    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [April 29, 2004]
    [Pages 689-690]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Conversation With the National Commission on
    Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States and an Exchange With Reporters
    April 29, 2004

        The President. The Vice President and I just
    finished a good conversation with the 9/11 Commission. It was wide
    ranging. It was important. It was just a good discussion, and I
    appreciate the members.
        I want to thank the Chairman and Vice-
    Chairman for bringing the Commission here
    and giving us a chance to share views on different subjects. They had a
    lot of good questions. I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I took the time. This
    is an important Commission, and it's important that they ask the
    questions they ask so that they can help make recommendations necessary
    to better protect our homeland. It was--I enjoyed it.
        Let me ask--answer a couple of questions.

    President's Meeting With the 9/11 Commission

        Q. Mr. President, what topic did the Commissioners want to spend
    most of the time on? And were there any subjects that you didn't answer
    or were advised by your Counsel not to answer?
        The President. No, I was never advised by my Counsel not to answer anything. I answered every question
    they asked. Really--probably best that I not go into the details of the
    conversation. Let them incorporate into their report. There was a lot of
    interest in--about how to better protect America. In other words,
    they're very interested in the recommendations that they're going to lay
    out, and I'm interested in those as well.
        And we discussed a lot of things, Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated
    Press], a lot of subjects, and it was a very cordial conversation. I was
    impressed by the questions, and I think it helped them understand how I
    think and how I run the White House and how we deal with threats.
        John [John King, Cable News Network].

    Joint Appearance With Vice President Cheney

        Q. Mr. President, as you know, a lot of critics suggested that you
    wanted to appear jointly with the Vice President so that you two could
    keep your stories straight, or something----
        The President. Yes.
        Q. ----can you tell us what you think of the value of appearing
    together and how you would answer those critics?
        The President. Yes. First of all, look, if we had something to hide,
    we wouldn't have met with them in the first place. We answered all their
    questions, and as I say, I think I--I came away good about the session,
    because I wanted them to know how I set strategy, how we run the White
    House, how we deal with threats. The Vice President answered a lot of
    their questions--answered all their questions. And I think it was
    important for them to see our body language as well, how we work
    together.
        But it was--you know, the Commissioners will speak for themselves
    over time. They will let you know whether they thought it was a fruitful
    series of discussions. I think they did. I think they found it to be
    useful.
        Yes.

    Transcript

        Q. Mr. President, don't you think that the families deserve to have
    a transcript or to be able to see what you said?
        The President. Adam [Adam Entous, Reuters], you asked me that
    question yesterday.
        Q. I'm hoping for an answer today.
        The President. I've got the same answer.
        Yes.

    [[Page 690]]

    Al Qaida

        Q. Mr. President, can you say with any confidence that there are no
    Al Qaida operatives active in the country today?
        The President. No, I can't say that.
        Q. Did the Commission ask you about that?
        The President. No, they didn't. But I'm not going to get into any
    more details about what they asked me. I told you I wasn't going to get
    into details about what they asked me, and then I just fell into your
    trap.
        But no, let me talk about vulnerabilities, and then I've got to get
    back to work. We are still vulnerable to attack. And the reason why is,
    Al Qaida still exists. Al Qaida is dangerous. Al Qaida hates us. And we
    have to be correct 100 percent of the time in defending America, and
    they've got to be right once. And therefore, we are vulnerable.
        But people need to know, we're working--we, the government, at all
    levels--are working long hours to protect America. We're doing the best
    we can. The best way to secure America, however, is to stay on the
    offensive and bring those people to justice before they harm America
    again. And that's what we're continuing to do. But yes, so long as
    there's an Al Qaida enemy that is willing to kill, we are vulnerable.
        Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:16 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Thomas H. Kean, Chairman, and Lee
    H. Hamilton, Vice Chairman, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks
    Upon the United States (9/11 Commission).