THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you very much, Mr.
Secretary and Joyce. Mr. Vice President, thank you for your kind words.
Lynne and Senator Warner, Deputy Secretary England, Secretary Harvey,
Winter, Wynne, General Pace, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
distinguished guests, men and women of the armed forces.
I'm pleased to join you as we pay tribute to one of America's most
skilled, energetic and dedicated public servants, the Secretary of
Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.
Don Rumsfeld has been at my side from the moment I took office. We've
been through war together. We have shared some of the most challenging
moments in our nation's history. Over the past six years, I have come to
appreciate Don Rumsfeld's professionalism, his dedication, his strategic
vision, his deep devotion to the men and women of our nation who wear
the uniform, and his love for the United States of America.
That devotion began at an early age, inspired by a man in uniform he
called "dad." His father, George, was 37 when America was attacked at
Pearl Harbor. Too old to be drafted, he volunteered for service in the
United States Navy. One of Don's earliest memories is of standing on the
hangar deck of his dad's aircraft carrier, the USS Hollandia, at the age
of 11. He was taking in the sights and sounds of the ship as it prepared
to leave for the Pacific War.
His father's example stayed with him, and after graduating from
Princeton, Don Rumsfeld joined the United States Navy, rising to become
a pilot, a flight instructor and a member of the Naval Reserve for
nearly 20 years.
In the decades since he first put on the uniform, Don Rumsfeld has
served with distinction in many important positions: Congressman,
Counselor to the President, Ambassador to NATO, White House Chief of
Staff, Secretary of Defense. Yet, to this day, the title that has
brought him his greatest pride is "dad," and now, "grandad." And so
today, as we honor a fine man, we also honor his family, Joyce Rumsfeld
and his children. (Applause.)
Don Rumsfeld is the only man to have served as Secretary of Defense
for two Presidents in two different centuries. (Laughter.) In 2001, I
called him back to the same job he held under President Gerald Ford, and
I gave him this urgent mission: Prepare our nation's armed forces for
the threats of a new century.
Don Rumsfeld brought vision and enthusiasm to this vital task. He
understood that the peace of the post-Cold War years was really the calm
before the next storm, and that America needed to prepare for the day
when new enemies would attack our nation in unprecedented ways. That day
came on a clear September morning. And in a moment of crisis, our nation
saw Donald Rumsfeld's character and courage.
When the Pentagon was hit, Secretary Rumsfeld's first instinct was to
run toward danger. He raced down smoke-filled hallways to the crash
site, so he could help rescue workers pull the victims from the rubble.
And in the weeks that followed, he directed the effort to plan our
nation's military response to the deadliest terrorist attack in our
nation's history.
Under Secretary Rumsfeld's leadership, U.S. and coalition forces
launched one of the most innovative military campaigns in the history of
modern warfare, sending Special Operations forces into Afghanistan to
link up with anti-Taliban fighters, to ride with them on horseback, and
to launch a stunning assault against the enemy. In Operation Enduring
Freedom we combined the most advanced laser-guided weapons with one of
the oldest tools in the military arsenal -- a man with a weapon on a
horse.
History will record that the first major ground battle in the 21st
century involving American forces began with a cavalry charge. I guess
that's what you get when you bring together a President from Texas with
a Secretary of Defense who actually remembers when America had a
cavalry. (Laughter and applause.)
In 2003, on my orders, Secretary Rumsfeld led the planning and
execution of another historic military campaign, Operation Iraqi
Freedom. In this operation, coalition forces drove Saddam Hussein from
power in 21 days. And in the years that followed, Don Rumsfeld helped
see the Iraqi people through the resumption of sovereignty, two
elections, a referendum to approve the most progressive constitution in
the Middle East, and the seating of a newly elected government.
On his watch, the United States military helped the Iraqi people
establish a constitutional democracy in the heart of the Middle East, a
watershed event in the story of freedom.
As he met the challenges of fighting a new and unfamiliar war, Don
Rumsfeld kept his eyes on the horizon and on the threats that still
await us as this new century unfolds.
He developed a new defense strategy and a new command structure for
our nation's armed forces, with a new northern command to protect the
homeland, a new joint forces command to focus on transformation, a new
strategic command to defend against long range attacks, and a
transformed U.S. Special Operations command ready to take the lead in
the global war on terror.
He launched the most significant transformation of the Army in a
generation. He led my administration's efforts to transform the NATO
Alliance, with a new NATO response force ready to deploy quickly
anywhere in the world. On his watch, NATO sent its forces to defend a
young democracy in Afghanistan, more than 3000 miles from Europe. It was
the first time NATO has deployed outside the North Atlantic area in the
history of the Alliance.
He helped launch the Proliferation Security Initiative, an
unprecedented coalition of more than 80 nations working together to stop
shipments of weapons of mass destruction on land, at sea and in the air.
He undertook the most sweeping transformation of America's global
defense posture since the start of the Cold War, repositioning our
forces so they can surge quickly to deal with unexpected threats, and
setting the stage for our global military presence for the next 50
years.
He took ballistic missile defense from theory to reality. And because
of his leadership, America now has an initial capability to track a
ballistic missile headed for our country and destroy it before it harms
our people.
Most importantly, he worked to establish a culture in the Pentagon
that rewards innovation and intelligent risk taking, and encourages our
military and civilian leaders to challenge established ways of thinking.
The record of Don Rumsfeld's tenure is clear. There have been more
profound change -- there has been more profound change at the Department
of Defense over the past six years than at any time since the
Department's creation in the late 1940s. (Applause.)
And these changes were not easy, but because of Don Rumsfeld's
determination and leadership, America has the best equipped, the best
trained, and most experienced armed forces in the history of the world.
All in all, not bad for a fellow who calls himself a "broken-down
ex-Navy pilot." This man knows how to lead, and he did, and the country
is better off for it. (Applause.)
In every decision Don Rumsfeld made over the past six years, he
always put the troops first, and the troops in the field knew it. A few
years ago, the editors at Time Magazine came to his Pentagon office, and
Don correctly suspected they were thinking of naming him "Person of the
Year." Without hesitation, Don Rumsfeld told them, don't give it to me.
Give it to our men and women in uniform -- and that's exactly what Time
Magazine did. (Applause.)
Don Rumsfeld's selfless leadership earned him the admiration of our
soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines. And we saw how they feel
about him this week when he paid a farewell visit to our troops in Iraq.
Don Rumsfeld's strong leadership has earned him my admiration and
deep respect. We stood together in hours of decision that would affect
the course of our history. We walked amid the rubble of the broken
Pentagon the day after September the 11th, 2001. He was with me when we
planned the liberation of Afghanistan. We were in the Oval Office
together the day I gave the order to remove Saddam Hussein from power.
In these and countless other moments, I have seen Don Rumsfeld's
character and his integrity. He always ensured I had the best possible
advice, the opportunity to hear and weigh conflicting points of view. He
spoke straight. It was easy to understand him. He has a sharp intellect,
a steady demeanor, and boundless energy. He began every day at the
Pentagon with a singular mission -- to serve his country and the men and
women who defend her.
Mr. Secretary, today your country thanks you for six outstanding
years at the Department of Defense. And I thank you for your sacrifice
and your service and your devotion to the men and women of our armed
forces.
I want to thank Joyce for her poise and her grace and for the example
she has set for our nation's military families. Laura and I will miss
you both, and we wish you all the best in the years to come.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, I bring to this podium America's 21st
Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. (Applause.)
SECRETARY RUMSFELD: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you so
much.
Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, I thank you so much for joining
us, and I thank you for those generous words, and for your support these
many years.
Chairman Pace, thank you for your sound advice and for your unfailing
good humor through enormously challenging times.
Deputy Secretary Gordon England, you've been a valued partner in this
mission, and I thank you so much. You make a difference here every
single day. Thank you, Gordon. (Applause.)
Service Secretaries, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, combatant
commanders -- I saw my friend, former Chairman General Dick Myers, down
here in the front row. Dick, it's always good to see you. Chairman
Warner, members of Congress, ladies and gentlemen, thank you all. And
all of those gathered, military and civilian, who make this great
Department what it is, thank you so much for what you do for our
country.
As I look back over these past six years and reflect on what's been
achieved, I feel a sense of gratitude -- gratitude to Joyce, to be sure,
and our three wonderful children and seven grandchildren, we have been
together in this every minute; gratitude to the hundreds of thousands of
people in this Department who, out of love of country, contribute so
much; and gratitude to all those amazing young people who volunteer and
step forward and proudly wear our nation's uniforms.
Last weekend I was in Iraq. I wanted to personally express my
heartfelt appreciation to the troops for their service and for their
sacrifice. I wanted to leave them a sense of what they have given me:
pride in mission, and an abiding confidence in our country. It has been
the highest honor of my life to serve with them, these makers of
history.
Mr. President, over the past six years, at your request, as you
pointed out, this Department has been determined to create a new
framework to better defend against the irregular threats of this new
era. These folks have had to depart from the conventional and the
familiar, to wrestle with the new and the unfamiliar. And they do it
with no guidebook, with no road map, and they do it in full view of the
Congress and the press and the world, with generous scrutiny from all
sides. (Laughter.)
Today I'll break with convention one more time, and instead of the
traditional farewell remarks on past achievements, I will focus squarely
on the future. I say this with the perspective of one, as the President
indicated, who's had the opportunity to lead this Department in two
different eras, in two different world conflicts, for two different
Presidents -- and, yes, it's true, in two different centuries.
When I last departed this post in 1977, I left cautioning that
weakness is provocative, that weakness inevitably entices aggressors
into acts that they would otherwise avoid. Then, our country was engaged
in a long struggle -- a struggle of uncertain duration against, what
seemed at the time, as an ascendant ideology, and clearly an expanding
empire.
Few would have believed that 15 years later, the Soviet Union would
cease to exist, or that the dissidents then trapped behind the Iron
Curtain would lead people out of the dustbin of history and into the
family of free nations, which they did. That history did not happen by
accident. And it most assuredly was not made by people sitting safely on
the sidelines. It occurred only because America and our allies withstood
the tough times, the bitter disagreements, and they stayed at the task
with conviction that our security was linked to the defense and the
advance of human freedom.
This is what history asks of us today. And as I leave the Pentagon
for the second -- and I suspect the odds are, the last time --
(laughter) -- I do feel a sense of urgency about the very real
challenges ahead. As the President noted seven years ago, he said, we're
living in an era of barbarism emboldened by technology. We live a time
when our enemies mix an extremist ideology with modern weaponry, and
they have the ability to kill thousands, indeed even hundreds of
thousands of our people in a single, swift, deadly stroke. We forget
that at our peril.
A number of us came here in 2001 with that mission and mandate to
prepare this defense establishment to protect the American people from
the unconventional and the irregular threats. That mission was given
powerful impetus that bright September morning when that mighty building
just a few yards away shook, burned, and smoked -- and 125 members of
our Pentagon team did not come home.
The attacks of September 11th awakened Americans to the global
extremist movement; a movement with networks in nations all around the
world, even our own; a movement with tens of thousands of adherents who
believe it is their calling to kill Americans and other free people.
Ours is a world of unstable dictators, weapon proliferators and rogue
regimes. And each of these enemies seeks out our vulnerabilities. And as
free people, we have vulnerabilities.
Ours is also a world of many friends and allies -- but sadly,
realistically, friends and allies with declining defense investment and
declining capabilities -- and I would add, as a result, with increasing
vulnerabilities -- all of which requires that the United States of
America invest more.
Today, it should be clear that not only is weakness provocative, but
the perception of weakness on our part can be provocative, as well. A
conclusion by our enemies that the United States lacks the will or the
resolve to carry out missions that demand sacrifice and demand patience
is every bit as dangerous as an imbalance of conventional military
power.
This is a time of great consequence. Our task is to make the right
decisions today so that future generations will not have to make much
harder decisions tomorrow. It may well be comforting to some to consider
graceful exits from the agonies and, indeed, the ugliness of combat. But
the enemy thinks differently.
Under the President's leadership, this country made a decision to
confront the extremist ideology of hatred that spawned a worldwide
movement, and to take the fight to the enemy. The alternative was
inaction and defense, a pattern that history has shown only emboldens
the enemy.
Our country has taken on a bracing and difficult task -- but let
there be no doubt, it is neither hopeless, nor without purpose.
Leadership is not about doing what's easy. It's about doing what's
right, even when it's hard -- especially when it's hard. President
Lincoln once said, "Determine the thing that can and shall be done, and
then we shall find the way to do it."
That remains true today. We're in what will be a long struggle. It's
new, it's complex, and even after five years, it's still somewhat
unfamiliar. That we have been successful -- I would add, fortunate -- to
have suffered not one single attack here at home since September 11,
2001, has contributed to a misperception in some quarters that the
threat is gone. It is not.
As I leave, I do feel urgency, but I also feel optimism. I know that
the American people can summon the same grit that helped our founders
forge from a wilderness a new frontier. I know it because I've seen it
over my own lifetime. It's the same steel that sent our fathers and
grandfathers across oceans to defend free nations from tyrants; that
same grit that gave the Americans to endure 40 years of a Cold War under
the specter of nuclear annihilation.
So it is with confidence that I say that America's enemies should not
confuse the American people's distaste of war, which is real, and which
is understandable, with a reluctance to defend our way of life. Enemy
after enemy in our history have made that mistake to their regret.
To those in uniform here and abroad who proudly serve, always
remember that America's example is a message of hope for hundreds of
millions of people all across the globe. America is not what's wrong
with this world. Ours is a message that was heard and fought for in
places like Berlin, Prague, Riga, Tokyo, Seoul, San Salvador, Vilnius
and Warsaw. And that message is even now being whispered in the
coffeehouses and the streets of Damascus and Tehran and Pyongyang. The
great sweep of human history is for freedom. And America is on freedom's
side.
As I end my time here, some ask, what will I remember. Well, I will
remember all those courageous folks that I have met deployed in the
field; those in the military hospitals that we visited; and I will
remember the fallen, and I will particularly remember their families
from whom I have drawn inspiration. And I will remember how fortunate I
have been to know you, to work with you, to have been inspired by your
courage, and by your love of country. You will be in my thoughts and
prayers.
God bless you. (Applause.) |