THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. You know, I was
in the neighborhood -- (applause) -- and thought I'd stop by to say
hello here at Team Charleston. (Applause.) I am proud to be here with
the men and women of the 437th and the 315th Air Wings. (Applause.) Yes
-- I'm proud to be with members of the United States Air Force and the
United States Navy. (Applause.) Proud to be with the rest of you, too.
(Laughter.)
Laura sends her love. (Applause.) And she sends all her respect to those
who support our military. I'm proud to be here with the Governor of the
great state of South Carolina, Governor Mark Sanford, and his wife Jenny
and their children. (Applause.) I thank Congressman Henry Brown for
taking time out of a Saturday afternoon to come and say hello to his
buddy, the President of the United States. (Applause.) I thank Colonel
Glen Joerger for his hospitality. I thank Colonel Tim Wrighton. I thank
you all for giving me a chance to come and share some thoughts with you.
The first thought I want to say is I am proud to be the
Commander-in-Chief of such a fine group of young men and women.
(Applause.) We have an amazing nation when people say, I want to
volunteer to defend this country. I am constantly amazed, enthralled,
and buoyed by the fact that I'm the Commander-in-Chief of honorable,
decent, courageous men and women. And I thank you for coming to say
hello. (Applause.)
I'm also proud to be here with our military families. (Applause.) I
understand the sacrifices that you make on a daily basis for this
country. So, as the President of the United States, I want to tell you
plain and simple, the American people respect you, they appreciate you,
and I'll do everything in my power to make sure the families and those
who wear the uniform have all the support necessary to win this war on
terror. (Applause.)
I'm impressed by the record of the folks here at Charleston Air Force
Base. I'm impressed by your accomplishments and what you've done on
behalf of this grateful nation. Since September the 11th, 2001, the
folks who fly the airplanes, maintain the airplanes and load the
airplanes -- (applause) -- and fill up the tires -- (laughter) -- have
launched more than 14,000 C-17 missions from here. (Applause.) You have
airlifted more cargo to Operation Iraqi Freedom than any other unit in
the United States. (Applause.) You are the only unit in the world tasked
with providing strategic airlift to our Special Operation forces.
(Applause.)
The men and women here in Charleston have also done more than just
provided supply to the war zones. You have provided humanitarian aid
that has saved countless lives. The folks here have air dropped 2.4
million rations of humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan at the
start of Operation Enduring Freedom. You delivered 53,000 pounds of
relief supplies to the tsunami victims in Indonesia. And after Hurricane
Katrina, you delivered 2.5 million pounds of relief supplies and
evacuated 2,400 citizens from New Orleans. You have shown the great
compassion of the American people, and I thank you for your service.
(Applause.)
We are engaged in a global war on terror. After September the 11th,
2001, I vowed to the American people that I would use everything at our
disposal to do the number-one job of government, and that is to protect
you from further attack. And I have been aided in protecting the
American people by the fine United States military.
We face an enemy that knows no bounds and no conscience. They're
ideologues. But their ideology is the exact opposite of ours. They kill
innocent people to achieve their evil objectives. But make no mistake
about it, they have objectives. They have clearly stated that they want
to drive the United States from the world so they can establish a
caliphate, a governing organization from Indonesia to Spain, that would
allow them to spread their ideology of hate, allow them to dominate a
society in which people could not worship freely, or speak freely, in
which people who did not adhere to their point of view would be
punished. They seek safe haven from which to launch further attacks to
achieve their objective. And their attacks would aim right here at the
United States of America.
I want you to think about a world in which rival forms of radicals
competed for power in the Middle East, to deny the hopes and aspirations
of millions of people who simply want to live in peace. They would
topple moderate governments. They would use oil as an economic weapon to
bring the West to her knees, and to mix all that in with a country with
a nuclear weapon. And 20 or 30 years from now, if that were to happen,
people would look back and say, what happened to them in 2006? How come
they couldn't see the challenge? How come they couldn't see the threats
to a generation of Americans?
I'm proud to be with people who see the threats and know that the
best way to protect the American people is to defeat the enemy overseas
so we do not have to face them here at home. (Applause.)
One of the lessons of September the 11th is that when this country
sees a threat, we must deal with that threat before it fully
materializes. If we see a threat, we must take care of that threat.
Otherwise, that threat could come to haunt us, to destroy innocent life.
I saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. The world saw a threat in Saddam
Hussein. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein was the right decision, and the
world is better for it. (Applause.)
And now you're involved in this global war on terror, in the central
front, which is Iraq. I know some in America don't believe Iraq is the
central front in the war on terror, and that's fine, they can have that
opinion. But Osama bin Laden knows it's the central front in the war on
terror. He has called Iraq the third world war. He has said of Iraq that
he will lead to victory or glory or humiliation. We have made our
decision. Iraq will lead to victory and glory for the United States, for
the Iraqis, and for the moderates around the world. (Applause.)
And it's tough fighting, because the enemy understands the stakes of
a free Iraq. It's hard fighting, and we've got a lot of brave citizens
of ours in the midst of the fight. But we have a plan for victory. We
are in Iraq to help that young democracy fight off the radicals and the
extremists. We're in the fight in Iraq to make sure there is not a safe
haven from which to launch further attacks on the United States. Our
plan for victory says that we want an Iraq that can defend itself and
govern itself and sustain itself.
And we've got some great things going for us. We've got a military
that is constantly adjusting to the enemy on the ground. We've got
commanders who are wise and brave, and are bringing justice to our
enemies there in Iraq. And we've also got at our side brave Iraqis who
have suffered unbelievable loss, but yet still cling to the hope, as
reflected in the voices and votes of 12 million people who defied the
car bombers and the terrorists. They want to live in freedom.
I believe in the universality of freedom. I believe in everybody's
soul is the desire to be free. It is in this country's interests that we
defeat the enemy in Iraq and help this young democracy survive. You see,
this is a different kind of war. And make no mistake about it, if the
United States of America were to leave before the job is done, the enemy
will follow us here. And that is why we will support our military. And
that is why we will fight in Iraq. And that is why we will win in Iraq.
(Applause.)
And I thank you for being a part of this noble and just and important
cause. You're fighting in a war that will set the course of a new
century. The outcome will determine the destiny of millions across the
world. The outcome of this fight will determine whether or not our
children can grow up in the peace we want them to grow up in. Defeating
the terrorists and the extremists is the challenge of our time and the
calling of this generation. And like generations before us, we will do
the hard work now, to make sure our children can grow up in freedom and
peace. (Applause.)
The time of war is a time of sacrifice. I know the sacrifices you all
make. But some have paid the ultimate price; really good men and women
have lost their lives in this struggle. We will pray for their families.
And I make them this pledge: We will honor their sacrifice by completing
the mission, by defeating the terrorists, and by laying the foundation
of peace for generations to come.
I can't thank you enough for coming to say hello. May God bless you
all, and may God continue to bless the United States. (Applause.) |