    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [March 27, 2002]
    [Pages 512-515]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to First-Responders in Atlanta, Georgia
    March 27, 2002

        Thank you all very much. It is such an honor to be back in Atlanta,
    on the campus of one of the great universities in our country. I want to
    thank Wayne, the president of the
    university, for hosting us. And Saxby, thank
    you for your leadership and your strong support of our national effort
    to defend the homeland.
        I want to thank the Governor and the first
    lady for being here. The last time I saw you
    was at Booker T. Washington High School. I was honored that you all came
    and took time out of your day to help us focus the Nation's attention on
    how best to secure the homeland.
        I want to thank all who work at the Center for Emergency Response
    Technology, Instruction, and Policy. I have just seen a demonstration
    that helps prepare the emergency firefighters and--firefighters and the
    police how to take care of a disaster or an attack, how best to protect
    the citizens. This is an innovative training center. And I want to thank
    all those involved with the center for your hospitality and for the
    chance to see firsthand how Atlanta and the State of Georgia are
    preparing for any possible attack. I particularly want to thank the guy
    who--they cut off his clothes and ran him through water. That goes
    beyond the call of duty to impress the President. [Laughter] There he
    is. Better you than me. [Laughter]
        I'm also here to say thanks to those who wear the uniform, the
    policemen, policewomen, the firefighters, the emergency medical teams,
    all of whom work hours on hours to serve the people of Georgia and the
    United States of America.
        My first responsibility as your President is to protect the American
    people and to provide a strategy that not only protects the American
    people but, should there ever be another incident, provides response,
    quick response for the American people.

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        I picked a good friend, a former Governor colleague of Roy and mine, to serve as the Director of Homeland Security.
    His job is to develop a strategy, a national strategy that uses
    national, State, and local assets to protect the homeland. And I picked
    a very good man to take on this assignment. Tom Ridge is doing a heck of a good job, and I'm so honored he left
    his job as Governor.
        Part of that homeland security measure is to enhance the capacity of
    first-responders to deal with any kind of emergency. And that's what
    we're watching today, the training of first-responders. Those who have
    called into action must be able to save as many lives as possible. And
    that's why the budget I submitted for '03 has $3.5 billion available for
    State and local governments to enhance the capacity of our first-
    responders to deal with any crisis that might arise.
        As well, I submitted what we call a supplemental budget request;
    that's an emergency request. And part of that emergency request is
    nearly $5 billion to make sure that we make our airports more secure and
    make our borders more secure. What we want to know in America is, who's
    coming into the United States and why and, if they're leaving, when
    they're supposed to leave, in order to make sure we protect the
    homeland.
        So, in other words, what we've done is we're making the borders more
    secure. We're dealing with first-time responders to make sure they've
    got what's needed to be able to respond.
        As well, I understand how it works in rural parts of our country,
    like Georgia. I've got a pretty good handle on what happens in rural
    Georgia. I cut my teeth on rural Georgia in 1968 and '69 as a pilot
    trainee in Valdosta, Georgia, home of the mighty Bulldogs, I think
    they're called. I also understand the role of the volunteer firefighter.
    You've got a lot of fine citizens serving as volunteer firefighters in
    your State. We've got a lot in my State. I'm a proud backer of the
    Crawford Volunteer Fire Department, Crawford, Texas.
        And one of the things that I know is that not all rural counties in
    Georgia or in Texas or anywhere else can have all the equipment
    necessary to be an integral part of the first line of response. But I do
    know that neighbors like to work with neighbors. And I do know that one
    county might have a good hospital; another county might have the
    capacity to respond. So we've got money in our budget, Governor, for what I call mutual aid agreements. There's $140
    million in the budget to encourage rural counties to pool their
    resources, their talents, their time to be able to respond to any kind
    of attack. We've got a big focus on the big cities like Atlanta and the
    surrounding counties. But we've also got to make sure that our rural
    areas all across America also have got a capacity to respond.
        You also need to know that we are spending a great deal of time
    trying to gather as much intelligence as we possibly can to make sure
    that we follow every lead to protect the American people. If we get a
    hint that somebody is coming, we're going to respond. We're chasing down
    every--[applause]--and part of a modern homeland defense system is one
    that shares information more timely, not only amongst Federal agencies
    but amongst State and local authorities.
        The enemy is a dangerous group of people. There's no way to
    rehabilitate these folks. They are murderers. And they hate what America
    stands for. See, they can't stand the thought that we're a society that
    welcomes all religions, that we value freedom of religion as a part of
    our basic core. They hate the idea of political discourse and debate,
    freedom to speak. They don't even like the free press. They don't like
    much about what America stands for. And I want to issue this warning to
    the American people that they're still after us.
        But we're on alert. And I want to thank all the local law
    enforcement officials and

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    everybody else who has got positions of responsibility for paying
    attention and for reporting anything that seems out of the ordinary, so
    we can follow it up to make sure it's not a real threat to America.
        But the surest way that we protect the homeland is to run them down
    one by one and bring them to justice, and that's what we're going to do.
        I want to thank you for giving me the chance to come and share with
    you some of my thoughts about this war against terrorists and terrorism.
    First, I see a lot of young folks here. I want to assure you of a couple
    of things about our country. First, we don't do this, take this action,
    out of revenge. We seek justice, not revenge. We seek justice. And
    secondly, we take this action because we believe so deeply in freedom.
    We love our freedom. And this Nation will stand strong and steady when
    it comes to defending our freedoms.
        I also want you to know that I laid out a doctrine--and it's really
    important for when the United States speaks, it means what they say. And
    I said that if you harbor a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the
    terrorist; if you feed one or hide one, you're just as guilty as those
    who came and murdered thousands of innocent Americans. It's an important
    part of any foreign policy to do what you say you're going to do. And we
    did. Thanks to the mighty United States military, the Taliban no longer
    is in power.
        But I want to make two points to the young: One, we're not alone in
    this. There's a vast coalition of other countries that love freedom like
    we do. And secondly, your country went into Afghanistan not as
    conquerors, but we were liberators. It is hard to believe what I'm about
    to tell you, but there are hundreds of young girls in Afghanistan who
    weren't allowed to go to school. And thanks to the United States
    Government and the coalition we put together, last weekend children--
    boys and girls--got to go to school in Afghanistan.
        But our defense of freedom is far from over. While we have held the
    doctrine in Afghanistan, the doctrine of ``thou shall not harbor a
    terrorist,'' there still are killers running loose; there just are. And
    we must deal with that fact. And the best way to deal with it is to make
    sure there is no sanctuary, no haven, no place for them to group up or
    to train. The best way to deal with that is to cut off their money, is
    to insist that you're either with us or you're against us, insist that
    there be action when it comes to nations in the world, is to hold people
    accountable in the name of freedom.
        And so the United States Government is today determined and
    steadfast and patient and resolved to chase down any criminal, any
    international terrorist, and bring them to justice. And the good news is
    the American people understand the cause. They understand the need. They
    understand that history has called us into action, and we must not
    blink. And we must not grow weary, because I repeat: We fight for
    freedom. We fight for values we hold so dear and precious.
        Now, I believe that by being firm and disciplined and determined, we
    can achieve peace throughout the world. I believe out of this incredible
    evil that was done on September the 11th, we can realize good. And one
    of the good is going to be peace.
        It is awfully hard to realize there can be peace in a place like the
    Middle East. My heart breaks for those innocent lives that are lost on a
    daily basis. And today there was another suicide bomber who murdered
    innocent Israelis. This callous, this coldblooded killing, it must stop.
    I condemn it in the most strongest of terms. I call upon Mr.
    Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to do
    everything in their power to stop the terrorist killing, because there
    are people in the Middle East who would rather kill than have peace.
        If the United States is firm and strong in routing out terror, if
    the United States stays steady in our quest for peace, I believe we can
    achieve peace in places where people think we'll never have peace. The

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    road is going to be hard, there's no question about it. It'll test our
    will; it'll test our determination. But the enemy that struck us is
    going to find out what we're made out of. They've already found out a
    small taste about what we're made out of.
        You know, when they hit us, they must have thought we were so self-
    absorbed and so materialistic that we would sue them. [Laughter] They
    were wrong. They're also wrong about one other thing. Our Nation--our
    Nation is not only a strong and determined nation, we are a
    compassionate nation. We're a nation who will show the world our true
    face by not only putting a military in place that's well paid, well
    trained, well equipped but also by loving a neighbor like we'd like to
    be loved ourself.
        Today I had two fine Americans--if you all would stand, please--come
    out to the airport. These good folks take time out of their lives. These
    are citizens that have heard a call to love a neighbor like they'd like
    to be loved themselves. They spend extra time helping a neighbor in
    need. They've asked the question, ``What can I do to make my society a
    better place''--you can sit down if you like--``how can I serve
    something--how can I serve something greater than myself?'' Thank you
    all for coming to the airport. Thank you for your service to your
    community. Thank you for teaching children to read. Thank you for
    mentoring. Thank you for having served in AmeriCorps.
        You see, if you want to help in the war against terror, find
    somebody whose heart may be broken and help mend it by loving them. Walk
    across the street and say to a shut-in, ``I care for you.'' Mentor a
    child on how to read. If you're a mom or a dad, love your children with
    all your heart and all your soul. It's the accumulation of millions of
    acts of kindness and decency that define the true nature of our country.
    And by loving a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself, you help
    stand square in the face of evil.
        The evil ones hit us. I believe the world can be more peaceful. I
    know our Nation can be more compassionate. And as a result, those who
    died on September the 11th and those who died subsequently defending
    freedom will not have died in vain.
        Thank you all for coming. God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 3 p.m. at the Georgia Institute of
    Technology. In his remarks, he referred to G. Wayne Clough, president,
    Georgia Institute of Technology; Representative Saxby Chambliss of
    Georgia; Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority; and Gov.
    Roy Barnes of Georgia and his wife, Marie.