[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.
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    *White House correction.
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    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.
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    *White House correction.
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    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.