    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [November 16, 2002]
    [Pages 2080-2081]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    November 16, 2002

        Good morning. This was a productive week in the war against terror,
    both at home and abroad. Congress returned to Washington with renewed
    energy and a commitment to make progress on key issues. Members of the
    House and Senate reached a crucial agreement to create a new Department
    of Homeland Security. With Congress' vote on the final legislation,
    America will have a single agency with the full-time duty of protecting
    our people against attack.
        This new Department will focus and unify responsibilities that are
    now spread among dozens of Government agencies. The Customs Service, the
    INS, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the
    Transportation Security Administration, and many others will report to
    the new Secretary of Homeland Security.
        The Department will significantly improve our ability to protect our
    borders, our coasts, and our communities. It will pool together the best
    intelligence information and coordinate our response. The new Department
    will help develop the technology America needs to detect and defeat
    chemical, biological, and nuclear threats. And under the agreement
    reached this week, I will have the authority and flexibility to move
    people and resources to where they are needed without bureaucratic rules
    and lengthy labor negotiations.
        This compromise is the result of months of hard work and
    negotiation, and it will take additional time to put the agreement into
    place. The threat of terror will be with us for years to come, and we
    remain resolved to see this conflict through to its end.
        In the Department of Homeland Security, we'll have good people,
    well-organized and well-equipped, working day and night to oppose the
    serious dangers of our time. Now that we have reached broad agreement on
    a homeland security bill, I look forward to signing it into law as soon
    as possible.
        We're committed to defending the Nation. Yet wars are not won on the
    defensive. The best way to keep America safe from terrorism is to go
    after terrorists where they plan and hide. And that work goes on around
    the world.
        The United States is working with more than 90 countries to disrupt
    and defeat terror networks. So far we have frozen more than $113 million
    in terrorist assets, denying them the means to finance their murder.
    We've cracked down on charities that were exploiting American compassion
    to fund terrorists. We have captured and interrogated thousands of
    terrorists, while others have met their fate in caves and mountains in
    Afghanistan. We've deployed troops to train forces in the Philippines
    and Yemen, the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, and other nations
    where terrorists have gathered. We're sending a clear message to the
    enemies of freedom: No terrorist will escape the patient justice of
    America.
        To win the war on terror, we're also opposing the growing threat of
    weapons of mass destruction in the hands of outlaw regimes. This week,
    the dictator of Iraq

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    told the U.N. he would give weapons inspectors unrestricted access to
    his country. We've heard such pledges before, and they have been
    uniformly betrayed. America and the world are now watching Saddam
    Hussein closely. Any act of defiance or delay will indicate that he is
    taking the path of deception once again, and this time the consequences
    would be severe.
        Our goal is not merely the return of inspectors to Iraq; our goal is
    the disarmament of Iraq. The dictator of Iraq
    will give up his weapons of mass destruction, or the United States will
    lead a coalition to disarm him.
        Our war against terrorists and their supporters is advancing on all
    fronts. We're moving aggressively to protect our people and to oppose a
    great threat to the peace of the world.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 10:10 a.m. on November 15 in the
    Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on November
    16. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on November 15 but was embargoed for release until the
    broadcast. In his remarks, the President referred to President Saddam
    Hussein of Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a
    Spanish language transcript of this address.