*EPF402 08/15/2002
Excerpt: Bush Says U.S. Making Progress in Its War on Terror
(Speaks August 15 at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota) (1300)

The United States is making good progress in its fight to rid the world of terrorists and will continue this effort as long as needed, President Bush said August 15 in a speech at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.

"It doesn't matter how long it takes as far as I'm concerned. There's no cave deep enough. We're going to hunt them down. You see, history has called us. History has put the spotlight on America. We're the beacon of freedom, we're the bastion of freedom, and we're the protectors of freedom as far as I'm concerned," Bush said.

Mount Rushmore contains the larger than life sculpted busts of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, memorializing the first 150 years of the United States.

"By being firm and strong and diligent, we'll bring peace not only to our own children and their children, but we can bring peace to the Middle East and peace to South Asia," the President said. "We have a fantastic chance to take the evil done to our country and turn it into good for worldly peace."

In his remarks, the President urged the U.S. Congress to get to his desk as soon as possible a defense appropriations bill, and legislation he proposed to create a new Homeland Security Department in the federal government.

The Mount Rushmore speech concluded a two-day visit by Bush to the Middle West. On August 14 he visited Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Des Moines, Iowa. Bush then returned to his ranch in Texas, where he is spending the month of August on a working vacation.

Following is an excerpt from the Mount Rushmore speech:

(begin excerpt)

The best way to protect the homeland, the best way to make sure our children can grow up free is to hunt the killers down one by one and bring them to justice. (Applause.) This is a different kind of war than we're used to. This isn't a war where these infantries go marching across the plains or hide in hedgerows or formations of aircraft go streaming across our skies. This is a war where leaders hide in caves and send youngsters to their suicidal death. That's the kind of war we're fighting. It requires a new way of thinking, a new attitude. It requires our military to be trained in a way that can go into -- to move quickly and be agile, be lethal when they strike.

It doesn't matter how long it takes as far as I'm concerned. There's no cave deep enough. We're going to hunt them down. You see, history has called us. History has put the spotlight in America. We're the beacon of freedom, we're the bastion of freedom, and we're the protectors of freedom as far as I'm concerned. (Applause.)

I submitted a significant increase in our defense spending -- it's the biggest increase since Ronald Reagan was the President -- for two reasons. Any time we put our troops in harm's way, they've got to have the best training, the best pay, the best equipment possible. (Applause.) We owe that to our troops, who are performing brilliantly, by the way. We also owe it to their moms and dads and their husbands and wives and their loved ones.

But the other reason I submitted a significant increase in defense spending is because I want the message to be loud and clear to our friends and foe alike, that we're not quitting, that the United States of America understands the challenge; that, no matter how long it takes, we're going to defend our freedoms. (Applause.)

And we're making pretty good progress. We're making pretty darned good progress.

I laid out a doctrine that said, if you harbor a terrorist or you feed one of them, you're just as guilty as the terrorists, and the Taliban found out exactly what we meant. (Applause.) But I want -- I want the youngsters here to understand that, when we went into that country, we went in as liberators, not as conquerors. We freed people from the clutches of a barbaric regime and, thanks to the United States and our friends and allies, many young girls now go to school for the first time in their lives. (Applause.)

History will note that we didn't hit and run, that we stayed there. We stayed there to not only make sure that al Qaeda doesn't bunch up again, but we stayed there to help this country, Afghanistan, flourish. We believe in democracies. We believe every child should have a chance to realize his or her dreams. We believe in peace.

I think we've hauled in over 2000 of the enemy -- "we" being all kinds of people -- (applause) -- the Philippines and Spain. Of course, the United States. We're making pretty good progress. We're getting them one by one. Sometimes, you'll read about it, sometimes you won't. This isn't a very dramatic war as far as TV goes.

But we're making dramatic progress, is the best way to put it. And, by the way, about equal a number of the people weren't quite as lucky as those who were captured. (Applause.)

And we got a lot of work to do, we've got a lot of work to do. And that's why this budget I submitted is a significant budget. The House passed its version, the Senate passed its version. They've now got to get together as quickly as possible, as soon as possible, and get the defense appropriations bill to my desk nearly upon arrival. In other words, as soon as they get back from the recess, I need to sign the bill so we can plan for the war. (Applause.)

I hope you can tell that I'm an optimistic person. I'm an optimistic person because I understand America. I understand the strengths of America. I know we're going to prevail in this war on terror. And, as we do so, I believe, as sure as I'm standing here, we're going to bring peace to parts of the world that haven't dreamt about peace in a long time.

By being firm and strong and diligent, we'll bring peace not only to our own children and their children, but we can bring peace to the Middle East and peace to South Asia. No, we have a fantastic chance to take the evil done to our country and turn it into good for worldly peace. (Applause.)

(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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