[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
[October 23, 2001]
[Pages 1292-1294]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks Prior to a Meeting With Congressional Leaders and an Exchange
With Reporters
October 23, 2001
The President. It's been my honor to brief key Members of the Senate
and the House on our trip to the Far East. It was a very successful
trip, in that we were able to have an honest dialog about the need to
fight terror.
And the 21 nations--20 other nations represented there agreed with
our country, and they appreciate our determination to fight and win the
war against terror. They understand that an attack on America could have
been an attack on them. And the cooperation was very strong and very
evident, and I am most grateful.
And I am most grateful for the opportunity to share with the Members
of the House and the Senate this essential--and I want to, first, thank
Chairman Biden and Chairman Hyde and the other Members here for standing solidly with
the administration to formulate and conduct a foreign policy that's in
the best interest of our country.
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It is oftentimes said that when it comes to foreign policy,
partisanship stops, and that's exactly what has happened here at this
table. I've had a lot of discussions with both Chairmen up to now, and I will
continue having discussions with the leaders of the House and the
Senate, because whether you're Republican or Democrat, we all want to
win this war.
I'd be glad to answer a couple of questions.
Anthrax at the White House Complex
Q. Sir, is the White House under attack now--the latest anthrax
case?
The President. Well, there is no question that evildoers are
continuing to try to harm America and Americans. Today, at a remote
facility, we detected some anthrax. And just like at the Congress, our
Government is responding very quickly.
We're working hard to find out who is doing this and bring them to
justice. We're also working to develop measures necessary to protect
American citizens and postal workers. All of us around this table grieve
when we hear the fact that a citizen has lost a life. Two postal workers
passed away, and our hearts are with their families. Our prayers are
with their loved ones. And the evil ones continue.
Q. Is there any way, sir, that whatever contaminated that machine,
whether it be a letter or a package, got into the West Wing? Or has all
mail been cut off to prevent that from happening?
The President. Ron [Ron Fournier, Associated Press], we're making
sure that the West Wing, the White House is safe. Let me put it this
way: I'm confident, when I come to work tomorrow, that I'll be safe.
U.S. Response to Anthrax
Q. Mr. President, have you or the Vice President been tested for
anthrax? And what is your sense of this latest development, sir? For the
most part, these attacks have been aimed at prominent people and
prominent places. Is it your sense that the real purpose here is to sow
fear and confusion in the American public?
The President. First of all, I don't have anthrax. It's hard for
Americans to imagine how evil the people are who are doing this. We're
having to adjust our thinking. We're a kind nation. We're a
compassionate nation. We're a nation of strong values, and we value
life. And we're learning people in this world want to terrorize our
country by trying to take life.
They won't succeed. This country is too strong to allow terrorists
to affect the lives of our citizens. I understand people are concerned,
and they should be. But they need to know our Government is doing
everything we possibly can to protect the lives of our citizens--
everything. We're waging an aggressive campaign overseas to bring Al
Qaida to justice.
Today I've--in working with the Postmaster General--got our OMB to allocate $175 million for
immediate relief, immediate safety at post offices around the country.
This is what he requested; he thinks this is what is necessary to assure
the post office employees that they will be as safe as possible. And
we're going to spend that money.
Our health care workers are working around the clock to help people
in need, and I will tell you that I think not only are they doing a good
job; I think they probably saved a lot of lives by their quick action.
And I'm proud of how quickly and how hard they're working.
The object of terrorism is to try to force us to change our way of
life, is to force us to retreat, is to force us to be what we're not.
And that's--they're going to fail. They're simply going to fail. I want
to assure my fellow Americans that our determination--I say ``our;'' I'm
talking about Republicans and Democrats here in Washington--has never
been stronger to succeed in bringing terrorists to justice, protecting
our homeland, because what we do today will affect our children and
grandchildren. This is our calling. This is the time for
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us to act in a bold way, and we are doing just that.
Situation in the Middle East
Q. Mr. President, are you now operating on the assumption that the
September 11th attacks and the anthrax attacks, anthrax letters, are
linked? And if I may shift gears for a second and ask about your meeting
with Foreign Minister Peres. Would an Israeli failure to withdraw from
the Palestinian areas make it harder to keep Arab states in the
international antiterrorism----
The President. Well, I told Shimon Peres
that, first of all, our country and the people of our country are
saddened by the fact that a Cabinet Minister was assassinated. It's just
unacceptable behavior. I also told him that we continue to call upon
Chairman Arafat to do everything he can to
bring the killer to justice. It's very important that he arrest the
person who did this, or those who did this act, and continue to arrest
those who would disrupt and harm Israeli citizens. He must--he must show
the resolve necessary to bring peace to the region.
And finally, I did express our concern about troops in Palestinian
territory, and I would hope the Israelis would move their troops as
quickly as possible.
Q. Did you get any satisfaction?
The President. Well, he's a very thoughtful
man. He's a friend, a friend of America's, and I listened very
carefully.
Your first question was?
Anthrax and September 11 Attacks
Q. The link between September 11th and----
The President. Well, we don't have any hard evidence. But there's no
question that anybody who would mail anthrax with the attempt to harm
American citizens is a terrorist. And there's no question that Al Qaida
is a terrorist organization. So it wouldn't put it past me that there--
you know, it wouldn't surprise me that they're involved with it. But I
have no direct evidence.
I do know that this country is strong enough to endure, to endure
the evil ones. And we're making great progress on the ground in
Afghanistan, and we'll bring the Al Qaida to justice, and we'll--we're
doing everything we can to find out who mailed these letters.
Stretch [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News].
President's Health
Q. Mr. President, have you been tested for anthrax?
The President. I don't have anthrax.
Q. So you've been tested, sir?
The President. I don't have it.
Note: The exchange began at 4:48 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White
House. In his remarks, the President referred to Foreign Minister Shimon
Peres of Israel and Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority.
A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
remarks.