The White House Speaks Up

George W. Bush spoke at Pease Air National Guard Base, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, yesterday:

.... September the 11, 2001, moved our country to grief -- and moved our country to action. We made a pledge that day, and we have kept it: We will bring the guilty to justice; we will take the fight to the enemy. (Applause.)

We now see our enemy clearly. The terrorists plot in secret. They target the innocent. They defile a great religion. They hate everything this nation stands for. These committed killers will not be stopped by negotiations; they won't respond to reason. The terrorists who threaten America cannot be appeased -- they must be found, they must be fought, and they must be defeated. (Applause.)

This is a new kind of war, and we must adjust. It's a new kind of war, and America is following a new strategy. We're not waiting for further attacks. We're striking our enemies before they can strike us again. We've taken unprecedented steps to protect our homeland. And for those of you who are here who are on the front lines of homeland protection, thank you. Thank you for what you're doing. (Applause.)

Yet wars are won on the offensive -- and our friends and America are staying on the offensive. (Applause.) We're finding them. We're on the hunt. We're rolling back the terrorist threats -- not on the fringes of its influence, but at the heart of its power. We're making good progress. We're hunting the al Qaeda terrorists wherever they hide -- from Pakistan, to the Philippines, to the Horn of Africa, to Iraq. Nearly two-thirds of al Qaeda's known leaders have been captured or killed. Our resolve is firm; our resolve is clear: No matter how long it takes, all who plot against America will face the justice of America. (Applause.)

We have sent a message understood throughout the world: If you harbor a terrorist, if you support a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, you are just as guilty as the terrorists. And the Taliban found out what we meant. (Applause.) Thanks to our great military, Afghanistan is no longer a safe-haven for terror, the Afghan people are free, and the people of America are more secure from attack. (Applause.)

And we have fought the war on terror in Iraq. The regime of Saddam Hussein possessed and used weapons of mass destruction, sponsored terrorist groups, and inflicted terror on its own people. Nearly every nation recognized and denounced this threat for over a decade. Last year, the U.N. Security Council -- in Resolution 1441 -- demanded that Saddam Hussein disarm, prove his disarmament to the world, or face serious consequences. The choice was up to the dictator, and he chose poorly.

I acted because I was not about to leave the security of the American people in the hands of a madman. I was not about to stand by and wait and trust in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein. So our coalition acted, in one of the swiftest and most humane military campaigns in history. And six months ago today, the statue of the dictator was pulled down. (Applause.) ....

And Condoleezza Rice spoke to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Chicago, Illinois, Oct. 8:

.... September 11th made clear our enemies' goals, and provided painful experience of how far they are willing to go to achieve them. From their own boasts, we know that they would not hesitate to use the world's most terrible weapons to bring devastation to our shores. In fact, they would welcome it. This threat is potentially so catastrophic -- and can arrive with so little warning, by means that are untraceable -- that it cannot be contained.

We have no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 11th attacks. Yet the possibility remained that he might use his weapons of mass destruction or that terrorists might acquire such weapons from his regime, to mount a future attack far beyond the scale of 9/11. This terrible prospect could not be ignored or wished away.

President Bush put it this way: "Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option." ...

Rice is quoting the 2003 State of the Union message:

.... Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Fri. 10/10/03 08:03:05 AM
Categorized as International.