President George W. Bush says the war on terror is a new kind of war, and requires a new kind of strategy:
“Today’s enemies do not mass armies on borders, or navies on high seas. They blend in with the civilian population. They emerge to strike, and then they retreat back into the shadows.”
Mr. Bush says that since September 11th, 2001, the U.S. has followed a three-pronged strategy to defeat the terrorists and protect the American people:
"First, we are defending the homeland. We have strengthened our intelligence capabilities; we have trained more than eight-hundred-thousand first responders; we have taken critical steps to protect our cities and borders and infrastructure. We have taken the fight to the enemy in our midst. We have disrupted terrorist cells and financing networks in California and Oregon and Illinois and New Jersey and Virginia, and other states.”
Mr. Bush says the second part of the strategy is based on the fact that in a free society it is impossible to protect against every threat:
“The only way to defend our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live. When the terrorists spend their days and nights struggling to avoid death or capture, they are less capable of arming and training and plotting new attacks on America and the rest of the civilized world. So we are after the enemy across the globe. And we are determined, and we are relentless, and we will stay on the hunt until the terrorist have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.”
The third part of the strategy, says Mr. Bush, is to spread hope across the broader Middle East:
“In the long run, the only way to defeat the terrorists is by offering an alternative to their ideology of hatred and fear. So a key component of our strategy is to spread freedom. History has proven that free nations are peaceful nations, that democracies do not fight their neighbors. And so, by advancing the cause of liberty and freedom in the Middle East, We are bringing hope to millions, and security to our own citizens.”
President Bush says that the U.S. and its allies are laying the foundation of peace for future generations.
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government.
