[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 21 (Monday, May 28, 2007)]
[Pages 665-670]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Commencement Address at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New 
London, Connecticut

May 23, 2007

    The President. Thank you all. Admiral Allen, thank you for that kind 
introduction. Admiral Burhoe, congratulations on your promotion. Academy 
staff and faculty, Congressman Chris Shays, State and local officials, 
distinguished guests, proud families, and, most importantly, members of 
the class of 2007: Thanks for having me.
    It's a privilege to stand with the future leaders of the United 
States Coast Guard. Before you receive your degrees today, I want to 
make sure that you have learned your indoc. What is the Coast Guard?
    Cadets. Mr. President, the Coast Guard is the hard nucleus about 
which the Navy forms in times of war, sir!
    The President. I probably shouldn't relay that to the Secretary of 
the Navy. [Laughter]
    I see a few ``RCF Warriors'' out there. Some of you earned demerits 
for failing to correct your storage; others got caught crawling under 
the fence on your way to Connecticut College. [Laughter] However you got 
bagged, help has arrived. [Laughter] In keeping with longstanding 
tradition, I hereby absolve all cadets who are on restriction for minor 
conduct offenses. I'll leave it to Admiral Burhoe to define exactly what 
``minor'' means. [Laughter]
    More than 6,000 young Americans applied to join the Coast Guard 
Academy class of 2007, and today just 228 will walk across this stage to 
receive your diploma and commission. You're a select few, and each of 
you worked really hard to get to this moment: survived R-Day, Swab 
Summer, and Friday morning drill practice with a kind and gentle soul, 
Chief Dillmann. [Laughter] You learned to brace up, do orderlies, square 
meals, and eat ``hamsters'' with your eyes in the boat. You arrived on 
this campus as swabs, and today you will leave as proud officers of the 
United States Coast Guard. Your teachers are proud; your parents are 
thrilled; and your Commander in Chief is grateful for your devotion to 
duty. Congratulations to you all.
    You didn't make it to this day on your own. Many of you had the help 
of a special faculty member who mentored you along the way. Others made 
it only through as a result of the intervention of one man, Hopley 
Yeaton. He's the patron saint of the Square Root Club. For moms and 
dads, the Square Root Club is an association of students whose GPA is so 
low that when you take its square root, it grows larger. [Laughter] 
Unfortunately, they didn't have that club where I went to college--
[laughter]. Perhaps you'll make me an honorary member. [Laughter]
    Whether you're graduating today at the top of your class or by the 
skin of your teeth, your presence on this field is a tremendous 
accomplishment. And it would not have been possible without the support 
of the families who believed in you and encouraged you. So I ask all the 
parents and loved ones here today to stand and be recognized by the 
class of 2007.
    The degree you've earned will command respect wherever you go, and 
you will carry the lessons you learned here for the rest of your lives. 
This Academy has tested your minds, your bodies, and your character, and 
having passed these trials, you now embark on a voyage as officers in 
the oldest continuous Marine time--maritime service.
    The history of the Coast Guard dates back more than two centuries to 
the Revenue Cutter Service, established under the Presidency of George 
Washington, or as I call him, the first George W. [Laughter] Since its 
inception, the Coast Guard has conducted search and rescue missions, 
enforced our maritime laws, protected our marine environment, come to 
the aid of stranded boaters, and helped staunch the flow of illegal 
drugs and illegal migrants to our shores. And in this new century, the 
Coast Guard continues to carry out these vital missions.
    Americans rely on the Coast Guard in times of disaster. When 
Hurricane Katrina hit our Nation's gulf coast, the men and women of the 
Coast Guard swung into action, hanging from helicopters, pulling people 
off rooftops and out of trees, and rescuing more than 33,000 people. 
When storms and floods and tragedy strike, Americans know that they can 
count on the United States Coast Guard.

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    Americans relied on the Coast Guard on September the 11th, 2001. 
After terrorists struck the Twin Towers, the Coast Guard station on 
Staten Island put out a call for all available boats and organized a 
massive flotilla of military and civilian craft that evacuated hundreds 
of thousands of people from lower Manhattan. It was the largest 
waterborne evacuation in our Nation's history. And in the days that 
followed, the men and women of the Coast Guard stayed on the job, 
assisting operations at Ground Zero, sending chaplains to comfort the 
bereaved, and coordinating a round-the-clock defense of New York Harbor 
and other vital ports. In a time of crisis, the Coast Guard did its job 
and did it well.
    On September the 11th, the homefront you protect became a 
battlefront in a new and unprecedented war. That day, our Nation changed 
forever and so did the mission of the United States Coast Guard. This 
service assumed new and essential responsibilities: to defend our Nation 
against terrorist infiltration and to help stop new attacks before they 
kill our people.
    As part of Operation Noble Eagle, the men and women of the Coast 
Guard are protecting more than 360 ports and more than 95,000 miles of 
coastline. Overseas, the Coast Guard is conducting maritime intercept 
operations in the Persian Gulf, patrolling the waters off Guantanamo 
Bay, Cuba. The men and women of the Coast Guard are serving with 
courage, and the American people are grateful to live behind your Shield 
of Freedom.
    Soon you'll join your fellow Coasties in carrying out these and 
other missions, and this Academy has prepared you well for the new 
challenges you will face in this war on terror. During your time here, 
you've taken courses in terrorist tactics and counterterrorism 
strategies; you've studied radiation detection, remote sensing, and the 
handling of hazardous materials; you participated in military exercises 
that have prepared you for the threats of this new century.
    You'll need all this training to help keep your fellow citizens 
safe. In this war, we face a brutal enemy that has already killed 
thousands in our midst and is determined to bring even greater 
destruction to our shores. We're blessed that there has not been another 
terrorist attack on our homeland in the past 5\1/2\ years. This is not 
for lack of effort on the part of the enemy. Since 9/11, Al Qaida and 
its allies have succeeded in carrying out horrific attacks across the 
world; Al Qaida leaders have repeatedly made clear they intend to strike 
our country again.
    In January of last year, Usama bin Laden warned the American people, 
quote, ``Operations are under preparation, and you will see them on your 
own ground once they are finished,'' end quote. Seven months later, 
British authorities broke up the most ambitious known Al Qaida threat to 
the homeland since the 9/11 attacks, a plot to blow up passenger 
airplanes flying to America. Our intelligence community believes that 
this plot was just 2 or 3 weeks away from execution. If it had been 
carried out, it could have rivaled 9/11 in death and destruction.
    This was not the first Al Qaida plot that has been foiled since 9/
11. In December 2001, we captured an Al Qaida operative named Ali Salih 
al-Mari. Our intelligence community believes that Ali Salih was training 
in poisons at an Al Qaida camp in Afghanistan and had been sent to the 
United States before September the 11th to serve as a sleeper agent 
ready for follow-on attacks. He was ordered to our country by 9/11 
mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, who is now in U.S. custody. Our 
intelligence community believes that KSM brought Ali Salih to meet Usama 
bin Laden, where he pledged his loyalty to the Al Qaida leader and 
offered himself up as a martyr. Among the potential targets our 
intelligence community believes this Al Qaida operative discussed with 
KSM were water reservoirs, the New York Stock Exchange, and United 
States military academies such as this one.
    We also broke up two other post-9/11 aviation plots. The first, in 
2002, was a plot by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad to repeat the destruction of 
9/11 by sending operatives to hijack an airplane and fly into the 
tallest building on the west coast. During a hearing at Guantanamo Bay 
just 2 months ago, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad stated that the intended 
target was the Library Tower in Los Angeles. And in 2003, we uncovered 
and stopped a plot led by another suspected senior Al Qaida

[[Page 667]]

operative named Abu Bakr al-Azdi. Our intelligence community believes 
this plot was to be another east coast aviation attack, including 
multiple airplanes that had been hijacked and then crashing into targets 
into the United States.
    There is a reason that these and other plots have thus far not 
succeeded. Since September the 11th, we have taken bold action at home 
and abroad to keep our people safe.
    To help stop new attacks on our country, we have undertaken the most 
sweeping reorganization of the Federal Government since the start of the 
cold war. We created the new Department of Homeland Security, merging 22 
different Government organizations, including the Coast Guard, into a 
single Department with a clear mission: to protect America from future 
attacks.
    To stop new attacks on our country, we've strengthened our Nation's 
intelligence community. We created the position of the Director of 
National Intelligence to ensure our intelligence agencies operate as a 
single, unified enterprise. We created the National Counterterrorism 
Center, where the FBI, the CIA, and other agencies work side by side to 
track terrorist threats across the world. We directed the National 
Security Agency to monitor international terrorist communications. We 
established a program run by the CIA to detain and question key 
terrorist leaders and operatives. These measures are vital; these 
measures are working; and these measures have helped prevent an attack 
on our homeland.
    To help stop new attacks on our country, we passed the PATRIOT Act, 
breaking down the walls that had prevented Federal law enforcement and 
intelligence communities from sharing information about potential 
terrorist activities. We've transformed the FBI into an agency whose 
primary focus is stopping terrorist attacks. We've expanded the number 
of FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces from 35 before 9/11 to more than 100 
today. And we saw their effectiveness recently when one of these teams 
helped disrupt a plot by a group of Al Qaida-inspired extremists to kill 
American soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
    To help stop new attacks on our country, we launched the BioWatch 
program, placing state-of-the-art equipment in major U.S. cities to 
detect biological agents. To help prevent terrorists from bringing 
nuclear or radiological weapons into our county, we're placing radiation 
detectors in all major U.S. ports. We placed advanced screening 
equipment and U.S. Homeland Security personnel at foreign ports, so we 
can prescreen cargo headed for America. We're determined to stop the 
world's most dangerous men from striking America with the world's most 
dangerous weapons. And the Coast Guard is on the frontline of this 
battle.
    To help stop new attacks on our country, we've strengthened 
international cooperation in the fight against terror. A coalition of 
more than 90 nations--nearly one-half of the world--is working together 
to dry up terrorist financing and bring terrorist leaders to justice. We 
launched the Proliferation Security Initiative, a vast coalition of 
nations that are working to stop shipments of weapons of mass 
destruction on land, at sea, and in the air. With our allies, we have 
uncovered and shut down the A.Q. Khan network, which had supplied 
nuclear-related equipment and plans to terrorist states, including Iran 
and North Korea. With Great Britain, we convinced the leader of Libya to 
abandon his country's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. The key 
components of Libya's nuclear program are now locked up in a storage 
facility right here in the United States. And today the world is safer 
because Libya is out of the nuclear weapons business.
    All these steps are making our country safer, but we're not yet 
safe. To strike our country, the terrorists only have to be right once; 
to protect our country, we have to be right 100 percent of the time. 
That means the best way to protect our people is to take the fight to 
the enemy. So after 9/11, I vowed to America that we would go on the 
offense against the terrorists, fighting them across the world so we do 
not have to face them here at home. And since 9/11, that is precisely 
what that United States of America has done.
    In Afghanistan, we removed a regime that gave sanctuary and support 
to Al Qaida as they planned the 9/11 attacks. Today, because we acted, 
the terrorist camps in Afghanistan have been shut down, 25 million

[[Page 668]]

people have been liberated, and the Afghan people have an elected 
Government that is fighting terrorists, instead of harboring them.
    The Taliban and Al Qaida are seeking to roll back Afghanistan's 
democratic progress, but forces from 40 nations, including every member 
of NATO, are helping the Afghan people defend their democratic gains. 
Earlier this month, Afghan, American, and NATO forces tracked down and 
killed a top Taliban commander in Afghanistan. His death has sent a 
clear message to all who would challenge Afghanistan's young democracy: 
We drove Al Qaida and the Taliban out of power, and they're not going to 
be allowed to return to power.
    In Iraq, we removed a cruel dictator who harbored terrorists, paid 
the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, invaded his neighbors, 
defied the United Nations Security Council, pursued and used weapons of 
mass destruction. Iraq, the United States, and the world are better off 
without Saddam Hussein in power.
    And today, the Iraqi people are building a young democracy on the 
rubble of Saddam Hussein's tyranny. In December 2005, nearly 12 million 
Iraqis demonstrated their desire to be free, going to the polls and 
choosing a new Government under the most progressive, democratic 
Constitution in the Arab world.
    In 2006, a thinking enemy responded to this progress and struck back 
with brutality. They staged sensational attacks that led to a tragic 
escalation of sectarian rage and reprisal. If the sectarian violence 
continued to spiral out of control, the Iraqi Government would have been 
in danger of collapse. The ensuing chaos would embolden Iran, which is 
fueling the violence, and Al Qaida, a key driver of Iraq's sectarian 
conflict. The chaos could eventually spread across the Middle East, and 
generations of Americans would be in even greater danger.
    So I had a choice to make: withdraw our troops, or send 
reinforcements to help the Iraqis quell the sectarian violence. I 
decided to send more troops with a new mission: to help the Iraqi 
Government secure their population and get control of their capital 
city.
    As we carry out the new strategy, the Iraqi Government has a lot of 
work to do. They must meet its responsibility to the Iraqi people and 
achieve benchmarks it has set, including adoption of a national oil law, 
preparations for Provincial elections, progress on a new de-
Ba'athification policy, and a review of the Iraqi Constitution. The 
Iraqi people must see that their Government is taking action to bring 
their country together and give all of Iraq's a stake in a peaceful 
future.
    Now, in 2007, we are at a pivotal moment in this battle. There are 
many destructive forces in Iraq trying to stop this strategy from 
succeeding; the most destructive is Al Qaida. Al Qaida knows that a 
democratic Iraq is a threat to their ambitions to impose their hateful 
ideology across the Middle East. And Al Qaida knows that our presence in 
Iraq is a direct threat to their existence in Iraq. Our security depends 
on helping the Iraqis succeed and defeating Iraq--Al Qaida in Iraq.
    Some in our country question whether the battle in Iraq is part of 
the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there's no doubt. Hear the 
words of Usama bin Laden. He calls the struggle in Iraq a ``war of 
destiny.'' He proclaimed, ``The war is for you or for us to win. If we 
win it, it means your defeat and disgrace forever.''
    Bin Laden is matching his words with action. He attempted to send a 
new commander to Iraq, an Iraqi-born terrorist named Abd al-Hadi al-
Iraqi. According to our intelligence community, this terrorist had been 
a senior adviser to bin Laden; he served as his top commander in 
Afghanistan; he was responsible for all Al Qaida's military operations 
against our coalition in that country. Abd al-Hadi never made it to 
Iraq. He was captured last year. He was recently transferred to the U.S. 
Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay.
    There is a reason that bin Laden sent one of his most experienced 
paramilitary leaders to Iraq. He believes that if Al Qaida can drive us 
out, they can establish Iraq as a new terrorist sanctuary. Our 
intelligence community believes that Al Qaida leaders see victory in 
Iraq--the heart of the caliphate and currently the most active front in 
their war--as a religious and strategic imperative. If Al Qaida succeeds 
in Iraq, they would pursue their stated goals of turning that nation 
into

[[Page 669]]

a base from which to overthrow moderate governments in the region, 
impose their hateful ideology on millions, and launch new attacks on 
America and other nations. Victory in Iraq is important for Usama bin 
Laden, and victory in Iraq is vital for the United States of America.
    I've often warned that if we fail in Iraq, the enemy will follow us 
home. Many ask, ``How do you know?'' Today I'd like to share some 
information with you that attests to Al Qaida's intentions. According to 
our intelligence community, in January 2005, Usama bin Laden tasked the 
terrorist Zarqawi, who was then Al Qaida's top leader in Iraq, with 
forming a cell to conduct terrorist attacks outside of Iraq. Bin Laden 
emphasized that America should be Zarqawi's number-one priority in terms 
of foreign attacks. Zarqawi welcomed this direction. He claimed that he 
had already come up with some good proposals.
    To help Zarqawi in these efforts, our intelligence community reports 
that bin Laden then tasked one of his top terrorist operatives, Hamza 
Rabia, to send Zarqawi a briefing on Al Qaida's external operations, 
including information about operations against the American homeland. 
Our intelligence community reports that a senior Al Qaida leader, Abu 
Faraj al-Libi, went further and suggested that bin Laden actually send 
Rabia himself to Iraq to help plan external operations. Abu Faraj later 
speculated that if this effort proved successful, Al Qaida might one day 
prepare the majority of its external operations from Iraq.
    In May of 2005, Abu Faraj was captured and taken into CIA custody. 
Several months later, in December 2005, Rabia was killed in Pakistan. 
Several months after that, in June of 2006, the terrorist Zarqawi was 
killed by American forces in Iraq. Successes like these are blows to Al 
Qaida. They're a testament to steps we have taken to strengthen our 
intelligence, work closely with partners overseas, and keep the pressure 
on the enemy by staying on the offense.
    Despite our pressure, despite the setbacks that Al Qaida has 
suffered, it remains extremely dangerous. As we've surged our forces in 
Iraq, Al Qaida has responded with a surge of its own. The terrorists' 
goal in Iraq is to reignite sectarian violence and break support for the 
war here at home. And they believe they're succeeding. A few weeks ago, 
Al Qaida's number two, second in command, Zawahiri, issued a video in 
which he gloated that Al Qaida's ``movement of violence has forced the 
Americans to accept a pullout, about which they only differ in regard to 
its timing.'' We can expect Al Qaida to continue its campaign of high-
profile attacks, including deadly suicide bombings and assassinations. 
And as they do, our troops will face more fighting and increased risks 
in the weeks and months ahead.
    The fight in Iraq is tough, but my point today to you is, the fight 
is essential to our security. Al Qaida's leaders inside and outside of 
Iraq have not given up on their objective of attacking America again.
    Now, many critics compare the battle in Iraq to the situation we 
faced in Vietnam. There are many differences between the two conflicts, 
but one stands out above all: The enemy in Vietnam had neither the 
intent nor the capability to strike our homeland; the enemy in Iraq 
does. Nine-Eleven taught us that to protect the American people, we must 
fight the terrorists where they live so that we don't have to fight them 
where we live.
    The question for our elected leaders is, do we comprehend the danger 
of an Al Qaida victory in Iraq, and will we do what it takes to stop 
them? However difficult the fight in Iraq has become, we must win it. Al 
Qaida is public enemy number one for Iraq's young democracy. Al Qaida is 
public enemy number one for America as well. And that is why we must 
support our troops; we must support the Iraqi Government; and we must 
defeat Al Qaida in Iraq.
    We're thankful to the military, the intelligence, and law 
enforcement personnel who work tirelessly to stop new attacks on our 
country. With every plot they foil, every terrorist they capture, we 
learn more about the enemy's plans and persistence. In the minds of Al 
Qaida leaders, 9/11 was just a downpayment on violence yet to come. It's 
tempting to believe that the calm here at home after September the 11th 
means that the danger to our country has passed. I see the intelligence 
every day. The danger has not passed. Here in America, we're living in 
the eye of

[[Page 670]]

a storm. All around us, dangerous winds are swirling, and these winds 
could reach our shores at any moment.
    The men and women of the Coast Guard know how to navigate the storm. 
We're counting on you to help America weather the challenges that lie 
ahead. As you begin your Coast Guard careers, you can approach the 
future with confidence because our Nation has faced dangerous enemies 
before and emerged victorious every time. Terrorists can try to kill the 
innocent, but they cannot kill the desire for liberty that burns in the 
hearts of millions across the Earth. The power of freedom defeated the 
ideologies of fascism and communism in the last century, and freedom 
will defeat the hateful ideologies of the terrorists in this century.
    Victory in this struggle will require valor and determination and 
persistence, and these qualities can be found in abundance in the class 
of 2007. Your class has chosen a motto: Let Courage Part the Seas. 
America will be counting on your courage in the years to come. You will 
take your oath as Coast Guard officers in a time of war, knowing all the 
risks your service entails. I thank each of you for your bold decision 
to wear the uniform. My call to you is this: Trust in the power of 
freedom to overcome tyranny and terror; show leadership in freedom's 
defense and character in all you do; be ready for anything.
    The Coasties who came before you never thought that they would be 
organizing a flotilla in New York Harbor or patrolling distant coasts in 
the Persian Gulf. Like them, you will serve in ways you cannot imagine 
today. But if you bring the skills and creativity you learned at this 
Academy to every task, our Nation's security will be in good hands.
    You leave this Academy strong and resolved to be worthy of the 
traditions of commissioned officers in the United States Coast Guard. I 
respect your passion for service and the courage of your choice. Your 
country is grateful and proud of each of you. Congratulations. God 
bless. Semper Paratus.

Note: The President spoke at 11:41 a.m. in the Alumni Building. In his 
remarks, he referred to Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe, USCG, superintendent, 
and Chief Petty Officer Karl Dillmann, USCG, Delta Company Chief, U.S. 
Coast Guard Academy; A.Q. Khan, former head of Pakistan's nuclear 
weapons program; and Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi, leader of 
Libya.