George W Bush, President of the United States
For those who missed Secretary Rumsfeld's prayer to the Cabinet yesterday, here it is:
Ever faithful God, in death we are reminded of the precious birthrights of life and liberty you endowed in your American people. You have shown once again that these gifts must never be taken for granted.
We pledge to those whom you have called home, and ask of you -
Patience, to measure our lust for action;
Resolve, to strengthen our obligation to lead;
Wisdom, to illuminate our pursuit of justice, and;
Strength, in defense of liberty.
We seek your special blessing today for those who stand as sword and shield, protecting the many from the tyranny of the few. Our enduring prayer is that you shall always guide our labors and that our battles shall always be just.
We pray this day, heavenly father, the prayer our nation learned at another time of righteous struggle and noble cause -- America's enduring prayer: Not that God will be on our side, but always, O Lord, that America will be on your side.
Q: Mr. Secretary, there are some in the Middle East who are saying that the United States does not have the belly to do the kind of response to this attack on the United States, that this administration, the previous administration don't have it to go after them in the kind of way that they have to be gone after. Without any specifics whatsoever, help us with the attitude that should go into this process.
Rumsfeld: Well, I guess time will tell. My -- I guess I'm kind of old-fashioned. I'm inclined to think that if you're going to cock it, you throw it, and you don't talk about it a lot. So my instinct is that what you do, you should go about your business and do what you think you have to do. I think anyone who thinks it's easy is wrong. I think that it will require a sustained and broadly based effort. And I don't think that people ought to judge outcomes until a sufficient time is passed to address what is clearly a very serious problem for the world. And it's not restricted to a single entity, state or non-state entity. It is an attack on a way of life.
The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize. It is to alter behavior. It is to force people who believe in freedom to be less free by altering their behavior and redressing a balance between freedom and security. Anyone who's ever been in a war zone, as I know most of you have, you know that when you walk out of a building you don't walk out with your head high whistling, you look around the corner and see what's out there. And that's not the way Americans live, and it's not the way we want to live. 