I feel it necessary to respond to
moJoe's proposition that an alternate 'fourth noble truth' be the following:
"Freedom from suffering is possible by satiating ones cravings and desires."
This has been, throughout history, a common sentiment. After all, why should one try to purge cravings and desires from their life when it is possible to simply indulge them?
The Buddha answered this point directly in his teachings, and I shall attempt to convey his feelings on the issue.
One of the first realizations that one comes to through an understanding of the Dharma (a.k.a. Dhamma) is the transient nature of experience. Nothing (except Enlightenment) is so pleasing that it will keep us content forever. Nor is anything so painful, that we shall be pained by it for all our lives. Understanding this, perhaps, is the first step toward Enlightenment.
Because both happiness and sadness are temporary, no matter what we have at this moment which causes us happiness, eventually that will fall away and no longer be able to make us happy. It even may bring us unhappiness in the end.
And so, when we indulge in our cravings -- we may bring temporary happiness for ourselves, but eventually the satisfaction of fulfilling that particular desire will fade away, and we will return to craving something else ad infinitum. This sort of existence is animalistic in nature -- hunger, feed, hunger, feed, hunger feed -- and not beneficial to Enlightenment.
It is important to note, however, that the Buddha did not preach a path of strict asceticism, or of indulgence. Before his Enlightenment, the Buddha was a prince who lived in the lap of luxury until he left his home to become a monk, having become discontented with such a life (after realizing the temporary nature of pleasure). Upon doing so, he studied meditation and eventually became the kind of ascetic who starved himself to reach Enlightenment. Eventually, he realized that this was not the way to Enlightenment, and he swore off that life.
The Buddha said that walking a Middle Path was the optimal route to Enlightenment -- neither indulging in cravings, nor starving the body of its needs. This sort of middle-path is outlined in the Fourth Noble Truth, and helps the Dhamma farer to free themselves of attachment and become Enlightened.