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Skriven 2005-11-19 23:33:04 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0511195) for Sat, 2005 Nov 19
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President Addresses Troops at Osan Air Base in Osan, Korea
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 19, 2005

President Addresses Troops at Osan Air Base in Osan, Korea
Osan Air Base Osan,
Republic of Korea


˙˙˙˙˙President's Trip to Asia
˙˙˙˙˙In Focus: Defense

4:29 P.M. (Local)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you all very much. (Applause.) Please
be seated -- unless you don't have a seat. (Laughter.) Laura and I are so
honored to be here. We thought we'd stop by and feel the thunder and the
fury of the Mustangs. (Applause.) Thanks for greeting us. It's a privilege
to stand with the brave men and women of the 51st Fighter Wing and the 7th
Air Force. (Applause.) Our citizens are safer because you're ready to fight
tonight. (Applause.) You're serving the cause of liberty on distant
frontiers, and I bring a message from home: Your Commander-in-Chief is
proud of you, and so is the American people. (Applause.)

For half a century American servicemen and women have stood faithful and
vigilant watch here in Korea. You've kept the peace and you secured the
freedom won at great cost in the Korean War. You've ensured that no
American life was lost in vain. In five decades, since Task Force Smith
first landed at Pusan, the world has watched America's steadfast and
unwavering commitment to freedom.

Three years of war made America and Korea enduring allies in the struggle
for liberty. And five decades of sacrifice by the men and women of our
Armed Forces secured peace and democracy on this peninsula. And the world
is better off for it. Your courage has brought stability to the region,
freedom to millions, and honor to the uniform. Our nation is grateful for
your service -- your service for freedom and peace. (Applause.)

The Republic of Korea is now a beacon of liberty that shines across the
most heavily armed border in the world. It is a light reaching to a land
shrouded in darkness. Together the United States and the Republic of Korea
have shown that the future belongs to freedom and one day, all Koreans will
enjoy the blessings of freedom. (Applause.)

I'm proud to be traveling with the First Lady, Laura Bush -- (applause) --
and the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. (Applause.) I thank General
LaPorte and his wife, Judy. I want to thank General Trexler and his wife,
Kathie; General Campbell; General Joe Reynes, and his wife, Karen; Command
Sergeant Major Barry Wheeler; Command -- Chief Master Sergeant Vance
Clarke; Chief Master Sergeant Richard Jette. Thank you all for being here.
(Applause.)

I'm pleased to see the military families here. (Applause.) I thank you from
the bottom of my heart for your sacrifice in the cause of freedom. Our
military families stand strong, and America appreciates you very much.
(Applause.)

I visited Osan before and I notice you've got an impressive runway here --
a lot of room for any pilot, so as Air Force One was approaching, I told
our pilot, no excuses, you better spike it at Osan. (Laughter.) And he did.
This air base and runway were armed earned by the determination and the
grit of the United States military, and a brave coalition of the willing.
Not far from here, during the Korean War, Captain Louis L. Millett took
Hill 180. (Applause.) Faced with superior numbers, Captain Millett withheld
communist forces by leading the first bayonet charge by a U.S. Army company
since World War I. For his valor, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of
Honor.

As part of the 30,000 active duty personnel in Korea, you're upholding the
same proud tradition. You know what it takes to win a war; you know how to
protect the peace; and you know what it takes to defend our nation.
(Applause.)

To defend our country, and to defend freedom, we've got more work ahead.
For decades, America's Armed Forces abroad have essentially remained where
the wars of the last century ended in Europe and in Asia. So more than
three years ago, we launched a comprehensive review of America's global
force posture -- the numbers and types and locations and capability of our
forces around the world.

We're transforming our military. Over the coming decade, we'll take
advantage of 21st century military technologies so we can deploy rapidly,
with increased combat power. This will help improve the lives of our
military and their families, because more of our troops will be stationed
and deployed for home. And this will help us meet the threats of the 21st
century. By transforming our military, we'll more be able to do our duty to
protect the American people.

As South Korea has grown more free and prosperous, it's built an
increasingly capable military that is now ready to assume a larger role in
defending its people. By assuming some responsibilities that have
traditionally been shouldered by American forces, South Korea will
strengthen the deterrent on the Korean Peninsula and free up some of our
combat forces to help us win the war on terror.

And that war began on September the 11th, 2001. On that morning, Americans
saw the violence and hatred of a new enemy. We saw the terrorists'
destructive vision for us and for all who love freedom. And in the face of
this threat, our nation has made a clear choice: We'll confront this mortal
danger; we will stay on the offensive; we will not wait to be attacked
again. We will not rest or tire until the war on terror is won. (Applause.)

For more than four years, we've seen the brutal nature of the enemy.
They've targeted the innocent in scores of countries from almost every walk
of life. In Casablanca they killed diners enjoying their evening meal. In
Bali, they killed tourists on a holiday. In Beslan, they killed Russian
school children. They've murdered workers in Riyadh and commuters in Madrid
and hotel guests in Jakarta, and guests at a wedding celebration in Amman,
Jordan. They killed Iraqi children. The tragic images of innocent victims
can make it seem like these terrorist attacks are random, isolated acts of
madness. While these killers choose their victims indiscriminately, their
attacks flow from an ideology and a terrifying vision for the world. Their
acts are evil, but they're not insane.

Some call this evil Islamic radicalism; others, militant jihadhism; still
others, Islamo fascism. Whatever we choose to call this enemy, we must
recognize that this ideology is very different from the tenets of the great
religion of Islam. This form of radicalism exploits Islam to serve a
violent, political vision: the establishment by terrorism, subversion and
insurgency of a totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious
freedom.

We know the vision of the radicals because they openly state it in videos
and audio tapes and letters and declarations and websites. These extremists
want to end American and Western influence in the broader Middle East,
because we stand for democracy and peace, and stand in the way of their
ambitions. The tactics of al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists has been
consistent for a quarter-century. They hit us and they expect us to run.

Recently, the world learned of a letter written by al Qaeda 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. He writes, "The aftermath of the collapse of American
power in Vietnam and how they ran and left their agents is noteworthy." The
terrorists witnessed our response after the attacks of American -- on
American troops in Beirut in 1983, and Mogadishu in 1993. They concluded
that America can be made to run again, only this time on a larger scale,
with greater consequences. The terrorists are mistaken; America will never
run. We will stand and fight, and we will win the war on terror.
(Applause.)

The terrorists state their plans. They want to use the vacuum that would be
created by an American retreat to gain control of a country, to build a
base from which to launch attacks on America 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 takeovers. And for a
time, they achieved their goal in Afghanistan, until they came face to face
with the men and women of the United States military. (Applause.)

In Afghanistan, we put the terrorists on the run, and now they've set their
sights on another country -- they're trying to turn Iraq into what
Afghanistan was under the Taliban, a terrorist sanctuary from which they
can plan and launch attacks against our people. 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 the terrorists.

These militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim
masses, enabling them to overthrow moderate governments in the region and
establish a radical Islamic empire that reaches from Spain to Indonesia. If
they're not stopped, the terrorists will be able to advance their agenda to
develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate
Europe, and to break our will and blackmail our government into isolation.
I'm going to make you this commitment: This is not going to happen on my
watch. (Applause.)

Some might be tempted to dismiss the terrorist goals as fanatical or
extreme. They are fanatical and extreme, but we cannot afford to dismiss
them. Evil men obsessed with ambition and unburdened by conscience must be
taken very seriously. Against such an enemy, there's only one effective
response: We will never back down, and we will never give in, and we'll
never accept anything less than complete victory. (Applause.)

We didn't ask for this global struggle, but we're answering history's call
with a comprehensive strategy to win this war on terror. First, we're
determined to prevent attacks by terrorist networks by protecting the
homeland and working with our allies to destroy the terrorist networks and
incapacitate their leaders.

Together with our coalition partners, we've disrupted a number of serious
al Qaeda terrorist plots since September the 11th, including several al
Qaeda plots to attack inside the United States. Our coalition against
terrorists killed or captured nearly all those directly responsible for the
September the 11th attacks. We've captured or killed several of bin Laden's
most senior deputies and al Qaeda managers and operatives in numerous
countries. And we will stay on the hunt. We will not relent until the
terror networks that threaten us are exposed and broken and their leaders
are held to account for their murder. (Applause.)

Second, we're determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to outlaw
regimes and to their terrorist allies who would use them without
hesitation. Working with Great Britain and Pakistan and other nations, we
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 last year,
America and our partners in the Proliferation Security Initiative have
stopped more than a dozen shipments of suspect weapons technology,
including equipment for Iran's ballistic missile program. So long as I'm
your President, we'll continue to deny the world's most dangerous men the
world's most dangerous weapons.

Third, we are determined to deny radical groups the support and sanctuary
of outlaw regimes. So I've laid out a clear doctrine: The United States
makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those who
support and harbor the terrorists, because they're equally guilty of
murder. (Applause.) Any government that chooses to be an ally of terror has
also chosen to be an enemy of civilization, and the civilized world will
hold those regimes to account.

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 all who wear
the uniform. American troops are fighting beside our Afghan partners
against remnants of the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies. And American
troops are fighting alongside courageous Iraqis against the remnants of a
regime and a network of terrorists who want to stop the advance of a free
Iraq. Our goal is to defeat the terrorists and allies -- and their allies
at the heart of their power. And so we will defeat the enemy in Iraq.

As we pursue the terrorists, our military is helping to train Iraqi
security forces so they can defend their people, and so they can fight the
enemy. And we're making steady progress. With every passing month, more and
more Iraqi forces are standing up, and the Iraqi military is gaining new
capabilities and new confidence. At the time of our Fallujah operations a
year ago, there were only a few Iraqi army battalions in combat. Today
there are more than 90 Iraqi army battalions fighting the terrorists, along
with our forces. American and Iraqi troops are conducting major assaults to
clear out enemy fighters in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. Iraqi police
and security forces are helping clear the terrorists from their
strongholds. They're holding onto areas we've cleared and are preventing
the enemy from returning.

Our strategy can be summed up this way: As Iraqis stand up, we will stand
down, and when our commanders on the ground tell me that Iraqi forces can
defend their freedom, our troops will come home with the honor they have
earned. (Applause.)

The second part of our strategy is a political strategy. Iraqis are moving
forward in building a democracy. A month ago, millions of Iraqis turned out
to vote for a constitution that guarantees fundamental freedoms and lays
the foundation for lasting democracy. In a few weeks, Iraqis will vote
again to choose a fully constitutional government to lead them for the next
four years. Iraq is making amazing progress from the days of being under
the thumb of a brutal dictator. Think about this: In two-and-a-half years,
they've gone from tyranny to an election for a transitional government, to
the ratification of a constitution, to the election of a free government.
The Iraqi people are proving their determination to build a future founded
on democracy and hope, and the United States of America will help them
succeed. (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. If the 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. If the peoples of that region are
permitted to choose their own destiny, and advance by their own energy and
participation as both 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.

History has proven that free nations are peaceful nations and that
democracies do not fight their neighbors. By advancing the hope of freedom
and democracy for others, we'll make our own freedom more secure.

Our men and women in uniform who are serving on the Korean Peninsula have
seen freedom succeed in Asia. By promoting freedom in Japan, we helped
transform an enemy into a democracy that is one of the world's most
prosperous nations, and one of America's most trusted allies. By standing
firm against a determined enemy, we helped provide the people of South
Korea with the peace and stability they needed to transform their economy
and claim their own freedom. And by helping the people of Asia build
successful and thriving democracies, we have helped set a hopeful example
for the world. In the 21st century, we go forward with confidence because
we know that freedom is the destiny of every man, woman, and child on this
Earth. (Applause.)

Our work for peace and freedom involves great sacrifice by our troops. We
see this sacrifice in Iraq, where our troops are hunting down the
terrorists, and we're helping the Iraqi people build a working democracy.
In Washington, there are some who say that the sacrifice is too great, and
they urge us to set a date for withdrawal before we have completed our
mission. Those who are in the fight know better. One of our top commanders
in Iraq, Major General William Webster, says that setting a deadline for
our withdrawal from Iraq would be, "a recipe for disaster." General Webster
is right. So long as I'm the Commander-in-Chief, our strategy in Iraq will
be driven by the sober judgment of our military commanders on the ground.
We will fight the terrorists in Iraq. We will stay in the fight until we
have achieved the brave -- the victory that our brave troops have fought
for. (Applause.)

In this time of war and sacrifice, the greatest burden falls on our
military families. We've lost some of our nation's finest men and women in
the war on terror. Each of these men and women left grieving families and
loved ones back home. Each loss of life is heartbreaking. And the best way
to honor the sacrifices of our fallen troops is to complete their mission
and lay the foundation of peace for our children and our grandchildren.
(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 this 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. 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 our own struggle will take, or the sacrifices that
might lie ahead. We do know, however, that the defense of freedom is worth
our sacrifice. We know that the love of freedom is the mightiest force in
history. And we do know the cause of freedom will once again prevail.

May God bless you all. Thank you all. (Applause.)

END 4:56 P.M. (Local)

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