THE PRESIDENT: 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'll have to wait two 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. (Applause.) She was a professor, author, diplomat,
presidential advisor, 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. 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 York, Trent Franks from Arizona, Mario Diaz-Balart from
Florida, and fellow Texan Mike McCaul. Thanks for coming. Appreciate you
being here. (Applause.) 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.
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 open forum. Yet five 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 murders alone.
Recently in the Philippines, that country's special forces conducted
raids in which they killed two top leaders of an al Qaeda-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. And 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
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. (Applause.) When General Petraeus' nomination was
considered three 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 are debating is
non-binding. 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. (Applause.)
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 -- five 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, and 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, and 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 all human beings to live in freedom and
peace.
Over the past five years, we've made real progress toward this 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 Kabul's soccer stadium, and terrorists operated freely --
they ran camps where they planned and trained for horrific attacks that
affected us and other nations.
Today, five short years later, the Taliban have been driven from
power, al Qaeda 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 -- and 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.
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 -- 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 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 bomb attacks
almost doubled, direct fire attacks on international forces almost
tripled, and suicide bombings grew nearly five-fold. 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 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
offensive against the Taliban and al Qaeda. 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 two 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 Qaeda
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, 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, counter-narcotics, and border surveillance.
We're going to increase the Afghanistan 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
also work with Afghanistan's leaders to improve human intelligence
networks, particularly in areas that are threatened by the Taliban.
Together with the Afghan government and NATO, we created a new 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. (Applause.)
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 -- you 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.
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 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 micro-credit. 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 Afghan history.
It takes a while 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 change 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,
said really something very interesting that caught my attention. He
said, "Where the roads end in Afghanistan, the Taliban begin." 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 key
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 to 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 [sic] in 2007.
It's an important effort, and 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.
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. 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.
President Karzai, to his credit, has established a Criminal Justice
Task Force that is now after public corruption. This task force has 400
prosecutors [sic] 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. It is 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.
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 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 Pakistan
and Afghanistan to enhance cooperation to defeat what I would call a
common enemy. Taliban and al Qaeda 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 to kill him. Al Qaeda 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 a better governance and
economic opportunity.
We're helping him in these efforts. It's in our interest to help him.
We provided him -- we're helping 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,
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 countries. It's a tiny contribution for us and a major
contribution for providing the conditions necessary for stability.
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 two
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 four 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 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. (Applause.) 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. Eight
million 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 and freedom and courage to defend that freedom.
I want to tell you an interesting story about an Afghan security
office at Camp Phoenix near Kabul. This fellow has worked at this base
for four years -- nearly four 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 firstborn 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. (Applause.) 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.
(Applause.)
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. (Applause.) |