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Skriven 2005-04-12 23:32:58 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (050412) for Tue, 2005 Apr 12
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President Discusses War on Terror
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 12, 2005

President Discusses War on Terror
Fort Hood, Texas



10:14 A.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for the warm welcome. It wasn't all that long
ago that I brought my family over to go to church Easter Sunday here at
Fort Hood. I've been looking forward to coming back and giving you a proper
Army greeting: Hoo-ah! (Applause.) It's an honor to be with the courageous
men and women of the "Phantom Corps."

The soldiers and families of Fort Hood have contributed mightily to our
efforts in the war on terror. Many of you have recently returned from Iraq.
(Hoo-ah!) Welcome home -- and thank you for a job well-done. (Hoo-ah!)
Others are preparing to head out this fall -- (Hoo-ah!) -- some for a
second tour of duty. (Hoo-ah!) Whether you're coming or going, you are
making an enormous difference for the security of our nation and for the
peace of the world. I want to thank you for defending your fellow citizens.
I want to thank you for extending liberty to millions. And I want to thank
you for making America proud. (Applause.)

I especially want to thank the military families who are here today. I want
to thank you for your sacrifices in the war on terror. It isn't easy being
the one left behind when a loved one goes to war. You have a wonderful
community here at Fort Hood. I thank you for the support you have given to
each other. By loving and supporting a soldier, you are also serving our
nation. Americans are grateful for your sacrifice and your service -- and
so is your Commander-in-Chief. (Hoo-ah!)

I want to thank Lieutenant General Tom Metz, and his wife, Pam. I want to
thank Command Sergeant Major Joe Gainey, and his lovely wife. I want to
thank all the officers and soldiers of this fantastic base. (Hoo-ah!) I
appreciate our fine Governor from the state of Texas, Governor Rick Perry,
for joining us today. (Applause.) I want to thank Congressman John Carter
and Congressman Chet Edwards for joining us today. (Applause.) I'm looking
forward to giving them a ride back to Washington on Air Force One.
(Laughter.) I suspect they're looking forward to the ride back. (Laughter.)

I want to thank Major General Pete Chiarelli for being with us today, and
his wife, Beth; Major General JD Thurman, and his wife, Dee; -- (applause)
-- Command Sergeant Major Tom McMurtrie. And all the soldiers, airmen,
military families, veterans, friends of Fort Hood, and the Three Corps.

This weekend we marked the two-year anniversary of the liberation of
Baghdad. (Hoo-ah!) Coalition forces crossed more than 350 miles of desert
to get there, pushing through dust storms and death squads. They reached
the Iraqi capital in 21 days, and that achievement will be studied for
generations as the fastest armored advance in military history. (Hoo-ah!)

The coalition assault was rapid, and it wasn't easy. The enemy hid in
schools and hospitals. They used civilians as human shields. Yet our troops
persevered. We protected civilian lives while destroying the Republican
Guard's Medina Division, pushing through the Karbala Gap, capturing Saddam
International Airport, and, on April 9th, we liberated the Iraqi capital.
(Hoo-ah!)

For millions of Iraqis and Americans, it is a day they will never forget.
The toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad will be recorded,
alongside the fall of the Berlin Wall, as one of the great moments in the
history of liberty. And eight months later, soldiers of the Ivy Division --
(Hoo-ah!) -- brought the real Saddam Hussein to justice. (Applause.) When
Ironhorse soldiers left for Iraq, Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator
sitting in a palace, and by the time you came home, he was sitting in a
prison cell. (Applause.)

When it came time to drive the terrorists and insurgents from Fallujah,
soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division spearheaded the assault. The "First
Team" was "First in Fallujah" -- and when the dust settled, what you found
there reminds us why we are at war: Blood-stained torture chambers used by
terrorists to execute hostages; you found videos of beheadings and brutal
terrorist attacks; you found over 600 improvised explosive devices,
including an ice cream truck that had been loaded with bomb-making
materials for a terrorist attack.

The men and women of the Phantom Corps know why we are in Iraq. As one
First Team soldier, Lieutenant Mike Erwin, put it: "If we can start to
change the most powerful country in the Middle East, the others will
follow, and Americans 20 years down the road won't have to deal with a day
like September the 11th, 2001." (Hoo-ah!)

The terrorists have made Iraq a central front in the war on terror. Because
of your service, because of your sacrifice, we are defeating them there
where they live, so we do not have to face them where we live. (Hoo-ah!)
Because of you, the people of Iraq no longer live in fear of being executed
and left in mass graves. Because of you, freedom is taking root in Iraq.
Our success in Iraq will make America safer, for us and for future
generations.

In my liberation message to the Iraqi people, I made them a solemn promise:
"The government of Iraq, and the future of your country, will soon belong
to you." I went on to say: "We will help you build a peaceful and
representative government that protects the rights of all citizens. And
then our military forces will leave."

From the beginning, our goal in Iraq has been to promote Iraqi independence
-- by helping the Iraqi people establish a free country that can sustain
itself, rule itself, and defend itself. And in the last two years, Iraqis
have made enormous progress toward that goal. Iraqis have laid the
foundations of a free society, with hundreds of independent newspapers and
dozens of political parties and associations, and schools that teach Iraqi
children how to read and write, instead of the propaganda of Saddam
Hussein. Iraqis have laid the foundation of a free economy, with a new
currency and independent central bank, new laws to encourage foreign
investment, and thousands of small businesses established since liberation.

The troops from Fort Hood have done their part. In Baghdad, soldiers of the
1st Cavalry Division launched Operation Adam Smith, and the new generation
of Iraqi entrepreneurs you helped nurture will create jobs and
opportunities for millions of their fellow citizens. Iraqis have laid the
foundation for a society built on the rule of law. Today, courts are
functioning across Iraq, and hundreds of independent Iraqi judges have been
trained in Bahrain and Jordan and Czech Republic and Britain and Italy.

An Iraqi special tribunal has been established that will try senior
leadership, including Saddam Hussein. (Hoo-ah!) He will get the trial that
he did not afford his fellow citizens when he was in power. Slowly but
surely, the land that gave civilization the first written code of law is
now restoring the rule of law, and setting the example for people across
the Middle East.

Iraqis have laid a solid foundation for democratic self-government. The
world watched in awe as the Iraqi people defied the car bombers and
assassins to cast their votes in the country's first free and democratic
election in decades. It took courage, the kind of courage displayed by a
29-year-old Iraqi policeman named Abdul Amir. On election day, Amir noticed
a suspicious man walking toward the line of voters at a Baghdad polling
station. With complete disregard for his own safety, he threw his arms
around the man and dragged him into a nearby intersection, where the man
detonated the belt of explosives that was wrapped around his body. Amir
took the brunt of the blast, giving his own life to save scores of innocent
civilians. He is a hero of a free Iraq, and the world honors his valor and
his sacrifice. (Hoo-ah!)

Because of brave Iraqis like Abdul Amir, today the free nation of Iraq has
elected a transitional assembly, a President and two Deputy Presidents,
leaders who answer to the people, instead of the other way around.

I've spoken with the new leaders of Iraq, President Talabani, as well as
Speaker -- Assembly Speaker al-Hassani. I congratulated them on their
achievement. I told them I look forward to working with the new government
that will soon be established. I assured them that the United States will
continue to stand with the Iraqi people as they take control of their
destiny and assume the blessings of self-government.

There's a lot of hard work ahead. The Iraqi people face brutal and
determined enemies. But Iraqis are also determined, and they have the will
to defeat the insurgency. The soldiers and police of a free Iraq learned on
election day they can face down the insurgents, and they learned they can
prevail. The Iraqi people now have confidence that the soldiers and police
of a free Iraq have the courage and resolve to defend them. The Iraqi
security forces are fighting bravely for the future of their country, and
in the last six months alone, more than 800 have given their lives in the
struggle.

The soldiers of Fort Hood have seen their courage in action. Sergeant First
Class Troy Hawkins recently put it, "The Iraqis will stand and fight. I've
seen guys with grenade fragments in them, bleeding, pulling people off the
street and getting kids out of the way. Then they'll fight the enemy.
They're determined to make this work." And the United States is determined
to help the Iraqis succeed.

As Iraq's new government assumes increasing responsibility for the
stability of their country, security operations are entering a new phase.
Iraq security forces are becoming more self-reliant and taking on greater
responsibilities. And that means that America and its coalition partners
are increasingly playing more of a supporting role. Today, more than
150,000 Iraqi security forces have been trained and equipped, and for the
first time, the Iraqi army, police and security forces now outnumber U.S.
forces in Iraq.

Like free people everywhere, Iraqis want to be defended and led by their
own countrymen. We will help them achieve this objective so Iraqis can
secure their own nation. And then our troops will come home with the honor
they have earned. (Applause.)

The Iraqi people know the sacrifices you are making. They're grateful to
you. They are grateful to your families. One Iraqi army colonel put it this
way: "These U.S. soldiers leave their wives and kids to come here and give
us freedom. We have to thank them for doing that for us." You are making
possible the peace of Iraq, and you are making possible the security of
free nations. Yours is noble work, it's important work, and I thank you for
assuming your duty.

As the Iraq democracy succeeds, that success is sending a message from
Beirut to Tehran that freedom can be the future of every nation. The
establishment of a free Iraq at the heart of the Middle East will be a
crushing defeat to the forces of tyranny and terror, and a watershed event
in the global democratic revolution.

In the last two years, you have accomplished much, yet your work isn't
over. Freedom still faces dangerous adversaries. Terrorists still want to
attack our people. But they're losing. These terrorists are losing the
struggle because they're under constant pressure from our Armed Forces, and
they will remain under constant pressure from our Armed Forces. (Hoo-ah!)
And they are losing the struggle because they are on the wrong side of
history. Across the broader Middle East, the tide of freedom is surging.
The people of Afghanistan have embraced free government, after suffering
under one of the most backward tyrannies on Earth. The people of the
Palestinian Territories cast their ballots against violence and corruption
of the past. The people of Lebanon are rising up to demand their freedom
and independence. Saudi Arabia has held its first municipal elections in
decades. Egypt is taking its first steps on the path to democratic reform.
A critical mass of events is taking that region in a hopeful n

You have fought the battles in the war on terror, and you have served the
cause of freedom. And you can be proud of all that you have achieved.

This time of brave achievement is also a time of sacrifice. Many of our
soldiers have returned from war with grave wounds that they will carry with
them the rest of their lives. And America will fulfill its duty by
providing them the best medical care possible. Still others have given
their lives in this struggle -- your friends, your comrades. We honor their
memory. We lift them up in prayer. Their sacrifice will always be
remembered by a grateful nation. (Hoo-ah!) We can live as free people
because men and women like you have stepped forward and have volunteered to
serve.

I came here today to thank you in person for your courageous choice of
service. You're making America proud. You're making America free. And
you're making the world more peaceful. I want to thank you for all you've
done for our great nation. May God bless you and your families. And may God
continue to bless this great land of liberty, the United States of America.
(Applause.)

Thank you all. (Applause.) 10:30 A.M. CDT

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