President Bush Discusses Global War on Terror

Wardman Park Marriott Hotel
Washington, D.C.

President's Remarks
9:36 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks, Captain Smith, for your kind
introduction. Thank you all for being here, and thank
you for the warm welcome. I am honored to stand with
the men and women of the Reserve Officers Association.
For more than 80 years, this organization has stood up
for America and its citizen-soldiers, and I appreciate
your contribution to our country. We're safer because
you stand ready to put on the uniform. I am grateful
for your service, and I am proud to be your
Commander-in-Chief.

I want to speak to you today about the struggle
between moderation and extremism that is unfolding
across the broader Middle East. At this moment,
terrorists and extremists are fighting to overthrow
moderate governments in the region, so they can take
control of countries and use them as bases from which
to attack America and from which to impose their
hateful ideology. This is the challenge of our time.
This is the call of a generation, to stand against the
extremists and support moderate leaders across the
broader Middle East, to help us all secure a future of
peace.

This week in Washington, I met with two courageous
leaders who are working for peace -- President Karzai
of Afghanistan, and President Musharraf of Pakistan.
These leaders understand the stakes in the struggle --
in the ideological struggle of the 21st century. They
understand the stakes from a personal perspective, as
well, since the extremists have tried to assassinate
them. They are courageous people. They have seen the
destruction that terrorists have caused in their own
country, and they know this, that the only way to stop
them is to work together and to stay on the offense.
By standing with brave leaders like these, we are
defending civilization itself, and we're building a
more peaceful world for our children and
grandchildren.

I appreciate very much the Ambassador from
Afghanistan, Ambassador Jawad, and Ambassador Durrani
from Pakistan for joining us here today. Thank you all
for coming. (Applause.) I appreciate members of my
administration who have joined us, I appreciate people
wearing the uniform who have joined us. I appreciate
those from Walter Reed who have joined us, and from
Bethesda. (Applause.) I thank you for your sacrifice.

I also want to thank those from Walter Reed and
Bethesda who are giving you the help you need to
recover from your wounds. It gives me great comfort to
be able to tell the loved ones of those who wear our
uniform that if you get hurt you will receive first
class, compassionate care from the United States
military. And so to the healers who are here, thank
you for doing your duty and providing these brave
folks the help they need to recover.

Earlier this month, our nation marked the fifth
anniversary of the September the 11th, 2001 terrorist
attacks. We paused on that day to remember the
innocent people who were killed that day. We paused to
remember the rescue workers who rushed into burning
towers to save lives. After 9/11, I stood in the well
of the House of Representatives and declared that
every nation, in every region, had a decision to make
-- either you were with us, or you stood with the
terrorists. Two nations, Afghanistan and Pakistan,
made very different decisions -- with very different
results.

Five years ago, Afghanistan was ruled by the brutal
Taliban regime. Under the Taliban and al Qaeda,
Afghanistan was a land where women were imprisoned in
their own homes, where men were beaten for missing
prayer meetings, where girls couldn't even go to
school. What a hopeless society that was, under the
rule of these hateful men. Afghanistan was the home to
terrorist training camps. Under al Qaeda and the
Taliban, Afghanistan was a terrorist safe haven and a
launching pad for the horrific attacks that killed
innocent people in New York City on September the
11th, 2001.

After 9/11, America gave the leaders of the Taliban a
choice. We told them that they must turn over all the
leaders of al Qaeda hiding in their land. We told them
they must close every terrorist training camp and hand
over every terrorist to appropriate authorities. We
told them they must give the United States full access
to the terrorist training camps, so they could make
sure they were no longer operating. We told them these
demands were not up for negotiation, and that if they
did not comply immediately and hand over the
terrorists, they would share in the same fate as the
terrorists.

I felt these were reasonable demands. The Taliban
regime chose unwisely -- so within weeks after the
9/11 attacks, our coalition launched Operation
Enduring Freedom. By December 2001, the Taliban regime
had been removed from power, hundreds of Taliban and
al Qaeda fighters had been captured or killed, and the
terrorist camps where the enemy had planned the 9/11
attacks were shut down. We did what we said we were
going to do. We made our intentions clear. We gave the
Taliban a chance to make the right decision. They made
the wrong decision, and we liberated Afghanistan.
(Applause.)

The liberation of Afghanistan was a great achievement
-- and for those of you who served in that effort,
thank you. I thank you on behalf of America, and the
Afghan people thank you. But we knew that it was only
the beginning of our mission in Afghanistan. See, the
liberation was only the start of an important mission
to make this world a more peaceful place. We learned
the lesson of the 1980s, when the United States had
helped the Afghan people drive the Soviet Red Army
from Kabul, and then decided our work was finished,
and left the Afghans to fend for themselves.

The Taliban came to power and provided a sanctuary for
bin Laden and al Qaeda, and we paid the price when the
terrorists struck our nation and killed nearly 3,000
people in our midst. So after liberating Afghanistan,
we began the difficult work of helping the Afghan
people rebuild their country, and establish a free
nation on the rubble of the Taliban's tyranny.

With the help of the United Nations and coalition
countries, Afghan leaders chose an interim government.
They wrote and approved a democratic constitution.
They held elections to choose a new President and they
elected leaders to represent them in a new Parliament.
In those parliamentary elections, more than six
million Afghans defied terrorist threats and cast
their ballots. They made it clear they wanted to live
in a free society. As I travel around the country, I
tell people that I'm not surprised when people say, I
want to live in liberty. I believe liberty is
universal. I believe deep within the soul of every
man, woman and child on the face of the Earth is a
desire to live in freedom. And when we free people, we
not only do our duty to ourselves, but we help the
rise of decent human beings.

As Afghans have braved the terrorists and claimed
their freedom, we've helped them, and we will continue
to help them. It's in our interests that we help this
young democracy survive and grow strong. We helped
them build security forces they need to defend their
democratic gains. In the past five years, our
coalition has trained and equipped more than 30,000
soldiers in the Afghan National Army -- and at this
moment, several thousand more are in training at a
Kabul Military Training Center. These Afghan soldiers
are on the front lines with coalition troops. Some
have suffered terrible wounds in battle, others have
given their lives in the fight against the terrorists.
Afghans in uniform are determined to protect their
nation and fight our common enemies -- and we're proud
to fight alongside such brave allies.

Our coalition has also trained about 46,000 members of
the Afghan National Police. The training of the Afghan
police has not gone as smoothly as that of the army.
The police have faced problems with corruption and
substandard leadership. And we've made our concerns
known to our friends in the Afghan government. When we
see a problem, we adjust, we change. And so this year,
President Karzai's government announced a new team to
lead the National Police. As the police become more
capable, and better led, and more disciplined, they
will gain legitimacy and they will earn the respect of
the Afghan people.

Listen, the Afghan people want to live in a peaceful
world. It's important for the American citizens to
understand an Afghan mother wants the same thing for
her child that our mothers' want for our children, the
chance to grow up and realize dreams, the chance to
live in peace. And it's important for the Afghan
government to provide the kind of security so the
citizens have trust that their government can enable
the peace to evolve in that strife-ridden part of the
world.

The army and police are good fighters. At this moment,
more than 21,000 American troops and more than 20,000
personnel from 40 countries are deployed in
Afghanistan. In the summer of 2003, NATO took over the
International Security Assistance Force -- it's called
ISAF, in Afghanistan -- NATO's first mission outside
the Euro-Atlantic area. Other nations besides the
United States understand the importance of helping
this young democracy survive and thrive and grow.
Since then, NATO has expanded ISAF from a small force
that was operating only in Kabul into a robust force
that has taken responsibility for security in nearly
60 percent of the country. And this week, NATO
announced that it would take over security operations
in all of Afghanistan in the coming weeks. Under the
plan, the U.S. will transfer 12,000 of our troops that
are now serving in the country to the NATO force,
while the rest will remain under coalition command and
continue anti-terrorist operations across the country.

We saw the effectiveness of NATO forces this summer,
when NATO took responsibility from the United States
for security operations in Southern Afghanistan. The
Taliban saw the transfer of the region from the United
States to NATO control as a window of opportunity.
They saw it as an opportunity to test the will of
nations under than the United States. See, they've
been testing our will. And they understand it's
strong, and they need to understand it will remain
strong. (Applause.)

So the Taliban massed an estimated 800 to 900 fighters
near Kandahar to face the NATO force head on. And that
was a mistake. Earlier this month, NATO launched
Operation Medusa. Together with the Afghan National
Army, troops from Canada, and Denmark, and the
Netherlands, and Britain, and the United States
engaged the enemy -- with operational support from
Romanian, and Portuguese, and Estonian Forces.
According to NATO Commanders, NATO forces killed
hundreds of Taliban fighters. NATO's Supreme Allied
Commander, General Jones, a United States Marine, says
this about the NATO operation in Southern Afghanistan:
"The Taliban decided to make a test case of this
region r. And they paid a very heavy price for it..
[The operation sent a] signal to the insurgents [that]
NATO forces would not back down." The operation also
sent a clear message to the Afghan people: that NATO
is standing with you. I appreciate the courage of the
NATO forces. I appreciate the governments of our
allies in NATO understanding the importance of helping
the Afghan people achieve their dream, and that is a
stable country. The people from NATO must understand
that they're helping a young democracy defend itself
and protect its people. And in so doing, they're
helping to lay the foundation of peace in the
ideological struggle of the 21st century. (Applause.)

The NATO deployment has begun to bring security and
reconstruction to a region that had previously had
little, and has allowed the United States and Afghan
forces to stay on the offense. And so we launched
another major offensive in the East called Operation
Mountain Fury. The operation is ongoing. It's aimed at
clearing out enemy safe havens in five Afghan
provinces -- including three provinces bordering
Pakistan. The operation is being led by about 4,000
Afghan forces, and supported by about 3,000 of our
finest. As Afghan and coalition forces clear out the
enemy, then we will follow up with reconstruction
assistance -- so we can improve the quality of life
for local Afghans, and help extend the authority of
the central government to distant areas of the
country.

See, the enemy understands what we're doing, and they
don't like it. That's why they're reacting the way
they're reacting. They understand that the arrival of
Afghan and coalition forces in the region means that
the government is beginning to win the hearts of the
people. In many of these regions, the Taliban and al
Qaeda fighters, and drug traffickers, and criminal
elements have enjoyed free reign. There hasn't been
any countervailing force to their presence. And you
can imagine how that makes innocent people feel, you
know, when you've got these killers in your midst. It
creates an atmosphere of fear. As a matter of fact,
people like al Qaeda, whose ideology is hateful, have
got one major tool at their disposal: they kill
innocent life to create fear. What a contrast it is to
the United States of America, and coalition partners,
and decent Afghans to believe in hope. (Applause.)

These haters of humanity know that when the government
in Kabul can reach out and improve the lives of local
Afghans in distant parts of the country, the
population will gain confidence in Afghanistan's
democracy. That's part of the struggle, this
ideological struggle we're engaged in. And so they are
going to try to do everything they can to stop the
progress. And they'll fight Afghan and coalition
forces. And that's what you're seeing today.

But they do more than just fight our forces. They
destroy schools and they destroy clinics; they do
everything in their power to intimidate local folks.
The enemies of a free Afghanistan are brutal and
they're determined -- and we're not going to let them
succeed. (Applause.) NATO, and coalition, and Afghan
forces will continue to fight the enemy. We will stay
on the offense, and we're going to help this
government of President Karzai bring a better life to
his people.

To bring a better life to the Afghan people, our
coalition and NATO forces have deployed 23 Provincial
Reconstruction Teams across Afghanistan. These teams
are important because we're talking about a country
that has been torn apart because of war over the
years. The teams are led by Sweden, and Norway, and
Germany, and Hungary, and Italy, and Spain, and
Lithuania, and Canada, and Britain, and the
Netherlands, and the United States. And these teams
are bringing security and reconstruction assistance to
distant regions of the country. And to link the
distant regions to the capital, we've got a strategy
-- it's called building roads. This is a country that
is in dire need for transportation. And since the
liberation of Afghanistan, we've provided more than
$4.5 billion for reconstruction throughout the
country. We're helping with electricity, and
irrigation, and water, and sanitation, and other
necessities.

Our coalition is working with President Karzai to
strengthen the institutions of Afghans --
Afghanistan's young democracy. We understand that the
institutions must be strengthened and reformed for
democracy to survive. And one of the areas most in
need of reform is the nation's legal system. Recently,
President Karzai took important steps to strengthen
the rule of law, when he appointed a new Attorney
General and judges to serve on Afghanistan's Supreme
Court. Our coalition is helping his government
institutionalize these changes. Italy, for example, is
helping to train Afghan judges, and prosecutors, and
public defenders, and court administrators so all
Afghans can receive equal justice under the law.

And from the beginning, our actions in Afghanistan
have had a clear purpose -- in other words, our goals
are clear for people to understand -- and that is to
rid that country of the Taliban and the terrorists,
and build a lasting free society that will be an ally
in the war on terror. (Applause.) And from the
beginning, the American people have heard the critics
say we're failing -- but their reasons keep changing.
In the first days of Operation Enduring Freedom, the
critics warned that we were heading toward a
"quagmire." And then when the Taliban fell, and
operations began in Iraq, the critics held up the
multinational coalition in Afghanistan as a model, and
said it showed that everything we were doing in Iraq
was wrong. And now some of the critics who praised the
multinational coalition we built in Afghanistan claim
that the country is in danger of failing because we
don't have enough American troops there.

Look, in order to win war, in order to win the
ideological struggle of the 21st century, it is
important for this country to have a clear strategy,
and change tactics to meet the conditions on the
ground, not try to constantly respond to the critics
who change their positions. And so I listen to the
advice of those who matter in Afghanistan, and that is
President Karzai and our commanders. (Applause.) We
will continue to help Afghanistan's government defeat
our common enemies.

I've constantly told the American people we must
defeat the enemy overseas, so we do not have to face
them here at home. (Applause.) I will continue to
remind the American people that you deal with threats
before they materialize. In this war that we're in, it
is too late to respond to a threat after the -- after
we've been attacked. I'm not going to forget the
lessons of September the 11th, 2001, and I know you
won't either. We must take threats seriously now, in
order to protect the American people.

So we're going to help the people of Afghanistan, and
help them build a free nation. We're going to help
them be a successful part of defeating an ideology of
hate with an ideology of hope. And think what that
will mean for reformers and moderate people in a
region that has been full of turmoil. Imagine the
effect it will have when they see a thriving democracy
in their midst.

No, this ideological struggle of the 21st century will
require tough military action, good intelligence, it
will require the United States to give our folks on
the front line of terror the tools necessary to
protect us, including listening to phone calls from al
Qaeda coming into the country so we know what they're
getting ready to attack or questioning people we
capture on the battlefield. That's what it's going to
include. (Applause.)

But it also means helping the millions who want to
live in liberty to do so. In the long term, we will
help our children and grandchildren live in a peaceful
world by encouraging the spread of liberty.

Five years ago, another country that faced a choice
was Pakistan. At the time of 9/11, Pakistan was only
one of three nations that recognized the Taliban
regime in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda had a large presence
in Pakistan. There was a strong radical Islamic
movement in that country. Some of the 9/11 hijackers
were housed and trained in Pakistan. Pakistan's future
was in doubt -- and President Musharraf understood
that he had to make a fundamental choice for his
people. He could turn a blind eye and leave the people
hostage to the extremists, or he could join the free
world in fighting the extremists and the terrorists.
President Musharraf made the choice to fight for
freedom, and the United States of America is grateful
for his leadership.

Within two days of the September the 11th attacks, the
Pakistani government committed itself to stop al Qaeda
operatives at its border, to share intelligence on
terrorist activities and movements, and to break off
all ties with the Taliban government if it refused to
hand over Bin Laden and the al Qaeda. President
Musharraf's decision to fight the terrorists was made
at great personal risk. They have tried to kill him as
a result of his decision, because they know he has
chosen to side with the forces of peace and
moderation, and that he stands in the way of their
hateful vision for his country.

President Musharraf's courageous choice to join the
struggle against extremism has saved American lives.
His government has helped capture or kill many senior
terrorist leaders. For example, Pakistani forces
helped capture Abu Zubaydah -- a man we believe to be
a trusted associate of Osama bin Laden. Pakistani
forces helped capture another individual believed to
be one of the key plotters of the 9/11 attacks --
Ramzi bin al Shibh. Pakistani forces helped capture
the man our intelligence community believes
masterminded the 9/11 attacks -- Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed.

Once captured, these men were taken into custody of
the Central Intelligence Agency. The questioning of
these and other suspected terrorists provided
information that helped us protect the American
people. They helped us break up a cell of Southeast
Asian terrorist operatives that had been groomed for
attacks inside the United States. They helped us
disrupt an al Qaeda operation to develop anthrax for
terrorist attacks. They helped us stop a planned
strike on a U.S. Marine camp in Djibouti, and to
prevent a planned attack on the U.S. Consulate in
Karachi, and to foil a plot to hijack passenger planes
and to fly them into Heathrow Airport and London's
Canary Wharf.

Were it not for the information gained from the
terrorists captured with the help of Pakistan, our
intelligence community believes that al Qaeda and its
allies would have succeeded in launching another
attack against the American homeland. Our close
cooperation with the government of Pakistan has saved
American lives -- and America is grateful to have a
strong and steadfast ally in the war against these
terrorists. (Applause.)

President Musharraf understands that the terrorists
hide in remote regions and travel back and forth
across the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
And so we're helping his government establish stronger
control over these border areas. We are helping him to
equip the nation's paramilitary Frontier Corps that is
policing the border regions. The United States is
funding the construction of more than 100 border
outposts, which will provide Pakistani forces with
better access to remote areas of the country's western
border. We're providing high-tech equipment to help
Pakistani forces better locate terrorists attempting
to cross the border. We are funding an air wing with
helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to give Pakistan
better security and surveillance capabilities.

And as we work with President Musharraf to bring
security to his country, we're also supporting him as
he takes steps to build a modern and moderate nation,
that will hold free and fair elections next year. In
an address to his fellow citizens earlier this year,
President Musharraf declared this: "We have to
eliminate extremism in our society. It will eat us up
from within. So it is my appeal to all of you to shun
extremism. Adopt the path of moderation.. we will
eliminate this extremism in our society and then
Pakistan will be considered a moderate, developed
country." President Musharraf has a clear vision for
his country as a nation growing in freedom and
prosperity and peace. And as he stands against the
terrorists and for the free future of his country, the
United States of America will stand with him.
(Applause.)

In both Pakistan and Afghanistan, America has strong
allies who are committed to rooting out the terrorists
in their midst. And with their help, we've killed or
captured hundreds of al Qaeda leaders and operatives
-- and we put the others on the run. Osama Bin Laden
and other terrorists are still in hiding. Our message
to them is clear: No matter how long it takes, we will
find you, and we're going to bring you to justice.
(Applause.)

On Wednesday night, I had dinner with Presidents
Musharraf and Karzai at the White House. We had a long
and we had a frank conversation about the challenges
we face in defeating the extremists and the terrorists
in their countries, and providing the people of these
two nations an alternative to the dark ideology of the
enemy. We discussed the best ways to improve
intelligence sharing so that we can target and
eliminate the leaders of al Qaeda and the Taliban.

We resolved to strengthen the institutions of civil
society in both countries. We agreed on the need to
support tribal leaders on both sides of the border. By
helping these local leaders build schools, and roads,
and health clinics, we will help them build a better
life for their communities, and strengthen their hand
against -- to fight against the extremists. It was
clear from our conversation that our three nations
share the same goals: We will defeat the Taliban, we
will defeat al Qaeda, and the only way to do it is by
working together.

Our meeting took place at a time when there is a
debate raging in Washington about how best to fight
the war on terror. Recently, parts of a classified
document called the National Intelligence Estimate was
leaked to the press. As I said yesterday in Alabama,
it's an indication that we're getting close to an
election. (Laughter.) The NIE is a document that
analyzes the threat we face from terrorists and
extremists -- and its unauthorized disclosure has set
off a heated debate here in the United States,
particularly in Washington.

Some have selectively quoted from this document to
make the case that by fighting the terrorists, by
fighting them in Iraq we are making our people less
secure here at home. This argument buys into the
enemy's propaganda that the terrorists attack us
because we're provoking them. I want to remind the
American citizens that we were not in Iraq on
September the 11th, 2001. (Applause.)

And this argument was powerfully answered this week by
Prime Minister Tony Blair. Here is what he said. He
said, "I believe passionately [that] we will not win
until we shake ourselves free of the wretched
capitulation to the propaganda of the enemy, that
somehow we are the ones responsible." (Applause.) He
went on to say, "This terrorism is not our fault. We
didn't cause it. And It is not the consequence of
foreign policy." He's right. You do not create
terrorism by fighting terrorism. (Applause.) If that
ever becomes the mind set of the policymakers in
Washington, it means we'll go back to the old days of
waiting to be attacked and then respond. Our most
important duty is to protect the American people from
a future attack, and the way to do so is to stay on
the offense against the terrorists. (Applause.)

Iraq is not the reason the terrorists are at war
against us. They are at war against us because they
hate everything America stands for -- and we stand for
freedom. We stand for people to worship freely. One of
the great things about America is, you're equally
American if you're a Jew, a Muslim, a Christian, an
agnostic or an atheist. What a powerful statement to
the world about the compassion of the American people
that you're free to choose the religion you want in
our country. They can't stand the thought that people
can go into the public square in America and express
their differences with government. They can't stand
the thought that the people get to decide the future
of our country by voting. Freedom bothers them because
their ideology is the opposite of liberty, it is the
opposite of freedom. And they don't like it because we
know they know we stand in their way of their
ambitions in the Middle East, their ambitions to
spread their hateful ideology as a caliphate from
Spain to Indonesia.

We'll defeat the terrorists in Iraq. We'll deny them
the safe haven to replace the one they lost in
Afghanistan. We're going to make it harder for them to
recruit a new generation of terrorists, and we're
going to help the Iraqis build a free society. It's a
hopeful country that sends a powerful message across
the broader Middle East, and serves with those of us
who believe in moderation and hope as an ally in the
war against these extremists.

We can have confidence in the outcome of the war on
terror -- because our nation is determined. We've done
this kind of hard work before, and we have succeeded.
And we can be confident because we've got incredible
men and women who wear our nation's uniform.
(Applause.) I am constantly amazed at the incredible
courage that our fellow citizens who wear the uniform
show on a regular basis.

I think of two Navy SEALs named Matthew Axelson and
Danny Deetz. In June of 2005, they were part of a SEAL
team operating deep in the mountains of Afghanistan on
a mission to kill or capture a Taliban leader. They
were discovered, and they were soon surrounded in a
mountain ravine by 30 to 40 Taliban fighters. During
the firefight that ensued, Axelson urged an injured
teammate to escape, and he provided cover before
suffering a mortal wound. Fighting nearby, his partner
Deetz was also mortally wounded, but he too stood his
ground and kept firing until finally, he finally died.

Because of the courage of Petty Officers Axelson and
Deetz, their wounded teammate made it out alive. For
their heroism, these two Petty Officers were awarded
the Navy Cross. But I want you to hear what Petty
Officer Deetz's wife said about her husband and his
comrades in arms. She said, "Danny and his brothers
went toward evil and ran forward and gave their last
breath."

We live in freedom because of the courage of men like
Matthew and Danny. And we will honor their sacrifice
by completing the mission. (Applause.) From
Afghanistan and Iraq to Africa and Southeast Asia, we
are engaged in a struggle against violent extremists
-- a struggle which will help determine the destiny of
the civilized world. We've borne these
responsibilities before, and we have seen our faith in
freedom vindicated by history. In this young century,
a new generation of Americans is being called to
defend liberty -- and once again the cause of liberty
and peace will prevail.

Thank you for coming. God bless.

END 10:28 A.M. EDT