19 March 2002
Bush Vows to Continue Fight Against Terrorism
(Speech in O'Fallon, Missouri March 18) (770)
President Bush has promised that the United States will continue to
hunt down terrorists and work to prevent dangerous regimes from
acquiring weapons of mass destruction.
"[T]here are still thousands of al Qaeda trained killers on the
loose," Bush said in a speech in O'Fallon, Missouri March 18. "We will
deny them sanctuary. We will keep them on the run. We'll disrupt their
finances. No matter how long it takes, we're going to get 'em and
bring them to justice."
Bush said the United States will make efforts to prevent dictatorial
regimes from developing weapons of mass destruction.
"We cannot...allow the world's worst regimes to develop the world's
worst weapons, and therefore hold the United States and our allies
hostage," Bush said.
Following are excerpts from Bush's speech with comments about the war
against terrorists and dangerous regimes:
(begin excerpt)
And not only do we have a big job at home, we've obviously got a big
job abroad, as well. We're fighting a war. And I want to share with
you all some of my thoughts about this war that we fight.
First of all, you've got to know that we're fighting against Taliban
determined group of killers. These are people who would rather die
than surrender. These are people who hate America. They hate our
freedom. They hate our freedom to worship. They hate our freedom to
vote. They hate our freedom of the press. They hate our freedom to say
what you want to say. They can't stand what we stand for.
And, therefore, we have no choice but to hunt 'em down one by one to
defend the very freedom we hold dear in America. (Applause.) And that
is exactly what we're going to do. The enemy must have thought they
were hitting a society that was so soft, so self-absorbed, so
materialistic that we would sue them. (Laughter and applause.) They
didn't understand America. They didn't understand our fiber. They
don't understand our core. They don't know what we're made out of --
at least, they didn't. Now they do.
I made it absolutely clear when we first got going that if a country
harbored a terrorist or fed a terrorist or hid a terrorist, they were
just as guilty as the murderers who hit us on September the 11th.
(Applause.) And now the Taliban knows exactly what I meant, thanks to
a magnificent United States miliary and a vast coalition, we have
routed the Taliban in Afghanistan. (Applause.) I'm proud of our
military, and I'm proud of our country. We went into Afghanistan not
to seek revenge, but justice. And we went into that country not as
conquerors, but as liberators. We have freed Afghan people from the
clutches of one of the most barbaric, backward regimes history has
ever known.
Later on this week, schools will reopen in Afghanistan, and incredibly
enough, for the first time, young girls get to go to school thanks to
the United States and our coalition. (Applause.) And so the other day,
in Washington, I declared that the first phase in our war against
terror had ended. We upheld the doctrine of a nation harboring a
terrorist, and the consequences we made clear.
But I want to tell you all, there is more to do. You see, there are
still thousands of al Qaeda trained killers on the loose. And we will
treat them the way they are, which is international fugitives. We will
deny them sanctuary. We will keep them on the run. We'll disrupt their
finances. No matter how long it takes, we're going to get 'em and
bring them to justice. There is no cave deep enough for the justice of
the United States of America. (Applause.)
........
There's more to the war on terror than one single individual or one
single network. The nightmare scenario is for our nation to tire and
weary, and allow an al Qaeda organization or an al Qaeda type
organization to mate up with a nation which has developed weapons of
mass destruction, a nation which has got a history of treating her
people poorly, a dictatorial nation. We cannot -- we cannot -- allow
the world's worst regimes to develop the world's worst weapons, and
therefore hold the United States and our allies hostage. We owe it to
our children and our children's children to be firm and to be tough,
and to say to those bullies and dictators, we will not let you stand
and get away with blackmailing the world. (Applause.)
(end excerpts)
(end excerpt)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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