    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [April 20, 2004]
    [Pages 617-625]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Discussion on the PATRIOT Act in Buffalo, New York
    April 20, 2004

        The President. Thanks for coming. I think you're going to find this
    to be a really interesting discussion about how Federal, State, and
    local authorities are working hard to prevent a terrorist attack. That's
    what we're here to talk about--and why it's important for those of us in
    positions of authority to give Federal, State, and local authorities all
    the tools necessary to do the job we expect of them. That's what we're
    here to talk about, but I've got some things I want to say before we
    start talking about it.
        First, I am glad to be at the home of the mighty Buffalo Bills. I
    traveled today with Congressman Quinn and
    Congressman Reynolds, two fine Members of
    the United States Congress from this area, who assured me this is the
    year. [Laughter] I want to thank Jack and Tom for coming today. Thank
    you for your strong leadership. Thanks for caring a lot about the people
    of the Buffalo, New York, area. Thanks for your steadfast concern about
    the security of our country. I appreciate your service.
        I also appreciate the service of the really fine Governor of the
    State of New York, George Pataki. Thanks
    for coming.
        I know we've got State and local authorities who are here. I
    appreciate your service. For the local authorities, my only advice is
    make sure you fill the potholes--[laughter]--empty the garbage--
    [laughter]--answer the phone calls. But thanks for coming today. This
    message today is aimed as much at you as it is anybody else.
        Today we have got an interesting--a lot of families with us, but one
    that struck me as worthy of note, and that's the Conroy family. Where's
    Peggy Conroy? Somewhere. There she is. Good.
    Hi, Peggy. Thanks. The reason I brought up Peggy is, I want you to know
    that Peggy's husband is a staff sergeant in
    the National Guard, the 105th Military Police Unit in Karbala, Iraq. She
    represents many of the families of this area and the country who are
    sacrificing to see to it that the world is more free and more peaceful.
        I appreciate so very much your steadfast love for your
    husband. You honor us with your presence
    today, and I'm really glad you brought Billy
    and Jeff and Tyler.
    Billy and Jeff really represent the greatest spirit of our country. Not
    only do they love their dad and pray for their dad, but they're
    collecting school supplies for the Iraqi children. In other words,
    they're going to their own schoolmates and saying, ``How best can we not
    only help secure Iraq so it can become a free country, how best can we
    show the compassion of America?'' And I want to thank you guys for
    honoring your dad and honoring our country.
        I also met a fellow named Frank Brusino.
    Where are you, Frank? There he is. Frank is an interesting character.
    [Laughter] He is a retired brigadier general in the Army Reserves, a
    paratrooper, who is now very much involved with the Senior Corps, the
    Citizen Corps Council. In other words, their job is to help provide law
    enforcement with additional volunteers so law enforcement can better do
    its job. For the first-responders who are here, I think you know the
    valuable addition that Citizen Corps Councils have made, so you can do
    your work better.

    [[Page 618]]

        The reason I bring up Frank is, you know,
    a lot of times they talk about the strength of America as being in our
    military. That's part of our strength, and we're going to keep the
    military strong, by the way, so the world will be more peaceful. They
    talk about the strength of our country being the fact that we're a
    prosperous nation, and we need to make sure we continue to expand
    prosperity so people can find work. But the true strength of the country
    lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. See, Frank represents the
    strength of America because he volunteers to make the community in which
    he lives a better place. He sets such a great example for other citizens
    in this area. That's why I wanted to herald Frank's accomplishments. He
    is a soldier in the army of compassion. He takes time out of his life to
    see what he can do to make the Buffalo area more secure.
        My call to people in this area is, see what you can do to make
    Buffalo a more compassionate, decent place. See, societies change one
    conscience, one soul a time. All it takes is for citizens to hear that
    universal call to love a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved
    yourself and mentor a child or feed the hungry or provide shelter for
    the homeless or love the lonely. And by doing so, you serve our Nation,
    and you really show the world the true compassion of a great nation.
        Thank you for your service, sir. I'm proud that you're here. Thanks
    for coming.
        September the 11th was a horrible day for our Nation, and we must
    never forget the lessons of September the 11th. I appreciate so very
    much the Governor's steadfast determination
    and compassion during those difficult times for the citizens of New York
    City and New York State and New Jersey and Connecticut. It's a time that
    really changed our perspective about the world. See, we never really
    thought America would be a battlefield. We thought oceans would protect
    us. That was kind of the conventional wisdom of the time, and therefore,
    our defenses were aligned that way, our offenses were aligned that way.
        As Larry mentioned, there were
    threats, but most of those threats were overseas, and they attacked us
    overseas. But never did we dream that they would use our own airplanes
    as weapons to fly and mercilessly kill thousands of our citizens. From
    that day forward, we have changed our attitude, and we've got to make
    sure the laws reflect the realities of the generation--of the new
    generation, of the generation of those of us involved with being
    responsible for the security of the country.
        See, we're now facing the first war of the 21st century. It's a
    different kind of war. Frank was a
    paratrooper. In those days you could measure the enemy by the number of
    battalions and number of tanks and number of airplanes. Now the enemy
    hides in caves. They lurk* in the shadows of the world. They will strike
    and kill innocent citizens without any conscience, because they have no
    conscience.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        *White House correction.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        So the fundamental charge before us all in positions of
    responsibility is, how do we deal with the threat? First thing we do is
    we stay on the offense. First thing we do is we find killers before they
    kill us. We rally the world, which we have done and will continue to do,
    to cut off money, to share intelligence, to put brave troops and
    security personnel after these people, to find them, to rout them out.
    The message should be clear to them, there is no cave or hole deep
    enough to hide from the justice of the United States of America and our
    coalition partners. It's essential.
        September the 11th--when the President says something, he better
    mean it. See, in order to make the world more peaceful, it's essential
    that those of us in positions of high responsibility speak clearly and
    mean what we say. And so when I said, ``If you harbor a terrorist,
    you're just as guilty as a terrorist,'' I meant it. And we

    [[Page 619]]

    acted upon that, in order to make the world more peaceful and more
    secure.
        The Taliban found out what we meant. Remember, those were the
    leaders in Afghanistan that provided safe haven and training camps for
    Al Qaida. And fortunately, thanks to our coalition, thanks to brave
    soldiers from America and others, the Taliban no longer is in power. We
    enforced the doctrine. The world is more peaceful because the Taliban is
    gone. And at the same time, please remember, the women and children in
    Afghanistan have a much brighter future because we removed a barbaric
    regime that refused to even educate young girls.
        When the President speaks, he better mean it. When I went in front
    of the United Nations Security Council in the fall of 2002, I said,
    ``Listen, we all have seen a threat. One of the lessons of September the
    11th was when you see a threat overseas, you must act before it
    materializes. September the 11th said we can't wait and hope on the good
    intentions of terrorists who will kill innocent men and women. We've got
    to act. We can't hope for the best anymore.'' The United States must use
    our prestige and influence and diplomatic power and military power to
    protect us and others who love freedom.
        I went in front of the United Nations Security Council, having
    looked at intelligence that said Saddam Hussein was a threat. The Congress looked at the same
    intelligence, by the way, and concluded Saddam was a threat. The United
    Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence and said Saddam was
    a threat. No wonder we thought he was a threat. After all, he had used
    weapons of mass destruction on his own people. Not only did the
    intelligence lead us to believe that, but his actions led us to believe
    it. He paid for suiciders. He harbored terrorists. He was paying for
    terrorists to kill. And so we saw a threat.
        September the 11th changed the equation. So I was given a choice:
    Either trust the word of a madman, hope for
    the best with somebody who was a tyrant, or take action to defend our
    country. Given that choice, I will defend America every time.
        It's hard work to go from a system where there was torture and rape
    rooms and mass graves to freedom. That's hard work, but it is necessary
    work. That's why I want to herald the work and sacrifice of your
    husband. It's important work for our future. Free societies are peaceful
    societies. The way to defeat terror in the long run is to provide hope,
    to provide hope for families, to provide hope for children, to say there
    is a bright future for you. That won't happen so long as there's tyranny
    in a part of the world that tends to breed hatred. It will happen when
    societies become democratic and free.
        And so what we're doing right now is we're defeating the enemy there
    so we won't have to fight them here. But as well, we're working for
    freedom in the heart of a part of the world that needs freedom. You
    know, I can't tell you how strongly I believe that--about the power of
    freedom. After all, it's been a part of our national soul. We have
    proven how powerful freedom can be. We bring people from diverse
    backgrounds together under the mantel of a free society. We're such a
    beacon.
        I believe freedom is not America's gift to the world. I believe
    freedom is the almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this world.
    And therefore, as we work to not only make the homeland more secure, we
    work to spread freedom, which will make the world more peaceful.
        The enemy can't stand the thought of free societies. That's why they
    attacked us, see, and we're not going to change. That's what they don't
    understand. There's nothing they can do to intimidate us, to make us
    change our deepest belief. They're trying to kill to shake our will.
    We're too tough, too strong, too resolute, and too determined to ever
    have our will shaken by thugs and terrorists.

    [[Page 620]]

        We live in historic times. We face a different kind of war, and one
    of the key victories in this battle against terror is going to be the
    spread of freedom throughout the greater Middle East. And we'll succeed.
    We'll succeed because deep in the heart of every human being is the deep
    desire to be free.
        At home, we've got a lot of work to do. We've got a lot of work to
    do. We're a free nation. We're a big nation. People come and go. And we
    needed to change the whole attitude about how we protect the homeland.
    We'll do everything we can to stay on the offensive. But just remember,
    we've got to be right 100 percent of the time, and the enemy has only
    got to be right once. And so we've got a tough job.
        It means we've got to coordinate between the Federal Government and
    the State government and the local government like never before. We've
    got to share information on a real-time basis so first-responders and
    police chiefs can move as quickly as possible. We're going to talk about
    that communication today.
        We created the Department of Homeland Security which would allow us
    to better coordinate between agencies. It's kind of--what happens in
    bureaucracies is you get what they call stovepipes--in other words,
    people don't talk to each other, they kind of stay in their own lane,
    and they don't share information across the lanes. And therefore, vital
    information may show up, but it's not widely disseminated, so there's
    not real-time action on, say, a threat.
        Part of the problem we faced was that there was laws and
    bureaucratic mindsets that prevented the sharing of information. And so,
    besides setting up the Homeland Security Department and beefing up our
    air travel security and making sure that we now fingerprint at the
    borders and take those fingerprints, by the way, and compare them to a
    master log of fingerprints of terrorists and known criminals, to make
    sure people coming into our country are the right people coming into our
    country--I mean, we're doing a lot of things. But we changed law as well
    to allow the FBI and--to be able to share information within the FBI.
        Incredibly enough, because of--which Larry and others will describe--see, I'm not a lawyer, so it's
    kind of hard for me to kind of get bogged down in the law. I'm not going
    to play like one, either. [Laughter] The way I viewed it, if I can just
    put it in simple terms, is that one part of the FBI couldn't tell the
    other part of the FBI vital information because of law. And the CIA and
    the FBI couldn't talk. Now, these are people charged with gathering
    information about threats to the country, yet they couldn't share the
    information.
        And right after September the 11th, the Congress wisely acted, said,
    ``This doesn't make any sense. If we can't get people talking, how can
    we act? We're charged with the security of the country, first-responders
    are charged with the security of the country, and if we can't share
    information between vital agencies, we're not going to be able to do our
    job.'' And they acted.
        So the first thing I want you to think about is, when you hear
    PATRIOT Act, is that we changed the law and bureaucratic mindset to
    allow for the sharing of information. It's vital, and others will
    describe what that means.
        Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way,
    any time you hear the United States Government talking about wiretap, it
    requires--a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the
    way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking
    about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our
    fellow citizens to understand, when you think PATRIOT Act,
    constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is
    necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.

    [[Page 621]]

        But a roving wiretap means--it was primarily used for drug lords. A
    guy, a pretty intelligent drug lord would have a phone, and in old days
    they could just get a tap on that phone. So guess what he'd do? He'd get
    him another phone, particularly with the advent of the cell phones. And
    so he'd start changing cell phones, which made it hard for our DEA types
    to listen, to run down these guys polluting our streets. And that
    changed. The law changed on--roving wiretaps were available for chasing
    down drug lords. They weren't available for chasing down terrorists,
    see? That didn't make any sense in the post-9/11 era. If we couldn't use
    a tool that we're using against mobsters on terrorists, something needed
    to happen.
        The PATRIOT Act changed that. So with court order, law enforcement
    officials can now use what's called roving wiretaps, which will prevent
    a terrorist from switching cell phones in order to get a message out to
    one of his buddies.
        Thirdly, to give you an example of what we're talking about, there's
    something called delayed notification warrants. Those are very
    important. I see some people, first-responders, nodding their heads
    about what they mean. These are a common tool used to catch mobsters. In
    other words, it allows people to collect data before everybody is aware
    of what's going on. It requires court order. It requires protection
    under the law. We couldn't use these against terrorists, but we could
    use against gangs.
        We had real problems chasing paper--following paper trails of
    people. The law was just such that we could run down a problem for a
    crooked businessman. We couldn't use the same tools necessary to chase
    down a terrorist. That doesn't make any sense, and sometimes the use of
    paper trails and paper will lead local first-responders and local
    officials to a potential terrorist. We've got to have every tool, is
    what I'm telling you, available for our people who I expect to do their
    jobs and you expect to do their jobs.
        We had tough penalties for drug traffickers. We didn't have as tough
    a penalty for terrorists. That didn't make any sense. The true threat to
    the 21st century is the fact somebody is trying to come back into our
    country and hurt us. And we ought to be able to at least send a signal
    through law that says, ``We're going to treat you equally as tough as we
    do mobsters and drug lords.''
        There's other things we need to do. We need administrative subpoenas
    in the law. This was not a part of the recent PATRIOT Act. By the way,
    the reason I bring up the PATRIOT Act, it's set to expire next year. I'm
    starting a campaign to make it clear to Members of Congress, it
    shouldn't expire. It shouldn't expire, for the security of our country.
        Administrative subpoenas means it is--speeds up the process whereby
    people can gain information to go after terrorists. Administrative
    subpoenas I guess is kind of an ominous-sounding word, but it is--to put
    everybody's mind at ease about administrative subpoenas, we use them to
    catch crooked doctors today. It's a tool for people to chase down
    medical fraud. And it certainly seems to makes sense to me that if we're
    using it as a tool to chase medical fraud cases, we certainly ought to
    use it as a tool to chase potential terrorists.
        I'll tell you another interesting part of the law that needs to be
    changed. Judges need greater authority to deny bail to terrorists.
    Judges have that authority in many cases like--again, I keep citing drug
    offenses, but the Congress got tough on drug offenders a while ago and
    gave judges leeway to deny bail. They don't have that same authority to
    deny bail to terrorists now. I've got to tell you, it doesn't make any
    sense to me that it is very conceivable that we haul in somebody who is
    dangerous to America, and then they are able to spring bail, and out
    they go. It's hard to assure the American people that we've given tools
    to law enforcement that they need if somebody has gone through all the
    work to

    [[Page 622]]

    chase down a potential terrorist, and they haul them in front of a
    court, and they pay bail, and it's adios. It just doesn't make any
    sense.
        The PATRIOT Act needs to be renewed, and the PATRIOT Act needs to be
    enhanced. That's what we're talking about, and it's better for others to
    explain to you how this PATRIOT Act works. After all, they're charged
    with protecting our citizens. They're on the frontline. You see, I try
    to pick the best I can at the Federal Government and say, ``Here's our
    mission. Our mission is to protect our country.'' I say that to the
    Defense Department, ``Our mission is to protect the country.'' I say it
    to the Justice Department and to the FBI. After 9/11, I said to the
    Justice Department and the FBI, ``Your job, your primary focus now is to
    prevent attack. Listen, I still want you chasing down the criminals.
    That's what's expected of you. But there's a new mindset, and that is,
    because of what happened on 9/11, we've got to change the way we think,
    and therefore, your job now is to prevent attack.''
        And one of the first persons I told that to was Thompson. See, when they say ``Deputy Attorney General,'' it
    means he's the number two guy at the Justice Department. He's the
    chief--he was the chief operating officer of the Justice Department. He
    was there when he heard the command given that we're at war. ``I want
    everybody at home doing everything we can to protect us, and you're job
    now is to prevent. Do what you can do.''
        And so--Larry, we miss you over there,
    and don't get too comfortable. He's living in Atlanta. He's living in
    Atlanta, Georgia. Actually, when he left he said, ``You know, I've got
    some kids to raise.'' I love that spirit, by the way. I love the fact
    that a dad puts his family first. And that's a vital part of life, isn't
    it? And so, he did a heck of a good job. He's also doing a very good job
    as his most important responsibility, which is being a loving dad.
        But I appreciate you coming up. Why don't you just say what you want
    to say--now that you're no longer in Government. [Laughter]

    [Larry D. Thompson, former Deputy Attorney General of the United States,
    made brief remarks and introduced Michael A. Battle, U.S. Attorney,
    Western District of New York, who also made brief remarks.]

        The President. Let me stop you right there. I hope the average
    citizen sees the dilemma. You've got people working on the criminal
    case, moving along, and they say, ``We've got a problem with these
    guys.'' And all of a sudden, the other side of the building says, ``They
    may be involved with a plot related to terrorism,'' and yet, they can't
    talk?
        Go ahead. [Laughter] They could talk about Buffalo Bills football,
    but they couldn't talk about securing the homeland.
        Mr. Battle. I couldn't have said it
    better myself. [Laughter]
        The President. Now, let me ask you something, Mike. First of all, congratulations.
        Mr. Battle. Thank you.
        The President. We put you in there because we want you to get them
    and lock them up if they're harmful to America. [Laughter] But let me
    ask you something; talk about the--you did a good job. We're about to go
    to Pete Ahearn of the FBI, but I want to ask
    you a question on the bail proceedings. Do you have any thoughts--it's
    kind of a leading question, of course--[laughter]--I'm not even a
    lawyer. Anyway--[laughter]--tell me about the bail proceedings with
    those that you arrested.

    [Mr. Battle made further remarks.]

        The President. I appreciate you, Mike.
    Good job.
        Mr. Battle. Thank you, Mr. President.
        The President. Pete Ahearn is with us,
    with the FBI. Pete, why don't you share

    [[Page 623]]

    with us what it was like not to talk to somebody? No. [Laughter]
        Let me say something about the FBI. Pete's boss is Bob Mueller.
    He's now the Director of the FBI. Mueller is doing a fabulous job. He is
    a--he comes to my office nearly every morning. He sits down and brings
    me up to date on what the FBI is doing. What's really interesting is to
    follow some of the cases--we followed this case--to see how hard our
    agents are working, how close the coordination is. And I really want to
    thank you for being on the frontline of doing really incredibly
    important work to protect the American people.
        Peter J. Ahearn. It's an honor, Mr.
    President. Thank you. First off, Mr. President, people have to realize--
    and it's not just with the FBI or our Joint Terrorism Task Force, but so
    many in this room have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of
    this country. The PATRIOT Act is a law. The PATRIOT Act has the judicial
    oversight. The rules are there. We follow the rules. The last time I
    checked, the terrorists don't have the rules that we have and don't have
    to play by them.
        So when you're dealing with a situation like this and you have all
    the pieces of the puzzle and parts of the puzzle in one room, parts in
    another--we were, at the time, probably one of the first FBI offices
    applying the new PATRIOT Act during the outset of this investigation.
        The other issue, the information that we received--and it wasn't
    just issues with the six individuals in Lackawanna; it was the
    information we were able to glean that we were able to pass to our
    counterparts, for example in the CIA. It's just not--it did not just
    deal with here. It was incumbent on us to take that information and
    everything we had, not just maybe some phone numbers that we got from
    the criminal side of the case or phone numbers that we got from the
    intelligence side of the case.
        Even after the Lackawanna case, the PATRIOT Act provisions helped
    us. We were able to share the intelligence from the proffers,
    intelligence from the grand jury, the information that we had there, and
    pass it to the intel community that led to many other things that were
    part of this investigation that were overseas. So it was not just the
    cell right here----
        The President. Right. Some of the people in the cell here actually
    were traveling overseas, as I recall. As a matter of fact, we got a
    couple of them overseas, isn't that right?
        Agent Ahearn. Yes, sir. Yes, we did.
        The President. Maybe I'm not supposed to say that. [Laughter]
        Mr. Battle. As far as I'm concerned,
    Mr. President----
        The President. Thank you, Attorney.
    [Laughter] He said I didn't break any rules. [Laughter]
        The point is, is that--what he's telling you is, is that we needed
    to share this information throughout our Government, which we couldn't
    do before. And it just doesn't make any sense. We got people working
    hard overseas that are collecting information to better help us protect
    ourselves. And what 9/11 was, is that--said is that a threat overseas
    now must be taken seriously here at home. It's one thing to protect our
    Embassies, and we work hard to do so. But now a threat overseas could
    end up being a threat to the homeland. And in order to protect the
    homeland, these good people have got to be able to share information.
        Those who criticize the PATRIOT Act must listen to those folks on
    the frontline of defending America. The PATRIOT Act defends our liberty,
    is what it does, under the Constitution of the United States.
        Agent Ahearn. Prior to the PATRIOT Act,
    it is true, and no pun intended, but we were fighting with one arm tied
    behind our back. It was clear. [Laughter]
        The President. Yes, it looks like you still are. [Laughter]

    [Agent Ahearn made further remarks.]

    [[Page 624]]

        The President. Joint Terrorism Task Force--you might tell the folks
    what that means.
        Agent Ahearn. Well, clearly, the JTTF is
    an acronym, obviously, for the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Prior to 9/11
    there were about 28 of them in the United States. We, here in Buffalo,
    had already established and put the paperwork in for one prior to 9/11.
    It was the first one approved. And it brings to the table more resources
    that I can, as the FBI Director here--to put into the battle in the war
    on terrorism.
        The President. And who sits around the table--Joint Terrorism Task
    Force? FBI agents, U.S. attorneys, local?
        Agent Ahearn. I'm sure you're going to
    hear more about that with the gentlemen here, but they all sit around
    and----
        The President. Okay, good. That's what I'm leading into. See, it's
    kind of a----
        Agent Ahearn. No, it was a good segue.
    [Laughter] There are no secrets. I mean, everybody that is cleared and
    is part of the investigation, they see it all.
        The President. Right. This is a good segue, as we say, to Federal,
    State, and local cooperation. It is--in order for us to do our jobs,
    we've got to make sure that the Federal Government shares information
    with the State government, and vice versa, and that the State and
    Federal Government share information with the local government, vice
    versa. So that everybody is knitted up, as we say. And that wasn't the
    case before September the 11th in a lot of communities.
        One of the knitter-uppers is Jim McMahon, who was appointed by the Governor. I appreciate your service. Let her go.

    [James W. McMahon, director, New York State Office of Public Security,
    made brief remarks.]

        The President. I appreciate that. What dawned on me when
    Jim was talking is that we do the same
    thing, by the way, for Federal emergency response. We've done a better
    job of coordinating FEMA, for example, which is--means Federal Emergency
    Management Association. But it's now part of the Homeland Security
    Department. And we better coordinate with State and local authorities.
    So not only are we doing--coordinating activities when it comes to
    fighting terrorists, but we're doing so when it comes to responding to
    emergencies as well.
        I appreciate the first-responders who are here. I know New York has
    got fantastic first-responders. Obviously, those who rushed into burning
    towers set the highest of high standards for courage and bravery and
    really serve as great inspiration for others who wear the uniform as
    well as those of us who appreciate those who wear the uniform.
        Speaking about wearing a uniform, one man wore one today, and that
    would be Chief Moslow. Thank you for coming,
    sir. We're honored you're here.

    [John J. Moslow, chief of police, Amherst, NY, made brief remarks.]

        The President. Yes, that's good. See, Thompson whispered, he said, ``We've only got 13,000 FBI agents.''
    That is--when you think about it--across the country, that's not a lot
    of FBI agents, is it? So, therefore, there needs to be cooperation.
        I appreciate you, Chief. You represent
    those on the frontline, what we call the first-responders. The Federal
    Government is spending some money to help. The key is to make sure we
    get it to you so it doesn't get stuck in different bureaucracies, which
    is one of the challenges those of us in Government face, which is not
    getting stuck in bureaucracies. But I want to thank you, and I want to
    thank the men and women from this area who are on the frontlines, for
    doing everything in your power to uphold the oath to which you swore
    when you became a uniformed officer.
        Here's what I think. I think that the world is going to be more
    peaceful and

    [[Page 625]]

    free. I think America is now more secure, and we're working to make it
    even more secure. There is no doubt in my mind that this country can*
    achieve any objective we put our mind to. It's essential we remain
    steadfast and strong and courageous and determined. History has called
    us to this moment of time, and history has called the right nation to
    lead. And the reason I can say that with certainty is because I
    understand the character and the courage of the American people.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        *White House correction.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        It's an honor to have been here today. I hope, as a result of this
    discussion, our fellow citizens have a better understanding of the
    importance of the PATRIOT Act and why it needs to be renewed and
    expanded--the importance of the PATRIOT Act when it comes to defending
    America, our liberties, and at the same time, that it still protects our
    liberties under the Constitution.
        But more importantly, I hope our fellow citizens recognize that
    there are hundreds of their fellow citizens working on a daily basis to
    do their duty to make this country as secure as possible. And for your
    work, I say thank you, and may God continue to bless you.
        Thank you for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:49 a.m. at the Kleinshans Music Hall. In
    his remarks, he referred to Gov. George E. Pataki of New York; former
    President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Peter J. Ahearn, Special Agent in
    Charge, Buffalo Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation.