Text 1626, 538 rader
Skriven 2005-10-28 23:33:06 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0510281) for Fri, 2005 Oct 28
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President Discusses War on Terror
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 28, 2005

President Discusses War on Terror
Chrysler Hall
Norfolk, Virginia


˙˙˙˙˙In Focus: National Security
˙˙˙˙˙In Focus: Homeland Security

10:07 A.M. EDT

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.

END 10:52 A.M. EDT

* Correction: Lieutenant-General J.O. Michel Maisonneuve is the Chief of
Staff of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation HQ. He is based in
Norfolk, Virginia.
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