[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 29 (Monday, July 28, 2008)]
[Pages 1019-1023]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the President's Freedom Agenda

July 24, 2008

    Thank you all. Please be seated. Henrietta, thank you for the kind 
introduction. I am honored to join you all today to express America's 
solidarity with those who yearn for liberty around the world.
    Captive Nations Week was first observed in 1959, at a time when 
Soviet communism seemed ascendant. Few people at that first gathering 
could have envisioned then what the--that the cold war would end the way 
it did, with the triumph of the shipyard workers in Poland, a Velvet 
Revolution in Prague, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the peaceful 
collapse of the Soviet Union. Captive Nation Week is a chance for us to 
reflect on that remarkable history, and to honor the brave dissidents 
and democracy activists who helped secure freedom's victory in the great 
ideological struggle of the 20th century.
    Captive Nation Week is also a chance to reflect on the challenges we 
face in the 21st century: the challenge of the new ideological struggle 
against violent extremism. In this struggle, we can go forward with 
confidence. Free nations have faced determined enemies before and have 
prevailed, and we will prevail again.
    I appreciate your leadership of USAID, Henrietta, and I want to 
thank all those who work for this very important agency. I appreciate 
you being on the frontlines of compassion and decency and liberty.
    I'm honored to be here with the Secretary of Commerce, Carlos 
Gutierrez. The Cuban dissidents have no better friend than Carlos 
Gutierrez. Think about America: Carlos was raised--born in Cuba. Today 
he sits in the

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Cabinet of the President of the United States. I love what our country 
represents. And Carlos, I thank you for serving.
    I'm proud to be here with Ambassador John Negroponte; he's the 
Deputy Secretary of the Department of State. Deputy Secretary of Defense 
Gordon England is with us. Ambassador Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS 
Coordinator; thanks for coming, Mark. Other members of the 
administration--a lot of members from the diplomatic corps; thank you 
for coming. I'm proud to be in your presence.
    I believe America's a hope for the world because we are a nation 
that stands strongly for freedom. We believe that every man, woman, and 
child is given the gift of liberty by our Creator. That's a fundamental 
belief of the United States. This cherished belief has guided our 
leaders from America's earliest days.
    We see this belief in George Washington's assertion that freedom's 
cause, as he put it--the cause is the cause of mankind.
    We see it in Lincoln's summoning of the spirit which prizes liberty 
as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere.
    We see it in Wilson's pledge to make the world safe for democracy in 
World War I, and FDR's determination to make America the arsenal of 
democracy in World War II.
    We see it in Kennedy's promise to pay any price to assure the 
survival and success of liberty, and Ronald Reagan's call to move toward 
a world in which all people are at last free to determine their own 
destiny.
    Over the years, different Presidents, from different eras and 
different political parties, have acted to defend and advance the cause 
of liberty. These actions included bold policies such as the Lend-Lease 
Act, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, the creation of NATO and the 
Voice of America, support for freedom fighters in Central America, and 
the liberation of Grenada and Panama. And because we were steadfast in 
liberty's defense, the cause of freedom prevailed.
    At the dawn of a new century, our belief in the universality of 
freedom is being challenged once again. We saw the challenge on 
September the 11th, 2001. On that day terrorists, harbored by a 
tyrannical regime thousands of miles from America, brought death and 
destruction to our shores. We learned important lessons: To protect 
America, we must fight the enemy abroad so we don't have to face them 
here. And to protect America, we must defeat the ideology of hatred by 
spreading the hope of freedom.
    For the past 7 years, this is exactly what we've done. Since 9/11, 
we recognized that we're at war, and we must stop new attacks before 
they happen, not wait until after they happen. So we're going after--
giving our intelligence and law enforcement and homeland security 
professionals the tools they need to stop the terrorists before they 
strike again. We're transforming our military to meet the threats of a 
new century. We're putting pressure on the enemy. We've captured or 
killed thousands of terrorists, including most of those responsible for 
the September the 11th attacks. We've removed regimes in Afghanistan and 
Iraq that threatened our citizens and the peace in the world. And now, 
we're helping the people of those two nations fight the terrorists who 
want to establish new safe havens from which to launch attacks on 
America and our friends.
    In the long run, though, the best way to defeat the terrorists is to 
offer a hopeful alternative to their murderous ideology, and that 
alternative is based on human liberty.
    We've seen a hopeful beginning for the cause of liberty at the start 
of the 21st century. Over the last 7 years, we've seen the citizens in 
Afghanistan and Iraq emerge from tyranny to establish representative 
Governments. We've seen citizens in Georgia and Ukraine stand up for 
their right to free and fair elections. We've seen people in Lebanon 
take to the streets to demand their independence. We've seen strides 
toward democracy taken by nations such as Kuwait and Liberia, Mauritania 
and Morocco, and Pakistan.
    It's in our national interest to continue liberty's advance, because 
we know from history that the advance of freedom is necessary for our 
security and for world peace. Just think about World War II. During that 
conflict, Japan and Germany were enemies of America who invaded their 
neighbors and destabilized the world. And today, Japan and Germany are 
strong democracies and good friends and strong allies in the cause of 
peace.

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    During the cold war, the nations of Central and Eastern Europe were 
part of the Warsaw Pact alliance that was poised to attack Western 
Europe. Today, most of those nations are members of the NATO alliance, 
who are using their freedom to aid the rise of other young democracies. 
In these experiences, we have seen the transformative power of freedom. 
We've seen that free societies don't harbor terrorists or launch 
unprovoked attacks on their neighbors. Free societies are peaceful 
societies, and that is why the United States of America must continue to 
cause--to lead the cause of freedom.
    Over the past 7 years, we've learned that leading the cause of 
freedom requires combating hopelessness in struggling nations. Combating 
hopelessness is in America's security interests, because the only way 
our enemies can recruit people to their dark ideology is to exploit 
distress and despair. Combating hopelessness is in our moral interests. 
Americans believe that to whom much is given, much is required. So the 
challenge for America in the years ahead is to continue to help people 
in struggling nations achieve freedom from corruption, freedom from 
disease, freedom from poverty, freedom from hunger, and freedom from 
tyranny.
    In the years ahead, America must continue to use our foreign 
assistance to promote democracy and good government. Increased aid alone 
will not help nations overcome institutional challenges that hold entire 
societies back. To be effective, our aid must be targeted to encourage 
the development of free and accountable institutions.
    In the past 7 years, we've more than doubled the Federal budget for 
democracy and governance and human rights programs. We've increased the 
budget for the National Endowment of Democracy more--by more than 150 
percent since 2001. We've transformed the way we deliver aid by creating 
the Millennium Challenge Account, which is a new approach to foreign 
assistance, which offers support to developing nations that fight 
corruption, and govern justly, and open their economies, and invest in 
the health and education of their people. The challenge for future 
Presidents and future Congresses will be to ensure that America's 
generosity remains tied to the promotion of transparency and 
accountability and prosperity.
    In the years ahead, America must continue to promote free trade and 
open investment. Over the long term, trade and investment are the best 
ways to fight poverty and build strong and prosperous societies. Over 
the past 7 years, we expanded the African Growth and Opportunity Act, 
which is spreading prosperity by dramatically increasing trade between 
the United States and Africa; implemented free trade agreements with 11 
countries, creating hope and opportunity for both our citizens and the 
citizens of these nations. We're striving to make this the year that the 
world completes an ambitious Doha trade agreement; will open up new 
markets for Americans' goods and services and help alleviate poverty 
around the world. The challenge for future Presidents and future 
Congresses is to reject the false temptation of protectionism and keep 
the world open for trade.
    In the years ahead, America must continue to fight against disease. 
Nations afflicted with debilitating public health crises cannot build 
strong and prosperous societies for their citizens. America's helping 
these nations replace disease and despair with healing and hope. We're 
working in 15 African nations to cut the number of malaria-related 
deaths in half. Our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, is 
supporting the treatment of more than 1.7 million people. And Congress 
will soon pass legislation to significantly expand this vital 
initiative. We're expanding our efforts to train health workers for the 
poorest countries, to treat key neglected tropical diseases such as 
river blindness and hookworm. The challenge for future Presidents and 
future Congresses will be to continue this commitment, so that we can 
lift the shadow of malaria and HIV/AIDS and other diseases once and for 
all.
    In the years ahead, America must continue to lead the fight against 
global hunger. Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug once said: ``You can't 
build peace on empty stomachs.'' Americans are answering the call to 
feed the hungry. This year, the United States has provided more than 
$1.8 billion in new funds to bolster global food security. We're the 
world's largest provider of food aid. But I

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strongly believe we must transform the way that our food aid is 
delivered. One innovative proposal is to purchase up to 25 percent of 
our food assistance directly from farmers in developing nations. This 
would help build up local agriculture; it will help break the cycle of 
famine. And I ask the United States Congress to approve this measure as 
soon as possible. The challenge for future Presidents and future 
Congresses will be to find still other innovative ways to alleviate 
hunger while promoting greater self-reliance in developing nations.
    In the years ahead, America must continue to lead the cause of human 
rights. The Soviet dissident Andrei Amalrik once compared a tyrannical 
state to a soldier who holds a rifle on his enemy, until his arms 
finally tire and the prisoner escapes. It's important we never 
strengthen the arms. The role of free nations like ours is to put 
pressure on the arms of the world's tyrants and strengthen the prisoners 
who are striving for their liberty.
    For the past 7 years, we've spoken out against human rights abuses 
by tyrannical regimes like those in Iran, Sudan, and Syria and Zimbabwe. 
We've spoken candidly about human rights with nations with whom we've 
got good relations, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia and China. In keeping 
with this commitment, today I renew my call for the release of all 
prisoners of conscience around the world, including Ayman Nour of Egypt, 
Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, Oscar Biscet of Cuba, Riad Seif of Syria.
    To ensure our Government continues to speak out for those who have 
no other voice, I recently issued a directive instructing all senior 
U.S. officials serving in undemocratic countries to maintain regular 
contact with political dissidents and democracy activists. The challenge 
for future Presidents and future Congresses is to ensure that America 
always stands with those seeking freedom and never hesitates to shine 
the light of conscience on abuses of human rights around the world.
    As Henrietta mentioned, with us today are individuals who suffered 
terribly in the cause of freedom and whose stories inspire our country. 
And their examples of resilience and resolve should give us courage. I'm 
not going to mention all the ones I met, but I'd like to make--mention 
some.
    First, we stand with Blanca Gonzalez. Her son, Normando Hernandez 
Gonzalez, remains in Castro's gulag for speaking the truth about the 
Cuban regime. Bienvenido.
    We stand with Olga Kozulina. Her father, Alexander Kozulin, remains 
in prison in Belarus for the ``crime'' of running for President. 
Welcome.
    We stand with Manouchehr Mohammadi. Both he and his brother were 
viciously tortured by the Iranian authorities. He was the only one who 
survived and escaped. Welcome to America.
    We stand with Cho Jin Hae, who witnessed several of her family 
members starve to death in North Korea. She herself was tortured by the 
Communist authorities.
    I thank you all for coming. I thank the others who took time out of 
their day to meet me as well. I appreciate your testament to the 
universal desire for freedom.
    This morning, I have a message for all those throughout the world 
who languish in tyranny. I know there are moments when it feels like 
you're alone in your struggle. And you're not alone; America hears you. 
Millions of our citizens stand with you, and hope still lives, even in 
bleak places and in dark moments.
    Even now, change is stirring in places like Havana and Damascus and 
Tehran. The people of these nations dream of a free future, hope for a 
free future, and believe that a free future will come. And it will. May 
God be with them in their struggle. America always will be.
    Thank you for letting me come by, and may God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 10:26 a.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building 
and International Trade Center. In his remarks, he referred to Henrietta 
H. Fore, administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development; 
Egyptian opposition politician Ayman Nour; Sung San Suu Kyi, leader of 
the National League for Democracy in Burma; Cuban dissident Oscar Elias 
Biscet Gonzalez; Syrian political activist Riad Seif; and former 
President Fidel Castro Ruz of Cuba. The Office of the Press Secretary 
also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.

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