[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[June 12, 2002]
[Pages 973-975]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks at a Meeting of the President's Homeland Security Advisory
Council
June 12, 2002
Well, thank you all very much for taking on this assignment.
Joe, thank you for your being Chairman.
And Bill Webster,> we've got a
lot of talented folks around this table. And I want to thank you for
agreeing to help our Nation.
We're under attack; that's the way it is. The more we love freedom,
the more we espouse values that are decent and honorable, the more we
welcome religion in our society, open political discourse, the more this
enemy is going to try to hit us. And we've got two courses of action.
One is to run them down, wherever they try to hide, and bring them to
justice. That's precisely what we're going to do.
These people are the kind of people that--they try to find a soft
spot around
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the world and burrow in and plot and plan. And we're just going to have
to enforce the doctrine: Either you're with us, or against us; either
you join the coalition of freedom, or you're on the other side of the
fence.
And we're making good progress; we really are. The other night when
I announced this Department of Homeland Security, I made mention of the
fact that our coalition has hauled in about 2,400 of these terrorists,
these killers. The problem is there's still quite a number of them still
out there.
We're using our military--we've got a great military, by the way.
I'm really proud of the men and women who wear our uniform, and our
Nation stands squarely with our military. We're using diplomatic
pressure. That's an important tool. We're cutting off their money.
That's--we've been fairly effective at cutting off their money. We can
all do a little better job of denying them the funds they need. They
don't need a lot of money, but they do need money to conduct their
attacks.
We're sharing intelligence. I know many members of this committee
have been very much involved in the intelligence gathering capacity of
America, and we're doing a better job of finding our weaknesses here at
home and working on the weaknesses. The CIA and the FBI now are doing a
much better job today than they had been prior to September the 11th of
sharing information across these--what were once formidable
jurisdictional boundaries. The culture of our agencies have changed
since the war. The FBI has got a--has got a new job, which is to prevent
attack, and that's now their primary focus. And Bob Mueller is doing a good job of recognizing the
cultural shift that needs to take place, of taking input, listening to
people, and responding.
So we're making progress; we really are. But until we rout out every
terrorist cell and every terrorist, until attitudes change about freedom
in America, we've got to protect our homeland in a new way. And I want
to thank you all for agreeing to help us. You're breaking new ground,
and you're going to help us leave a legacy, so that future Presidents,
future administrations, and future Congress can deal more effectively
with how to do the most important job any elected official has, which is
to protect innocent life.
As you know, I called for the Department of Homeland Security.
Obviously, I wouldn't have done so if I didn't think it was the absolute
right thing to do. I think it's important to focus the mission, through
reorganization. I know it's going to make--help us be more effective
here at home.
I also recognize how tough the chore is going to be. I mean, after
all, we are asking people in Congress to give up turf, as they say, give
up a little power. And I'm under no illusions that asking folks to give
up power can be a difficult assignment. So one of the things I'll do is
remind the Members of Congress that this is not a political issue, that
protecting America is an American issue, it's a duty we all have, and
that I vow not to play politics with doing what's right.
I'll also remind the Congress that I am going to speak to the
American people about this issue. Once I propose it, I'm going to take
my case beyond Washington to the true influence--the real influence
peddlers of America; that's the American people, the people who work
every day and who've got the capacity to inform their Members of
Congress or the Senate their opinion. And that's what I'm going to
continue to do.
I'm going to continue to speak as plainly as I can about the need
for this Department, assuring the American people that we're not
interested in increasing the size and scope of the Federal Government,
we're interested in efficiency. We want an organization that can work
closely with local leaders such as my Mayor, Mayor Williams. We want to be able to respond better if something
were to occur. We want to know how better to enforce our borders. We
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want to know when they're coming in the country and if they're
overstaying their visas. We need to know that, in America, under this
new--the new threats under which we live.
We've got to--I signed a bioterrorism bill today. I want to thank
you all for coming for the signing ceremony. I saw Jim
Schlesinger there, and I'm sure you're
glad I cut my remarks in half, because the temperature seemed to be--
[laughter]--seemed to be a little warm out there. But the idea is to
better coordinate our capacity to detect weapons of mass destruction and
respond to them if they occur.
And finally, we need an analytical capacity within a department that
can take all the intelligence that's gathered, not only by the FBI or
the CIA but all throughout our Government, and analyze it so we have a
better feel for what the terrorists might be thinking and then how to
respond.
And you all can play a very useful role in this--in this process.
You bring a lot of heft and a lot of experience and a lot of know-how.
You can definitely help us understand how best to coordinate Government
activities with the private sector, and that's essential, that we team
up to do everything we need to do to protect America.
So I want to thank you for your service. I want you to know this
administration is totally committed to protecting the people. Many of
you are aware of the President's briefing he gets, sees--or knows what
the President reads. And they're still out there; these people--you
know, these killers, they're still lurking around. But they picked on
a--they picked on a group of people who are plenty determined, and
that's the American people.
We've got a fabulous nation. And we're tough, and we're determined,
and we're united, and we're strong. And at the same time, we're showing
the world that we're a compassionate nation as well. We won the first
battle, or we're winning the first battle in the war of the 21st
century, which was in Afghanistan. And we went into that country not as
conquerors but as liberators. And I'm proud of our Nation, and I'm proud
of your service to our Nation. And I want to thank you all for giving us
your time.
God bless you all. Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 10:44 a.m. in the Indian Treaty Room of the
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he
referred to Joseph J. Grano, Jr., Chair, William H. Webster, Vice Chair,
and James R. Schlesinger and Washington, DC, Mayor Anthony A. Williams,
members, President's Homeland Security Advisory Council. H.R. 3448, the
Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of
2002, approved June 12, was assigned Public Law No. 107-188.