11 June 2002
Bush: Campaign Against Terrorism Will Be "Long and Dangerous"
(Addresses International Democratic Union party leaders) (680)
President Bush told a meeting of International Democratic Union party
leaders in Washington June 10 that with the spread of chemical and
biological and nuclear weapons, along with ballistic missile
technology, "freedom's enemies could attain catastrophic power."
The war on terror, he said, will be long and dangerous.
"We fight for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity: the rule of
law, limits on the power of the state, respect for women, respect for
private property, free speech, equal justice and religious tolerance,"
the president added.
Following is a transcript of Bush's remarks, issued by the White
House:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
June 10, 2002
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRATIC UNION LEADERS
DINNER
The State Dining Room
7:03 P.M. EDT
PRESIDENT BUSH: If I may have your attention for a minute, please. It
is a great pleasure for me to welcome the International Democratic
Union's members, and its new chairman, Prime Minister of Australia
John Howard. And it's my pleasure to thank the outgoing chairman,
William Hague, for his outstanding leadership. (Applause.)
With us this evening are IDU members from 40 nations, including five
current heads of state or government, and nine former heads of state
or government. The presence of so many distinguished world leaders is
a remarkable testament to the power and attractiveness of our ideas.
More than a century ago, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir
William Harcourt, declared, we're all socialists now. (Laughter.)
Today it's fair to say we're all democratic capitalists now.
(Applause.) The democratic capitalist's vision of a free and just and
compassionate society has captured the imagination of the world. Free
markets, free governments, and free societies are not American idea,
they're not European or Western ideas, they're universal ideas. And
they inspire all the member parties of the International Democratic
Union.
The historical record is clear: economic systems that put freedom
first have achieved greater levels of equality and well-being than
systems that seek to strengthen the power of a state and stifle
economic liberty. That's the record. But while the ideas the IDU
stands for have made unprecedented gains, the free societies we love
face unprecedented threats.
We face cold-blooded killers that hate the freedoms we cherish. And
with the spread of chemical and biological and nuclear weapons, along
with ballistic missile technology, freedom's enemies could attain
catastrophic power. And there's no doubt that they would use that
power to attack us and to attack the values we uphold.
It is our commitment to freedom and human dignity and the strong
belief that each individual matters that sets our enemies against us
and draws our friends together in a great coalition of liberty. We
will oppose the new totalitarians with all our power. We will hunt
them down one by one and bring them to justice.
And we must never hesitate to speak for what we believe. We believe we
fight an enemy that is barbaric and that is evil. We believe targeting
innocent civilians for murder is always and everywhere wrong; and
political, social and economic freedoms are always and everywhere
right.
The war on terror will be long and it will be dangerous. It will
require us to be patient, and steadfast, and clear about what we're
fighting for. We fight for the non-negotiable demands of human
dignity: the rule of law, limits on the power of the state, respect
for women, respect for private property, free speech, equal justice
and religious tolerance.
And so I'd like you to join me in a toast for the ideas which we all
share, and for the great hope to replace poverty and repression and
resentment with the promise of a better day for everyone who inhabits
this Earth.
May God bless you all.
(The toast is offered.) (Applause.)
END 7:09 P.M. EDT
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
