Bush: ‘Call evil by its name’

President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to pre-empt terrorist threats wherever they might appear, stating that while passive defenses are important, “the war on terror will not be won on the defensive. We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans, and confront the worst threats before they emerge.”

In his landmark West Point speech, which won accolades from the Washington Post and backing from a top Democrat in Congress, Bush called for revamping the FBI, transforming the military, and a new security culture that “will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives.”

“Because the war on terror will require resolve and patience, it will also require firm moral purpose. In this way our struggle is similar to the Cold War,” the President said. “Some worry that it is somehow undiplomatic or impolite to speak the language of right and wrong. I disagree. . . .We are in a conflict between good and evil, and America will call evil by its name.”

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