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Skriven 2007-04-02 23:31:46 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0704026) for Mon, 2007 Apr 2
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Vice President's Remarks at a Reception for Senator Jeff Sessions
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For Immediate Release Office of the Vice President April 2, 2007

Vice President's Remarks at a Reception for Senator Jeff Sessions The Club
Birmingham, Alabama



REMARKS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT AT A RECEPTION FOR SENATOR JEFF SESSIONS

The Club Birmingham, Alabama

12:19 P.M. CDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. A reception like that is almost enough to
make you want to run for office again. (Laughter.) Almost. (Laughter.) I'm
delighted to be here today, and to be back in Birmingham. Let me thank Jeff
for his kind words, words of welcome. I also want to thank Governor Riley
for joining us. Where is Bob? Right down here. And Congressman Spencer
Bachus with us, as well, too, and your state Chairman, Mike Hubbard. I came
here directly from the White House, and I'm pleased to bring good wishes to
all of you from the President of the United States, George W. Bush.
(Applause.)

I've been to Alabama many times over the years, and I count it a privilege
to stand here in Birmingham today with one of the finest members of the
United States Senate, Jeff Sessions. (Applause.) Jeff is part of a great
lineup of Republican officeholders in this state, starting with your newly
elected governor, Bob Riley, and my former colleague in the House, Senator
Richard Shelby. We've worked with your governor, your senators, Congressman
Bachus on many issues affecting Alabama -- including, most recently, the
relief effort following the tornadoes last month. And there's another fine
public official that I know you're very proud of - Dr. Condoleezza Rice,
America's outstanding Secretary of State. (Applause.)

I'm grateful to Jeff today for inviting me to join all of you. It's been 10
years now since the people of Alabama sent Jeff to Washington, and in that
time he's proven to be a superb advocate for limited government, for low
taxes, a strong national defense, and respect for the values of the
American people. On the Energy Committee, he's a voice of common sense. And
on the Budget Committee, he keeps a close eye on the taxpayer dollars. On
Armed Services, he works to meet the needs of our troops and their
families. And on the Judiciary Committee, he's worked with us to confirm
judges who understand the Constitution, follow the rule of the law, and do
not legislate from the bench. (Applause.)

Jeff Sessions is a man who heard the call to public service early in his
career. He's made a difference as a federal prosecutor, as attorney general
of this state, and as your senator. And it's testimony to his character
that high office has never changed this man. He's a person of decency and
humility. He never forgets where he came from and who he answers to.
Capitol Hill is a better place for his being there, and he has certainly
earned another six years as United States Senator. (Applause.)

The President and I are proud to serve with Jeff, and with his help and
good counsel, we've put good ideas to work for the American people. We've
cut income taxes for every American who pays them. We reduced the marriage
penalty, doubled the child tax credit, cut taxes on dividends and capital
gains, and gave small businesses incentives to invest in new equipment and
to create new jobs.

Now the results are clear for all to see: The Bush tax relief has proven to
be exactly the right policy for the country. If you think of all that has
happened in these eventful years -- the recession we inherited, terrorist
attacks, corporate scandals, natural disasters, a tripling in the price of
oil -- it's remarkable how tremendously resilient our economy has been.
America has created more than 7.5 million new jobs in the past three and a
half years. Unemployment is low; inflation is low; wages are rising. In
fact, since 2001, our Gross Domestic Product has grown by 16 percent, an
amount greater than the entire economy of Canada.

We are going to work to keep this economy strong by holding the line on
federal spending, and by maintaining a low-tax policy that promotes growth
and rewards free enterprise. The Democrats in the Senate recently passed
their budget, which calls for more spending and higher taxes. In fact, they
are trying to enact the largest tax increase in history. We've got a better
idea -- Congress should pass the President's budget and make all of the
Bush tax cuts permanent. (Applause.)

On every issue, from the economy to the courts to national security, the
leadership of President Bush has made a tremendous difference for this
country. He's the first President in a generation to deliver major tax
cuts. He's the President who got us out of the antiquated ABM treaty and
deployed missile defenses to protect America. He's the first President
since Ronald Reagan to appoint a Chief Justice, and he made an outstanding
choice in John Roberts.

Above all, ladies and gentlemen, George Bush is the President we can count
on to protect America, to keep our commitments, to stand by our friends,
and to win the war on terror. (Applause.)

Progress in the cause of security and peace never comes easily. It requires
moral clarity and the courage of our convictions. Above all, it requires
active, principled leadership by the United States of America.

The lesson of September 11th is that threats can gather 7,000 miles away
and strike us right here at home. And the way to deal with those threats is
to fight them where they are, so we don't have to face them on the streets
of our own cities. And for the sake of our peace and security in the long
run, America stands for the cause of justice, liberty, and democracy as the
alternative to ideologies of power and violence.

We've taken up this cause knowing that it would be hard, knowing that it
would take time, and knowing that it would require sacrifice. And so we
persevere, and we face our challenges with resolve. In Afghanistan and
Iraq, the United States and our coalition removed two of the world's most
brutal regimes. And we're keeping our promise to help those countries
become secure democracies and allies in the war on terror.

In Iraq, more than 12 million people defied the threats of assassins and
car-bombers and came out to vote three times for a democratic future. Now
it's time for Iraq's government to move the political process toward
reconciliation -- and to do that, they first need security in their capital
city. So our coalition is bringing in reinforcements to help Iraqi forces
secure Baghdad. This operation is still in the initial phase, and success
will require a sustained effort over many months. But the mission is well
begun, and General Dave Petraeus and his troops are in the midst of some
extremely tough, intense, and dangerous work. They are doing a brilliant
job. They need to know this country is behind them all the way. (Applause.)

The ones doing the fighting never lose their focus on their mission, or on
what is at stake in this war. And neither should the rest of us. Five and a
half years have passed since the attacks of September 11th, 2001, and the
loss that morning of nearly 3,000 innocent people right here at home. As we
get farther away from 9/11, I believe there's a temptation to forget the
urgency of the task that came to us that day, and the comprehensive
approach that's required to protect this country against an enemy that
moves and acts on multiple fronts. In fact, five and a half years into the
struggle, we find ourselves having to confront a series of myths about the
war on terror.

The most common myth is that Iraq has nothing to do with the global war on
terror. Opponents of our military action there have called Iraq a diversion
from the real conflict, a distraction from the business of fighting and
defeating Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda network. We hear this over and
over again -- not as an argument, but as an assertion meant to close off
argument. Yet the critics conveniently disregard the words of bin Laden
himself. "The most T serious issue today for the whole world is this Third
World War [that is] raging in [Iraq]." He calls it "a war of destiny
between infidelity and Islam." He said, "The whole world is watching this
war," and it will end in "victory and glory or misery and humiliation."

Obviously, the terrorists have no illusion about the importance of the
struggle in Iraq. They have not called it a distraction or a diversion from
their war against the United State s. They know it is a central front in
that war, and it's where they've chosen to make a stand. Our Marines are
fighting al Qaeda terrorists in al Anbar province. U.S. and Iraqi forces
recently killed al Qaeda terrorists in Baghdad responsible for numerous
bomb attacks. Iraq's relevance to the war on terror simply could not be
more plain. Here at home, that makes one thing, above all, very clear: If
you support the war on terror, then it only makes sense to support it where
the terrorists are fighting us. (Applause.)

The second myth is the most transparent -- and that is the notion that one
can support the troops without giving them the tools and the reinforcements
they need to carry out their mission.

Twisted logic is not exactly a new phenomenon in Washington -- but lately
it's gone to new heights. At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, when he was being confirmed to his new post, Senator John McCain
put the following question to General Petraeus. "Suppose we send you over
to your new job t only we tell you that a you cannot have any additional
troops. Can you get your job done?" General Petraeus replied to the
senator, "No, sir." Yet within days of his confirmation by a unanimous vote
in the Senate -- I repeat, a unanimous vote, not one single vote against
General Petraeus -- a large group of senators tried to pass a resolution
opposing the very reinforcements he said were necessary. And the House of
Representatives, of course, did pass such a resolution. It was not a proud
episode in the history of the United States Congress.

Now the Democrats in Congress are working another angle to undercut General
Petraeus and the troops. The House passed an emergency war spending bill
that put a long list of restrictions on our commanders, and put conditions
and deadlines on Iraq's government. And if all the conditions are not met
to Congress's satisfaction, the bill mandates a precipitous American
withdrawal on a date certain.

The House bill also mandates that by March 1 of next year, American forces
would begin a retreat -- with no regard whatsoever for actual conditions on
the ground in Iraq. This action by the House of Representatives is
irresponsible, and it sends exactly the wrong message to our enemy. When
members of Congress speak not of victory but of time limits, deadlines, or
other arbitrary measures, they're telling the enemy to simply watch the
clock and wait us out. It's time the self-appointed strategists on Capitol
Hill understood a very simple concept: You cannot win a war if you tell the
enemy when you're going to quit. (Applause.)

In the Senate, as well, Democrats have passed another bad piece of
legislation -- over the strong objections, I might add, of Alabama's two
senators. Like the House, the Senate has set an arbitrary deadline for
withdrawal. And like the House, the Senate Democrats have filled the bill
with extra spending for special interests -- spending that has nothing to
do with winning the war and protecting the United States of America.

The House and Senate bills are both unacceptable, and if either version
comes to the President's desk, he will use the veto, no question about it.
(Applause.)

It's also clear that we've got enough supporters of the military in
Congress to sustain a veto. And so it's pointless for the Democrats to
continue pursuing this legislation. Meanwhile, funding for our mission in
Iraq will begin to run out the middle of this month. It's time for Congress
to stop the political theater and send the President a bill he can sign
into law.

By delaying funding for the troops, the Democrats believe they can make the
President accept unwise and inappropriate restrictions on our commanders.
It's nothing less than an attempt to force the President's hand. They're
going to find out that they've misread George W. Bush. (Applause.)

The fact is that the United States military answers to one
Commander-in-Chief in the White House, not 535 commanders-in-chief on
Capitol Hill. We expect the House and the Senate to meet the needs of our
military on time, in full, and with no strings attached.

Behind this current struggle on Capitol Hill, ladies and gentlemen, is
another myth about the war on terror -- the belief on the part of some that
if we get out of Iraq before the job is done, we will be better able to
wage the war on terror. This myth is dangerous because it represents a
complete validation of the al Qaeda strategy. The terrorists do not expect
to beat us in a stand-up fight. They never have, and they're not likely to
try. The only way they can win is if we lose our nerve and abandon our
mission -- and the terrorists do believe they can force that outcome.

Time after time, they have predicted that the American people do not have
the stomach for a long-term fight. They've cited the cases of Beirut in the
'80s and Somalia in the '90s. These examples, they believe, show that we
are weak and decadent, and that if we are hit hard enough, we'll pack it in
and retreat. The result would be even greater danger to the United States,
because if the terrorists conclude that attacks will change the behavior of
a nation, they will attack that nation again and again. And believing they
can break our will, they'll become audacious in their tactics, ever more
determined to strike and kill our citizens, ever more bold in their
ambitions of conquest and empire.

The reality is that, if our coalition withdrew before Iraqis could defend
themselves, radical factions would battle for dominance of the country. The
violence could spread throughout the country, and be very difficult to
contain. Having tasted victory in Iraq, jihadists would look for new
missions. Many would head for Afghanistan and fight alongside the Taliban.
Others would set out for capitals across the Middle East, spreading more
sorrow and discord as they eliminate dissenters and work to undermine
moderate governments. Still others could find their targets and victims in
other countries on other continents.

Very clearly a sudden withdrawal of our coalition would dissipate much of
the effort that's gone into fighting the global war on terror -- and result
in chaos and mounting danger. And for the sake of our own security, we will
not stand by and let it happen. (Applause.)

Five and a half years ago, the President told Congress and the country that
we had entered a new kind of war, one that would require patience and
resolve, and that would influence the policies of our government far into
the future. The fact that we have succeeded in stopping another attack on
the homeland does not mean our country will not be hit in the future. But
the record is testimony not to good luck, but to urgent, competent action
by a lot of very skilled men and women -- and to a series of tough
decisions by a President who never forgets that his first job is to protect
the people of this country.

We can be confident in the outcome of this struggle. America is a good and
an honorable country. We serve a cause that is right, and a cause that
gives hope to the oppressed in every corner of this earth. We're the kind
of country that fights for freedom, and the men and women in that fight are
some of the bravest citizens this nation has ever produced. The only way
for us to lose is to quit. But that's not an option. We will complete the
mission, and we will prevail. (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, one of the great privileges of public service is the
chance to work with leaders of talent and integrity from all across the
country. In my career I've had the privilege of working in a Congressman's
office, at the White House as chief of staff, as a member of Congress, at
the Pentagon as secretary of defense, and now as Vice President and
President of the Senate. And in all these experiences, I've rarely
encountered a more dedicated, smart, tough, fair-minded, intelligent public
servant than Senator Jeff Sessions. (Applause.) He reflects tremendous
credit on the people of Alabama, and you can be proud every day that you've
sent him to the United States Senate.

Thank you. (Applause.)

END 12:39 P.M. CDT

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