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 he
text of President Bush's address in Atlanta, Ga., on homeland security
and America's war on terrorism.
Thank you all
very much. Thank you so very much.
We meet tonight
after two of the most difficult and most inspiring months in our
nation's history. We have endured the shock of watching so many
innocent lives ended in acts of unimaginable horror. We have endured
the sadness of so many funerals. We have faced unprecedented bioterrorist
attack delivered in our mail.
Tonight, many
thousands of children are tragically learning to live without one
of their parents. And the rest of us are learning to live in a world
that seems very different than it was on September the 10th.
The moment
the second plane hit the second building, when we knew it was a
terrorist attack, many felt that our lives would never be the same.
What we couldn't
be sure of then and what the terrorists never expected was that
America would emerge stronger with a renewed spirit of pride and
patriotism.
(APPLAUSE)
I said in my
speech to a joint session of Congress that we are a nation awakened
to danger. We're also a nation awakened to service and citizenship
and compassion.
None of us
would ever wish the evil that has been done to our country, yet
we have learned that out of evil can come great good.
During the
last two months, we have shown the world, America is a great nation.
(APPLAUSE)
Americans have
responded magnificently with courage and caring. We've seen it in
our children who have sent in more than $1 million for the children
of Afghanistan. We have seen it in the compassion of Jewish and
Christian Americans who have reached out to their Muslim neighbors.
We've seen it as Americans have reassessed priorities: parents spending
more time with their children and many people spending more time
in prayer and in houses of worship.
We have gained
new heroes, those who ran into burning buildings to save others:
our police and our firefighters.
(APPLAUSE)
Those who battle
their own fears to keep children calm and safe: America's teachers.
(APPLAUSE)
Those who voluntarily
place themselves in harm's way to defend our freedom: the men and
women of the armed forces.
(APPLAUSE)
And tonight
we join in thanking a whole new group of public servants who never
enlisted to fight a war, but find themselves on the front lines
of a battle nonetheless: those who deliver the mail, America's postal
workers.
(APPLAUSE)
We also thank
those whose quick response provided preventative treatment that
has no doubt saved thousands of lives: our health care workers.
(APPLAUSE)
We are a different
country than we were on September the 10th, sadder and less innocent,
stronger and more united. And in the face of ongoing threats, determined
and courageous.
(APPLAUSE)
Our nation
faces a threat to our freedoms, and the stakes could not be higher.
We are the target of enemies who boast they want to kill: kill all
Americans, kill all Jews and kill all Christians.
We've seen
that type of hate before, and the only possible response is to confront
it and to defeat it.
(APPLAUSE)
This new enemy
seeks to destroy our freedom and impose its views. We value life;
the terrorists ruthlessly destroy it.
We value education;
the terrorists do not believe women should be educated, or should
have health care, or should leave their homes.
We value the
right to speak our minds; for the terrorists, free expression can
be grounds for execution.
We respect
people of all faiths and welcome the free practice of religion;
our enemy wants to dictate how to think and how to worship, even
to their fellow Muslims.
This enemy
tries to behind a peaceful faith. But those who celebrate the murder
of innocent men, women and children have no religion, have no conscience
and have no mercy.
(APPLAUSE)
We wage a war
to save civilization itself. We did not seek it, but we will fight
it and we will prevail.
(APPLAUSE)
This is a different
war from any our nation has ever faced, a war on many fronts, against
terrorists who operate in more than 60 different countries. And
this is a war that must be fought not only overseas, but also here
at home.
I recently
spoke to high school students in Maryland and realized that for
the first time ever these seniors will graduate in the midst of
a war in our own country.
We have entered
a new era, and this new era requires new responsibilities, both
for the government and for our people.
The government
has a responsibility to protect our citizens, and that starts with
homeland security. The first attack against America came by plane,
and we are now making our airports and airplanes safer. We have
posted the National Guard in America's airports and placed undercover
air marshals on many flights.
I call on Congress
to quickly send me legislation that makes cockpits more secure,
baggage screening more thorough, and puts the federal government
in charge of all airport screening and security.
(APPLAUSE)
The second
attack against America came in the mail. We do not know whether
this attack came from the same terrorists. We don't know the origin
of the anthrax. But whoever did this unprecedented and uncivilized
act is a terrorist.
Four Americans
have now died from anthrax out of a total of 17 people who have
been infected. The Postal Service has processed more than 30 billion
pieces of mail since September the 11th, and so far we've identified
three different letters that contained anthrax.
We can trace
the source of infection for all but one of the individuals, and
we are still trying to learn how a woman who died in New York was
exposed.
I'm proud of
the way our health care and postal workers and the American people
are responding with calm in the face of this deadly new threat.
(APPLAUSE)
Public health
officials have acted quickly to distribute preventative antibiotics
to thousands of people who may have been exposed. The government
is purchasing and storing medicines and vaccines as a precaution
against future attacks. We are cleaning facilities where anthrax
has been detected and purchasing equipment to sanitize the mail.
Thousands of
law enforcement officials are aggressively investigating this bioterrorism
attack, and public health officials are distributing the most accurate,
up-to-date information we have to medical professionals and to the
public.
To coordinate
our efforts, we have created the new Office of Homeland Security.
Its director, my good friend and former Governor Tom Ridge, reports
directly to me and works with all of our federal agencies, state
and local governments and the private sector on a national strategy
to strengthen our homeland protections.
For example,
the Coast Guard has taken on expanded duties to protect our shores
and our ports. The National Guard has an increased role in surveillance
at our border. We're imposing new licensing requirements for safer
transportation of hazardous material.
We've passed
a new anti-terrorism law, which gives our law enforcement officers
the necessary tools to track terrorists before they harm Americans.
A new terrorism task force is tightening immigration controls to
make sure no one enters or stays in our country who would harm us.
(APPLAUSE)
We are a welcoming
country. We will always value freedom, yet we will not allow those
who plot against our country to abuse our freedoms and our protections.
Our enemies
have threatened other acts of terror. We take each threat seriously.
And when we
have evidence of credible threats, we will issue appropriate alerts.
A terrorism alert is not a signal to stop your life. It is a call
to be vigilant, to know that your government is on high alert and
to add your eyes and ears to our efforts to find and stop those
who want to do us harm.
A lot of people
are working really hard to protect America, but in the long run,
the best way to defend our homeland, the best way to make sure our
children can live in peace, is to take the battle to the enemy and
to stop them.
(APPLAUSE)
I have called
our military into action to hunt down the members of the Al Qaeda
organization who murdered innocent Americans. I gave fair warning
to the government that harbors them in Afghanistan. The Taliban
made a choice to continue hiding terrorists and now they're paying
a price.
(APPLAUSE)
I am so proud
of our military. It's...
(APPLAUSE)
Our military
is pursuing its mission.
We are destroying
training camps, disrupting communications and dismantling air defenses.
We are now bombing Taliban front lines. We are deliberately and
systematically hunting down these murderers and we will bring them
to justice.
(APPLAUSE)
Throughout
this battle, we adhere to our values. Unlike our enemy, we respect
life. We do not target innocent civilians.
We care for
the innocent people of Afghanistan, so we continue to provide humanitarian
aid, even while their government tries to steal the food we send.
When the terrorists
and their supporters are gone, the people of Afghanistan will say
with the rest of the world, "Good riddance.''
(APPLAUSE)
We are at the
beginning of our efforts in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan is only
the beginning of our efforts in the world. No group or nation should
mistake Americans' (sic) intentions. Where terrorist groups exist
of global reach, the United States and our friends and allies will
seek it out, and we will destroy it.
After September
the 11th, our government assumed a new responsibility to strengthen
security at home and track down our enemies abroad.
And the American
people are accepting new responsibilities as well.
I recently received a letter from a fourth grade girl that seemed
to say it all.
"I don't
know how to feel,'' she said. "Sad, mad, angry. It has been
different lately. I know the people in New York are scared because
of the World Trade Center and all, but if we're scared, we are giving
the terrorists all the power.''
In the face of this great tragedy, Americans are refusing to give
terrorists the power.
(APPLAUSE)
Our people
have responded with courage and compassion, calm and reason, resolve
and fierce determination. We have refused to live in a state of
panic or a state of denial.
There is a
difference between being alert and being intimidated, and this great
nation will never be intimidated.
(APPLAUSE)
People are
going about their daily lives, working and shopping and playing,
worshiping at churches and synagogues and mosques, going to movies
and to baseball games.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
Life in America
is going forward, and as the fourth grader who wrote me knew, that
is the ultimate repudiation of terrorism.
And something
even more profound is happening across our country. The enormity
of this tragedy has caused many Americans to focus on the things
that have not changed, the things that matter most in life: our
faith, our love for family and friends, our commitment to our country
and to our freedoms and to our principles.
In my inaugural
address, I asked our citizens to serve their nation, beginning with
their neighbors. This fall I had planned a new initiative called
Communities of Character, designed to spark a rebirth of citizenship
and character and service. The events of September the 11th have
caused that initiative to happen on its own in ways we could never
have imagined.
Flags are flying
everywhere: on houses, in store windows, on cars, in lapels. Financial
donations to the victims' families have reached more than $1 billion.
Countless Americans
gave blood in the aftermath of the attacks. New Yorkers opened their
homes to evacuated neighbors. We are waiting patiently in long security
lines. Children across America have organized lemonade and cookie
sales for children in Afghanistan. And we can do more.
Since September
the 11th, many Americans, especially young Americans, are rethinking
their career choices. They are being drawn to careers of service
as police or firemen, emergency health workers, teachers, counselors
or in the military. And this is good for America.
(APPLAUSE)
Many ask, "What
can I do to help in our fight?'' The answer is simple. All of us
can become a September the 11th volunteer by making a commitment
to service in our own communities. So you can serve your country
by tutoring or mentoring a child, comforting the afflicted, housing
those in need of shelter and a home.
You can participate
in your neighborhood watch or Crimestoppers. You can become a volunteer
in a hospital, emergency medical, fire or rescue unit. You can support
our troops in the field and, just as importantly, support their
families here at home by becoming active in the USO or groups in
communities near our military installations.
We also will
encourage service to country by creating new opportunities within
the AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs for public safety and public
health efforts.
We will ask
state and local officials to create a new modern civil defense service,
similar to local volunteer fire departments, to respond to local
emergencies when the manpower of governments is stretched thin.
We will find
ways to train and mobilize more volunteers to help when rescue and
health emergencies arise.
Americans have
a lot to offer, so I've created a task force to develop additional
ways people can get directly involved in this war effort, by making
our homes and neighborhoods and schools and workplaces safer.
And I call
on all Americans to serve by bettering our communities and thereby
defy and defeat the terrorists.
Our great nation
— national challenge is to hunt down the terrorists and strengthen
our protection against future attacks. Our great national opportunity
is to preserve forever the good that has resulted. Through this
tragedy, we are renewing and reclaiming our strong American values.
(APPLAUSE)
Both Laura
and I were touched by a recent newspaper article that quoted a little
4-year-old girl who asked a telling and innocent question. Wondering
how terrorists could hate a whole nation of people they don't even
know, she asked, "Why don't we just tell them our names?''
(LAUGHTER)
Well, we can't
tell them all our names, but together, we can show them our values.
Too many have
the wrong idea of Americans as shallow, materialist consumers who
care only about getting rich or getting ahead. But this isn't the
America I know.
Ours is a wonderful
nation full of kind and loving people, people of faith who want
freedom and opportunity for people everywhere. One way to defeat
terrorism is to show the world the true values of America through
the gathering momentum of a million acts of responsibility and decency
and service.
(APPLAUSE)
I am encouraging
school children to write letters of friendship to Muslim children
in different countries. Our college students and those who travel
abroad for business or vacation can all be ambassadors of American
values.
Ours is a great
story and we must tell it through our words and through our deeds.
I came to Atlanta
today to talk about an all important question: How should we live
in the light of what has happened?
We all have
new responsibilities. Our government has the responsibility to hunt
down our enemies, and we will. Our government has the responsibility
to put needless partisanship behind us and meet new challenges:
better security for our people and help for those who have lost
jobs and livelihoods in the attacks that claimed so many lives.
I made some
proposals to stimulate economic growth, which will create new jobs
and make America less dependent on foreign oil. And I ask Congress...
(APPLAUSE)
And I ask Congress
to work hard and put a stimulus plan into law to help the American
people.
Our citizens
have new responsibilities. We must be vigilant. Obviously, we must
inspect our mail, stay informed on public health matters.
We will not
give in to exaggerated fears or passing rumors. We will rely on
good judgment and good old common sense. We will care for those
who've lost loved ones and comfort those who might, at times, feel
afraid.
We will not
judge fellow Americans by appearance, ethnic background or religious
faith.
(APPLAUSE)
We will defend
the values of our country, and we will live by them. We will persevere
in this struggle no matter how long it takes to prevail.
(APPLAUSE)
Above all,
we will live in a spirit of courage and optimism. Our nation was
born in that spirit, as immigrants yearning for freedom courageously
risked their lives in search of greater opportunity.
That spirit
of optimism and courage still beckons people across the world who
want to come here. And that spirit of optimism and courage must
guide those of us fortunate enough to live here.
Courage and
optimism led the passengers on Flight 93 to rush their murderers
to save lives on the ground.
(APPLAUSE)
... led by
a young man whose last known words were the Lord's Prayer and, "Let's
roll.''
(APPLAUSE)
He didn't know
he had signed on for heroism when he boarded the plane that day.
Some of our greatest moments have been acts of courage for which
no one could have ever prepared.
We will always
remember the words of that brave man expressing the spirit of a
great country. We will never forget all we have lost and all we
are fighting for.
Ours is the
cause of freedom. We've defeated freedom's enemies before, and we
will defeat them again.
(APPLAUSE)
We cannot know
every turn this battle will take, yet we know our cause is just
and our ultimate victory is assured. We will no doubt face new challenges,
but we have our marching orders.
My fellow Americans,
let's roll.
(APPLAUSE)
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