19 December 2001
White House Report: Bush to the Terrorists, 12/19/01
("They roused a mighty nation," President says) (470)
BUSH MESSAGE TO THE TERRORISTS: "WE WILL NOT BE STOPPED"
President Bush, inspecting the "Spirit of Louisiana" fire truck on the
South Lawn of the White House December 19, as it made its way up to
the New York Fire Department, had this message for the terrorists of
September 11:
"One of the things I like to remind the enemy is, you thought you were
going to change America when you hit us. You thought by your actions
and by your attacks that somehow this nation was so soft that we
didn't know how to respond."
But instead, said Bush, "they're paying a terrible price for their
miscalculation. We're making great progress in the first theater of
this long war to rout terror where it may exist.
"I'm really proud of our military," he said. "I'm proud of the job
they're doing. I'm proud of the fact that we've set a clear goal with
certain objectives, and those objectives are being met. I know the
governor likes to hunt rabbits down in Louisiana. Sometimes those
rabbits think they can hide from the governor. But eventually he
smokes them out and gets them, and that's exactly what's happening to
Mr. bin Laden and all the murderers that he's trying to hide in
Afghanistan.
"But the other thing that the terrorist doesn't understand was how
strong is the strength of America," the President said. "They didn't
understand that. And the strength of America is our citizens. Citizens
who love each other, citizens who are decent, citizens who, when
called upon, can respond to any adversity. And that's exactly what's
happening here on the White House lawn today. People from all walks of
life, all political parties, some of whom probably have never been to
New York City before, have said 'What can I do to help? How can I help
somebody whose lives have been adversely affected by the evil ones?'
And behind me sits the answer: one beautiful, well manufactured truck
made by an entrepreneur in Louisiana who asked his people to work
overtime, and they did, to deliver it here today. I know I speak on
behalf of all Americans: thank you for what you're doing.
"You know, they roused a mighty nation," said Bush. "They roused a
mighty nation. And we will not be stopped. We're not going to be
stopped overseas and we're sure not going to be stopped here at home.
I hope every family here and all the folks who volunteered to make
this happen have a wonderful holiday season. May God bless your
families, and may God continue to bless America."
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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