As I've said there were patriots who supported this war and patriots who opposed it. And all of us are united in appreciation for our servicemen and women and our hopes for Iraqis' future.

In the name of the United States and President Bush I want to thank the Mexican people President Fox and his government for their friendship.

I would like to raise my glass to friendship between Russia and the United States.

And we want to develop our strategy to partnership and friendship with the United States which is connected with a very rich history but what is very important for our future.

It will give them the opportunity to show themselves worthy of the respect and friendship of peace-loving nations and in time to take an honorable place among members of the United Nations.

On one side citizens have great respect for the United States they have a great feeling of friendship. That is solid. But in the opposition and in the political arena I often find criticism of the closeness of relations with the United States. That is a reality.

Love friendship and respect do not unite people as much as a common hatred for something.

The United States is a giant island of freedom achievement wealth and prosperity in a world hostile to our values.

Jazz is about freedom within discipline. Usually a dictatorship like in Russia and Germany will prevent jazz from being played because it just seemed to represent freedom democracy and the United States.

But in the first Gulf war the United Kingdom was not under any threat from Iraq and is still less so in the second one. Then there is no justification for obstructing freedom of information particularly as nations have a right to know what their soldiers are being used for.

I mean there's enormous pressures to harmonize freedom of speech legislation and transparency legislation around the world - within the E.U. between China and the United States. Which way is it going to go? It's hard to see.

The Vietnamese people deeply love independence freedom and peace. But in the face of United States aggression they have risen up united as one man.

Native Americans are the original inhabitants of the land that now constitutes the United States. They have helped develop the fundamental principles of freedom of speech and separation of powers that form the foundation of the United States Government.

Americans are free to choose everything from what they eat drive and watch on TV to the President of the United States. Yet when it comes to allowing Americans to choose the health insurance that works best for them and their family the freedom to choose suddenly becomes un-American.

After the tragedy New Yorkers are more united than ever in their vision as well as in appreciation what living in freedom means - and that if we stand together we can accomplish anything.

If this liberal potential is properly channeled we may expect the area of freedom of the United States to increase. The problem is to spend up our rate of social invention in the service of the welfare of all the people.

We don't have an Official Secrets Act in the United States as other countries do. Under the First Amendment freedom of the press freedom of speech and freedom of association are more important than protecting secrets.

An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense... that gold and economic freedom are inseparable.

When the United States was founded the very idea of a nation premised on democratic principles of freedom and tolerance was viewed by the vast majority of the world as an experiment doomed to fail. Dictatorships monarchies and theocracies had for many centuries ruled the world.

The United States and Israel have a unique relationship based on our mutual commitment to democracy freedom and peace. Therefore just as our commitment to these principles must be steadfast so must our support for Israel.

We in the United States should be all the more thankful for the freedom and religious tolerance we enjoy. And we should always remember the lessons learned from the Holocaust in hopes we stay vigilant against such inhumanity now and in the future.

But it wasn't until I graduated from Texas A & M University and joined the United States Air Force flying C-130's all around the globe that I truly appreciated the blessings of freedom.

In many respects the United States is a great country. Freedom of speech is protected more than in any other country. It is also a very free society.

The United States of America will never be intimidated by thugs and assassins. The killers will fail and the Iraqi people will live in freedom.