Posted on 12/17/2008 8:49:20 PM PST by nuconvert
(excerpt)
Students, faculty, and staff, it's good to be with you.
Over the past century, this important institution has become one of our nation's most revered places. It really has been. After all, the graduates of this college are legendary -- and perhaps I'm looking at legends -- Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, George Patton to Norm Schwarzkopf, Tommy Franks, and a man who I visited with recently, Ray Odierno. I want to thank you for continuing this college's noble tradition of military scholarship. I thank you for volunteering to serve our nation during a time of war. I appreciate the officers from our partner nations who are studying here and who are strengthening their countries' friendship with the United States.
I know many of you have served overseas in the war on terror. This weekend, I was honored to make one final trip to the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. During my trip, I had the opportunity to spend time with men and women in uniform, and I've got to tell you, there is nothing better, to be the Commander-in-Chief, and stand in front of brave souls who bring such dignity to the United States of America. (Applause.)
They say, what are you going to miss? I'm going to miss a lot of things -- like no traffic jams on the way from Harrisburg. (Laughter.) But I'm most going to miss being the Commander-in-Chief. It is amazing to serve with people who are willing to stand up and step forward to address the great challenge to freedom and democracy of our time. We have been called to action, and many have agreed to serve.
You know, the threat emerged long before September the 11th. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the followers of a hateful and twisted ideology grew in strength and number. In lands where repression and despair reigned, these extremists found willing recruits for their murderous vision. They unleashed an unprecedented campaign of terror against the United States -- attacking the World Trade Center in 1993, bombing two of our embassies in Africa in 1998, striking the USS Cole in 2000.
For many years, our nation viewed these attacks as isolated incidents, and we responded with limited measures. That changed on September the 11th, 2001. On that morning, Americans woke to news of a plane crashing into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Within the span of 90 minutes, a second plane struck the South Tower, a third one pierced the rings of the Pentagon, and a fourth vanished from the skies above Pennsylvania. By nightfall, the sun had set on a very different world. With rumors of more attacks swirling, Americans went to bed wondering what the future would bring.
On that night, virtually no one would have predicted that more than seven years would pass without another terrorist attack on our soil. It's not a matter of luck. It is a tribute to the dedicated men and women who work day and night to defend our great land. (Applause.) It's the result of tough decisions that we began making immediately after September the 11th.
You see, in those uncertain first weeks, there was no obvious precedent to follow. We faced a choice among many different courses of action. On one end of the spectrum, we could have responded with a purely defensive strategy -- hunkering down behind our borders, and retreating from the world stage. On the other end of the spectrum, we could have sought revenge through instant retaliation -- attacking nations that support terror, with no broader strategy to address the root cause of the problem.
I rejected both these extremes in favor of a deliberate and comprehensive approach -- one where we used all elements of our national power to keep America safe at home, the understanding that we needed to take the fight to the enemy abroad, and the idea of promoting liberty as the alternative to terror.
Last week, I spoke at West Point about transforming our military to wage this war. And today I'm going to talk you about the strategy we pursued to keep our country safe, the results we've achieved, and the institutions we leave behind for future Presidents to carry on this struggle.
After September the 11th, we fundamentally reshaped our strategy for protecting the American people around three core principles. First, we recognized that our homeland security and intelligence capabilities were inadequate. So we launched the largest reorganization of the federal government since the beginning of the Cold War with one overriding purpose -- and that was to prevent new attacks.
Secondly, we recognized that even with the best defenses, we could not afford to wait for the terrorists to attack again. So we launched a global campaign to take the fight to the terrorists abroad, to dismantle their networks, to dry up their financing, and find their leaders and bring them to justice. We sent a clear message that America will make no distinction between the terrorists and those who harbor them.
Immediately after September the 11th, we gave the Taliban in Afghanistan two options: Surrender the leaders of al Qaeda -- or you can share in their fate. When the regime leaders made their choice, we made ours. We removed the Taliban from power, we shut down the terrorist training camps, and we liberated more than 25 million Afghans.
After 9/11, we also reexamined the danger posed by Iraq -- a country that combined support for terror, the development and use of weapons of mass destruction, aggression against its neighbors, routine attacks on American forces, systemic violations of U.N. resolutions. We concluded that the world could not tolerate such a destabilizing and dangerous force in the heart of the Middle East. I offered Saddam Hussein a final chance to resolve the issue peacefully. It was his choice to make. And when he refused, we acted with a coalition of nations to protect our people -- and liberate 25 million Iraqis.
Thirdly, we recognized that the war on terror is more than a battle of arms. It is an ideological struggle for hearts and minds. And to prevail, we must counter the terrorists' hateful ideology with a more hopeful alternative based on liberty and justice. So after removing the threatening regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, we refused to take the easy course of trading one strongman for another. Instead, we stayed to help young democracies emerge as beacons for hope for people across the Middle East. We increased our support for democratic reformers and dissidents around the world. We expanded our efforts to combat the conditions of despair and hopelessness that give rise to rage and radicalism.
While there's room for honest and healthy debate about the decisions I've made -- and there's plenty of debate -- there can be no debate about the results in keeping America safe. (Applause.)
Here at home we prevented numerous terrorist attacks -- including an attempt to bomb fuel tanks at JFK Airport, a plot to blow up airliners bound for the East Coast, a scheme to attack a shopping mall in the Chicago area, and a plan to destroy the tallest skyscraper in Los Angeles. We'll never know how many lives have been saved. But this is for certain: Since 9/11, there's not been another terrorist attack on American soil. (Applause.)
And this is certain as well: Around the world, we're driving the terrorists from their safe havens. We are choking off their financing. We are severely disrupting their operations. Together with our allies, we killed or captured hundreds of al Qaeda leaders and operatives, including the architect of the September the 11th attacks -- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. And thanks to the success of the surge, the courage of our troops, and the determination of the Iraqi people, we have delivered a devastating blow to al Qaeda in the land Osama bin Laden once called the central battleground in the war on terror.
In the broader struggle between freedom and terror, people around the world have made their choice clear. In Afghanistan, eight million men and women went to the polls to elect a president for the first time in their history. In Iraq, 12 million people defied the terrorists and elected a representative government. You know, one of the things I'll never forget are the ink-stained fingers of people who had a chance to vote their conscience. In countries from Liberia and Lebanon to Georgia and Ukraine, citizens have taken to the streets to cast off the chains of tyranny, and demand their God-given right for freedom. And around the world, more people live in liberty than at any other time in human history.
This is a hopeful beginning. Yet it is only a beginning. Like the struggle against communism during the Cold War, the struggle against terror will be a generational conflict -- one that will continue long beyond my presidency. As my administration leaves office next month, we will leave behind the institutions and tools our country needs to prevail in the long struggle ahead.
We'll leave behind a vastly upgraded network of homeland defenses. Federal, state, and local law enforcement officers are working together more closely than ever before. The number of border patrol agents has doubled since 2001. Our airports and seaports have bolstered screening procedures. Major cities have installed early-warning systems for detecting biological and radiological attacks. And to better coordinate a comprehensive strategy for keeping our people safe, we have a new Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security.
We'll leave behind a revamped intelligence community that has new tools for staying one step ahead of our enemies. Under the new Director of National Intelligence, federal agencies are collecting and sharing information more effectively than ever before. At the new National Counterterrorism Center, representatives from 16 different federal agencies are working side by side to track any new threat. The FBI -- agents and analysts have shifted their focus from investigating terrorist attacks after they happen to gathering intelligence to prevent them from happening in the first place. The Treasury Department -- there are new programs to shut down financing for terrorism. The CIA -- human intelligence capabilities have improved. More operations officers have deployed overseas to penetrate the terrorist organizations. There's a program to interrogate key terrorist leaders. At the NSA, there are expanded efforts to monitor terrorist communications around the world. We need to quickly figure out who the terrorists are talking to, and what they're saying, in order to protect the homeland.
We will leave behind new technologies and resources for our military to keep the pressure on the enemy. Our forces are more mobile and more agile, and better positioned now to deploy to trouble spots around the world. On the battlefield, they have access to real-time intelligence that would have been unimaginable just a couple of years ago. With weapons like the Predator drone in our arsenal, our troops can conduct precision strikes on terrorists in hard to reach areas while sparing innocent life. At institutions like the Army War College, our men and women in uniform are studying new counterinsurgency and counterterrorism strategies -- because we're going to depend on you. Long after I'm gone, Presidents will count on you.
We will leave behind a strong coalition of more than 90 nations -- composing almost half the world -- who have committed to combating terror, and sharing intelligence, and keeping our citizens safe. This coalition includes Saudi Arabia, the nation that produced 15 of the 9/11 hijackers and now serves as a staunch ally in the war on terror. This coalition includes Pakistan, a country that was a supporter of the Taliban before September the 11th and today is a strong partner of the United States. This coalition includes two of America's newest and most courageous friends, the free nations of Afghanistan and Iraq. This coalition includes members of the new Proliferation Security Initiative and the new Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, who are working to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
We will leave behind new programs to help change the conditions of suffering and hopelessness that give rise to extremism and terror. In Afghanistan and Iraq, new provincial reconstruction teams are helping rebuild war-torn communities, and revive local economies, and restore basic government services. On the continent of Africa, millions are receiving lifesaving treatment, thanks to America's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. And around the world, countries that govern wisely, and open up their economy, and invest in the health and education of their people are receiving strong support from Millennium Challenge grants.
And finally, we leave behind an unprecedented commitment to extending the reach of liberty and democracy. Key organizations devoted to supporting freedom enjoy stronger government support than ever before. Official U.S. policy now requires our diplomats to seek out and support dissidents and democratic reformers in unfree nations. And it is now the stated policy of the United States to seek the end of tyranny in all nations, for all time.
Until that day comes, the United States will not rest in our fight against oppression and terror. As President, I've had no higher responsibility than waging this struggle for the security and liberty of our people. After 9/11, I vowed that I would never forget the wounds from that day -- and I'm not. That day defined my presidency, and that day changed the course of history. And while we cannot know the path ahead, we can be confident in the destination -- a world where the American people are safe, and children around the world grow up with hope and peace. (Applause.)
We can be confident because freedom is universal. I strongly believe there's an Almighty, and a gift of that Almighty to every man, woman and child on the face of the Earth is freedom. We can be confident because we're blessed with men and women who willingly put the welfare of their nation before themselves. As long as we have defenders of such character and courage, our nation will always be in good hands and the future will always be bright.
So I thank you for inviting me today. I thank you for having given me the honor of a lifetime to serve as your Commander-in-Chief. God bless. (Applause.)
You made mistakes, and there are things I wish you’d done differently, but I’m going to miss you, Pres. Bush
“We can be confident because freedom is universal. I strongly believe there’s an Almighty, and a gift of that Almighty to every man, woman and child on the face of the Earth is freedom. We can be confident because we’re blessed with men and women who willingly put the welfare of their nation before themselves. As long as we have defenders of such character and courage, our nation will always be in good hands and the future will always be bright.”
God help this nation for so thoroughly spitting in the face of this good man.
As usual, his words are spot on. We gather here in the quiet space of crickets chirping because are fellow citizens are consumed with blind deceitful cynical rage. May the scales soon fall from their eyes.
I don’t think I could have said it any better.
Thank you President Bush and thank you America's finest.
Here is the list of terror attacks prevented because of the Bush- Cheney surveillance programs, fought all the way by the you know whos.
Bush took the harder way, the politically difficult way, to protect us and the result is that thousands of lives, perhaps tens of thousands, were saved. What would even one of these attacks have meant to the nation?
Bush saved us from these attacks and we owe him thanks more than any president since Lincoln.
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/12/20081217-5.html
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 17, 2008
Fact Sheet: President Bush Has Kept America Safe
President Bush Fundamentally Reshaped Our Strategy To Protect The American People
White House News
President Bush Discusses National Security, Homeland Security and the Freedom Agenda at U.S. Army War College
In Focus: Homeland Security
“Because of ... the efforts of many across all levels of government, we have not suffered another attack on our soil since September the 11th, 2001.”
President George W. Bush (March 8, 2008)
Today, President Bush visited the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and discussed efforts to protect the security and liberty of the American people. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush took the fight to the enemy to defeat the terrorists and protect America. The President deployed all elements of national power to combat terrorism, which had previously been considered primarily a “law enforcement” issue. He transformed our military and strengthened our national security institutions to wage the War on Terror and secure our homeland. The President also made missile defense operational and advanced counterproliferation efforts to help prevent our enemies from threatening us, and our allies, with weapons of mass destruction.
Secured the Homeland
Protected our Nation and prevented another attack on U.S. soil for more than seven years, modernized our national security institutions and tools of war, and bolstered our homeland security. Under the President’s watch, numerous terrorist attacks have been prevented in the United States. These include:
An attempt to bomb fuel tanks at JFK airport;
A plot to blow up airliners bound for the East Coast;
A plan to destroy the tallest skyscraper in Los Angeles;
A plot by six al Qaeda inspired individuals to kill soldiers at Fort Dix Army Base in New Jersey;
A plan to attack a Chicago-area shopping mall using grenades; and
A plot to attack the Sears Tower in Chicago.
Arrested and convicted more than two dozen terrorists and their supporters in America since 9/11.
Froze the financial assets in the United States of hundreds of individuals and entities linked to terrorism and proliferation.
Doubled the Border Patrol to more than 18,000 agents, equipped the Border Patrol with better technology and new infrastructure, and effectively ended the process of catch and release at the border. Increased border security and immigration enforcement funding by more than 160 percent and constructed hundreds of miles of fencing and vehicle barriers.
Instituted a process to screen every commercial air passenger in the country, launched credentialing initiatives to better identify passengers, and expanded the Federal Air Marshal Program. Replaced the multiple watchlists that were in place prior to 9/11 with a single, consolidated watchlist, and incorporated biometrics in screening and identifying individuals entering our country. Created US-VISIT to screen foreign travelers and prevent terrorists from entering America. Required secure identification at our ports of entry to better monitor individuals entering the United States.
Invested more than $38 billion in public health and medical systems, created a biothreat air monitoring system, and developed a national strategy and international partnership on avian and pandemic flu.
‘History – assuming it is written by free men and women not intimidated into silence by the fear of attracting the terrorists’ notice – will be exceedingly kind to this president.’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sept. 16, 2007)
Waged the Global War on Terror
Removed the Taliban from power and brought freedom to the 25 million people of Afghanistan.
Freed 25 million Iraqis from the rule of Saddam Hussein, a dictator who murdered his own people, invaded his neighbors, and repeatedly defied United Nations resolutions.
Captured or killed hundreds of al Qaeda leaders and operatives in more than two dozen countries with the help of partner nations. September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is in U.S. custody and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, was killed in 2006. Removed al Qaeda’s safe-haven in Afghanistan and crippled al Qaeda in Iraq, including defeating al Qaeda in its former stronghold of Anbar Province.
Transformed Our Approach to Combating Terrorism After the 9/11 Attacks
Increased the size of our ground forces and number of unmanned aerial vehicles and strengthened special operations forces by increasing resources, manpower, and capabilities. Increased the Defense Department’s base budget more than 70 percent since 2001, including increased funding for military pay and benefits, research, and development. Started moving American forces from Cold War garrisons in Europe and Asia so they can deploy more quickly to any region of the world. Modernized and transformed the National Guard from a strategic reserve to an operational reserve.
Forged a new, comprehensive cybersecurity policy to improve the security of Federal government and military computer systems and made protecting these systems a national priority.
Improved cargo screening and security at U.S. ports and increased containerized cargo screening overseas.
Established a more unified, collaborative intelligence community under the leadership of a Director of National Intelligence to ensure information is shared among intelligence and law enforcement professionals so they have the information they need to protect the American people while respecting the legal rights of all U.S. persons, including freedoms, civil liberties, and privacy rights guaranteed by Federal law.
Consolidated 22 agencies and 180,000 employees under a new agency, the Department of Homeland Security, to foster a comprehensive, coordinated approach to protecting our country.
Advocated for and signed into law the USA PATRIOT Act, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, and a modernization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Shifted the FBI’s focus from investigating terrorist attacks to preventing them. Created the National Security Branch at the FBI, which combines the FBI’s counterterrorism, counterintelligence, intelligence, and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) elements under the leadership of a senior FBI official.
Created the Terrorist Screening Center and the National Security Division at the Department of Justice.
Invigorated International Alliances And Partnerships To Make America Safer And More Secure
Partnered with nations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere on intelligence sharing and law enforcement coordination to break up terrorist networks and bring terrorists to justice.
Transformed NATO to face 21st century threats, including strengthening the Alliance’s capabilities against WMD and cyber attacks, while leading the international military effort in Afghanistan.
Established the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and other multilateral coalitions to stop WMD proliferation and strengthen our ability to locate and secure nuclear and radiological materials around the world. Dismantled and prevented the reconstitution of the A.Q. Khan proliferation network, an extensive, international network that had spread sensitive nuclear technology and capability to Iran, Libya, and North Korea.
Worked with European partners to limit Iran’s ability to develop weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles and finance terrorism, and initiated targeted sanctions against Iran’s Quds Force. Gathered support for and won passage of three Chapter VII United Nations Security Council resolutions that impose sanctions on Iran and require it to suspend its uranium enrichment and other proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities.
Established the Six Party Talks framework in partnership with China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia. Obtained a commitment from North Korea to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs. Since November 2007, USG experts have supervised North Korea’s activities to disable its plutonium production capability.
Persuaded Libya to disclose and dismantle all aspects of its WMD and advanced missile programs, renounce terrorism, and accept responsibility for prior acts of terror. Normalized our relations with Libya as a result.
Signed agreements for missile defense sites in the Czech Republic and Poland to help protect America and its allies from the threat of WMD delivered by ballistic missiles. Obtained NATO endorsement of plans to deploy missile defense assets in Europe.
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