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Skriven 2006-08-19 23:31:38 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (060819) for Sat, 2006 Aug 19
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President's Radio Address
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For Immediate Release
August 19, 2006

President's Radio Address


ÿÿÿÿÿ Audio ÿÿÿÿÿ

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.

This week I met with my national security, counterterrorism, and economic
teams. We've set clear goals: We will defeat the terrorists and expand
freedom across the world, we'll protect the American homeland and work
tirelessly to prevent attacks on our country, and we will continue to
unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of America and build a more prosperous
future for all our citizens.

On Monday, I visited the Pentagon and the State Department, where we
discussed the war on terror, including the recent conflict in Lebanon, a
conflict which began with an unprovoked attack by Hezbollah on Israel.
Thanks to the leadership of Secretary Rice and Ambassador Bolton at the
United Nations, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution that will
help bring an end to the violence and create a foundation for a sustainable
peace.

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The resolution calls for a robust international force to deploy to the
southern part of Lebanon. This force will help Lebanon's legitimate armed
forces restore the sovereignty of its democratic government over all
Lebanese territory and stop Hezbollah from acting as a state within a
state. The resolution will help make it possible for civilians in both
Lebanon and Israel to return home in safety and begin rebuilding their
lives without fear of renewed violence and terror.

The United State s is now working with our international partners to turn
the words of this resolution into action. The conflict in Lebanon is part
of a broader struggle between freedom and terror that is unfolding across
the region. Terrorists and their sponsors recognize that the Middle East is
at a pivotal moment in its history. Freedom has brought hope to millions,
and it's helped foster the development of young democracies from Baghdad to
Beirut.

Yet these young democracies are still fragile, and the forces of terror are
seeking to stop liberty's advance and steer newly free nations to the path
of radicalism. The terrorists fear the rise of democracy because they know
what it means for the future of their hateful ideology.

It is no coincidence that two nations that are building free societies in
the heart of the Middle East, Lebanon and Iraq, are also the scenes of the
most violent terrorist activity. We will defeat the terrorists by
strengthening young democracies across the broader Middle East.

The way forward will be difficult, and it will require sacrifice and
resolve. But America's security depends on liberty's advance in this
troubled region, and we can be confident of the outcome because we know the
unstoppable power of freedom.

On Tuesday, I went to the National Counterterrorism Center, where I was
briefed by the fine professionals who work day and night to protect our
Nation from terrorist attacks. Their efforts are vital, as we saw with the
recent terrorist plot to destroy airliners headed for America.

I thanked the men and women of the intelligence community for all they did
to help the British government uncover and disrupt this vicious plot. This
attempted attack is a reminder to us all: The terrorists remain determined
to destroy innocent life on a massive scale, and we must be equally
determined to stop them.

On Friday, I met with my economic advisors at Camp David, where we
discussed our efforts to keep our economy growing and creating jobs. Our
economy has created more than 5.5 million new jobs since August of 2003,
more jobs than Japan and the 25 nations of the European Union combined. The
unemployment rate is 4.8 percent. The productivity of America's workers is
rising, and our economy grew at a strong annual rate of 4 percent during
the first half of 2006.

To keep this momentum going, we're pursuing a strategy to sustain our
economic growth and keep our economy competitive for decades to come. We
will keep taxes low, restrain federal spending, open new markets for
American products, invest in new energy technologies, and help American
workers develop the skills they need to compete for high wage jobs.

American workers also need affordable, high quality health care, and more
transparency in our health care system can help. Next week, I will travel
to Minnesota to discuss ways to ensure patients have access to more
information about their health care. When patients know the facts about the
price and quality of their health care options, they can make decisions
that are right for them.

With all these steps, we're working to improve the health, security and
prosperity of the American people. Our Nation does not fear the future
because we are determined to shape the future. We will build a more
peaceful world and leave behind a stronger and better America for our
children and grandchildren.

Thank you for listening.
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