Bush:Radical Islamic Empire from Spain to Indonesia

[Guest guest]

Bush:Radical Islamic Empire from Spain to Indonesia

On Oct 6 2005, US President Bush gave a speech. The mainstream Indian

media seems to have missed it.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/10/20051006-3.html

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/nationalsecurity/

 

"Third, From Their New Base, These Militants Will Seek To Establish A

Radical Islamic Empire. The militants believe that controlling one

country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow

moderate governments in the Middle East and establish a radical

Islamic empire that spreads from Spain to Indonesia."

"These extremists distort the idea of jihad into a call for terrorist

murder against Christians and Jews and Hindus -- and also against

Muslims from other traditions, who they regard as heretics."

 

 

President Discusses War on Terror at National Endowment for Democracy

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

Washington, D.C.

 

 

 

 

President's Remarks

view

 

 

 

In Focus: National Security

In Focus: Renewal in Iraq

Fact Sheet: War on Terror

Fact Sheet: Plots, Casings, and Infiltrations Referenced in

President Bush's Remarks on the War on Terror

 

 

10:07 A.M. EDT

 

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you all. Please be

seated. (Applause.) Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm honored once

again to be with the supporters of the National Endowment for

Democracy. Since the day President Ronald Reagan set out the vision

for this Endowment, the world has seen the swiftest advance of

democratic institutions in history. And Americans are proud to have

played our role in this great story.

 

Our nation stood guard on tense borders; we spoke for the rights of

dissidents and the hopes of exile; we aided the rise of new

democracies on the ruins of tyranny. And all the cost and sacrifice

of that struggle has been worth it, because, from Latin America to

Europe to Asia, we've gained the peace that freedom brings.

 

In this new century, freedom is once again assaulted by enemies

determined to roll back generations of democratic progress. Once

again, we're responding to a global campaign of fear with a global

campaign of freedom. And once again, we will see freedom's victory.

(Applause.)

 

Vin, I want to thank you for inviting me back. And thank you for the

short introduction. (Laughter.) I appreciate Carl Gershman. I want to

welcome former Congressman Dick Gephardt, who is a board member of

the National Endowment for Democracy. It's good to see you, Dick. And

I appreciate Chris Cox, who is the Chairman of the U.S. Securities

and Exchange Commission, and a board member for the National

Endowment of Democracy, for being here, as well. I want to thank all

the other board members.

 

I appreciate the Secretary of State, Condi Rice, who has joined us --

alongside her, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld. Thank you all for

being here. I'm proud, as well, that the newly sworn-in Chairman of

the Joint Chiefs, the first Marine ever to hold that position, is

with us today -- General Peter Pace. (Applause.) I thank the members

of the Diplomatic Corps who are here, as well.

 

Recently our country observed the fourth anniversary of a great evil,

and looked back on a great turning point in our history. We still

remember a proud city covered in smoke and ashes, a fire across the

Potomac, and passengers who spent their final moments on Earth

fighting the enemy. We still remember the men who rejoiced in every

death, and Americans in uniform rising to duty. And we remember the

calling that came to us on that day, and continues to this hour: We

will confront this mortal danger to all humanity. We will not tire,

or rest, until the war on terror is won. (Applause.)

 

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. In the past few months, we've seen a new

terror offensive with attacks on London, and Sharm el-Sheikh, and a

deadly bombing in Bali once again. All these separate images of

destruction and suffering that we see on the news can seem like

random and isolated acts of madness; innocent men and women and

children have died simply because they boarded the wrong train, or

worked in the wrong building, or checked into the wrong hotel. Yet

while the killers choose their victims indiscriminately, their

attacks serve a clear and focused ideology, a set of beliefs and

goals that are evil, but not insane.

 

Some call this evil Islamic radicalism; others, militant Jihadism;

still others, Islamo-fascism. Whatever it's called, this ideology is

very different from the religion of Islam. This form of radicalism

exploits Islam to serve a violent, political vision: the

establishment, by terrorism and subversion and insurgency, of a

totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom.

These extremists distort the idea of jihad into a call for terrorist

murder against Christians and Jews and Hindus -- and also against

Muslims from other traditions, who they regard as heretics.

 

Many militants are part of global, borderless terrorist organizations

like al Qaeda, which spreads propaganda, and provides financing and

technical assistance to local extremists, and conducts dramatic and

brutal operations like September the 11th. Other militants are found

in regional groups, often associated with al Qaeda -- paramilitary

insurgencies and separatist movements in places like Somalia, and the

Philippines, and Pakistan, and Chechnya, and Kashmir, and Algeria.

Still others spring up in local cells, inspired by Islamic

radicalism, but not centrally directed. Islamic radicalism is more

like a loose network with many branches than an army under a single

command. Yet these operatives, fighting on scattered battlefields,

share a similar ideology and vision for our world.

 

We know the vision of the radicals because they've openly stated it --

in videos, and audiotapes, and letters, and declarations, and

websites. First, these extremists want to end American and Western

influence in the broader Middle East, because we stand for democracy

and peace, and stand in the way of their ambitions. Al Qaeda's

leader, Osama bin Laden, has called on Muslims to dedicate, quote,

their "resources, sons and money to driving the infidels out of their

lands." Their tactic to meet this goal has been consistent for a

quarter-century: They hit us, and expect us to run. They want us to

repeat the sad history of Beirut in 1983, and Mogadishu in 1993 --

only this time on a larger scale, with greater consequences.

 

Second, 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. Over the past few decades, radicals have specifically

targeted Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and Jordan for

potential takeover. They achieved their goal, for a time, in

Afghanistan. Now they've set their sights on Iraq. Bin Laden has

stated: "The whole world is watching this war and the two

adversaries. It's either victory and glory, or misery and

humiliation." The terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in

their war against humanity. And we must recognize Iraq as the central

front in our war on terror.

 

Third, the militants believe that controlling one country will rally

the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate

governments in the region, and establish a radical Islamic empire

that spans from Spain to Indonesia. With greater economic and

military and political power, the terrorists would be able to advance

their stated agenda: to develop weapons of mass destruction, to

destroy Israel, to intimidate Europe, to assault the American people,

and to blackmail our government into isolation.

 

Some might be tempted to dismiss these goals as fanatical or extreme.

Well, they are fanatical and extreme -- and they should not be

dismissed. Our enemy is utterly committed. As Zarqawi has vowed, "We

will either achieve victory over the human race or we will pass to

the eternal life." And the civilized world knows very well that other

fanatics in history, from Hitler to Stalin to Pol Pot, consumed whole

nations in war and genocide before leaving the stage of history. Evil

men, obsessed with ambition and unburdened by conscience, must be

taken very seriously -- and we must stop them before their crimes can

multiply.

 

Defeating the militant network is difficult, because it thrives, like

a parasite, on the suffering and frustration of others. The radicals

exploit local conflicts to build a culture of victimization, in which

someone else is always to blame and violence is always the solution.

They exploit resentful and disillusioned young men and women,

recruiting them through radical mosques as the pawns of terror. And

they exploit modern technology to multiply their destructive power.

Instead of attending faraway training camps, recruits can now access

online training libraries to learn how to build a roadside bomb, or

fire a rocket-propelled grenade -- and this further spreads the

threat of violence, even within peaceful democratic societies.

 

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.

 

Some have also argued that extremism has been strengthened by the

actions of our coalition in Iraq, claiming that our presence in that

country has somehow caused or triggered the rage of radicals. I would

remind them that we were not in Iraq on September the 11th, 2001 --

and al Qaeda attacked us anyway. The hatred of the radicals existed

before Iraq was an issue, and it will exist after Iraq is no longer

an excuse. The government of Russia did not support Operation Iraqi

Freedom, and yet the militants killed more than 180 Russian

schoolchildren in Beslan.

 

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.)

 

The murderous ideology of the Islamic radicals is the great challenge

of our new century. Yet, in many ways, this fight resembles the

struggle against communism in the last century. Like the ideology of

communism, Islamic radicalism is elitist, led by a self-appointed

vanguard that presumes to speak for the Muslim masses. Bin Laden says

his own role is to tell Muslims, quote, "what is good for them and

what is not." And what this man who grew up in wealth and privilege

considers good for poor Muslims is that they become killers and

suicide bombers. He assures them that his -- that this is the road to

paradise -- though he never offers to go along for the ride.

 

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. We've seen it in

the murders of Daniel Pearl, Nicholas Berg, and Margaret Hassan, and

many others. In a courtroom in the Netherlands, the killer of Theo

Van Gogh turned to the victim's grieving mother and said, "I do not

feel your pain -- because I believe you are an infidel." And in spite

of this veneer of religious rhetoric, most of the victims claimed by

the militants are fellow Muslims.

 

When 25 Iraqi children are killed in a bombing, or Iraqi teachers are

executed at their school, or hospital workers are killed caring for

the wounded, this is murder, pure and simple -- the total rejection

of justice and honor and morality and religion. These militants are

not just the enemies of America, or the enemies of Iraq, they are the

enemies of Islam and the enemies of humanity. (Applause.) We have

seen this kind of shameless cruelty before, in the heartless zealotry

that led to the gulags, and the Cultural Revolution, and the killing

fields.

 

Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy pursues totalitarian

aims. Its leaders pretend to be an aggrieved party, representing the

powerless against imperial enemies. In truth they have endless

ambitions of imperial domination, and they wish to make everyone

powerless except themselves. Under their rule, they have banned

books, and desecrated historical monuments, and brutalized women.

They seek to end dissent in every form, and to control every aspect

of life, and to rule the soul, itself. While promising a future of

justice and holiness, the terrorists are preparing for a future of

oppression and misery.

 

Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy is dismissive of free

peoples, claiming that men and women who live in liberty are weak and

decadent. Zarqawi has said that Americans are, quote, "the most

cowardly of God's creatures." But let's be clear: It is cowardice

that seeks to kill children and the elderly with car bombs, and cuts

the throat of a bound captive, and targets worshipers leaving a

mosque. It is courage that liberated more than 50 million people. It

is courage that keeps an untiring vigil against the enemies of a

rising democracy. And it is courage in the cause of freedom that once

again will destroy the enemies of freedom. (Applause.)

 

And Islamic radicalism, like the ideology of communism, contains

inherent contradictions that doom it to failure. By fearing freedom --

by distrusting human creativity, and punishing change, and limiting

the contributions of half the population -- this ideology undermines

the very qualities that make human progress possible, and human

societies successful. The only thing modern about the militants'

vision is the weapons they want to use against us. The rest of their

grim vision is defined by a warped image of the past -- a declaration

of war on the idea of progress, itself. And whatever lies ahead in

the war against this ideology, the outcome is not in doubt: Those who

despise freedom and progress have condemned themselves to isolation,

decline, and collapse. Because free peoples believe in the future,

free peoples will own the future. (Applause.)

 

We didn't ask for this global struggle, but we're answering history's

call with confidence, and a comprehensive strategy. 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 reorganizing our government to give this

nation a broad and coordinated homeland defense. We're reforming our

intelligence agencies for the incredibly difficult task of tracking

enemy activity, based on information that often comes in small

fragments from widely scattered sources, here and abroad. We're

acting, along with the governments from many countries, to destroy

the terrorist networks and incapacitate their leaders. Together,

we've killed or captured nearly all of those directly responsible for

the September the 11th attacks; as well as some of bin Laden's most

senior deputies; al Qaeda managers and operatives in more than 24

countries; the mastermind of the USS Cole bombing, who was chief of

al Qaeda operations in the Persian Gulf; the mastermind of the

Jakarta and the first Bali bombings; a senior Zarqawi terrorist

planner, who was planning attacks in Turkey; and many of al Qaeda's

senior leaders in Saudi Arabia.

 

Overall, the United States and our partners have disrupted at least

ten serious al Qaeda terrorist plots since September the 11th,

including three al Qaeda plots to attack inside the United States.

We've stopped at least five more al Qaeda efforts to case targets in

the United States, or infiltrate operatives into our country. Because

of this steady progress, the enemy is wounded -- but the enemy is

still capable of global operations. 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.

 

Second, we're determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to

outlaw regimes, and to their terrorist allies who would use them

without hesitation. The United States, working with Great Britain,

Pakistan, and other nations, has exposed and disrupted a major black-

market operation in nuclear technology led by A.Q. Khan. Libya has

abandoned its chemical and nuclear weapons programs, as well as long-

range ballistic missiles. And in the last year, America and our

partners in the Proliferation Security Initiative have stopped more

than a dozen shipments of suspected weapons technology, including

equipment for Iran's ballistic missile program.

 

This progress has reduced the danger to free nations, but has not

removed it. Evil men who want to use horrendous weapons against us

are working in deadly earnest to gain them. And we're working

urgently to keep weapons of mass destruction out of their hands.

 

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.

For this reason, we're fighting beside our Afghan partners against

remnants of the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies. For this reason,

we're working with President Musharraf to oppose and isolate the

militants in Pakistan. And for this reason, we're fighting the regime

remnants and terrorists in Iraq. The terrorist goal is to overthrow a

rising democracy, claim a strategic country as a haven for terror,

destabilize the Middle East, and strike America and other free

nations with ever-increasing violence. Our goal is to defeat the

terrorists and their allies at the heart of their power -- and so we

will defeat the enemy in Iraq.

 

Our coalition, along with our Iraqi allies, is moving forward with a

comprehensive, specific military plan. Area by area, city by city,

we're conducting offensive operations to clear out enemy forces, and

leaving behind Iraqi units to prevent the enemy from returning.

Within these areas, we're working for tangible improvements in the

lives of Iraqi citizens. And we're aiding the rise of an elected

government that unites the Iraqi people against extremism and

violence. This work involves great risk for Iraqis, and for Americans

and coalition forces. Wars are not won without sacrifice -- and this

war will require more sacrifice, more time, and more resolve.

 

The terrorists are as brutal an enemy as we've ever faced. They're

unconstrained by any notion of our common humanity, or by the rules

of warfare. No one should underestimate the difficulties ahead, nor

should they overlook the advantages we bring to this fight.

 

Some observers look at the job ahead and adopt a self-defeating

pessimism. It is not justified. With every random bombing and with

every funeral of a child, it becomes more clear that the extremists

are not patriots, or resistance fighters -- they are murderers at war

with the Iraqi people, themselves.

 

In contrast, the elected leaders of Iraq are proving to be strong and

steadfast. By any standard or precedent of history, Iraq has made

incredible political progress -- from tyranny, to liberation, to

national elections, to the writing of a constitution, in the space of

two-and-a-half years. With our help, the Iraqi military is gaining

new capabilities and new confidence with every passing month. At the

time of our Fallujah operations 11 months ago, there were only a few

Iraqi army battalions in combat. Today there are more than 80 Iraqi

army battalions fighting the insurgency alongside our forces.

Progress isn't easy, but it is steady. And no fair-minded person

should ignore, deny, or dismiss the achievements of the Iraqi people.

 

Some observers question the durability of democracy in Iraq. They

underestimate the power and appeal of freedom. We've heard it

suggested that Iraq's democracy must be on shaky ground because

Iraqis are arguing with each other. But that's the essence of

democracy: making your case, debating with those who you disagree --

who disagree, building consensus by persuasion, and answering to the

will of the people. We've heard it said that the Shia, Sunnis and

Kurds of Iraq are too divided to form a lasting democracy. In fact,

democratic federalism is the best hope for unifying a diverse

population, because a federal constitutional system respects the

rights and religious traditions of all citizens, while giving all

minorities, including the Sunnis, a stake and a voice in the future

of their country. It is true that the seeds of freedom have only

recently been planted in Iraq -- but democracy, when it grows, is not

a fragile flower; it is a healthy, sturdy tree. (Applause.)

 

As Americans, we believe that people everywhere -- everywhere --

prefer freedom to slavery, and that liberty, once chosen, improves

the lives of all. And so we're confident, as our coalition and the

Iraqi people each do their part, Iraqi democracy will succeed.

 

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.)

 

The fifth element of our strategy in the war on terror is to deny the

militants future recruits by replacing hatred and resentment with

democracy and hope across the broader Middle East. This is a

difficult and long-term project, yet there's no alternative to it.

Our future and the future of that region are linked. If the broader

Middle East is left to grow in bitterness, if countries remain in

misery, while radicals stir the resentments of millions, then that

part of the world will be a source of endless conflict and mounting

danger, and for our generation and the next. If the peoples of that

region are permitted to choose their own destiny, and advance by

their own energy and by their participation as free men and women,

then the extremists will be marginalized, and the flow of violent

radicalism to the rest of the world will slow, and eventually end. By

standing for the hope and freedom of others, we make our own freedom

more secure.

 

America is making this stand in practical ways. We're encouraging our

friends in the Middle East, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to take

the path of reform, to strengthen their own societies in the fight

against terror by respecting the rights and choices of their own

people. We're standing with dissidents and exiles against oppressive

regimes, because we know that the dissidents of today will be the

democratic leaders of tomorrow. We're making our case through public

diplomacy, stating clearly and confidently our belief in self-

determination, and the rule of law, and religious freedom, and equal

rights for women, beliefs that are right and true in every land, and

in every culture. (Applause.)

 

As we do our part to confront radicalism, we know that the most vital

work will be done within the Islamic world, itself. And this work has

begun. Many Muslim scholars have already publicly condemned

terrorism, often citing Chapter 5, Verse 32 of the Koran, which

states that killing an innocent human being is like killing all

humanity, and saving the life of one person is like saving all of

humanity. After the attacks in London on July the 7th, an imam in the

United Arab Emirates declared, "Whoever does such a thing is not a

Muslim, nor a religious person." The time has come for all

responsible Islamic leaders to join in denouncing an ideology that

exploits Islam for political ends, and defiles a noble faith.

 

Many people of the Muslim faith are proving their commitment at great

personal risk. Everywhere we have engaged the fight against

extremism, Muslim allies have stood up and joined the fight, becoming

partners in a vital cause. Afghan troops are in combat against

Taliban remnants. Iraqi soldiers are sacrificing to defeat al Qaeda

in their own country. These brave citizens know the stakes -- the

survival of their own liberty, the future of their own region, the

justice and humanity of their own tradition -- and that United States

of America is proud to stand beside them. (Applause.)

 

With the rise of a deadly enemy and the unfolding of a global

ideological struggle, our time in history will be remembered for new

challenges and unprecedented dangers. And yet the fight we have

joined is also the current expression of an ancient struggle, between

those who put their faith in dictators, and those who put their faith

in the people. Throughout history, tyrants and would-be tyrants have

always claimed that murder is justified to serve their grand vision --

and they end up alienating decent people across the globe. Tyrants

and would-be tyrants have always claimed that regimented societies

are strong and pure -- until those societies collapse in corruption

and decay. Tyrants and would-be tyrants have always claimed that free

men and women are weak and decadent -- until the day that free men

and women defeat them.

 

We don't know the course of our own struggle -- the course our own

struggle will take -- or the sacrifices that might lie ahead. We do

know, however, that the defense of freedom is worth our sacrifice. We

do know the love of freedom is the mightiest force of history. And we

do know the cause of freedom will once again prevail.

 

May God bless you. (Applause.)

 

END 10:47 A.M. EDT

 

--- End forwarded message ---