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| Vice President Dick Cheney speaks to Soldiers from the 48th Brigade and the 3rd Infantry Division at |
WASHINGTON, July 22, 2006 - Vice President Richard B. Cheney reiterated America's commitment to winning the war on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere during a rally at Fort Stewart, Georgia, yesterday.
Cheney paid special tribute to the 48th Brigade Combat Team of the Georgia National Guard and the 3rd Infantry Division both of which recently returned from deployments in Iraq.
The 48th BCT of the Georgia National Guard said the Vice President did it all -- "from helping to stand-up the new Iraqi government, to cordon-and-search operations, to combat patrol and checkpoint security, to the capture and detention of suspected terrorists."
"You saw heavy combat and logged countless miles in thousands of vehicles," Cheney said. "It was a hard deployment, (but) you did a superb job. Members of the 48th, welcome home."
Cheney also praised the Fort Stewart based 3rd Infantry emphasizing that "The 3rd ID's performance in the field -- not just the progress you've made, but also your character as men and women -- has left a lasting impression on people up and down the chain of command," Cheney said. "Once again, the United States is grateful to the 3rd Infantry Division -- the Rock of the Marne -- for a job well done."
Cheney noted that the 3rd ID "has one of the most successful combat records of any division in Army history." In fact, "it was the spearhead unit into Baghdad" and thus was instrumental in the liberation of Iraq more than three years ago, when Operation Iraqi Freedom began, he said.
The 3rd ID and the 48th BCT are part of a larger Army family whose members "man the watchtowers of freedom" and undertake some of the most difficult and challenging assignments in the ongoing war on terror, Cheney said.
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| Soldiers from the 48th Brigade salute during the National Anthem at Fort Stewart, Near Savannah, July 21, 2006. (Georgia National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Roy Henry) |
"It's tough," he said. "It's dangerous to fight enemies who dwell in the shadows,
who target the innocent, who plot destruction on a massive scale. And in this fight, some of the hardest duties have come to the men and women of the United States Army."
But despite the enormity of the challenge and the formidable obstacles that still lie ahead, the vice president said, America will not relent until victory is achieved.
"You can be certain of this: the president will not relent in tracking the enemies of the United States with every legitimate tool at his command," he said. "This is not a war we can win on the defensive. Our only option against these enemies is to monitor them, to find them, to fight them, and to destroy them."
Cheney called the war on terror a battle for the future of civilization. "It's a battle worth fighting," he said, "and it is a battle we are going to win."