Remarks by the Vice President at the United States Coast Guard Academy Commencement Ceremony

Business Wire, May 21, 2008

When you stepped forward to serve the United States, it was already clear that these are decisive times in the life of our country. It's rare for an Academy class to begin during a war, and then graduate during that same war. The challenge that came to America on September 11th, 2001 will be the defining issue of your career. As we confront deadly and determined enemies and hold them to account, the Coast Guard will be essential to the fight -- and the Coast Guard will be essential to victory.

The extremists and killers who hit our country have declared, again and again, that they intend to come back at us. We take their words seriously. And we've responded with a comprehensive effort -- reorganizing the government to protect the homeland; expanding our ability to track enemy movements and communications; and bringing a global coalition to fight the war on terror. This nation has kept the commitment declared by President Bush after 9/11: to wage this battle on the offensive, to track the enemy down until he has no place left to hide, and to stay in the fight until the fight is won.

Five years ago, at the President's request, Congress created a new Department of Homeland Security, merging 22 different governmental organizations into a single department, with the overriding duty of protecting the American people from future attacks. The Coast Guard is the only military element of the Department of Homeland Security -- and its duties are at the very core of the homeland security mission.

In its five years as part of DHS, the Coast Guard has undertaken the largest commitment to port security operations since the Second World War. That alone is an enormous task, given the many foreign vessels that arrive at our ports every single day. On top of that, you're transforming our coastal defenses with better tracking technology, security zones around high-value assets, and many other steps critical to keeping the maritime domain free of terrorists.

As you deploy the full range of assets close to home, the Coast Guard is also vital to America's mission in Southwest Asia. As we meet today, American Coast Guard personnel are providing port security, on-and-off-loading of military hardware, and patrol forces to secure assets in the Persian Gulf. They are serving, along with our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, in part of the world that is going to require America's close attention for many years to come. The Broader Middle East is home to important values, to valued friends, and trading partners. Its resources and commercial routes are at the very heart of the global economy. Its history and its holy sites have deep meaning to hundreds of millions of people in many countries. And the region has been a breeding ground for the hateful ideologies that threaten the free world with repeated acts of sudden, spectacular violence.

The war on terror is a lengthy enterprise, but it does not have to go on forever. To prevail in the long run, we will overcome the ideologies of hate by spreading human liberty, self-government, tolerance, mercy, and the dignity of every human life. The people of Iraq and Afghanistan suffered greatly through decades of tyranny. They want the same good things for their children that you and I want for our children. They've chosen the path of freedom and democracy. And no matter who lines up against them, they can know that America -- the country that liberated them -- still cares about their freedom. (Applause.)