Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Tempore, members of Congress, and
fellow Americans:

In the normal course of events, presidents come to this chamber to
report on the state of the Union. Tonight, no such report is
needed. It has already been delivered by the American people.

We have seen it in the courage of passengers who rushed terrorists
to save others on the ground. Passengers like an exceptional man
named Todd Beamer. And would you please help me welcome his wife
Lisa Beamer here tonight?

We have seen the state of our Union in the endurance of rescuers
working past exhaustion.

We've seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the
giving of blood, the saying of prayers in English, Hebrew and
Arabic.

We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have
made the grief of strangers their own.

My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has
seen for itself the state of union, and it is strong.

Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend
freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution.
Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our
enemies, justice will be done.

I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time.

All of America was touched on the evening of the tragedy to see
Republicans and Democrats joined together on the steps of this
Capitol singing ``God Bless America.''

And you did more than sing. You acted, by delivering $40 billion
to rebuild our communities and meet the needs of our military.
Speaker Hastert, Minority Leader Gephardt, Majority Leader Daschle
and Senator Lott, I thank you for your friendship, for your
leadership and for your service to our country.

And on behalf of the American people, I thank the world for its
outpouring of support.

America will never forget the sounds of our national anthem
playing at Buckingham Palace, on the streets of Paris and at
Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

We will not forget South Korean children gathering to pray outside
our embassy in Seoul, or the prayers of sympathy offered at a
mosque in Cairo.

We will not forget moments of silence and days of mourning in
Australia and Africa and Latin America.

Nor will we forget the citizens of 80 other nations who died with
our own. Dozens of Pakistanis, more than 130 Israelis, more than
250 citizens of India, men and women from El Salvador (news - web
sites), Iran, Mexico and Japan, and hundreds of British citizens.

America has no truer friend than Great Britain.

Once again, we are joined together in a great cause.

I'm so honored the British prime minister has crossed an ocean to
show his unity with America.

Thank you for coming, friend.

On Sept. 11, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against
our country. Americans have known wars, but for the past 136 years
they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in
1941. Americans have known the casualties of war, but not at the
center of a great city on a peaceful morning.

Americans have known surprise attacks, but never before on
thousands of civilians.

All of this was brought upon us in a single day, and night fell on
a different world, a world where freedom itself is under attack.

Americans have many questions tonight. Americans are asking, ``Who
attacked our country?''

The evidence we have gathered all points to a collection of
loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al-Qaida. They
are some of the murderers indicted for bombing American embassies
in Tanzania and Kenya and responsible for bombing the USS Cole
(news - web sites).

Al-Qaida is to terror what the Mafia is to crime. But its goal is
not making money. Its goal is remaking the world and imposing its
radical beliefs on people everywhere.

The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that
has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of
Muslim clerics; a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful
teachings of Islam

The terrorists' directive commands them to kill Christians and
Jews, to kill all Americans and make no distinctions among
military and civilians, including women and children.

This group and its leader, a person named Osama bin Laden (news -
web sites), are linked to many other organizations in different
countries, including the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan.

There are thousands of these terrorists in more than 60 countries.

They are recruited from their own nations and neighborhoods and
brought to camps in places like Afghanistan (news - web sites),
where they are trained in the tactics of terror. They are sent
back to their homes or sent to hide in countries around the world
to plot evil and destruction.

The leadership of al-Qaida has great influence in Afghanistan and
supports the Taliban regime in controlling most of that country.
In Afghanistan we see al-Qaida's vision for the world.
Afghanistan's people have been brutalized, many are starving and
many have fled.

Women are not allowed to attend school. You can be jailed for
owning a television. Religion can be practiced only as their
leaders dictate. A man can be jailed in Afghanistan if his beard
is not long enough.

The United States respects the people of Afghanistan - after all,
we are currently its largest source of humanitarian aid - but we
condemn the Taliban regime.

It is not only repressing its own people, it is threatening people
everywhere by sponsoring and sheltering and supplying terrorists.

By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing
murder. And tonight the United States of America makes the
following demands on the Taliban.

Deliver to United States authorities all of the leaders of
al-Qaida who hide in your land.

Release all foreign nationals, including American citizens you
have unjustly imprisoned. Protect foreign journalists, diplomats
and aid workers in your country. Close immediately and permanently
every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. And hand over every
terrorist and every person and their support structure to
appropriate authorities.

Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps, so
we can make sure they are no longer operating.

These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion.

The Taliban must act and act immediately.

They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their
fate.

I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the
world. We respect your faith. It's practiced freely by many
millions of Americans and by millions more in countries that
America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful,
and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name
of Allah.

The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect,
to hijack Islam itself.

The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends. It is not our
many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists
and every government that supports them.

Our war on terror begins with al-Qaida, but it does not end there.

It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has
been found, stopped and defeated.

Americans are asking, ``Why do they hate us?''

They hate what they see right here in this chamber: a
democratically elected government. Their leaders are
self-appointed. They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion,
our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and
disagree with each other.

They want to overthrow existing governments in many Muslim
countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. They want to
drive Israel out of the Middle East. They want to drive Christians
and Jews out of vast regions of Asia and Africa.

These terrorists kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and
end a way of life. With every atrocity, they hope that America
grows fearful, retreating from the world and forsaking our
friends. They stand against us because we stand in their way.

We're not deceived by their pretenses to piety.

We have seen their kind before. They're the heirs of all the
murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human
life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value
except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism,
Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the
way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave of discarded
lies.

Americans are asking, ``How will we fight and win this war?''

We will direct every resource at our command - every means of
diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law
enforcement, every financial influence and every necessary weapon
of war - to the destruction and to the defeat of the global terror
network.

Now this war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago,
with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion. It
will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where
no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in
combat.

Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and
isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a
lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. It may
include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations
secret even in success.

We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against
another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge
or no rest.

And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to
terrorism. Every nation in every region now has a decision to
make: Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.

From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or
support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a
hostile regime. Our nation has been put on notice, we're not
immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against
terrorism to protect Americans.

Today, dozens of federal departments and agencies, as well as
state and local governments, have responsibilities affecting
homeland security.

These efforts must be coordinated at the highest level. So
tonight, I announce the creation of a Cabinet-level position
reporting directly to me, the Office of Homeland Security.

And tonight, I also announce a distinguished American to lead this
effort, to strengthen American security: a military veteran, an
effective governor, a true patriot, a trusted friend,
Pennsylvania's Tom Ridge.

He will lead, oversee and coordinate a comprehensive national
strategy to safeguard our country against terrorism and respond to
any attacks that may come.

These measures are essential. The only way to defeat terrorism as
a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it and
destroy it where it grows.

Many will be involved in this effort, from FBI (news - web sites)
agents, to intelligence operatives, to the reservists we have
called to active duty. All deserve our thanks, and all have our
prayers.

And tonight a few miles from the damaged Pentagon (news - web
sites), I have a message for our military: Be ready. I have called
the armed forces to alert, and there is a reason.

The hour is coming when America will act, and you will make us
proud.

This is not, however, just America's fight. And what is at stake
is not just America's freedom.

This is the world's fight. This is civilization's fight. This is
the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance
and freedom.

We ask every nation to join us.

We will ask and we will need the help of police forces,
intelligence services and banking systems around the world. The
United States is grateful that many nations and many international
organizations have already responded with sympathy and with
support - nations from Latin America, to Asia, to Africa, to
Europe, to the Islamic world.

Perhaps the NATO (news - web sites) charter reflects best the
attitude of the world: An attack on one is an attack on all. The
civilized world is rallying to America's side.

They understand that if this terror goes unpunished, their own
cities, their own citizens may be next. Terror unanswered cannot
only bring down buildings, it can threaten the stability of
legitimate governments.

And you know what? We're not going to allow it.

Americans are asking, ``What is expected of us?''

I ask you to live your lives and hug your children.

I know many citizens have fears tonight, and I ask you to be calm
and resolute, even in the face of a continuing threat.

I ask you to uphold the values of America and remember why so many
have come here.

We're in a fight for our principles, and our first responsibility
is to live by them. No one should be singled out for unfair
treatment or unkind words because of their ethnic background or
religious faith.

I ask you to continue to support the victims of this tragedy with
your contributions. Those who want to give can go to a central
source of information, libertyunites.org, to find the names of
groups providing direct help in New York, Pennsylvania and
Virginia.

The thousands of FBI agents who are now at work in this
investigation may need your cooperation, and I ask you to give it.
I ask for your patience with the delays and inconveniences that
may accompany tighter security and for your patience in what will
be a long struggle.

I ask your continued participation and confidence in the American
economy. Terrorists attacked a symbol of American prosperity; they
did not touch its source.

America is successful because of the hard work and creativity and
enterprise of our people. These were the true strengths of our
economy before Sept. 11, and they are our strengths today.

And finally, please continue praying for the victims of terror and
their families, for those in uniform and for our great country.
Prayer has comforted us in sorrow and will help strengthen us for
the journey ahead.

Tonight I thank my fellow Americans for what you have already done
and for what you will do.

And ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, I thank you, their
representatives, for what you have already done and for what we
will do together.

Tonight we face new and sudden national challenges.

We will come together to improve air safety, to dramatically
expand the number of air marshals on domestic flights and take new
measures to prevent hijacking.

We will come together to promote stability and keep our airlines
flying with direct assistance during this emergency.

We will come together to give law enforcement the additional tools
it needs to track down terror here at home.

We will come together to strengthen our intelligence capabilities
to know the plans of terrorists before they act and to find them
before they strike.

We will come together to take active steps that strengthen
America's economy and put our people back to work.

Tonight, we welcome two leaders who embody the extraordinary
spirit of all New Yorkers, Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudolf
Giuliani.

As a symbol of America's resolve, my administration will work with
Congress and these two leaders to show the world that we will
rebuild New York City.

After all that has just passed, all the lives taken and all the
possibilities and hopes that died with them, it is natural to
wonder if America's future is one of fear.

Some speak of an age of terror. I know there are struggles ahead
and dangers to face. But this country will define our times, not
be defined by them.

As long as the United States of America is determined and strong,
this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty
here and across the world.

Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And
in our grief and anger, we have found our mission and our moment.

Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom, the
great achievement of our time and the great hope of every time,
now depends on us.

Our nation, this generation, will lift the dark threat of violence
from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this
cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will
not falter, and we will not fail.

It is my hope that in the months and years ahead life will return
almost to normal. We'll go back to our lives and routines, and
that is good.

Even grief recedes with time and grace.

But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what
happened that day and to whom it happened. We will remember the
moment the news came, where we were and what we were doing.

Some will remember an image of a fire or story or rescue. Some
will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever.

And I will carry this. It is the police shield of a man named
George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save
others.

It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her
son. It is my reminder of lives that ended and a task that does
not end.

I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted
it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging
this struggle for freedom and security for the American people.

The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is
certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been
at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.

Fellow citizens, we'll meet violence with patient justice, assured
of the rightness of our cause and confident of the victories to
come.

In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom, and may he
watch over the United States of America.

Thank you.