For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 10, 2001
Radio Address by the President to the Nation
The Oval Office
Listen to the President's Remarks
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. It's been a week
of international progress in the war against terror. On
Wednesday, our friends and allies around the world joined the U.S.
Treasury to freeze the assets of two terrorist supporting financial
networks, one known as Al Barakaat and the other as Al
Taqwa. We are taking aggressive measures to starve
terrorists of their funding.
Throughout the week I have been meeting at the White House with
world leaders who support our cause. At the beginning of the
week, I spoke via satellite to leaders of new democracies in Central
and Eastern Europe. Earlier today, I addressed leaders from
around the world at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
To every leader, I have delivered a consistent
message: all civilized nations are threatened by terrorism,
and all civilized nations have a responsibility to join in fighting
it. The United States is grateful for the words of sympathy
we have received from nations around the world since September the
11th.
Now the time for words has passed. And now the time for
action has arrived. Some actions are already required by
international law. Under United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1373, adopted soon after the September the 11th attack,
every nation must crack down on terrorist financing. Every
nation that possesses useful intelligence about terrorism must share
it. Every nation must close down terrorist camps inside its
boarders. Every nation must deny weapons to terrorists.
These obligations are binding on every country, and many nations
are meeting those obligations. Yet, we expect even more of
the countries that wish to be counted as members of the global
coalition against terror. We expect nations to oppose all
terrorists, not just some of them. No political cause can
justify the deliberate murder of civilians.
There is no such thing as a good terrorist. Any
government that tries to pick and choose its terrorist friends will be
regarded by us as a supporter of terrorism. We expect
nations to speak the truth about terror. They shouldn't
encourage malicious lies and outrageous conspiracy theories concerning
the attacks of September the 11th. No government should
promote the propaganda of terrorists. We expect nations not
to misuse the war against terror as an excuse to persecute ethnic and
religious minorities in any country. When avenues for
peaceful dissent are closed, the temptation to speak through violence
grows. We expect nations to encourage development by
expanding trade, investing in education and combatting AIDS and other
infectious diseases around the world.
In our struggle against hateful groups that exploit poverty and
despair, we must offer an alternative of opportunity and
hope. These are some of the steps I've described today at
the United Nations. For all nations, they will require
effort. For some nations, they will require
courage. Yet, the cost of inaction is far
higher. The only alternative to victory is a future of
terror. So we will fight for victory.
We are determined to defend ourselves, and defend our children from
lawless violence. Thank you for listening.
END
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