[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 50 (Monday, December 22, 2008)]
[Pages 1546-1547]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Reception Honoring the United States-Afghan Women's Council

December 18, 2008

    Well, thank you for inviting me. [Laughter] A couple of things: One, 
Jack, thanks very much for lending the prestige of Georgetown to advance 
a noble cause that I agree is in our Nation's national security 
interests and our moral interests, and that is the empowerment of women 
in Afghanistan.
    Ambassador, thank you for coming; thank you for working with our 
Government.
    And I'm so proud of Laura. She could have come in and said, ``Oh, 
why did you drag me into this?'' [Laughter] But instead chose to use her 
position to take on some important causes. And the advancement of 
women's rights in Afghanistan or freedom in Burma are noble causes that 
are essential to the peace of the world. And so I thank you for your 
leadership on this.
    I just came back from Afghanistan, Ambassador, and I told the people 
there that the United States will not forget them; that it's essential 
that the people in Afghanistan realize that even though the Presidents 
have changed, our commitment to Afghanistan remains very strong at the 
governmental level, as well as in the private sector. And I am confident 
that the Afghan Women's Council sends that same signal that you can take 
a risk for peace and freedom; that your courage won't be really isolated 
in the face of thugs who can't stand the idea of women having freedom.
    And so I take great heart in knowing that the Afghan Women's Council 
will survive beyond our time. Having said that, I can assure you that 
Laura is going to be involved, and so will I if she lets me. [Laughter]
    Anyway, I'm off to give a little talk here, but I did want to come 
by and thank you all very much. I thank you for representing the best of 
America, and I thank you for recognizing that sometimes hard things 
require a lot of effort. It is really hard to go from tyranny to 
freedom. But it's going to happen. It is inevitable, because freedom is 
universal.
    And so I'm glad to come by, and thanks for letting me butt in.

Note: The President spoke at 10:15 a.m. in the Yellow Oval Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to John J. ``Jack'' DeGioia, 
president, Georgetown University; and Afghanistan's Ambassador to the 
U.S. Said Tayeb Jawad. The transcript released by the Office of the 
Press Secretary also included remarks by the First Lady, Ambassador 
Jawad, and Mr. DeGioia. A tape was not available for verification of the 
content of these remarks.

[[Page 1547]]