THE
PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you all very much. Please be
seated. Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for the chance to get out of
Washington. (Laughter.)
It is great to be here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Applause.)
You had a lot of history in this part of the world. This part of the
country was home to the first English-speaking colony on the continent,
birthplace of representative government in America, and the site of
George Washington's victory in the Revolutionary War. I call him the
first George W. (Laughter and applause.)
In the 21st century, the tradition of patriotism and freedom still
runs strong here in the Hampton Roads. I know there's a lot of folks
here in our military who live here, and I know there's a lot of veterans
live here. So the first thing I want to say is to those who wear the
uniform, this country is with you, and the Commander-in-Chief is
incredibly proud of you. (Applause.) And to the veterans, thanks for
setting such a good example. I'm proud of your service. (Applause.)
Dee, thanks for the introduction, and thanks for the invitation. I
want to thank Jack Hornbeck, as well. I appreciate so very much the
Senator from the great state, or the Commonwealth of Virginia, is here,
George Allen. Thanks for coming, George. (Applause.) And Congresswoman
Thelma Drake is with us. Thanks for coming. I appreciate you being here,
honored you're here. (Applause.)
Mayor, thanks for coming. I appreciate Mayor Fraim. Here's here from
the city of Norfolk. He's a -- the only thing I told him is -- he didn't
ask for my advice, but I gave it anyway, I said, fill the potholes.
(Laughter and applause.) Thanks for serving. I appreciate you're
serving, Mayor. Thanks for greeting me today. I want to thank all the
local and state officials who've joined us.
I want to thank the military commanders who are here: Lieutenant
General Anthony Jones, and Lieutenant General Mark Curran, Lieutenant
General Bob Wagner, Major General Jim Soligan. Thank you all for being
here.
John McCarthy, Major General McCarthy of the Marine Corps; Rear
Admiral John Acton; Rear Admiral Steve Turcotte -- I'm honored you all
took time to come.
I appreciate the foreign officers here. I appreciate you being here.
I appreciate the jointness that we're working on, and the transformation
they're working on together to make sure that we're able to keep the
peace. This is an important mission. I want to thank Admiral Sir Mark
Stanhope. He's the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander of Transformation in
the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. I appreciate Lieutenant General Michel
Maisonneuve. She's in the Canadian Air Force. She's NATO Headquarters
Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Chief of Staff. Thank you all
for being here. Thanks for being such strong allies in the cause of
peace. (Applause.)
I appreciate the vibrancy of the community in which you live. This is
a good place to live. It's a good place to find work. It's a good place
to realize your dreams. It's a place where people understand that in
order to make sure that our society stays vibrant and people can realize
their dreams, we got to face squarely the threats that our nation deals
with. People here, I think, understand this fact -- that America is
engaged in the first war of the 21st century, and that the stakes could
not be higher.
On the morning of September the 11, 2001, we saw the destruction that
terrorists intend for this nation. We know they want to strike again.
And our nation has made a clear choice: We will confront this mortal
danger to all humanity. And we will not tire and we will not rest until
the war on terror is won. (Applause.)
In the four years since September the 11th, the evil that reached our
shores has reappeared on other days, in other places -- in Mombasa and
Casablanca and Riyadh and Jakarta and Istanbul and Madrid, in Beslan and
Taba and Netanya and Baghdad, and elsewhere. In the past few months, we
have seen a new terror offensive with attacks on London, and Sharm
el-Sheikh, and a deadly bombing in Bali once again.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Mr. President, war is terror.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: All these separate images of destruction and suffering
that we see on the news can seem like random and isolated acts of
madness. Innocent men, women, and children have died simply because they
boarded the wrong train, or worked in the wrong building. They have died
because they checked into the wrong hotel. Yet while the killers choose
their victims indiscriminately, their attacks serve a clear and focused
ideology -- a set of beliefs and goals that are evil, but not insane.
Some call this evil Islamic radicalism; others, militant Jihadism;
and still others, Islamo-fascism. Whatever it's called, this ideology is
very different from the religion of Islam. This form of radicalism
exploits Islam to serve a violent and political vision: the
establishment, by terrorism, subversion and insurgency, of a
totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom.
These extremists distort the idea of jihad into a call for terrorist
murder against Christians and Hindus and Jews -- and also against
Muslims who do not share their radical vision, whom they regard as
heretics.
Many militants are part of a global, borderless terrorist
organizations like al Qaeda -- which spreads propaganda and provides
financing and technical assistance to local extremists, and conducts
dramatic and brutal operations like the attacks of September the 11th.
Other militants are found in regional groups, often associated with al
Qaeda -- paramilitary insurgencies and separatist movements in places
like Somalia, the Philippines and Pakistan and Chechnya and Kashmir and
Algeria. Still others spring up in local cells -- inspired by Islamic
radicalism, but not centrally controlled or directed. Islamic radicalism
is more like a loose network with military branches than an army under a
single command. Yet these operatives, fighting on scattered
battlefields, share a similar ideology and vision for our world.
We know the vision of the radicals because they have openly stated it
-- in videos, in audiotapes and letters and declarations and websites.
First, these extremists want to end American and Western influence in
the broader Middle East, because we stand for democracy and peace, and
we stand in the way of their ambitions. Al Qaeda's leader, Osama bin
Laden, has called on Muslims to dedicate, their "resources, sons and
money to driving the infidels out of their lands." The tactics of al
Qaeda and other Islamic extremists have been consistent for a
quarter-century: They hit us, and they expect us to run. Earlier this
month, the world learned of a letter written by al Qaeda's number two
leader, a man named Zawahiri. He wrote this letter to his chief deputy
in Iraq -- the terrorist Zarqawi. In it, Zawahiri points to the Vietnam
War as a model for al Qaeda. Zawahiri writes, "The aftermath of the
collapse of American power in Vietnam -- and how they ran and left their
agents -- is noteworthy." The terrorists witnessed a similar response
after the attacks on American troops in Beirut in 1983 and Mogadishu in
1993. They believe that America can be made to run again -- only this
time on a larger scale, with greater consequences.
Second, the militant network wants to use the vacuum created by an
American retreat to gain control of a country -- a base from which to
launch attacks and to conduct their war against non-radical Muslim
governments. Over the past few decades, radicals have specifically
targeted Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and Jordan for potential
takeover. They achieved their goal, for a time, in Afghanistan. And now
they have set their sights on Iraq. In his recent letter, Zawahiri
writes that al Qaeda views Iraq as, "the place for the greatest battle."
The terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in their war against
humanity. And we must recognize Iraq as the central front in our war
against terror.
Third, these militants believe that controlling one country will
rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate
governments in the region, and establish a radical Islamic empire that
spans from Spain to Indonesia. Zawahiri writes that the terrorists,
"must not have their mission end with the expulsion of Americans from
Iraq." He goes on to say: "[T]he jihad ... requires several incremental
goals. ... Expel the Americans from Iraq. ... Establish an Islamic
authority over as much territory as you can to spread its power in
Iraq... Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring
Iraq." With the greater economic, military and political power they
seek, the terrorists would be able to advance their stated agenda: to
develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate
Europe, to assault the American people, and to blackmail our government
into isolation.
Some might be tempted to dismiss these goals as fanatical or extreme.
They are fanatical and extreme, but they should not be dismissed. Our
enemy is utterly committed. As Zawahiri [sic] has vowed, "We will either
achieve victory over the human race or we will pass to the eternal
life." And the civilized world knows very well that other fanatics in
history, from Hitler to Stalin to Pol Pot, consumed whole nations in war
and genocide before leaving the stage of history. Evil men, obsessed
with ambition and unburdened by conscience, must be taken very seriously
-- and we must stop them before their crimes can multiply. (Applause.)
Defeating the militant network is difficult, because it thrives, like
a parasite, on the suffering and frustration of others. The radicals
exploit local conflicts to build a culture of victimization, in which
someone else is always to blame and violence is always the solution.
They exploit resentful and disillusioned young men and women --
recruiting them through radical mosques as pawns of terror. And they
exploit modern technology to multiply their destructive power. Instead
of attending far-away training camps, recruits can now access online
training libraries to learn how to build a roadside bomb or fire a
rocket-propelled grenade -- and this further spreads the threat of
violence, even within peaceful democratic societies.
The influence of Islamic radicalism is also magnified by helpers and
enablers. They have been sheltered by authoritarian regimes -- allies of
convenience like Syria and Iran -- that share the goal of hurting
America and moderate Muslim governments, and that use terrorist
propaganda to blame their own failures on the West, on America, and on
the Jews. The radicals depend on front operations, such as corrupted
charities, which direct money to terrorist activity. They are
strengthened by those who aggressively fund the spread of radical and
intolerant versions of Islam in unstable parts of the world. The
militants are aided as well by elements of the Arab news media that
incite hatred and anti-Semitism, that feed conspiracy theories, and
speak of a so-called American "war on Islam" -- with seldom a word about
American action to protect Muslims in Afghanistan, and Bosnia, and
Somalia, and Kosovo, and Kuwait, and Iraq, and with seldom a word about
our generous assistance to Muslims recovering from natural disasters in
places like Indonesia and Pakistan.
Some have also argued that extremism has been strengthened by the
actions of our Coalition in Iraq -- claiming that our presence in that
country has somehow caused or triggered the rage of radicals. I would
remind them that we were not in Iraq on September the 11th, 2001 -- and
al Qaeda attacked us anyway. (Applause.) The hatred of the radicals
existed before Iraq was an issue, and it will exist after Iraq is no
longer an excuse. The government of Russia did not support Operation
Iraqi Freedom -- and yet the militants killed more than 150 Russian
schoolchildren in Beslan. Over the years these extremists have used a
litany of excuses for violence -- the Israeli presence on the West Bank,
or the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia, or the defeat of the Taliban, or
the Crusades of a thousand years ago.
In fact, we're not facing a set of grievances that can be soothed and
addressed. We're facing a radical ideology with inalterable objectives:
to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world. No act of ours
invited the rage of killers -- and no consequence, bribe, or act of
appeasement would change or limit their plans of murder. On the
contrary: they target nations whose behavior they believe they can
change through violence. Against such an enemy, there is only one
effective response: We will never back down, never give in, and never
accept anything less than complete victory. (Applause.)
The murderous ideology of the Islamic radicals is the great challenge
of our new century. Yet in many ways, this fight resembles the struggle
against communism in the last century.
Like the ideology of communism, Islamic radicalism is elitist -- led
by a self-appointed vanguard that presumes to speak for the Muslim
masses. Bin Laden says his own role is to tell Muslims, "what is good
for them and what is not." And what this man who grew up in wealth and
privilege considers good for poor Muslims is that they become killers
and suicide bombers. He assures them that this is the road to paradise
-- though he never offers to go along for the ride. (Laughter.)
Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy teaches that innocent
individuals can be sacrificed to serve a political vision. And this
explains their cold-blooded contempt for human life. We have seen it in
the murders of Daniel Pearl, Nicholas Berg, and Margaret Hassan, and
many others. In a courtroom in the Netherlands, the killer of Theo Van
Gogh turned to the victim's grieving mother and said, "I don't feel your
pain, because I believe you are an infidel." And in spite of this veneer
of religious rhetoric, most of the victims claimed by the militants are
fellow Muslims. In an al Qaeda attack on two Baghdad hotels this week,
the targets were journalists and innocent Iraqis. When unsuspecting
hotel guests are blown up in their rooms, or 25 Iraqi children are
killed in a bombing, or Iraqi teachers are executed at their schools, or
hospital workers are killed caring for the wounded, this is murder, pure
and simple -- the total rejection of justice and honor and morality and
religion. (Applause.) These militants are not just the enemies of
America or the enemies of Iraq, they are the enemies of Islam and the
enemies of humanity. And we have seen this kind of shameless cruelty
before -- in the heartless zealotry that led to the gulags, the Cultural
Revolution, and the killing fields.
Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy pursues totalitarian
aims. Its leaders pretend to be an aggrieved party, representing the
powerless against imperial enemies. In truth, they have endless
ambitions of imperial domination -- and they wish to make everyone
powerless except themselves. Under their rule, they have banned books,
and desecrated historical monuments, and brutalized women. They seek to
end dissent in every form, to control every aspect of life, and to rule
the soul itself. While promising a future of justice and holiness, the
terrorists are preparing a future of oppression and misery.
Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy is dismissive of free
peoples -- claiming that men and women who live in liberty are weak and
decadent. Zarqawi has said that Americans are, "the most cowardly of
God's creatures." But let us be clear. It is cowardice that seeks to
kill children and the elderly with car bombs, and cuts the throat of a
bound captive, and targets worshipers leaving a mosque. It is courage
that liberated more than 50 million people from tyranny. It is courage
that keeps an untiring vigil against the enemies of a rising democracy.
And it is courage in the cause of freedom that will once again destroy
the enemies of freedom. (Applause.)
And Islamic radicalism, like the ideology of communism, contains
inherent contradictions that doom it to failure. By fearing freedom --
by distrusting human creativity, and punishing change, and limiting the
contributions of half of the population -- this ideology undermines the
very qualities that make human progress possible, and human societies
successful. The only thing modern about the militants' vision is the
weapons they want to use against us. The rest of their grim vision is
defined by a warped image of the past -- a declaration of war on the
idea of progress itself. And whatever lies ahead in the war against this
ideology, the outcome is not in doubt: those who despise freedom and
progress have condemned themselves to isolation, decline, and collapse.
Because free peoples believe in the future, free peoples will own the
future. (Applause.)
We didn't ask for this global struggle, but we are answering
history's call with confidence, and a comprehensive strategy. Defeating
a broad and adaptive network requires patience and constant pressure and
strong partners in Europe, in the Middle East, and North Africa, and
Asia and beyond. Working with these partners, we are disrupting militant
conspiracies, destroying their ability to make war, and are working to
give millions in a troubled region of the world a hopeful alternative to
resentment and violence.
First, we're determined to prevent the attacks of terrorist networks
before they occur. We are reorganizing the government to give this
nation a broad and coordinated homeland defense. We are reforming our
intelligence agencies for the incredibly difficult task of tracking
enemy activity -- based on information that often comes in small
fragments from widely scattered sources, both here and abroad. And we're
acting, along with governments from many countries, to destroy the
terrorist networks and incapacitate their leaders.
Together with our coalition partners, we have disrupted a number of
serious al Qaeda plots since September the 11th -- including several al
Qaeda plots to attack inside the United States. Our coalition against
terror has killed or captured nearly all those directly responsible for
the September the 11th attacks; we've killed or captured most of bin
Laden's most senior deputies; al Qaeda's managers and operatives in more
than 24 countries; the mastermind of the U.S.S. Cole bombing, who was
the chief al Qaeda operations -- chief of al Qaeda operations in the
Persian Gulf; we captured the mastermind of the bombings in Jakarta and
Bali; a senior Zarqawi terrorist planner, who was planning attacks in
Turkey; and many of al Qaeda's senior leaders in Saudi Arabia. Because
of this steady progress, the enemy is wounded, but the enemy is still
capable of global operations. Our commitment is clear: We will not
relent until the organized international terror networks are exposed and
broken, and until their leaders are held to account for their murder.
(Applause.)
Secondly, we're determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to
outlaw regimes, and to their terrorist allies who would use them without
hesitation. The United States, working with Great Britain and Pakistan
and other nations, has exposed and disrupted a major black-market
operation in nuclear technology led by A.Q. Khan. Libya has abandoned
its chemical and nuclear weapons programs, as well as its long-range
ballistic missiles. And in the last year, America and our partners in
the Proliferation Security Initiative have stopped more than a dozen
shipments of suspected weapons technology -- including equipment for
Iran's ballistic missile program. This progress has reduced the danger
to free nations, but it has not removed it. Evil men who want to use
horrendous weapons against us are working in deadly earnest to gain
them. And we are working urgently to keep weapons of mass murder out of
the hands of the fanatics.
Third, we're determined to deny radical groups the support and
sanctuary of outlaw regimes. State sponsors like Syria and Iran have a
long history of collaboration with terrorists -- and they deserve no
patience from the victims of terror. The United States makes no
distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those who
support and those who support and harbor them -- because they are
equally guilty of murder. (Applause.)
Fourth, we're determined to deny the militants control of any nation,
which they would use as a home base and a launching pad for terror. This
mission has brought new and urgent responsibilities to our Armed Forces
-- and to all of you. American troops are fighting beside Afghan
partners with [sic] remnants of the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies.
We are working with President Musharraf to oppose and isolate the
militants in Pakistan. We're fighting the regime remnants and terrorists
in Iraq. The terrorist goal is to overthrow a rising democracy, claim a
strategic country as a haven for terror, destabilize the Middle East,
and strike America and free nations with ever-increasing violence.
That's their goal. Our goal is to defeat the terrorists and their allies
at the heart of their power -- so we will defeat the enemy in Iraq.
(Applause.)
Our coalition, along with our Iraqi allies, is moving forward with a
comprehensive plan. As Secretary Rice explained last week, our strategy
is to clear, hold, and build. We are working to clear areas from
terrorist control, to hold those areas securely, and to build lasting
and democratic Iraqi institutions. In recent weeks, American and Iraqi
troops have conducted several major assaults to clear out enemy fighters
in Western Iraq, and to help shut down terrorist entry routes from
Syria. During one raid, our forces killed a Zarqawi henchman named Abu
Abdullah, who was responsible for attacks on American troops and
innocent Iraqis. We also killed a terrorist named Abu Dua, who had been
helping terrorists enter Iraq from Syria. Thousands of Iraqi forces have
been participating in our operations, and many have remained in the
cities along with coalition forces to hold onto our gains and prevent
the enemy from returning. Iraqi forces are using their local expertise
to maintain security, and make tangible improvements in the lives of
their fellow Iraqis.
At the same time, Iraqis are making inspiring progress toward
building a lasting democracy. Earlier this month, millions of Iraqis
turned out to vote on a constitution that guarantees fundamental
freedoms and lays the foundation for lasting democracy. And this week
the Iraqi elections commission certified passage of that constitution.
Many more Sunnis participated in this vote than in January's historic
elections, and the level of violence was dramatically lower. With their
courageous vote, the Iraqis have once again proved their determination
to build a democracy united against extremism and violence. An
85-year-old Iraqi woman cast a ballot in favor of the constitution after
her son carried her to the polls on his back. And here's what she said,
"I went out to vote for it because I want the future to be safe and
peaceful for my sons and my grandchildren."
The work ahead involves great risk for Iraqis and for American and
coalition forces. We have lost some of the nation's finest men and women
in the war on terror. Each of these men and women left grieving families
and left loved ones back home. Each of these patriots left a legacy that
will allow generations of their fellow Americans to enjoy the blessings
of liberty. Each loss is heartbreaking. And the best way to honor the
sacrifices of our fallen troops is to complete the mission and lay the
foundation of peace by spreading freedom. (Applause.)
Wars are not won without sacrifice -- and this war will require more
sacrifice, more time, and more resolve. The terrorists are as brutal an
enemy as we have ever faced -- unconstrained by any notion of common
humanity or by the rules of warfare. No one should underestimate the
difficulties ahead -- nor should they overlook the advantages we bring
to this fight.
Some observers look at the job ahead and adopt a self-defeating
pessimism. It is not justified. With every random bombing and with every
funeral of a child, it becomes more clear that the extremists are not
patriots or resistance fighters -- they are murderers at war with the
Iraqi people themselves. In contrast, the elected leaders of Iraq are
proving to be strong and steadfast. By any standard or precedent of
history, Iraq has made incredible political progress -- from tyranny, to
liberation, to national elections, to the ratification of a constitution
-- in the space of two-and-a-half years. With our help, the Iraqi
military is gaining new capabilities and new confidence with every
passing month. At the time of our Fallujah operations nearly a year ago,
there were only a few Iraqi army battalions in combat. Today there are
nearly 90 Iraqi army battalions fighting the terrorists alongside our
forces. General David Petraeus says, "Iraqis are in the fight. They are
fighting and dying for their country, and they are fighting increasingly
well," he says. The progress isn't easy, but it is steady. And no
fair-minded person should ignore or deny or dismiss the achievements of
the Iraqi people. (Applause.)
Some observers question the durability of democracy in Iraq. They
underestimate the power and appeal of freedom. We've heard it suggested
that Iraq's democracy must be on shaky ground, because Iraqis are
arguing with each other. (Laughter.) But that's the essence of
democracy: you make your case, you debate with those you disagree with,
you build a consensus by persuasion, and you answer to the will of the
people. (Applause.) We've heard it said that the Shia, the Sunnis, and
the Kurds of Iraq are too divided to form a lasting democracy. In fact,
democratic federalism is the best hope for unifying a diverse population
-- because a federal constitutional system respects the rights and
religious traditions of all citizens, while giving all minorities,
including the Sunnis, a stake and a voice in the future of their
country. (Applause.) It is true that the seeds of freedom have only
recently been planted in Iraq, but democracy, when it grows, is not a
fragile flower, it's a healthy, sturdy tree. As Americans, we believe
that people everywhere prefer freedom to slavery, and that liberty, once
chosen, improves the lives of all. And so we're confident: As our
coalition and the Iraqi people each do their part, Iraqi democracy will
succeed. (Applause.)
Some observers also claim that America would be better off by cutting
our losses and leaving Iraq now. This is a dangerous illusion, refuted
with a simple question: Would the United States and other free nations
be more safe, or less safe, with Zarqawi and bin Laden in control of
Iraq, its people, and its resources? Having removed a dictator who hated
free peoples, we will not stand by as a new set of killers -- dedicated
to the destruction of our country -- seizes control of Iraq by violence.
(Applause.) There is always a temptation, in the middle of a long
struggle, to seek the quiet life, to escape the duties and problems in
the world, and to hope the enemy grows weary of fanaticism and tired of
murder. That would be a pleasant world -- but it's not the world we live
in. The enemy is never tired, never sated, never content with
yesterday's brutality. This enemy considers every retreat of the
civilized world as an invitation to greater violence. In Iraq, there is
no peace without victory -- and so we will keep our nerve and win that
victory. (Applause.)
The fifth element of our strategy in the war on terror is to deny the
militants future recruits by replacing hatred and resentment with
democracy and hope across the broader Middle East. This is a difficult
and long-term project, yet there is no alternative to it. Our future and
the future of that region are linked. If the broader Middle East is left
to grow in bitterness -- if countries remain in misery, while radicals
stir the resentments of millions -- then that part of the world will be
a source of endless conflict and mounting danger, in our generation and
for the next. If the peoples of that region are permitted to choose
their own destiny, and advance by their own energy and participation as
free men and women, then the extremists will be marginalized, and the
flow of violent radicalism to the rest of the world will slow, and
eventually end. By standing for the hope and freedom of others, we make
our own freedom more secure. (Applause.)
America is making this stand in practical ways. We are encouraging
our friends in the Middle East, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to
take the path of reform -- to strengthen their own societies in the
fight against terror by respecting the rights and choices of their
people. We are standing with dissidents and exiles against oppressive
regimes, because we know that the dissidents of today will be the
democratic leaders of tomorrow. We are making our case through public
diplomacy -- stating clearly and confidently our belief in
self-determination, and the rule of law, and religious freedom, and
equal rights for women -- beliefs that are right and true in every land,
and in every culture.
And as we do our part to confront radicalism, we know that the most
vital work will be done within the Islamic world itself. And this work
has begun. Many Muslim scholars have publicly condemned terrorism, often
citing chapter 5, verse 32 of the Koran, which states that killing an
innocent human being is like killing all of humanity, and saving the
life of one person is like saving all of humanity. After the attacks in
London on July the 7th, an imam in the United Arab Emirates declared,
"Whoever does such a thing is not a Muslim, nor a religious person." The
time has come for all responsible Islamic leaders to join in denouncing
an ideology that exploits Islam for political ends, and defiles a noble
faith.
Many people of the Muslim faith are proving their commitment at great
personal risk. Everywhere we have engaged the fight against extremism,
Muslim allies have stood up and joined the fight, becoming partners in a
vital cause. Afghan troops are in combat against Taliban remnants. Iraqi
soldiers are sacrificing to defeat al Qaeda in their country. These
brave citizens know the stakes -- the survival of their own liberty, the
future of their own region, the justice and humanity of their own
tradition -- and we are proud to stand beside them. (Applause.)
With the rise of a deadly enemy and the unfolding of a global
ideological struggle, our time in history will be remembered for new
challenges and unprecedented dangers. And yet the fight we have joined
is also the current expression of an ancient struggle -- between those
who put their faith in dictators, and those who put their faith in the
people. Throughout history, tyrants and would-be tyrants have always
claimed that murder is justified to serve their grand vision -- and they
end up alienating decent people across the globe. Tyrants and would-be
tyrants have always claimed that regimented societies are strong and
pure -- until those societies collapse in corruption and decay. And
tyrants and would-be tyrants have always claimed that free men and women
are weak and decadent --until the day that free men and women defeat
them.
We don't know the course of our own struggle, where it will take us,
or the sacrifices that might lie ahead. But we do know, however, that
the defense of freedom is worth our sacrifice. We do know the love of
freedom is the mightiest force of history. And we do know the cause of
freedom will once again prevail. (Applause.)
Thank you for having me. May God bless you all.