Memorial Service and Flag Retreat Ceremony

A day in South Bend beats a day in Washington hands down. I’m happy to be here. I am very honored and privileged that the Alumni Association would ask me to come join you at this Retreat Ceremony today. I asked my staff to put together some comments and, as they always do, they give me great comments. But, I’m generally stirred by the moment and, if you allow me to digress from my prepared comments…I see Mr. Foy in the front row and had the privilege of being in Washington last week as the President dedicated the World War II Memorial. Those veterans, there are only one-fourth of those that fought of the 16 million people that served our country in World War II, that are still living. Mr. Foy, we are proud of your service during that great war, that war that helped our nation understand its responsibility to the world and the sacrifice that you and your colleagues made to make this nation free and the world free. Your example is the example that we really recognize today, whether you are a Notre Dame ROTC graduate, a member of the armed forces associated with Notre Dame by virtue of having a mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter attending this great institution, or those of you that are privileged to serve here and train the next generation of military leaders that will serve our nation.

We all come back to one tradition…that is the tradition of our nation. We are not a military nation. Our military tradition is the tradition of the minuteman, the tradition of the citizen soldier. And since our nation was created, we have always served our nation with citizens, not large standing armies. We are not, again, a military nation. We call on the mothers and fathers of our nation to give us their sons and daughters to go serve in the wars that defend our freedom. Once those wars are over, traditionally we downsize, we don’t keep large military forces.

That is the history of the Notre Dame service to our nation. People come to this great institution and learn about humanity, service to God and country, service to the nation and many are privileged to wear the uniform of our nation as ROTC cadets. And to learn the skills of “officership” so that they can go forth and, in the tradition of citizen soldiers, serve this nation and the ideals of our Constitution. That is what we honor today, those years of service, those years of commitment, those years of responsibility to our government. And why is that important? As I mentioned with Mr. Foy, we celebrated the tremendous contributions and sacrifices of the men and women that served in World War II. That war was a war against tyranny, a war against totalitarianism and fascism.

Well today, ladies and gentlemen, starting the 11th of September, we are again engaged in a global war against a nihilistic political philosophy that would take away the freedom of Americans and all freedom loving democratic peoples of the world. The initial enemy was Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda was behind that attack against our country on the 11th of September. The symbolism is often lost that not only was it an attack on America, but people from 82 countries died in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC, on the 11th of September. It was an attack on the international system. And on the 19th of September, President Bush addressed the nation and said that this would be the most difficult war that we ever fought because it would be the most different war that we would ever fight. It would be a war that would call upon our military, our law enforcement, our intelligence, our diplomats, our economic capability to fight an enemy that doesn’t wear an uniform every day, doesn’t live by the law of armed conflict, isn’t fixed geographically in any one location but operates in the shadow, using the internet and other ways to proselytize and bring young men and women into the realm of this nihilistic political philosophy called Islamic extremism. And let me be careful to mention that our nation is not at war against Islam or people who practice Islam fundamentally. We are at war with people who have hijacked one of the world’s greatest religions and turned that religion into a nihilistic philosophy that would tend to undermine the freedoms that we in this nation and the international community has fought for.

The current battleground is in Afghanistan and Iraq and our military is performing magnificently and there are Notre Dame alumni proudly serving this nation on that battlefield, but that is not the only battlefield that we fight on. We fight on the international diplomatic battlefield. We fight on the international law enforcement battlefield. And this war will be won not through the force of arms alone but through the imposition of the rule of law and the acceptance within the international community that terrorist criminals will no longer have a harbor in any nation on the face of this earth because those nations who harbor terrorists indeed are pariah nations within the international community that we all have to live and work in together.

Now we are engaged in a very important fight in Afghanistan and, as the Captain mentioned today, we prepare to transition political power to the people of Afghanistan a little more than a year after the war started. There is much controversy, as there should be, in our nation as we try to come to grips with the actions of our government, the results of our military action, and to understand what we have before us. But, ladies and gentlemen, I would submit to you that regardless of what the debate is in our democracy, the United States of America, and indeed the international community, cannot afford to lose to the terrorists in Iraq. That is the current battleground that we fight on; it is the battleground that we must prevail in because failure to prevail gives the enemy, these people who have this nihilistic political philosophy, a victory. And that victory will parlay into other attempts to attack and kill innocent people. So, today as we reflect on Notre Dame’s great contributions to this nation, as we reflect on the magnificent citizen soldiers of this great institution that have gone forth to serve this nation and our Constitution, let us also reflect on the fact that our nation remains at war and the importance of prevailing in this war as Mr. Foy and his colleagues prevailed in World War II. If we do not prevail, the cost of freedom will be inexplicable.

Thank you for allowing me to come today. Thank you for allowing me to share this great moment with you as we celebrate the history of this institution and the service that the men and women of Notre Dame have given to our great nation. Thank you very much.