors. 
The United States and Italy have helped the Afghan Government establish 
a National Legal Training Center in Kabul. The international community 
is helping this new Government build a justice system so they can 
replace the rule of the Taliban with the rule of law.
    Now, there's another part of our strategy I want to share with you, 
and that is to help President Musharraf defeat the terrorists and 
extremists who operate inside of Pakistan. We're going to work with 
Pakistan and Afghanistan to enhance cooperation to defeat what I would 
call a common enemy. Taliban and Al Qaida fighters do hide in remote 
regions of Pakistan--this is wild country; this is wilder than the Wild 
West. And these folks hide and recruit and launch attacks.
    The President understands our desire to work with him to eliminate 
this kind of action. People say, ``Well, do you think President 
Musharraf really understands the threat of extremists in his midst?'' I 
said, ``Yes, I do.'' You know how I know? They've tried

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to kill him. Al Qaida has launched attacks against the President of this 
country. He understands. He also understands that extremists can 
destabilize countries on the border or destabilize countries from which 
they launch their attacks. And so he's launched what they call a 
frontier strategy, and that is to find and eliminate the extremists and 
deliver better governance and economic opportunity.
    We're helping him in these efforts. It's in our interest to help 
him. We provided him--we've helped him equip his security forces that 
are patrolling the border regions with Afghanistan. We're funding 
construction of more than 100 border outposts, which will provide their 
forces with better access to remote regions of this part of the country. 
We've given him high-tech equipment to help the Pakistani forces locate 
the terrorists attempting to cross the border. We're funding an air 
wing, with helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, to give Pakistan better 
security, better swift response, and better surveillance.
    President Musharraf is going to better be able to now deal with this 
problem. Bob Gates went out and visited with him recently--had a good 
response. He's an ally in this war on terror, and it's in our interest 
to support him in fighting the extremists.
    I also had an interesting meeting at the White House last 
September--and that is, I hosted a private dinner with President 
Musharraf and President Karzai, right there in what's called the Family 
Dining Room. It was a fascinating discussion. Clearly there are 
different histories and different anxieties about the way forward. We 
did reach some agreements, however--that it's in all our interests for 
people to work together, for example, to improve intelligence sharing. 
It's in our interest to expand trade between these two countries. In 
other words, on the one hand, it's in our interest to work closely on 
security for security operations, but it's also in our mutual interest--
all three of our interests--to provide different alternatives for people 
to choose from.
    Remember, I said earlier that oftentimes, people support the 
Taliban--or sometimes, they support the Taliban in Afghanistan because 
it's the only job they can find. If that's the case--and I believe it's 
true--we need to help these folks provide an economy that gives hope. 
And so one way we can do this is what we call reconstruction opportunity 
zones that exist on both sides of the Pak and Afghan border. These zones 
will give residents the chance to export locally made products to the 
United States, duty free. That's our contribution. Got a vast market, 
wealthy country with a lot of consumers, and it's not going to take much 
to provide hope if we can get little manufacturing enterprises set up, 
local entrepreneurs to be able to manufacture goods and sell them here 
in our country. It's a tiny contribution for us and a major contribution 
for providing the conditions necessary for stability.
    Well, I'm going to continue to work with both the leaders. It's a 
useful role for the President of the United States to be in constant 
contact with both Presidents, to remind them of the great obligations we 
have to fight the extremists and to help people realize dreams.
    So our strategy in this country is robust and important. A lot of 
attention here in the United States is on Iraq. One reason I've come to 
address you is, I want to make sure people's attention is also on 
Afghanistan. I'm asking Congress for $11.8 billion over the next 2 years 
to help this young democracy survive. I've ordered an increase in U.S. 
forces in Afghanistan. We've extended the stay of 3,200 troops now in 
the country, for 4 months, and we'll deploy a replacement force that 
will sustain this increase for the foreseeable future.
    These forces and funds are going to help President Karzai defeat 
common enemies. Success in Afghanistan is important for our security. We 
are engaged in a long ideological struggle between the forces of 
moderation and liberty versus the forces of destruction and extremism. 
And a victory for the forces of liberty in Afghanistan will be a 
resounding defeat in this ideological struggle. It's in our national 
interest that we succeed, that we help President Karzai and the people 
of Afghanistan succeed. And I'm confident--I'm confident that with 
persistence and patience and determination, we will succeed.
    And the biggest source for success is the Afghan people themselves. 
They want their

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freedom. Freedom is universal. Jeane Kirkpatrick was right--people 
around the world, regardless of their faith, their background, or their 
gender, want to be free. There is tangible evidence in Afghanistan: 8 
million people went to the polls to choose their President in a free 
election. We take it for granted. But eight million people said, ``We 
want to be free.'' Imagine how far that society has come from the days 
of the Taliban. There's courage in that country. People are showing 
faith in freedom and courage to defend that freedom.
    I want to tell you an interesting story about an Afghan security 
officer at Camp Phoenix near Kabul. This fellow has worked at this base 
for 4 years--nearly 4 years. His job was to guard the front gate and 
screen cars before they are allowed to approach a U.S. military 
checkpoint. He is very popular with our troops--people who have gotten 
to know him like him a lot. They appreciate his courage and his 
personality, and they call him ``Rambo.'' [Laughter] Must have been a 
lot for the Afghan citizen to be called ``Rambo,'' but that's what they 
call him.
    One day Rambo was on duty, a car loaded with explosives tried to 
crash through the front gate--they were attempting to get to our troops. 
This fellow did not hesitate; he jumped in the car, and he prevented the 
terrorist from exploding the device. He saw somebody who was about to 
harm our citizens, our troops--he then jumps into the car and stops the 
attack. A U.S. Army sergeant then responded, helped him pull the guy out 
of the car.
    One of our U.S. soldiers who was there said this, he said, ``He 
saved our lives. I promised him I'd name my first-born son after him.'' 
The guy is hoping for a boy. [Laughter]
    It's a human story. It's a story that speaks of courage and 
alliance, respect for life. To me, it's a story that says, these people 
in Afghanistan want to do what is necessary to survive and succeed, and 
it's in our interest to help them.
    I am really proud that our Nation helped liberate the 25 million 
people of that country. We should be proud to stand alongside the people 
of Afghanistan, the newly liberated Afghanistan. And I know we're all 
proud of the men and women who have helped liberate that country--the 
men and women who wear our uniform who helped liberate that country and 
continue to make the sacrifices necessary.
    I thank you for giving me a chance to come and talk about a strategy 
for success, a strategy that is part of our efforts to make sure that a 
generation of Americans, beyond our generation, will look back and say, 
``They did their duty to protect the homeland, and as a result, we can 
live in peace.''
    God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 10:05 a.m. at the Mayflower Hotel. In his 
remarks, he referred to Christopher DeMuth, president, American 
Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research; Gen. David H. Petraeus, 
USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--Iraq; Prime Minister Nuri 
al-Maliki of Iraq; Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, USA, commander, Combined 
Forces Command--Afghanistan; President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan; 
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates; and Jamal ``Rambo'' Udin, Afghan 
security officer. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a 
Spanish language transcript of these remarks.