This selection is from the State of the Union address by President George W. Bush in January, 2002.  He used the occasion to explain the nation's goals in its war on the sources of terrorism around the world.
   As he spoke, military forces from America and many other nations were in Afghanistan, striking against the groups that supported terrorist training camps and terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.
   Bush also accused North Korea, Iran, and Iraq of supporting terrorists, and said these nations formed an "axis of evil" threatening the world.  
   The greatest concern, of course, was the danger that terrorists would get germ weapons or nuclear bombs.

Fire fighters with their equipment.  Fire fighters were among the first to respond to the terrorist attacks against the U.S. on September 11, 2001.

President George W. Bush.  In the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, he pushed for strong action to combat the sources of terrorism around the world.

   President George W. Bush declares two specific goals of the United States in the war on terrorism. 
   The first, he says, is to "shut down terrorist camps, disrupt terrorist plans, and bring terrorists to justice."
   The second goal, he explains, is to go after the nations and leaders that support or sponsor terrorists.  He says such regimes pose a "grave and growing danger," and argues that the cost of doing nothing "would be catastrophic."  He says Iraq, in particular, had plotted to develop germ weapons using anthrax as well as nuclear weapons.
   Beyond those specific goals, President Bush also pledged that Americans would work with other people around the world to support the principles of liberty and justice.  The "greater objective," he declares, is "a just and peaceful world beyond the war on terror."

   President Bush lists several principles that he hopes will unite people world-wide in the fight against terrorism.  These are:  limits on the power of the government, respect for women, private property, free speech, equal justice, and religious tolerance. 
   He makes a point of saying that many in the Islamic world also support such ideals.  He points out that "No people on Earth yearn to be oppressed, or aspire to servitude, or eagerly await the midnight knock of the secret police."
   While terrorists choose "death as a cause and a creed," America, the president declares, will choose "freedom and the dignity of every life."