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.

It is vitally important, from this point forward, that every action taken be seen to be completely sanctioned by the American people. This is the point of no return.

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?

This is the traditional listing of attributes assigned as native to the people of the home nation at the point of engaging in war. It begins with citing the courage of regular people of that nation. Ideally, a hero will be found. If that hero is also a martyr to the catalysing action, so much the better. Those who are dead and the families of those who are dead will not be left in peace, but will be brought before the American public again and again and again as justification and reminder. The time for simple mourning is done and any possibility of support without agenda is done.

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.

More listing: endurance and dedication, a united patriotism linked with spirituality, decency.

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

The next point in the list: strength in unity. This is essential not only in restoring national confidence in action, but also as an image to show the world. It will be increasingly difficult in future to take up the public �freedom to disagree� raised later.

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.

Reinforcing the idea that it was �freedom� that was attacked, and that justice requires that freedom be defended at any cost. Any country not abiding by the United States� definition of justice at this point is ipso facto not just. Yes, I know all the arguments against the Taliban�s way of governing � but there are many other regimes on the globe that are equally as constricting or worse � some of them supported by the United States. The only difference here is that United States mainland soil has been attacked � and so the regime becomes something of an excuse. Bin Laden, however, is Saudi, and much of the money behind the attacks is rumoured to be of Saudi origin � and Saudi Arabia, nearly alone among Islamic nations, remains �semi-allied� with the United States.

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

This is (at least in theory) a decision �of the people�, not solely of the executive branch. Very important distinction, especially after Nixon.

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.

Returning to �unity in strength�, since the United States has always had precisely that problem with the �united� part. A point is made of citing leaders of opposite factions, uniting to support the nation in its time of need: �need� here being defined by rebuilding communities and supporting the military. I wonder what the results would have been had the two had been de-linked?

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, 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 had crossed an ocean to show his unity with America. Thank you for coming, friend.

If you are not for us, you are against us. Once again the support given primarily for shared grief in loss is not mentioned is reinterpreted into a �creative truth� and a challenge: are you with us in our future actions or not? There has been much speculation as to why some countries were mentioned and not others: some going so far as to identify a snub. I suggest that only the gestures of support from those countries which may ally, but whose unconditional alliance is somewhat in doubt, are mentioned: France, Germany, South Korea, Egypt, Australia. British Prime Minister Tony Blair is specifically thanked as a friend for showing open support by coming, thus sending a message to other countries: support us unconditionally, and be our friend -- or else. A further veiled demand for more general support �in a great cause� is made by reminding how many nationals of different countries died in the September 11 attack.

On September the 11th, 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.
Once again that image of Pearl Harbor is invoked, linked with the concept of �freedom itself� being under attack. American soil was attacked: and I keep hearing a �How dare they!� But what is so much more acceptable about taking wars to and keeping them on foreign soil? Do civilians not die in those? Were some of those civilians not killed by Americans, or by forces overtly or covertly supported by Americans?

Americans have many questions tonight.

People in crisis are often people in shock, and people in shock often seek to be told the answers, to be told what to do (as most emergency team members know well). Answers coming from the President in a time of crisis are both comfort (someone knows what to do!) and good for reinforcing �the cause�: if the government gives the �correct� answers, no one will be confused by finding other answers � which might not mesh with the �correct� versions � on their own.

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 Qaeda. They are some of the murderers indicted for bombing American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and responsible for bombing the USS Cole.

Thus far this is a fairly neutral explanation. With the second sentence�s �murderers�, however, begins the value-laden language and the editorialising. It has already been established that the action of September 11 were an act of war, and that war may go much further back. Deaths during wartime are not usually �murders� � unless they are caused by the opposite side during a period which is camouflaged as peace.

Al Qaeda 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.

One heck of an analogy � and completely inaccurate: both with respect to the �gentlemen of honour� and al Quaeda. Bush, here, is using a familiar stereotype to create a very specific image and predictable emotional context. Suffice it here to say again I strongly disagree that these are in fact the primary motivations involved � but that in the context of Bush�s goal, it is necessary that these motivations be assigned to the �other� so as to explain why there is no possible reasoning with any of those involved, not with any real attempt at understanding. This interpretation is possible because Islam � like Christianity � is an evangelical religion; but � unlike most sects of Christianity � without a single central leader for most sects (including Wahabbi Islam): and so there exist enough different individual interpretations of Islamic evangelism that it is entirely possible to pick and choose to support any given viewpoint. We had a choice on September 11: we could try to understand, or we could try for revenge. The path to revenge demands utter refusal of any attempt to understand � for if we understood, we might no longer wish revenge.

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.

First off, I have never agreed with any interpretation of any religion that allows for the killing of others in the name of faith � any faith. That being said, the above statement inaccurately implies that this specific interpretation of Islam is somehow �heretical�. It is not mentioned that there is so much judicial and scholarly difference of opinion in Islam that even to divide into Sunni, Shi�ite, and Druze or to divide by the four legal schools is to vastly simplify any possible �orthodoxy�. Other than the five pillars of Islamic practice (shahada: declaration of faith; salat: daily prayer; saum: fasting during Ramadan; zakat: charity (alms tax); hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca), there is none. The closest thing to Sunni orthodoxy might be the scholastic/legal decisions coming out of al-Azhar in (Sunni) Egypt, but they are far from universally accepted throughout Sunni Islam. Further, different sects give differing weights to the four pillars of Islamic interpretation. It seems almost superficial to suggest that the pilots themselves and those holding the purse strings likely belong to two different Sunni Islamic sects (Hamas, Wahabbi). (I list Hamas here as �religious� rather than �political� based on the Qur�anic/haddith (but non-Wahabbi) foundation of its charter, but this is a gray area: see below.) Islam also has never officially divided church and state (although in practice this began happening in Sunni Islam with the Shi�ite split); unlike Christianity, which claims �Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's� (Luke 20:25, although other verses suggest a grayer interpretation). Politics and religion have never really separated in either religion, American constitution notwithstanding, but Islam is more overt about their inherent unity. To practice Islam is to be a Muslim in all things, including government. This can make it very difficult (if not useless) to differentiate an Islamic political group from an Islamic religious group: with a better distinction perhaps being the relative importance of active politics to the members of a given sect and what methods are sanctioned. Islam is precisely as innately peaceful as is Christianity. The Qur�an contains its share of verses, and the haddiths and Shari�a, like the Bible, contain their share of different �canon vs. apocrypha� and legal decisions, which can be selectively interpreted to promote different acceptable methods of political action. (For a Christian New Testament example, see Matthew 10:34-39 � and Bush will later use Matthew 12:30 rather than Luke 9:49-50 to support a specific military plan of action. Is this �perversion� of the teachings of Christianity?)

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, are linked to many other organizations in different countries, including the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

See the Hamas charter linked above. I am going to take an absolutely cold analysis for a moment and also remind that the American way of life has been previously defined by government and economy, not by military (September 11 speech). Truly targeting the United States, therefore, might overthrow the traditional civilian-military distinction. Yet the United States has not even this excuse in its constant overt and covert military targeting of civilians, both directly and through its chosen supported governments, over the past several decades.

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

This is just panic-mongering. There is no other point in saying it � unless Bush is preparing the groundwork for justifying American military action in those more than 60 countries.

They are recruited from their own nations and neighborhoods and brought to camps in places like Afghanistan 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 Qaeda has great influence in Afghanistan and supports the Taliban regime in controlling most of that country. In Afghanistan we see al Qaeda'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.

This is a �moral ground� argument to justify an expected attack against a specific regime. The association is made between the Taliban regime and al Qaeda, and the Taliban�s repressive rule is condemned. Again, there are other governments in the world which are as or more repressive than the Taliban � but none which, currently, has been linked to an attack against United States soil. As one example, a year or so back, very similar stories were coming out of Indonesia with respect to its treatment of the people of East Timor, which had been conquered by Indonesia back in 1975 (a very tiny back page newspaper article). Nearly a third of East Timor�s pre-invasion population (200,000 people) was killed. Indonesia�s government of the time was actively supported by the United States.

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 Qaeda 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.

How would the United States react to the same ultimatum? How did it react when asked to participate in the first international formal war crimes tribunal? I strongly dislike double standards. I am also reminded of that �more than 60 countries� mentioned earlier: so why is the Taliban and only the Taliban specifically targeted here? The Taliban has since asked for proof of bin Laden�s guilt. The United States, home of �innocent until proven guilty�, has refused to provide it.

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.

As noted earlier, Islam does not separate politics from religion. Thus Islam can only be practiced freely so long as the specific applied interpretation of that practice matches what its host country and/or the ally of the host country find appropriate. Only under these specific conditions are Arabs and/or Muslims �friends�. Very technically, those involved in the actions of September 11 are neither blasphemers nor traitors to their own faith, and thus the image of �hijacking Islam� I find completely inappropriate. I do find the actions of September 11 �evil�, per my earlier interpretation of �evil� as �killing others in the name of faith� � but then I also find many previous actions committed in the name of the Christian God �evil� � including the ones proposed in this speech.

Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.

Carte blanche through righteousness.

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.

Oh, irony.

The American government has never been involved in overthrowing a foreign government. It has never selectively discriminated on the basis of race or religion, among its own people or others. It has never attacked a religious compound on its own soil, or persecuted any religion or sect. It has nothing resembling political dynasties of senate and governorship and presidency, but relies completely and solely on grass-roots democratic representation. And it supports an absolute freedom to disagree � so long as you remain �for us�!

I have heard over and over and over again, these past several days, in the name of separating us from those who did this act, that we do not do this. And because, firmly, we believe that we do not do this, that makes us into the great victims here. We are the ones who lost � but also, we are the only ones who have ever lost. It is the other who attacks us, unprovoked: and so we take our pain and our anger, and we shape it into a great sword of righteous justification.

Those who undertook this act cared nothing for support of a cause long lost, or for filling us with fear � because they had not been so filled by acts of a similar nature � or, rather, that those acts had placed them beyond fear. Rather, those capable of undertaking such an act did so out of pain and anger, a pain and anger they shaped, with the tools at their disposal, into a great sword of righteous justification.

Finally, three specific Arabic governments are mentioned as being vulnerable to Islamic �terrorist� overthrow: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt � but not others equally vulnerable. But these three also happen to be the three Islamic countries most likely to support the United States in future days. Once again, the United States is sending out a challenge for unconditional alliance ... or else.

We're not deceived by their pretenses to piety. We have seen their kind before. They are 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.

This was the passage where I started really becoming angry. Pots and kettles. But, in the context of crusade: �their� actions must be completely dehumanized, �their� interpretation of religion completely not only rejected but inverted, a complete �discarded lie�, in an analogy with every past-century symbol of �evil�. �They� have no compunctions about �sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions� � but we will take great care (as noted in the next passage) to preserve American life.

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.

Iraq � decisive? Desert Storm did more to create secret sympathy among Islamic countries for Saddam Hussein than anything Hussein himself could have done. In the war above Kosovo and Belgrade not a single American was lost in combat, true � and there is nothing else of importance, apparently. But what of those living there? What of the Danube, polluted for decades if not centuries by bombing? What of the accumulation of depleted uranium in the soil and air, and its long-term health effects on those living there? But the war Bush is determined to call this time will claim American lives. Again, that is apparently the only thing of importance.

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.

The �for us or against us� statement: interpreted to demand complete military cooperation from every country lest it be considered �hostile� to Americans. And this is the way the United States aims to fight against the anti-American hostility which sprouted from the seeds of a hundred American �my way or the highway� military and covert actions. Sounds like a sure-fire positive public relations programme to me.

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 agents, to intelligence operatives, to the reservists we have called to active duty. All deserve our thanks, and all have our prayers.

A voluntary limitation of freedom. As an American domestic policy, I do not have the right to comment further on it, except perhaps to note the irony of its creation in the context of a building war to preserve freedom, and to identify another invoking of God in this effort.

And tonight a few miles from the damaged Pentagon, 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.

The first military actions (or to be exact redeployments) have since been taken. A diplomatic solution was never really considered, except as a sop.

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 service 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 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.

�Ask�? Given the previous context I would have said rather �demand� � yet with a hint of cajoling: but surely you �believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom�. We were attacked first because we are �the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world.� We are the �good guys� here. We are �civilization�. How can you not be with us � unconditionally? Once again comes the refrain: be with us and be considered �civilized�, or be against us � and then it does not matter what actions we take against you, for you are clearly not part of the �civilized world�. The actions called for in this speech are far from humane � although under the �city-dweller� source of �civilization�, they may perhaps be termed �civilized�.

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

And well the United States knows it � having made quite effective use of it over the years.

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

Not by foreigners against Americans, at least.

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.

Life, domestically, must return to the American ideal. The crusaders abroad must know that they are fighting a righteous war for American values and principles. Never mind that values and principles have no place in war -- ever. At least four American values and principles are being directly overturned in the process of prosecuting this war.

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 page consolidates various help agencies, most of which still do appear to help the victims exclusively (as opposed to the dual support of victims and military from the more general fundraisers). Two of the core American principles were united in the url name: a small reinforcement of the American ideals being fought for. The sponsors of the website are the American Liberty Partnership, consisting of six companies: Amazon, AOL Time-Warner, Cisco Systems, eBay, Microsoft, and Yahoo. Links to their commercial pages are available on every �Liberty Unites� page, but at least not at the top. Curious: both my business and psychology instructors always emphasised business public relations as a form of advertisement. The time of direct reference to the relatively neutral Red Cross is over.

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.

Another domestic policy shift which will reduce individual freedom, and on which I may not comment.

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 September 11. And they are our strengths today.

American way of life equals freedom equals economic prosperity. Those who have died are now abandoned by the wayside of this speech � except as a specific emotional cue:

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.

An emotional cue tied to justification and future success of military actions. And, again: the de-linkage from the executive branch, reinforcing the suggestion that the proposed actions are completely supported by the American people.

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.

The theme here is unity (�we will come together�), and continues from the previous passage. Curiously, it also returns to the question, �What is being/can be done?� (third point: what are we doing to make sure this does not happen again) � which really should have been one of the first things addressed in this speech had it not had a different focus altogether. And there is also an interesting omission: among all the things that are being done � the one thing never mentioned (except through supportive prayer) is what is being done for the families. Not once.

Tonight, we welcome two leaders who embody the extraordinary spirit of all New Yorkers, Governor 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.

Reinforcing unity again, this time along different levels of government.

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.

* shiver *

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.

What can I say here, that I have not already said? Violence does not solve violence. But �our� mission, �our� moment? �The advance of human freedom � the great hope of every time, now depends on us�? My God, was that not exactly the Crusaders� cry in restoring the great hope of Christianity to Jerusalem?

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.

And nothing whatsoever will change in how the United States interacts with the world � because nothing has to change in something that is already �right� and �good�. Most of us are not the same person moment to moment. Most countries are not the same moment to moment. Only perfection need never evolve, never change.

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.

Maintaining a righteous anger, to fuel a righteous resolve.

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.

Closing, as this speech opened, with the defining of a hero martyred to the catalysing action. The dead and their families will not be left in peace, for they have already been made into a symbol for righteous anger, and will be brought before the American public again and again and again as justification for the current agenda and a constant reminder.

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.

We, with our freedom and justice, are on the side of God. They, with their fear and cruelty, are against God. There can be no compromise. How can we lose?

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

Salaam aleiqum. Peace be with you. God�s peace and blessing upon all.

Introduction
Speech to the Nation, September 11, 2001
Prayer service, Washington National Cathedral, September 14




� 2003 Kyle Altis

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