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Jennifer Maxwell
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 08:28 pm: | 
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The following are (from) the remarks of Dr. Entissar Mohammad Ariabi, a pharmacist from Yarmook Hospital who is part of an Iraqi women's delegation touring the U.S., organized by CODEPINK and Global Exchange. She spoke on March 18 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
"I came on this speaking trip to the U.S. because when I was home in Baghdad, I watched on TV what President Bush was telling the American people about democracy, freedom, security, and the help that the U.S. is giving the Iraqi people, and I couldn't believe the lies. So I decided to take the risk to come to the U.S. and share with you what's really going on. I do not represent any political organization or ethnic group. I come only as a mother of five, a pharmacist and a human being.
Many people thought that after the U.S. occupied our country and the sanctions were lifted, the health care of the Iraqi people would improve. But the occupation has made it worse. Many of the Iraqi hospitals in cities like Baghdad, Al-Qaim, and Fallujah were bombed and destroyed. Many ambulances were attacked and health workers killed, despite the fact that it is illegal under international law to attack hospitals, ambulances and health workers.
After our hospitals were bombed and looted, millions of dollars were given to contractors to repair them. We suggested that this money be used to buy things that we urgently need, but the contractors refused and instead bought furniture and flowers and superficial things. Meanwhile, we suffer from a critical shortage of medicines, emergency supplies and anesthesia, and there is no sterilization in the operation rooms. As the director of the pharmacy department in my hospital, I refused to sit on a new chair while there were no sterile operating rooms.
Diseases that were under control under the regime of Saddam Hussein, diseases such as cholera, hepatitis, meningitis, polio, have now returned to haunt the population, especially the children. Death due to cancer has increased because treatment programs stopped and medicines are not available. The health of the Iraqi people is also devastated by environmental contamination due to the destruction of our water and sewage systems."
more:
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/33771/
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Jennifer Maxwell
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 09:56 pm: |
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From "Chaos Accomplished"
By Joshua Holland
At the end of last year, Iraqis had 11 percent less electricity and 36 percent less potable water than before the 2003 invasion. The number of Iraqis with sewer access has fallen by 90 percent, and oil output is down by more than 20 percent. A poll in mid-2004 found that seven out of 10 Iraqis see the United States s "occupiers," not "liberators." A more recent survey showed that almost half of all Iraqis support armed attacks on U.S. troops. And this weekend, former Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi told the BBC that Iraq was smack in the middle of a civil war.
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/33768/
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Jennifer Maxwell
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 02:51 pm: |
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"We either die by the Americans, the insurgents in the name of jihad, the security companies, which kill you and leave you laying in the street, the Iraqi police or...the death squads. Three years after the American invasion of Iraq, I have only one wish. I do not want democracy, food, electricity and water. I just do not want to die."
- Laith Muhammad, an Iraqi student.
"The toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime was worth everything. I have never felt as free to speak any day in my life as today. If George Bush did anything good, it was toppling Saddam Hussein. I am not pessimistic. But I'm upset, because the war and the occupation, which could have led to a new situation in Iraq, were squandered by the stupid mistakes committed by the American administration and military and the U.S. representatives in Iraq."
- Fakhri Fikry Kareem, owner and publisher of the daily Iraqi newspaper Meda.
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Geoffrey
Starlite Member
Username: Thequietman
| | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 10:43 am: |
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I didn't support the invasion of Iraq, I thought it was misguided and just plain wrong, but in the aftermath of the removal of Saddam why on earth is it taking so long to get the basic utilities that we bombed back up and running and if you invade a country to "liberate" it aren't that countries citizens entitled to see a proper post Shock and Awe strategy in place to protect them from being murdered day after day? |
Jennifer Maxwell
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 11:39 am: |
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Bush Still Trying To Convince Nation Of Progress
President Admits Troops Will Be In Iraq For Years
Helen Thomas, Hearst White House columnist
POSTED: 3:17 pm MST March 22, 2006
Standing on a rooftop, an American soldier recently fired a shot at an Iraqi man walking down the street. As the dying Iraqi grabbed at his wound, he cried out: "What did I do?"
That's for every American to answer.
http://www.thenewmexicochannel.com/helenthomas/8192106/detail.html
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Jennifer Maxwell
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Friday, March 24, 2006 - 11:32 pm: |
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - The day began like any other at Dijla Primary School in Baghdad's posh Mansour district. Rows of students in neat gray and white uniforms gathered in the courtyard to raise the Iraqi flag and sing the national anthem. They read passages from religious texts, then cheerfully went to their classrooms. Headmistress Wajida Sharhan was working in her office when a mortar shell slammed into a second-floor fifth grade classroom.
"The sound of the explosion was so powerful, as if heaven and earth collided," she said. "I couldn't open my eyes because of the dust. I heard loud screams from the children, and a girl came into my office with her arm nearly cut off."
The torrent of violence that has swept Baghdad and surrounding provinces since U.S. forces invaded three years ago, and surged since last month's attack on a Shiite shrine, has left little unscathed — even schools. What were once sanctuaries of learning have become places of fear, undercutting efforts to rebuild the dilapidated education system left by Saddam Hussein.
Bombs, rockets, mortar and machine-gun fire killed 64 school children in the four months ending Feb. 28 alone, according to a report by the Education Ministry. At least 169 teachers and 84 other employees died in the same period...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060325/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_frontline_schools_lh1
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Jennifer Maxwell
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Sunday, March 26, 2006 - 01:25 am: |
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Redirecting Bullets in Baghdad
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
BAGHDAD, Iraq
I GOT back to Iraq two weeks ago, having been away more than a year. The first story I covered began with a tip that vigilantes had hanged four suspected terrorists from lamp posts in Sadr City, a Shiite slum. The minute I got to the scene, I realized I was stepping into a new Iraq. Another new Iraq, really; maybe even the third Iraq I have seen since I began reporting here in 2003.
Gone were the American tanks that used to guard the intersections. Instead, aggressive teenagers with machine guns and shiny soccer jerseys ruled the streets. They poked their heads into cars and detained whomever they wanted. There were even 8-year-olds running checkpoints, some toting toy pistols, others toting real ones. Whatever they carried, 4-foot-tall militias made me nervous. The streets now had a truly Liberian feel.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/weekinreview/26gettleman.html?_
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Jennifer Maxwell
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 12:07 am: |
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Iraqi girl tells of US attack
Last Modified: 30 Mar 2006
Source: ITN
A young Iraqi girl has given a shocking first hand account of what witnesses claim amounts to mass murder by US troops in the war-torn country.
Ten-year-old Iman Walid lost seven members of her family in an attack by American marines last November.
If her story is true - and it has been disputed by the US military - human rights workers say it is the worst massacre of civilians by US troops in the country.
Iman tells of screaming soldiers entering her house in the Iraqi town of Haditha spraying bullets in every direction. Fifteen people in all were killed, including her parents and grandparents. Her account has been corroborated by other eyewitnesses who say it was a revenge attack after a roadside bomb killed a marine.
http://www.channel4.com/news/content/news-storypage.jsp?id=1385503
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Michael .P
Starlite Member
Username: Mik3y
| | Posted on Thursday, May 04, 2006 - 01:22 am: |
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I guess been shot at and blown up by rebels wouldn't contribute to slowing down the process at all? Oh well. And it looks like the contractors would be powerless to change any plans like that anyway so you'd be wasting your time speaking to them. Whoevers paying them should know that medication which is in desperate need has been replaced with chairs. I pray that they get the much needed medicine and sterile operating rooms they require urgently.
Michael william James
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Lostbabygirl
Starlite Member
Username: Lostbabygirl
| | Posted on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 08:23 am: |
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I mean, really...
I know I'm not on Starlite all that much, but has it changed so drastically that porn links are left all over the place? Which I could only guess are truly porn links because I wouldn't click on them to save my life...
"It is a first class human tragedy that people of the earth who claim to believe in the message of Jesus, whom they describe as the Prince of Peace, show little of that belief in actual practice." - Gandhi
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Hulk
Starlite Member
Username: Hulk
| | Posted on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 08:50 am: |
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Never fear, someone will remove them eventually, hopefully before the Saturday morning cartoons are over and the kiddos start reading on this site. What's up with all this spam and filth coming to our inboxes? Are there no monitors on this site?
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Lostbabygirl
Starlite Member
Username: Lostbabygirl
| | Posted on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 08:58 am: |
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Let's hope. They seem to be popping up all over the political forum. This is the third or fourth thread that's been attacked by this "Starlite Guest"... so far.
"It is a first class human tragedy that people of the earth who claim to believe in the message of Jesus, whom they describe as the Prince of Peace, show little of that belief in actual practice." - Gandhi
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Hulk
Starlite Member
Username: Hulk
| | Posted on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 09:07 am: |
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Why are unregistered guests allowed to post in the forums in the first place? You can't post a poem unless you're registered but any nutcase can post filth and spam in the forums? I don't get it at all. |
Annie
Starlite Member
Username: Annie
| | Posted on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 10:17 am: |
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Hi Hulk...Yuppa They/he/she seems to have a problem but it has been reported to the powers that be incl. Tess and Albert and we are working at alleviating this trash. Every time this comes through report it as SPAM. The vital information has been reported and it is all just a matter of time and this person will be caught and stopped. In the meantime report it as SPAM to your provider. Thanks for the help. Love, Annie |
Kaneix
Starlite Member
Username: Kaneix
| | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 04:36 am: |
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Jennifer, some excellent posts here. Iraq is a mess and it is vital that the word gets to everyone so that another illegal war of this kind is never engaged in. So many have died due to all those lies. Well done on doing your part to get the info out there. |
Mik3y
Starlite Member
Username: Mik3y
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 - 10:38 pm: |
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Do we really think the U.S went out of their way to bomb hospitals, schools and other public civillian places on purpose? Many of these terrorist are reported to have used such places as shelter full knowing that America's defence force and many other countries would not bomb these sort of places because of our huge *ahem* value for life. If this wasn't the case it was human error... Military intelligent can make mistakes but how many? America is liberated and still has crime etc we shouldnt expect any less from Iraq. I would not agree that there were no kids with guns or radicals trying to take over Saddams rule on the side. The kind of image that alot of people are trying to give Iraq before the "invasion" is the kind America would like to give to itself after it became a republic! I don't agree with the war in Iraq but theres a bit more to it now isn't there than just whether we agree with the war or not. While we can't just pull out with no stratergy we can't just stay with none either. You can thank bureaucracy for the chairs before sterile operating rooms and medicine. Try sign a document these days with any colour pen bar blue or black and don't expect to recieve your weekly income.
Michael william James
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Kaneix
Starlite Member
Username: Kaneix
| | Posted on Saturday, March 31, 2007 - 04:29 pm: |
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Your posts here are very informative Jennifer. It was touch and go there for a while as to whether the world was going to hear the real story of Iraq. And, even now I dare say we only hear the smallest fraction. The situation in Iraq is truly dire and all this was predicted beforehand. Some chose not to listen, others, in power, seem either to have been living in fantasyland or not to have cared. Now no one can escape the truth, no matter HOW hard they may try. We can only hope SOMETHING can be saved from this mess by later administrations. Sadly, as with Vietnam it looks very much like it's going to take others to accept full responsibility for the actions of those who went so irresponsibly before. ~ Allan |
Jennifer03801
Starlite Member
Username: Jennifer03801
| | Posted on Monday, April 09, 2007 - 01:55 am: |
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Thanks for dropping by, Allan, and for the kind words.
Troops Continue to Die For Bush's Lies
by Evelyn Pringle
(Sunday, April 8, 2007)
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"...the question remains, how much longer should Americans agree to stay on a course that has already resulted in deaths and injuries to thousands of Americans and Iraqis with no benefits to anyone except the war profiteerers who are making billions as tax dollars roll off the backs of our dead soldiers?"
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On May 1, 2003, in a spectacle televised worldwide, President George W Bush portrayed himself as a brave fighter pilot when he strutted across the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln to announce mission accomplished and an end to major combat operations in Iraq.
Bush put on a flight suit, strapped himself into a jet, flew off for a 30-mile jaunt before making a dramatic landing on the aircraft carrier and a speech under a banner with the words mission accomplished superimposed across stars and stripes, which he claimed was made by the sailors on the ship.
Everything about that theatrical event was a lie. Bush was never a brave fighter pilot; he was an AWOL draft dodger during his term in the military. The mission in Iraq was nowhere near accomplished, and the sailors revealed that the banner was made in the White House.
The truth is the mission in Iraq, whatever that mission might be, is an utter failure. Its now four years since Bush televised his tax dollar funded infomercial to the world claiming a victory in Iraq, and more daily attacks on Americans occur today than in 2003.
In the year 2000, in attempt to convince Americans to vote for Bush as the next president, the Republican Party Platform specifically stated: "Sending our military on vague, aimless, and endless missions rapidly saps morale."
"Even the highest morale," the Republicans stated, "is eventually undermined by back-to-back deployments, poor pay, shortages of spare parts and equipment, inadequate training, and rapidly declining readiness."
In regard to dealing with WMDs, in 2000, the Republicans said:
"A comprehensive strategy for combating the new dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction must include a variety of other measures to contain and prevent the spread of such weapons."
And they went on to say: "We need the cooperation of friends and allies," and the intelligence community should not "be made the scapegoat for political misjudgments."
The Halls of Congress now sound like an echo chamber with Democrats using the exact same phrases to describe the disaster in Iraq and the conduct of the Bush administration.
The claims of WMDs, mushroom clouds, linking Saddam to 9/11, and an alliance between Saddam and bin Laden, turned out to be lies, which were known to be false at the time they were uttered, but the Administration lies some more and blames the CIA for providing faulty intelligence.
The few allies that were conned into going to war with us are leaving Iraq. Saddam was put to death, but the Iraqis are worse off today then they were when he was in power. As the President asks for another $100 billion, our troops are getting sucked even deeper into a bloody quagmire, without even a hint of an exit strategy in sight.
The blame for the failures rests squarely on the White House doorstep. Bush insists that the problems will resolve if we "stay the course," in Iraq
But the question remains, how much longer should Americans agree to stay on a course that has already resulted in deaths and injuries to thousands of Americans and Iraqis with no benefits to anyone except the war profiteerers who are making billions as tax dollars roll off the backs of our dead soldiers?
Iraq has become the central breeding ground for terrorists who hate our President because he waged a war in Iraq based on lies, not to help the Iraqis but to gain more control over the world’s oil supply, and they are killing our soldiers to show the world that they will never allow Bush to gain a stronghold in the Middle East by taking control of Iraq‘s oil.
It should be obvious to all Americans by now that these people are not going to give up. They will continue to fight, they are not afraid of dying, and if more recruits are needed, many more will gladly travel to the Middle East and sacrifice their lives in Iraq to defeat Bush.
As Americans, the question we need to ask ourselves, is how long are we going to force our troops to pay for Bush‘s reckless conduct that put them in these killing fields to begin with?
How long are we going force these young men and women to fight an unwinnable war that Bush should never have started?
How long should families have to go to bed at night worrying about a loved one who may never come home or watch as they come home in body bags?
Why should one more drop of American blood be shed in Iraq? For what? Victory?
Victory in Iraq has never been defined. Its to the point that Bush cannot even explain what he hopes to achieve by staying in this war for another day or for 10 years.
However, what is clear, is that Bush plans to leave our troops dying in a war without end indefinitely, and therefore, its up to American citizens to rescue these young men and women in the only way possible, by insisting that Congress cut off funding for Iraq to force Bush to get them out of that hellhole.
And this year, May 1, should be designated as a day to not only honor the fallen soldiers, but also the widows, orphans and grieving family members in America and Iraq, who are paying the consequences for the reckless conduct of the President.
"It is a first class human tragedy that people of the earth who claim to believe in the message of Jesus, whom they describe as the Prince of Peace, show little of that belief in actual practice." - Gandhi
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Mik3y
Starlite Member
Username: Mik3y
| | Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 10:09 pm: |
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he just sent more troops..i was hoping the senate could block supply or sumfin radical to restrain Bush.
Michael william James
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Bbmom
Starlite Member
Username: Bbmom
| | Posted on Thursday, April 26, 2007 - 04:34 am: |
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I'm not on much these days... Computers are on their sick bed. But, I came across this... and just had to post and ask? Do we still belive this?
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 20, 2001
Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People
United States Capitol
Washington, D.C.
View the President's Remarks
Listen to the President's Remarks
9:00 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: 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 to welcome his wife, Lisa Beamer, here tonight. (Applause.)
We have seen the state of our Union in the endurance of rescuers, working past exhaustion. We have 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 our Union -- and it is strong. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.) Once again, we are joined together in a great cause -- so honored the British Prime Minister has crossed an ocean to show his unity of purpose with America. Thank you for coming, friend. (Applause.)
On September the 11th, 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 Qaeda. They are the same murderers indicted for bombing American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, and responsible for bombing the USS Cole.
Al Qaeda 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 distinction 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 and 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 Qaeda has great influence in Afghanistan and supports the Taliban regime in controlling most of that country. In Afghanistan, we see al Qaeda'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. (Applause.) 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 the leaders of al Qaeda who hide in your land. (Applause.) 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 in their support structure, to appropriate authorities. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.)
Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated. (Applause.)
Americans are asking, why do they hate us? They hate what we 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 are not deceived by their pretenses to piety. We have seen their kind before. They are 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, and Nazism, and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it ends: in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies. (Applause.)
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 disruption and to the defeat of the global terror network.
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. (Applause.) 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 are 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. (Applause.) 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. But 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. (Applause.)
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've 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. (Applause.)
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, can not only bring down buildings, it can threaten the stability of legitimate governments. And you know what -- we're not going to allow it. (Applause.)
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 are 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. (Applause.)
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 September 11th, and they are our strengths today. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
We will come together to give law enforcement the additional tools it needs to track down terror here at home. (Applause.) We will come together to strengthen our intelligence capabilities to know the plans of terrorists before they act, and find them before they strike. (Applause.)
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: Governor George Pataki, and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
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 a 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. (Applause.)
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'll remember the moment the news came -- where we were and what we were doing. Some will remember an image of a fire, or a story of 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. This is my reminder of lives that ended, and a task that does not end. (Applause.)
I will not forget this wound to our country or 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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
END 9:41 P.M. EDT
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Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html
OUR SON HAS DONE 3 TOURS IN IRAQ, I THANK OUR LORD FOR PROTECTING HIM AND OUR WONDERFUL STARLITE CAFE FAMILY FOR THE MANY PRAYERS. GOD BLESS YA'LL, LOVE AND HUGS BBMOM
BBMOM ROBERTA POLLERANA
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Mik3y
Starlite Member
Username: Mik3y
| | Posted on Saturday, April 28, 2007 - 07:56 am: |
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Question...is the way in which Iraq and afghanastan was dealt with the best way to fight terrorism or something else?
Michael william James
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