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HISTORY
OVERVIEW HISTORY DETAILS
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HISTORICAL TIMELINE DETAILS IN THE YEAR 2001 Our victories, obstacles and leaders President Bush's Speeches on September 11, 2001 2001 PRESIDENT BUSH'S PRAYER SERVICE SPEECH
September
14, 2001, 2:02 PM EDT
We are here in the middle hour of our grief. So many have suffered so great a loss, and today we express our nation's sorrow. We come before God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who loved them. On Tuesday, our country was attacked with deliberate and massive cruelty. We have seen the images of fire and ashes and bent steel. Now come the names, the list of casualties we are only beginning to read. They are the names of men and women who began their day at a desk or in an airport, busy with life. They are the names of people who faced death and in their last moments called home to say, be brave and I love you. They are the names of passengers who defied their murderers and prevented the murder of others on the ground. They are the names of men and women who wore the uniform of the United States and died at their posts. They are the names of rescuers -- the ones whom death found running up the stairs and into the fires to help others. We will read all these names. We will linger over them and learn their stories, and many Americans will weep. To the children and parents and spouses and families and friends of the lost, we offer the deepest sympathy of the nation. And I assure you, you are not alone. Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history, but our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil. War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others; it will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing. Our purpose as a nation is firm, yet our wounds as a people are recent and unhealed and lead us to pray. In many of our prayers this week, there's a searching and an honesty. At St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, on Tuesday, a woman said, "I pray to God to give us a sign that he's still here." Others have prayed for the same, searching hospital to hospital, carrying pictures of those still missing. God's signs are not always the ones we look for. We learn in tragedy that his purposes are not always our own, yet the prayers of private suffering, whether in our homes or in this great cathedral are known and heard and understood. There are prayers that help us last through the day or endure the night. There are prayers of friends and strangers that give us strength for the journey, and there are prayers that yield our will to a will greater than our own. This world he created is of moral design. Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance and love have no end, and the Lord of life holds all who die and all who mourn. It is said that adversity introduces us to ourselves. This is true of a nation as well. In this trial, we have been reminded and the world has seen that our fellow Americans are generous and kind, resourceful and brave. We see our national character in rescuers working past exhaustion, in long lines of blood donors, in thousands of citizens who have asked to work and serve in any way possible. And we have seen our national character in eloquent acts of sacrifice. Inside the World Trade Center, one man who could have saved himself stayed until the end and at the side of his quadriplegic friend. A beloved priest died giving the last rites to a firefighter. Two office workers, finding a disabled stranger, carried her down 68 floors to safety. A group of men drove through the night from Dallas to Washington to bring skin grafts for burned victims. In these acts and many others, Americans showed a deep commitment to one another and an abiding love for our country. Today, we feel what Franklin Roosevelt called "the warm courage of national unity." This is a unity of every faith and every background. This has joined together political parties and both houses of Congress. It is evident in services of prayer and candlelight vigils and American flags, which are displayed in pride and waved in defiance. Our unity is a kinship of grief and a steadfast resolve to prevail against our enemies. And this unity against terror is now extending across the world. America is a nation full of good fortune, with so much to be grateful for, but we are not spared from suffering. In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom. They have attacked America because we are freedom's home and defender, and the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time. On this national day of prayer and remembrance, we ask almighty God to watch over our nation and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come. We pray that He will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow. We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, and the promise of a life to come. As we've been assured, neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities, nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth can separate us from God's love. May he bless the souls of the departed. May he comfort our own. And may he always guide our country. God
bless America.
2001
Thursday,
September 20, 2001
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's address Thursday to a joint session of Congress, as transcribed by eMediaMillWorks Inc.: Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Tempore, members of Congress, and fellow Americans: In the normal course of events, presidents come to this chamber to report on the state of the Union. Tonight, no such report is needed. It has already been delivered by the American people. We have seen it in the courage of passengers who rushed terrorists to save others on the ground. Passengers like an exceptional man named Todd Beamer. And would you please help me welcome his wife Lisa Beamer here tonight? We have seen the state of our Union in the endurance of rescuers working past exhaustion. We've seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers in English, Hebrew and Arabic. We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own. My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of union, and it is strong. Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done. I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time. All of America was touched on the evening of the tragedy to see Republicans and Democrats joined together on the steps of this Capitol singing ''God Bless America.'' And you did more than sing. You acted, by delivering $40 billion to rebuild our communities and meet the needs of our military. Speaker Hastert, Minority Leader Gephardt, Majority Leader Daschle and Senator Lott, I thank you for your friendship, for your leadership and for your service to our country. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the world for its outpouring of support. America will never forget the sounds of our national anthem playing at Buckingham Palace, on the streets of Paris and at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. We will not forget South Korean children gathering to pray outside our embassy in Seoul, or the prayers of sympathy offered at a mosque in Cairo. We will not forget moments of silence and days of mourning in Australia and Africa and Latin America. Nor will we forget the citizens of 80 other nations who died with our own. Dozens of Pakistanis, more than 130 Israelis, more than 250 citizens of India, men and women from El Salvador, Iran, Mexico and Japan, and hundreds of British citizens. America has no truer friend than Great Britain. Once again, we are joined together in a great cause. I'm so honored the British prime minister has crossed an ocean to show his unity with America. Thank you for coming, friend. On Sept. 11, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars, but for the past 136 years they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941. Americans have known the casualties of war, but not at the center of a great city on a peaceful morning. Americans have known surprise attacks, but never before on thousands of civilians. All of this was brought upon us in a single day, and night fell on a different world, a world where freedom itself is under attack. Americans have many questions tonight. Americans are asking, ''Who attacked our country?'' The evidence we have gathered all points to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al-Qaida. They are some of the murderers indicted for bombing American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and responsible for bombing the USS Cole. Al-Qaida is to terror what the Mafia is to crime. But its goal is not making money. Its goal is remaking the world and imposing its radical beliefs on people everywhere. The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics; a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam The terrorists' directive commands them to kill Christians and Jews, to kill all Americans and make no distinctions among military and civilians, including women and children. This group and its leader, a person named Osama bin Laden, are linked to many other organizations in different countries, including the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. There are thousands of these terrorists in more than 60 countries. They are recruited from their own nations and neighborhoods and brought to camps in places like Afghanistan, where they are trained in the tactics of terror. They are sent back to their homes or sent to hide in countries around the world to plot evil and destruction. The leadership of al-Qaida has great influence in Afghanistan and supports the Taliban regime in controlling most of that country. In Afghanistan we see al-Qaida's vision for the world. Afghanistan's people have been brutalized, many are starving and many have fled. Women are not allowed to attend school. You can be jailed for owning a television. Religion can be practiced only as their leaders dictate. A man can be jailed in Afghanistan if his beard is not long enough. The United States respects the people of Afghanistan - after all, we are currently its largest source of humanitarian aid - but we condemn the Taliban regime. It is not only repressing its own people, it is threatening people everywhere by sponsoring and sheltering and supplying terrorists. By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder. And tonight the United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban. Deliver to United States authorities all of the leaders of al-Qaida who hide in your land. Release all foreign nationals, including American citizens you have unjustly imprisoned. Protect foreign journalists, diplomats and aid workers in your country. Close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. And hand over every terrorist and every person and their support structure to appropriate authorities. Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps, so we can make sure they are no longer operating. These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate. I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world. We respect your faith. It's practiced freely by many millions of Americans and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah. The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself. The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends. It is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them. Our war on terror begins with al-Qaida, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated. Americans are asking, ''Why do they hate us?'' They hate what they see right here in this chamber: a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other. They want to overthrow existing governments in many Muslim countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. They want to drive Israel out of the Middle East. They want to drive Christians and Jews out of vast regions of Asia and Africa. These terrorists kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and end a way of life. With every atrocity, they hope that America grows fearful, retreating from the world and forsaking our friends. They stand against us because we stand in their way. We're not deceived by their pretenses to piety. We have seen their kind before. They're the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies. Americans are asking, ''How will we fight and win this war?'' We will direct every resource at our command - every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence and every necessary weapon of war - to the destruction and to the defeat of the global terror network. Now this war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion. It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat. Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime. Our nation has been put on notice, we're not immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans. Today, dozens of federal departments and agencies, as well as state and local governments, have responsibilities affecting homeland security. These efforts must be coordinated at the highest level. So tonight, I announce the creation of a Cabinet-level position reporting directly to me, the Office of Homeland Security. And tonight, I also announce a distinguished American to lead this effort, to strengthen American security: a military veteran, an effective governor, a true patriot, a trusted friend, Pennsylvania's Tom Ridge. He will lead, oversee and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard our country against terrorism and respond to any attacks that may come. These measures are essential. The only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it and destroy it where it grows. Many will be involved in this effort, from FBI agents, to intelligence operatives, to the reservists we have called to active duty. All deserve our thanks, and all have our prayers. And tonight a few miles from the damaged Pentagon, I have a message for our military: Be ready. I have called the armed forces to alert, and there is a reason. The hour is coming when America will act, and you will make us proud. This is not, however, just America's fight. And what is at stake is not just America's freedom. This is the world's fight. This is civilization's fight. This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom. We ask every nation to join us. We will ask and we will need the help of police forces, intelligence services and banking systems around the world. The United States is grateful that many nations and many international organizations have already responded with sympathy and with support - nations from Latin America, to Asia, to Africa, to Europe, to the Islamic world. Perhaps the NATO charter reflects best the attitude of the world: An attack on one is an attack on all. The civilized world is rallying to America's side. They understand that if this terror goes unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be next. Terror unanswered cannot only bring down buildings, it can threaten the stability of legitimate governments. And you know what? We're not going to allow it. Americans are asking, ''What is expected of us?'' I ask you to live your lives and hug your children. I know many citizens have fears tonight, and I ask you to be calm and resolute, even in the face of a continuing threat. I ask you to uphold the values of America and remember why so many have come here. We're in a fight for our principles, and our first responsibility is to live by them. No one should be singled out for unfair treatment or unkind words because of their ethnic background or religious faith. I ask you to continue to support the victims of this tragedy with your contributions. Those who want to give can go to a central source of information, libertyunites.org, to find the names of groups providing direct help in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The thousands of FBI agents who are now at work in this investigation may need your cooperation, and I ask you to give it. I ask for your patience with the delays and inconveniences that may accompany tighter security and for your patience in what will be a long struggle. I ask your continued participation and confidence in the American economy. Terrorists attacked a symbol of American prosperity; they did not touch its source. America is successful because of the hard work and creativity and enterprise of our people. These were the true strengths of our economy before Sept. 11, and they are our strengths today. And finally, please continue praying for the victims of terror and their families, for those in uniform and for our great country. Prayer has comforted us in sorrow and will help strengthen us for the journey ahead. Tonight I thank my fellow Americans for what you have already done and for what you will do. And ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, I thank you, their representatives, for what you have already done and for what we will do together. Tonight we face new and sudden national challenges. We will come together to improve air safety, to dramatically expand the number of air marshals on domestic flights and take new measures to prevent hijacking. We will come together to promote stability and keep our airlines flying with direct assistance during this emergency. We will come together to give law enforcement the additional tools it needs to track down terror here at home. We will come together to strengthen our intelligence capabilities to know the plans of terrorists before they act and to find them before they strike. We will come together to take active steps that strengthen America's economy and put our people back to work. Tonight, we welcome two leaders who embody the extraordinary spirit of all New Yorkers, Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudolf Giuliani. As a symbol of America's resolve, my administration will work with Congress and these two leaders to show the world that we will rebuild New York City. After all that has just passed, all the lives taken and all the possibilities and hopes that died with them, it is natural to wonder if America's future is one of fear. Some speak of an age of terror. I know there are struggles ahead and dangers to face. But this country will define our times, not be defined by them. As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty here and across the world. Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger, we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom, the great achievement of our time and the great hope of every time, now depends on us. Our nation, this generation, will lift the dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail. It is my hope that in the months and years ahead life will return almost to normal. We'll go back to our lives and routines, and that is good. Even grief recedes with time and grace. But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day and to whom it happened. We will remember the moment the news came, where we were and what we were doing. Some will remember an image of a fire or story or rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever. And I will carry this. It is the police shield of a man named George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others. It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. It is my reminder of lives that ended and a task that does not end. I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people. The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them. Fellow citizens, we'll meet violence with patient justice, assured of the rightness of our cause and confident of the victories to come. In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom, and may he watch over the United States of America. Thank
you.
2001
Good evening. I would like to report to the American people on the state
of our war against terror, and then I'll be happy to take questions from
the White House press corps.
One month ago today, innocent citizens from more than 80 nations were
attacked and killed without warning or provocation in an act that horrified
not only every American, but every person of every faith and every nation
who values human life. The attack took place on American soil, but it
was an attack on the heart and soul of the civilized world. And the world
has come together to fight a new and different war: the first--and we
hope the only--one of the 21st century; a war against all those who seek
to export terror; and a war against those governments that support or
shelter them.
We've accomplished a great deal in one month. Our staunch friend, Great
Britain, our neighbors, Canada and Mexico, our NATO allies, our allies
in Asia, Russia, and nations from every continent on the Earth have offered
help of one kind or of another, from military assistance to intelligence
information to crackdown on terrorist financial networks.
This week, 56 Islamic nations issued a statement strongly condemning the
savage acts of terror and emphasizing that those acts contradict the peaceful
teachings of Islam. All is strong and united on the diplomatic front.
The men and women of the United States military are doing their duty with
scale and success. We have ruined terrorist training camps, disrupted
their communications, weakened the Taliban military and destroyed most
of their air defenses.
We're mounting a sustained campaign to drive the terrorists out of their
hidden caves and to bring them to justice. All missions are being executed
according to plan on the military front.
At the same time, we are showing the compassion of America by delivering
food and medicine to the Afghan people, who are themselves the victims
of a repressive regime.
On the law enforcement front, terrorists are being swept up in an international
dragnet. Several hundred have been arrested. Thousands of FBI agents are
on the trail of other suspects here and abroad. Working with countries
around the world, we have frozen more than $24 million in Al Qaeda or
Taliban assets.
We are aggressively pursuing the agents of terror around the world, and
we are aggressively strengthening our protections here at home. This week,
we established America's new Office of Homeland Security, directed by
former Gov. Tom Ridge. Americans tonight can know that while the threat
is ongoing, we are taking every possible step to protect our country from
danger.
Your government is doing everything we can to recover from these attacks
and to try to prevent others. We're acting to make planes and airports
safer, rebuild New York and the Pentagon.
We must act to stimulate a slow economy, to help laid-off workers. And
we must fund our military.
This is a time of testing; this time of testing has revealed the true
character of the American people. We're angry at the evil that was done
to us, yet patient and just in our response.
Before Sept. 11, my administration was planning an initiative called Communities
of Character. It was designed to help parents develop good character in
their children and to strengthen the spirit of citizenship and service
in our communities. The acts of Sept. 11 have prompted that initiative
to occur on its own in ways far greater than I could have ever imagined.
We have shown great love for our country and great tolerance and respect
for all our countrymen.
I was struck by this that in many cities when Christian and Jewish women
learned that Muslim women, women of cover, were afraid of going out of
their homes alone, that they went shopping with them, that they showed
true friendship and support, an act that shows the world the true nature
of America.
Our war on terrorism has nothing to do with differences in faith. It has
everything to do with people of all faiths coming together to condemn
hate and evil and murder and prejudice.
One month after great suffering and sorrow, America is strong and determined
and generous. I am honored to lead such a country, and I know we are ready
for the challenges ahead.
And now I welcome your questions.
(Here are excerpts from the news conference followed by Bush's closing
statement:) "
The American people--obviously if they see something that is suspicious,
something out of the norm that looks suspicious--they ought to notify
local law authorities. But in the meantime, they ought to take comfort
in knowing our government is doing everything we possibly can."
"People
often ask me, 'How long will this last?' This particular battle front
will last as long as it takes to bring Al Qaeda to justice. It may happen
tomorrow, it may happen a month from now, it may take a year or two, but
we will prevail."
"It's
not the kind of war we're used to in America. The 'greatest generation'
was used to storming beachheads. Baby boomers such as myself was used
to getting caught in a quagmire of Vietnam where politics made decisions
more than the military sometimes. Generation X was able to watch technology
right in front of their TV screens, you know, burrow into concrete bunkers
in Iraq and blow them up. This is a different kind of war that requires
a different type of approach and a different type of mentality."
"I
am confident that the Al Qaeda organization is moving around Afghanistan.
They think they might find safe haven? Not if we think they're there.
And we got them on the run."
"All
I ask is for results. If you say you want to join us to cut off money,
show us the money. If you say you want to join us militarily like Great
Britain does, do so. . . . If you're interested in sharing intelligence,
share intelligence. . . . I appreciated diplomatic talk, but I'm more
interested in action and results."
"If
you cough him up and his people today--that we'll reconsider what we're
doing to your country. You still have a second chance. Just bring him
in, and bring his leaders and lieutenants and other thugs and criminals
with him."
"One
of the things that we've got [to] make sure of is that all parties--all
interested parties have an opportunity to be a part of a new government,
that we shouldn't play favorites between one group or another within Afghanistan.
Secondly, we've got [to] work for a stable Afghanistan so that her neighbors
don't fear terrorist activity again coming out [of] that country."
"I'm
amazed that there's such misunderstanding of what our country is about
that people would hate us. I am--like most Americans, I just can't believe
it because I know how good we are. And we've got to do a better job of
making our case."
"The
case is more strong today than it was on September the 10th that the ABM
[Antiballistic Missile Treaty] is outmoded, outdated, reflects a different
time. And I am more than anxious to continue making my case . . . "
Here is part of Bush's closing statement:
Before we leave, I want to make a special request to the children of America.
I ask you to join in a special effort to help the children of Afghanistan.
Their country has been through a great deal of war and suffering. Many
children there are starving and are severely malnourished. One in three
Afghan children is an orphan, almost half suffer chronic malnutrition,
and we can and must help them.
We've created a special relief effort that will be supervised by the Red
Cross.
We are asking every child in America to earn or give a dollar that will
be used to provide food and medical help for the children of Afghanistan.
You can send your dollar in an envelope marked "America's Fund for Afghan
Children" right here to the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington,
D.C.
This is an opportunity to help others while teaching our own children
a valuable lesson about service and character. I hope school classes or
Boys and Girl Scout troops, other youth organizations will participate
in any way to raise the money to send to the children. Wash a car. Do
a yard for a neighbor. And I hope the adults will help them as well.
Ultimately, one of the best weapons, one of the truest weapons that we
have against terrorism is to show the world the true strength of character
and kindness of the American people.
Americans are united in this fight against terrorism. We're also united
in our concern for the innocent people of Afghanistan.
Winter is coming, and by acting today we can help the children survive.
Thank you for your questions.
May God bless America
.
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