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Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Thanks for coming. First of all, Terry, thanks for the invitation. My purpose is to share with you what鈥檚 on my mind, and then I look forward to hearing what鈥檚 on yours.

I regret only one thing, Terry, and that鈥檚 that Laura didn鈥檛 come with me. No, I know, most people generally say, you should have brought her and you should have stayed at home. (Laughter.) They love Laura, and so do I. And she is a fantastic First Lady. She is a great鈥�(applause.) And she is a great source of comfort and strength for me, and I wish she were here.

I want to thank the Chamber and the Board of Directors of the Chamber for allowing me to come. You know, I鈥檓鈥攁s Terry said, I鈥檓 the Commander-in-Chief; I鈥檓 also the Educator-in-Chief. And I have a duty to explain how and why I make decisions. And that鈥檚 part of the reason I鈥檓 here.

I want to thank your Governor for being here. Joe Manchin is a鈥�(applause.) He鈥檚 a good, decent man. He showed his heart during the mine tragedies. He asked the country鈥�(applause.) He represented the best of West Virginia. He showed great compassion, great concern. He asked the nation to pray on behalf of the families. We still must continue to pray for those who lost their loved ones. (Applause.) Joe is a problem-solver, see. He said, we鈥檙e going to deal with this issue head on. And I appreciate you working closely with the federal government to make sure that there are safety regulations that work, that the inspection process works so that the miners here in this important state are able to do their job and their families can be secure in them doing their job.

So, Joe, thank you very much for yourleadership. Thanks for bringing Gayle. Like you, I married well, too. (Laughter and applause.)

I appreciate Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito. Thanks for being here. I appreciate working with you. (Applause.) She鈥檚 a good one, as we say in Texas. (Laughter.) I probably shouldn鈥檛 bring up Texas too much today, given the fact鈥攜eah, I know鈥�(laughter.) Never mind. (Laughter.) I鈥檓 a little worried for my Long Horns, though, I tell you that. I鈥檓 fully informed鈥�(applause.) I鈥檓 fully informed that they鈥檙e going to play a fine team.

I want to thank the Mayor for being here. Mr. Mayor, I鈥檓 honored that you were at the airport. I appreciate you coming. Thanks for serving your great community. God bless you, sir. (Applause.)

Members of the statehouse greeted me. I appreciate Senator Mike Oliverio. He鈥檚 here. Mike I think did the country a great service when he worked on behalf of Judge Sam Alito to get him approved by the United States Senate. I appreciate your鈥擨 want to thank you for that, Mike. (Applause.) I want to thank鈥擬ike said, don鈥檛 hold it against me, I鈥檓 a Democrat. I said, Mike, what we鈥攆irst and foremost, we鈥檙e all Americans. (Applause.)

I thank Chris Wakim. He also was out at the airport. It鈥檚 a little chilly for you all standing out there without your overcoats on, but it鈥檚 all right. Thanks for being here, Chris. Thanks to all the members of the statehouse and local officials who鈥檝e joined us today. Thank you for serving your state and your community.

I want to thank John Anderson and Janis LaFont. They鈥檙e from the鈥擵alley National Gases employees. They presented me with a check for $100,000 for the Katrina Relief Fund. They represent鈥�(applause.) I want to thank you all for doing, and I want to thank the folks you work with for doing that.

It鈥檚 an amazing country, isn鈥檛 it, when you think about it, that folks right here in this part of West Virginia care enough about folks in the southern part of our country that they would take some of their hard-earned money and contribute to a relief fund so people can get their lives back together. It means a lot to the people in Louisiana and Mississippi to know that there is love and compassion for their鈥攁nd concern for their lives here in West Virginia.

Ours is an incredible nation. And you鈥檙e going to hear me talk about our military. And if you ask questions about the economy, you鈥檒l hear me talk about our economy. But I want to remind everybody that the true strength of America lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. That鈥檚 where America is its greatest. And I appreciate you representing that. (Applause.)

I met a woman named Kristen Holloway at the airport. Kristen, where are you? There you go. Gosh, you thought you had a better seat, but nevertheless鈥�(laughter.) She came out to say hello. I had a chance to thank her for her being the founder of Operation Troop Appreciation. She has decided to support those who wear our uniform in any way she can. Listen, I understand war is controversial, and I鈥檓 going to talk about the war. But America has got to appreciate what it means to wear the uniform today, and honor those who have volunteered to keep this country strong. (Applause.)

It doesn鈥檛 matter whether鈥攊t doesn鈥檛 matter whether you agree with my decision, or not. But all of us should agree with the fact that we have a remarkable country, when people who know that they鈥檙e going to be sent into harm鈥檚 way raise their hand and say, I volunteer to serve. And no state has presented鈥攈ad more people volunteering to serve than the great state of West Virginia. (Applause.) Now, they鈥檒l say, maybe some states have more people, but they got greater populations. But 75 percent of your National Guard has gone into harm鈥檚 way. And we appreciate that service. And I want to thank those of you who wear the uniform for your service. I want to thank your loved ones for supporting those who wear the uniform. And I want you to hear loud and clear, the United States of America stands with you and appreciates what you鈥檙e doing. (Applause.)

The enemy, a group of killers, struck us on September the 11th, 2001. They declared war on the United States of America. And I want to share some lessons about what took place on that day. First of all, I knew that the farther we got away from September the 11th, 2001, the more likely it would be that some would forget the lessons of that day. And that鈥檚 okay. That鈥檚 okay, because the job of those of us who have been entrusted to protect you and defend you is really to do so in such a way that you feel comfortable about going about your life, see. And it鈥檚 fine that people forget the lessons. But one of my jobs is to constantly remind people of the lessons.

The first lesson is, is that oceans can no longer protect us. You know, when I was coming up in the 鈥�50s in Midland, Texas, it seemed like we were pretty safe. In the 鈥�60s it seemed like we were safe. In other words, conflicts were happening overseas, but we were in pretty good shape here at home. And all that was shattered on that day when cold-blooded killers hijacked airplanes, flew them into buildings and the Pentagon, and killed 3,000 of our citizens. In other words, they declared war, and we have got to take their declaration of war seriously. The most important responsibility of the Commander-in-Chief and those who wear the uniform and those who are elected to public office is to defend the citizens of this country. That is our most vital and important responsibility. I have never forgotten that, from September the 11th on. It鈥檚 just been a part of my daily existence.

Secondly, the best way to defend America is to stay on the offense. The best way to protect you is to rally all the strength of national government鈥攊ntelligence and military and law enforcement and financial strength鈥攖o stay on the offense against an enemy that I believe wants to hurt us again. And that means find them where they hide, and keep the pressure on, and never relent, and understand that you can鈥檛 negotiate with these folks, there is no compromise, there is no middle ground. And so that鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檙e doing.

And there鈥檚 some unbelievably brave troops and intelligence officers working around the clock to keep an enemy that would like to strike us again on the move, and to bring them to justice. And we鈥檙e making progress about dismantling al Qaeda. Al Qaeda, after all, was the enemy that launched the attacks.

The second part of a lesson that we must never forget is the enemy, in that they鈥檙e not a nation state鈥攊n other words, they don鈥檛 represent a nation state like armies and navies used to do鈥攏eed safe haven. They need places to hide so they can plan and plot. And they found safe haven, as you all know, in Afghanistan. And they were supported by a government that supports their point of view, which is a government that absolutely can鈥檛 stand freedom. That was the Taliban. If you were a young girl growing up under the auspices of the Taliban, you didn鈥檛 have a chance to succeed. You couldn鈥檛 go to school. If you dissented in the public square, you鈥檇 be in trouble. If you didn鈥檛 agree with their dark vision, whether it be religion or politics, you were in trouble. In other words, they can鈥檛鈥攖hey couldn鈥檛 stand this concept of a free society鈥攁nd neither can al Qaeda. See, we鈥檙e dealing with ideologues. They have an ideology.

Now, I understand some say, well, maybe they鈥檙e just isolated kind of people that are angry and took out their anger with an attack. That鈥檚 not how I view them. I view them as people that believe in something; they have an ideological base. They subverted a great religion to meet their needs, and they need places to hide. And that鈥檚 why I said early on in the war that if you harbor a terrorist, you鈥檙e equally as guilty as the terrorist, understanding the nature of the enemy, and understanding they need safe haven. In order to protect ourselves, we must deny them safe haven.

By the way, if the President says something he better mean it, for the sake of peace. In other words, you want your President out there making sure that his words are credible. And so I said to the Taliban, get rid of al Qaeda, or face serious consequences. They didn鈥檛, and they faced serious consequences, and we liberated Afghanistan. We removed the Taliban from power. We denied al Qaeda safe haven. And that young country, that young democracy is now beginning to grow; 25 million people are liberated as a result of the United States defending itself. And that鈥檚 important for us to realize, that not only are we defending ourselves, but in this instance, we鈥檝e given chance to people to realize the beauties of freedom.

An interesting debate in the world is whether or not freedom is universal, see, whether or not鈥攑eople say, there鈥檚 old Bush imposing his values. See, I believe freedom is universal. I believe liberty is a universal thought. It鈥檚 not an American thought, it is a universal thought. And if you believe that, then you ought to take great comfort and joy in helping others realize the benefits of liberty. The way I put it is, there is an Almighty God. One of the greatest gifts of that Almighty God is the desire for people to be free, is freedom. And therefore鈥�(applause)鈥攁nd therefore, this country and the world ought to say, how can we help you remain free? What can we do to help you realize the blessings of liberty?

Remember, as we debate these issues鈥攁nd it鈥檚 important to have a debate in our democracy, and I welcome the debate鈥攂ut remember, we were founded on the natural rights of men and women. That speaks to the universality of liberty. And we must never forget the origin of our own founding, as we look around the world.

Afghanistan鈥擨 went there with Laura. We had a good visit with President Karzai. I like him鈥攇ood man. You can imagine what it鈥檚 like to try to rebuild a country that had been occupied and then traumatized by the Taliban. They鈥檙e coming around. They got elections. They had assembly elections. He, himself, was elected. We expect them to honor the universal principle of freedom. I鈥檓 troubled when I hear鈥攄eeply troubled when I hear the fact that a person who has converted away from Islam may be held to account. That鈥檚 not the universal application of the values that I talked about. Look forward to working with the government of that country to make sure that people are protected in their capacity to worship.

There鈥檚 still a Taliban element trying to come and hurt people. But the good news is, not only do we have great U.S. troops there, but NATO is now involved. One of my jobs is to continue to make sure that people understand the benefits of a free society emerging in a neighborhood that needs freedom. And so I鈥檓 pleased with the progress, but I fully understand there鈥檚 a lot more work to be done.

Another lesson of September the 11th, and an important lesson that really does relate to the topic I want to discuss, which is Iraq, is that when you see a threat now, you got to take it seriously. That鈥檚 the lesson of September the 11th鈥攁nother lesson of September the 11th. When you see a threat emerging, you just can鈥檛 hope it goes away. If the job of the President is to protect the American people, my job then is to see threats and deal with them before they fully materialize, before they come to hurt us, before they come and strike America again.

And I saw a threat in Iraq. I鈥檒l tell you why I saw a threat. And by the way, it just wasn鈥檛 me. Members of the United States Congress in both political parties saw a threat. My predecessor saw a threat. I mean, my predecessor saw a threat and got the Congress actually to vote a resolution that said, we鈥檙e for regime change. That鈥檚 prior to my arrival. The world saw a threat. You might remember I went to the United Nations Security Council; on the 15-to-nothing vote, we passed Resolution 1441 that said to Saddam Hussein, disclose, disarm or face serious consequences. We saw a threat.

I鈥檒l tell you why I saw a threat. I saw a threat because, one, he鈥檇 been on the state鈥攈e was a state sponsor of terror. In other words, our government鈥攏ot when I was President, prior to my presidency鈥攄eclared Saddam Hussein to be a state sponsor of terror. Secondly, I know for a fact he had used weapons of mass destruction. Now, I thought he had weapons of mass destruction; members of Congress thought he had weapons of mass destruction; the world thought he had weapons of mass destruction. That鈥檚 why those nations voted in the Security Council. I鈥檓 finding out what went wrong. In other words, one of the things you better make sure of when you鈥檙e the President, you鈥檙e getting good intelligence, and, obviously, the intelligence broke down. But he had that capacity to make weapons of mass destruction, as well. He had not only murdered his own people, but he had used weapons of mass destruction on his own people.

That鈥檚 what we knew prior to the decision I made. He also was firing on our aircraft. They were enforcing a no-fly zone, United Nations no-fly zone, the world had spoken, and he had taken shots at British and U.S. pilots. He鈥檇 invaded his neighborhood. This guy was a threat. And so the world spoke. And the way I viewed it was that it was Saddam Hussein鈥檚 choice to disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences. And he made the choice, and then I was confronted with a choice. And I made my choice. And the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power. (Applause.)

The biggest threat America faces is that moment when terror and weapons of mass destruction come together. And if we ever suspect that鈥檚 happening, we got to deal with that threat seriously. Committing our troops into harm鈥檚 way is the most difficult decision a President can make. I鈥檓 going to meet with some鈥攖wo families of those who lost a loved one. It鈥檚 my duty to do so. I鈥檓 looking forward to being able to hug them, weep with them. And so for anybody out there in West Virginia who thinks it鈥檚 easy to commit troops鈥攊t鈥檚 hard. It鈥檚 the last option of the President, not the first option. The first option is to deal with things diplomatically; is to rally the world, to send a clear message that the behavior, in this case, of Saddam Hussein was intolerable. And we did that.

Now the fundamental question is: Can we win in Iraq? And that鈥檚 what I want to talk about. First of all, you got to understand that I fully understand there is deep concern among the American people about whether or not we can win. And I can understand why people are concerned. And they鈥檙e concerned because the enemy has got the capacity to affect our thinking. This is an enemy who will kill innocent people in order to achieve an objective. And Americans are decent, honorable people, they care. We care about human life. We care about human dignity. We value life. We value the life of our own citizens, and we value the life of other citizens. And so it鈥檚 easy for an enemy that is willing to kill innocent people to affect us.

The enemy has told us their objectives in Iraq. And I think it鈥檚 important for the Commander-in-Chief to take the words of the enemy very seriously. They have said that they want to spread their philosophy to other parts of the Middle East. They have said that. They have said they want to attack us again. They believe that democracies are soft, that it鈥檚 just a matter of time for the United States to lose our will and create a vacuum in Iraq so they can use their terror techniques and their willingness to kill to develop a safe haven from which to launch attacks. That鈥檚 what the enemy has said. This is鈥擨 hope the citizens of this country understand that we have intercepted documents and we put them out for people to see. I take the words very seriously.

Iraq is a part of the global war on terror. In other words, it鈥檚 a global war. We鈥檙e dealing with a group of folks that want to spread an ideology, and they see a problem developing in Iraq, and so they鈥檙e heading into Iraq to fight us, because they can鈥檛 stand the thought of democracy. Democracy trumps their ideology every time. Freedom and democracy represent hope; their point of view represents despair. Freedom represents life and the chance for people to realize their dreams; their philosophy says, you do it my way or else. And so they鈥檙e trying to fight us in Iraq.

And we have a strategy for victory in Iraq. It鈥檚 a three-pronged strategy, starting with鈥攊t鈥檚 politics, it is a鈥攊t鈥檚 security, and it鈥檚 economy. On politics, was to get the people to the polls to see if they even cared about democracy, give them a chance to vote, see what the people thought. And you might remember the elections鈥攊t probably seems like an eternity. It was just a year ago that they started voting鈥攁 little more than a year, in January of last year. And the first election round came off okay, but the Sunnis didn鈥檛 participate. They were a little disgruntled with life there. They liked their privileged status and they were boycotting the elections. Then they wrote a constitution, which is a good constitution. It鈥檚 a progressive constitution for that part of the world. More people came out to vote then last December. About 75 percent of the eligible voters said, I want to be free; I want democracy; I don鈥檛 care what Mr. Zarqawi and his al Qaeda killers are trying to do to me, I鈥檓 going to defy them, and go to the polls.

And the people have spoken. And now it鈥檚 time for a government to get stood up. There鈥檚 time for the elected representatives鈥攐r those who represent the voters, the political parties, to come together and form a unity government. That鈥檚 what the people want; otherwise they wouldn鈥檛 have gone to the polls, would they have?

I spoke to our Ambassador today, and General Casey, via video conferencing, and we talked about the need to make it clear to the Iraqis, it鈥檚 time; it鈥檚 time to get a government in place that can start leading this nation and listening to the will of the people. It鈥檚 a little hard. You can imagine what it鈥檚 like coming out of the鈥攈aving been ruled by a tyrant. People are鈥攚hen you spoke out before, no telling what was going to happen to you. It generally wasn鈥檛 good. And now people are beginning to realize democracy has taken hold.

By the way, if you look at our own history, it was a little bumpy on our road, too. You might remember the Articles of Confederation. They didn鈥檛 work too well. It took us a while from the moment of our revolution to get our Constitution written, the one that we now live by.

The second part is to help people with their economy. And we had to change our strategy there. We first went in there and said, let鈥檚 build some big plants. The problem was the big plants served as big targets for those who are disgruntled, the terrorists who are going into Iraq to use it as a safe haven, plus some of their allies, the Saddamists. These were Saddam鈥檚 inner-circle buddies and stuff like that that had received special privileges. They weren鈥檛 happy that they were no longer in privileged status. And so they were destroying some of the infrastructure we were building. So we changed our strategy and said, look, why don鈥檛 we go with smaller projects, particularly in the provinces, so people can begin to see the benefits of what it means to have a democracy unfold.

And the third aspect is security. When we got in there, it became apparent to our troops on the ground that we had a lot of training to do. We had to really rebuild an army to make sure that people had the skills necessary to be able to fight off those who want to stop the march of democracy. First we trained the army for threats from outside the country. But we realized the true threats were inside the country, whether it be the Saddamists, some Sunni rejectionists, or al Qaeda that was in there torturing and killing and maiming in order to get their way.

And we鈥檙e making progress when it comes to training the troops. More and more Iraqis are taking the fight. Right after the bombing of the Golden Mosque, for example, is an interesting indication as to whether or not the Iraqi troops are getting better.

The enemy can鈥檛 defeat us militarily, by the way. They can鈥檛 beat us on the field of battle. But the only thing they can do is they can either try to stop democracy from moving鈥攖hey failed on that. Last year, they failed. Their stated objective was just not to let democracy get going, and they flunked the test. Now they鈥檙e trying to foment a civil war. See, that鈥檚 the only way they can win. And they blew up the mosque. And there was some awful violence, some reprisals taking place. And I can understand people saying, man, it鈥檚 all going to鈥攊t鈥檚 not working out. But the security forces did a pretty good job of keeping people apart.

In other words, it was a test. It was a test for the security forces, and it was a test for the Iraqi government. The way I like to put it is they looked into the abyss as to whether or not they want a civil war or not, and chose not to. That鈥檚 not to say we don鈥檛 have more work to do, and we do鈥�(applause.) But it鈥檚 important for me to continue鈥攍ook, I鈥檓 an optimistic guy. I believe we鈥檒l succeed. Let me tell you this鈥攑ut it to you this way: If I didn鈥檛 think we鈥檇 succeed, I鈥檇 pull out troops out. I cannot look mothers and dads in the eye鈥�(applause)鈥擨 can鈥檛 ask this good Marine to go into harm鈥檚 way if I didn鈥檛 believe, one, we鈥檙e going to succeed; and, two, it鈥檚 necessary for the security of the United States. (Applause.)

And it鈥檚 tough fighting. It鈥檚 tough fighting, because we got an enemy that鈥檚 just cold-blooded. They can鈥檛 beat us militarily, but they can try to shake our will. See, remember, I told you, they have said that it鈥檚 just a matter of time, just a matter of time before the United States loses its nerve. I believe we鈥檙e doing the right thing, and we鈥檙e not going to retreat in the face of thugs and assassins. (Applause.) Thank you.

It鈥檚 the Iraqis鈥� fight. Ultimately, the Iraqis are going to have to determine their future. They made their decision politically; they voted. And these troops that we鈥檙e training are going to have to stand up and defend their democracy. We got work, by the way, in 鈥�06 to make sure the police are trained as adequately as the military, the army. It鈥檚 their choice to make. And I like to put it this way: As they stand up, we鈥檒l stand down.

But I want to say something to you about troop levels, and I know that鈥檚 something that people are talking about in Washington a lot. I鈥檓 going to make up my mind based upon the advice of the United States military that鈥檚 in Iraq. I鈥檒l be making up my mind about the troop levels based upon recommendations of those who are on the ground. I鈥檓 going to make up my mind based upon achieving a victory, not based upon polls, focus groups or election-year politics. (Applause.)

I talked about a city named Tal Afar the other day in a speech I gave in Cleveland. Just real quick, it鈥檚 an important place. It鈥檚 a place where鈥攃lose to the Syrian border, where al Qaeda was moving the terrorists from outside the country inside the country, trying to achieve their objective. And right after we removed Saddam Hussein, they started moving in. And I cannot describe to you how awful these people treat the citizens there. I mean, they are鈥擨 told a story about a young boy who was maimed, taken to a hospital, was pulled out of the hospital, was killed by the terrorists. His dad went to retrieve him on the side of the road and they put a bomb underneath him and blew up the family. I mean, Americans cannot understand the nature鈥攈ow brutal these people are. It鈥檚 shocking what they will do to try to achieve their objectives.

But it really shouldn鈥檛 shock us when you think about what they did on September the 11th. It鈥檚 the same folks, same attitude, same frame of mind. But they鈥檙e able to lock down cities, particularly those that are worried about their security, and so they basically took control of Tal Afar. So our troops went in with Iraqis and cleaned it out. The problem鈥攐h, not through yet. (Laughter.) A little early on the clap. (Laughter.) The problem was, we continued to pursue the enemy, and they moved back in, these killers and murderers moved back in, and just created a mess. I mean, they鈥擨 said in my speech, they mortared children in a playground, they recruited young kids, abused them, violated them. There鈥檚 one boy in particular who told our guys, once the city eventually got liberated, his dream was to behead somebody with a鈥攁nyway, we started working with the local folks again. This time, though, we had trained more Iraqi army ready to go.

And the difference in the story between the first time we liberated Tal Afar from them and the recent liberation was that the Iraqis were in the lead. And not only were they in the lead, they stayed behind after we left. So our troops are chasing high-value targets and training, and capable Iraqi forces are providing security. And so the day of terror began to change when they saw capable forces and a new mayor and police forces.

I mean, this is鈥攊t鈥檚 hard to put ourselves in the shoes of the folks in this town that had been traumatized. But the strategy of clear, hold and build, began to create a sense of confidence. And what鈥檚 interesting is, I can say that鈥擨 got one datapoint that I can share with you鈥攖he vote in the January 鈥�05 election was the second-lowest vote in the鈥攁s percentage of voting population, in the country, and the last vote, 85 percent of the eligible voters voted. In other words, people had a sense of security and hope.

A free Iraq is important for the United States of America. It was important to remove a threat; it was important to deal with threats before they fully materialized; but a free Iraq also does some other things. One, it serves as an amazing example鈥攊t will serve as an amazing example for people who are desperate for freedom.

You know, this is, I guess, quite a controversial subject, I readily concede, as to whether or not the United States ought to try to promote freedom in the broader Middle East. Our foreign policy before was just kind of, if the waters look calm, great. Problem is, beneath the surface was resentment brewing, and people were able to take advantage of that, these totalitarians, like al Qaeda. So I changed our foreign policy. I said, freedom is universal; history has proven democracies do not fight each other, democracies can yield peace we want, so let鈥檚 advance freedom. And that鈥檚 what鈥檚 happening. (Applause.)

It鈥檚 a big idea, but it鈥檚 an old idea. It鈥檚 worked in the past. I strongly believe that by promoting liberty we鈥檙e not only protecting ourselves, but we鈥檙e laying the foundation of peace for a generation to come. And I鈥檒l tell you why I believe that鈥攁nd then I鈥檒l answer questions. Thank goodness Laura isn鈥檛 here, she鈥檇 be giving me the hook.

Two examples that I use that are obviously鈥攚ell, I鈥檓 living one example, and that is my relationship with the Prime Minister of Japan. He is one of my best buddies鈥擨 don鈥檛 know if you鈥檙e supposed to call them “buddies” in diplomacy鈥攐ne of my best buddies in working to keep the peace. I find that a really interesting statement to say to you, knowing my own family鈥檚 history鈥�18-year-old鈥攎y dad, when he was 18, went to fight the Japanese. I think it鈥檚 really one of the interesting twists of history that I stand here in West Virginia saying to you that Prime Minister Koizumi and I talk about ways to keep the peace, ways to deal with North Korea, he鈥檚 helping in Iraq, ways to deal with other issues. And 60 years prior to that, when the country called, George H. W. said, I want to go, just like, I鈥檓 sure, relatives of you all. And Japan was a sworn enemy. And there was a lot of bloodshed in order to鈥攔emember, they attacked us, too. And yet, today, the President says, we鈥檙e working to keep the peace. And what happened? It鈥檚 an interesting lesson that I hope people remember. Something happened. What happened was, Japan adopted a Japanese-style democracy.

I believe freedom and liberty can change enemies into allies. I believe freedom has the power to transform societies. It鈥檚 not easy work, it鈥檚 difficult work. But we鈥檝e seen history before. I know you鈥檝e got relatives who were in World War II. On that continent, hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their lives in two world wars during the 1900s. And yet today, Europe is whole, free and at peace. What happened? Democracies don鈥檛 war. And so part of my decision-making that I鈥檓 trying to explain to you today about war, about what you鈥檙e seeing on your TV screens, about the anxiety that a lot of our citizens feel, is based upon, one, the need to protect the American people, and my deep reservoir of commitment to doing what it takes鈥攖o look at the world realistically, to understand we鈥檙e in a global war against a serious enemy.

But also my thinking is based upon some universal values and my belief that history can repeat itself, and that freedom and liberty has a chance to lay a foundation of peace so that maybe 40 years from now, somebody is speaking here in West Virginia saying, you know, a bunch of folks were given a challenge and a task, and that generation didn鈥檛 lose faith in the capacity of freedom to change, and today, I鈥檓 able to sit down with the duly elected leaders of democracy in the Middle East, keeping the peace for the next generation to come. (Applause.)