1538 Dec. 15 / Administration of George W. Bush, 2008 to gather with leaders of the Jewish commu- President’s courageous decision to recognize nity to celebrate our final Hanukkah here in the new State of Israel gave him an immortal the White House. place in Jewish history. Those words filled I want to thank our Attorney General for the President’s eyes with uncharacteristic joining us. General, I appreciate you and tears. And later, Ben-Gurion would say he Susan joining us. I am proud to be here with rarely had seen somebody so moved. one of America’s great United States Sen- And so tonight I’m deeply moved to wel- ators, Joe Lieberman—[applause]—his come the grandsons of these two great greatness made possible by his wife Hadas- men—Clifton Truman Daniel and Yariv Ben- sah, I might add. [Laughter] And one of the Eliezer—to light the Truman menorah to- young leaders of the United States Congress, gether. Eric Cantor, and his wife Diana. And we’re Laura and I wish all the people of Jewish proud to be here with Kol Zimra as well, faith a happy Hanukkah and many joyous Ha- who will perform later. nukkahs in the years ahead. Thank you. The story of Hanukkah recalls the miracu- lous victory of a small band of patriots against NOTE: The President spoke at 5:30 p.m. in the tyranny and the oil that burned for eight Grand Foyer at the White House. In his remarks, nights. Through centuries of exile and perse- he referred to President Jalal Talabani of Iraq; President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan; Susan cution, Jews have lit the menorah. Each year, Mukasey, wife of Attorney General Michael B. they behold its glow with faith in the power Mukasey; and entertainers Kol Zimra. The Office of God and love for His greatest gift, free- of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish lan- dom. guage transcript of these remarks. This Hanukkah we celebrate another mi- raculous victory, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. When Presi- Remarks Following a Meeting With dent Harry Truman led the world in recog- President Elias Antonio Saca nizing Israel in May of 1948, many wondered Gonzalez of El Salvador whether the small nation could possibly sur- December 16, 2008 vive. Yet from the first days of independence, the people of Israel defied dire predictions. President Bush. Mr. President, With determination and hard work, they benvenido de nuevo. I am honored to have turned a rocky desert into fertile soil. They you back. I appreciate your friendship, and built a thriving democracy, a strong economy, I appreciate your strong leadership for the and one of the mightiest military forces on people of our close ally, El Salvador. Earth. Like the Maccabees, Israel has de- We’ve had a very good discussion. First, fended itself bravely against enemies seeking I want to thank you for your support of free- its destruction. And today, Israel is a light dom in Iraq. You and—have been steadfast unto the nations and one of America’s closest in recognizing that freedom is the way to help friends. build lasting peace. This evening we have the great privilege I appreciate very much the fact that your of celebrating Israel’s 60th anniversary and country is a vibrant democracy. You’ve been Hanukkah in a very special way. Thanks to steadfast in your support for your—the right the generosity of the Truman Library, we are of your people to express themselves in a free fortunate to light the menorah presented to society, and I applaud you for that strength. President Truman in 1951 as a symbol of I want to thank you very much for invest- friendship by Israel’s first Prime Minister, ing in your people. You’re a—we’ve got a David Ben-Gurion. partnership through the Millennium Chal- A decade after President Truman received lenge Corporation. And part of your commit- this gift, he visited Prime Minister Ben- ment was honest government and the invest- Gurion for one of the last times. As they part- ment in the health and education of your ed, Ben-Gurion told the President that as a people. And you’ve honored that agreement. foreigner he could not judge President Tru- I thank you very much for understanding that man’s place in American history, but the the benefits of trade are good for your people VerDate Aug 31 2005 13:41 Dec 23, 2008 Jkt 217250 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 1244 Sfmt 1244 E:\PRESDOCS\P50DET4.019 P50DET4 dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with PRESDOCST Administration of George W. Bush, 2008 / Dec. 16 1539 and our people as well. And you’re a very With regards to the Millennium account, strong advocate of CAFTA, which is working we have been very successful. We’re working very well. very fast. We’re going to build a highway, And finally, you’ve been very strong when a 300-kilometer-long highway in the north- it comes to helping interdict the flow of ern part of the country. And at the same drugs. I explained to the President that since time, we’re going to develop the rural areas 2001, drug use in the United States amongst along that highway. And all this has been teenagers has declined by 25 percent. And done hand in hand with the United States. the reason I said that is because in order to I wish you the best of luck in your new affect the flow of drugs there must be a com- life. I was just in Dallas recently, because prehensive approach. First of all, we got to— I went to promote the TPS for our people. we in the United States must reduce de- And everybody knew there that President mand. But it also requires a strong coopera- Bush was going to move to Dallas. [Laughter] tive spirit to interdict supply. And you have been very strong in that. You are leaving on January 20th. And I And so I thank you. It’s been a pleasure leave on the 1st of June. to work with you. You may have heard that President Bush. Si. [Laughter] I’m about to retire. And as I head toward President Saca. So I hope that I can go the great State of Texas, I will have very fond and visit you and talk to you—— memories of our time together, and the President Bush. Por cierto—por cierto. strength of our friendship and of your leader- President Saca. Lo damos por cierto. ship. President Bush. Si. So welcome. President Saca. Okay. President Bush has President Saca. Muchas gracias. been a strong advocate of freedom. And I President Bush. Si. think that the United States has much to President Saca. Thank you so much. I thank President Bush, especially the fact that also thank President Bush. I think that we the U.S. has not been attacked again by the have got a very fruitful relationship and one terrorist groups. This is something quite in- that is very concerned for our people. I think tangible, because you cannot touch it, you that El Salvador is a good example of a coun- cannot feel it, until that, unfortunately, some- try that moved from war to peace. And we’ve thing like that would happen again. always had the contribution of the United States in all of the stages of this peace. You can always count with the support of I always tell President Bush that free trade El Salvador on these issues, Mr. President, was so important, as well as the immigration and the United States in general, the new issue for our people. And all these issues have President, because the historical relationship been worked out, especially regarding co- between the United States of America and operation with regards to the combat against El Salvador is a relationship of shared values, drugs. I have confirmed President Bush that and we will continue to share in this friend- El Salvador is going to renew the FOL that ship strongly, as it is now. we have at the Pacific coast. And that has Thank you so much. allowed us to capture a lot of drug traffickers President Bush Thank you, sir. and seize a lot of drugs also for the Pacific coast. NOTE: The President spoke at 10:07 a.m. in the So a mid-income country like El Salvador Oval Office at the White House. President Saca knows perfectly well that the path towards referred to President-elect Barack Obama; FOL, prosperity is effort and hard work and free- the U.S. Military Forward Operating Location in dom. And this is something that Salvadorans Comalapa, El Salvador; ILEA, the Department practice on a daily basis. We have worked of Homeland Security’s International Law En- forcement Acadamies; and TPS, temporary pro- hand in hand with ILEA. And ILEA is the tected immigration status. President Saca spoke place where our judges and our prosecutors in Spanish, and his remarks were translated by are being trained, and it is something that an interpreter. The Office of the Press Secretary we’re doing together with the United States also released a Spanish language transcript of of America. these remarks. VerDate Aug 31 2005 13:41 Dec 23, 2008 Jkt 217250 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 1244 Sfmt 1244 E:\PRESDOCS\P50DET4.019 P50DET4 dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with PRESDOCST 1540 Dec. 16 / Administration of George W. Bush, 2008 Letter to Congressional Leaders on al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.