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THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you, Colonel. Thanks for the hospitality
and kind introduction. I'm proud to be with the men and women of the Air Force, the Navy,
the Marines, the Army and the Coast Guard. Thanks for serving. Thanks for wearing the
uniform of the United States of America.
I'm proud to be back here in the great state of South Carolina. I'm proud to be with some
of the Palmetto State's finest citizens. I'm glad to be eating lunch with you. The food
is pretty good, Colonel. (Laughter.) I always like a good barbecue.
I also am proud to be with the military families. You know, our troops are obviously engaged
in a tough struggle, tough fight, a fight that I think is noble and necessary for our
peace. And so are our families. Our military families endure the separations. They worry
about their loved ones. They pray for safe return. By carrying out these burdens, our
military families are serving the United States of America, and this country is grateful to
America's military families. (Applause.)
I appreciate Colonel Millander leading the 437th Airlift Wing here at the Charleston Airbase.
Thank you for the tour. Nice big airplanes carrying a lot of cargo. And it's good to
see the amazing operations that take place here to keep our troops supplied.
I'm honored here to be with Deb, as well. That's Red's wife. I call him Red; you call
him Colonel. He did a smart thing; he married a woman from Texas. (Applause.) So did I.
(Laughter.) And Laura sends her very best to you all.
I'm proud to be here with Mark Bauknight -- Colonel Bauknight -- Acting Commander of they're 315th
Airlift Wing, and his wife Leslie.
I am traveling today with one of the true stalwarts of freedom, a man who understands
the stakes of the war we're in, and a man who strongly supports the military in accomplishing
the mission that we've sent you to do, and that's Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
(Applause.)
This base is represented by Congressman Henry Brown, of South Carolina. (Applause.) He understands
what I understand; when we have somebody in harm's way, that person deserves the full
support of the Congress and the President. And you'll have the full support of the President
of the United States during this war against these radicals and extremists.
I appreciate the Lieutenant Governor of this state, Andre Bauer. Thanks for coming, Governor.
I'm proud to be here with the Speaker of the House of Representatives for South Carolina,
State Representative Bobby Harrell. Mr. Speaker, thanks for coming.
We've got some mayors with us, and I appreciate the mayors being here today: Mayor Riley,
Mayor Hallman, Mayor Summey. I'm honored that you all would take time out of your busy schedule
to come by and pay tribute to these men and women who serve our nation so ably.
I'm proud to be with Chairman Tim Scott of the Charleston County Council. I'm proud to
be with other state and local officials. And I'm really glad to be with you all. Thank
you for your courage.
Since the attacks of September the 11th, 2001, the Airmen of Team Charleston have deployed
across the globe in support in the war on terror. During the liberation of Afghanistan,
air crews from Team Charleston flew hundreds of sorties to transport troops and deliver
supplies, and help the liberation of 25 million people.
Team Charleston is playing a crucial role in Iraq. Every day C-17s lift off from Charleston
carrying tons of vital supplies for our troops on the front lines. Your efforts are saving
lives and you're bringing security to this country. Every member of Team Charleston can
take pride in a great record of accomplishment. And America is grateful for your courage in
the cause of freedom. And your courage is needed.
Nearly six years after the 9/11 attacks, America remains a nation at war. The terrorist network
that attacked us that day is determined to strike our country again, and we must do everything
in our power to stop them. A key lesson of September the 11th is that the best way to
protect America is to go on the offense, to fight the terrorists overseas so we don't
have to face them here at home. And that is exactly what our men and women in uniform
are doing across the world.
The key theater in this global war is Iraq. Our troops are serving bravely in that country.
They're opposing ruthless enemies, and no enemy is more ruthless in Iraq than al Qaeda.
They send suicide bombers into crowded markets; they behead innocent captives and they ***
American troops. They want to bring down Iraq's democracy so they can use that nation as a
terrorist safe haven for attacks against our country. So our troops are standing strong
with nearly 12 million Iraqis who voted for a future of peace, and they so for the security
of Iraq and the safety of American citizens.
There's a debate in Washington about Iraq, and nothing wrong with a healthy debate. There's
also a debate about al Qaeda's role in Iraq. Some say that Iraq is not part of the broader
war on terror. They complain when I say that the al Qaeda terrorists we face in Iraq are
part of the same enemy that attacked us on September the 11th, 2001. They claim that
the organization called al Qaeda in Iraq is an Iraqi phenomenon, that it's independent
of Osama bin Laden and that it's not interested in attacking America.
That would be news to Osama bin Laden. He's proclaimed that the "third world war is raging
in Iraq." Osama bin Laden says, "The war is for you or for us to win. If we win it, it
means your defeat and disgrace forever." I say that there will be a big defeat in Iraq
and it will be the defeat of al Qaeda. (Applause.)
Today I will consider the arguments of those who say that al Qaeda and al Qaeda in Iraq
are separate entities. I will explain why they are both part of the same terrorist network
-- and why they are dangerous to our country.
A good place to start is with some basic facts: Al Qaeda in Iraq was founded by a Jordanian
terrorist, not an Iraqi. His name was Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Before 9/11, he ran a terrorist
camp in Afghanistan. He was not yet a member of al Qaida, but our intelligence community
reports that he had longstanding relations with senior al Qaida leaders, that he had
met with Osama bin Laden and his chief deputy, Zawahiri.
In 2001, coalition forces destroyed Zarqawi's Afghan training camp, and he fled the country
and he went to Iraq, where he set up operations with terrorist associates long before the
arrival of coalition forces. In the violence and instability following Saddam's fall, Zarqawi
was able to expand dramatically the size, scope, and lethality of his operation. In
2004, Zarqawi and his terrorist group formally joined al Qaida, pledged allegiance to Osama
bin Laden, and he promised to "follow his orders in jihad."
Soon after, bin Laden publicly declared that Zarqawi was the "Prince of Al Qaida in Iraq"
-- and instructed terrorists in Iraq to "listen to him and obey him." It's hard to argue that
al Qaida in Iraq is separate from bin Laden's al Qaida, when the leader of al Qaida in Iraq
took an oath of allegiance to Osama bin Laden.
According to our intelligence community, the Zarqawi-bin Laden merger gave al Qaida in
Iraq -- quote -- "prestige among potential recruits and financiers." The merger also
gave al Qaida's senior leadership -- quote -- "a foothold in Iraq to extend its geographic
presence ... to plot external operations ... and to tout the centrality of the jihad in Iraq
to solicit direct monetary support elsewhere." The merger between al Qaida and its Iraqi
affiliate is an alliance of killers -- and that is why the finest military in the world
is on their trail.
Zarqawi was killed by U.S. forces in June 2006. He was replaced by another foreigner
-- an Egyptian named Abu Ayyub al-Masri. His ties to the al Qaida senior leadership are
deep and longstanding. He has collaborated with Zawahiri for more than two decades. And
before 9/11, he spent time with al Qaida in Afghanistan where he taught classes indoctrinating
others in al Qaida's radical ideology.
After Abu Ayyub took over al Qaida's Iraqi operations last year, Osama bin Laden sent
a terrorist leader named Abd al-Hadi al Iraqi to help him. According to our intelligence
community, this man was a senior advisor to bin Laden, who served as his top commander
in Afghanistan. Abd al-Hadi never made it to Iraq. He was captured, and was recently
transferred to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. The fact that bin Laden risked sending
one of his most valued commanders to Iraq shows the importance he places on success
of al Qaida's Iraqi operations.
According to our intelligence community, many of al Qaida in Iraq's other senior leaders
are also foreign terrorists. They include a Syrian who is al Qaida in Iraq's emir in
Baghdad, a Saudi who is al Qaida in Iraq's top spiritual and legal advisor, an Egyptian
who fought in Afghanistan in the 1990s and who has met with Osama bin Laden, a Tunisian
who we believe plays a key role in managing foreign fighters. Last month in Iraq, we killed
a senior al Qaida facilitator named Mehmet Yilmaz, a Turkish national who fought with
al Qaida in Afghanistan, and met with September the 11th mastermind Khalid Shaikh Muhammad,
and other senior al Qaida leaders.
A few weeks ago, we captured a senior al Qaida in Iraq leader named Mashadani. Now, this
terrorist is an Iraqi. In fact, he was the highest ranking Iraqi in the organization.
Here's what he said, here's what he told us: The foreign leaders of Al Qaida in Iraq went
to extraordinary lengths to promote the fiction that al Qaida in Iraq is an Iraqi-led operation.
He says al Qaida even created a figurehead whom they named Omar al-Baghdadi. The purpose
was to make Iraqi fighters believe they were following the orders of an Iraqi instead of
a foreigner. Yet once in custody, Mashadani revealed that al-Baghdadi is only an actor.
He confirmed our intelligence that foreigners are at the top echelons of al Qaida in Iraq
-- they are the leaders -- and that foreign leaders make most of the operational decisions,
not Iraqis.
Foreign terrorists also account for most of the suicide bombings in Iraq. Our military
estimates that between 80 and 90 percent of suicide attacks in Iraq are carried out by
foreign-born al Qaida terrorists. It's true that today most of al Qaida in Iraq's rank
and file fighters and some of its leadership are Iraqi. But to focus exclusively on this
single fact is to ignore the larger truth: Al Qaida in Iraq is a group founded by foreign
terrorists, led largely by foreign terrorists, and loyal to a foreign terrorist leader -- Osama
bin Laden. They know they're al Qaida. The Iraqi people know they are al Qaida. People
across the Muslim world know they are al Qaida. And there's a good reason they are called
al Qaida in Iraq: They are al Qaida ... in ... Iraq.
Some also assert that al Qaida in Iraq is a separate organization because al Qaida's
central command lacks full operational control over it. This argument reveals a lack of understanding.
Here is how al Qaida's global terrorist network actually operates. Al Qaida and its affiliate
organizations are a loose network of terrorist groups that are united by a common ideology
and shared objectives, and have differing levels of collaboration with the al Qaida
senior leadership. In some cases, these groups have formally merged into al Qaida and take
what is called a "bayaat" -- a pledge of loyalty to Osama bin Laden. In other cases, organizations
are not formally merged with al Qaida, but collaborate closely with al Qaida leaders
to plot attacks and advance their shared ideology. In still other cases, there are small cells
of terrorists that are not part of al Qaida or any other broader terrorist group, but
maintain contact with al Qaida leaders and are inspired by its ideology to conduct attacks.
Our intelligence community assesses that al Qaida in Iraq falls into the first of these
categories. They are a full member of the al Qaida terrorist network. The al Qaida leadership
provides strategic guidance to their Iraqi operatives. Even so, there have been disagreements
-- important disagreements -- between the leaders, Osama bin Laden and their Iraqi counterparts,
including Zawahiri's criticism of Zarqawi's relentless attacks on the Shia. But our intelligence
community reports that al Qaida's senior leaders generally defer to their Iraqi-based commanders
when it comes to internal operations, because distance and security concerns preclude day-to-day
command authority.
Our intelligence community concludes that -- quote -- "Al Qaida and its regional node
in Iraq are united in their overarching strategy." And they say that al Qaida senior leaders
and their operatives in Iraq -- quote -- "see al Qaida in Iraq as part of al Qaida's decentralized
chain of command, not as a separate group."
Here's the bottom line: Al Qaida in Iraq is run by foreign leaders loyal to Osama bin
Laden. Like bin Laden, they are cold-blooded killers who *** the innocent to achieve
al Qaida's political objectives. Yet despite all the evidence, some will tell you that
al Qaida in Iraq is not really al Qaida -- and not really a threat to America. Well, that's
like watching a man walk into a bank with a mask and a gun, and saying he's probably
just there to cash a check.
You might wonder why some in Washington insist on making this distinction about the enemy
in Iraq. It's because they know that if they can convince America we're not fighting bin
Laden's al Qaida there, they can paint the battle in Iraq as a distraction from the real
war on terror. If we're not fighting bin Laden's al Qaida, they can argue that our nation can
pull out of Iraq and not undermine our efforts in the war on terror. The problem they have
is with the facts. We are fighting bin Laden's al Qaida in Iraq; Iraq is central to the war
on terror; and against this enemy, America can accept nothing less than complete victory.
(Applause.)
There are others who accept that al Qaida is operating in Iraq, but say its role is
overstated. Al Qaida is one of the several Sunni jihadist groups in Iraq. But our intelligence
community believes that al Qaida is the most dangerous of these Sunni jihadist groups for
several reasons: First, more than any other group, al Qaida is behind most of the spectacular,
high-casualty attacks that you see on your TV screens.
Second, these al Qaida attacks are designed to accelerate sectarian violence, by attacking
Shia in hopes of sparking reprisal attacks that inspire Sunnis to join al Qaida's cause.
Third, al Qaida is the only jihadist group in Iraq with stated ambitions to make the
country a base for attacks outside Iraq. For example, al Qaida in Iraq dispatched terrorists
who bombed a wedding reception in Jordan. In another case, they sent operatives to Jordan
where they attempted to launch a rocket attack on U.S. Navy ships in the Red Sea.
And most important for the people who wonder if the fight in Iraq is worth it, al Qaida
in Iraq shares Osama bin Laden's goal of making Iraq a base for its radical Islamic empire,
and using it as a safe haven for attacks on America. That is why our intelligence community
reports -- and I quote -- "compared with [other leading Sunni jihadist groups], al Qaida in
Iraq stands out for its extremism, unmatched operational strength, foreign leadership,
and determination to take the jihad beyond Iraq's borders."
Our top commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, has said that al Qaida is "public enemy number
one" in Iraq. Fellow citizens, these people have sworn allegiance to the man who ordered
the death of nearly 3,000 people on our soil. Al Qaida is public enemy number one for the
Iraqi people; al Qaida is public enemy number one for the American people. And that is why,
for the security of our country, we will stay on the hunt, we'll deny them safe haven, and
we will defeat them where they have made their stand. (Applause.)
Some note that al Qaida in Iraq did not exist until the U.S. invasion -- and argue that
it is a problem of our own making. The argument follows the flawed logic that terrorism is
caused by American actions. Iraq is not the reason that the terrorists are at war with
us. We were not in Iraq when the terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. We
were not in Iraq when they attacked our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. We were not in Iraq
when they attacked the USS Cole in 2000. And we were not in Iraq on September the 11th,
2001.
Our action to remove Saddam Hussein did not start the terrorist violence -- and America
withdrawal from Iraq would not end it. The al Qaida terrorists now blowing themselves
up in Iraq are dedicated extremists who have made killing the innocent the calling of their
lives. They are part of a network that has murdered men, women, and children in London
and Madrid; slaughtered fellow Muslims in Istanbul and Casablanca, Riyadh, Jakarta,
and elsewhere around the world. If we were not fighting these al Qaida extremists and
terrorists in Iraq, they would not be leading productive lives of service and charity. Most
would be trying to kill Americans and other civilians elsewhere -- in Afghanistan, or
other foreign capitals, or on the streets of our own cities.
Al Qaida is in Iraq -- and they're there for a reason. And surrendering the future of Iraq
to al Qaida would be a disaster for our country. We know their intentions. Hear the words of
al Qaida's top commander in Iraq when he issued an audio statement in which he said he will
not rest until he has attacked our nation's capital. If we were to cede Iraq to men like
this, we would leave them free to operate from a safe haven which they could use to
launch new attacks on our country. And al Qaida would gain prestige amongst the extremists
across the Muslim world as the terrorist network that faced down America and forced us into
retreat.
If we were to allow this to happen, sectarian violence in Iraq could increase dramatically,
raising the prospect of mass casualties. Fighting could engulf the entire region in chaos, and
we would soon face a Middle East dominated by Islamic extremists who would pursue nuclear
weapons, and use their control of oil for economic blackmail or to fund new attacks
on our nation.
We've already seen how al Qaida used a failed state thousands of miles from our shores to
bring death and destruction to the streets of our cities -- and we must not allow them
to do so again. So, however difficult the fight is in Iraq, we must win it. And we can
win it.
Less than a year ago, Anbar Province was al Qaida's base in Iraq and was written off by
many as lost. Since then, U.S. and Iraqi forces have teamed with Sunni sheiks who have turned
against al Qaida. Hundreds have been killed or captured. Terrorists have been driven from
most of the population centers. Our troops are now working to replicate the success in
Anbar in other parts of the country. Our brave men and women are taking risks, and they're
showing courage, and we're making progress.
For the security of our citizens, and the peace of the world, we must give General Petraeus
and his troops the time and resources they need, so they can defeat al Qaida in Iraq.
(Applause.)
Thanks for letting me come by today. I've explained the connection between al Qaida
and its Iraqi affiliate. I presented intelligence that clearly establishes this connection.
The facts are that al Qaida terrorists killed Americans on 9/11, they're fighting us in
Iraq and across the world, and they are plotting to kill Americans here at home again. Those
who justify withdrawing our troops from Iraq by denying the threat of al Qaida in Iraq
and its ties to Osama bin Laden ignore the clear consequences of such a retreat. If we
were to follow their advice, it would be dangerous for the world -- and disastrous for America.
We will defeat al Qaida in Iraq.
In this effort, we're counting on the brave men and women represented in this room. Every
man and woman who serves at this base and around the world is playing a vital role in
this war on terror. With your selfless spirit and devotion to duty, we will confront this
mortal threat to our country -- and we're going to prevail.
I have confidence in our country, and I have faith in our cause, because I know the character
of the men and women gathered before me. I thank you for your patriotism; I thank you
for your courage. You're living up to your motto: "one family, one mission, one fight."
Thank you for all you do. God bless your families. God bless America. (Applause.)