Thursday, 7 July 2005
The Terrorists will Fail
Even though our allies were struck today by al-Qaeda, I have renewed hope that the United States, Britain, Australia, and the rest of our allies will see the terrorism vanquished. The ultra-liberal mayor of London, Ken Livingstone best stated our common cause today.
Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life.
I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others - that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail.
In the days that follow look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfill their dreams and achieve their potential.
They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don’t want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.”
Livingstone is right. It is our unbending love of freedom that will carry they day. For it is the power of freedom which infuses people with the strength and ingenuity necessary to overcome and eradicate threats of force. We saw it in World War II. We saw it in the cold war. And we see it again today in the war on terrorism. I suspect the results will be the same. And just like Nazism and Communism, Islamic fascism is destined for the ash heap of history.
