President Bush Remembers 9/11
President Bush gave an awe inspiring speech on September 11th in remembering the first casualties in this global war on terror as well as those who continue to fight and die to protect this great country. He lined out in precise language who the enemy is and what the US must do in order to win.
Since the horror of 9/11, we’ve learned a great deal about the enemy. We have learned that they are evil and kill without mercy — but not without purpose. We have learned that they form a global network of extremists who are driven by a perverted vision of Islam — a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance, and despises all dissent. And we have learned that their goal is to build a radical Islamic empire where women are prisoners in their homes, men are beaten for missing prayer meetings, and terrorists have a safe haven to plan and launch attacks on America and other civilized nations. The war against this enemy is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century, and the calling of our generation.
Of that, there is no doubt. These terrorists want to kill us, both Democrats and Republicans—both conservatives and liberals. They hate America and its freedoms. No amount of introspection on our part will protect us from these extremists.
President Bush went on to explain why the US attacked Saddam Hussein and why it is so important that we finish the job.
On September the 11th, we learned that America must confront threats before they reach our shores, whether those threats come from terrorist networks or terrorist states. I’m often asked why we’re in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks. The answer is that the regime of Saddam Hussein was a clear threat. My administration, the Congress, and the United Nations saw the threat — and after 9/11, Saddam’s regime posed a risk that the world could not afford to take. The world is safer because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. And now the challenge is to help the Iraqi people build a democracy that fulfills the dreams of the nearly 12 million Iraqis who came out to vote in free elections last December.
Al Qaeda and other extremists from across the world have come to Iraq to stop the rise of a free society in the heart of the Middle East. They have joined the remnants of Saddam’s regime and other armed groups to foment sectarian violence and drive us out. Our enemies in Iraq are tough and they are committed — but so are Iraqi and coalition forces. We’re adapting to stay ahead of the enemy, and we are carrying out a clear plan to ensure that a democratic Iraq succeeds. (snip)
The safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad. Osama bin Laden calls this fight “the Third World War” — and he says that victory for the terrorists in Iraq will mean America’s “defeat and disgrace forever.” If we yield Iraq to men like bin Laden, our enemies will be emboldened; they will gain a new safe haven; they will use Iraq’s resources to fuel their extremist movement. We will not allow this to happen. America will stay in the fight. Iraq will be a free nation, and a strong ally in the war on terror.
The President went on to challenge America to stay in this fight and the consequences for this country should we withdraw. For those who question this war and why he had not foreseen some of the consequences of this war, the President drew parallels in history using Presidents Roosevelt and Truman effectively.
This is a war unlike any other we have ever been in. President Bush understands this; most Republicans understand this as do most of the American people. This is a war we must win. To that end and to remind the American people of what is at stake, President Bush’s speech parallels a speech given by another great President during a time of war, Abraham Lincoln. This was another war which was incredibly unpopular in the North. President Lincoln had to use every opportunity to remind the American people why we were fighting this war and what was at stake. All week long President Bush has given speech and after speech why we must continue to fight this war.
On this solemn anniversary, we rededicate ourselves to this cause. Our nation has endured trials, and we face a difficult road ahead. Winning this war will require the determined efforts of a unified country, and we must put aside our differences and work together to meet the test that history has given us. We will defeat our enemies. We will protect our people. And we will lead the 21st century into a shining age of human liberty.
Below is President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. I could change just a few words here and there and substitute it for one of President’s Bush’s speeches. The conclusion of the Civil War was imperative for this country to unite again as on country. The conclusion of the Global War on Terror is crucial for this country to survive as a free and democratic nation. The Civil War in the 1860s was the most important part of Lincoln’s period as President. This was an unpopular war. With a recalcitrant Congress nipping at his heels and questioning his every action; with Presidential nominees eager to take advantage of his unpopularity, Lincoln could have caved into their demands. Instead, Honest Abe stood by his guns and continued the fight to unite this country.
Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war. . .testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . . we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. . .that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. . . that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . . and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth.
Because of President Lincoln’s vision, a divided country was united allowing the United States to go from many states forming a country—to a country made up of many states. We went from these United States to the United States. Lincoln’s insight allowed the United States to go from a weak regional power the greatest military and economic power the world has ever seen.
President Bush has this same insight. Unlike Presidents before him, George Bush knows that we must defeat the terrorists. This war is what the Cold War was to my generation, World War II was to my father’s generation, and World War I was to his father’s generation. Every time period has its trials and ours is the Global War on Terror. The continued success of this country and our safety depends on whether Americans have the intestinal fortitude to continue to take the fight to our enemies in spite of real or perceived setbacks.
President Bush, like President Lincoln before him, is trying to fight and win an unpopular war. Like Lincoln, President Bush has a vision of the future which includes a democratic Middle East at peace with both their neighbors and the United States. Its time to put aside partisan politics and fight this war as a united people.
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