    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [November 23, 2002]
    [Pages 2116-2117]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    November 23, 2002

        Good morning. I'm speaking to you from Europe, where this week I am
    meeting with NATO Allies and friends to discuss terrorism and other
    threats to our shared security.
        It has also been an important week at home on Capitol Hill. After 2
    years of achievements, which included tax relief and education reform,
    the last days of this session of Congress brought additional historic
    progress. Soon after I return from Europe, I will sign several important
    new laws that help secure the homeland and create jobs.
        Republicans and Democrats approved a Department of Homeland Security
    that will unite dozens of Federal agencies and nearly 170,000 Federal
    workers behind a single, overriding mission, keeping Americans safe.
    This new Department will coordinate our response to any future
    emergency. It will help us know who's coming into our country and who's
    going out. This new Department will bring together the best intelligence
    information about our vulnerabilities to terrorist attack so that we can
    act quickly to protect America. I appreciate the Congress listening to
    my concerns and retaining the authority of the President to put the
    right people in the right place at the right time in defense of our
    country.
        Congress also acted to protect the Nation's ports and coasts by
    passing port security legislation. With this law, we will add port
    security agents, restrict access to sensitive areas, and require ships
    to provide more information about the cargo, crew, and passengers they
    carry. These measures will help keep terrorists and their weapons out of
    America.
        In addition, Congress passed terrorism insurance legislation to help
    protect our economy from any future terrorist attack. This new important
    law will lower insurance premiums and get many real estate and
    construction projects that had been put on hold moving again, creating
    thousands of hardhat jobs.
        On my trip this week here in Europe, I'm consulting with our friends
    and NATO Allies about the new threats to freedom that we face together.
    Today, the United States is joined by more than 90 nations in a global
    coalition against terrorism, sharing intelligence, cutting off terrorist
    finance, and pursuing the terrorists where

    [[Page 2117]]

    they plot and train. The world is also uniting to answer the unique and
    urgent threat posed by Iraq, whose dictator
    has already used weapons of mass destruction to kill thousands. We must
    not and will not permit either terrorists or tyrants to blackmail
    freedom-loving nations.
        Our NATO Allies are making important contributions. Sixteen NATO
    countries have sent military forces to the fight against terror in
    Afghanistan, and at this week's summit, NATO committed to build a new
    military response force with strong, ready forces that are prepared to
    deploy on short notice wherever they are needed.
        NATO members also voted to invite seven of Europe's newest
    democracies to join our Alliance. The addition of Bulgaria, Estonia,
    Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia will increase NATO's
    military strength. These nations will also bring greater clarity to
    NATO's purposes because they know, from the hard experience of the 20th
    century, that threats to freedom must be opposed, not ignored or
    appeased.
        This week, we saw the historic expansion of NATO and historic
    progress by Congress. Both will make America more secure.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 12:05 p.m. on November 21 at the
    Ambassador's Residence in Prague, Czech Republic, for broadcast at 10:06
    a.m. on November 23. The transcript was made available by the Office of
    the Press Secretary on November 22 but was embargoed for release until
    the broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
    language transcript of this address.