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Washington, D.C. - September 11, 2001. Most of us remember exactly where we were that sunny fall morning as we went about our daily routines only to be interrupted by the shocking and horrifying news reports of a terrorist attack on our own soil taking the lives of thousands of innocent Americans. In the weeks, months and years that followed, our anger, grief and resolve united us in a way that we never before experienced. As a nation, we vowed to never forget.
As the fifth anniversary of that dark day is upon us, we can pay tribute to our fallen heroes by renewing our commitment to the ideals and values of our great nation. We can recommit ourselves not only to the fight against terror but also to the battle against complacency.
We can also take pause to honor and remember the men and women in our Armed Forces who are dedicated to protecting our nation in the War on Terror. Some have paid the ultimate sacrifice to secure the freedoms we cherish. And it is their fighting spirit too that continues to resonate in our hearts and minds on this somber anniversary.
But we can also look back and see how far we can have come in the years since that terrible day.
While our enemies are no less dangerous, our nation is safer today than before September 11th thanks to national security legislation we've passed, the hard work of our intelligence community, and the courage and dedication of our men and women in uniform. We have made substantial progress in degrading the al Qaida network, killing or capturing key lieutenants, eliminating safehavens, and disrupting existing lines of support.
But there is still much work to do. Unfortunately, as the recent arrests in Great Britain illustrate, terrorists remain as committed as ever to launching another attack against us and our interests. It's not a question of "if" but rather "when." As these threats evolve and the terrorists adjust we must continue to refine our approach. In many ways, it isn't just a battle of arms, it is a battle of ideas.
The President recently outlined short-term priorities that must take place now in order to ensure our long-term solution for winning the war on terror through effective democracy. Effective democracies honor and uphold basic human rights, including freedom of religion, conscience, speech and press. They are the long-term antidote to the ideology of terrorism today.
To achieve our long term goal, some of our most pressing priorities include continuing to prevent terrorist attacks by working with our partners across the globe to take the fight to terrorists by denying them entry to the United States and hindering their movement across international boundaries.
We will also continue to take aggressive efforts to deny terrorists access to weapons of mass destruction-related materials, equipment and expertise. This is one of the gravest threats we face and the President has implemented an integrated effort at all levels of government and private sector to stay ahead of this evolving threat.
The President has made it clear that the United States makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those who support, sponsor or harbor terrorists. Further, we will continue to prevent terrorists from exploiting ungoverned and under-governed areas as "safehavens" or launching pads for terror. These efforts will extend to virtual safehavens such as those existing within legal, cyber and financial systems.
This is an ongoing war, and I am committed to continuing to work to improve our nation's defense to ensure our nation's security.
While the horrors of that September day may have faded with time, the threat to our citizens, our country, our economic institutions and our way of life is no less real today than it was five years ago. We must continue to remain engaged in the Global War on Terror to ensure that the terrorists no longer have the tools, resources or ability to attack us again.
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