The President has announced that our enemies are those who “celebrate murder, incite suicide and thirst for absolute power.” No mention of them by name or explanation of why they might want to do this, but we are getting warmer. From the Defense Department website, with thanks to Daryl:
WASHINGTON, July 4, 2005 — Terrorists may continue to kill innocent people, but they can’t stop the advance of freedom, President Bush told an Independence Day audience in Morgantown, W.Va., today.
“Our enemies in this new war are men who celebrate murder, incite suicide and thirst for absolute power,” Bush said. “They seek to spread their ideology of tyranny and oppression across the world. They seek to turn the Middle East into a haven for terror. They seek to drive America out of the region. These terrorists will not be stopped by negotiations, or concessions, or appeals to reason. In this war, there is only one option, and that is victory.
“We’re denying our enemies sanctuary…
Except, of course, in the FBI.
…and making it clear that America will not tolerate regimes that harbor or support terrorists,” he continued.
Except, of course, for the House of Saud.
“And we’re spreading freedom, because the terrorists know there is no room for them in a free and democratic Middle East.”
Terrorists from across the region are converging on Iraq to fight the rise of democracy, the president noted.
“The images of cruelty and suffering we see on television are real, and they are difficult for our compassionate nation to watch,” he said. “Yet, the terrorist violence has not brought them any closer to achieving their strategic objectives. The terrorists tried to intimidate the Iraqi Governing Council, and they failed. They tried to delay the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq, and they failed. They tried to stop the free Iraqi elections, and they failed.
“They continue to kill in the hope that they will break the resolve of the American people,” he continued, “but they will fail. The lesson of this experience is clear: the terrorists can kill the innocent, but they cannot stop the advance of freedom.”
I certainly hope he is correct. I am still concerned, as I have been for quite some time, that he insufficiently appreciates the true dimensions of what he is up against.