State of the Union Transcript

W A S H I N G T O N, Jan. 29 -- Here is the full transcript of President Bush's State of the Union address:

Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, members of Congress,distinguished guests and fellow citizens:

As we gather tonight, our nation is at war, our economy is inrecession, and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers. Yetthe state of our union has never been stronger.

We last met in an hour of shock and suffering. In four shortmonths, our nation has comforted the victims; begun to rebuild NewYork and the Pentagon; rallied a great coalition; captured,arrested and rid the world of thousands of terrorists; destroyedAfghanistan's terrorist training camps; saved a people fromstarvation; and freed a country from brutal oppression.

The American flag flies again over our embassy in Kabul.Terrorists who once occupied Afghanistan now occupy cells atGuantanamo Bay. And terrorist leaders who urged followers tosacrifice their lives are running for their own.

America and Afghanistan are now allies against terror. We willbe partners in rebuilding that country, and this evening we welcomethe distinguished interim leader of a liberated Afghanistan:Chairman Hamid Karzai.

The last time we met in this chamber, the mothers and daughtersof Afghanistan were captives in their own homes, forbidden fromworking or going to school. Today women are free, and are part ofAfghanistan's new government, and we welcome the new Minister ofWomen's Affairs, Dr. Sima Samar.

Our progress is a tribute to the spirit of the Afghan people, tothe resolve of our coalition and to the might of the United Statesmilitary. When I called our troops into action, I did so withcomplete confidence in their courage and skill. And tonight, thanksto them, we are winning the war against terror. The men and womenof our armed forces have delivered a message now clear to everyenemy of the United States: Even 7,000 miles away, across oceansand continents, on mountaintops and in caves, you will not escapethe justice of this nation.

For many Americans, these four months have brought sorrow andpain that will never completely go away. Every day a retiredfirefighter returns to Ground Zero, to feel closer to his two sonswho died there. At a memorial in New York, a little boy left hisfootball with a note for his lost father: "Dear Daddy, Please takethis to Heaven. I don't want to play football until I can play withyou again someday." Last month, at the grave of her husband,Micheal, a CIA officer and Marine who died in Mazar-e-Sharif,Shannon Spann, said these words of farewell: "Semper fi, mylove." Shannon is with us tonight.

Shannon, I assure you and all who have lost a loved one that ourcause is just, and our country will never forget the debt we oweMicheal and all who gave their lives for freedom.

Our cause is just, and it continues. Our discoveries inAfghanistan confirmed our worst fears and show us the true scope ofthe task ahead. We have seen the depth of our enemies' hatred invideos where they laugh about the loss of innocent life. And thedepth of their hatred is equaled by the madness of the destructionthey design. We have found diagrams of American nuclear powerplants and public water facilities, detailed instructions formaking chemical weapons, surveillance maps of American cities andthorough descriptions of landmarks in America and throughout theworld.

What we have found in Afghanistan confirms that — far fromending there — our war against terror is only beginning. Most ofthe 19 men who hijacked planes on September 11 were trained inAfghanistan's camps, and so were tens of thousands of others.Thousands of dangerous killers, schooled in the methods of murder,often supported by outlaw regimes, are now spread throughout theworld like ticking time bombs set to go off without warning.

Thanks to the work of our law enforcement officials andcoalition partners, hundreds of terrorists have been arrested, yettens of thousands of trained terrorists are still at large. Theseenemies view the entire world as a battlefield, and we must pursuethem wherever they are. So long as training camps operate, so longas nations harbor terrorists, freedom is at risk and America andour allies must not, and will not, allow it.

Our nation will continue to be steadfast, and patient, andpersistent in the pursuit of two great objectives. First, we willshut down terrorist camps, disrupt terrorist plans, and bringterrorists to justice. Second, we must prevent the terrorists andregimes who seek chemical, biological or nuclear weapons fromthreatening the United States and the world.

Our military has put the terror training camps of Afghanistanout of business, yet camps still exist in at least a dozencountries. A terrorist underworld — including groups like Hamas,Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Jaish-i-Mohammed — operates in remotejungles and deserts and hides in the centers of large cities.

While the most visible military action is in Afghanistan,America is acting elsewhere. We now have troops in the Philippineshelping to train that country's armed forces to go after terroristcells that have executed an American and still hold hostages. Oursoldiers, working with the Bosnian government, seized terroristswho were plotting to bomb our embassy. Our Navy is patrolling thecoast of Africa to block the shipment of weapons and theestablishment of terrorist camps in Somalia.

My hope is that all nations will heed our call and eliminate theterrorist parasites who threaten their countries and our own. Manynations are acting forcefully. Pakistan is now cracking down onterror, and I admire the leadership of President Musharraf. Butsome governments will be timid in the face of terror. And make nomistake: If they do not act, America will.