YouSaid · the spoken record

George W. Bush

lines on the record: 151
first: 2001-09-24
most recent: 2008-09-24
sittings or episodes: 7
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“And the United Nations can contribute greatly to the cause of Iraqi self-government. America is working with friends and allies on a new Security Council resolution, which will expand the United Nation's role in Iraq. As in the aftermath of other conflicts, the United Nations should assist in developing a constitution, training civil servants and conducting free and fair elections. Iraq now has a Governing Council, the first truly representative institution in that country. Iraq's new leaders are showing the openness and tolerance that democracy requires, and they are also showing courage. Yet every young democracy needs the help of friends. Now the nation of Iraq needs and deserves our aid, and all nations of good will should step forward and provide that support.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The old regime built up armies and weapons while allowing the nation's infrastructure to crumble, so we are rehabilitating power plants, water and sanitation facilities, bridges and airports. I have proposed to Congress that the United States provide additional funding for our work in Iraq, the greatest financial commitment of its kind since the Marshall Plan. Having helped to liberate Iraq, we will honour our pledges to Iraq, and by helping the Iraqi people build a stable and peaceful country we will make our own countries more secure. The primary goal of our coalition in Iraq is self- government for the people of Iraq, reached by an orderly and democratic process. That process must unfold according to the needs of Iraqis, neither hurried nor delayed by the wishes of other parties.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Our coalition has made sure that Iraq's former dictator will never again use weapons of mass destruction. We are now interviewing Iraqi citizens and analysing records of the old regime to reveal the full extent of its weapons programmes and its long campaign of deception. We are training Iraqi police, border guards and a new army so that the Iraqi people can assume full responsibility for their own security. At the same time, our coalition is helping to improve the daily lives of the Iraqi people. The old regime built palaces while letting schools decay, so we are rebuilding more than a thousand schools. The old regime starved hospitals of resources, so we have helped to supply and reopen hospitals across Iraq.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In the nation of Iraq, the United Nations is carrying out vital and effective work every day. By the end of 2004, more than 90 per cent of Iraqi children under age five will have been immunized against preventable diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and measles, thanks to the hard work and high ideals of UNICEF. Iraq's food distribution system is operational, delivering nearly a half million tons of food per month, thanks to the skill and expertise of the World Food Programme. Our international coalition in Iraq is meeting its responsibilities. We are conducting precision raids against terrorists and holdouts of the former regime. Those killers are at war with the Iraqi people. They have made Iraq the central front in the war on terror. And they will be defeated.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The terrorists and their allies fear and fight this progress above all because free people embrace hope over resentment and choose peace over violence. The United Nations has been a friend of the Afghan people, distributing food and medicine, helping refugees return home, advising on a new constitution 10 and helping to prepare the way for nationwide elections. NATO has taken over the United Nations mandated security force in Kabul. American and coalition forces continue to track and defeat al Qaeda terrorists and the remnants of the Taliban. Our efforts to rebuild that country go on. I have recently proposed to spend an additional $1.2 billion for the Afghan reconstruction effort, and I urge other nations to continue contributing to that important cause.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Across the Middle East, people are safer because an unstable aggressor has been removed from power. Across the world, nations are more secure because an ally of terror has fallen. Our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq were supported by many Governments, and America is grateful to each one. I also recognize that some of the sovereign nations of the Assembly disagreed with our actions. Yet, there was and there remains unity among us on the fundamental principles and objectives of the United Nations. We are dedicated to the defence of our collective security and to the advance of human rights. Those permanent commitments call us to great work in the world, work that we must do together. So, let us move forward. First, we must stand with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq as they build free and stable countries.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“And because there were consequences because a coalition of nations acted to defend the peace and the credibility of the United Nations Iraq is free, and today we are joined by the representatives of a liberated country. Saddam Hussain's monuments have been removed, and not only his statues. The true monuments of his rule and his character the torture chambers, the rape rooms and the prison cells for innocent children are closed. And as we discover the killing fields and mass graves of Iraq, the true scale of Saddam's cruelty is being revealed. The Iraqi people are meeting hardships and challenges, like every nation that has set out on the path of democracy. Yet, their future promises lives of dignity and freedom, and that is a world away from the squalid, vicious tyranny they have known. Across Iraq, life is being improved by liberty.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The former regimes of Afghanistan and Iraq knew those alternatives and made their choices. The Taliban was a sponsor and servant of terrorism. When confronted, that regime chose defiance, and that regime is no more. Afghanistan's President, who is here today, now represents a free people who are building a decent and just society. They are building a nation fully joined in the war against terror. The regime of Saddam Hussain cultivated ties to terror while it built weapons of mass destruction. It used those weapons in acts of mass murder and refused to account for them when confronted by the world. The Security Council was right to be alarmed. The Security Council was right to demand that Iraq destroy its illegal weapons and prove that it had done so. The Security Council was right to vow serious consequences if Iraq refused to comply.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Events during the past two years have set before us the clearest of divides: between those who seek order and those who spread chaos, between those who work for peaceful change and those who adopt the methods of gangsters, between those who honour the rights of man and those who deliberately take the lives of men, women and children without mercy or shame. Between those alternatives there is no neutral ground. All Governments that support terror are complicit in a war against civilization. No Government should ignore the threat of terror because to look the other way gives terrorists the chance to regroup, recruit and prepare. All nations that fight terror as if the lives of their own people depended on it will earn the favourable judgement of history.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Over the decades, that good and brave man from Brazil gave help to the afflicted in Bangladesh, Cyprus, Mozambique, Lebanon, Cambodia, Central Africa, Kosovo and East Timor, and was aiding the people of Iraq in their time of need. America joins you, his colleagues, in honouring the memory of Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello and the memory of all those who died with him in the service of the United Nations. By the victims they choose and by the means they use, the terrorists have clarified the struggle we are in. Those who target relief workers for death have set themselves against all humanity. Those who incite murder and celebrate suicide reveal their contempt for life itself. They have no place in any religious faith, they have no claim on the world's sympathy, and they should have no friend in this Hall.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Twenty-four months ago, and yesterday in the memory of America, the centre of New York City became a battlefield, and a graveyard, and the symbol of an unfinished war. Since that day, terrorists have struck in Bali, in Mombassa, in 9 Casablanca, in Riyadh, in Jakarta, in Jerusalem, measuring the advance of their cause in the chaos and innocent suffering they leave behind. Last month, terrorists brought their war to the United Nations itself. The United Nations headquarters in Baghdad stood for order and compassion. For that reason, the terrorists decided it must be destroyed. Among the 22 people who were murdered was Sergio Vieira de Mello.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“They can one day join a democratic Afghanistan and a democratic Palestine, inspiring reforms throughout the Muslim world. These nations can show by their example that honest government, respect for women, and the great Islamic tradition of learning can triumph in the Middle East and beyond. We will show that the promise of the United Nations can be fulfilled in our time. Neither of these outcomes is certain. Both have been set before us. We must choose between a world of fear and a world of progress. We cannot stand by and do nothing while dangers gather. We must stand up for our security and for the permanent rights and hopes of mankind. By heritage and by choice, the United States of America will make that stand. Representatives to the United Nations have the power to make that stand as well.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Events can turn in one of two ways. If we fail to act in the face of danger, the people of Iraq will continue to live in brutal submission. The regime will have new power to bully, dominate and conquer its neighbours, condemning the Middle East to more years of bloodshed and fear. The region will remain unstable, with little hope of freedom, and isolated from the progress of our times. With every step the Iraqi regime takes towards gaining and deploying the most terrible weapons, our own options to confront that regime will narrow. And if an emboldened regime were to supply these weapons to terrorist allies, then the attacks of 11 September would be a prelude to far greater horrors. If we meet our responsibilities, if we overcome this danger, we can arrive at a very different future. The people of Iraq can shake off their captivity.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Saddam Hussein attacked Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990. He has fired ballistic missiles at Iran and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Israel. His regime once ordered the killing of every person between the ages of 15 and 70 in certain Kurdish villages in northern Iraq. He has gassed many Iranians and 40 Iraqi villages. My nation will work with the Security Council to meet our common challenge. If Iraq's regime defies us again, the world must move deliberately and decisively to hold Iraq to account. We will work with the Security Council for the necessary resolutions. But the purposes of the United States should not be doubted. The Security Council resolutions will be enforced, and the just demands of peace and security will be met, or action will be unavoidable, and a regime that has lost its legitimacy will also lose its power.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“If all those steps are taken, it will signal a new openness and accountability in Iraq. And it could open the prospect of the United Nations helping to build a Government that represents all Iraqis — a Government based on respect for human rights, economic liberty and internationally supervised elections. The United States has no quarrel with the Iraqi people. They have suffered too long in silent captivity. Liberty for the Iraqi people is a great moral cause and a great strategic goal. The people of Iraq deserve it. The security of all nations requires it. Free societies do not intimidate through cruelty and conquest, and open societies do not threaten the world with mass murder. The United States supports political and economic liberty in a unified Iraq. 9 We can harbour no illusions, and that is important today to remember.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will cease persecution of its civilian population, including Shia, Sunnis, Kurds, Turkomans and others — again, as required by Security Council resolutions. If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will release or account for all Gulf war personnel whose fate is still unknown. It will return the remains of any who are deceased, return stolen property, accept liability for losses resulting from the invasion of Kuwait and fully cooperate with international efforts to resolve those issues, as required by Security Council resolutions. If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will immediately end all illicit trade outside the oil-for-food programme. It will accept United Nations administration of funds from that programme, to ensure that the money is used fairly and promptly for the benefit of the Iraqi people.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The United States helped found the United Nations. We want the United Nations to be effective and respected and successful. We want the resolutions of the world's most important multilateral body to be enforced, and right now those resolutions are being unilaterally subverted by the Iraqi regime. Our partnership of nations can meet the test before us by making clear what we now expect of the Iraqi regime. If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will immediately and unconditionally forswear, disclose and remove or destroy all weapons of mass destruction, long-range missiles and all related material. If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will immediately end all support for terrorism and act to suppress it, as all States are required to do by Security Council resolutions.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We have tried the carrot of oil-for-food and the stick of coalition military strikes. But Saddam Hussein has defied all those efforts and continues to develop weapons of mass destruction. The first time we may be completely certain he has nuclear weapons is when, God forbid, he uses one. We owe it to all our citizens to do everything in our power to prevent that day from coming. The conduct of the Iraqi regime is a threat to the authority of the United Nations and a threat to peace. Iraq has answered a decade of United Nations demands with a decade of defiance. All the world now faces a test and the United Nations a difficult and defining moment. Are Security Council resolutions to be honoured and enforced or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“And in 1999, the demand was renewed yet again. As we meet today, it has been almost four years since the last United Nations inspector set foot in Iraq — four years for the Iraqi regime to plan and to build and to test behind the cloak of secrecy. We know that Saddam Hussein pursued weapons of mass murder even when inspectors were in his country. Are we to assume that he stopped when they left? The history, the logic and the facts lead to one conclusion. Saddam Hussein's regime is a grave and gathering danger. To suggest otherwise is to hope against the evidence. To assume this regime's good faith is to bet the lives of millions and the peace of the world in a reckless gamble. And that is a risk we must not take. We have been more than patient. We have tried sanctions.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“In 1991, Iraq promised United Nations inspectors immediate and unrestricted access to verify Iraq's commitment to rid itself of weapons of mass 8 destruction and long-range missiles. Iraq broke that promise, spending seven years deceiving, evading and harassing United Nations inspectors before ceasing cooperation entirely. Just months after the 1991 ceasefire, the Security Council twice renewed its demand that the Iraqi regime cooperate fully with inspectors, condemning Iraq's serious violations of its obligations. The Security Council again renewed that demand in 1994 and twice more in 1996, deploring Iraq's clear violations of its obligations. The Security Council renewed its demand three more times in 1997, citing flagrant violations, and three more times in 1998, calling Iraq's behaviour totally unacceptable.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“In 1990, after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the world imposed economic sanctions on Iraq. Those sanctions were maintained after the war to compel the regime's compliance with Security Council resolutions. In time, Iraq was allowed to use oil revenues to buy food. Saddam Hussein has subverted that programme, working around the sanctions to buy missile technology and military materials. He blames the suffering of Iraq's people on the United Nations, even as he uses his oil wealth to build lavish palaces for himself and to buy arms for his country. By refusing to comply with his own agreements, he bears full guilt for the hunger and misery of innocent Iraqi citizens.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Iraq employs capable nuclear scientists and technicians. It retains physical infrastructure needed to build a nuclear weapon. Iraq has made several attempts to buy high-strength aluminium tubes used to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon. Should Iraq acquire fissile material, it would be able to build a nuclear weapon within a year. And Iraq's State-controlled media have reported numerous meetings between Saddam Hussein and his nuclear scientists, leaving little doubt about his continued appetite for these weapons. Iraq also possesses a force of Scud-type missiles with ranges beyond the 150 kilometres permitted by the United Nations. Work at testing and production facilities shows that Iraq is building more long-range missiles that can inflict mass death throughout the region.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons. United Nations inspections also reveal that Iraq likely maintains stockpiles of VX, mustard and other chemical agents, and that the regime is rebuilding and expanding facilities capable of producing chemical weapons. And in 1995, after four years of deception, Iraq finally admitted that it had had a crash nuclear weapons programme prior to the Gulf war. We know now that, were it not for that war, the regime in Iraq would likely have possessed a nuclear weapon no later than 1993. Today, Iraq continues to withhold important information about its nuclear programme: weapons design, procurement logs, experiment data, an accounting of nuclear materials and documentation of foreign assistance.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“In 1991, the Iraqi regime agreed to destroy and to stop developing all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles, and to prove to the world it has done so by complying with rigorous inspections. Iraq has broken every aspect of this fundamental pledge. From 1991 to 1995, the Iraqi regime said it had no biological weapons. After a senior official in its weapons program defected and exposed this lie, the regime admitted to producing tens of thousands of litres of anthrax and other deadly biological agents for use in Scud missile warheads, aerial bombs and aircraft spray tanks. United Nations inspectors believe Iraq has produced two to four times the amount of biological agents it declared and has failed to account for more than three metric tons of material that could be used to produce biological weapons.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“One American pilot is among them. In 1991, the United Nations Security Council, through resolution 687 (1991), demanded that Iraq renounce all involvement with terrorism and permit no terrorist organizations to operate in Iraq. Iraq's regime agreed. It broke this promise. In violation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), Iraq continues to shelter and support terrorist organizations that direct violence against Iran, Israel, and Western Governments. Iraqi dissidents abroad are targeted for murder. In 1993, Iraq attempted to assassinate the Emir of Kuwait and a former American President. Iraq's Government openly praised the attacks of 11 September. Al-Qaida terrorists have escaped from Afghanistan and are known to be in Iraq.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Tens of thousands of political opponents and 7 ordinary citizens have been subjected to arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, summary execution, and torture by beating, burning, electric shock, starvation, mutilation and rape. Wives are tortured in front of their husbands; children in the presence of their parents; and all of these horrors are concealed from the world by the apparatus of a totalitarian State. In 1991, the United Nations Security Council, through its resolutions 686 (1991) and 687 (1991), demanded that Iraq return all prisoners from Kuwait and other lands. Iraq's regime agreed. It broke this promise. Last year the Secretary-General's high-level coordinator for this issue reported that Kuwaiti, Saudi, Indian, Syrian, Lebanese, Iranian, Egyptian, Bahraini, and Omani nationals remain unaccounted for — more than 600 people.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“He has proven instead only his contempt for the United Nations and for all his pledges. By breaking every pledge, by his deceptions and by his cruelties, Saddam Hussein has made the case against himself. In 1991, Security Council resolution 688 (1991) demanded that the Iraqi regime cease at once the repression of its own people, including the systematic repression of minorities, which the Council said, “threaten[ed] international peace and security in the region”. This demand goes ignored. Last year, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights found that Iraq continues to commit extremely grave violations of human rights and that the regime's repression is all pervasive.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“In one place, in one regime, we find all these dangers, in their most lethal and aggressive forms — exactly the kind of aggressive threat the United Nations was born to confront. Twelve years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait without provocation. And the regime's forces were poised to continue their march to seize other countries and their resources. Had Saddam Hussein been appeased instead of stopped, he would have endangered the peace and stability of the world. Yet, this aggression was stopped by the might of coalition forces and the will of the United Nations. In order to suspend hostilities and to spare himself, Iraq's dictator accepted a series of commitments. The terms were clear to him, and to all. And he agreed to prove that he is complying with every one of those obligations.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“My nation will continue to encourage all parties to step up to their responsibilities as we seek a just and comprehensive settlement to the conflict. Above all, our principles and our security are challenged today by outlaw groups and regimes that accept no law of morality and have no limit to their violent ambitions. In the attacks on America a year ago, we saw the destructive intentions of our enemies. This threat hides within many nations, including my own. In cells and camps, terrorists are plotting further destruction and are building new bases for their war against civilization. And our greatest fear is that terrorists will find a shortcut to their mad ambitions when an outlaw regime supplies them with the technologies enabling them to kill on a massive scale.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“As a symbol of our commitment to human dignity, the United States will return to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This organization has been reformed, and America will participate fully in its mission to advance human rights, tolerance and learning. Our common security is challenged by regional conflicts — ethnic and religious strife that is ancient, but not inevitable. In the Middle East, there can be no peace for either side without freedom for both sides. America stands committed to an independent and democratic Palestine, living side by side with Israel in peace and security. Like all other people, Palestinians deserve a government that serves their interests and listens to their voices.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We created the United Nations Security Council so that, unlike the League of Nations, our deliberations would be more than talk, our resolutions would be more than wishes. After generations of deceitful dictators, broken treaties and squandered lives, we dedicated ourselves to standards of human dignity, shared by all, and to a system of security defended by all. Today, these standards, and this security, are challenged. Our commitment to human dignity is challenged by persistent poverty and raging disease. The suffering is great, and our responsibilities are clear. The United States is joining with the world to supply aid where it reaches people and lifts up lives, to extend trade and the prosperity it brings, and to bring medical care where it is desperately needed.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We meet one year and one day after a terrorist attack brought grief to my country and brought grief to many citizens of our world. Yesterday, we remembered the innocent lives taken that terrible morning. Today we turn to the urgent duty of protecting other lives without illusion and without fear. We have accomplished much in the last year — in Afghanistan and beyond. We have much yet to do — in Afghanistan and beyond. Many nations represented here have joined in the fight against global terror, and the people of the United States are grateful. The United Nations was born in the hope that survived a world war — the hope of a world moving towards justice, escaping old patterns of conflict and fear. The founding Members resolved that the peace of the world must never again be destroyed by the will and the wickedness of any man.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We know that evil is real, but good will prevail against it. This is the teaching of many faiths. And in that assurance, we gain strength for a long journey. It is our task — the task of this generation — to provide the response to aggression and terror. We have no other choice, because there is no other peace. We did not ask for this mission, yet there is honour in history’s call. We have a chance to write the story of our times — a story of courage defeating cruelty, and light overcoming darkness. This calling is worthy of any life, and worthy of every nation. So let us go forward — confident, determined and unafraid.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We face enemies that hate not our policies, but our existence — the tolerance of openness and the creative culture that define us. But the outcome of this conflict is certain. There is a current in history, and it runs towards freedom. Our enemies resent it and dismiss it, but the dreams of mankind are defined by liberty — the natural right to create, and build, and worship, and live in dignity. When men and women are released from oppression and isolation, they find fulfilment and hope, and they leave poverty by the millions. These aspirations are lifting up the peoples of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, and they can lift up all of the Islamic world. We stand for the permanent hopes of humanity, and those hopes will not be denied. We are confident, too, that history has an author, who fills time and eternity with his purpose.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Finally, this struggle is a defining moment for the United Nations itself — and the world needs its principled leadership. It undermines the credibility of this great institution, for example, when the Commission on Human Rights offers seats to some of the world’s most persistent violators of human rights. The United Nations depends, above all, on its moral authority — and that authority must be preserved. The steps I have described will not be easy. For all nations, they will require effort. For some nations, they will require great courage. Yet the cost of inaction is far greater. The only alternative to victory is a nightmare world where every city is a potential killing field. As I told the American people, freedom and fear are at war.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“My country is pledged to investing in education and combating AIDS and other infectious diseases around the world. Following 11 September, these pledges are even more important. In our struggle against hateful groups that exploit poverty and despair, we must offer an alternative of opportunity and hope. The American Government also stands by its commitment to a just peace in the Middle East. We are working towards a day when two States — Israel and Palestine — live peacefully together, within secure and recognized borders, as called for by the Security Council resolutions. We will do all in our power to bring both parties back into negotiations. But peace will come only when all have sworn off — forever — incitement, violence and terror.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories concerning the attacks of 11 September — malicious lies that attempt to shift the blame away from the terrorists themselves, away from the guilty. To inflame ethnic hatred is to advance the cause of terror. 10 The war against terror must not serve as an excuse to persecute ethnic and religious minorities in any country. Innocent people must be allowed to live their own lives, by their own customs, under their own religion. And every nation must have avenues for the peaceful expression of opinion and dissent. When these avenues are closed, the temptation to speak through violence grows. We must press on with our agenda for peace and prosperity in every land. My country is pledged to encouraging development and expanding trade.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Yet even beyond resolution 1373 (2001), more is required — and more is expected — of our coalition against terror. We are asking for a comprehensive commitment to this fight. We must unite in opposing all terrorists, not just some of them. In this world, there are good causes and bad causes, and we may disagree on where that line is drawn. Yet there is no such thing as a good terrorist. No national aspiration, no remembered wrong, can ever justify the deliberate murder of the innocent. Any Government that rejects this principle — trying to pick and choose its terrorist friends — will know the consequences. We must speak the truth about terror.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We have a responsibility to share intelligence and coordinate the efforts of law enforcement. If you know something, tell us. If we know something, we will tell you. And when we find the terrorists, we must work together to bring them to justice. We have a responsibility to deny any sanctuary, safe haven, or transit to terrorists. Every known terrorist camp must be shut down, its operators apprehended, and evidence of their arrest presented to the United Nations. We have a responsibility to deny weapons to terrorists — and to actively prevent private citizens from providing them. These obligations are urgent, and they are binding on every nation with a place in this Hall. Many Governments are taking these obligations seriously, and my country appreciates it.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“In this war of terror, each of us must answer for what we have done or what we have left undone. After tragedy, there is a time for sympathy and condolence. My country has been very grateful for both. The memorials and vigils around the world will not be forgotten. But the time for sympathy has now passed. The time for action has now arrived. The most basic obligations in this new conflict have already been defined by the United Nations. On 28 September, the Security Council adopted resolution 1373 (2001). Its requirements are clear: every United Nations Member has a responsibility to crack down on terrorist financing. We must pass all necessary laws in our own countries to allow the confiscation of terrorist assets. We must apply those laws to every financial institution in every nation.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“I can promise, too, that America will join the world in helping the people of Afghanistan rebuild their country. Many nations, including mine, are sending food and medicine to help Afghans through the winter. America has airdropped over 1.3 million packages of rations in Afghanistan. Just this week, we airlifted 20,000 blankets and over 200 tons of provisions into the region. We continue to provide humanitarian aid, even while the Taliban try to steal the food we send. More help, eventually, will be needed. The United States will work closely with the United Nations and development banks to reconstruct Afghanistan after hostilities there have ceased and the Taliban are no longer in control. And the United States will work with the United Nations to support a post- Taliban Government that represents all of the Afghan people.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Unlike the enemy, we seek to minimize, not maximize, the loss of innocent life. I am proud of the honourable conduct of the American military. And my country grieves for all the suffering the Taliban have brought upon Afghanistan, including the terrible burden of war. The Afghan people do not deserve their present rulers. Years of Taliban misrule have brought nothing but misery and starvation. Even before this current crisis, 4 million Afghans depended on food from the United States and other nations, and millions of Afghans were refugees from Taliban oppression. I make this promise to all the victims of that regime: the Taliban’s days of harbouring terrorists, and dealing in heroin, and brutalizing women are drawing to a close. When that regime is gone, the people of Afghanistan will say, with the rest of the world, good riddance.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“And they will find that their welcomed guests are parasites that will weaken them and eventually consume them. For every regime that sponsors terror there is a price to be paid, and it will be paid. The allies of terror are equally guilty of murder and equally accountable to justice. The Taliban are now learning that lesson. That regime and the terrorists who support it are now virtually indistinguishable. Together they promote 9 terror abroad and impose a reign of terror on the Afghan people. Women are executed in Kabul’s soccer stadium. They can be beaten for wearing socks that are too thin. Men are jailed for missing prayer meetings. The United States, supported by many nations, is bringing justice to the terrorists in Afghanistan. We are making progress against military targets — and that is our objective.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We are taking new measures to investigate terror and to protect against threats. The leaders of all nations must now carefully consider their responsibilities and their future. Terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda depend upon the aid or indifference of Governments. They need the support of a financial infrastructure and safe havens to train and plan and hide. Some nations want to play their part in the fight against terror but tell us they lack the means to enforce their laws and control their borders. We stand ready to help. Some Governments still turn a blind eye to the terrorists, hoping the threat will pass them by. They are mistaken. And some Governments, while pledging to uphold the principles of the United Nations, have cast their lot with the terrorists. They support them and harbour them.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Before the sun had set, these attacks on the world stood condemned by the world, and I want to thank you, fellow members, for that strong and principled stand. I also thank the Arab and Islamic countries that have condemned terrorist murder. Many of you have seen the destruction of terror in your own lands. The terrorists are increasingly isolated by their own hatred and extremism. They cannot hide behind Islam. The authors of mass murder and their allies have no place in any culture, and no home in any faith. The conspiracies of terror are being answered by an expanding global coalition. Not every nation will be part of every action against the enemy. But every nation in our coalition has duties. Those duties can be demanding, as we in America are learning. We have already made adjustments in our laws and in our daily lives.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“History will record our response and will judge or justify every nation in this Hall. The civilized world is now responding. We act to defend ourselves and to deliver our children from a future of fear. We choose the dignity of life over a culture of death. We choose lawful change and civil disagreement over coercion, subversion and chaos. Those commitments — hope and order, law and life — unite people across cultures and continents. Upon those commitments depend all peace and progress. For those commitments, we are determined to fight. The United Nations has risen to this responsibility: on 12 September, these buildings opened for emergency meetings of the General Assembly and of the Security Council.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Last week, anticipating this meeting of the General Assembly, they denounced the United Nations; they called our Secretary-General a criminal and they condemned all Arab nations here as traitors to Islam. Few countries meet their exacting standards of brutality and oppression. Every other country is a potential target. And all the world faces the most horrifying prospect of all: those same terrorists are searching for weapons of mass destruction, the tools to turn their hatred into holocaust. They can be expected to use chemical, biological and nuclear weapons the moment they are capable of doing so. No hint of conscience would prevent it. That threat cannot be ignored; that threat cannot be appeased. Civilization itself — the civilization we share — is threatened.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. And the people of my country will remember those who have plotted against us. We are learning their names. We are coming to know their faces. There is no corner of the Earth distant or dark enough to protect them. However long it takes, their hour of justice will come. Every nation has a stake in this cause. As we meet, the terrorists are planning more murder — perhaps in my country, or perhaps, fellow members, in yours. They kill because they aspire to dominate. They seek to overthrow Governments and to destabilize entire regions.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The terrorists are violating the tenets of every religion, including the one they invoke. Last week, the sheikh of Al-Azhar University, the world’s oldest Islamic institution of higher learning, declared that terrorism is a disease and that Islam prohibits killing innocent civilians. The terrorists call their cause holy, yet they fund it with drug dealing. They encourage murder and suicide in the name of a great faith that forbids both. They dare to ask God’s blessing as they set out to kill innocent men, women and children. But 8 the God of Isaac and Ishmael would never answer such a prayer. And a murderer is not a martyr; he is just a murderer. Time is passing. Yet for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting 11 September. We will remember every rescuer who died in honour.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Tomorrow, the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and I will visit that site, where the names of every nation and region that lost citizens will be read aloud. If we were to read out the names of every person who died, it would take more than three hours. Those names include a citizen of the Gambia, whose wife spent their fourth wedding anniversary, 12 September, searching in vain for her husband. Those names include a man who supported his wife in Mexico, sending home money every week. Those names include a young Pakistani who prayed towards Mecca five times a day and who died that day trying to save others. The suffering of 11 September was inflicted on people of many faiths and many nations. All of the victims, including Muslims, were killed with equal indifference and equal satisfaction by the terrorist leaders.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)