[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.

[[Page 1293]]

    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

[[Page 1294]]

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.