The United States, its friends, and allies are engaged in a global war on terror. This war first reached the shores of the U.S., says President George W. Bush, on September 11, 2001, when terrorists killed nearly three thousand people:
"Since then, they've continued to kill – in Madrid, in Istanbul, in Jakarta, Casablanca, Riyadh, Bali, London, Sharm el-Sheikh and elsewhere."
Mr. Bush says that the terrorists murder because they despise those who live in freedom:
"We believe in human rights, and the human dignity of every man, woman, and child on this earth. The terrorists believe that all human life is expendable."
In this first war of the twenty-first century, says Mr. Bush, every battlefield is important, and one of the most crucial is Iraq:
"Terrorists have converged on Iraq. See, they're coming into Iraq because they fear the march of freedom. Their most prominent leader is a Jordanian named Zarqawi, who has declared his allegiance with Osama bin Laden. The ranks of these folks are filled with foreign fighters who come from places like Saudi Arabia and Syria and Iran and Egypt and Sudan and Yemen and Libya. They lack popular support so they're targeting innocent Iraqis with car bombs and suicide attacks."
The stakes in Iraq could not be higher, says Mr. Bush:
"The brutal violence in Iraq today is a clear sign of the terrorists' determination to stop democracy from taking root in the Middle East. They know that the success of a free Iraq, who can be a key ally in the war on terror and a symbol of success for others, will be a crushing blow to their strategy to dominate the region, and threaten America and the free world. They know that when their hateful ideology is defeated in Iraq, the Middle East will have a clear example of freedom and prosperity and hope."
Mr. Bush says the darkness of terror will be defeated, "and the forces of freedom and moderation will prevail throughout the Muslim world."
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government.
