THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
Thank you all. Please be seated. General Hendrix, thank you for the
invitation to be here. Thanks for the kind introduction. I'm honored to
stand with the men and women of the Military Officers Association of
America. I appreciate the Board of Directors who are here, and the
leaders who have given me this platform from which to speak. I'm proud
to be here with active members of the United States military. Thank you
for your service. I'm proud to be your Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)
I am pleased also to stand with members of the diplomatic corps,
including many representing nations that have been attacked by al Qaeda
and its terrorist allies since September the 11th, 2001. (Applause.)
Your presence here reminds us that we're engaged in a global war against
an enemy that threatens all civilized nations. And today the civilized
world stands together to defend our freedom; we stand together to defeat
the terrorists; and were working to secure the peace for generations to
come.
I appreciate my Attorney General joining us today, Al Gonzales. Thank
you for being here. (Applause.) The Secretary of Homeland Security,
Michael Chertoff, is with us. (Applause.) Three members of the United
States Senate -- I might say, three important members of the United
States Senate -- Senate President Pro Tem Ted Stevens of Alaska. Thank
you for joining us, Senator. (Applause.) Chairman of the Appropriations
Committee, Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi. (Applause.) The Chairman
of the Armed Services Committee, John Warner of Virginia. (Applause.)
I thank Norb Ryan, as well, for his leadership. I do appreciate all
the folks that are at Walter Reed who have joined us today. I'm going to
tell the parents of our troops, we provide great health care to those
who wear the uniform. I'm proud of those folks at Bethesda and Walter
Reed -- are providing you the best possible care to help you recover
from your injuries. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for joining us
here today. May God bless you in your recovery. (Applause.)
Next week, America will mark the fifth anniversary of September the
11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. As this day approaches, it brings with it
a flood of painful memories. We remember the horror of watching planes
fly into the World Trade Center, and seeing the towers collapse before
our eyes. We remember the sight of the Pentagon, broken and in flames.
We remember the rescue workers who rushed into burning buildings to save
lives, knowing they might never emerge again. We remember the brave
passengers who charged the cockpit of their hijacked plane, and stopped
the terrorists from reaching their target and killing more innocent
civilians. We remember the cold brutality of the enemy who inflicted
this harm on our country -- an enemy whose leader, Osama bin Laden,
declared the massacre of nearly 3,000 people that day -- I quote -- "an
unparalleled and magnificent feat of valor, unmatched by any in
humankind before them."
In five years since our nation was attacked, al Qaeda and terrorists
it has inspired have continued to attack across the world. They've
killed the innocent in Europe and Africa and the Middle East, in Central
Asia and the Far East, and beyond. Most recently, they attempted to
strike again in the most ambitious plot since the attacks of September
the 11th -- a plan to blow up passenger planes headed for America over
the Atlantic Ocean.
Five years after our nation was attacked, the terrorist danger
remains. We're a nation at war -- and America and her allies are
fighting this war with relentless determination across the world.
Together with our coalition partners, we've removed terrorist
sanctuaries, disrupted their finances, killed and captured key
operatives, broken up terrorist cells in America and other nations, and
stopped new attacks before they're carried out. We're on the offense
against the terrorists on every battlefront -- and we'll accept nothing
less than complete victory. (Applause.)
In the five years since our nation was attacked, we've also learned a
great deal about the enemy we face in this war. We've learned about them
through videos and audio recordings, and letters and statements they've
posted on websites. We've learned about them from captured enemy
documents that the terrorists have never meant for us to see. Together,
these documents and statements have given us clear insight into the mind
of our enemies -- their ideology, their ambitions, and their strategy to
defeat us.
We know what the terrorists intend to do because they've told us --
and we need to take their words seriously. So today I'm going to
describe -- in the terrorists' own words, what they believe… what they
hope to accomplish, and how they intend to accomplish it. I'll discuss
how the enemy has adapted in the wake of our sustained offensive against
them, and the threat posed by different strains of violent Islamic
radicalism. I'll explain the strategy we're pursuing to protect America,
by defeating the terrorists on the battlefield, and defeating their
hateful ideology in the battle of ideas.
The terrorists who attacked us on September the 11th, 2001, are men
without conscience -- but they're not madmen. They kill in the name of a
clear and focused ideology, a set of beliefs that are evil, but not
insane. These al Qaeda terrorists and those who share their ideology are
violent Sunni extremists. They're driven by a radical and perverted
vision of Islam that rejects tolerance, crushes all dissent, and
justifies the murder of innocent men, women and children in the pursuit
of political power. They hope to establish a violent political utopia
across the Middle East, which they call a "Caliphate" -- where all would
be ruled according to their hateful ideology. Osama bin Laden has called
the 9/11 attacks -- in his words -- "a great step towards the unity of
Muslims and establishing the Righteous… [Caliphate]."
This caliphate would be a totalitarian Islamic empire encompassing
all current and former Muslim lands, stretching from Europe to North
Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. We know this because al
Qaeda has told us. About two months ago, the terrorist Zawahiri -- he's
al Qaeda's second in command -- declared that al Qaeda intends to impose
its rule in "every land that was a home for Islam, from [Spain] to Iraq.
He went on to say, "The whole world is an open field for us."
We know what this radical empire would look like in practice, because
we saw how the radicals imposed their ideology on the people of
Afghanistan. Under the rule of the Taliban and al Qaeda, Afghanistan was
a totalitarian nightmare -- a land where women were imprisoned in their
homes, men were beaten for missing prayer meetings, girls could not go
to school, and children were forbidden the smallest pleasures like
flying kites. Religious police roamed the streets, beating and detaining
civilians for perceived offenses. Women were publicly whipped. Summary
executions were held in Kabul's soccer stadium in front of cheering
mobs. And Afghanistan was turned into a launching pad for horrific
attacks against America and other parts of the civilized world --
including many Muslim nations.
The goal of these Sunni extremists is to remake the entire Muslim
world in their radical image. In pursuit of their imperial aims, these
extremists say there can be no compromise or dialogue with those they
call "infidels" -- a category that includes America, the world's free
nations, Jews, and all Muslims who reject their extreme vision of Islam.
They reject the possibility of peaceful coexistence with the free world.
Again, hear the words of Osama bin Laden earlier this year: "Death is
better than living on this Earth with the unbelievers among us."
These radicals have declared their uncompromising hostility to
freedom. It is foolish to think that you can negotiate with them.
(Applause.) We see the uncompromising nature of the enemy in many
captured terrorist documents. Here are just two examples: After the
liberation of Afghanistan, coalition forces searching through a
terrorist safe house in that country found a copy of the al Qaeda
charter. This charter states that "there will be continuing enmity until
everyone believes in Allah. We will not meet [the enemy] halfway. There
will be no room for dialogue with them." Another document was found in
2000 by British police during an anti-terrorist raid in London -- a
grisly al Qaeda manual that includes chapters with titles such as
"Guidelines for Beating and Killing Hostages." This manual declares that
their vision of Islam "does not… make a truce with unbelief, but rather
confronts it." The confrontation… calls for… the dialogue of bullets,
the ideals of assassination, bombing, and destruction, and the diplomacy
of the cannon and machine gun."
Still other captured documents show al Qaeda's strategy for
infiltrating Muslim nations, establishing terrorist enclaves,
overthrowing governments, and building their totalitarian empire. We see
this strategy laid out in a captured al Qaeda document found during a
recent raid in Iraq, which describes their plans to infiltrate and take
over Iraq's western Anbar Province. The document lays out an elaborate
al Qaeda governing structure for the region that includes an Education
Department, a Social Services Department, a Justice Department, and an
"Execution Unit" responsible for "Sorting out, Arrest, Murder, and
Destruction."
According to their public statements, countries that have -- they
have targeted stretch from the Middle East to Africa, to Southeast Asia.
Through this strategy, al Qaeda and its allies intend to create
numerous, decentralized operating bases across the world, from which
they can plan new attacks, and advance their vision of a unified,
totalitarian Islamic state that can confront and eventually destroy the
free world.
These violent extremists know that to realize this vision, they must
first drive out the main obstacle that stands in their way -- the United
States of America. According to al Qaeda, their strategy to defeat
America has two parts: First, they're waging a campaign of terror across
the world. They're targeting our forces abroad, hoping that the American
people will grow tired of casualties and give up the fight. And they're
targeting America's financial centers and economic infrastructure at
home, hoping to terrorize us and cause our economy to collapse.
Bin Laden calls this his "bleed-until-bankruptcy plan." And he cited
the attacks of 9/11 as evidence that such a plan can succeed. With the
9/11 attacks, Osama bin Laden says, "al Qaeda spent $500,000 on the
event, while America… lost -- according to the lowest estimate -- $500
billion… Meaning that every dollar of al Qaeda defeated a million
dollars” of America. Bin Laden concludes from this experience that
"America is definitely a great power, with… unbelievable military
strength and a vibrant economy, but all of these have been built on a
very weak and hollow foundation." He went on to say, "Therefore, it is
very easy to target the flimsy base and concentrate on their weak
points, and even if we're able to target one-tenth of these weak points,
we will be able [to] crush and destroy them."
Secondly, along with this campaign of terror, the enemy has a
propaganda strategy. Osama bin Laden laid out this strategy in a letter
to the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, that coalition forces uncovered in
Afghanistan in 2002. In it, bin Laden says that al Qaeda intends to
"[launch]," in his words, "a media campaign… to create a wedge between
the American people and their government." This media campaign, bin
Laden says, will send the American people a number of messages,
including "that their government [will] bring them more losses, in
finances and casualties." And he goes on to say that "they are being
sacrificed… to serve… the big investors, especially the Jews." Bin Laden
says that by delivering these messages, al Qaeda "aims at creating
pressure from the American people on the American government to stop
their campaign against Afghanistan."
Bin Laden and his allies are absolutely convinced they can succeed in
forcing America to retreat and causing our economic collapse. They
believe our nation is weak and decadent, and lacking in patience and
resolve. And they're wrong. (Applause.) Osama bin Laden has written that
the "defeat of... American forces in Beirut" in 1983 is proof America
does not have the stomach to stay in the fight. He's declared that "in
Somalia… the United States [pulled] out, trailing disappointment,
defeat, and failure behind it." And last year, the terrorist Zawahiri
declared that Americans "know better than others that there is no hope
in victory. The Vietnam specter is closing every outlet."
These terrorists hope to drive America and our coalition out of
Afghanistan, so they can restore the safe haven they lost when coalition
forces drove them out five years ago. But they've made clear that the
most important front in their struggle against America is Iraq -- the
nation bin Laden has declared the "capital of the Caliphate." Hear the
words of bin Laden: "I now address… the whole… Islamic nation: Listen
and understand… The most… serious issue today for the whole world is
this Third World War… [that] is raging in [Iraq]." He calls it "a war of
destiny between infidelity and Islam." He says, "The whole world is
watching this war," and that it will end in "victory and glory or misery
and humiliation." For al Qaeda, Iraq is not a distraction from their war
on America -- it is the central battlefield where the outcome of this
struggle will be decided.
Here is what al Qaeda says they will do if they succeed in driving us
out of Iraq: The terrorist Zawahiri has said that al Qaeda will proceed
with "several incremental goals. The first stage: Expel the Americans
from Iraq. The second stage: Establish an Islamic authority or amirate,
then develop it and support it until it achieves the level of Caliphate…
The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries
neighboring Iraq. And the fourth stage: …the clash with Israel."
These evil men know that a fundamental threat to their aspirations is
a democratic Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend
itself. They know that given a choice, the Iraqi people will never
choose to live in the totalitarian state the extremists hope to
establish. And that is why we must not, and we will not, give the enemy
victory in Iraq by deserting the Iraqi people. (Applause.)
Last year, the terrorist Zarqawi declared in a message posted on the
Internet that democracy "is the essence of infidelity and deviation from
the right path." The Iraqi people disagree. Last December, nearly 12
million Iraqis from every ethnic and religious community turned out to
vote in their country's third free election in less than a year. Iraq
now has a unity government that represents Iraq's diverse population --
and al Qaeda's top commander in Iraq breathed his last breath.
(Applause.)
Despite these strategic setbacks, the enemy will continue to fight
freedom's advance in Iraq, because they understand the stakes in this
war. Again, hear the words of bin Laden, in a message to the American
people earlier this year. He says: "The war is for you or for us to win.
If we win it, it means your defeat and disgrace forever."
Now, I know some of our country hear the terrorists' words, and hope
that they will not, or cannot, do what they say. History teaches that
underestimating the words of evil and ambitious men is a terrible
mistake. In the early 1900s, an exiled lawyer in Europe published a
pamphlet called "What Is To Be Done?" -- in which he laid out his plan
to launch a communist revolution in Russia. The world did not heed
Lenin's words, and paid a terrible price. The Soviet Empire he
established killed tens of millions, and brought the world to the brink
of thermonuclear war. In the 1920s, a failed Austrian painter published
a book in which he explained his intention to build an Aryan super-state
in Germany and take revenge on Europe and eradicate the Jews. The world
ignored Hitler's words, and paid a terrible price. His Nazi regime
killed millions in the gas chambers, and set the world aflame in war,
before it was finally defeated at a terrible cost in lives.
Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as
clear as Lenin and Hitler before them. The question is: Will we listen?
Will we pay attention to what these evil men say? America and our
coalition partners have made our choice. We're taking the words of the
enemy seriously. We're on the offensive, and we will not rest, we will
not retreat, and we will not withdraw from the fight, until this threat
to civilization has been removed. (Applause.)
Five years into this struggle, it's important to take stock of what's
been accomplished -- and the difficult work that remains. Al Qaeda has
been weakened by our sustained offensive against them, and today it is
harder for al Qaeda's leaders to operate freely, to move money, or to
communicate with their operatives and facilitators. Yet al Qaeda remains
dangerous and determined. Bin Laden and Zawahiri remain in hiding in
remote regions of this world. Al Qaeda continues to adapt in the face of
our global campaign against them. Increasingly, al Qaeda is taking
advantage of the Internet to disseminate propaganda, and to conduct
"virtual recruitment" and "virtual training" of new terrorists. Al
Qaeda's leaders no longer need to meet face-to-face with their
operatives. They can find new suicide bombers, and facilitate new
terrorist attacks, without ever laying eyes on those they're training,
financing, or sending to strike us.
As al Qaeda changes, the broader terrorist movement is also changing,
becoming more dispersed and self-directed. More and more, we're facing
threats from locally established terrorist cells that are inspired by al
Qaeda's ideology and goals, but do not necessarily have direct links to
al Qaeda, such as training and funding. Some of these groups are made up
of "homegrown" terrorists, militant extremists who were born and
educated in Western nations, were indoctrinated by radical Islamists or
attracted to their ideology, and joined the violent extremist cause.
These locally established cells appear to be responsible for a number of
attacks and plots, including those in Madrid, and Canada, and other
countries across the world.
As we continue to fight al Qaeda and these Sunni extremists inspired
by their radical ideology, we also face the threat posed by Shia
extremists, who are learning from al Qaeda, increasing their
assertiveness, and stepping up their threats. Like the vast majority of
Sunnis, the vast majority of Shia across the world reject the vision of
extremists -- and in Iraq, millions of Shia have defied terrorist
threats to vote in free elections, and have shown their desire to live
in freedom. The Shia extremists want to deny them this right. This Shia
strain of Islamic radicalism is just as dangerous, and just as hostile
to America, and just as determined to establish its brand of hegemony
across the broader Middle East. And the Shia extremists have achieved
something that al Qaeda has so far failed to do: In 1979, they took
control of a major power, the nation of Iran, subjugating its proud
people to a regime of tyranny, and using that nation's resources to fund
the spread of terror and pursue their radical agenda.
Like al Qaeda and the Sunni extremists, the Iranian regime has clear
aims: They want to drive America out of the region, to destroy Israel,
and to dominate the broader Middle East. To achieve these aims, they are
funding and arming terrorist groups like Hezbollah, which allow them to
attack Israel and America by proxy. Hezbollah, the source of the current
instability in Lebanon, has killed more Americans than any terrorist
organization except al Qaeda. Unlike al Qaeda, they've not yet attacked
the American homeland. Yet they're directly responsible for the murder
of hundreds of Americans abroad. It was Hezbollah that was behind the
1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 241
Americans. And Saudi Hezbollah was behind the 1996 bombing of Khobar
Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans, an attack conducted by
terrorists who we believe were working with Iranian officials.
Just as we must take the words of the Sunni extremists seriously, we
must take the words of the Shia extremists seriously. Listen to the
words of Hezbollah's leader, the terrorist Nasrallah, who has declared
his hatred of America. He says, "Let the entire world hear me. Our
hostility to the Great Satan [America] is absolute… Regardless of how
the world has changed after 11 September, Death to America will remain
our reverberating and powerful slogan: Death to America."
Iran's leaders, who back Hezbollah, have also declared their absolute
hostility to America. Last October, Iran's President declared in a
speech that some people ask -- in his words -- "whether a world without
the United States and Zionism can be achieved… I say that this… goal is
achievable." Less than three months ago, Iran's President declared to
America and other Western powers: "open your eyes and see the fate of
pharaoh… if you do not abandon the path of falsehood… your doomed
destiny will be annihilation." Less than two months ago, he warned: "The
anger of Muslims may reach an explosion point soon. If such a day comes…
[America and the West] should know that the waves of the blast will not
remain within the boundaries of our region." He also delivered this
message to the American people: "If you would like to have good
relations with the Iranian nation in the future… bow down before the
greatness of the Iranian nation and surrender. If you don't accept [to
do this], the Iranian nation will… force you to surrender and bow down."
America will not bow down to tyrants. (Applause.)
The Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies have demonstrated their
willingness to kill Americans -- and now the Iranian regime is pursuing
nuclear weapons. The world is working together to prevent Iran's regime
from acquiring the tools of mass murder. The international community has
made a reasonable proposal to Iran's leaders, and given them the
opportunity to set their nation on a better course. So far, Iran's
leaders have rejected this offer. Their choice is increasingly isolating
the great Iranian nation from the international community, and denying
the Iranian people an opportunity for greater economic prosperity. It's
time for Iran's leader to make a different choice. And we've made our
choice. We'll continue to work closely with our allies to find a
diplomatic solution. The world's free nations will not allow Iran to
develop a nuclear weapon. (Applause.)
The Shia and Sunni extremists represent different faces of the same
threat. They draw inspiration from different sources, but both seek to
impose a dark vision of violent Islamic radicalism across the Middle
East. They oppose the advance of freedom, and they want to gain control
of weapons of mass destruction. If they succeed in undermining fragile
democracies, like Iraq, and drive the forces of freedom out of the
region, they will have an open field to pursue their dangerous goals.
Each strain of violent Islamic radicalism would be emboldened in their
efforts to topple moderate governments and establish terrorist safe
havens.
Imagine a world in which they were able to control governments, a
world awash with oil and they would use oil resources to punish
industrialized nations. And they would use those resources to fuel their
radical agenda, and pursue and purchase weapons of mass murder. And
armed with nuclear weapons, they would blackmail the free world, and
spread their ideologies of hate, and raise a mortal threat to the
American people. If we allow them to do this, if we retreat from Iraq,
if we don't uphold our duty to support those who are desirous to live in
liberty, 50 years from now history will look back on our time with
unforgiving clarity, and demand to know why we did not act.
I'm not going to allow this to happen -- and no future American
President can allow it either. America did not seek this global
struggle, but we're answering history's call with confidence and a clear
strategy. Today we're releasing a document called the "National
Strategy for Combating Terrorism." This is an unclassified version
of the strategy we've been pursuing since September the 11th, 2001. This
strategy was first released in February 2003; it's been updated to take
into account the changing nature of this enemy. This strategy document
is posted on the White House website -- whitehouse.gov. And I urge all
Americans to read it.
Our strategy for combating terrorism has five basic elements:
First, we're determined to prevent terrorist attacks before they
occur. So we're taking the fight to the enemy. The best way to protect
America is to stay on the offense. Since 9/11, our coalition has
captured or killed al Qaeda managers and operatives, and scores of other
terrorists across the world. The enemy is living under constant
pressure, and we intend to keep it that way -- and this adds to our
security. When terrorists spend their days working to avoid death or
capture, it's harder for them to plan and execute new attacks.
We're also fighting the enemy here at home. We've given our law
enforcement and intelligence professionals the tools they need to stop
the terrorists in our midst. We passed the Patriot Act to break down the
wall that prevented law enforcement and intelligence from sharing vital
information. We created the Terrorist Surveillance Program to monitor
the communications between al Qaeda commanders abroad and terrorist
operatives within our borders. If al Qaeda is calling somebody in
America, we need to know why, in order to stop attacks. (Applause.)
I want to thank these three Senators for working with us to give our
law enforcement and intelligence officers the tools necessary to do
their jobs. (Applause.) And over the last five years, federal, state,
and local law enforcement have used those tools to break up terrorist
cells, and to prosecute terrorist operatives and supporters in New York,
and Oregon, and Virginia, and Texas, and New Jersey, and Illinois, Ohio,
and other states. By taking the battle to the terrorists and their
supporters on our own soil and across the world, we've stopped a number
of al Qaeda plots.
Second, we're determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to
outlaw regimes and terrorists who would use them without hesitation.
Working with Great Britain and Pakistan and other nations, the United
States shut down the world's most dangerous nuclear trading cartel, the
AQ Khan network. This network had supplied Iran and Libya and North
Korea with equipment and know-how that advanced their efforts to obtain
nuclear weapons. And we launched the Proliferation Security Initiative,
a coalition of more than 70 nations that is working together to stop
shipments related to weapons of mass destruction on land, at sea, and in
the air. The greatest threat this world faces is the danger of
extremists and terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction -- and
this is a threat America cannot defeat on her own. We applaud the
determined efforts of many nations around the world to stop the spread
of these dangerous weapons. Together, we pledge we'll continue to work
together to stop the world's most dangerous men from getting their hands
on the world's most dangerous weapons. (Applause.)
Third, we're determined to deny terrorists the support of outlaw
regimes. After September the 11th, I laid out a clear doctrine: America
makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror, and those
that harbor and support them, because they're equally guilty of murder.
Thanks to our efforts, there are now three fewer state sponsors of
terror in the world than there were on September the 11th, 2001.
Afghanistan and Iraq have been transformed from terrorist states into
allies in the war on terror. And the nation of Libya has renounced
terrorism, and given up its weapons of mass destruction programs, and
its nuclear materials and equipment. Over the past five years, we've
acted to disrupt the flow of weapons and support from terrorist states
to terrorist networks. And we have made clear that any government that
chooses to be an ally of terror has also chosen to be an enemy of
civilization. (Applause.)
Fourth, we're determined to deny terrorist networks control of any
nation, or territory within a nation. So, along with our coalition and
the Iraqi government, we'll stop the terrorists from taking control of
Iraq, and establishing a new safe haven from which to attack America and
the free world. And we're working with friends and allies to deny the
terrorists the enclaves they seek to establish in ungoverned areas
across the world. By helping governments reclaim full sovereign control
over their territory, we make ourselves more secure.
Fifth, we're working to deny terrorists new recruits, by defeating
their hateful ideology and spreading the hope of freedom -- by spreading
the hope of freedom across the Middle East. For decades, American policy
sought to achieve peace in the Middle East by pursuing stability at the
expense of liberty. The lack of freedom in that region helped create
conditions where anger and resentment grew, and radicalism thrived, and
terrorists found willing recruits. And we saw the consequences on
September the 11th, when the terrorists brought death and destruction to
our country. The policy wasn't working.
The experience of September the 11th made clear, in the long run, the
only way to secure our nation is to change the course of the Middle
East. So America has committed its influence in the world to advancing
freedom and liberty and democracy as the great alternatives to
repression and radicalism. (Applause.) We're taking the side of
democratic leaders and moderates and reformers across the Middle East.
We strongly support the voices of tolerance and moderation in the Muslim
world. We're standing with Afghanistan's elected government against al
Qaeda and the Taliban remnants that are trying to restore tyranny in
that country. We're standing with Lebanon's young democracy against the
foreign forces that are seeking to undermine the country's sovereignty
and independence. And we're standing with the leaders of Iraq's unity
government as they work to defeat the enemies of freedom, and chart a
more hopeful course for their people. This is why victory is so
important in Iraq. By helping freedom succeed in Iraq, we will help
America, and the Middle East, and the world become more secure.
During the last five years we've learned a lot about this enemy.
We've learned that they're cunning and sophisticated. We've witnessed
their ability to change their methods and their tactics with deadly
speed -- even as their murderous obsessions remain unchanging. We've
seen that it's the terrorists who have declared war on Muslims,
slaughtering huge numbers of innocent Muslim men and women around the
world.
We know what the terrorists believe, we know what they have done, and
we know what they intend to do. And now the world's free nations must
summon the will to meet this great challenge. The road ahead is going to
be difficult, and it will require more sacrifice. Yet we can have
confidence in the outcome, because we've seen freedom conquer tyranny
and terror before. In the 20th century, free nations confronted and
defeated Nazi Germany. During the Cold War, we confronted Soviet
communism, and today Europe is whole, free and at peace.
And now, freedom is once again contending with the forces of darkness
and tyranny. This time, the battle is unfolding in a new region -- the
broader Middle East. This time, we're not waiting for our enemies to
gather in strength. This time, we're confronting them before they gain
the capacity to inflict unspeakable damage on the world, and we're
confronting their hateful ideology before it fully takes root.
We see a day when people across the Middle East have governments that
honor their dignity, and unleash their creativity, and count their
votes. We see a day when across this region citizens are allowed to
express themselves freely, women have full rights, and children are
educated and given the tools necessary to succeed in life. And we see a
day when all the nations of the Middle East are allies in the cause of
peace.
We fight for this day, because the security of our own citizens
depends on it. This is the great ideological struggle of the 21st
century -- and it is the calling of our generation. All civilized
nations are bound together in this struggle between moderation and
extremism. By coming together, we will roll back this grave threat to
our way of life. We will help the people of the Middle East claim their
freedom, and we will leave a safer and more hopeful world for our
children and grandchildren.
God bless. (Applause.) |