Statement by H.E. Mr. George W. Bush President at the 56th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

http://www.un.org/webcast/ga/56/stat...011110usaE.htm

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10 November 2001, New York

Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen:

We meet in a hall devoted to peace; in a city scarred by violence; in a Nation awakened to danger; in a world uniting for a long struggle. Every civilized nation here today is resolved to keep the most basic commitment of civilization: We will defend ourselves and our future against terror and lawless violence.

The United Nations was founded in this cause. In the Second World War, we learned that there is no isolation from evil. We affirmed that some crimes are so terrible they offend humanity itself. And we resolved that the aggressions and ambitions of the wicked must be opposed early, decisively, and collectively, before they threaten us all.

That evil has returned, and that cause is renewed.

A few miles from here, many thousands still lie in a tomb of rubble. Tomorrow the Secretary General, the President of the General Assembly, and I will visit that site, where the names of every nation and region that lost citizens will be read aloud. If we were to read the names of every person who died, it would take more than three hours.

Those names include a citizen of Gambia, whose wife spent their fourth wedding anniversary, September 12th, searching in vain for her husband. Those names include a man who supported his wife in Mexico, sending home money every week. Those names include a young Pakistani who prayed towards Mecca five times a day - and died that day trying to save others.

The suffering of September 11th was inflicted on people of many faiths and many nations. All of the victims, including Muslims, were killed with equal, indifference, and equal satisfaction by the terrorist leaders.

The terrorists are violating the tenets of every religion, including the one they invoke. Last week, the Sheikh of AI-Azhar University, the world's oldest Islamic institution of higher learning, declared that terrorism is a "disease" and that "Islam prohibit[s] ... killing ... innocent civilians."

The terrorists call their cause holy, yet fund it with drug dealing. They encourage murder and suicide in the name of a great faith that forbids both. They dare to ask God's blessing as they set out to kill innocent men, women, and children. But the God of Isaac and Ishmael would never answer such a prayer. And a murderer is not a martyr; he is just a murderer.

Time is passing. Yet for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September 11 th. We will remember every rescuer who died with honor. We will remember every family that lives with grief. We will remember the fire and ash ... the last phone calls ... the funerals of the children.

And the people of my country will remember those who have plotted against us. We are learning their names. We are coming to know their faces. There is no corner of the earth distant or dark enough to protect them. However long it takes, their hour of justice will come.

Every nation has a stake in this cause. As we meet, the terrorists are planning more murder - perhaps in my country, perhaps in your own. They kill because they aspire to dominate. They seek to overthrow governments and destabilize entire regions. Last week, anticipating this meeting of the General Assembly, they denounced the United Nations; called our Secretary General a criminal; and condemned all Arab nations here as traitors to Islam. Few countries meet their exacting standards of brutality and oppression. Every other country is a potential target.

And all the world faces the most horrifying prospect of all: These same terrorists are searching for weapons of mass destruction - the tools to turn their hatred into holocaust. They can be expected to use chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons the moment they are capable of doing so. No hint of conscience would prevent it.

This threat cannot be ignored or appeased. Civilization itself - the civilization we share - is threatened. History will record our response - and judge or justify every nation in this hall.

The civilized world is now responding. We act to defend ourselves and deliver our children from a future of fear. We choose the dignity of life over a culture of death. We choose lawful change and civil disagreement over coercion, subversion, and chaos. These commitments - hope and order, law and life - unite people across cultures and continents. Upon these commitments depend all peace and progress. For these commitments, we are determined to fight.

The United Nations has risen to this responsibility: On the twelfth of. September, these buildings opened for emergency meetings of the General Assembly and the Security Council. Before the sun had set, these attacks on the world stood condemned by the world. Thank you for this strong and principled stand.

I also thank the Arab and Islamic countries that have condemned terrorist murder. Many of you have seen the destructive work of terror in your own lands. The terrorists are increasingly isolated by their own hatred and extremism. They cannot hide behind Islam. The authors of mass murder and their allies have no place in any culture, and no home in any faith.

The conspiracies of terror are being answered by an expanding global coalition. Not every nation will be part of every action against the enemy. But every nation in our coalition has duties. Those duties can be demanding, as we are learning in America. We have already made adjustments in our laws and in our daily lives. We are taking new measures to investigate terror and to protect against threats.

The leaders of all nations must now carefully consider their responsibilities and their future. Terrorist groups like al-Qaida depend upon the aid or indifference of governments. They need the support of a financial infrastructure, and safe havens to train and plan and hide.

Some nations want to play their part in the fight against terror, but tell us they lack the means to enforce their laws and control their borders. We stand ready to help.

Some governments still turn a blind eye to the terrorists, hoping the threat will pass them by. They are mistaken.

And some governments, while pledging to uphold the principles of the UN, have cast their lot with the terrorists. They support them and harbor them. And they will find that their welcomed guests are parasites that will weaken and consume them. For every regime that sponsors terror, there is a price to be paid - and it will be paid. The allies of terror are equally guilty of murder, and equally accountable to justice.

End Part I