nhung bai dien van noi tieng

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 Afri[r]

Bài diễn văn Thủ Tướng Anh cái chết của Đức Cố Giáo Hoàng Gioan Phaolô Đệ Nhị Ngày hôm nay, giới đã vị lãnh đạo tôn giáo, người mến mộ tất người trên khắp hành tinh thuộc nhiều tôn giáo khác vô thần Ngài chính là nguồn cảm hứng, và là người có đức tin sâu đậm, có lòng tự trọng cao và can đảm Trải qua tháng năm khó khăn và lao khổ, Ngài đã đứng vững để bênh vực cho công lý xã hội và luôn đứng phía người bị áp bức, bóc lột cho đó Ngài hãy còn là người niên trẻ tuổi đối mặt với chiếm đóng quân phát xít Đức đất nước Ba Lan, hay sau này qua việc thách đố với chế độ Cộng Sản Ngài không nao núng hay giao động, chẳng chùn bước hay ngần ngại để đấu tranh cho gì mà Ngài nghĩ là đúng và tốt đẹp cho tất người Tuy nhiên, mặc cho gian khổ và lầm lỗi tính tự nhiên người, Ngài không niềm tin vào tính cùng đích người, là có đủ khả để làm nên điều thiện hảo Đối với đã có may mắn gặp Ngài, chính tôi và gia đình tôi hai năm trước, phải nhìn nhận rằng: Ngài đã phát tỏa ấm cúng, nồng nhiệt và tiếp đón tử tế, khiến cho gặp gỡ khó mà có thể quên cho Ngài ghi nhớ với kính trọng và lòng ngưởng mộ vô cùng sâu sắc Tôi xin gời lời chia buồn sâu sắc tôi đến với tín hữu Công Giáo nước Anh, giới và người dân nước Ba Lan cái chết vĩ nhân, Đức Cố Giáo Hoàng Gioan Phaolô Đệ Nhị tháng năm 2005 Tony Blair Thủ Tướng Anh Quốc Số 10 Đường Downing Và sau đây là phiên tiếng Anh để Quý vị tham khảo thêm…… Today, the world has lost a religious leader who was revered across people of all faiths and none He was an inspiration, a man of extraordinary faith, dignity and courage Throughout a hard and often difficult life, he stood for social justice and on the side of the oppressed, whether as a young man facing the Nazi occupation in Poland or later in challenging the communist regime He never wavered, never flinched, in the struggle for what he thought was good and right Yet whatever his own hardship and experience of what was wrong in human nature, he never lost faith in the human spirit and its ultimate capacity to good To anyone fortunate enough to meet him, as I was with my family two years ago, he radiated such warmth and kindness that the meeting was unforgettable He will be remembered with profound respect and admiration I extend my profound sympathy to the Catholic people of the United Kingdom and beyond and to the people of Poland on the death of a remarkable man, Pope John Paul II April 2005 Tony Blair Prime Minister of Great Britain 10 Downing Street On Thursday, November 26, 1998, Tony Blair made history by becoming the first British Prime Minister ever to address the Irish Parliament That Parliament had been created 80 years earlier in open defiance of the British government which Blair now headed Ireland had won its independence from Great Britain after a bloody insurrection in the early 1920s, marking the beginning of decades of intense animosity and outright violence In this speech, Blair recalls his own Irish roots and declares an end to more than 800 years of enmity between England and Ireland Members of the Dail and Seanad, after all the long and torn history of our two peoples, standing here as the first British prime minister ever to address the joint Houses of the Oireachtas, I feel profoundly both the history in this event, and I feel profoundly the enormity of the honour that you are bestowing upon me From the bottom of my heart, go raibh mile maith agaibh Ireland, as you may know, is in my blood My mother was born in the flat above her grandmother's hardware shop on the main street of Ballyshannon in Donegal She lived there as a child, started school there and only moved when her father died; her mother remarried and they crossed the water to Glasgow We spent virtually every childhood summer holiday up to when the troubles really took hold in Ireland, usually at Rossnowlagh, the Sands House Hotel, I think it was And we would travel in the beautiful countryside of Donegal It was there in the seas off the Irish coast that I learned to swim, there that my father took me to my first pub, a remote little house in the country, for a Guinness, a taste I've never forgotten and which it is always a pleasure to repeat Even now, in my constituency of Sedgefield, which at one time had 30 pits or more, all now gone, virtually every community remembers that its roots lie in Irish migration to the mines of Britain So like it or not, we, the British and the Irish, are irredeemably linked We experienced and absorbed the same waves of invasions: Celts, Vikings, Normans all left their distinctive mark on our countries Over a thousand years ago, the monastic traditions formed the basis for both our cultures Sadly, the power games of medieval monarchs and feudal chiefs sowed the seeds of later trouble Yet it has always been simplistic to portray our differences as simply Irish versus English or British There were, after all, many in Britain too who suffered greatly at the hands of powerful absentee landlords, who were persecuted for their religion, or who were for centuries disenfranchised And each generation in Britain has benefited, as ours does, from the contribution of Irishmen and women Today the links between our parliaments are continued by the British-Irish Parliamentary Body, and last month 60 of our MPs set up a new all-party "Irish in Britain Parliamentary Group." Irish parliamentarians have made a major contribution to our shared parliamentary history Let me single out just two:   Daniel O'Connell, who fought against injustice to extend a franchise restricted by religious prejudice; Charles Stewart Parnell, whose statue stands today in the House of Commons and whose political skills and commitment to social justice made such an impact in that House So much shared history, so much shared pain And now the shared hope of a new beginning The peace process is at a difficult juncture Progress is being made, but slowly There is an impasse over the establishment of the executive; there is an impasse over decommissioning But I have been optimistic the whole way through And I am optimistic now Let us not underestimate how far we have come; and let us agree that we have come too far to go back now Politics is replacing violence as the way people business The Good Friday Agreement, overwhelmingly endorsed by the people on both sides of the Border, holds out the prospect of a peaceful long-term future for Northern Ireland, and the whole island of Ireland The Northern Ireland Bill provides for the new Assembly and Executive, the North-South Ministerial Council, and the British-Irish Council It incorporates the principle of consent into British constitutional law and repeals the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 It establishes a Human Rights Commission with the power to support individual cases We will have an Equality Commission to police a new duty on all public bodies in Northern Ireland to promote equality of opportunity We have set up the Patten Commission to review policing We are scaling down the military presence Prisoners are being released None of this is easy I get many letters from the victims of violence asking why we are freeing terrorist prisoners It is a tough question but my answer is clear: the agreement would never have come about if we had not tackled the issue of prisoners That agreement heralds the prospect of an end to violence and a peaceful future for Northern Ireland Our duty is to carry it out That is a duty I feel more strongly than ever, having seen for myself the horror of Omagh This was not the first such atrocity But with all of my being, I will it to be the last I will never forget the meeting I had, with Bill Clinton, with survivors, and with relatives of those who died Their suffering and their courage was an inspiration They will never forget their loved ones Nor must we We owe it to them above all to build a lasting peace, when we have the best opportunity in a generation to so The Taoiseach's personal contribution has been immense I pay tribute to his tireless dedication I value his friendship I also salute the courage of our predecessors, Deputy Albert Reynolds, Deputy John Bruton and John Major; and I also salute Deputy Dick Spring, whose role in this process goes back a long way Like us, you are living up to your side of the bargain too You have voted to end the territorial claim over Northern Ireland, essential to the agreement It is time now for all the parties to live up to all their commitments Time for North/South bodies to be established to start a new era of co-operation between you and Northern Ireland I hope agreement on these is now close Time to set up the institutions of the new government Time for the gun and the threat of the gun to be taken out of politics once and for all; for decommissioning to start I am not asking anyone to surrender I am asking everyone to declare the victory of peace In Belfast or Dublin, people say the same thing: make the agreement work It is never far from my mind My sense of urgency and mission comes from the children in Northern Ireland I reflect on those who have been victims of violence, whose lives are scarred and twisted through the random wickedness of a terrorist act, on those who grow up in fear, those whose parents and loved ones have died And I reflect on those, who though untouched directly by violence, are nonetheless victims victims of mistrust and misunderstanding who through lack of a political settlement miss the chance of new friendships, new horizons, because of the isolation from others that the sectarian way of life brings I reflect on the sheer waste of children taught to hate when I believe passionately children should be taught to think Don't believe anyone who says the British people don't care about the peace process People in my country care deeply about it, are willing it to work And in our two countries, it is not just the politicians who have a role to play No one should ignore the injustices of the past, or the lessons of history But too often between us, one person's history has been another person's myth We need not be prisoners of our history My generation in Britain sees Ireland differently today and probably the same generation here feels differently about Britain We can understand the emotions generated by Northern Ireland's troubles, but we cannot really believe, as we approach the 21st century, there is not a better way forward to the future than murder, terrorism and sectarian hatred We see a changed Republic of Ireland today:   a modern, open economy; after the long years of emigration, people beginning to come back for the quality of life you now offer;     a country part of Europe's mainstream, having made the most of European structural funds but no longer reliant on them; some of the best business brains in the business world; leaders in popular culture, U2, the Corrs, Boyzone, B-Witched; a country that had the courage to elect its first woman president and liked it so much, you did it again; and the politics of Northern Ireland would be better for a few more women in prominent positions too And you see, I hope, a Britain emerging from its post-Empire malaise, modernizing, becoming as confident of its future as it once was of its past The programme of the new Labour government: driving up standards in education; welfare reform; monetary and fiscal stability as the foundation of a modern economy; massive investment in our public services tied to the challenge of modernization; a huge programme of constitutional change; a new positive attitude to Europe it is a program of national renewal as ambitious as any undertaken in any western democracy in recent times It is precisely the dramatic changes in both countries that allow us to see the possibilities of change in our relationship with each other It will require vision, but no more than the vision that has transformed Ireland It will require imagination, but no more than that shown by the British people in the last two years The old ways are changing between London and Dublin And this can spur the change and healing in Northern Ireland too The old notions of unionist supremacy and of narrow nationalism are gradually having their fingers prised from their grip on the future Different traditions have to understand each other Just as we must understand your yearning for a united Ireland, so too must you understand what the best of unionism is about They are good and decent people, just like you They want to remain part of the UK and I have made it clear that I value that wish They feel threatened Threatened by the terrorism with which they have had to live for so long Threatened, until the Good Friday Agreement, that they would be forced into a united Ireland against the will of the people of Northern Ireland Yet they realize now that a framework in which consent is guaranteed is also one in which basic rights of equality and justice are guaranteed, and that those who wish a united Ireland are free to make that claim, provided it is democratically expressed, just as those who believe in the Union can make their claim It is all about belonging The wish of unionists to belong to the UK The wish of nationalists to belong to Ireland Both traditions are reasonable There are no absolutes The beginning of understanding is to realize that My point is very simple Those urges to belong, divergent as they are, can live together more easily if we, Britain and the Irish Republic, can live closer together too Down through the centuries, Ireland and Britain have inflicted too much pain, each on the other But now, the UK and Ireland as two modern countries, we can try to put our histories behind us, try to forgive and forget those age-old enmities We have both grown up now A new generation is in power in each country We now have a real opportunity to put our relations on a completely new footing, not least through working together in Europe I know that is what our peoples want and I believe we can deliver it Our ties are already rich and diverse: the UK is the largest market for Irish goods And you are our fifth most important market in the world;   in trade unions, professional bodies and the voluntary sector, our people work together to help their communities; in culture, sport and academic life there is an enormous crossover Our theatres are full of Irish plays Our television is full of Irish actors and presenters Your national football team has a few English accents too; above all, at the personal level, millions of Irish people live and work in Britain, and hundreds of thousands of us visit you every year As ties strengthen, so the past can be put behind us Nowhere was this better illustrated than at the remarkable ceremony at Messines earlier this month Representatives of nationalists and unionists travelled together to Flanders to remember shared suffering Our army bands played together Our heads of state stood together With our other European neighbors, such a ceremony would be commonplace For us it was a first It shows how far we have come But it also shows we still have far to go The relationships across these islands are also changing in a significant way The Taoiseach has spoken of the exciting new relationships that will unfold as the people of Scotland and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland, express their wishes through their own parliaments and assemblies The new British Irish Council must reflect and explore these opportunities We have much to gain by co-operating better across these islands in areas like transport, education, the fight against illegal drugs But I want our co-operation to be wider and more fundamental still above all in Europe It is 25 years since we both joined what was then the EEC We have had different approaches to agriculture, to monetary union, to defence But increasingly we share a common agenda and common objectives:       completion of the Single Market and structural economic reform; better conditions for growth and jobs in Europe; successful enlargement; a united and coherent foreign policy voice for Europe; a more effective fight against crime, drugs, illegal immigration and environmental damage; flexible, open and accountable European institutions We must work to make the single currency a success Unlike Ireland, we are not joining in the first wave But we have made clear that we are prepared to join later if the economic benefits are clear and unambiguous For my government, there is no political or constitutional barrier to joining There is no resistance to fullhearted European co-operation wherever this brings added value to us all Enlargement will increasingly test our political and economic imaginations, as we struggle with policy reform and future financing The international financial system must be reformed We must learn to apply real political will and harness our skills and resources far more effectively to solve regional problems notably in the Balkans and the Middle East Above all, Europe must restate its vision for today's world, so that our people understand why it is so important This means defining the priorities where common European action makes obvious sense and can make a real difference, like economic co-ordination, foreign and security policy, the environment, crime and drugs It also means distinguishing them from areas where countries or regions can best continue to make policy themselves, to suit local circumstances, while still learning from each other for example, tax, education, health, welfare That is why I want to forge new bonds with Dublin Together we can have a stronger voice in Europe and work to shape its future in a way which suits all our people It is said there was a time when Irish diplomats in Europe spoke French in meetings to ensure they were clearly distinguished from us I hope those days are long behind us We can accomplish much more when our voices speak in harmony Our ministers and officials are increasingly consulting and coordinating systematically We can more I believe we can transform our links if both sides are indeed ready to make the effort For our part, we are This must also involve a dramatic new effort in bilateral relations, above all to bring our young generations together We need new youth and school exchanges, contact through the new University for Industry, better cultural programs in both directions We need to work much more closely to fight organized crime and drugs We can much more to enrich each other's experience in areas like health care and welfare None of this threatens our separate identities Co-operation does not mean losing distinctiveness What the Taoiseach and I seek is a new dimension to our relationships a real partnership between governments and peoples, which will engage our societies at every level We have therefore agreed to launch a new intensive process The Taoiseach and I will meet again next spring in London, with key ministerial colleagues, to give this the necessary impetus and agenda, and will thereafter meet at least once a year to review progress This will be part of the work of the new Intergovernmental Conference The objective is threefold:    first, revitalized and modernized bilateral relations where we can finally put the burden of history behind us; second, a habit of close consultation on European issues, marked by a step-change in contacts at every level, particularly in key areas such as agriculture, justice and home affairs, employment and foreign and security policy; third, working together on international issues more widely, for example UN peacekeeping, to which both our countries have been important contributors, arms proliferation and the Middle East What I welcome above all is that, after keeping us apart for so long, Northern Ireland is now helping to bring us closer together But I not believe Northern Ireland can or should any longer define the relationship between us Our common interests, what we can achieve together, go much, much wider than that Our two countries can look to the future with confidence in our separate ways But we will be stronger and more prosperous working together That is my ambition I know it is shared by the Taoiseach I believe it is an ambition shared by both our nations The 21st century awaits us Let us confront its challenge with confidence, and together give our children the future they deserve Tony Blair - November 26, 1998 On Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, the worst terrorist attack in U.S history occurred as four large passenger jets were hijacked then crashed, killing nearly 3,000 persons The attack was carried out by four separate teams of terrorists from the Middle East, all operating from inside the U.S Each team had boarded an early-morning flight, posing as passengers, then forcibly commandeered the aircraft Two fully-fueled jumbo jets, American Airlines Flight 11 carrying 92 persons and United Airlines Flight 175 carrying 65 persons, had departed Boston for Los Angeles Both jets were diverted by the hijackers to New York City where they were piloted by the terrorists themselves into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center The impact and subsequent fire caused both 110-story towers to collapse, killing 2,752 persons, including hundreds of fire-rescue workers and persons employed in the towers United Airlines Flight 93, which had departed from Newark for San Francisco, and American Airlines Flight 77, which had departed from Dulles (Virginia) for Los Angeles, were also hijacked Flight 77, with 64 persons on board, was diverted to Washington, D.C., then piloted by the terrorists into the Pentagon building, killing everyone on board and 125 military personnel inside the building Flight 93, with 44 persons on board, was also diverted toward Washington but crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to overpower the terrorists on board On Thursday, September 20th, President George W Bush gave this much-anticipated speech before a Joint Session of Congress, outlining America's reaction to the unprecedented attack against its people Listen to the entire speech 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 our 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, 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 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 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 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, 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, 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 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 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, 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 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 September 11th, 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 And ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, I thank you, their representatives, for what you have already done and for what we will 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, 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 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 of 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 President George W Bush - September 20, 2001 This speech was given by President Bill Clinton to reporters in the Rose Garden of the White House on Friday, December 11, 1998, at 4:11 p.m., just minutes before the House Judiciary Committee voted to pass its first article of impeachment The House impeachment proceedings marked the culmination of a long chain of legal entanglements resulting from a sweeping investigation of the President by Independent Counsel Ken Starr as well as a private lawsuit concerning alleged sexual harassment committed by Clinton before he became President Additionally, the President had strongly denied, then later reluctantly admitted a relationship "that was not appropriate" with a young White House intern named Monica Lewinsky The President's initial denial had been staunchly defended by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, White House staffers, and various friends and supporters of the President – all of whom knew by now they had been duped Listen to the entire speech Good afternoon As anyone close to me knows, for months I have been grappling with how best to reconcile myself to the American people, to acknowledge my own wrongdoing and still to maintain my focus on the work of the presidency Others are presenting my defense on the facts, the law and the Constitution Nothing I can say now can add to that What I want the American people to know, what I want the Congress to know is that I am profoundly sorry for all I have done wrong in words and deeds I never should have misled the country, the Congress, my friends or my family Quite simply, I gave in to my shame I have been condemned by my accusers with harsh words And while it's hard to hear yourself called deceitful and manipulative, I remember Ben Franklin's admonition that our critics are our friends, for they show us our faults Mere words cannot fully express the profound remorse I feel for what our country is going through and for what members of both parties in Congress are now forced to deal with These past months have been a torturous process of coming to terms with what I did I understand that accountability demands consequences, and I'm prepared to accept them Painful as the condemnation of the Congress would be, it would pale in comparison to the consequences of the pain I have caused my family There is no greater agony Like anyone who honestly faces the shame of wrongful conduct, I would give anything to go back and undo what I did But one of the painful truths I have to live with is the reality that that is simply not possible An old and dear friend of mine recently sent me the wisdom of a poet who wrote, "The moving finger writes and having writ, moves on Nor all your piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line Nor all your tears wash out a word of it.'' So nothing, not piety, nor tears, nor wit, nor torment can alter what I have done I must make my peace with that I must also be at peace with the fact that the public consequences of my actions are in the hands of the American people and their representatives in the Congress Should they determine that my errors of word and deed require their rebuke and censure, I am ready to accept that Meanwhile, I will continue to all I can to reclaim the trust of the American people and to serve them well We must all return to the work, the vital work, of strengthening our nation for the new century Our country has wonderful opportunities and daunting challenges ahead I intend to seize those opportunities and meet those challenges with all the energy and ability and strength God has given me That is simply all I can the work of the American people Thank you very much President Bill Clinton - December 11, 1998 On August 2, 1990, tanks and soldiers from Iraq crossed the border into neighboring Kuwait and seized the tiny, oil-rich nation Iraqi troops then began massing along the border of Saudi Arabia Within days, American troops were sent to Saudi Arabia in Operation Desert Shield, protecting Saudi Arabia from possible attack On August 6th, the United Nations Security Council imposed a trade embargo and financial sanctions against Iraq and authorized the use of force by naval forces in the Persian Gulf to prevent any violations President George Bush addressed a joint session of Congress a few weeks later and stated the U.S could not allow Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to seize control of vital oil resources in the Middle East President Bush then doubled the size of Allied forces in the region to 430,000 soldiers On November 29th, the U.N Security Council authorized its member nations to use "all necessary means" to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait if they did not withdraw by a deadline of January 15, 1991 President Bush then ordered more troops to the Gulf to pressure Saddam Hussein into evacuating Kuwait On January 9, 1991, Secretary of State James Baker met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz in Geneva for several hours in a last ditch effort to avoid war The meeting ended in an impasse with Baker finally announcing the talks had failed Three days later, the House of Representatives voted 250-183 and the U.S Senate voted 52-47 to authorized President Bush to use military force The January 15th deadline passed quietly, as the 545,000 Iraqi troops in and around Kuwait did not budge By now 539,000 American troops were in the Gulf along with 270,000 Allied troops from more than two dozen nations, the largest assembly of land troops and air power since World War II On January 17th, at 2:45 a.m., Baghdad time (6:45 p.m., January 16 - Eastern time), Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as U.S and Allied jets conducted a major bombing raid against Iraqi air defenses, communications systems, chemical weapons facilities, tanks and artillery The air raid on Baghdad was broadcast live to a global audience by CNN correspondents perched on a city rooftop This is the television speech President Bush gave shortly after the air attack had commenced Just hours ago, allied air forces began an attack on military targets in Iraq and Kuwait These attacks continue as I speak Ground forces are not engaged This conflict started August 2nd when the dictator of Iraq invaded a small and helpless neighbor Kuwait a member of the Arab League and a member of the United Nations was crushed; its people, brutalized Five months ago, Saddam Hussein started this cruel war against Kuwait Tonight, the battle has been joined This military action, taken in accord with United Nations resolutions and with the consent of the United States Congress, follows months of constant and virtually endless diplomatic activity on the part of the United Nations, the United States, and many, many other countries Arab leaders sought what became known as an Arab solution, only to conclude that Saddam Hussein was unwilling to leave Kuwait Others traveled to Baghdad in a variety of efforts to restore peace and justice Our Secretary of State, James Baker, held an historic meeting in Geneva, only to be totally rebuffed This past weekend, in a last-ditch effort, the Secretary-General of the United Nations went to the Middle East with peace in his heart his second such mission And he came back from Baghdad with no progress at all in getting Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait Now the 28 countries with forces in the Gulf area have exhausted all reasonable efforts to reach a peaceful resolution have no choice but to drive Saddam from Kuwait by force We will not fail As I report to you, air attacks are underway against military targets in Iraq We are determined to knock out Saddam Hussein's nuclear bomb potential We will also destroy his chemical weapons facilities Much of Saddam's artillery and tanks will be destroyed Our operations are designed to best protect the lives of all the coalition forces by targeting Saddam's vast military arsenal Initial reports from General Schwarzkopf are that our operations are proceeding according to plan Our objectives are clear: Saddam Hussein's forces will leave Kuwait The legitimate government of Kuwait will be restored to its rightful place, and Kuwait will once again be free Iraq will eventually comply with all relevant United Nations resolutions, and then, when peace is restored, it is our hope that Iraq will live as a peaceful and cooperative member of the family of nations, thus enhancing the security and stability of the Gulf Some may ask: Why act now? Why not wait? The answer is clear: The world could wait no longer Sanctions, though having some effect, showed no signs of accomplishing their objective Sanctions were tried for well over months, and we and our allies concluded that sanctions alone would not force Saddam from Kuwait While the world waited, Saddam Hussein systematically raped, pillaged, and plundered a tiny nation, no threat to his own He subjected the people of Kuwait to unspeakable atrocities and among those maimed and murdered, innocent children While the world waited, Saddam sought to add to the chemical weapons arsenal he now possesses, an infinitely more dangerous weapon of mass destruction a nuclear weapon And while the world waited, while the world talked peace and withdrawal, Saddam Hussein dug in and moved massive forces into Kuwait While the world waited, while Saddam stalled, more damage was being done to the fragile economies of the Third World, emerging democracies of Eastern Europe, to the entire world, including to our own economy The United States, together with the United Nations, exhausted every means at our disposal to bring this crisis to a peaceful end However, Saddam clearly felt that by stalling and threatening and defying the United Nations, he could weaken the forces arrayed against him While the world waited, Saddam Hussein met every overture of peace with open contempt While the world prayed for peace, Saddam prepared for war I had hoped that when the United States Congress, in historic debate, took its resolute action, Saddam would realize he could not prevail and would move out of Kuwait in accord with the United Nation resolutions He did not that Instead, he remained intransigent, certain that time was on his side Saddam was warned over and over again to comply with the will of the United Nations: Leave Kuwait, or be driven out Saddam has arrogantly rejected all warnings Instead, he tried to make this a dispute between Iraq and the United States of America Well, he failed Tonight, 28 nations countries from continents, Europe and Asia, Africa, and the Arab League have forces in the Gulf area standing shoulder to shoulder against Saddam Hussein These countries had hoped the use of force could be avoided Regrettably, we now believe that only force will make him leave Prior to ordering our forces into battle, I instructed our military commanders to take every necessary step to prevail as quickly as possible, and with the greatest degree of protection possible for American and allied service men and women I've told the American people before that this will not be another Vietnam, and I repeat this here tonight Our troops will have the best possible support in the entire world, and they will not be asked to fight with one hand tied behind their back I'm hopeful that this fighting will not go on for long and that casualties will be held to an absolute minimum This is an historic moment We have in this past year made great progress in ending the long era of conflict and cold war We have before us the opportunity to forge for ourselves and for future generations a new world order a world where the rule of law, not the law of the jungle, governs the conduct of nations When we are successful and we will be we have a real chance at this new world order, an order in which a credible United Nations can use its peacekeeping role to fulfill the promise and vision of the U.N.'s founders We have no argument with the people of Iraq Indeed, for the innocents caught in this conflict, I pray for their safety Our goal is not the conquest of Iraq It is the liberation of Kuwait It is my hope that somehow the Iraqi people can, even now, convince their dictator that he must lay down his arms, leave Kuwait, and let Iraq itself rejoin the family of peace-loving nations Thomas Paine wrote many years ago: "These are the times that try men's souls.'' Those well-known words are so very true today But even as planes of the multinational forces attack Iraq, I prefer to think of peace, not war I am convinced not only that we will prevail but that out of the horror of combat will come the recognition that no nation can stand against a world united, no nation will be permitted to brutally assault its neighbor No President can easily commit our sons and daughters to war They are the Nation's finest Ours is an all-volunteer force, magnificently trained, highly motivated The troops know why they're there And listen to what they say, for they've said it better than any President or Prime Minister ever could Listen to Hollywood Huddleston, Marine lance corporal He says, "Let's free these people, so we can go home and be free again.'' And he's right The terrible crimes and tortures committed by Saddam's henchmen against the innocent people of Kuwait are an affront to mankind and a challenge to the freedom of all Listen to one of our great officers out there, Marine Lieutenant General Walter Boomer He said: "There are things worth fighting for A world in which brutality and lawlessness are allowed to go unchecked isn't the kind of world we're going to want to live in.'' Listen to Master Sergeant J.P Kendall of the 82nd Airborne: "We're here for more than just the price of a gallon of gas What we're doing is going to chart the future of the world for the next 100 years It's better to deal with this guy now than years from now.'' And finally, we should all sit up and listen to Jackie Jones, an Army lieutenant, when she says, "If we let him get away with this, who knows what's going to be next?'' I have called upon Hollywood and Walter and J.P and Jackie and all their courageous comrades-inarms to what must be done Tonight, America and the world are deeply grateful to them and to their families And let me say to everyone listening or watching tonight: When the troops we've sent in finish their work, I am determined to bring them home as soon as possible Tonight, as our forces fight, they and their families are in our prayers May God bless each and every one of them, and the coalition forces at our side in the Gulf, and may He continue to bless our nation, the United States of America President George Bush - January 16, 1991 At 5:30 a.m on May 10, 1940, Nazi Germany began a massive attack against Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France Defending those countries were soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force along with the French, Belgian, and Dutch (Allied) armies The Germans relied on an aggressive battle plan, utilizing modern communications such as radio to direct troops in the field The Allies, for their part, assumed a defensive posture, just as they had done at the start of World War I, and in many cases still relied on hand-delivered messages As a result, the German Blitzkrieg (lightning attack) caught the Allies off-guard German Panzer tanks staged a surprise attack through the 'impassable' Ardennes Forest then turned northward and soon surrounded the bulk of the Allied armies in Belgium The "Miracle at Dunkirk" occurred next as 338,000 British and French soldiers were hurriedly evacuated from the coastline by Royal Navy ships and a flotilla of civilian boats of every shape and size After just a few weeks of battle, Hitler's armies had conquered Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium Paris fell on June 14th Three days later, the French requested an armistice The following day, June 18th, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke to the House of Commons about the disastrous turn of events in Europe amid the stark realization that Britain now stood alone against the seemingly unstoppable might of Hitler's military machine Listen to an excerpt I spoke the other day of the colossal military disaster which occurred when the French High Command failed to withdraw the northern Armies from Belgium at the moment when they knew that the French front was decisively broken at Sedan and on the Meuse This delay entailed the loss of fifteen or sixteen French divisions and threw out of action for the critical period the whole of the British Expeditionary Force Our Army and 120,000 French troops were indeed rescued by the British Navy from Dunkirk but only with the loss of their cannon, vehicles and modern equipment This loss inevitably took some weeks to repair, and in the first two of those weeks the battle in France has been lost When we consider the heroic resistance made by the French Army against heavy odds in this battle, the enormous losses inflicted upon the enemy and the evident exhaustion of the enemy, it may well be the thought that these 25 divisions of the best-trained and best-equipped troops might have turned the scale However, General Weygand had to fight without them Only three British divisions or their equivalent were able to stand in the line with their French comrades They have suffered severely, but they have fought well We sent every man we could to France as fast as we could re-equip and transport their formations I am not reciting these facts for the purpose of recrimination That I judge to be utterly futile and even harmful We cannot afford it I recite them in order to explain why it was we did not have, as we could have had, between twelve and fourteen British divisions fighting in the line in this great battle instead of only three Now I put all this aside I put it on the shelf, from which the historians, when they have time, will select their documents to tell their stories We have to think of the future and not of the past This also applies in a small way to our own affairs at home There are many who would hold an inquest in the House of Commons on the conduct of the Governments and of Parliaments, for they are in it, too during the years which led up to this catastrophe They seek to indict those who were responsible for the guidance of our affairs This also would be a foolish and pernicious process There are too many in it Let each man search his conscience and search his speeches I frequently search mine Of this I am quite sure, that if we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future Therefore, I cannot accept the drawing of any distinctions between members of the present Government It was formed at a moment of crisis in order to unite all the Parties and all sections of opinion It has received the almost unanimous support of both Houses of Parliament Its members are going to stand together, and, subject to the authority of the House of Commons, we are going to govern the country and fight the war It is absolutely necessary at a time like this that every Minister who tries each day to his duty shall be respected; and their subordinates must know that their chiefs are not threatened men, men who are here today and gone tomorrow, but that their directions must be punctually and faithfully obeyed Without this concentrated power we cannot face what lies before us I should not think it would be very advantageous for the House to prolong this debate this afternoon under conditions of public stress Many facts are not clear that will be clear in a short time We are to have a secret session on Thursday, and I should think that would be a better opportunity for the many earnest expressions of opinion which members will desire to make and for the House to discuss vital matters without having everything read the next morning by our dangerous foes The disastrous military events which have happened during the past fortnight have not come to me with any sense of surprise Indeed, I indicated a fortnight ago as clearly as I could to the House that the worst possibilities were open; and I made it perfectly clear then that whatever happened in France would make no difference to the resolve of Britain and the British Empire to fight on, if necessary for years, if necessary alone During the last few days we have successfully brought off the great majority of the troops we had on the line of communication in France; and seven-eighths of the troops we have sent to France since the beginning of the war that is to say, about 350,000 out of 400,000 men are safely back in this country Others are still fighting with the French, and fighting with considerable success in their local encounters against the enemy We have also brought back a great mass of stores, rifles and munitions of all kinds which had been accumulated in France during the last nine months We have, therefore, in this Island today a very large and powerful military force This force comprises all our best-trained and our finest troops, including scores of thousands of those who have already measured their quality against the Germans and found themselves at no disadvantage We have under arms at the present time in this Island over a million and a quarter men Behind these we have the Local Defense Volunteers, numbering half a million, only a portion of whom, however, are yet armed with rifles or other firearms We have incorporated into our Defense Forces every man for whom we have a weapon We expect very large additions to our weapons in the near future, and in preparation for this we intend forthwith to call up, drill and train further large numbers Those who are not called up, or else are employed during the vast business of munitions production in all its branches and their ramifications are innumerable will serve their country best by remaining at their ordinary work until they receive their summons We have also over here Dominions armies The Canadians had actually landed in France, but have now been safely withdrawn, much disappointed, but in perfect order, with all their artillery and equipment And these very high-class forces from the Dominions will now take part in the defense of the Mother Country Lest the account which I have given of these large forces should raise the question: Why did they not take part in the great battle in France? I must make it clear that, apart from the divisions training and organizing at home, only twelve divisions were equipped to fight upon a scale which justified their being sent abroad And this was fully up to the number which the French had been led to expect would be available in France at the ninth month of the war The rest of our forces at home have a fighting value for home defense which will, of course, steadily increase every week that passes Thus, the invasion of Great Britain would at this time require the transportation across the sea of hostile armies on a very large scale, and after they had been so transported they would have to be continually maintained with all the masses of munitions and supplies which are required for continuous battle as continuous battle it will surely be Here is where we come to the Navy and after all, we have a Navy Some people seem to forget that we have a Navy We must remind them For the last thirty years I have been concerned in discussions about the possibilities of oversea invasion, and I took the responsibility on behalf of the Admiralty, at the beginning of the last war, of allowing all regular troops to be sent out of the country That was a very serious step to take, because our Territorials had only just been called up and were quite untrained Therefore, this Island was for several months particularly denuded of fighting troops The Admiralty had confidence at that time in their ability to prevent a mass invasion even though at that time the Germans had a magnificent battle fleet in the proportion of 10 to 16, even though they were capable of fighting a general engagement every day and any day, whereas now they have only a couple of heavy ships worth speaking of the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau We are also told that the Italian Navy is to come out and gain sea superiority in these waters If they seriously intend it, I shall only say that we shall be delighted to offer Signor Mussolini a free and safeguarded passage through the Strait of Gibraltar in order that he may play the part to which he aspires There is a general curiosity in the British Fleet to find out whether the Italians are up to the level they were at in the last war or whether they have fallen off at all Therefore, it seems to me that as far as sea-borne invasion on a great scale is concerned, we are far more capable of meeting it today than we were at many periods in the last war and during the early months of this war, before our other troops were trained, and while the B.E.F had proceeded abroad Now, the Navy have never pretended to be able to prevent raids by bodies of 5,000 or 10,000 men flung suddenly across and thrown ashore at several points on the coast some dark night or foggy morning The efficacy of sea power, especially under modern conditions, depends upon the invading force being of large size; It has to be of large size, in view of our military strength, to be of any use If it is of large size, then the Navy have something they can find and meet and, as it were, bite on Now, we must remember that even five divisions, however lightly equipped, would require 200 to 250 ships, and with modern air reconnaissance and photography it would not be easy to collect such an armada, marshal it, and conduct it across the sea without any powerful naval forces to escort it; and there would be very great possibilities, to put it mildly, that this armada would be intercepted long before it reached the coast, and all the men drowned in the sea or, at the worst blown to pieces with their equipment while they were trying to land We also have a great system of minefields, recently strongly reinforced, through which we alone know the channels If the enemy tries to sweep passages through these minefields, it will be the task of the Navy to destroy the mine-sweepers and any other forces employed to protect them There should be no difficulty in this, owing to our great superiority at sea Those are the regular, well-tested, well-proved arguments on which we have relied during many years in peace and war But the question is whether there are any new methods by which those solid assurances can be circumvented Odd as it may seem, some attention has been given to this by the Admiralty, whose prime duty and responsibility is to destroy any large sea-borne expedition before it reaches, or at the moment when it reaches, these shores It would not be a good thing for me to go into details of this It might suggest ideas to other people which they have not thought of, and they would not be likely to give us any of their ideas in exchange All I will say is that untiring vigilance and mindsearching must be devoted to the subject, because the enemy is crafty and cunning and full of novel treacheries and stratagems The House may be assured that the utmost ingenuity is being displayed and imagination is being evoked from large numbers of competent officers, well-trained in tactics and thoroughly up to date, to measure and counterwork novel possibilities Untiring vigilance and untiring searching of the mind is being, and must be, devoted to the subject, because, remember, the enemy is crafty and there is no dirty trick he will not Some people will ask why, then, was it that the British Navy was not able to prevent the movement of a large army from Germany into Norway across the Skagerrak? But the conditions in the Channel and in the North Sea are in no way like those which prevail in the Skagerrak In the Skagerrak, because of the distance, we could give no air support to our surface ships, and consequently, lying as we did close to the enemy's main air power, we were compelled to use only our submarines We could not enforce the decisive blockade or interruption which is possible from surface vessels Our submarines took a heavy toll but could not, by themselves, prevent the invasion of Norway In the Channel and in the North Sea, on the other hand, our superior naval surface forces, aided by our submarines, will operate with close and effective air assistance This brings me, naturally, to the great question of invasion from the air, and of the impending struggle between the British and German Air Forces It seems quite clear that no invasion on a scale beyond the capacity of our land forces to crush speedily is likely to take place from the air until our Air Force has been definitely overpowered In the meantime, there may be raids by parachute troops and attempted descents of airborne soldiers We should be able to give those gentry a warm reception both in the air and on the ground, if they reach it in any condition to continue the dispute But the great question is: Can we break Hitler's air weapon? Now, of course, it is a very great pity that we have not got an Air Force at least equal to that of the most powerful enemy within striking distance of these shores But we have a very powerful Air Force which has proved itself far superior in quality, both in men and in many types of machine, to what we have met so far in the numerous and fierce air battles which have been fought with the Germans In France, where we were at a considerable disadvantage and lost many machines on the ground when they were standing round the aerodromes, we were accustomed to inflict in the air losses of as much as two and two-and-a-half to one In the fighting over Dunkirk, which was a sort of no-man's-land, we undoubtedly beat the German Air Force, and gained the mastery of the local air, inflicting here a loss of three or four to one day after day Anyone who looks at the photographs which were published a week or so ago of the re-embarkation, showing the masses of troops assembled on the beach and forming an ideal target for hours at a time, must realize that this re-embarkation would not have been possible unless the enemy had resigned all hope of recovering air superiority at that time and at that place In the defense of this Island the advantages to the defenders will be much greater than they were in the fighting around Dunkirk We hope to improve on the rate of three or four to one which was realized at Dunkirk; and in addition all our injured machines and their crews which get down safely and, surprisingly, a very great many injured machines and men get down safely in modern air fighting-all of these will fall, in an attack upon these Islands, on friendly soil and live to fight another day; whereas all the injured enemy machines and their complements will be total losses as far as the war is concerned During the great battle in France, we gave very powerful and continuous aid to the French Army, both by fighters and bombers; but in spite of every kind of pressure we never would allow the entire metropolitan fighter strength of the Air Force to be consumed This decision was painful, but it was also right, because the fortunes of the battle in France could not have been decisively affected even if we had thrown in our entire fighter force That battle was lost by the unfortunate strategical opening, by the extraordinary and unforseen power of the armored columns, and by the great preponderance of the German Army in numbers Our fighter Air Force might easily have been exhausted as a mere accident in that great struggle, and then we should have found ourselves at the present time in a very serious plight But as it is, I am happy to inform the House that our fighter strength is stronger at the present time relatively to the Germans, who have suffered terrible losses, than it has ever been; and consequently we believe ourselves possessed of the capacity to continue the war in the air under better conditions than we have ever experienced before I look forward confidently to the exploits of our fighter pilots these splendid men, this brilliant youth who will have the glory of saving their native land, their island home, and all they love, from the most deadly of all attacks There remains, of course, the danger of bombing attacks, which will certainly be made very soon upon us by the bomber forces of the enemy It is true that the German bomber force is superior in numbers to ours; but we have a very large bomber force also, which we shall use to strike at military targets in Germany without intermission I not at all underrate the severity of the ordeal which lies before us; but I believe our countrymen will show themselves capable of standing up to it, like the brave men of Barcelona, and will be able to stand up to it, and carry on in spite of it, at least as well as any other people in the world Much will depend upon this; every man and every woman will have the chance to show the finest qualities of their race, and render the highest service to their cause For all of us, at this time, whatever our sphere, our station, our occupation or our duties, it will be a help to remember the famous lines: He nothing common did or mean, Upon that memorable scene I have thought it right upon this occasion to give the House and the country some indication of the solid, practical grounds upon which we base our inflexible resolve to continue the war There are a good many people who say, 'Never mind Win or lose, sink or swim, better die than submit to tyranny-and such a tyranny.' And I not dissociate myself from them But I can assure them that our professional advisers of the three Services unitedly advise that we should carry on the war, and that there are good and reasonable hopes of final victory We have fully informed and consulted all the selfgoverning Dominions, these great communities far beyond the oceans who have been built up on our laws and on our civilization, and who are absolutely free to choose their course, but are absolutely devoted to the ancient Motherland, and who feel themselves inspired by the same emotions which lead me to stake our all upon duty and honor We have fully consulted them, and I have received from their Prime Ministers, Mr Mackenzie King of Canada, Mr Menzies of Australia, Mr Fraser of New Zealand, and General Smuts of South Africa that wonderful man, with his immense profound mind, and his eye watching from a distance the whole panorama of European affairs I have received from all these eminent men, who all have Governments behind them elected on wide franchises, who are all there because they represent the will of their people, messages couched in the most moving terms in which they endorse our decision to fight on, and declare themselves ready to share our fortunes and to persevere to the end That is what we are going to We may now ask ourselves: In what way has our position worsened since the beginning of the war? It has worsened by the fact that the Germans have conquered a large part of the coast line of Western Europe, and many small countries have been overrun by them This aggravates the possibilities of air attack and adds to our naval preoccupations It in no way diminishes, but on the contrary definitely increases, the power of our long-distance blockade Similarly, the entrance of Italy into the war increases the power of our long-distance blockade We have stopped the worst leak by that We not know whether military resistance will come to an end in France or not, but should it so, then of course the Germans will be able to concentrate their forces, both military and industrial, upon us But for the reasons I have given to the House these will not be found so easy to apply If invasion has become more imminent, as no doubt it has, we, being relieved from the task of maintaining a large army in France, have far larger and more efficient forces to meet it If Hitler can bring under his despotic control the industries of the countries he has conquered, this will add greatly to his already vast armament output On the other hand, this will not happen immediately, and we are now assured of immense, continuous and increasing support in supplies and munitions of all kinds from the United States; and especially of aeroplanes and pilots from the Dominions and across the oceans coming from regions which are beyond the reach of enemy bombers I not see how any of these factors can operate to our detriment on balance before the winter comes; and the winter will impose a strain upon the Nazi regime, with almost all Europe writhing and starving under its cruel heel, which, for all their ruthlessness, will run them very hard We must not forget that from the moment when we declared war on the 3rd September it was always possible for Germany to turn all her Air Force upon this country, together with any other devices of invasion she might conceive, and that France could have done little or nothing to prevent her doing so We have, therefore, lived under this danger, in principle and in a slightly modified form, during all these months In the meanwhile, however, we have enormously improved our methods of defense, and we have learned what we had no right to assume at the beginning, namely, that the individual aircraft and the individual British pilot have a sure and definite superiority Therefore, in casting up this dread balance sheet and contemplating our dangers with a disillusioned eye, I see great reason for intense vigilance and exertion, but none whatever for panic or despair During the first four years of the last war the Allies experienced nothing but disaster and disappointment That was our constant fear: one blow after another, terrible losses, frightful dangers Everything miscarried And yet at the end of those four years the morale of the Allies was higher than that of the Germans, who had moved from one aggressive triumph to another, and who stood everywhere triumphant invaders of the lands into which they had broken During that war we repeatedly asked ourselves the question: 'How are we going to win?' And no one was able ever to answer it with much precision, until at the end, quite suddenly, quite unexpectedly, our terrible foe collapsed before us, and we were so glutted with victory that in our folly we threw it away We not yet know what will happen in France or whether the French resistance will be prolonged, both in France and in the French Empire overseas The French Government will be throwing away great opportunities and casting adrift their future if they not continue the war in accordance with their treaty obligations, from which we have not felt able to release them The House will have read the historic declaration in which, at the desire of many Frenchmen and of our own hearts we have proclaimed our willingness at the darkest hour in French history to conclude a union of common citizenship in this struggle However matters may go in France or with the French Government, or other French Governments, we in this Island and in the British Empire will never lose our sense of comradeship with the French people If we are now called upon to endure what they have been suffering, we shall emulate their courage, and if final victory rewards our toils they shall share the gains, aye, and freedom shall be restored to all We abate nothing of our just demands; not one jot or tittle we recede Czechs, Poles, Norwegians, Dutch, Belgians have joined their causes to our own All these shall be restored What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.' Winston Churchill - June 18, 1940 On a frigid winter's day, January 20, 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy took the oath of office as the 35th President of the United States At age 43, he was the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected He had won by one of the smallest margins of victory, only 115,000 popular votes This is the speech he delivered announcing the dawn of a new era as young Americans born in the 20th century first assumed leadership of the Nation Listen to the entire speech Vice President Johnson, Mr Speaker, Mr Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning signifying renewal, as well as change For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago The world is very different now For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty This much we pledge and more To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends United, there is little we cannot in a host of cooperative ventures Divided, there is little we can for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required, not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge to convert our good words into good deeds in a new alliance for progress to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction We dare not tempt them with weakness For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war So let us begin anew, remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof Let us never negotiate out of fear But let us never fear to negotiate Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah to "undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free." And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved All this will not be finished in the first 100 days Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet But let us begin In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe Now the trumpet summons us again not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need not as a call to battle, though embattled we are but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort? In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger I not shrink from this responsibility I welcome it I not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it and the glow from that fire can truly light the world And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can for you ask what you can for your country My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will for you, but what together we can for the freedom of man Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own President John F Kennedy - January 20, 1961 Franklin D Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd U.S President during the worst crisis America had faced since the Civil War By early 1933, the U.S economy had sunk to its lowest point in the period known as the Great Depression Over 13 million Americans were unemployed while wages had declined 60 percent in value Business losses were reported at $6 Billion with industry operating at half its pre-depression capacity People lost their life's savings, their homes and farms Some began to lose faith in the American system of democracy itself Roosevelt had campaigned for the presidency promising a "new deal for the American people." The 'new deal' term became the motto for the sweeping economic and political changes Roosevelt would enact to address the national economic emergency In this speech, President Roosevelt first tries to calm the fear gripping Americans, then outlines some of the "lines of attack" to be immediately taken in the days and weeks ahead Listen to the entire speech President Hoover, Mr Chief Justice, my friends: This is a day of national consecration And I am certain that on this day my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impels This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties They concern, thank God, only material things Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; and the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment And yet our distress comes from no failure of substance We are stricken by no plague of locusts Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence They only know the rules of a generation of self-seekers They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish Yes, the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort The joy and the moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits These dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, and on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone This Nation is asking for action, and action now Our greatest primary task is to put people to work This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our great natural resources Hand in hand with that we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land Yes, the task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, the State, and the local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, unequal It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities that have a definitely public character There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped by merely talking about it We must act We must act quickly And finally, in our progress toward a resumption of work we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order; there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people's money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency These, my friends, are the lines of attack I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the 48 States Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time and necessity secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy I favor as a practical policy the putting of first things first I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment, but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not narrowly nationalistic It is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in all parts of the United States of America a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer It is the way to recovery It is the immediate way It is the strongest assurance that recovery will endure In the field of world policy I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress can be made, no leadership becomes effective We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and our property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at the larger good This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us, bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in times of armed strife With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems Action in this image, action to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors Our Constitution is so simple, so practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has ever seen It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations And it is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe For the trust reposed in me, I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time I can no less We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike We aim at the assurance of a rounded, a permanent national life We not distrust the future of essential democracy The people of the United States have not failed In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership They have made me the present instrument of their wishes In the spirit of the gift I take it In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God May He protect each and every one of us May He guide me in the days to come President Franklin D Roosevelt - March 4, 1933