Excerpts from Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld's speech during the opening ceremonies to ROA's 2003 Mid- Winter Conference, 20 January:

I was a member of the Reserve. I started as a midshipman in school and then served three and a half years in the Navy as a pilot. The day I got out, I joined the Naval Reserve and was a weekend warrior for many years.... As you know, this great tradition dates back to the Revolutionary War, when citizen-soldiers dropped their pitchforks, grabbed their muskets, and left their families and their fields behind to go fight for freedom. You live in that tradition today, and the American people are grateful to you for all you do for our country.

When we were attacked on September 11, more than 100,000 Reservists and National Guard members sprang into action. They helped defend our homeland, they helped drive the Taliban from power, they shut down the terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, and they liberated the Afghan people.... These contributions have been vital to our success thus far in the global war on terrorism.

The attacks of September 11 were devastating ... and although unconventional in conception and planning, were essentially conventional. Terrorists took airplanes loaded with jet fuel, turned them into missiles, and used them 10 attack....

Terrorist networks and terrorist states [continue to pursue] nuclear, chemical and biological weapons--capabilities that will enable them to kill not simply thousands, but many tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of our people. Our objective in the global war on terror is to stop them--to prevent additional attacks that would be far worse--before they happen.

There are a number of terrorist states that are pursuing weapons of mass murder today But as President Bush has made clear, Iraq poses a threat to the security of our people, and to the stability of the world, that is distinct from any other. Consider the record:

Saddam Hussein possesses chemical and biological weapons. He has used chemical weapons against foreign forces and his own people, in one case killing some 5,000 innocent civilians in a single day.

Iraq has invaded two of its neighbors, and has launched ballistic missiles at four of its neighbors.

He openly praised the attacks of September 11 against our country.

His regime plays host to terrorists, and has ordered acts of terror on foreign soil.