President George W. Bush on the situation in the Middle East: “The Iraqis defied the terrorists and went to the polls by the millions because they want to live in a free society. The desire for people to self-govern and to live in a free world is catching on in parts of the Middle East. In Beirut, Lebanon, thousands of people took to the streets in peaceful protests because they’re saying, we want to live in freedom, as well. And now it’s time for Syria to end its occupation of that good democracy. They need to remove all their troops, all their secret services. They need to listen to the voices of not only the United States and France and other European countries, but the voices of people like Crown Prince Abdallah from Saudi Arabia. The leader of Syria must understand the world is speaking with one voice: Lebanon must be free.”
– Transcript, “President Participates in Social Security Conversation in Indiana,” George W. Bush – White House Archives online, Accessed on 9/1/2016