奥巴马在阿富汗空军基地的演讲

Remarks by the President to the Troops
Clamshell, Bagram Airfield

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THE PRESIDENT:  How's it going, Bagram?  (Applause.)  Well, you know, it turns out that the American people, they let me use this plane called Air Force One.  And so I thought I'd come over and say hello.  (Applause.) 

Couple of people I want to thank, in addition to Sergeant Major Eric Johnson for the outstanding introduction and his great service.  I want to thank Major General Mike Scaparrotti.  (Applause.)  Thank you for your great work as commanding general.  I want to thank Ms. Dawn Liberi, who is the senior civilian representative of Regional Command East, for her outstanding work; and Brigadier General Steven Kwast, commander -- (applause) -- commander 455th Air Expeditionary Wing.  Thank you all for your outstanding service.  Give them a big round of applause.  (Applause.)

Thank you for the unbelievable welcome.  I know this was on a little bit of short notice. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  No worries.

THE PRESIDENT:  No worries.  (Laughter.)  It is great to be here at Bagram, and it's great to see all the services.  We've got Air Force, we've got Army -- (applause) -- we've got Navy -- (applause) -- we've got some Marines in the house.  (Applause.)  And we've got a lot of civilians here too -- (applause) -- who are making an outstanding contribution to this effort, and I'm honored to be joined by America's outstanding civilian military leadership team here in Afghanistan, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, who's doing outstanding work, and the commander of our 43-nation coalition, General Stan McChrystal.  The two of them together have paired up to do an extraordinarily difficult task, but they are doing it extraordinarily well and we are proud of them.  Please give your outstanding team a big round of applause.  They've got my full confidence and my full support.  (Applause.) 

We're also joined by troops from some of our coalition partners, because this is not simply an American mission or even just a NATO mission.  Al Qaeda and their extremist allies are a threat to the people of Afghanistan and a threat to the people of America, but they're also a threat to people all around the world, and that's why we're so proud to have our coalition partners here with us.  Thank you very much for the great work that you do.  We salute you and we honor you for all the sacrifices you make, and you are a true friend of the United States of America.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

And we also salute the members of the Afghan National Army who are fighting alongside all of you.  They're risking their lives to protect their country.  And as I told President Karzai today, the United States is a partner but our intent is to make sure that the Afghans have the capacity to provide for their own security.  That is core to our mission, and we are proud of the work that they are doing and the continuing increased capacity that we're seeing out of Afghan national security forces.  So thank you very much for the great work you're doing to take responsibility for security here in your own country.

And to the Afghan people, I want to say that I'm honored to be a guest in your country.  Now, the Afghans have suffered for decades -- decades of war.  But we are here to help Afghans forge a hard-won peace while realizing the extraordinary potential of the Afghan people, Afghanistan's sons and daughters, from the soldiers and the police to the farmers and the young students.  And we want to build a lasting partnership founded upon mutual interests and mutual respect, and I'm looking forward to returning to Afghanistan many times in the years to come.

Now, I know for most of you, you didn't get a lot of notice that I was coming.  But I want you to understand, there's no visit that I considered more important than this visit I'm making right now, because I have no greater honor than serving as your Commander-in-Chief.  And it is a privilege to look out and see the extraordinary efforts of America's sons and daughters here in Afghanistan.  So my main job here today is to say thank you on behalf of the entire American people.  (Applause.)

You are part of the finest military in the history of the world, and we are proud of you.  And so I want you to know that everybody back home is proud of you.  Everybody back home is grateful.  And everybody understands the sacrifices that you have made and your families have made to keep America safe and to keep America secure in this vital mission.

And I know it's not easy.  You're far away from home.  You miss your kids.  You miss your spouses, your family, your friends.  Some of you, this is your second or your third or your fourth tour of duty.  I'll tell you right now the same thing that I said at West Point last December.  If I thought for a minute that America's vital interests were not served, were not at stake here in Afghanistan, I would order all of you home right away. 

So I want you to know, I want every American serving in Afghanistan, military and civilian, to know, whether you're working the flight line here at Bagram or patrolling a village down in Helmand, whether you're standing watch at a forward operating base or training our Afghan partners or working with the Afghan government, your services are absolutely necessary, absolutely essential to America's safety and security.  Those folks back home are relying on you.

We can't forget why we're here.  We did not choose this war.  This was not an act of America wanting to expand its influence; of us wanting to meddle in somebody else's business.  We were attacked viciously on 9/11.  Thousands of our fellow countrymen and women were killed.  And this is the region where the perpetrators of that crime, al Qaeda, still base their leadership.  Plots against our homeland, plots against our allies, plots against the Afghan and Pakistani people are taking place as we speak right here.  And if this region slides backwards, if the Taliban retakes this country and al Qaeda can operate with impunity, then more American lives will be at stake.  The Afghan people will lose their chance at progress and prosperity.  And the world will be significantly less secure.

And as long as I'm your Commander-in-Chief, I am not going to let that happen.  That's why you are here.  I've made a promise to all of you who serve.  I will never send you into harm's way unless it's absolutely necessary.  I anguish in thinking about the sacrifices that so many of you make.  That's why I promise I will never send you out unless it is necessary.

But that's only part of the promise, because the other part of the promise is that when it is absolutely necessary, you will be backed up by a clear mission and the right strategy to finish the job, to get the job done.  And I am confident all of you are going to get the job done right here in Afghanistan.  I am confident of that.  (Applause.)  

That's why I ordered more troops and civilians here into Afghanistan shortly after taking office.  That's why we took a hard look and forged a new strategy and committed more resources in December.  That's why we pushed our friends and allies and partners to pony up more resources themselves, more commitments of aid, and additional forces and trainers.