    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [September 9, 1996]
    [Pages 1506-1509]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing Counterterrorism Initiatives and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    September 9, 1996

        The President. Thank you. Let me begin by thanking the Vice
    President and the commission for all their hard work and for this
    excellent action plan. This is partnership at its best, Government and
    private citizens, Democrats and Republicans, joining together for the
    common good.
        As the Vice President has said, we asked the members of this
    commission to do a lot of work in a little time. They rolled up their
    sleeves; they delivered. We know we can't make the world risk-free, but
    we can reduce the risks we face, and we have to take the fight to the
    terrorists. If we have the will, we can find the means. We have to
    continue to fight terrorism on every front by pursuing our three-part
    strategy: first, by rallying a world coalition with zero tolerance for
    terrorism; second, by giving law enforcement the strong counterterrorism
    tools they need; and third, by improving security in our airports and on
    our airplanes.
        The Vice President's action plan goes to the heart of this strategy.
    So I want everyone to understand that whenever this plan says, ``the
    commission recommends,'' you can understand it to mean, ``the President
    will.''
        Today I will direct the Federal aviation authority to instruct their
    personnel in the field to convene immediately those responsible for
    security at our Nation's 450 commercial airports so they can strengthen
    security as a team. I will direct that all airport and airline employees
    with access to secure areas be given criminal background checks and FBI
    fingerprint checks. I will direct the FAA to begin full passenger bag
    match for domestic flights at selected airports. And I'm proud to say
    that several of the commission's recommendations will be put into place
    immediately.
        Last Thursday, Secretary Pena announced a rule to require more
    accurate and detailed passenger manifests on international flights, a
    priority for families of victims of aviation disasters. Families of
    victims also deserve a single point of contact for receiving
    information. That is why today I will sign an Executive order to give

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    the National Transportation Safety Board the job of coordinating the
    response for families of victims. And our military has agreed to
    provide, starting next week, several dozen canine teams for key
    airports.
        But as the Vice President's action plan makes clear, there is much
    more which must be done, and we cannot meet that responsibility without
    willingness to commit our resources. Shortly, I will submit to Congress
    a budget request for more than $1 billion to expand our FBI
    antiterrorism forces and to put the most sophisticated bomb detection
    machines in America's airports.
        As a result of these steps, not only will the American people feel
    safer, they will be safer. Close to half our requests will be used to
    make the improvements in aviation security the Vice President and this
    commission have asked for.
        As I said, we want to put the most sophisticated bomb detection
    equipment for screening passengers, baggage, and cargo in America's
    airports. We should do this as quickly as possible. We want to
    significantly expand the number of FBI special agents dedicated to
    fighting terrorism. We want to expand the use of bomb-sniffing dogs in
    our airports--the no-tech program the Vice President has recommended--
    and train additional bomb-sniffing dogs for Government use as well.
        In addition to improving security in airports and airplanes, the
    focus of the Vice President's plan, we want to use these funds to keep
    advancing the other two parts of our strategy, combating terrorists
    beyond our borders and here at home. We need to continue to improve
    security at our military and diplomatic facilities overseas so we can
    better protect those who wear our Nation's uniform and serve our
    Nation's interests abroad. We need to continue to expand our
    intelligence capabilities to combat terrorists worldwide. We must train
    and equip fire departments and medical teams so they can respond to
    biological or chemical attacks like the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo
    subway. We must tighten protection at a number of high profile public
    sites including Government buildings, national landmarks, and national
    parks.
        These counterterrorism funds are a smart investment in our Nation's
    security and our people's safety. I urge Congress to join with me in
    combating terrorism by giving us the resources we need to do the job
    right. As I requested, the Vice President and this commission took just
    45 days to deliver their action plan. Now Congress should act with the
    same dispatch before they leave in October to pass the funding that will
    bring these security measures to life. Our people deserve no less.
        There are other areas where Congress can and should act to
    strengthen our fight against terrorism. We need new laws I have proposed
    to crack down on money laundering and to prosecute and punish those who
    commit violent crimes against American citizens abroad, to add taggants
    to gunpowder used in bombs so we can track down the bomb makers, to
    extend the same police power we now have against organized crime to
    tapping all the phones a terrorist uses so we can better prevent
    terrorist attacks. And I again call upon the Senate to ratify without
    delay the Chemical Weapons Convention.
        We need all these laws, and we need them now, before Congress
    recesses for the year. Terrorists don't wait, and neither should we. The
    American people should be grateful that the Vice President and this fine
    commission didn't wait and in fact delivered on their mandate within
    just 45 days.
        Thank you very much.

    TWA Flight 800

        Q. Are you any closer, Mr. President, to finding a solution to the
    TWA crash?
        The President. Well, we don't have an answer for you. They are
    continuing to work, and they continue to piece the evidence together,
    but we don't have an answer now.
        Q. Do you think a missile caused it?
        The President. Excuse me?
        Q. A missile?
        The President. It would be wrong for me to comment until I see the
    people who are doing the reports' final report.

    Counterterrorism Technology

        Q. Mr. President, the high sophisticated technology that you
    mentioned this morning for screening passengers for bomb detection
    technology can see through clothes. Do you expect there to be a major
    debate over privacy issues and civil rights in connection with the
    deployment of this technology? And could it thwart some of the
    commission's actions?
        The President. Do you want to answer that?
        The Vice President. Let me respond to that. We think that particular
    concern has been great-

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    ly overstated in some of the preliminary reports. That's only one of
    several technologies that are discussed in this report. Incidentally,
    the commission is recommending the establishment of a civil liberties
    advisory board to review and give advice upon any of the recommendations
    that might raise privacy or civil liberties concerns. But we think that
    particular concern has been vastly overstated.

    Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, in Iraq are we abandoning Kurdish rebels who took
    a stand against Saddam Hussein and now are being hunted down by his
    forces?
        The President. Well, what we know of what is happening is that the
    Kurdish forces themselves are continuing to fight. Obviously, Saddam
    Hussein is supporting one side over another now. But the primary fight
    is being carried on between the Turkish forces--I mean the Kurdish
    forces, excuse me. We're doing everything we can to get out of Iraq
    American citizens and those who have worked with us. And we have done
    everything we could to make it clear to the Kurds that we think that
    there should not be any cavalier killing of civilians and others who are
    not combatants in this.
        As to the intelligence matters, I can't comment. But we are doing
    everything that we believe we can do and that we think is appropriate.

    Hurricane Fran

        Q. Have you gotten any updates on the damage from Hurricane Fran and
    anything else that you can do to--particularly for the people suffering
    from the flooding?
        The President. Yes. I got updates all weekend on the extent of the
    damage, and I expect to hear from Mr. Witt today about where we are with
    the floods and whether we need to do any more to go back to try to get
    some extra help for the--it's quite extensive, and I think it's--the
    hurricane itself, except for the terrible loss of life in North
    Carolina, was not as damaging as we thought it would be, but the
    aftermath of the flooding has been, I think, worse than was anticipated.
    And so I expect to get a more updated report today in terms of what else
    should be done. And when I know something, I'll say.
        The Vice President. Could I add a brief word on that, Mr. President?
        In fact, a couple members of the commission coming from Virginia
    were impeded in their attendance at this event this morning by the
    flooding. And I want to single out retired General Mike Loh, who worked
    so hard on this commission report. And the other members of the
    commission are listed in the back. Not all of them could make it here
    this morning, and a couple of them for that reason.

    Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, do those that you are trying to get out of Iraq
    include the members of the Iraqi National Congress, who are apparently
    holed up in a mountain hideaway somewhere and hoping for political
    asylum?
        The President. I think it would be better for me not to comment now.
    I'd like to stay with my first statement. We're doing everything we
    think we can to help anybody that needs to be out of Iraq.
        Q. Mr. President, what are your concerns about the building strength
    of Saddam's ground forces, though?
        The President. Well, the main thing that we wanted to say was first
    of all, the United States has done a great deal to help the Kurds over
    the years. And we've worked very hard. They make it more difficult to
    help them when their leaders continue to promote fights within the
    Kurds, within the Kurdish faction. And as you might expect, Saddam
    Hussein would try to take advantage of that.
        Our ability to control internal events in Iraq is limited, but what
    we did do, which I thought was important, was when we found that what he
    had done contravened the United Nations resolution and constituted
    repression of his own people by carrying forward the military attack on
    Irbil himself, what we did was to expand the no-fly zone and enforce it
    and take out air defenses, which means that every day he has to pay a
    price in terms of his capacity to maneuver in his own country and
    threaten his neighbors.
        And so we have done what we thought was appropriate there. I would
    still like to do more to help the Kurds, but frankly, if you want the
    fighting--for the fighting to be ended, the leaders of the various
    factions are going to have to be willing to go back to the peace table
    and talk it through. We have worked very hard with them, but that's a
    decision they're going

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    to have to make, which will have a lot to do with the fate of their own
    people.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:02 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House after receiving the initial report of the White House Commission
    on Aviation Safety and Security. In his remarks, he referred to
    President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.