September 11th. There are not many dates on the calendar
that, simply by mentioning them, the hair on our necks stands on
end. This is one. December 7th is one, although less so now
than in years past. September 11th will suffer the same fate
over the course of time, but for you and me, it will be our
generation's "day that will live in infamy."
We remember where we were when we heard the news. I had
seen the television coverage of the first plane hitting the World
Trade Center just before coming into the office. Tuesday morning
at 9:00 is our regular staff meeting, so we did not hear about
the second plane until we adjourned. I did not get much else
accomplished that day because I followed the events as they were
unfolding. Most of us did.
My wife was supposed to be on a plane back from Caracas at
that hour and, according to the Delta website, she was now in the
air, having taken off just moments after the second attack. Many
of you knew of those plans and called to find out about her. We
knew nothing other than the fact that international planes were
being diverted and would not be permitted to land in the US.
Over and over you said to me, "Don't worry, she's fine." Over
and over, I was grateful for your encouraging words.
In the hours and days that followed, we all got encouraging
words from our leaders. I will never forget our President:
"My fellow citizens, these have been difficult hours.(1)
Tonight we are a country awakened to danger in ways that we have
never been before. We are grieving the loss of so many innocent
lives and, at the same time, angry at those who have perpetrated
this heinous deed.
"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 the 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.
"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.
"To be honest, there has never been a time in our lives when
the world has been so united. Sometimes, it takes tragedy to get
our attention. What occurred on September 11th has mesmerized
every nation on earth and has presented us with an unprecedented
opportunity to build upon the international goodwill. With that
in mind, I propose tonight to strengthen our ties to the United
Nations, to ask Congress to fully fund our delinquent dues to
that organization, and pledge to offer a new level of respect to
the international community as we move into an uncertain future
together. With the whole world united as never before in horror
over the atrocities just perpetrated, we can make a world-wide
commitment to avoid violence and war as a means of settling
disputes or grievances.
"So saying, 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
people 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. 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.
"Tonight it would be very easy for the United States of
America to say that we are going to wipe the terrorists out,
destroy them from the face of the earth. Tonight it would be
easy for us to declare a War on Terror. We DO have the military
might to follow through on that, as the whole world knows. But
tonight I will resist the temptation to that kind of rhetoric.
After all, to say that this is a "war" would turn those who have
done these evil deeds into "warriors," and they are NOT warriors.
They are simply thugs and murderers.
"The people of Afghanistan have suffered enough under this
oppression. Tonight, rather than threaten innocent Afghani
citizens with attacks as undeserved as what befell men and women
in the twin towers on September 11th, we are proposing a
different response. We know that Afghanistan is in the grip of a
3-year famine and the UN estimates 5.5 million Afghans will soon
be starving. Tonight, America will begin sending aid to
Afghanistan on a scale not seen since the Marshall plan. Against
the will of the Taliban, America will feed the starving, pour
food, medicine and materials into the country. Our response to
the outrage will not be an act of revenge but an act of mercy.
"Think about it...How sweet it will be to see the people
scrambling for American food in the dust created by their Taliban
masters! How sweet to see in the eyes of those peasants, not the
easy hatred inspired by war, but the uneasy question: "Can it
really be the 'Great Satan' that feeds the starving?" How will
we be able to keep from smiling as we hear the Taliban, Iran, and
others try to summon contempt for this utterly unjustified act of
compassion. We will 'out-righteous' these masters of
righteousness and smile indeed as their followers desert them to
feed their children. This IS a religious conflict after all,
according to those who perpetrated the cowardly attacks, so let
us fight them with the weapons we have. If ever the Christian
message - "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you" - had strategic relevance, it is now.
"To be honest, the world has already seen such an approach
work. The nation of South Africa. On an April day in 1994, they
came by the tens of thousands. They formed lines that sometimes
snaked for more than a mile. They waited patiently for two,
five, even 12 hours. One handicapped woman came in a wheelbarrow
pushed by relatives. Never allowed to vote before, black South
Africans were voting for the first time in their lives. That
signaled a major breakthrough in that nation. Political control
was shifting from the white minority to the black majority who
had endured years and years of oppression under Apartheid. Only
a few years ago, many observers of South Africa were predicting
that only a bloody revolution could overturn the brutal white-controlled government. But in a remarkable turn of events, a
black leader imprisoned for 26 years and a white leader willing
to change worked together for a new South Africa. The world has
seen it - non-violent change IS possible! And, if we repeat such
a scenario, this is a message that will resonate loudly among the
citizens suffering under the yoke of totalitarian regimes, no
matter where in the world they might be.
"I especially want to speak tonight directly to Muslims
throughout the world. We respect your faith. It is 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. 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. Tonight I call on
people of faith, whatever that faith might be, to commit to the
kind of world in which all of us can live together, the kind of
world envisioned by the ancient prophet Isaiah, a world where
'They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears
into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against
nation, nor will they train for war anymore.'
"One temptation I have right now is to urge all Americans to
get these tragic events behind us and return to 'normal' once
again. But, as your President, I am not sure such advice is
warranted. Since the events of September 11th, as we have
already noted, we have seen unprecedented unity among the nations
of the world in decrying this kind of violence. For the first
time in my memory, we have international unanimity on this
important subject. I do not want the world to go back to
'normal' on this.
"In our own nation, we saw Republicans and Democrats on the
evening of September 11th on the Capitol steps in harmony...
literally...singing "God Bless America." We have not seen too
much harmony of any sort in Washington in recent times, and that
is sad. If I and my administration have contributed to that, I
here and now offer my heartfelt apologies. I will promise that,
from this night onward, I will do my personal best to work in
harmony with our leaders, REGARDLESS of political party. During
my campaign for the presidency in 2000, I noted that during my
years as Governor of Texas, Republicans and Democrats had worked
TOGETHER to accomplish what was needed in our state. Tonight,
let us ALL commit ourselves to working TOGETHER for the citizens
of this great nation. I do not want to get back to 'normal' on
this.
"Following the horrors of recent days, we have seen a
significant increase in worship participation across all faith
traditions. Even folks who, for every other day of their lives
might have described themselves as not particularly religious,
suddenly found themselves in a church or synagogue or
mosque...prayer services on the night of the tragedy, memorial
services on the Friday following, Saturday and Sunday worship.
As you know, I make no secret of my Christian faith. I believe
regular worship is a good thing, and I encourage everyone in that
regard. No, I do not want to return to 'normal' now that the
terrors are behind us.
"To the American people tonight I say live your lives, and
hug your children. Be calm and resolute, even in the face of a
continuing threat. Uphold the values of America, and remember
why so many have come here. No one should be singled out for
unfair treatment or unkind words because of their ethnic
background or religious faith. Continue to support the victims
of this tragedy with your contributions - Americans have always
been generous whenever they have seen a need. I ask for your
patience in what will be a long struggle. And, finally, please
continue praying for the victims of terror wherever they might
be. Prayer has comforted us in sorrow, and will help strengthen
us for the journey ahead.
"Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered as a
nation. But contrary to the expectations of those who attacked
us, in our sorrow we have found our mission and our moment. Our
nation -- this generation -- will lift the dark threat of
violence from people everywhere. We will rally the world to this
cause by our efforts, by our courage, and our creative action.
We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.
"September 11th. I will never forget this day. None of us
will. We will take this moment of unity, both at home and
abroad, and build on it. We will not meet evil with evil, but
rather repay evil with good. And, by the grace of God, we will
NEVER return to 'normal.'
America, America,
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
"Thank you. Good night. God bless you, and God bless
America."
[sound of alarm clock ringing...ringing]
[Stretching, as if just awakening] Uh-h-h! Oh! Oh, hi.
Good morning. Gee, I just had the craziest dream...
Amen!
1. Portions of the following are excerpted from President Bush's State of the Union Address
to a joint session of the US Congress, Sept. 20, 2001
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