*EPF203 03/19/2002
Excerpt: Bush Vows to Continue Fight Against Terrorism
(Speech in O'Fallon, Missouri March 18) (770)

President Bush has promised that the United States will continue to hunt down terrorists and work to prevent dangerous regimes from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

"[T]here are still thousands of al Qaeda trained killers on the loose," Bush said in a speech in O'Fallon, Missouri March 18. "We will deny them sanctuary. We will keep them on the run. We'll disrupt their finances. No matter how long it takes, we're going to get 'em and bring them to justice."

Bush said the United States will make efforts to prevent dictatorial regimes from developing weapons of mass destruction.

"We cannot...allow the world's worst regimes to develop the world's worst weapons, and therefore hold the United States and our allies hostage," Bush said.

Following are excerpts from Bush's speech with comments about the war against terrorists and dangerous regimes:

(begin excerpt)

And not only do we have a big job at home, we've obviously got a big job abroad, as well. We're fighting a war. And I want to share with you all some of my thoughts about this war that we fight.

First of all, you've got to know that we're fighting against Taliban determined group of killers. These are people who would rather die than surrender. These are people who hate America. They hate our freedom. They hate our freedom to worship. They hate our freedom to vote. They hate our freedom of the press. They hate our freedom to say what you want to say. They can't stand what we stand for.

And, therefore, we have no choice but to hunt 'em down one by one to defend the very freedom we hold dear in America. (Applause.) And that is exactly what we're going to do. The enemy must have thought they were hitting a society that was so soft, so self-absorbed, so materialistic that we would sue them. (Laughter and applause.) They didn't understand America. They didn't understand our fiber. They don't understand our core. They don't know what we're made out of -- at least, they didn't. Now they do.

I made it absolutely clear when we first got going that if a country harbored a terrorist or fed a terrorist or hid a terrorist, they were just as guilty as the murderers who hit us on September the 11th. (Applause.) And now the Taliban knows exactly what I meant, thanks to a magnificent United States miliary and a vast coalition, we have routed the Taliban in Afghanistan. (Applause.) I'm proud of our military, and I'm proud of our country. We went into Afghanistan not to seek revenge, but justice. And we went into that country not as conquerors, but as liberators. We have freed Afghan people from the clutches of one of the most barbaric, backward regimes history has ever known.

Later on this week, schools will reopen in Afghanistan, and incredibly enough, for the first time, young girls get to go to school thanks to the United States and our coalition. (Applause.) And so the other day, in Washington, I declared that the first phase in our war against terror had ended. We upheld the doctrine of a nation harboring a terrorist, and the consequences we made clear.

But I want to tell you all, there is more to do. You see, there are still thousands of al Qaeda trained killers on the loose. And we will treat them the way they are, which is international fugitives. We will deny them sanctuary. We will keep them on the run. We'll disrupt their finances. No matter how long it takes, we're going to get 'em and bring them to justice. There is no cave deep enough for the justice of the United States of America. (Applause.)

........

There's more to the war on terror than one single individual or one single network. The nightmare scenario is for our nation to tire and weary, and allow an al Qaeda organization or an al Qaeda type organization to mate up with a nation which has developed weapons of mass destruction, a nation which has got a history of treating her people poorly, a dictatorial nation. We cannot -- we cannot -- allow the world's worst regimes to develop the world's worst weapons, and therefore hold the United States and our allies hostage. We owe it to our children and our children's children to be firm and to be tough, and to say to those bullies and dictators, we will not let you stand and get away with blackmailing the world. (Applause.)

(end excerpts)

(end excerpt)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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