Blue Star Chronicles

President Bush’s speech on terrorism today was outstanding.

It’s no secret he is not a great speaker, but I have heard him more than once deliver a speech on the Global War on Terror with eloquence.

It’s obviously his passion.

This was one of those speeches.

Next week, America will mark the fifth anniversary of September the 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. As this day approaches, it brings with it a flood of painful memories.

We remember the horror of watching planes fly into the World Trade Center, and seeing the towers collapse before our eyes. We remember the sight of the Pentagon, broken and in flames. We remember the rescue workers who rushed into burning buildings to save lives, knowing they might never emerge again. We remember the brave passengers who charged the cockpit of their hijacked plane, and stopped the terrorists from reaching their target and killing more innocent civilians. We remember the cold brutality of the enemy who inflicted this harm on our country — an enemy whose leader, Osama bin Laden, declared the massacre of nearly 3,000 people that day — I quote — “an unparalleled and magnificent feat of valor, unmatched by any in humankind before them.”

In five years since our nation was attacked, al Qaeda and terrorists it has inspired have continued to attack across the world. They’ve killed the innocent in Europe and Africa and the Middle East, in Central Asia and the Far East, and beyond. Most recently, they attempted to strike again in the most ambitious plot since the attacks of September the 11th — a plan to blow up passenger planes headed for America over the Atlantic Ocean.

Five years after our nation was attacked, the terrorist danger remains. We’re a nation at war — and America and her allies are fighting this war with relentless determination across the world. Together with our coalition partners, we’ve removed terrorist sanctuaries, disrupted their finances, killed and captured key operatives, broken up terrorist cells in America and other nations, and stopped new attacks before they’re carried out. We’re on the offense against the terrorists on every battlefront — and we’ll accept nothing less than complete victory. (Applause.)

In the five years since our nation was attacked, we’ve also learned a great deal about the enemy we face in this war. We’ve learned about them through videos and audio recordings, and letters and statements they’ve posted on websites. We’ve learned about them from captured enemy documents that the terrorists have never meant for us to see. Together, these documents and statements have given us clear insight into the mind of our enemies — their ideology, their ambitions, and their strategy to defeat us.

We know what the terrorists intend to do because they’ve told us — and we need to take their words seriously. So today I’m going to describe — in the terrorists’ own words, what they believe… what they hope to accomplish, and how they intend to accomplish it. I’ll discuss how the enemy has adapted in the wake of our sustained offensive against them, and the threat posed by different strains of violent Islamic radicalism. I’ll explain the strategy we’re pursuing to protect America, by defeating the terrorists on the battlefield, and defeating their hateful ideology in the battle of ideas.

The terrorists who attacked us on September the 11th, 2001, are men without conscience — but they’re not madmen. They kill in the name of a clear and focused ideology, a set of beliefs that are evil, but not insane. These al Qaeda terrorists and those who share their ideology are violent Sunni extremists. They’re driven by a radical and perverted vision of Islam that rejects tolerance, crushes all dissent, and justifies the murder of innocent men, women and children in the pursuit of political power. They hope to establish a violent political utopia across the Middle East, which they call a “Caliphate” — where all would be ruled according to their hateful ideology. Osama bin Laden has called the 9/11 attacks — in his words — “a great step towards the unity of Muslims and establishing the Righteous… [Caliphate].”

This caliphate would be a totalitarian Islamic empire encompassing all current and former Muslim lands, stretching from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. We know this because al Qaeda has told us. About two months ago, the terrorist Zawahiri — he’s al Qaeda’s second in command — declared that al Qaeda intends to impose its rule in “every land that was a home for Islam, from [Spain] to Iraq. He went on to say, “The whole world is an open field for us.”

We know what this radical empire would look like in practice, because we saw how the radicals imposed their ideology on the people of Afghanistan. Under the rule of the Taliban and al Qaeda, Afghanistan was a totalitarian nightmare — a land where women were imprisoned in their homes, men were beaten for missing prayer meetings, girls could not go to school, and children were forbidden the smallest pleasures like flying kites. Religious police roamed the streets, beating and detaining civilians for perceived offenses. Women were publicly whipped. Summary executions were held in Kabul’s soccer stadium in front of cheering mobs. And Afghanistan was turned into a launching pad for horrific attacks against America and other parts of the civilized world — including many Muslim nations.

The goal of these Sunni extremists is to remake the entire Muslim world in their radical image. In pursuit of their imperial aims, these extremists say there can be no compromise or dialogue with those they call “infidels” — a category that includes America, the world’s free nations, Jews, and all Muslims who reject their extreme vision of Islam. They reject the possibility of peaceful coexistence with the free world. Again, hear the words of Osama bin Laden earlier this year: “Death is better than living on this Earth with the unbelievers among us.”

These radicals have declared their uncompromising hostility to freedom. It is foolish to think that you can negotiate with them. (Applause.) We see the uncompromising nature of the enemy in many captured terrorist documents. Here are just two examples: After the liberation of Afghanistan, coalition forces searching through a terrorist safe house in that country found a copy of the al Qaeda charter. This charter states that “there will be continuing enmity until everyone believes in Allah. We will not meet [the enemy] halfway. There will be no room for dialogue with them.” Another document was found in 2000 by British police during an anti-terrorist raid in London — a grisly al Qaeda manual that includes chapters with titles such as “Guidelines for Beating and Killing Hostages.” This manual declares that their vision of Islam “does not… make a truce with unbelief, but rather confronts it.” The confrontation… calls for… the dialogue of bullets, the ideals of assassination, bombing, and destruction, and the diplomacy of the cannon and machine gun.”

and

Just as we must take the words of the Sunni extremists seriously, we must take the words of the Shia extremists seriously. Listen to the words of Hezbollah’s leader, the terrorist Nasrallah, who has declared his hatred of America. He says, “Let the entire world hear me. Our hostility to the Great Satan [America] is absolute… Regardless of how the world has changed after 11 September, Death to America will remain our reverberating and powerful slogan: Death to America.”

Iran’s leaders, who back Hezbollah, have also declared their absolute hostility to America. Last October, Iran’s President declared in a speech that some people ask — in his words — “whether a world without the United States and Zionism can be achieved… I say that this… goal is achievable.” Less than three months ago, Iran’s President declared to America and other Western powers: “open your eyes and see the fate of pharaoh… if you do not abandon the path of falsehood… your doomed destiny will be annihilation.” Less than two months ago, he warned: “The anger of Muslims may reach an explosion point soon. If such a day comes… [America and the West] should know that the waves of the blast will not remain within the boundaries of our region.” He also delivered this message to the American people: “If you would like to have good relations with the Iranian nation in the future… bow down before the greatness of the Iranian nation and surrender. If you don’t accept [to do this], the Iranian nation will… force you to surrender and bow down.”

America will not bow down to tyrants.

and

Imagine a world in which they were able to control governments, a world awash with oil and they would use oil resources to punish industrialized nations. And they would use those resources to fuel their radical agenda, and pursue and purchase weapons of mass murder. And armed with nuclear weapons, they would blackmail the free world, and spread their ideologies of hate, and raise a mortal threat to the American people. If we allow them to do this, if we retreat from Iraq, if we don’t uphold our duty to support those who are desirous to live in liberty, 50 years from now history will look back on our time with unforgiving clarity, and demand to know why we did not act.

I’m not going to allow this to happen — and no future American President can allow it either. America did not seek this global struggle, but we’re answering history’s call with confidence and a clear strategy. Today we’re releasing a document called the “National Strategy for Combating Terrorism.” This is an unclassified version of the strategy we’ve been pursuing since September the 11th, 2001. This strategy was first released in February 2003; it’s been updated to take into account the changing nature of this enemy. This strategy document is posted on the White House website — whitehouse.gov. And I urge all Americans to read it.

The President outlines and elaborates on the 5 basic elements of our National Strategy to Combat Terrorism

First, we’re determined to prevent terrorist attacks before they occur.
[snip]
Second, we’re determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to outlaw regimes and terrorists who would use them without hesitation.
[snip]
Third, we’re determined to deny terrorists the support of outlaw regimes.
[snip]
Fourth, we’re determined to deny terrorist networks control of any nation, or territory within a nation.
[snip]
Fifth, we’re working to deny terrorists new recruits, by defeating their hateful ideology and spreading the hope of freedom — by spreading the hope of freedom across the Middle East.

We fight for this day, because the security of our own citizens depends on it. This is the great ideological struggle of the 21st century — and it is the calling of our generation. All civilized nations are bound together in this struggle between moderation and extremism. By coming together, we will roll back this grave threat to our way of life. We will help the people of the Middle East claim their freedom, and we will leave a safer and more hopeful world for our children and grandchildren.

And that is why we fight.

America will not bow down to tyrants.

The entire speech is here.

h/t Stop the ACLU

Video at Hot Air

The Jawa Report says that reading Bush’s speechs is more satisfying than listening to them - I have to agree - I have often thought the same thing.

others posting: Woman Honor Thyself, Robinik, Clash of Civilizations, Old War Dogs, Scared Monkeys, Blogs for Bush

linked to: Planck’s Constant, The Pirate’s Cove, Common Folk Using Common Sense, Third World County, Dumb Ox, bRight & Early,