President
|
Vice President
|
First Lady
|
Mrs. Cheney
|
News & Policies
History & Tours
|
Kids
|
Your Government
|
Appointments
|
Jobs
|
Contact
|
Graphic version
Email Updates
|
Español
|
Accessibility
|
Search
|
Privacy Policy
|
Help
For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
March 18, 2008
Vice President Cheney's Remarks in Rally with Troops
Holt Memorial Stadium
Balad Air Force Base, Iraq
9:17 A.M. (Local)
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: Thank you very much for that warm welcome.
(Applause.) That's all right. Don't hold back. I'm delighted to be
here at Balad Air Base. Ladies and gentlemen, it's good to see all of
you -- and of course to be here with my wife, Lynne, and our daughter,
Elizabeth. The general mentioned I was born in Nebraska, but grew up
in Wyoming. The way we got to Wyoming, when I was 13 years old, my dad
worked for the government. General Eisenhower, then President of the
United States, reorganized the Agriculture Department, and dad got
transferred to Casper, where I met Lynne, and we grew up together, and
went to high school together. We celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary
next August. (Applause.) Anybody here who is 44 years old?
(Laughter.) I often explain to people, if it hadn't been for that
election in 1952, I wouldn't have moved to Wyoming, and Lynne would have
married somebody else. She said, right, and now he'd be Vice President
of the United States.
Anyway, thanks for getting up early to let us say hello. Some of you
know we were in Baghdad yesterday and spent last night here on base.
I came to Iraq for meetings with General Petraeus, Ambassador Crocker,
the Prime Minister, and others. Before going on to another part of the
country today, I asked for the chance to say a few words to the men and
women serving here at Balad. I want you to know that we appreciate you
and your comrades, that we never take you for granted, that we're
inspired by the tremendous work you've done on this deployment. I bring
greetings from home, and good wishes to all of you from the President of
the United States, George W. Bush. (Applause.)
On the President's behalf I want to thank all of you for being part of
an extraordinary American team here in Iraq. This is one of our biggest
bases in the country. And the work that goes on at Balad and at Camp
Anaconda, around the clock, seven days a week, is absolutely critical to
the mission that America has undertaken here. Balad is one of the
busiest airports anywhere, and it's the main staging area for the
massive logistical operations we need in this theater. From the very
beginning, we've had high expectations of the men and women serving
here. We've given you a lot of work to do, and at often times a very
small amount of time in which to do it. And you've more than met our
expectations.
Service above self is the military way of life, and that goes, of
course, for everybody back home that has a loved one in the armed
forces. Especially in wartime, our military families understand full
well what it means to make sacrifices for the good of the country. So
the next time you email your family members, please pass along my thanks
to them, as well.
Each one of you has accepted serious duties in a challenging part
of the world. And the job you do here has a direct impact on the
security of the United States. Our country has been engaged in the
broader Middle East now for generations. And the work we're doing right
now provides the best chance for the security of our friends, allies,
and partners and for the long-term peace of the region.
Five years ago this week, we led a coalition to liberate this country
from tyranny. And we promised that we would stand by the Iraqi people
as they built free institutions and took charge of their own destiny
once again. America has done this kind of work before, from Europe to
Asia, and it's never been easy. But we know from history that it's
worth all the effort we put into it.
Freedom and democracy are the values that give hope to entire nations.
You and I know what it means to be free; to choose our own leaders, to
live, and work, and worship as we see fit. We wouldn't give such
freedoms away. And neither would the people of Iraq or Afghanistan.
But in both of those countries, they're facing attack from violent
extremists who want to end all democratic progress and pull them once
again in the direction of tyranny. We're helping them fight back
because it's the right thing to do, and because it's important for our
own long-term security. As President Bush has said, the war on terror
is an ideological struggle. And as long as this part of the world
"remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place
of stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export."
This long-term struggle became urgent on the morning of September 11th,
2001. That day we saw clearly that dangers can gather far from our own
shores and find us right there at home. So the United States made a
decision: To hunt down the evil of terrorism and kill it where it
grows, to hold the supporters of terror to account, and to confront
regimes that harbor terrorists and threaten the peace. Understanding
all the dangers of this new era, we have no intention of abandoning our
friends, or allowing this country of 170,000 square miles to become a
staging area for further attacks against Americans. Tyranny in Iraq was
worth defeating. Democracy in Iraq is worth defending. (Applause.)
All Americans can be certain: We intend to complete the mission, so that
another generation of Americans doesn't have to come back here and do it
again. (Applause.)
During this deployment, ladies and gentlemen, you've seen incredible
progress on the ground in Iraq -- not just as witnesses, but as
participants. A little over a year ago, we made a decisive change in
our strategy -- a decision to seize the initiative against the forces of
violence, to provide basic security in the capital city, to give Iraqis
the opportunity and the confidence to go forward. We made a surge in
operations, and the results are now clear: more effective raids to root
out enemies; better and more accurate intelligence information from the
locals; and higher hopes for the future from the Iraqi people. And
across this country, the more that Iraqis have gotten to know Americans
-- the nature of our intentions, and the character of our soldiers --
the better they've felt about the United States of America.
They know, above all, that America can be trusted. They know we're a
nation that accepts a hard job, and keeps at it even if others may tire
of the effort. And we'll continue working to help this young democracy,
to be an example to others, and to be an ally in the war on terror.
That war is not yet won -- but the day will come when terrorists and
terror states are no longer a strategic threat to America. And you, as
veterans of this fight, will always be honored and respected for what
you did to defend our country, and to defeat freedom's enemies.
(Applause.)
The President and I, and your fellow citizens, want nothing more than
have you and all of your comrades return home safely at the end of this
tour of duty. We're going to do everything we can to make that happen.
And when you look back on this deployment, you'll be able to say that
here you did some of the hardest work of your life, some of the most
important work of your life, and some of the best work of your life.
And you did it all for your country.
I appreciate your attention this morning -- it's been my privilege to be
with all of you. Keep up the great work. And thank you for what you do
for all of us. (Applause.)
END 9:27 A.M. (Local)
Printer-Friendly Version
Email this page to a friend
more issues