[IMRA: For some reason while President Bush takes a solid stand in this
presentation for immediate and uncompromising action against terrorists and
those who shield them, this position is not reflected in the soft stand
regarding Palestinian terrorists that makes it unclear when the PA must
actually start acting against the terror infrastructure.]

President Discusses War on Terror at National Endowment for Democracy
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Washington, D.C.
www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/10/20051006-3.html
6 October 2005 10:07 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: ...The images and experience of September the 11th are unique
for Americans. Yet the evil of that morning has reappeared on other days, in
other places -- in Mombasa, and Casablanca, and Riyadh, and Jakarta, and
Istanbul, and Madrid, and Beslan, and Taba, and Netanya, and Baghdad, and
elsewhere.

...the militant network wants to use the vacuum created by an American
retreat to gain control of a country, a base from which to launch attacks
and conduct their war against non-radical Muslim governments.

...The influence of Islamic radicalism is also magnified by helpers and
enablers. They have been sheltered by authoritarian regimes, allies of
convenience like Syria and Iran, that share the goal of hurting America and
moderate Muslim governments, and use terrorist propaganda to blame their own
failures on the West and America, and on the Jews. These radicals depend on
front operations, such as corrupted charities, which direct money to
terrorist activity. They're strengthened by those who aggressively fund the
spread of radical, intolerant versions of Islam in unstable parts of the
world. The militants are aided, as well, by elements of the Arab news media
that incite hatred and anti-Semitism, that feed conspiracy theories and
speak of a so-called American "war on Islam" -- with seldom a word about
American action to protect Muslims in Afghanistan, and Bosnia, Somalia,
Kosovo, Kuwait, and Iraq.

...
Over the years these extremists have used a litany of excuses for
violence -- the Israeli presence on the West Bank, or the U.S. military
presence in Saudi Arabia, or the defeat of the Taliban, or the Crusades of a
thousand years ago. In fact, we're not facing a set of grievances that can
be soothed and addressed. We're facing a radical ideology with inalterable
objectives: to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world. No act of
ours invited the rage of the killers -- and no concession, bribe, or act of
appeasement would change or limit their plans for murder.

On the contrary: They target nations whose behavior they believe they can
change through violence. Against such an enemy, there is only one effective
response: We will never back down, never give in, and never accept anything
less than complete victory. (Applause.)

...
Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy teaches that innocent
individuals can be sacrificed to serve a political vision. And this explains
their cold-blooded contempt for human life. ...

Defeating a broad and adaptive network requires patience, constant pressure,
and strong partners in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and
beyond. Working with these partners, we're disrupting militant conspiracies,
destroying their ability to make war, and working to give millions in a
troubled region of the world a hopeful alternative to resentment and
violence.

First, we're determined to prevent the attacks of terrorist networks before
they occur. ... We're acting, along with the governments from many
countries, to destroy the terrorist networks and incapacitate their leaders.

...Our commitment is clear: We will not relent until the organized
international terror networks are exposed and broken, and their leaders held
to account for their acts of murder.

...Third, we're determined to deny radical groups the support and sanctuary
of outlaw regimes. State sponsors like Syria and Iran have a long history of
collaboration with terrorists, and they deserve no patience from the victims
of terror. The United States makes no distinction between those who commit
acts of terror and those who support and harbor them, because they're
equally as guilty of murder. (Applause.) Any government that chooses to be
an ally of terror has also chosen to be an enemy of civilization. And the
civilized world must hold those regimes to account.

Fourth, we're determined to deny the militants control of any nation, which
they would use as a home base and a launching pad for terror.

...Some observers also claim that America would be better off by cutting our
losses and leaving Iraq now. This is a dangerous illusion, refuted with a
simple question: Would the United States and other free nations be more
safe, or less safe, with Zarqawi and bin Laden in control of Iraq, its
people, and its resources? Having removed a dictator who hated free peoples,
we will not stand by as a new set of killers, dedicated to the destruction
of our own country, seizes control of Iraq by violence.

There's always a temptation, in the middle of a long struggle, to seek the
quiet life, to escape the duties and problems of the world, and to hope the
enemy grows weary of fanaticism and tired of murder. This would be a
pleasant world, but it's not the world we live in. The enemy is never tired,
never sated, never content with yesterday's brutality. This enemy considers
every retreat of the civilized world as an invitation to greater violence.
In Iraq, there is no peace without victory. We will keep our nerve and we
will win that victory. (Applause.)

...