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Source: Time, July 6, 2017
Published on myIslam.dk: July 24, 2017
Thank you very much. That's so nice.
The United States has many great diplomats, but there is truly no better
ambassador for our country than our beautiful first lady, Melania.
Thank you, Melania. That was very nice.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We've come to your nation to deliver a very important message:
America loves Poland and America loves the Polish people. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
The Poles have not only greatly enriched this region, but Polish-Americans
have also greatly enriched the United States. And I was truly proud
to have their support in the 2016 election.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: It is a profound honor to stand in this city by this monument
to the Warsaw uprising, and to address the Polish nation that so many
generations have dreamed of, a Poland that is safe, strong and free.
President Duda and your wonderful first lady, Agata, have welcomed us
with the tremendous warmth and kindness for which Poland is known around
the world.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
I sincere -- I mean sincerely -- thank both of them, and to Prime Minister
Szydlo a very special thanks, also.
(APPLAUSE)
We are pleased that former President Lech Walesa, so famous for leading
the Solidarity movement, has joined us today, also.
Thank you. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
On behalf of all Americans, let me also thank the entire Polish people
for the generosity you have shown in welcoming our soldiers to your
country. These soldiers are not only brave defenders of freedom, but
also symbols of America's commitment to your security and your place
in a strong and democratic Europe.
(APPLAUSE)
We are proudly joined on stage by American, Polish, British and Romanian
soldiers. Thank you. Thank you. Great job.
President Duda and I have just come from an incredibly successful meeting
with the leaders participating in the Three Seas Initiative.
To the citizens of this great region, America is eager to expand our
partnership with you. We welcome stronger ties of trade and commerce
as you grow your economies. And we are committed to securing your access
to alternate sources of energy, so Poland and its neighbors are never
again held hostage to a single supplier of energy.
(APPLAUSE)
Mr. President, I congratulate you, along with the president of Croatia,
on your leadership of this historic Three Seas Initiative. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
This is my first visit to Central Europe as president, and I am thrilled
that it could be right here, at this magnificent, beautiful piece of
land. It is beautiful.
(APPLAUSE)
Poland is the geographic heart of Europe. But more importantly, in the
Polish people, we see the soul of Europe.
(APPLAUSE)
Your nation is great because your spirit is great and your spirit is
strong.
(APPLAUSE)
For two centuries, Poland suffered constant and brutal attacks. But
while Poland could be invaded and occupied and its borders even erased
from the map, it could never be erased from history or from your hearts.
In those dark days, you have lost your land, but you never lost your
pride.
(APPLAUSE)
So it is with true admiration I can say today, that from the farms and
villages of your countryside, to the cathedrals and squares of your
great cities, Poland lives, Poland prospers and Poland prevails.
(APPLAUSE)
Despite every effort to transform you, oppress you or destroy you, you
endured and overcame.
You are the proud nation of Copernicus -- think of that...
(APPLAUSE)
... Chopin, St. John Paul II. Poland is a land of great heroes.
(APPLAUSE)
And you are a people who know the true value of what you defend.
The triumph of the Polish spirit over centuries of hardship gives us
all hope for a future in which good conquers evil and peace achieves
victory over war.
For Americans, Poland has been a symbol of hope since the beginning
of our nation. Polish heroes and American patriots fought side by side
in our War of Independence and in many wars that followed. Our soldiers
still serve together today in Afghanistan and Iraq, combating the enemies
of all civilization.
For America's part, we have never given up on freedom and independence
as the right and destiny of the Polish people. And we never, ever will.
(APPLAUSE)
Our two countries share a special bond forged by unique histories and
national characters. It's a fellowship that exists only among people
who have fought and bled and died for freedom.
(APPLAUSE)
The signs of this friendship stand in our nation's capital. Just steps
from the White House, we've raised statues of men with names like Pulaski
and Kosciuszko.
(APPLAUSE)
The same is true in Warsaw, where street signs carry the name of George
Washington and a monument stands to one of the world's greatest heroes,
Ronald Reagan.
(APPLAUSE)
And so, I am here today not just to visit an old ally, but to hold it
up as an example for others who seek freedom and who wish to summon
the courage and the will to defend our civilization.
(APPLAUSE)
The story of Poland is the story of a people who have never lost hope,
who have never been broken and who have never, ever forgotten who they
are.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump!
TRUMP: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Such a great
honor.
This is a nation more than 1,000 years old. Your borders were erased
for more than a century and only restored just one century ago.
In 1920, in the Miracle of Vistula, Poland stopped the Soviet Army bent
on European conquest.
(APPLAUSE)
Then 19 years later, in 1939, you were invaded yet again; this time
by Nazi Germany from the west and the Soviet Union from the east. That's
trouble. That's tough.
Under a double occupation, the Polish people endured evils beyond description:
the Katyn Forest Massacre, the occupation, the Holocaust, the Warsaw
Ghetto and the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the destruction of this beautiful
capital city, and the deaths of nearly one in five Polish people.
A vibrant Jewish population, the largest in Europe, was reduced to almost
nothing after the Nazis systematically murdered millions of Poland's
Jewish citizens, along with countless others during that brutal occupation.
In the summer of 1944, the Nazi and Soviet armies were preparing for
a terrible and bloody battle right here in Warsaw. Amid that Hell on
Earth, the citizens of Poland rose up to defend their homeland.
I am deeply honored to be joined on stage today by veterans and heroes
of the Warsaw uprising.
(APPLAUSE)
What great spirit.
We salute your noble sacrifice and we pledge to always remember your
fight for Poland and for freedom. Thank you. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
This monument reminds us that more than 150,000 Poles died during that
desperate struggle to overthrow oppression.
From the other side of the river, the Soviet armed forces stopped and
waited. They watched as the Nazis ruthlessly destroyed the city, viciously
murdering men, women and children.
They tried to destroy this nation forever by shattering its will to
survive. But there's a courage and a strength deep in the Polish character
that no one could destroy.
The Polish martyr Bishop Michal Kozal said it well: "More horrifying
of a defeat of arms is a collapse of the human spirit."
Through four decades of Communist rule, Poland and the other captive
nations of Europe endured a brutal campaign to demolish freedom, your
faith, your laws, your history, your identity; indeed, the very essence
of your culture and your humanity.
Yet through it all, you never lost that spirit.
(APPLAUSE)
Your oppressors tried to break you, but Poland could not be broken.
(APPLAUSE)
And when the day came on June 2nd, 1979, and 1 million Poles gathered
around Victory Square for their very first mass with their Polish pope,
that day every Communist in Warsaw must have known that their oppressive
system would soon come crashing down.
(APPLAUSE)
They must have known it at the exact moment during Pope John Paul II's
sermon when a million Polish men, women and children suddenly raised
their voices in a single prayer.
A million Polish people did not ask for wealth. They did not ask for
privilege. Instead, 1 million Poles saying three simple words: "We
want God."
(APPLAUSE)
In those words, the Polish people recalled the promise of a better future.
They found new courage to face down their oppressors. And they found
the words to declare that Poland would be Poland once again.
As I stand here today before this incredible crowd, this faithful nation,
we can still hear those voices that echo through history. Their message
is as true today as ever. The people of Poland, the people of America
and the people of Europe still cry out, "We want God."
(APPLAUSE)
Together with Pope John Paul II, the Poles reasserted their identity
as a nation devoted to God. And with that powerful declaration of who
you are, you came to understand what to do and how to live.
You stood in solidarity against oppression, against a lawless secret
police, against a cruel and wicked system that impoverished your cities
and your souls, and you won. Poland prevailed. Poland will always prevail.
AUDIENCE: Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump!
TRUMP: Thank you.
You were supported in that victory over communism by a strong alliance
of free nations in the West that defied tyranny. Now among the most
committed members of the NATO alliance, Poland has resumed its place
as a leading nation of a Europe that is strong, whole and free. A strong
Poland is a blessing to the nations of Europe and they know that. A
strong Europe is a blessing to the West, and to the world.
(APPLAUSE)
One hundred years after the entry of American forces into World War
I, the transatlantic bond between the United States and Europe is as
strong as ever and maybe, in many ways, even stronger.
This continent no longer confronts the specter of communism. But today,
we're in the West, and we have to say, there are dire threats to our
security and to our way of life.
You see what's happening out there. They are threats. We will confront
them. We will win. But they are threats.
AUDIENCE: Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump!
TRUMP: We are confronted by another oppressive ideology, one that seeks
to export terrorism and extremism all around the globe.
America and others have suffered one terror attack after another. We're
going to get it to stop.
(APPLAUSE)
During a historic gathering in Saudi Arabia, I called on the leaders
of more than 50 Muslim nations to join together to drive out this menace
which threatens all of humanity.
We must stand united against these shared enemies to strip them of their
territory and their funding and their networks and any form of ideological
support that they may have.
While we will always welcome new citizens who share our values and love
our people, our borders will always be closed to terrorism and extremism
of any kind.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump!
TRUMP: We are fighting hard against radical Islamic terrorism. And we
will prevail.
(APPLAUSE)
We cannot accept those who reject our values and who use hatred to justify
violence against the innocent.
Today, the West is also confronted by the powers that seek to test our
will, undermine our confidence and challenge our interests.
To meet new forms of aggression, including propaganda, financial crimes
and cyber warfare, we must adapt our alliance to compete effectively
in new ways and on all new battlefields.
We urge Russia to cease its destabilizing activities in Ukraine and
elsewhere and its support for hostile regimes, including Syria and Iran,
and to instead join the community of responsible nations in our fight
against common enemies and in defense of civilization itself.
(APPLAUSE)
Finally, on both sides of the Atlantic, our citizens are confronted
by yet another danger, one firmly within our control. This danger is
invisible to some but familiar to the Poles: the steady creep of government
bureaucracy that drains the vitality and wealth of the people.
The West became great, not because of paperwork and regulations, but
because people were allowed to chase their dreams and pursue their destinies.
Americans, Poles and nations of Europe value freedom and sovereignty.
We must work together to confront forces, whether they come inside or
out, from the south or the east, that threaten over time to undermine
these values and to erase the bonds of culture, faith and tradition
that make us who we are.
(APPLAUSE)
If left unchecked, these forces will undermine our courage, sap our
spirit and weaken our will to defend ourselves and our societies.
But just as our adversaries and enemies of the past learned here in
Poland, we know that these forces, too, are doomed to fail if we want
them to fail. And we do indeed want them to fail.
(APPLAUSE)
They are doomed not only because our alliance is strong, our countries
are resilient and our power is unmatched. To all of that, you have to
say, everything is true.
Our adversaries, however, are doomed because we will never forget who
we are. And if we don't forget who we are, we just can't be beaten.
Americans will never forget. The nations of Europe will never forget.
We are the fastest and the greatest community. There is nothing like
our community of nations. The world has never known anything like our
community of nations.
We write symphonies. We pursue innovation. We celebrate our ancient
heroes, embrace our timeless traditions and customs, and always seek
to explore and discover brand-new frontiers.
We reward brilliance, we strive for excellence, and cherish inspiring
works of art that honor God. We treasure the rule of law and protect
the right to free speech and free expression.
(APPLAUSE)
We empower women as pillars of our society and of our success. We put
faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, at the center of our
lives.
And we debate everything. We challenge everything. We seek to know everything,
so that we can better know ourselves.
(APPLAUSE)
And above all, we value the dignity of every human life, protect the
rights of every person and share the hope of every soul to live in freedom.
That is who we are. Those are the priceless ties that bind us together
as nations, as allies and as a civilization.
What we have, what we inherited from our -- and -- and you know this
better than anybody and you see it today, with this incredible group
of people -- what we've inherited from our ancestors has never existed
to this extent before. And if we fail to preserve it, it will never,
ever exist again. So we cannot fail.
This great community of nations has something else in common. In every
one of them, it is the people, not the powerful, who have always formed
the foundation of freedom and the cornerstone of our defense.
The people have been that foundation here in Poland, as they were right
here in Warsaw. And they were the foundation from the very, very beginning
in America.
Our citizens did not win freedom together, did not survive horrors together,
did not face down evil together only to lose our freedom to a lack of
pride and confidence in our values. We did not and we will not. We will
never back down.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump!
TRUMP: As long as we know our history, we will know how to build our
future.
Americans know that a strong alliance of free, sovereign and independent
nations is the best defense for our freedoms and for our interests.
That is why my administration has demanded that all members of NATO
finally meet their full and fair financial obligation. As a result of
this insistence, billions of dollars more have begun to pour into NATO.
In fact, people are shocked. But billions and billions of dollars more
coming in from countries that, in my opinion, would not have been paying
so quickly.
To those who would criticize our tough stance, I would point out that
the United States has demonstrated not merely with words but with its
actions that we stand firmly behind Article V, the mutual defense commitment.
(APPLAUSE)
Words are easy but actions are what matters. And for its own protection
-- and you know this, everybody knows this, everybody has to know this
-- Europe must do more. Europe must demonstrate that it believes in
its future by investing its money to secure that future.
That is why we applaud Poland for its decision to move forward this
week on acquiring from the United States the battle-tested Patriot air
and missile defense system, the best anywhere in the world.
That is also why we salute the Polish people for being one of the NATO
countries that has actually achieved the benchmark for investment in
our common defense.
Thank you. Thank you, Poland. I must tell you the example you set is
truly magnificent and we applaud Poland. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
We have to remember that our defense is not just a commitment of money,
it is a commitment of will. Because as the Polish experience reminds
us, the defense of the West ultimately rests not only on means, but
also on the will of its people to prevail and be successful and get
what you have to have.
The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will
to survive. Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at
any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our
borders? Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization
in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?
We can have...
(APPLAUSE)
... the largest economies and the most lethal weapons anywhere on Earth,
but if we do not have strong families and strong values, then we will
be weak and we will not survive.
(APPLAUSE)
If anyone forgets the critical importance of these things, let them
come to one country that never has, let them come to Poland...
(APPLAUSE)
... and let them come here to Warsaw and learn the story of the Warsaw
Uprising.
When they do, they should learn about Jerusalem Avenue.
In August of 1944, Jerusalem Avenue was one of the main roads running
east and west through this city, just as it is today. Control of that
road was crucially important to both sides in the battle for Warsaw.
The German military wanted it as their most direct route to move troops
and to form a very strong front. And for the Polish home army, the ability
to pass north and south across that street was critical to keep the
center of the city and the uprising itself from being split apart and
destroyed.
Every night the Poles put up sandbags amid machine-gun fire -- and it
was horrendous fire -- to protect a narrow passage across Jerusalem
Avenue. Every day, the enemy forces knocked them down, again and again
and again.
Then the Poles dug a trench. Finally, they built a barricade. And the
brave Polish fighters began to flow across Jerusalem Avenue.
That narrow passageway, just a few feet wide, was the fragile link that
kept the uprising alive. Between its walls, a constant stream of citizens
and freedom fighters made their perilous -- just perilous -- sprints.
They ran across that street, they ran through that street, they ran
under that street, all to defend the city.
The far side was several yards away, recalled one young Polish woman
named Greta (ph). That mortality and that life was so important to her.
In fact, she said the mortally dangerous sector of the street was soaked
in blood.
It was the blood of messengers, liaison girls and couriers. Nazi snipers
shot at anybody who crossed; anybody who crossed, they were being shot
at. Their soldiers burned every building on the street and they used
the Poles as human shields for their tanks in their effort to capture
Jerusalem Avenue.
The enemy never ceased its relentless assault on that small outpost
of civilization. And the Poles never ceased its defense. The Jerusalem
Avenue passage required constant protection, repair and reinforcement.
But the will of its defenders did not waver even in the face of death.
And to the last days of the uprising, the fragile crossing never, ever
failed. It was never, ever forgotten. It was kept open by the Polish
people. The memories of those who perished in the Warsaw Uprising cry
out across the decades. And few are clearer than the memories of those
who died to build and defend the Jerusalem Avenue crossing.
Those heroes remind us that the West was saved with the blood of patriots,
that each generation must rise up and play their part in its defense...
(APPLAUSE)
... and that every foot of ground and every last inch of civilization
is worth defending with your life.
Our own fight for the West does not begin on the battlefield. It begins
with our minds, our wills and our souls. Today, the ties that unite
our civilization are no less vital and demand no less defense than that
bare shred of land on which the hope of Poland once totally rested.
Our freedom, our civilization and our survival depend on these bonds
of history, culture and memory. And today, as ever, Poland is in our
heart, and its people are in that fight.
(APPLAUSE)
Just as Poland could not be broken, I declare today for the world to
hear that the West will never, ever be broken. Our values will prevail,
our people will thrive, and our civilization will triumph.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump!
TRUMP: Thank you.
So together let us all fight like the Poles, for family, for freedom,
for country and for God.
Thank you. God bless you, God bless the Polish people, God bless our
allies, and God bless the United States of America.
Thank you. God bless you. Thank you very much.