Seemed like a Tom Petty reference was allowable to tag President Bush’s speech today at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. For those who’ve been asserting that the “Bush Doctrine” is a failure and has been discarded, this speech might be heard as a bold re-stating of basic principles. Extracts:

Two-hundred-and-thirty years ago, 56 brave men signed their names to a document that set the course of our nation. It changed the history of the world. Our Declaration of Independence was a bold statement of revolutionary principles. It laid down a creed of freedom and a quality that has lifted the lives of hundreds of millions here in America and around the world. Yet, without the courage of the soldiers of our Continental Army, the words of the Declaration would have been forgotten by history, dismissed as the radical musings of a failed revolution.

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Since that first 4th of July, some 43 million Americans have defended our freedom in times of war. These brave men and women crossed oceans and continents to defeat murderous ideologies and to secure the peace for generations that followed. We live in liberty because of the courage they displayed — from Bunker Hill to Baghdad, from Concord to Kabul — on this Independence Day we honor their achievements and we thank them for their service in freedom’s cause.

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Prevailing in Iraq is going to require more tough fighting; it’s going to require more sacrifice. And when the job in Iraq is done, it will be a major victory in the battle against the terrorists. By achieving victory in Iraq, we will deny the terrorists a safe haven from which to plot and plan new attacks on America and other free nations. By achieving victory in Iraq, we will send a signal to our enemies that America’s resolve is firm and that our country will not run in the face of thugs and assassins.

By achieving victory in Iraq, we will help Iraqis build a free nation in the heart of a troubled region, and inspire those who desire liberty — those democratic reformers from Damascus to Tehran. By achieving victory in Iraq, we will honor the sacrifice of the brave men and women who have risked their lives and given their lives for a just and noble cause.

Victory in Iraq will not, in itself, end the war on terror. We’re engaged in a global struggle against the followers of a murderous ideology that despises freedom and crushes all dissent, and has territorial ambitions and pursues totalitarian aims. This enemy attacked us in our homeland on September the 11th, 2001. They’re pursuing weapons of mass destruction that would allow them to deliver even more catastrophic destruction to our country and our friends and allies across the world. They’re dangerous. And against such enemy there is only one effective response: We will never back down, we will never give in and we will never accept anything less than complete victory.

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On September the 11th, 2001, we saw that problems originating in a failed and oppressive state 7,000 miles away could bring murder and destruction to our country. And we learned an important lesson: Decades of excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make it safe. So long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place where terrorists foment resentment and threaten American security.

And so we pursue a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East. We ought to be confident in the pursuit of that strategy, because liberty is universal. And by standing with those who desire liberty, we will help extend freedom to millions who have not known it, and lay the foundations of peace for generations to come.

These are historic times, and I thank you for putting on the uniform, and for volunteering to serve this country during these important times. I have confidence in our country and I have faith in our cause. Because I see — I know the character of the men and women who wear our nation’s uniform. And I know the character of the men and women here at Fort Bragg. We see that character in 24 service members from Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base who have received the Silver Start for gallantry in combat. We see that character in men and women who have received serious wounds in battle, but fought on — exposing themselves to enemy fire to save their comrades and complete their missions.

We see that character in special operations soldiers, like Captain Chip Eldridge. In December 2004, Captain Eldridge was deployed at a coalition base near Shkin, Afghanistan, where he got a report that the terrorists were preparing to attack the base with a rocket. When his unit went out to look for him, his Humvee was hit by an anti-tank mine and his unit came under a barrage of gunfire. He pulled out of his vehicle and he looked down and he saw that part of his left leg had been blown off. Despite the intense pain, he refused pain killers offered by a field medic so he could stay alert to deal with the enemy. Soon, a team of A-10 Warthogs arrived and took care of the terrorists, and Chip and his men were evacuated.

Eventually, Chip was transported to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where doctors told him that he would be in recovery for at least a year. He told his doctors he had a change of command in six months and that he’d be out of recovery by then. To speed his recovery, he tripled his daily physical therapy regime. He told his physical therapists, “I’m going to need to run, swim, jump out of planes, possibly ride horses; I’m not going to accept anything different.” His therapist recalls how angry he was when someone told him he’d never run a sub-7 minute mile again. Chip proved him wrong.

Today, his commanding officer says, “I’d say he’s fitter than 90 percent of the people in the unit he commands. In a room with four people, I bet he could beat three of us in a mile run.” Chip is here at Fort Bragg, he’s jumping out of planes, he’s training with his men, and next April, he’s heading back to Afghanistan, where he’ll once again command a unit in the zone of combat. America is blessed to have brave soldiers like Chip Eldridge. With men like this leading our forces in the battle, the enemy doesn’t have a chance.

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You’ve given our citizens a priceless gift, the opportunity to live in freedom and to pursue their dreams, and enjoy lives of purpose and dignity. You’ve kept America what our founders meant her to be: a light to the nations, spreading the good news of human freedom to the darkest corners of earth.

I want to thank you for all you do for our country and for the world.

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