For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 17, 2001
President Rallies Troops at Travis Air Force Base
Remarks by the President to Military Personnel
Travis Air Force Base
California
1:30 P.M. PDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all
very much. I appreciate such a warm welcome. I'm
about to cross the Pacific on my favorite Air Force airplane.
(Applause.) And there's really only one place to leave from
-- that's called the Gateway to the
Pacific. (Applause.) Thank you for your
hospitality. I can't tell you how proud I am to be with the
men and women who wear the uniform of the great United States of
America. (Applause.)
I want to thank the Air Force and the Army
and the Navy troops who are here. I'm also proud to be with
the husbands and wives and sons and daughters --
(applause.) And to the families of those of you whose mom or
dad or husband or wife have been deployed, I want you to know that
they're on a noble mission. The cause is just, and we will
win. (Applause.)
I want to thank "Lone Star" Lefforge for
the introduction. (Applause.) My fellow
Texan. (Applause.) There may be a few other
Texans here, as well. (Applause.) I want to thank
General Becker and Colonel Rubeor, as well, for your
hospitality. Thank you, Colonel. Thank you,
General, very much.
And I want to thank the Air Force Band of
the Golden West. Thank you all for your
entertainment. (Applause.) I want to thank the
state and local officials who have come today. I'm honored
that you took time out of your day.
The planes to the left and right of where
we stand here represent the unmatched air power of the United
States. (Applause.) But that's not our real
strength. Our real strength are the people who fly them, and
who maintain them, the people who make the military
go. (Applause.) The real strength of this proud
nation are the men and women who wear the uniform. That's the real
strength of this country. (Applause.)
You're among the first to be deployed in
America's new war against terror and against evil, and I want you to
know, America is proud -- proud of your deeds, proud of your talents,
proud of your service to our country.
I'm told that one of the pilots here, a
fellow named Randy, was asked if anyone at Travis had personal
connections to any of the victims of the attacks on September the
11th. And here's what he said: I think we all do;
they're all Americans. (Applause.) When you
strike one American, you strike us all. (Applause.)
The victims of September 11th were
innocent, and this nation will never forget them. The men
and women who murdered them were instruments of evil, and they have
died in vain. This nation is strong. This nation
is united. This nation is resolved. This nation
will defeat terror wherever we find it across the
globe. (Applause.)
And not only will we find the terrorists,
we will enforce the doctrine that says if you harbor a terrorist,
you're a terrorist. (Applause.) If you feed a
terrorist, if you fund a terrorist, you're a terrorist. And
this great, proud nation of free men and women will hold you just as
responsible for the actions that take place on American
soil. (Applause.)
And that's what's happening in
Afghanistan. I gave the people in Afghanistan a
choice. I said to the Taliban, turn them over, destroy the
camps, free people you're unjustly holding. I said, you've
got time to do it. But they didn't listen. They
didn't respond, and now they're paying a
price. (Applause.) They are learning that anyone
who strikes America will hear from our military, and they're not going
to like what they hear. (Applause.) In choosing their
enemy, the evildoers and those who harbor them have chosen their fate.
We don't quarrel with the innocent folks
of Afghanistan; they're not our enemy. Nor is any religion
the enemy of the United States of America. The evil ones have tried to
hijack a religion to justify their murder. But I want to
assure the people of the world that our military fights not against
Muslims or fights not against the Islam religion; we fight against evil
people. We fight against people who believe that they can
harm the United States of America. We fight against people
who have no country, no ideology; they're motivated by hate.
And make no mistake about it; this great
nation will do what it takes to win. We are
determined. We are patient. We are
steadfast. We are resolved. We will not tire and
we will not fail. (Applause.)
And we're making
progress. We're making progress. The terrorist
camps are being destroyed. The enemy's air force and air
defenses are being demolished. We're paving the way for
friendly troops on the ground to slowly, but surely, tighten the net to
bring them to justice.
I can't tell you how proud as
Commander-in-Chief I am to know that we've got a great United States
military backing our nation. (Applause.) A
Commander-in-Chief must know he can count on the skill and resolve of
our military. And from Secretary Rumsfeld to General Myers
to the good troops of this base, I have all the confidence in the world
that our military will fulfill its mission. (Applause.)
And you must have confidence in this, my
commitment: that for the mission that lies ahead, our
military, the men and women who wear our uniform, will have everything
you need to win -- (applause) -- every resource, every weapon, every
means to assure full victory for the United States and our allies and
our friends in the cause of freedom. (Applause.)
There is no question that we're inflicting
pain upon the Taliban government. There is also no question
that we're a compassionate nation; at the same time we do so, we're
dropping airlifts of food and medicine, so the innocent citizens of
that country can survive the brutal winter.
As I walked up, I saw some of the
schoolchildren here holding dollar bills. We've got
schoolchildren all across the country out raising a dollar to send to
the children of Afghanistan. We've got boys and girls from
all religions and all walks of life who have heard the call to love a
neighbor just as they'd like to be loved themselves.
The evildoers have struck our nation, but
out of evil comes good. We are a good, kind-hearted, decent
people, and we're showing the world just that in our compassion and our
resolve. (Applause.)
And one thing I fully understand is that
when American forces answer the call of duty, they count on their
families for support and encouragement. Every deployment
brings uncertainty and, I know, every deployment brings worry and
concern. Our military is made up of brave men and women, and
brave families, as well.
Recently, a four-year-old son of a cargo
specialist said good-bye to his Dad here at Travis. And
according to his Mom, the boy has been telling the neighbors that
"Daddy is saving the world." (Applause.)
The boy is right. The boy is
right. The future of the world is at
stake. Freedom is at stake. But I want to tell
that boy his Daddy has got plenty of help. There are a lot
of people like his Daddy fighting this war. We fight it
overseas and we fight it at home, as well.
We must be steadfast. We must
be resolved. We must not let the terrorists cause our nation
to stop traveling, to stop buying, to stop living ordinary
lives. We can be alert and we will be alert, but we must
show them that they cannot terrorize the greatest nation on the face of
the Earth. And we won't. We will not be
terrorized, we will not be cowed.
We've got a homeland security that's
strong. I want to tell the moms and dads here that we're
doing everything we can to find them and disrupt them and stop them, if
they happen to try to strike on American soil. We're strong at
home. We're active at home. But make no mistake
about it; the best homeland defense is to find them and bring them to
justice -- and that's exactly what our nation will
do. (Applause.)
Now that they got the plane fueled up, I'm
heading over to China. Of course, we'll talk about economics
and trade. But the main thing that will be on my mind is to
continue to rally the world against terrorists; is to remind people
that it happened to us, sure, but it could happen to them, as well; is
to remind them that evil knows no borders, no boundaries, and to remind
them that we must take a stand; that those of us who have been given
the responsibility of high office must not shirk from our duty; that
now is the time to claim freedom for future generations.
The people have struck
us. They've tested our mettle and tested our
character. But they are going to find that this nation
understands we've reached a pivotal moment in history, where we will
plant our flag on the ground -- a flag that stands for freedom -- and
say to anybody who wants to harm us or our friends or allies, you will
pay a serious price, because we're a nation that is strong and resolved
and united. (Applause.)
You all are here to serve your country,
and your country is grateful. You have confidence in
America. But make no mistake about it; America has
confidence in you.
Thank you all for such a warm
greeting. May God bless -- (applause) -- may God bless the
men and women who wear our uniform. May God protect this
great land. And may God bless America. Thank you
all very much. (Applause.)