Bush (or someone in his administration) is starting to connect the dots 
and realise that "the militants" seek to "establish a radical Islamic
empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia" - i.e. the Caliphate.

"Terror" is simply a means to an end - a global Caliphate under
Sharia Law.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remarks by President Bush on the War on Terror (1/4)

10/6/2005 11:58:00 AM

To: National Desk

Contact: White House Press Office, 202-456-2580

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a transcript of 
remarks by President Bush on the War on Terror (Part 1 of 4):

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

10:07 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you all. Please be
seated. (Applause.) Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm honored once
again to be with the supporters of the National Endowment for
Democracy. Since the day President Ronald Reagan set out the vision
for this Endowment, the world has seen the swiftest advance of
democratic institutions in history. And Americans are proud to have
played our role in this great story.

Our nation stood guard on tense borders; we spoke for the rights of
dissidents and the hopes of exile; we aided the rise of new
democracies on the ruins of tyranny. And all the cost and sacrifice of
that struggle has been worth it, because, from Latin America to Europe
to Asia, we've gained the peace that freedom brings.

In this new century, freedom is once again assaulted by enemies
determined to roll back generations of democratic progress. Once
again, we're responding to a global campaign of fear with a global
campaign of freedom. And once again, we will see freedom's victory.
(Applause.)

Vin, I want to thank you for inviting me back. And thank you for the
short introduction. (Laughter.) I appreciate Carl Gershman. I want to
welcome former Congressman Dick Gephardt, who is a board member of the
National Endowment for Democracy. It's good to see you, Dick. And I
appreciate Chris Cox, who is the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, and a board member for the National Endowment of
Democracy, for being here, as well. I want to thank all the other
board members.

I appreciate the Secretary of State, Condi Rice, who has joined us --
alongside her, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld. Thank you all for
being here. I'm proud, as well, that the newly sworn-in Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs, the first Marine ever to hold that position, is with
us today -- General Peter Pace. (Applause.) I thank the members of the
Diplomatic Corps who are here, as well.

Recently our country observed the fourth anniversary of a great evil,
and looked back on a great turning point in our history. We still
remember a proud city covered in smoke and ashes, a fire across the
Potomac, and passengers who spent their final moments on Earth
fighting the enemy. We still remember the men who rejoiced in every
death, and Americans in uniform rising to duty. And we remember the
calling that came to us on that day, and continues to this hour: We
will confront this mortal danger to all humanity. We will not tire, 
or rest, until the war on terror is won. (Applause.)

The images and experience of September the 11th are unique for
Americans. Yet the evil of that morning has reappeared on other days,
in other places -- in Mombasa, and Casablanca, and Riyadh, and
Jakarta, and Istanbul, and Madrid, and Beslan, and Taba, and Netanya,
and Baghdad, and elsewhere. In the past few months, we've seen a new
terror offensive with attacks on London, and Sharm el-Sheikh, and a
deadly bombing in Bali once again. All these separate images of
destruction and suffering that we see on the news can seem like random
and isolated acts of madness; innocent men and women and children have
died simply because they boarded the wrong train, or worked in the
wrong building, or checked into the wrong hotel. Yet while the killers
choose their victims indiscriminately, their attacks serve a clear and
focused ideology, a set of beliefs and goals that are evil, but not
insane.

Some call this evil Islamic radicalism; others, militant Jihadism;
still others, Islamo-fascism. Whatever it's called, this ideology is
very different from the religion of Islam. This form of radicalism
exploits Islam to serve a violent, political vision: the
establishment, by terrorism and subversion and insurgency, of a
totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom.
These extremists distort the idea of jihad into a call for terrorist
murder against Christians and Jews and Hindus -- and also against
Muslims from other traditions, who they regard as heretics.

Many militants are part of global, borderless terrorist organizations
like al Qaeda, which spreads propaganda, and provides financing and
technical assistance to local extremists, and conducts dramatic and
brutal operations like September the 11th. Other militants are found
in regional groups, often associated with al Qaeda -- paramilitary
insurgencies and separatist movements in places like Somalia, and the
Philippines, and Pakistan, and Chechnya, and Kashmir, and Algeria.
Still others spring up in local cells, inspired by Islamic radicalism,
but not centrally directed. Islamic radicalism is more like a loose
network with many branches than an army under a single command. Yet
these operatives, fighting on scattered battlefields, share a similar
ideology and vision for our world.

We know the vision of the radicals because they've openly stated it --
in videos, and audiotapes, and letters, and declarations, and
websites. First, these extremists want to end American and Western
influence in the broader Middle East, because we stand for democracy
and peace, and stand in the way of their ambitions. Al Qaeda's leader,
Osama bin Laden, has called on Muslims to dedicate, quote, their
"resources, sons and money to driving the infidels out of their
lands." Their tactic to meet this goal has been consistent for a
quarter-century: They hit us, and expect us to run. They want us to
repeat the sad history of Beirut in 1983, and Mogadishu in 1993 --
only this time on a larger scale, with greater consequences.

Second, the militant network wants to use the vacuum created by an
American retreat to gain control of a country, a base from which to
launch attacks and conduct their war against non-radical Muslim
governments. Over the past few decades, radicals have specifically
targeted Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and Jordan for
potential takeover. They achieved their goal, for a time, in
Afghanistan. Now they've set their sights on Iraq. Bin Laden has
stated: "The whole world is watching this war and the two adversaries.
It's either victory and glory, or misery and humiliation." The
terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in their war against
humanity. And we must recognize Iraq as the central front in our war
on terror.

Third, the militants believe that controlling one country will rally
the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments
in the region, and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from
Spain to Indonesia. With greater economic and military and political
power, the terrorists would be able to advance their stated agenda: to
develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate
Europe, to assault the American people, and to blackmail our
government into isolation.

Some might be tempted to dismiss these goals as fanatical or extreme.
Well, they are fanatical and extreme -- and they should not be
dismissed. Our enemy is utterly committed. As Zarqawi has vowed, "We
will either achieve victory over the human race or we will pass to the
eternal life." And the civilized world knows very well that other
fanatics in history, from Hitler to Stalin to Pol Pot, consumed whole
nations in war and genocide before leaving the stage of history. Evil
men, obsessed with ambition and unburdened by conscience, must be
taken very seriously -- and we must stop them before their crimes can
multiply.

(more, more)

http://www.usnewswire.com/

(c) 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=54660


Cheers, Steve..

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