By J. Randolph Evans

On September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush said in a televised address from the White House to the nation:

A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.

Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America – with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers, and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.

Just a few days later, as those very rescue workers gathered at Ground Zero, President Bush appeared in a much different context.  He stood on the rubble of the World Trade Center buildings.  As he started to speak, a voice yelled out from the back of the crowd and said:  “President Bush, we can’t hear you!” It was an anxious moment as folks strained to hear the President.  The nation had suffered a tremendous loss. Somehow, it seemed that the circumstances might be just too much for everyone to hear what the President had to say.  Then, with a bull horn in hand, President Bush stepped up and made his mark in history with these words:

I can hear you.  I can hear you.

And he did.  He heard the aching hearts of Americans wounded by the loss of thousands of lives.  He heard the worries of parents fearful for the safety of their children.  He heard the yearning for reassurance in an uncertain time.  He heard a country cry out, “Can you hear us?” and he answered, “Yes I can!”
On that day at Ground Zero, President Bush did so much more than just make an impromptu speech.  He went on to set the course for this country.

As he continued, he said: “The rest of the world hears you.”  And it did.  President Bush left little doubt about where the line was drawn.  He put it simply and to the point:

Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.

(He never backed down on this.  Later, standing next to President Jacques Chirac of France, he said it again like this:  “You are either with us or you are against us in the fight against terror.”)

No, it was not politically correct.  No, the rest of the world does not like taking sides.  No, the media never understood it.  But, at that moment, it drew an important line.  It was what the world needed to understand.  There could be no ambiguity.  The stakes were too high and the risks too great.  It was a moment of clarity for all the world to hear.

There was more.  Finally, at Ground Zero, President Bush made this promise:

And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.

And they did.  President Bush and his national security team chased them in every hiding place throughout the world.  It was relentless.  He did not hesitate.  He did not equivocate.  He did not pontificate.  He did it.  He did it with everything America had.

Thank God, the terrorists have been on defense ever since.  Al-Qaeda camps around the world have been blown up.  Al-Qaeda operatives have been rounded up, detained and interrogated or killed.  Under President Bush, there was no let-up; no backing down; no running away at the first sign of trouble.  Instead, there was steady resolve.  In his words, “We will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail.”
His mission was simple:  “Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.” Through his efforts, the war against terror was fought in the terrorists’ backyard, not here.  Those fighting the war were America’s best trained soldiers fighting, not civilians.

And for Osama bin Laden, President Bush said this:

I want justice. And there’s an old poster out West, I recall, that says, ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive’

Years later, thanks to President Bush’s focus and resolve, the answer for Osama bin Laden was quite simply – “dead.” As the Commander in Chief, President Bush had a job to do – protect and defend the United States of America.  And he did.

The attacks most easily forgotten are those that never happened.  But Americans remember.

One decade later – thank you, Mr. President.