Last week some Democrats gave President Bush an opportunity to
clarify the objective in the War on Terrorism and put John Kerry on
the defensive. For example, thinking he was being clever, Al Gore
remarked in his convention speech:
We have to be crystal clear about the threat we face
from terrorism. It is deadly. It is real. It is imminent. But in
order to protect our people, shouldn’t we focus on the real source
of this threat: the group that attacked us and is trying to attack
us again — al Qaeda, headed by Osama Bin Laden?
Wouldn’t we be safer with a President who didn’t insist on
confusing al Qaeda with Iraq? Doesn’t that divert too much of our
attention away from the principal danger?
Now that the former vice president (the word “former” gives one
a sense of relief, no?) has distilled the War on Terrorism down to
the destruction of al Qaeda, President Bush should respond with an
explanation of why that is a myopic view. At the Republican
Convention, Bush should utter the following words:
“Recently, some members of the opposition part have suggested
that this administration has lost focus, that we have turned our
attention away for Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. Such sentiment is
as silly as it is arrogant. Over 500 al Qaeda operatives have been
captured in the last three years, and much of their financial
resources have been disabled. We are as committed today to
destroying al Qaeda and capturing Osama bin Laden, dead or alive,
as we were on September 12, 2001. I will not rest until that
objective is achieved.
“My opponents’ argument also represents a shortsighted view on
the War on Terrorism. If we limit ourselves to al Qaeda, we will
miss an opportunity to rid the world of the greatest source of
terrorism, Islamofascism. We must rid the world of this heinous
ideology whose adherents are intent on imposing theocratic,
tyrannical regimes throughout the world and use violence in the
form of terrorism to achieve it.
“Were we to defeat al Qaeda but fail to remove the scourge of
Islamofascism from the Middle East, we would win a battle but lose
the larger war. Al Qaeda would be gone, but it would not be long
before another terrorist group takes its place. As long as
Islamofascism plagues that region of the globe, there will always
be recruits for terrorism. We will end up fighting one terrorist
organization after another.
“Societies that are despotic provide a breeding ground for the
extremism that makes Islamofascism so appealing to so many young
men and women in the Middle East. They are much more likely to
become followers of Islamofascists when they are prevented from
living free lives. Islamofascism provides an outlet for their
frustrations, and an easy scapegoat for their problems.
“Only in a free society will such extremism dissipate. In a free
society, young men and women can participate in the political
system and decide who governs them; they can own property and use
it to build their own vision of prosperity and success. In short,
only in a free society can they have any hope of pursuing their
dreams.
“That is why it is so important for us to bring liberty to the
Middle East. We have started that process in Afghanistan; within
weeks, the inhabitants there will hold a free and fair election for
the first time in their lives. Bringing liberty to the Middle East
was one of the reasons we invaded Iraq. And we see that freedom is
taking hold there. Hundreds of newspapers now compete for Iraqis’
attentions. Iraqis are eager to participate in the political
process. Thousands of Iraqis have competed for slots on city
councils. With a national election coming in January, Iraq, along
with Afghanistan, is poised to become a beacon of liberty in the
Middle East.
“However, this will only happen if we stay the course. We must
support the people of Afghanistan and Iraq in their struggle
against the forces of Islamofascism that are trying to strangle
those infant democracies in their cribs. But if we stay the course,
those countries will become examples to all other Middle Easterners
of what liberty can mean.
“Already, we are seeing movements in the direction of liberty
all over the Arab world. In Egypt, the government there has allowed
more freedom for the opposition. Dissident intellectuals are
pushing for more openness, and many newspapers freely criticize the
government. In Saudi Arabia, the royal family has agreed to
unprecedented municipal elections. In Syria, there are a few brave
souls who have demonstrated against the government; in addition
some private universities and private banks have opened. And in
Iran, brave students demonstrate against the oppressive regime of
the mullahs.
“But there are only minor steps toward more liberty in the
Middle East. They can falter if we lose our resolve. If we fail to
see through the establishment of democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq,
the small flicker of liberty in the Middle East today will be
extinguished before it can ever become a glowing flame.
“Yet I know that the American people will not lose their
resolve. I know that we will see this struggle through. And that is
the challenge I lay out for this great nation tonight. We must
achieve in the Middle East, what we once achieved with the Soviet
Union and the Eastern Bloc. We must encourage the Saudis and the
Egyptians to continue on the road toward democratic reform. We must
find ways to support the protesters in Syria and Iran. But most
importantly, we must stay the course in Afghanistan and Iraq; we
must defeat the remnants of al Qaeda and the Taliban, the Baathist
insurgents in Iraq and the followers of al Zarqawi. In short, we
must defeat the greatest threats to democracy in those
countries.
“That is the vision I lay out before you tonight. A free and
democratic Middle East, one in which people live lives of hope, not
despair. One that is no longer a breeding ground for organizations
that use terrorism.
“We can achieve that goal, just like we once brought down ‘that
wall’ of communism. We can create a free Middle East, and world
that is safe from terrorism. We must stay the course. Good night,
God bless you, and God Bless America.”
