Remarks to the United States Embassy Community in Shanghai

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Oct 22, 2001

October 19, 2001

Thank you all very much. Look who I brought with me--Ambassador Randt's boss, the Secretary of State, who, by the way, is doing a fabulous job on behalf of the American people. I want to thank all my fellow Americans who are here, those of you who are working for a great land and a great people. I also want to thank the Foreign Service nationals who are here, as well.

All of us are very proud of the job that you're doing. I want to say that I sent a clear signal to China that I take this relationship very seriously, that it's of paramount concern of my administration, when I picked my longtime friend to be the Ambassador to this country. I've known Clark T. for a long, long period of time. I know him to be a man who is bright, intelligent, a man who understands China well. He's going to be a great ambassador to this country.

Hank, I want to thank you, as well. I know how much work goes into making sure one of these trips goes well. After all, our delegation is only occupying three full hotels. [Laughter] It's good for the economy when the President shows up. [Laughter] But I want to thank you, and I want to thank your office and all the people who have helped with the arrangements for this important trip.

Sergeant, I want to thank you, as well, for your service to the country. As you all know, I committed American troops to a very important cause in the last couple of weeks. And I did so with the full confidence that our military is the best in the world. The American people have got the full confidence that our military will fulfill its mission. And one of the reasons that I've got so much confidence is I know many of the people who wear the uniform.

Sergeant Khaled represents the fine quality of the men and women who serve our country. And Sergeant, thank you very much for being here.

Before I work my way through the ropeline to shake everybody's hand and thank you for coming, maybe take a picture or two, I want to give you a report from the home-front, what it's like in the United States. The United States of America is united. It is strong. It is determined to reject evil, to fight terrorism. The United States people are very patient. They understand that

we've entered into a new kind of conflict, and they, like the President and the Secretary of State, are ready to do whatever it takes to win. We will not let terrorism stand.

Our fight is not against a religion or a nation. Our fight is against evil people and a government that houses them. Our fight is against the evildoers, individuals who think so evil that they're willing to murder innocent people, and those who house them. The doctrine is, is that those who have committed crimes against America and crimes against freedom will be held accountable. But so will nations who harbor them, who feed them, and who hide them.

And our great Government, along with others, is now making that statement clear to the world. And we're making good progress. We've got them on the inn. And slowly but surely we're pulling the net of justice around them--"they" being the Taliban as the host and the Al Qaida as the parasite. And we will bring them to justice; make no mistake about it. And the world will be better for it when we do.

I had a very good meeting with President Jiang today. He understands that--he understands the threat that terrorism means not only to America but to nations around the world. And he also is willing to join with us in the war against terror. The war against terror is more than just conventional means, the war against terror--using conventional means. The war against terror means smart diplomacy, and for those of you on the diplomatic front, thank you for helping wage that war.

The war against terror means sharing of information. And the Chinese Government is more than willing to work with us as we share information, as we hunt these evildoers down. The war against terror is fought on all kinds of fronts. And whether you realize it or not, you're on the front--on the frontlines of this war. And we want to thank you for that.

I come to this important--I come to this meeting in a time of uncertainty in America. And I did so because I wanted our country to have the confidence that our Government is doing everything we can to win, that we're going to continue to build coalitions, we're going to continue to rally the world.

At home, I want to assure you that we're responding quickly. Perhaps you've read about these anthrax mailings. We don't know who did it yet. But if you've got relatives at home, I can assure you that our Government is taking the necessary actions to make sure Americans are treated quickly when we find any exposure to our fellow citizens.

We're doing everything we can at home to disrupt the evildoers. The Justice Department is on full alert. The FBI is active, within the Constitution of the United States of America. We're protecting your loved ones and your relatives in America. But I also will remind you that the surest way to make sure America is protected, and other governments and countries are protected, is to win the war, is to find them, patiently hunt them down, and bring them to justice. And that's exactly what our great land is going to do.