President Bush Cites Progress in Pursuit of Terrorists
22 September 2005
President also says U.S. government mobilizing for Hurricane Rita
By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Washington File Security Affairs Writer
Washington –- President Bush emerged from a September 22 briefing by his key commanders to tell the world that coalition forces have made progress in bringing terrorists to justice.
Speaking from a Pentagon podium and flanked by Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers -- Bush said the coalition is making progress in the global war against terrorism. He said winning that war will take time just as triumphing over communism took time.
The president said the United States and allied forces have been successful in capturing terrorists and perpetrators of violence, who have a dark vision of establishing oppressive Taliban-type governments around the world.
As an example of counterterrorism success, Bush cited the September 21 coalition capture of Abdul Ghafur Yahiyah Abdullah al-Abdullah, who is alleged to have transported al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi around Iraq.
While some al-Qaida leaders are still at large, others are increasingly isolated, Bush said, as additional democratic milestones are achieved in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
The spread of democracy, he said, is the terrorists’ worst nightmare. (See Democratic Afghanistan and Iraq’s Political Process.)
In both countries, Bush said, there has been a history of escalating violence by terrorists seeking to derail democratic efforts just as political milestones neared.
“As we work to help defeat the enemies of a democratic Afghanistan, we’re also working to defeat the enemies of a democratic Iraq,” he said.
In Iraq, for example, the president said coalition forces are working to deny “high-value” terrorists any safe haven from which to plot attacks, and they are now limited to operating in only four of Iraq’s 18 provinces. The number of attacks has risen in Iraq in recent weeks, Bush said, as the terrorists have stepped up “their campaign to stop a referendum on the constitution.”
But Iraqi security forces, recently trained by the coalition, increasingly are taking the lead in joint counterterror operations, the president said. The ever more capable Iraqi security forces are allowing the coalition to hold onto Iraqi cities once they are cleared of terrorist insurgents, Bush said. By stationing Iraqi units in the cities where the terrorists recently have been wiped out, he said “we can keep the cities safe while we move on to hunt down the terrorists in other parts of the country.”
Iraqi and coalition forces also are conducting aggressive operations to halt the influx of foreign terrorists from Syria, especially in the Anbar Province in western Iraq. It takes time to secure a border as extensive as that between Syria and Iraq, Bush said. The United States is looking to Syria to help secure the border and halt the transit of suicide bombers, the president said, while noting that Syria’s response has not been satisfactory so far. (See related article.)
Terrorists are testing the will of the United States to stay the course in Iraq, Bush said.
“If we fail that test, the consequences for the safety and security of the American people would be enormous,” he said. Withdrawing from Iraq now, the president said, “would allow the terrorists to claim a historic victory over the United States” thereby emboldening al-Qaida leaders and their associates “to dominate the Middle East and launch more attacks on America and other free nations.” Withdrawal only would make the world more dangerous, he added.
“The battle lines are drawn,” Bush said, “and there is no middle ground.” He went on to say: “Either we defeat the terrorists and help the Iraqis build a working democracy, or the terrorists will impose their dark ideology on the Iraqi people and make that country a source of terror and instability” for decades to come. (See Iraq Update.)
For more information about U.S. counterterrorism policy, see Response to Terrorism.
UNITED STATES RESPONDING TO HURRICANES KATRINA, RITA
As the commander-in-chief reviewed the battle lines in the war against terrorism, he continued to focus on the Category 4 hurricane churning through the Gulf of Mexico. Bush said officials at all levels of the federal government are expecting the worst from Hurricane Rita, expected to hit the Texas coastline September 24. Bush said the military has pre-positioned troops who are ready to help local, state and federal workers “respond swiftly and effectively.”
There already are 50,000 U.S. military forces in the Gulf Coast region helping the recovery effort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the August 29 storm that devastated coastal communities in a three-state area and caused enormous flooding in New Orleans and its surrounding communities in recent weeks. For more information on the storm and its aftermath, see Hurricane Katrina.
Asked about the government’s ability to pay for multiple hurricane relief efforts, Bush said the first step is to complete the ongoing assessment of what it will cost to remove debris, repair sewage treatment facilities and rebuild roads, bridges and schools in damaged areas of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Officials are taking inventory as they try to determine the size and scope of the federal bill, the president said.
But, as the United States copes with two killer hurricanes, Bush said, “our focus on defending the country remains undiminished.”
The transcript of the president’s remarks is available on the White House Web site.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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