America must win in Iraq for the sake of the whole Middle East, and Iran's ambitions must be contained, argues US president George Bush
America is engaged in a great ideological struggle - fighting Islamic extremists across the globe. A key aspect of the struggle [ is] the fight for the future of the Middle East.
Many people in this country are asking whether the fight underway today is worth it . . . The hope and prosperity that transformed other parts of the world in the 20th century has bypassed too many in the Middle East.
For too long, the world was content to ignore forms of government in this region - in the name of stability. The result was that a generation of young people grew up with little hope to improve their lives, and many fell under the sway of violent Islamic extremism.
The terrorist movement multiplied in strength, and bitterness that had simmered for years boiled into violence across the world. The cradle of civilisation became the home of the suicide bomber. And resentments that began on the streets of the Middle East are now killing innocent people in train stations and airplanes and office buildings around the world.
The murderers and beheaders are not the true face of Islam; they are the face of evil. They seek to exploit religion as a path to power and a means to dominate the Middle East. The violent Islamic radicalism that inspires them has two main strains.
One is Sunni extremism, embodied by al-Qaeda and its terrorist allies. Their organisation advances a vision that rejects tolerance, crushes all dissent, and justifies the murder of innocent men, women, and children in the pursuit of political power.
We saw this vision in the brutal rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, where women were publicly whipped, men were beaten for missing prayer meetings, and young girls could not go to school. These extremists hope to impose that same dark vision across the Middle East by raising up a violent and radical caliphate that spans from Spain to Indonesia. So they kill fellow Muslims in places like Algeria and Jordan and Egypt and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to undermine their governments. And they kill Americans because they know we stand in their way. . .
The other strain of radicalism in the Middle East is Shia extremism, supported and embodied by the regime that sits in Tehran.
Iran has long been a source of trouble in the region. It is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. Iran backs Hizbullah who are trying to undermine the democratic government of Lebanon.
Iran funds terrorist groups like Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which murder the innocent, and target Israel, and destabilise the Palestinian territories.
Iran is sending arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan, which could be used to attack American and Nato troops. Iran has arrested visiting American scholars who have committed no crimes and pose no threat to their regime. And Iran's active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust.
Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. And that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions. We will confront this danger before it is too late . . .
What would happen if these forces of radicalism and extremism are allowed to drive us out of the Middle East?
The region would be dramatically transformed in a way that could imperil the civilised world. Extremists of all strains would be emboldened by the knowledge that they forced America to retreat. Terrorists could have more safe havens to conduct attacks on Americans and our friends and allies. Iran could conclude that we were weak - and could not stop them from gaining nuclear weapons. And once Iran had nuclear weapons, it would set off a nuclear arms race in the region.
Extremists would control a key part of the world's energy supply, could blackmail and sabotage the global economy. They could use billions of dollars of oil revenues to buy weapons and pursue their deadly ambitions. Our allies in the region would be under greater siege by the enemies of freedom.
Early movements toward democracy in the region would be violently reversed. This scenario would be a disaster for the people of the Middle East, a danger to our friends and allies, and a direct threat to American peace and security. This is what the extremists plan.
For the sake of our own security, we'll pursue our enemies, we'll persevere and we will prevail.
In the short-term, we're using all elements of American power to protect the American people by taking the fight to the enemy . . . Our diplomats are rallying our friends and allies throughout the region to share intelligence and to tighten security and to rout out the extremists hiding in their midst . . .
In the long term, we are advancing freedom and liberty as the alternative to the ideologies of hatred and repression.
We seek a Middle East of secure democratic states that are at peace with one another, that are participating in the global markets, and that are partners in this fight against the extremists and radicals. We seek to dry up the stream of recruits for al-Qaeda and other extremists by helping nations offer their people a path to a more hopeful future.
We seek an Iran whose government is accountable to its people - instead of to leaders who promote terror and pursue the technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons. We seek to advance a two-state solution for the Israelis and Palestinians so they can live side by side in peace and security. We seek justice and dignity and human rights for all the people of the Middle East . . .
The future course of the Middle East will turn heavily on the outcome of the fight in Iraq. Iraq is at the heart of the Middle East. And the two dangerous strains of extremism vying for control of the Middle East have now closed in on this country in an effort to bring down the young democracy. In Iraq, Sunni extremists, led by al-Qaeda, are staging sensational attacks on innocent men, women, and children in an attempt to stoke sectarian violence . . .
Shia extremists, backed by Iran, are training Iraqis to carry out attacks on our forces and the Iraqi people. Members of the Qods Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are supplying extremist groups with funding and weapons, including sophisticated IEDs (improvised explosive devices).
And with the assistance of Hizbullah, they've provided training for these violent forces inside of Iraq.
Recently, coalition forces seized 240mm rockets that had been manufactured in Iran this year and that had been provided to Iraqi extremist groups by Iranian agents.
The attacks on our bases and our troops by Iranian-supplied munitions have increased in the last few months - despite pledges by Iran to help stabilize the security situation in Iraq. Some say Iran's leaders are not aware of what members of their own regime are doing. Others say Iran's leaders are actively seeking to provoke the West.
Either way, they cannot escape responsibility for aiding attacks against coalition forces and the murder of innocent Iraqis. The Iranian regime must halt these actions. And until it does, I will take actions necessary to protect our troops. I have authorised our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities.
For all those who ask whether the fight in Iraq is worth it, imagine an Iraq where militia groups backed by Iran control large parts of the country. Imagine an Iraq where al-Qaeda has established sanctuaries to safely plot future attacks on targets all over the world, including America. We've seen what these enemies will do when American forces are actively engaged in Iraq. And we can envision what they would do if they were emboldened by American forces in retreat.
The challenge in Iraq comes down to this: Either the forces of extremism succeed, or the forces of freedom succeed. Either our enemies advance their interests in Iraq, or we advance our interests.
The most important and immediate way to counter the ambitions of al-Qaeda and Iran and other forces of instability and terror is to win the fight in Iraq.
Extracted from a speech president Bush gave on Tuesday to the 89th annual national convention of the American Legion at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada. The full text may be read on the White House website