Text 3678, 121 rader
Skriven 2006-11-21 23:31:20 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (061121) for Tue, 2006 Nov 21
===================================================

===========================================================================
President Bush Visits with Troops at Hickam AFB in Hawaii
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 21, 2006

President Bush Visits with Troops at Hickam AFB in Hawaii
Hickam Air Force Base
Honolulu, Hawaii


˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Defense

7:45 A.M. HST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Admiral, thanks for the introduction. Thanks
for the warm breakfast, and thanks for the good view. I appreciate the
tight ship you run here. And I thank you all very much for serving our
country.

Laura and I are honored to be with you. We're honored to say thanks on
behalf of a grateful nation. And I'm pleased to tell you that the work
you're doing will lead to peace for generations to come.

You serve at a time when we witness an ideological struggle between those
who love freedom and those who hate freedom. And the outcome of this
struggle will determine how your children and grandchildren live. And I'm
determined, like you are determined, that freedom prevails.

Today we saw again the vicious face of those who oppose freedom. We
strongly condemn the assassination today in Lebanon of Pierre Gemayel, who
was a minister in the government of Prime Minister Siniora. We support the
Siniora government and its democracy, and we support the Lebanese people's
desire to live in peace. And we support their efforts to defend their
democracy against attempts by Syria, Iran and allies, to foment instability
and violence in that important country.

I call for a full investigation of the murder to identify those people and
those forces behind the killing. We call on the international community to
support Prime Minister Siniora's government. And one clear way to do so is
for the United Nations Security Council to take all remaining steps needed
to establish a special tribunal concerning the assassination of former
Prime Minister Hariri, and to assure that those behind that killing and
others that followed are brought to justice. I strongly believe the United
Nations Security Council ought to act today. For the sake of peace, the
free world must reject those who undermine young democracies and murder in
the name of their hateful ideology.

I want to thank our Secretary of State for joining us. You know, one of the
jobs of the President is to surround himself with smart, capable, strong
people -- and I have done so in Condoleezza Rice. (Applause.)

I also did so at the altar. (Laughter.) And I'm pleased Laura is here, as
well. (Applause.) We're on our way back home after a trip in Southeast
Asia. I had meetings in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as a meeting at
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Vietnam. And they're important
meetings. It gave me a chance to discuss with leaders from the Pacific
region about our common threats -- the common threat of terrorism, the
common threat of pandemic outbreaks, and the common threat of North Korea's
nuclear weapons program.

I told them that the United States of America remains committed to Asia
because we have key economic and national security interests in the region.
It's in our national interests that we be involved in the Asia Pacific
region. And the Pacific Command bares the primary responsibility for
defending our interests in that part of the world. You represent the oldest
and largest unified command in the United States military. You cover an
area that spans more than half of the surface area of the Earth. You've got
a really important job, and I'm here to thank you for doing a good job.

You serve freedom's cause in a lot of ways. When you help deliver
humanitarian relief to victims of natural disasters, you serve freedom's
cause. When you fight terrorists wherever we find them, you serve freedom's
cause. Every branch of our military is playing a vital role. The Army and
Marine Corps have deployed thousands of soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan
and to Iraq. You've been joined by units from Hawaii's Army and Air
National Guard.

Earlier this year, the Pacific fleet conducted one of the largest
multinational maritime exercises in the world, involving eight nations, 35
ships, 180 aircraft, and 19,000 personnel. You serve freedom's cause when
you help others be able to defend themselves. You serve freedom's cause
when you help young democracies fight off the extremists who try to impose
their hateful vision of the world. What happens in Asia Pacific matters to
America's security here at home.

The Air Force has brought humanitarian aid to victims in earthquakes and
typhoons. You provided airlift support to places like East Timor. The Coast
Guard works closely with China as part of an effort to improve enforcement
of laws against maritime drug traffickers.

Some of the troops from this command who were deployed to combat operations
in Iraq and Afghanistan didn't come home. We remember their courage. We
pray for their families and loved ones left behind, and we resolve to honor
their sacrifice by completing the missions for which they gave their lives.

The men and women who wear the uniform are the best that America has to
offer. You belong to the finest Armed Forces the world has ever known. I
appreciate the fact that you have volunteered to wear our uniform in these
troubled times, that you have volunteered knowing the dangers into which
you might be sent. It's an incredible country when people of character
stand up and say, I want to serve something greater than my self-interests.

I want to thank you for your sacrifice. I particularly thank your families
for joining you in this noble cause. We'll succeed, and when we do,
generations of Americans will look back on this period and say, thank God
the United States had such men and women of character at the beginning of
the 21st century.

God bless. (Applause.)

END 7:51 A.M. HST

===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/11/20061121.html

 * Origin: (1:3634/12)