UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Statement

by

H.E. Mr. George W. Bush

President

at

the 56th Session

of the United Nations General Assembly

10 November 2001, New York

(check against delivery)
 

Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen:

We meet in a hall devoted to peace; in a city scarred by violence; in a Nation awakened to danger; in a world uniting for a long struggle. Every civilized nation here today is resolved to keep the most basic commitment of civilization: We will defend ourselves and our future against terror and lawless violence.

The United Nations was founded in this cause. In the Second World War, we learned that there is no isolation from evil. We affirmed that some crimes are so terrible they offend humanity itself. And we resolved that the aggressions and ambitions of the wicked must be opposed early, decisively, and collectively, before they threaten us all.

That evil has returned, and that cause is renewed.

A few miles from here, many thousands still lie in a tomb of rubble. Tomorrow the Secretary General, the President of the General Assembly, and I will visit that site, where the names of every nation and region that lost citizens will be read aloud. If we were to read the names of every person who died, it would take more than three hours.

Those names include a citizen of Gambia, whose wife spent their fourth wedding anniversary, September 12th, searching in vain for her husband. Those names include a man who supported his wife in Mexico, sending home money every week. Those names include a young Pakistani who prayed towards Mecca five times a day – and died that day trying to save others.

The suffering of September 11th was inflicted on people of many faiths and many nations. All of the victims, including Muslims, were killed with equal, indifference, and equal satisfaction by the terrorist leaders.

The terrorists are violating the tenets of every religion, including the one they invoke. Last week, the Sheikh of AI-Azhar University, the world’s oldest Islamic institution of higher learning, declared that terrorism is a "disease" and that "Islam prohibit[s] … killing … innocent civilians."

The terrorists call their cause holy, yet fund it with drug dealing. They encourage murder and suicide in the name of a great faith that forbids both. They dare to ask God’s blessing as they set out to kill innocent men, women, and children. But the God of Isaac and Ishmael would never answer such a prayer. And a murderer is not a martyr; he is just a murderer.

Time is passing. Yet for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September 11 th. We will remember every rescuer who died with honor. We will remember every family that lives with grief. We will remember the fire and ash … the last phone calls … the funerals of the children.

And the people of my country will remember those who have plotted against us. We are learning their names. We are coming to know their faces. There is no corner of the earth distant or dark enough to protect them. However long it takes, their hour of justice will come.

Every nation has a stake in this cause. As we meet, the terrorists are planning more murder – perhaps in my country, perhaps in your own. They kill because they aspire to dominate. They seek to overthrow governments and destabilize entire regions. Last week, anticipating this meeting of the General Assembly, they denounced the United Nations; called our Secretary General a criminal; and condemned all Arab nations here as traitors to Islam. Few countries meet their exacting standards of brutality and oppression. Every other country is a potential target.

And all the world faces the most horrifying prospect of all: These same terrorists are searching for weapons of mass destruction – the tools to turn their hatred into holocaust. They can be expected to use chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons the moment they are capable of doing so. No hint of conscience would prevent it.

This threat cannot be ignored or appeased. Civilization itself – the civilization we share – is threatened. History will record our response – and judge or justify every nation in this hall.

The civilized world is now responding. We act to defend ourselves and deliver our children from a future of fear. We choose the dignity of life over a culture of death. We choose lawful change and civil disagreement over coercion, subversion, and chaos. These commitments – hope and order, law and life – unite people across cultures and continents. Upon these commitments depend all peace and progress. For these commitments, we are determined to fight.

The United Nations has risen to this responsibility: On the twelfth of. September, these buildings opened for emergency meetings of the General Assembly and the Security Council. Before the sun had set, these attacks on the world stood condemned by the world. Thank you for this strong and principled stand.

I also thank the Arab and Islamic countries that have condemned terrorist murder. Many of you have seen the destructive work of terror in your own lands. The terrorists are increasingly isolated by their own hatred and extremism. They cannot hide behind Islam. The authors of mass murder and their allies have no place in any culture, and no home in any faith.

The conspiracies of terror are being answered by an expanding global coalition. Not every nation will be part of every action against the enemy. But every nation in our coalition has duties. Those duties can be demanding, as we are learning in America. We have already made adjustments in our laws and in our daily lives. We are taking new measures to investigate terror and to protect against threats.

The leaders of all nations must now carefully consider their responsibilities and their future. Terrorist groups like al-Qaida depend upon the aid or indifference of governments. They need the support of a financial infrastructure, and safe havens to train and plan and hide.

Some nations want to play their part in the fight against terror, but tell us they lack the means to enforce their laws and control their borders. We stand ready to help.

Some governments still turn a blind eye to the terrorists, hoping the threat will pass them by. They are mistaken.

And some governments, while pledging to uphold the principles of the UN, have cast their lot with the terrorists. They support them and harbor them. And they will find that their welcomed guests are parasites that will weaken and consume them. For every regime that sponsors terror, there is a price to be paid – and it will be paid. The allies of terror are equally guilty of murder, and equally accountable to justice.

The Taliban are now learning this lesson. That regime, and the terrorists who support it, are now virtually indistinguishable. Together, they promote terror abroad and impose a reign of terror on the Afghan people. Women are executed in Kabul’s soccer stadium. They can be beaten for wearing socks that are too thin. Men are jailed for missing prayer meetings.

The United States, supported by many nations, is bringing justice to terrorists in Afghanistan. We are making progress against military targets – and that is our objective. Unlike the enemy, we seek to minimize, not maximize, the loss of innocent life. I am proud of the honorable conduct of the American military. And my country grieves for all the suffering the Taliban have brought upon Afghanistan, including the terrible burden of war.

The Afghan people do not deserve their present rulers. Years of Taliban misrule have brought nothing but misery and starvation. Even before this current crisis, four million Afghans depended on food from the United States and other nations, and millions of Afghans were refugees from Taliban oppression.

I make this promise to all the victims of that regime: the Taliban’s days of harboring terrorists, and dealing in heroin, and brutalizing women are drawing to a close. And when that regime is gone, the people of Afghanistan will say, with the rest of the world: Good riddance.

I can promise, too, that America will join the world in helping the people of Afghanistan rebuild their country.

Many nations, including mine, are sending food and medicine to’ help Afghans through the winter. America has airdropped over 1.3 million packages of rations into Afghanistan. Just this week we airlifted 20,000 blankets ,and over 200 tons of provisions into the region. We continue to provide humanitarian aid, even while the Taliban try to steal the food we send.

More help, eventually, will be needed. The United States will work closely with the United Nations and development banks to reconstruct Afghanistan after hostilities there have ceased and the Taliban are no longer in control. And the United States will work with the UN to support a post-Taliban government that represents all of the Afghan people.

In this war against terrorism, each of us must answer for what we have done:, and for what we have left undone. After tragedy, there is a time for sympathy and condolence. My country has been very grateful for both. The memorials and vigils around the world will not be forgotten. But the time for sympathy has now passed, and the time for action has arrived.

The most basic obligations in this new conflict have already been defined by the United Nations. On September 28th, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1373. Its requirements are clear:

Every United Nations member has a responsibility to crack down on terrorist financing. We must pass all necessary laws in our own countries to allow the confiscation of terrorist assets. We must apply those laws to every financial institution in every nation.

We have a responsibility to share intelligence and coordinate the efforts of law enforcement. If you know something, tell us. If we know something, we will tell you. And when we find the terrorists, let’s work together to bring them to justice.

We have a responsibility to deny any sanctuary, safe haven, or . transit to terrorists. Every known terrorist camp must be shut down, its operators apprehended, and evidence of their arrest presented to the United Nations.

We have a responsibility to deny weapons to terrorists – and to actively prevent private citizens from providing them.

These obligations are urgent, and they are binding on every nation with a place in this chamber. Many governments are taking these obligations seriously, and my country appreciates it. Yet even beyond Resolution 1373, more is required – and more is expected – of our coalition against terror. We are asking for a comprehensive commitment to this fight.

We must unite in opposing all terrorists, not just some of them. In this world there are good causes and bad causes, and we may disagree on where that line is drawn. Yet there is no such thing as a good terrorist. No national aspiration, no remembered wrong, can ever justify the deliberate murder of the innocent. Any government that rejects this principle – trying to pick and choose its terrorist friends – will know the consequences.

We must speak the truth about terror. Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories concerning the attacks of September 11th – malicious lies that attempt to shift blame away from the terrorists themselves, away from the guilty. To inflame ethnic hatred is to advance the cause of terror. And no government should promote the propaganda of terrorists.

The war against terror must not serve ,as an excuse to persecute ethnic and religious minorities in any country. Innocent people must be allowed to live their own lives, by their own customs, under their own religion. And every nation must have avenues for the peaceful expression of opinion and dissent. When these avenues are closed, the temptation to speak through violence grows.

We must press on with our agenda for peace and prosperity in every land. My country is pledged to encouraging development and expanding trade. My country is pledged to investing in education and combating AIDS and other infectious diseases around the world. Following September 11 th, these pledges are even more important. In our struggle against hateful groups that exploit poverty and despair, we must offer an alternative of opportunity and hope.

The, American government also stands by its commitment to a just peace in the Middle East. We are working toward a day when two states – Israel and Palestine – live peacefully together, within secure and recognized borders, as called for by Security Council resolutions. We will do all in our power to bring both parties back into negotiations. But peace will only come when all have sworn off – forever – incitement, violence, and terror.

Finally, this struggle is a defining moment for the United Nations itself – and the world needs its principled leadership. It undermines the credibility of this great institution, for example, when the Commission on Human Rights offers seats to some of the world’s most persistent violators. of human rights. The United Nations depends, above all, on its moral authority – and that authority must be preserved.

The steps I have described will not be easy. For all nations, they will require effort. For some nations, they will require great courage. Yet the cost of inaction is far greater. The only alternative to victory is a nightmare world, where every city is a potential killing field.

As I told the American people, freedom and fear are at war. We face enemies that hate, not our policies,-but our existence – the tolerance and openness and creative culture that define us. But the outcome of this conflict is certain.

There is a current in history, and it runs toward freedom. Our enemies resent it and dismiss it, but the dreams of mankind are defined by liberty – the natural right to create, and build, and worship, and live in dignity. When men and women are released from oppression and isolation, they find fulfillment and hope, and they leave poverty by the millions. These aspirations are lifting up the peoples of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, and they can lift up all of the Islamic world. We stand for the permanent hopes of humanity, and those hopes will not be denied.

We are confident, too, that history has an Author, Who fills time and eternity with His purpose. We know that evil is real, but good will prevail against it. This is the teaching of many faiths. And in that assurance, we gain strength for a long journey.

It is our task – the task of this generation – to provide the response to aggression and terror. We have no other choice, because there is no other peace. We did not ask for this mission, yet there is honor in history’s call. We have a chance to write the story of our times – a story of courage defeating cruelty, and of light overcoming darkness. This calling is worthy of any life, and worthy of every nation. So let us go forward – confident, determined, and unafraid.
 

Thank you.