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Edited on Fri Feb-20-04 09:37 AM by TruthIsAll
There's no question that the minute I got elected, the storm clouds on the horizon were getting nearly directly overhead.
Russia is no longer our enemy and therefore we shouldn't be locked into a Cold War mentality that says we keep the peace by blowing each other up. In my attitude, that's old, that's tired, that's stale. Anyway, I'm so thankful, and so gracious—I'm gracious that my brother Jeb is concerned about the hemisphere as well.
There's nothing more deep than recognizing Israel's right to exist. That's the most deep thought of all. ... I can't think of anything more deep than that right. I understand that the unrest in the Middle East creates unrest throughout the region. The suicide bombings have increased. There's too many of them. There's a lot of people in the Middle East who are desirous to get into the Mitchell process. And—but first things first. The—these terrorist acts and, you know, the responses have got to end in order for us to get the framework—the groundwork—not framework, the groundwork to discuss a framework for peace, to lay the—all right. My administration has been calling upon all the leaders in the—in the Middle East to do everything they can to stop the violence, to tell the different parties involved that peace will never happen.
Nothing Saddam Hussein has done has convinced me—I'm confident the Secretary of Defense—that he is the kind of fellow that is willing to forgo weapons of mass destruction, is willing to be a peaceful neighbor, that is—will honor the people—the Iraqi people of all stripes, will—values human life. He hasn't convinced me, nor has he convinced my administration.
See, we love—we love freedom. That's what they didn't understand. They hate things; we love things. They act out of hatred; we don't seek revenge, we seek justice out of love. There's no cave deep enough for America, or dark enough to hide. I'm a patient man. And when I say I'm a patient man, I mean I'm a patient man.
I was proud the other day when both Republicans and Democrats stood with me in the Rose Garden to announce their support for a clear statement of purpose: you disarm, or we will. People say, how can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil? You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you.
There's no doubt in my mind that we should allow the world worst leaders to hold America hostage, to threaten our peace, to threaten our friends and allies with the world's worst weapons.
There's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me and I know what it's like. The law I sign today directs new funds and new focus to the task of collecting vital intelligence on terrorist threats and on weapons of mass production. These people don't have tanks. They don't have ships. They hide in caves. They send suiciders out.
Any time we've got any kind of inkling that somebody is thinking about doing something to an American and something to our homeland, you've just got to know we're moving on it, to protect the United Nations Constitution, and at the same time, we're protecting you.
The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself. When Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried, and persecuted as a war criminal. One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end. Many of the punditry—of course, not you (laughter)—but other punditry were quick to say, no one is going to follow the United States of America.
You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order—order out of chaos. But we will. Perhaps one way will be, if we use military force, in the post-Saddam Iraq the U.N. will definitely need to have a role. And that way it can begin to get its legs, legs of responsibility back.
We ended the rule of one of history's worst tyrants, and in so doing, we not only freed the American people, we made our own people more secure. We've got hundreds of sites to exploit, looking for the chemical and biological weapons that we know Saddam Hussein had prior to our entrance into Iraq. I think war is a dangerous place.
I urge the leaders in Europe and around the world to take swift, decisive action against terror groups such as Hamas, to cut off their funding, and to support—cut funding and support, as the United States has done. Iran would be dangerous if they have a nuclear weapon. Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history—revisionist historians is what I like to call them. I am determined to keep the process on the road to peace.
See, free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction. Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the road map to peace. My answer is bring them on.
One of the most meaningful things that's happened to me since I've been the governor—the president—governor—president. Oops. Ex-governor. I went to Bethesda Naval Hospital to give a fellow a Purple Heart, and at the same moment I watched him—get a Purple Heart for action in Iraq—and at that same—right after I gave him the Purple Heart, he was sworn in as a citizen of the United States—a Mexican citizen, now a United States citizen.
I want to remind you all that in order to fight and win the war, it requires an expenditure of money that is commiserate with keeping a promise to our troops to make sure that they're well-paid, well-trained, well-equipped. The best way to find these terrorists who hide in holes is to get people coming forth to describe the location of the hole, is to give clues and data. The ambassador and the general were briefing me on the—the vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice.
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