From the archives: George W. Bush addresses Congress after 9/11 attacks in 2001

the President

addresses

Congress and the nation good evening Dan Rather reporting from CBS News world headquarters in New York it has been nine days since terrorists on an assassination mission turned commercial airliners into missiles and brought down the World Trade Towers in New York and they opened them. Estimates from the Pentagon in Washington on the dead, missing and wounded now total more than 13,000 victims in a new type of war. President George W. Bush will soon appear before the United States Congress in a joint session and before a national television audience to say how the United States will fight this war and to ask the public for patience and support at a turning point in history. of this nation and the Bush presidency now, as part of the fight against terrorism directed at the United States, the president is expected to announce that he is creating a cabinet-level office of National Defense will appoint Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge , so you hate if you talk about it tonight, we'll just have to see, we're waiting for the announcement from the sergeant at arms, Mr.

President, the president of the United States, you've seen it. The photo will appear of the first lady Laura Bush on the balcony and her writers the Prime Minister of Great Britain Tony Blair and to his left the mayor of New York Rudolph Giuliani now vice president Dick Cheney in his role as president of the Senate the vice president The president He is, of course, the president of the Senate; he normally sits behind the president when a president

addresses

Congress; however, Cheney will not be in the House chamber tonight. The official reason given is security. His seat will be occupied by the interim president of the Senate.

Senate Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia and also, by tradition, is always missing a Cabinet member, a retained Cabinet member in addition to Vice President Dick Cheney who will not be in the chamber tonight Tommy Thompson Secretary of Health and Human Resources diploma The governor is the cabinet member in up Century this afternoon Bob Sheeper is at the Capitol Bob just before the door opens just before we hear the announcement from the president of the United States there is one of those moments to remember in the history of the country oh, it certainly is Dan and I.

I will tell you, Dan, as we watch this warm reception, that President Bush is getting the safest bet on the card tonight, and that anything President Bush says will be greatly applauded because this Congress It is unified. Well, I don't remember. When it has been as unified as it has been for the last week, it was a Unity that began last Tuesday after the

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on the Twin Towers in New York, shortly after people in the capital were evacuated because they thought that the capital itself was under attack. House Speaker Denny Hastert told me this afternoon that from that moment on we were united, so tonight sitting behind the Speaker will be House Speaker Mr.

Ashford, and as we mentioned earlier, Senator West Virginia's Bobby Byrd, as is tradition, there is considerable applause beforehand. the president speaks, but this will go beyond tradition tonight and as Bob Shaker pointed out, there are very few Americans alive today who have seen this kind of unified support behind the president, bipartisan support behind the president that we saw these last few days when interviewing tonight. go back at least to the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to find something comparable Congress I have the great privilege of the honor of introducing you to the President of the United States more Applause says Speaker Hastert introduces the President of the United States, including cheers from our guests of the New York City fire and police departments also present at this hearing, relatives of some victims and members of the Pentagon armed service. to this chamber to report tonight on the State of the Union no such report is necessary it has already been delivered by the American people we have seen it in the courage of the passengers who rushed the terrorists to save other passengers on the ground like a exceptional man named Todd Beamer, could you help me welcome your wife Lisa Beamer here tonight?

Mrs. Beamer, the widow of Todd Beamer and he was one of the hero passengers on Flight 93 that Christ in southwestern Pennsylvania we have seen the state of our Union in the resilience of Rescuers working beyond exhaustion. We have seen the display of flags, the lighting of candles, the donation of blood and prayers in English, Hebrew and Arabic. We have seen the decency of loving and generous people who have made the pain of strangers their own. My fellow Americans, over the past nine days the entire world has seen for itself the state of our Union and it is a strong foreign country that has awakened to danger and been called upon to defend freedom.

Our pain has turned to anger and anger to resolve over whether we bring our enemies to justice. or bring justice to your enemies Justice will be done. I thank Congress for its leadership at such an important time. The entire United States was moved on the night of the tragedy to see Republicans and Democrats unite on the steps of this capital singing God Bless America. and he did more than sing, he acted by delivering $40 billion to rebuild our communities and meet the needs of our military spokesperson, Minority Leader Hassert, Majority Leader Gephardt, Daschal, and Senator Lott. I thank you for your friendship, your leadership and your service to our country and on behalf of the American people I thank the world for your great support.

America will never forget the sounds of our national anthem played at Buckingham Palace on the streets of Paris and at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. We will not forget the South Korean children who gather to pray outside our Embassy in Seoul or the prayers of condolence offered at a mosque in Cairo, we will not forget the moments of silence on days of mourning in Australia, Africa and Latin America, nor We will forget the citizens of 80 other nations who died along with ours. 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.

The United States has no better friend than Great Britain, once again we are united in a great cause that honors the British Prime Minister. Ministers cross an ocean to show their unity with the United States. Thanks for coming, friend, on September 11. The enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars, but for the last 136 years they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one. Sunday, 1941. Americans have known the casualties of war, but not in the center of a big city on a peaceful morning. Americans have known surprise

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, but never before against thousands of civilians.

All this fell on us in a single day and night fell. In a different world, a world where freedom itself is under attack Americans have many questions tonight Americans are wondering who attacked our country the evidence we have all gathered points to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as Al Qaeda there are some of the killers accused of bombing the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and responsible for bombing the USS Cole Al Qaeda is to Terra what the mafia is to crime, but their goal is not to make money, their goal is to remake the world and impose their radical beliefs on people everywhere terrorist 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 teaching of Islam.

The terrorist directive orders them to kill Christians and Jews, kill all Americans, and make no distinctions between the 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. recruited from their own nations and neighborhoods and taken to camps in places like Afghanistan, where they are trained in terror tactics, sent back to their homes, or sent to hide in countries around the world and plot evil and the destruction of the leadership of Al Qaeda.

It 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. The people of Afghanistan have been brutalized. Many are starving and many have fled. Women are not allowed to attend school. They can go to jail. Owning a television religion can only be practiced as dictated by its leaders, a man can be imprisoned in Afghanistan if his beard is not long enough. The United States respects the people of Afghanistan - after all, we are currently their largest source of humanitarian aid - but we condemn the Taliban. regime is not only repressing its own people, it is threatening people everywhere by sponsoring, protecting and supplying terrorists aiding and abetting murders, the Taliban regime is committing murders and tonight the United States of America makes the following demands to the Taliban handed over to the United States.

State authorities, all Al Qaeda leaders hiding in your land, release all foreign citizens, including American citizens, who you have unjustly imprisoned, protect foreign journalists, diplomats and humanitarian workers in your country, immediately close and permanently all terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and hand over all terrorists and every person in their support structure to the appropriate authorities give the United States full access to the terrorist training camps so we can ensure they are no longer operating These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists where they will share their fate.

I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims around the world. We respect your faith. It is freely practiced by many millions of Americans and millions more in countries that the United States considers friends. His teachings are good and peaceful. Those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah terrorists terrorists are traitors to their own faith trying to hijack Islam itself America's enemy is not our many Muslim friends not our many Arab friends our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them our war against terrorism begins with Al Qaeda but it does not end there, it will not end until all global terrorist groups have been found detained and defeated.

Americans wonder why they hate. we hate what you see right here in this chamber a democratically elected government their leaders are self-proclaimed they hate our freedoms our freedom of religion our freedom of speech our freedom to vote and to assemble and disagree with each other they want to overthrow the existing governments in many Muslim countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan want to expel Israel from the Middle East they want to expel Christians and Jews from vast regions of Asia and Africa these terrorists kill not only to end lives but to disrupt and put an end to a way of life with every atrocity they hope America will be afraid to withdraw from the world and abandon our friends they oppose us because we stand in their way we are not fooled by their pretensions to piety we have seen their kind before they are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century by sacrificing human lives to serve their radical visions by abandoning all values ​​except the will to power they continue on the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism and will follow that path to where it ends.

In history's unmarked grave of discarded lies, Americans wonder how we will fight and win this war. We will direct every resource at our command, every means of diplomacy, every intelligence tool, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every weapon of war necessary for good. disorganization and defeat of the global Terrorist Network now this war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago with the decisive liberation of the territory in a quick conclusion it will not be like the air war over Kosovo two years ago where there was no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat.

Our response involves much more than instant retaliation and isolated attacks. Americans should expect not one battle but a long campaign unlike any we have seen. It can include dramatic attacks visible on television and covert. secret operations, even if they are successful, we will deprive the terrorists of funding, pit them against each other, drive them from place to place until there is no shelter, they 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 you be with us or be withterrorists from this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be considered by the United States as a hostile regime.

Our nation has been warned that we are not immune. 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 that affect national security, these efforts must be coordinated at the highest level, so that tonight I announced the creation of a cabinet-level position. reporting directly to the Homeland Security office and tonight I also announced a distinguished American who will lead this effort to strengthen American security. a military veteran. an effective governor. a true patriot. a reliable friend. Tom Rich of Pennsylvania, he will lead, oversee and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy. to safeguard our country against terrorism and respond to any attack that may come these measures are essential the only way to defeat terrorism it is a threat to our way of life is to stop it eliminate it and destroy it where it grows many will be involved in this effort from agents From the FBI to intelligence agents and reservists we have called to active duty they all deserve our thanks and we all have our prayers and tonight, a few miles from the damaged Pentagon, I have a message for our military, be ready.

I have called on the Armed Forces to warn and there is a reason the time is coming when America will act and you will make us proud, however this is not just America's fight and what is at stake is not just the freedom of the United States, this is the fight of the world, this is the fight of civilization, this is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom, we ask of all nations. To join us we will ask and need the help of law enforcement 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 support to nations from Latin America to Asia. From Africa to Europe and the Islamic world, perhaps the NATO Charter best reflects the attitude of the world, an attack on one is an attack on all, the civilized world is uniting with the United States, they understand that if this terrorism goes unpunished, their own cities their own citizens perhaps following Unanswered Tara can not only demolish buildings but can threaten the stability of legitimate governments and you know what we will not allow.

Americans ask 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 them to be calm and determined even in the face of a continued threat. I ask you to reclaim America's values ​​and remember why so many have come here. We are in our fight for our principles and our first responsibility is to live by them. No one should be singled out for unfair treatment or unpleasant words because of their ethnic origin or religious faith. I ask you to continue supporting the victims of this tragedy with your contributions, those who want. donate can go to a central source of information libertyunites.org to find the names of groups providing direct aid in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The thousands of FBI agents now working on this investigation may need your cooperation, and I ask that you provide it. your patience with the delays and inconveniences that can accompany tighter security and for your patience and what will be a long fight I ask for your continued participation and confidence in the American economy the terrorists attacked a symbol of American prosperity they did not touch its source America succeeds because of the hard work, creativity and initiative of our people, these were the true strengths of our economy before 9/11 and they are our strengths today. Thank you and finally, please continue to pray for the victims of terrorism and their families, for those in uniform, and for our great country's prayers that have comforted us in our grief and will help strengthen us for the journey ahead of us tonight.

I thank my fellow Americans for what they have already done and what they will do, and the ladies and gentlemen of Congress. I appreciate you being representatives. For what you have already done and for what we will do together tonight, we will face new and sudden national challenges, we will unite and, to improve our security, we will dramatically expand the number of Air Marshals on domestic flights and take new measures to prevent hijackings. come together to promote stability and keep our airlines flying with direct assistance during this emergency thank you, we will come together to live and provide law enforcement with the additional tools they need to track terrorism here at home, we will come together to strengthen our capabilities intelligence to learn about terrorists' plans before they act and find them before they attack thank you, we will come together to take active steps to strengthen America's economy and put our people back to work tonight we welcome two leaders who They embody the extraordinary spirit of all New Yorkers.

Governor George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani thank them 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 after everything that just happened, all the lives taken, and all the possibilities. and hopes that died with them, it is natural to wonder if the future of the United States is a future of fear. Some speak of an era 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 The United States of America is determined and strong.

This will not be an era of Terror. This will be an era of Freedom here and around the world. Foreign harm has been done to us, we have suffered great loss and in our pain and anger we have found our mission and our moment freedom and fear are at war the advancement of human freedom the great achievement of our time and the great hope of all the times now depend on us our nation this generation will eliminate a dark threat of violence from our people and our future we will unite the world to this cause with our efforts, with our courage, we will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail, thank you, I have the hope that in the months and years to come life will return to almost normal.

Return to our lives and routines and that is good, even the pain recedes with time and Grace, but our resolution must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day and who it happened to. Remember the moment when the news came of where we were and what we were. As you do so, some will remember an image of a fire or a rescue story. Some will bring back memories of a face and voice gone forever and I will carry this: It is the police shield of a man named George Howard who died in the World Trade Center trying to save others.

It was given to me by his mother Arlene as a proud memorial to your son is my reminder of the lies ended in a task that does not end I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it I will not give in I will not rest I will not give up in fighting the fight for the freedom and security of the American people the course of This conflict is not yet known its outcome is safe freedom and fear Justice and cruelty have always been at war and we know that God is not neutral between them, fellow citizens, fellow foreign citizens, we will face violence with patience, Justice, sure of the righteousness of our cause, confident in the victories to come and in all that awaits us.

May God grant us wisdom and take care of the United States of America.