-Caveat Lector-
Text of the President's speech, September 20, 2001
Mr. Speaker, Mr. President pro tempore, Members of Congress, and fellow
Americans:
In the normal course of events, Presidents come to this chamber to report on
the state of the Union. Tonight, no such report is needed. It has already
been delivered by the American people.
We have seen it in the courage of passengers, who rushed terrorists to save
others on the ground --passengers like an exceptional man named Todd Beamer.
Please help me to welcome his wife, Lisa Beamer, here tonight.
We have seen the state of our Union in the endurance of rescuers, working
past exhaustion. We have seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of
candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers ? in English, Hebrew, and
Arabic. We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people, who have made
the grief of strangers their own.
My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for
itself the state of our Union ? and it is strong.
Tonight we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our
grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our
enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.
I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time. All of
America was touched on the evening of the tragedy to see Republicans and
Democrats, joined together on the steps of this Capitol, singing "God Bless
America." And you did more than sing, you acted, by delivering forty billion
dollars to rebuild our communities and meet the needs of our military.
Speaker Hastert and Minority Leader Gephardt ? Majority Leader Daschle and
Senator Lott ? I thank you for your friendship and your leadership and your
service to our country.
And on behalf of the American people, I thank the world for its outpouring of
support. America will never forget the sounds of our National Anthem playing
at Buckingham Palace, and on the streets of Paris, and at Berlin's
Brandenburg Gate. We will not forget South Korean children gathering to pray
outside our embassy in Seoul, or the prayers of sympathy offered at a mosque
in Cairo. We will not forget moments of silence and days of mourning in
Australia and Africa and Latin America.
Nor will we forget the citizens of eighty other nations who died with our
own. Dozens of Pakistanis. More than 130 Israelis. More than 250 citizens of
India. Men and women from El Salvador, Iran, Mexico, and Japan. And hundreds
of British citizens. America has no truer friend than Great Britain. Once
again, we are joined together in a great cause. The British Prime Minister
has crossed an ocean to show his unity of purpose with America, and tonight
we welcome Tony Blair.
On September the eleventh, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against
our country. Americans have known wars ? but for the past 136 years, they
have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941. Americans have
known the casualties of war ? but not at the center of a great city on a
peaceful
morning. Americans have known surprise attacks ? but never before on
thousands of civilians. All of this was brought upon us in a single day ? and
night fell on a different world, a world where freedom itself is under
attack.
Americans have many questions tonight. Americans are asking: Who attacked our
country? The evidence we have gathered all points to a collection of loosely
affiliated terrorist organizations known as al-Qaida. They are the same
murderers indicted for bombing American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, and
responsible for the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole.
Al-Qaida is to terror what the mafia is to crime. But its goal is not making
money; its goal is remaking the world ? and imposing its radical beliefs on
people everywhere.
The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been
rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics a fringe
movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam. The terrorists'
directive commands them to kill Christians and Jews, to kill all Americans,
and make no distinctions among military and civilians, including women and
children.
This group and its leader a person named Usama bin Ladin are linked to many
other organizations in different countries, including the Egyptian Islamic
Jihad and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
There are thousands of these terrorists in more than sixty countries. They
are recruited from their own nations and neighborhoods, and brought to camps
in places like Afghanistan where they are trained in the tactics of terror.
They are sent back to their homes or sent to hide in countries around the
world to plot evil
and destruction.
The leadership of al-Qaida has great influence in Afghanistan, and supports
the Taliban regime in controlling most of that country. In Afghanistan, we
see al-Qaida's vision for the world.
Afghanistan's people have been brutalized many are starving and many have
fled. Women are not allowed to attend school. You can be jailed for owning a
television. Religion can be practiced only as their leaders dictate. A man
can be jailed in Afghanistan if his beard is not long enough.
The United States respects the people of Afghanistan after all, we are
currently its largest source of humanitarian aid but we condemn the Taliban
regime. It is not only repressing its own people, it is threatening people
everywhere by sponsoring and sheltering and supplying terrorists. By aiding
and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder. And tonight,
the United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban:
Deliver to United States authorities all the leaders of al-Qaida who
hide in your land. Release all foreign nationals ? including American
citizens you have unjustly imprisoned, and protect foreign journalists,
diplomats, and aid workers in your country.
Close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in
Afghanistan and hand over every terrorist, and every person in their support
structure, to appropriate authorities. Give the United States full access to
terrorist training camps, so we can make sure they are no longer operating.
These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act
and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share
in their fate.
I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world:
We respect your faith. It is practiced freely by many millions of Americans,
and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its
teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of
Allah blaspheme the name of Allah. The terrorists are traitors to their own
faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself. The enemy of America is
not our many Muslim friends; it is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a
radical network of terrorists, and every government that supports them.
Our war on terror begins with al-Qaida, but it does not end there. It will
not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped,
and defeated.
Americans are asking: Why do they hate us?
They hate what we see right here in this chamber a democratically elected
government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms our
freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble
and disagree with each other.
They want to overthrow existing governments in many Muslim countries, such as
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. They want to drive Israel out of the Middle
East. They want to drive Christians and Jews out of vast regions of Asia and
Africa.
These terrorists kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and end a way
of life. With every atrocity, they hope that America grows fearful,
retreating from the world and forsaking our friends. They stand against us,
because we stand in their way.
We are not deceived by their pretenses to piety. We have seen their kind
before. They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the twentieth
century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions by
abandoning every value except the will to power ? they follow in the path of
fascism, and Nazism, and
totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it
ends: in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies.
Americans are asking: How will we fight and win this war?
We will direct every resource at our command every means of diplomacy, every
tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial
influence, and every necessary weapon of war to the disruption and defeat of
the global terror network.
This war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with its
decisive liberation of territory and its swift conclusion. It will not look
like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used
and not a single American was lost in combat.
Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes.
Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any
other we have seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on television,
and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of
funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until
there is no refuge or rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or
safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to
make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day
forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be
regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.
Our Nation has been put on notice: We are not immune from attack. We will
take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans.
Today, dozens of federal departments and agencies, as well as state and local
governments, have responsibilities affecting homeland security. These
efforts must be coordinated at the highest level. So tonight I announce the
creation of a Cabinet-level position reporting directly to me the Office of
Homeland Security.
These measures are essential. But the only way to defeat terrorism as a
threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where
it grows.
Many will be involved in this effort, from FBI agents to intelligence
operatives to the reservists we have called to active duty. All deserve our
thanks, and all have our prayers. And tonight, a few miles from the damaged
Pentagon, I have a message for our military: Be ready. I have called the
armed forces to alert, and there is a reason. The hour is coming when America
will act, and you will make us proud.
This is not, however, just America's fight. And what is at stake is not just
America's freedom. This is the world's fight. This is civilization's fight.
This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and
freedom.
We ask every nation to join us. We will ask, and we will need, the help of
police forces, intelligence services, and banking systems around the world.
The United States is grateful that many nations and many international
organizations have already responded with sympathy and with support. Nations
from Latin
America, to Asia, to Africa, to Europe, to the Islamic world. Perhaps the
NATO Charter reflects best the attitude of the world: an attack on one is an
attack on all.
The civilized world is rallying to America's side. They understand that if
this terror goes unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be
next. Terror, unanswered, can not only bring down buildings, it can threaten
the stability of legitimate governments. And we will not allow it.
Americans are asking: What is expected of us?
I ask you to live your lives and hug your children. I know many citizens have
fears tonight, and I ask you to be calm and resolute, even in the face of a
continuing threat.
I ask you to uphold the values of America, and remember why so many have come
here. We are in a fight for our principles, and our first responsibility is
to live by them. No one should be singled out for unfair treatment or unkind
words because of their ethnic background or religious faith.
I ask you to continue to support the victims of this tragedy with your
contributions. Those who want to give can go to a central source of
information, libertyunites.org, to find the names of groups providing direct
help in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
The thousands of FBI agents who are now at work in this investigation may
need your cooperation, and I ask you to give it.
I ask for your patience, with the delays and inconveniences that may
accompany tighter security ? and for your patience in what will be a long
struggle.
I ask your continued participation and confidence in the American economy.
Terrorists attacked a symbol of American prosperity. They did not touch its
source. America is successful because of the hard work, and creativity, and
enterprise of our people. These were the true strengths of our economy before
September
eleventh, and they are our strengths today.
Finally, please continue praying for the victims of terror and their
families, for those in uniform, and for our great country. Prayer has
comforted us in sorrow, and will help strengthen us for the journey ahead.
Tonight I thank my fellow Americans for what you have already done and for
what you will do. And ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, I thank you,
their representatives, for what you have already done, and for what we will
do together.
Tonight, we face new and sudden national challenges. We will come together to
improve air safety, to dramatically expand the number of air marshals on
domestic flights, and take new measures to prevent hijacking. We will come
together to promote stability and keep our airlines flying with direct
assistance during this emergency.
We will come together to give law enforcement the additional tools it needs
to track down terror here at home. We will come together to strengthen our
intelligence capabilities to know the plans of terrorists before they act,
and find them before they strike.
We will come together to take active steps that strengthen America's economy,
and put our people back to work.
Tonight we welcome here two leaders who embody the extraordinary spirit of
all New Yorkers: Governor George Pataki, and Mayor Rudy Giuliani. As a symbol
of America's resolve, my Administration will work with the Congress, and
these two leaders, to show the world that we will rebuild New York City.
After all that has just passed ? all the lives taken, and all the
possibilities and hopes that died with them it is natural to wonder if
America's future is one of fear. Some speak of an age of terror. I know there
are struggles ahead, and dangers to face. But this country will define our
times, not be defined by them. As long as the United States of America is
determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror; this will be an age
of liberty, here and across the world.
Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief
and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at
war. The advance of human freedom the great achievement of our time, and the
great hope of every time now depends on us. Our Nation this generation will
lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally
the world to this cause, by our efforts and by our courage. We will not tire,
we will not falter, and we will not fail.
It is my hope that in the months and years ahead, life will return almost to
normal. We'll go back to our lives and routines, and that is good. Even grief
recedes with time and grace. But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will
remember what happened that day, and to whom it happened. We will remember
the moment the news came ? where we were and what we were doing. Some will
remember an image of fire, or a story of rescue. Some will carry memories of
a face and a voice gone forever.
And I will carry this. It is the police shield of a man named George Howard,
who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others. It was given to me
by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. This is my reminder of
lives that ended, and a task that does not end.
I will not forget this wound to our country, or those who inflicted it. I
will not yield I will not rest I will not relent in waging this struggle for
the freedom and security of the American people.
The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain.
Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know
that God is not neutral between them.
Fellow citizens, we will meet violence with patient justice assured of the
rightness of our cause, and confident of the victories to come. In all that
lies before us, may God grant us wisdom, and may He watch over the United
States of America.
Thank you.
President George W. Bush
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