Posted at 1:06 p.m., Friday, December 7, 2001
Bush calls terrorists 'heirs to fascism'
By Ron Fournier
AP White House Correspondent
NORFOLK, Va. — Aboard an aircraft carrier recently returned from war, President Bush told flag-waving sailors today they will help defeat terrorism without "a truce or a treaty." On the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he compared that day of infamy to the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings.
"What happened at Pearl Harbor was the start of a long and terrible war for America. Yet out of that surprise attack grew a steadfast resolve that made America freedom's defender," Bush said on the sun-splashed flight deck of the USS Enterprise, crowded with 6,000 sailors and 25 Pearl Harbor survivors.
Today's soldiers and sailors are spiritual descendants of World War II heroes, he said, and today's terrorists "are the heirs to fascism" vanquished after Pearl Harbor.
"That mission, our great calling, continues to this hour, as the brave men and women of our military fight the forces of terror in Afghanistan and around the world," the president said. Applause and hoots of approval swelled from the crowd as sailors stood on chairs for a glimpse of the commander in chief. Some held children high in the air.
One broad-shouldered sailor, clutching an American flag, wiped a tear from his cheek.
"Just as we were 60 years ago in a time of war, this great nation will be patient, will be determined and we will be relentless in the pursuit of freedom," the president said.
Fighter jets — F-14s and F-18s — were parked nearby. One of the first ships deployed in the Afghanistan war, the Enterprise returned last month to its home port.
The Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor left 21 U.S. ships were sunk or severely damaged, 323 aircraft damaged or destroyed, 2,390 people dead and 1,178 others wounded. It plunged the United States into World War II.
The attacking Japanese are now a U.S. ally in the war against terrorism, which began with a sneak attack by suicide hijackers over New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The bitterness felt toward Japan during World War II has washed away with the years, Bush said.
But the lessons remain.
"We've seen their kind before. The terrorists are the heirs to fascism. They have the same wield of power. The same disdain for the individual. The same mad global ambitions," Bush said, pausing as he scanned the crowd. "And they will be dealt with in just the same way."
As the applause faded, he continued: "Like all fascists, the terrorists cannot be appeased. They must be defeated. This struggle will not end in a truce or a treaty. It will end in victory for the United States, our friends and for the cause of freedom."
Hours earlier, Taliban fighters under attack by U.S. troops abandoned their last bastion, Kandahar, and Americans sought the regime's top leader.
The Bush administration has tried to block an effort to offer sanctuary to the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, warning the heads of a newly minted coalition government that such a move would force the United States to cut off promised aid.
Bush spoke of the Taliban and al-Qaida terrorists in mocking tones, though he did not mention Omar or suspected mastermind Osama bin Laden by name.
"Not long ago that regime controlled most of Afghanistan; today they control not much more than a few caves," Bush said to the laughing crowd.
"Not long ago al-Qaida's leader dismissed America as a paper tiger," Bush said. "That was before the tiger roared."
He questioned the courage of terrorists leaders who train suicide bombers.
"For some reason, only young followers are ushered down this deadly path to paradise while terrorist leaders run into caves to save their own hides," Bush said.
They won't be able to hide for long, he pledged, "because one by one we're going to find them, and piece by piece we'll tear their terrorist network apart."
The sailors roared as the commander in chief paid tribute to them.
"Many of you in today's Navy are the children and grandchildren of the generation that fought and won the Second World War. Now your calling has come. Each one of you is commissioned by history to face freedom's enemies," Bush said.
Reading from a text, Bush cast the fight in bold contrasts.
"There's a great divide in our time. Not between religions or cultures, but between civilization and barbarism," he said.
"We're fighting against men without conscience, but full of ambition to remake the world in their own brutal images. For all the reasons, we're fighting to win, and win we will," he said.
From afar, the president alluded to ceremonies under way at Pearl Harbor. He praised those who perished and fought there 60 years ago.
"As a result of the efforts and sacrifice of the veterans who are with us today and millions like them, the world was saved from tyranny," he said.
