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Skriven 2005-08-22 23:33:16 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0508221) for Mon, 2005 Aug 22
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President Honors Veterans of Foreign Wars at National Convention
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 22, 2005

President Honors Veterans of Foreign Wars at National Convention
Salt Palace Convention Center
Salt Lake City, Utah


˙˙˙˙˙President Bush Honors America's Veterans and Soldiers

11:17 A.M. MDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you all very much. Thanks
for the warm welcome. It's a pleasure to be back here in Salt Lake City,
Utah. And I'm proud to again stand with the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Thanks for having me. (Applause.)

I really enjoy coming to these conventions. Members here come from all
walks of life and you do vital work across our country. I know firsthand
the spirit of the VFW. I was raised by one of your members -- (applause) --
a proud veteran of Post 4344 in Houston, Texas, former President George
Bush. (Applause.) Where is that mighty Texas delegation? (Applause.)
Behaves yourselves. (Laughter.)

I'm honored to serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed
Forces. The men and women who wear the uniform today are protecting our
nation and our way of life. And they are upholding a tradition of honor and
bravery and integrity set by America's veterans. All of you defended this
country with unselfish courage. You've earned the respect of our citizens.
And so, on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you for your service for the
cause of freedom and peace. (Applause.)

I appreciate John Furgess. I appreciated working with him for the past
year. He's a good, honorable man, and he's represented the VFW with
distinction and class. It takes judgment to be the President of an
organization. And so when I first saw John this morning, I realized he was
a man of good judgment. He said, "You've got to understand, Mr. President,
most of the people are really excited to see Laura." (Laughter and
applause.) I'm proud she's traveling with me. I'm proud to call her wife.
And a lot of folks in this United States of America are proud to call her
First Lady. (Applause.)

And I'm pleased the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is with us today, Ranger
vet, a man who is doing a fine job on behalf of the veterans across the
United States, Secretary Jim Nicholson. (Applause.)

When I landed out there at the airport, I was greeted at the base of the
stairs by the Governor of this great state, Governor Jon Huntsman. And I
appreciate you being here, Governor. And I want to thank your wife, Mary
Kaye, for joining, as well. There she is. Hi, Mary Kaye. I know the
Lieutenant Governor, Gary Herbert is with us, and Jeanette. Appreciate you
being here, Lieutenant Governor.

I got on Air Force One down there in Waco, and they told me that we had a
special guest on our plane. I said, well, who is it? They said, well, it's
Orrin Hatch. I said, fantastic, glad to give the fellow a ride. (Laughter.)
And the reason why I'm glad to give him a ride, he's a strong ally, and I
appreciate a strong ally in Orrin Hatch. He does a great job for Utah, and
he does a great job for the United States of America. (Applause.)

I appreciate Congressman Chris Cannon joining us today. Thank you for being
here, Congressman -- and Congressman Jim Matheson -- I'm proud you both are
here. Thanks for taking time to be here today. (Applause.)

They must have changed the immigration laws here in Utah, because they
allowed the Idaho Governor to come across the border. (Laughter.) I'm proud
to be here with my friend, Dirk Kempthorne. Thank you for coming, Dirk.
(Applause.) I want to thank the Senior Vice Commander, Jim Miller, for his
hospitality. I'm looking forward to working with him. I want to thank
JoAnne Ott, the outgoing National VFW Ladies Auxiliary president. And I
want to thank Sandy Germany, who will be the incoming president.
(Applause.)

Most of all, thank you all. As veterans of foreign wars, you stepped
forward when America needed you. You took an oath to defend the nation, and
you kept that oath, overseas and under fire. You triumphed over brutal
enemies, liberated continents, and answered the prayers of millions across
the Earth. All of us who have grown up in freedom must never forget your
service and your sacrifice.

We also remember the troops who left America's shores, but did not live to
make the journey home. We think of the families who lost a loved one, and
who carry a burden of grief that remains for a lifetime. We remember the
men and women in uniform whose fate is still undetermined, our prisoners of
war and those missing in action. America must never forget them. We will
not stop searching until we have accounted for every soldier, sailor airmen
and Marine missing in the line of duty. (Applause.)

VFW's mission is to honor the dead by helping the living, and VFW members
are making good on that promise every day. Together with your superb Ladies
Auxiliary, VFW members have -- (applause) -- VFW members have adopted
military units, mentored youth groups, assisted in blood drives, and
provided countless services to fellow veterans and their families. When you
hear the name VFW, you know a certain type of work is being done --
honorable, decent, and faithful to the nation's highest ideals.

In war and in peace, America's veterans set an example of citizenship, and
we honor your devotion to duty and to our country. All of America's
veterans have placed the nation's security before their own lives. Your
sacrifice creates a debt that America can never really fully -- fully
repay.

Yet there are certain things the government can do. My administration
remains firmly committed to serving America's veterans. Since I took office
my administration, in working with the United States Congress, has
increased spending for veterans by $24 billion, an increase of 53 percent.
In my first four years as President -- (applause) -- in my first four years
as President, we increased spending for veterans more than twice as much as
the previous administration did in eight years. (Applause.)

Health care is a top priority for our veterans and it's a top priority for
my administration. The past four years, we've increased the VA medical care
budget by 51 percent, and we're using those resources to make real
improvements for our veterans. Over the past four years, we've increased
total outpatient visits from 44 million to 55 million. We've increased the
number of prescriptions filled from 98 million to 116 million. Since
January 2002, we've reduced the backlog of disability claims by 20 percent.
Claims are now being processed 68 days faster. By the end of this year, we
plan to cut another 15 days on the average turnaround time. (Applause.)

We place a special focus on treating men and women returning from combat,
and veterans with service disabilities and lower incomes and special needs.
In the last two years, we've committed more than $1.5 billion to
modernizing and expanding VA facilities, so more veterans can get care
closer to their homes. My administration is helping the veterans who fought
and sacrificed for America to get the quality care they deserve.

We're also getting results for veterans beyond the health care system. For
more than a century, federal law prohibited disabled veterans from
receiving both their retired pay and their VA disability compensation.
Combat-injured and severely disabled veterans deserve better, and I was
honored to be the first President in more than 100 years to sign concurrent
receipt legislation. (Applause.)

We've also expanded grants to help homeless veterans in all 50 states and
the District of Columbia. No veteran who served in the blazing heat or
bitter cold of foreign lands should have to live without shelter in the
very country whose freedom they fought for. (Applause.) You defended our
flag in uniform; you continue to defend the flag today.

I share the VFW's strong support for a constitutional amendment to protect
the American flag. (Applause.) In June, the House of Representatives voted
to ban flag desecration, and I urge the United States Senate to pass this
important amendment this year. (Applause.)

At this hour, a new generation of Americans is defending our flag and our
freedom in the first war of the 21st century. The war came to our shores on
the morning of September the 11th, 2001. Since then the terrorists have
continued to strike -- in Bali, in Riyadh, in Istanbul, and Madrid, and
Baghdad, and London, and Sharm el-Sheikh and elsewhere. The enemy, the
terrorists, are ruthless and brutal. They're fighting on behalf of a
hateful ideology that despises everything America stands for.

Our enemies have no regard for human life. They're trying to hijack a great
religion to justify a dark vision that rejects freedom and tolerance and
dissent. They have a strategy, and part of that strategy is they're trying
to shake our will. They kill the innocent. They kill women and children,
knowing that the images of their brutality will horrify civilized peoples.
Their goal is to drive nations into retreat so they can topple governments
across the Middle East, establish Taliban-like regimes, and turn that
region into a launching pad for more attacks against our people. In all
their objectives, our enemies are trying to intimidate America and the free
world. And in all their objectives, they will fail. (Applause.)

Like the great struggles of the 20th century, the war on terror demands
every element of our national power. Yet this is a different kind of war.
Our enemies are not organized into battalions, or commanded by governments.
They hide in shadowy networks and retreat after they strike. After
September the 11th, 2001, I made a pledge, America will not be -- will not
wait to be attacked again. We will go on the offense and we will defend our
freedom. (Applause.)

We have a comprehensive strategy to win this war on terror. It includes
three parts -- protecting this homeland, taking the fight to the enemy, and
advancing freedom. The first part of our strategy is to protect America.
We're reforming our intelligence services to stay ahead of our enemies and
to rout out terror cells before they strike. We're using our diplomatic and
financial tools to cut off the terrorists' financing and to drain them of
their support. We've more than tripled funding for homeland security since
September the 11th, 2001. We've provided more than $14 billion to train and
equip state and local first responders. Many of our police officers and
firefighters and first responders are veterans, and America is grateful for
their dedication to keeping this country safe. (Applause.)

One of the most important tools we have to protect America is called the
USA Patriot Act. This good law permits our intelligence and law enforcement
communities to share information. It gives our law enforcement officers
many of the same tools to fight terror that they already use to fight drugs
and street crime. The Patriot Act is fully consistent with the United
States Constitution, and as a result of that act, we're getting results.
Our law enforcement intelligence officers have used the Patriot Act to help
break up terror cells and support networks in California and New York and
Ohio and Illinois and Virginia and Florida and other states.

Key provisions of the Patriot Act are scheduled to expire at the end of
this year. Yet the terrorist threat to our country will not expire at the
end of this year. When the House and Senate return from their recess, they
need to send me a bill to renew the Patriot Act. (Applause.)

All these steps to protect the homeland have made it safer, but we're not
yet safe. Terrorists in foreign lands still hope to attack our country.
They still hope to kill our citizens. The lesson of September the 11th,
2001, is that we must confront threats before they fully materialize.
(Applause.)

Vast oceans and friendly neighbors are not enough to protect us. A policy
of retreat and isolation will not bring us safety. The only way to defend
our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live.
(Applause.)

So the second part of our strategy is to take the fight to the terrorists
abroad before they can attack us here at home. This is the most difficult
and dangerous mission in the war on terror. And like generations before
them, our soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines have stepped forward
to accept the mission. They've damaged the al Qaeda network across the
world and we're going to keep the terrorists on the run. From Afghanistan
to Iraq, to the Horn of Africa, our men and women in uniform are bringing
our enemies to justice and bringing justice to our enemies.

Our goal is clear: to secure a more peaceful world for our children and
grandchildren. We will accept nothing less than total victory over the
terrorists and their hateful ideology. (Applause.)

Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. It is a vital part of our
mission. Terrorists like bin Laden and his ally, Zarqawi, are trying to
turn Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban, a place where women
are beaten, religious and ethnic minorities are executed, and terrorists
have sanctuary to plot attacks against free people. Terrorists are trying
to block the rise of democracy in Iraq, because they know a free Iraq will
deal a decisive blow to their strategy to achieve absolute power. The Iraqi
people lived for three decades under an absolute dictatorship, and they
will not allow a new set of would-be tyrants to take control of their
future.

The response -- (applause) -- the people of Iraq have made a clear choice
for all to see. In spite of threats and assassinations, more than eight
million citizens defied the car bombers and killers and voted in free
elections. (Applause.) In spite of violence, the Iraqi people are building
a nation that secures freedom for its citizens and contributes to peace and
stability in that region.

Now Iraq's leaders are once again defying the terrorists and pessimists by
completing work on a democratic constitution. The establishment of a
democratic constitution will be a landmark event in the history of Iraq and
the history of the Middle East. All of Iraq's main ethnic and religious
groups are working together on this vital project. All made the courageous
choice to join the political process, and together they will produce a
constitution that reflects the values and traditions of the Iraqi people.

Producing a constitution is a difficult process that involves debate and
compromise. We know this from our own history. Our Constitutional
Convention was home to political rivalries and regional disagreements. The
Constitution our founders produced has been amended many times over. So
Americans understand the challenges facing the framers of Iraq's new
constitution. We admire their thoughtful deliberations; we salute their
determination to lay the foundation for lasting democracy amid the ruins of
a brutal dictatorship.

As Iraqis continue to take control of their own future, we will help them
take responsibility for their own security. The enemies of a free Iraq are
determined. They are adapting their tactics so they can take more innocent
life. American and Iraqi forces are adapting our tactics, too. We're on the
hunt, side-by-side with Iraqi troops. We're working to defeat the
terrorists together. As we hunt down our common enemies, we will continue
to train more Iraqi security forces so they can take on more
responsibilities in fighting the terrorists. After all, it's their own
country.

Our military is strategy is straightforward: As Iraqis stand up, Americans
will stand down. And when Iraqi forces can defend their freedom by taking
on more and more of the fight to the enemy, our troops will come home with
the honor they have earned. (Applause.)

In the long run, victory in the war on terror requires changing the
conditions that give rise to violence and extremism. So the third part of
our strategy in the war on terror is to spread the hope of freedom across
the broader Middle East. Free societies are peaceful societies. By standing
with those who stand for their liberty, we will lay the foundation of peace
for our children and our grandchildren.

As we work to spread freedom in the Middle East we have cause for optimism.
The rise of liberty in Iraq is part of a wider movement in the region. The
tide of freedom ebbs and flows, but it is moving in a clear direction, and
freedom's tide is rising in the broader Middle East.

In Afghanistan, men and women have formed a free government after suffering
one of the most brutal tyrannies on Earth. America is proud to call
Afghanistan an ally in the war on terror. In Lebanon, people took to the
streets to demand their sovereignty. They have now gone to the polls and
voted in free elections. As freedom takes root in these countries it is
inspiring democratic reformers in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Across the region, a new generation desires to be free, and they will have
it. And the world will be more peaceful because of it. (Applause.)

In the heart of the Middle East a hopeful story is unfolding. After decades
of shattered promises and stolen lives, peace is within reach in the Holy
Land. The Palestinian people have expressed their desire for sovereignty
and peace in free and fair elections. President Abbas has rejected violence
and taken steps toward democratic reform. This past week, Prime Minister
Sharon and the Israeli people took a courageous and painful step by
beginning to remove settlements in Gaza and parts of the northern West
Bank. The Israeli disengagement is an historic step that reflects the bold
leadership of Prime Minister Sharon.

Both Israelis and Palestinians have elected governments committed to peace
and progress, and the way forward is clear. We're working for a return to
the road map. We're helping the Palestinians to prepare for self-government
and to defeat terrorists who attack Israel, and terrorists who oppose the
establishment of a peaceful Palestinian state. We're providing $50 million
in direct assistance to the Palestinians for new housing and infrastructure
projects in Gaza. We remain fully committed to defending the security and
well-being of our friend and ally, Israel, and we demand an end to
terrorism and violence in every form, because we know that progress toward
peace depends on an end to terror.

We'll continue working for the day when the map of the Middle East shows
two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace
and security. (Applause.)

As more nations replace tyranny with liberty and replace hatred with hope,
America will be more secure. Our nation has accepted a mission, and we're
moving forward with resolve. Spreading freedom is the work of generations,
and no one knows it better than you. Freedom has contended with hateful
ideologies before. We defeated fascism; we defeated communism; and we will
defeat the hateful ideology of the terrorists who attacked America.
(Applause.)

Each of these struggles for freedom required great sacrifice. From the
beaches of Normandy to the snows of Korea, courageous Americans gave their
lives so others could live in freedom. Since the morning of September the
11th, we have known that the war on terror would require great sacrifice,
as well. We have lost 1,864 members of our Armed Forces in Operation Iraqi
Freedom, and 223 in Operation Enduring Freedom. Each of these men and women
left grieving families and loved ones back home. Each of these heroes left
a legacy that will allow generations of their fellow Americans to enjoy the
blessings of liberty. And each of these Americans have brought the hope of
freedom to millions who have not known it. We owe them something. We will
finish the task that they gave their lives for. We will honor their
sacrifice by staying on the offensive against the terrorists, and building
strong allies in Afghanistan and Iraq that will help us win and fight --
fight and win the war on terror. (Applause.)

As veterans of foreign wars, you know that the rise of liberty is critical
to our national security. You understand the power of freedom because
you've witnessed it with your own eyes. In a single lifetime, many of you
have seen liberty spread from Germany and Japan to Eastern Europe, to Latin
America, to Southeast Asia and Africa and beyond. You've seen that
democracies do not fight each other, and that liberation leads to peace.
With your courage and commitment to freedom, you have lifted lives of
millions around the globe, and you made this country and our world more
secure.

The generation of men and women who defend our freedom today is taking its
rightful place among the heroes of our nation's history. Once again,
America has found patriots who are selfless and tireless and unrelenting in
the face of danger. Once again, the American people have been steadfast and
determined not to lose our nerve. And once again, we have confidence in our
cause, because we know that freedom is the future of every nation, and that
the side of freedom is the side of victory.

I want to thank you for the example you have set for all who wear our
nation's uniform. I want to thank you for your bravery and your decency.
May God bless this nation's veterans, and may God continue to bless the
United States of America. (Applause.)

END 11:47 A.M. MDT

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