President Bush Attends National Religious Broadcasters 2008 Convention

March 11, 2008,THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you for the warm welcome. Nothing better than being introduced by a fellow Texan. (Applause.) And it's good to see some of my Texas buddies here. (Applause.) Like my friend, Evans, from Dallas. Good to see you, Tony. Thanks for letting me come by.,This is kind of a rambunctious crowd. (Laughter.) I really am pleased to be with you. For 64 years, this association has brought together some of the most memorable voices of the -- our Christian community here in America. You've preached the blessings of grace and understanding and patience. I've needed all three during my time as President. (Laughter.), I was very young when I first learned about obedience to a higher power -- and my mother sends her best to you. (Laughter.) I am surrounded by strong women, and have been all my wife -- (laughter) -- and speaking about a strong and gracious woman, Laura sends her love and best. (Applause.),We have something else in common; each of us has had doors opened to us by the same man. He led the way for America's religious broadcasters. He brought the Gospel to millions, and many years ago he helped me change my life. And today this good man is recovering from surgery in North Carolina -- and please join me in sending our love and prayers to Billy Graham. (Applause.) A lot of Americans love Billy Graham, and I'm one. So, Billy, we're thinking about you.,He has led countless Americans to the grace and goodness of the Almighty, and each of you performs the same mission every day. You renew the poor in spirit. You bring comfort to those in anguish. And you show millions the path to salvation and the peace of God.,I thank you for guiding the faithful. I thank you for strengthening America's families. I thank you for standing up for our values, including the right to life. (Applause.) And I appreciate your firm belief in the universality of freedom. I believe -- and I know most of you, if not all of you, believe -- that every man, woman and child on the face of the Earth has been given the great gift of liberty by an Almighty God. (Applause.) And today I want to speak about this precious gift, the importance of protecting freedom here at home, and the call to offer freedom to others who have never known it.,But before I do, I do want to thank Dr. Ron Harris, and his wife Judy -- straight out of Arlington, Texas. (Applause.) Appreciate other members of the National Religious Broadcasters Executive Committee. I thank Dr. Frank Wright, and his wife Ruth. I appreciate members of Congress who have come today -- Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana; Congressman Lincoln Davis of Tennessee; and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. Thank you all for coming. Proud to be with you.,This organization has had many important missions, but none more important than ensuring our airways -- America's airways -- stay open to those who preach the Good News. (Applause.) The very first amendment to our Constitution includes the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion. Founders believed these unalienable rights were endowed to us by our Creator. They are vital to a healthy democracy, and we must never let anyone take those freedoms away. (Applause.), I mention this because there's an effort afoot that would jeopardize your right to express your views on public airways. Some members of Congress want to reinstate a regulation that was repealed 20 years ago. It has the Orwellian name called the Fairness Doctrine. Supporters of this regulation say we need to mandate that any discussion of so-called controversial issues on the public airwaves includes equal time for all sides. This means that many programs wanting to stay on the air would have to meet Washington's definition of balance. Of course, for some in Washington, the only opinions that require balancing are the ones they don't like. (Laughter and applause.),We know who these advocates of so-called balance really have in their sights: shows hosted by people like Rush Limbaugh or James Dobson, or many of you here today. By insisting on so-called balance, they want to silence those they don't agree with. The truth of the matter is, they know they cannot prevail in the public debate of ideas. They don't acknowledge that you are the balance; that you give voice -- (applause.) The country should not be afraid of the diversity of opinions. After all, we're strengthened by diversity of opinions.,If Congress truly supports the free and open exchange of ideas, then there is a way they can demonstrate that right now. Republicans have drafted legislation that would ban reinstatement of the so-called Fairness Doctrine. Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives have blocked action on this bill. So in response, nearly every Republican in the House has signed onto what's called a "discharge petition," that would require Congress to hold an up or down vote on the ban. Supporters of this petition are only 24 signatures away.,I do want to thank Mike Pence, who is with us today, and Congressman Greg Walden, for pressing this effort and defending the right for people to express themselves freely. And I urge other members to join in this discharge petition. But I'll tell you this: If Congress should ever pass any legislation that stifles your right to express your views, I'm going to veto it. (Applause.),We love freedom in America, and we're the leader of the world not because we try to limit freedom, but because we've helped to spread it. You and I know that freedom has the power to transform lives. You and I know that free societies are more peaceful and more prosperous. You and I know that if given the chance, men and women and children in every society on Earth will choose a life of freedom -- if just given a chance. Unless, of course, you don't believe freedom is a gift from the Almighty. The liberty we value is not ours alone. Freedom is not America's gift to the world; it is God's gift to all humanity. (Applause.),It is no coincidence that the region of the world that is the least free is also the most violent and dangerous. For too long the world was content to ignore oppression -- oppressive forms of government in the Middle East, in the name of stability.,The result was that a generation of young people grew up with little hope of improving their lives, and many fell under the sway of violent extremism. The birthplace of three of the world's great religions became the home of suicide bombers. And resentments that began on the streets in the Middle East killed innocent people in trains and airplanes and office buildings around the world.,September the 11th, 2001, was such a day. We saw firsthand how the lack of freedom and opportunity in the Middle East directly affects our safety here at home. Nineteen men killed nearly 3,000 people because someone convinced them that they were acting in the name of God. Murder of the innocent to achieve political objectives is wrong and must be condemned. (Applause.),These murderers were not instruments of a heavenly power; they were instruments of evil. (Applause.) And we have seen their kind before. It's important not to forget the lessons of history. We must remember the extermination of Jews in Nazi death camps were -- was evil. The crimes of Pol Pot were evil. And the genocide in Rwanda was conducted because people's hearts were hardened. This kind of enemy must be confronted, and this kind of enemy must be defeated. (Applause.),It is the calling of our time. Generations are often called into action for the defense of liberty, and this is such a time. Since 9/11, we're on the offense. My most important duty, and the most important duty of those of us who serve you in government, is to protect the innocent from attack. And so we're on the offense. My view is, is that if we press the enemy, if we bring them to justice, if we defeat them overseas, we won't have to face them here -- is the best strategy to protect America in the short term. (Applause.),But that only works in the short term. The best way to defeat the enemy in the long term is to defeat their hateful ideology with a vision based upon hope, and that is, a society is based upon liberty. If you believe in the universality of freedom, then you'll recognize that people, if given a chance, just given a chance, will seize the moment, and marginalize the extremists and isolate the radicals.,Hopeful societies are those which will eventually provide the protection we want here in America -- and it will happen, unless America loses its vision and its nerve. It's going to happen, unless we forget the lessons of history.,I want to share one story with you. Some of you may have heard me tell you this before. But one of my best friends in the international community, someone with whom I spent a lot of time talking about how to defeat extremism and defend the peace, was the Prime Minister of Japan. And what I found most interesting was the history of my family. My father, like many of your relatives, signed up to fight the sworn enemy, the Japanese. And 60 years later, his son is at the peace table, planning and thinking about how we can confront this form of extremism in the short term and the long term. Something happened between Ensign Bush and Bush President 43. And what happened was, Japan adopted liberty as the core of its political system.,Freedom can transform societies. Freedom can transform enemies into allies. And some day, if the United States is steadfast and optimistic, people -- a President will be able to say, amazing thing happened: I sat down at the table with a leader of Muslim nations, all aiming to keep the peace, to spread freedom and keep America secure. (Applause.),We're engaged in this struggle all across the world. And of course, the two most notable theaters in this ideological struggle are Afghanistan and Iraq. Some seem to believe that one of these battles is worth fighting and the other isn't -- in other words, there is a good war and a bad war. You know, the enemy are fighting hard in both countries to seize power and impose their brutal vision. The theaters are part of the same war, the same calling, the same struggle. And that's why it is essential we succeed.,Seven years ago Afghanistan was a haven for America's enemies. Under the protection of the Taliban, the September 11th -- 9/11 hijackers trained and plotted. We worked with -- because we worked with brave Afghans, because we upheld doctrine that said, if you harbor a terrorist you're just as guilty as the terrorist, we removed the Taliban from power; thereby freeing 25 million people from the clutches of a brutal, barbaric regime. (Applause.),The camps used by the terrorists have been dismantled. The Taliban was removed from power. And then we took on a task that we knew would be as difficult, but as essential, for keeping our enemies from regaining power, and that is we offered to help the Afghan people replace tyranny with freedom. We did the short-term job of denying safe haven. But we did something else. We said, we want to help you live lives based upon liberty. And it was a daunting task, when you really put it in perspective. The Afghan people had little experience with democracy. It's a foreign concept. We've grown up in it here; in Afghanistan, you say democracy, they're not exactly sure what you're talking about.,Afghan people under the Taliban didn't have any constitution or any of the normal institutions of a free and stable government. Afghanistan was one of the poorest countries in the world, with few natural resources, and a population that thought it was condemned to unspeakable suffering.,In the entire nation, there were only 30 miles of paved road. Only 9 percent of the population had access to health care. Under the strict control of the Taliban, women were treated like chattel and girls could not attend school. Children lived in hatred and misery, and they were not even permitted an act as simple as flying a kite. It was a backward, brutal society.,But we had better aspirations for the people of Afghanistan. We set our sights high, because we believe in the universality of freedom. We trusted in the power of freedom to transform the country, a certain trust that has to go with basic principles in life. And we're seeing the results. Eight million Afghans went to the polls to elect a President for the first time in their history. Afghans drafted a new constitution and elected a national assembly. With the support of international partners, the Afghan economy has doubled in size. There are now more than 1,500 miles of paved roads. A majority of the population has access to health care. Women have seats in the parliament. Girls attend school again. And one small but telling sign is this: Afghan children are flying kites again. (Laughter and applause.),A free society is emerging, and the fundamental question facing the United States of America and our friends and allies is, is it worth it and necessary? I believe it is necessary, and I strongly believe it's worth it. Afghanistan has got a lot of challenges. They got to overcome corruption, they got to fight narcotics trafficking, and they got to strengthen the government at all levels. They face a vicious and brutal enemy that is determined to regain power and deny the people of Afghanistan their freedom.,We saw the nature of this enemy when Taliban extremists invaded an Afghan school. They kidnaped six teachers; they beat the schoolchildren with sticks to scare them away from attending classes. We saw the nature of this enemy when extremists beheaded the principal of an Afghan high school and forced his wife and children to watch. We saw the nature of this enemy last summer when Taliban extremists paid an Afghan boy to push a cart carrying explosives into a crowded marketplace. And the terrorists detonated the cart, killing the boy and Afghan security officials.,This enemy sees no value in human life. And they continue their campaign of bloody and horrific attacks, all attempting to demoralize the people of Afghanistan, and all attempting to wait the coalition out. For the sake of humanity and for the sake of the safety of our people, for the sake of human life and human dignity, and for the sake of the security of the United States of America, we will stop this murderous movement now, before it finds a new path to power. (Applause.) I believe it is important for administrations to confront problems now, and not pass them on to other people. And that's the choice I have made for the sake of peace and freedom.,Our forces made progress last year in partnering with local Afghans against the enemy in eastern Afghanistan, which was an insurgent stronghold. Now the Taliban and its allies are seeking to launch new attacks against the people. In other words, these are relentless killers. Their methods and their immorality have alienated many of the people who once supported them.,It's amazing what happens when there's a contrast -- ideological contrast presented to people with clarity: Do you want to live in freedom, or do you want your little girl denied the opportunity to go to school? Afghans across the country are fighting back. More than 50,000 Afghans have stepped forward to serve the Afghan army; 76,000 have joined the police force. They've invested in this fight, and they need our help. That's what they're saying -- they want help. And we're going to give it to them. It's in our interests that we support these people.