    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [June 10, 2005]
    [Pages 965-969]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the PATRIOT Act in McLean, Virginia
    June 10, 2005

        Thanks for the warm welcome. It is really exciting to come and spend
    time in this fine facility and to meet the men and women who work at the
    National Counterterrorism Center. I just met with some who spend long
    hours preparing threat assessments, and it was my honor to tell them how
    much I appreciate their hard work and appreciate the daily briefing I
    get every single morning.
        I want to thank you all for taking on such demanding assignments and
    important assignments. My message to the folks here is, thanks for being
    on the frontline and protecting America during the war on terror. You
    know, it's a different kind of war. It's a war that seems like there's
    maybe no action taking place, that maybe the enemy is not active. You
    know, I was concerned after September the 11th that the tendency would
    be to forget the nature of the people with whom you deal on a daily
    basis. But I understand that there is an enemy that still lurks, and you
    know it as well.

        And so on behalf of a grateful nation, I want to thank you for
    working hard to protect America. I want to thank you for your
    dedication. I want to thank you for your service and sacrifice.

        The NCTC plays a key part in the Office of the Director of National
    Intelligence. It's a crucial part of making sure that we can say to the
    American people, we're collecting intelligence and information, and
    we're sharing intelligence and information across jurisdictional lines
    to better protect the people and do our most solemn duty, which is to
    protect America.

        And I want to thank Ambassador and Director John
    Negroponte's leadership on this issue. I
    want to thank him for his willingness to step forward to serve. And I

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    appreciate his understanding of how important the NCTC is.
        I also want to thank John Brennan, who
    has been the Acting Director of the NCTC. I can remember first meeting
    John--it probably seems like a decade ago for him--[laughter]--I think
    it was actually a couple of years ago, when he first described what this
    facility would be like. He laid out the vision for what would take place
    here, and I want to thank John for his leadership, his dedication to the
    effort. It must bring John great comfort, as well as those who have
    worked with John, to see how this facility has evolved over time. This
    is a magnificent blend of technology and human talent, all working
    together to break down walls and barriers that had existed prior to
    September the 11th, to better protect the people.
        And today I'm pleased to announce the fact that upon John
    Negroponte's recommendation, that we will
    nominate Vice Admiral John Redd to be the
    Director of the NCTC. He's a man of enormous experience. He has served
    our country with distinction. He'll be a good boss. He'll be a person
    that will be able to carry on the tradition of John Brennan.
        I appreciate the Attorney General
    traveling with me today. We're not only talking about intelligence
    sharing; we're telling about--we're talking about how to act upon that
    intelligence today. Attorney General Al Gonzales is doing a fine job, as
    is the Director of the FBI, Bob Mueller.
        I also appreciate Porter Goss, who is
    running the CIA, for joining us today. I went out to the CIA the other
    day, and I reminded the good folks who work there that CIA stands for
    Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA is a vital part of making sure that
    this country is safe and sound and a vital part of making sure that my
    administration and myself get the type of information necessary to make
    the decisions that we need to make to make the world a more peaceful
    place.
        I appreciate Fran Townsend, who
    is my Homeland Security Adviser. Fran is constantly briefing me on
    interagency issues and keeping me up to speed about the work you're
    doing.
        Today we're also joined by Federal prosecutors and law enforcement
    officials who have helped bring terrorists to justice with the help of
    the PATRIOT Act. I'll talk about them in a minute. Thank you all for
    coming.
        The purpose of the NCTC is to make sure our Government has the
    information we need. It's an information-gathering organization. It is
    all aimed--all the work here is aimed at keeping America safe. A lot of
    Americans have never heard of the NCTC. One of the reasons I came by
    was, hopefully it will help draw attention to the good work you do here,
    so that the people of this country can be comforted in knowing that 24
    hours a day there's some really fine people spending a lot of time doing
    whatever they can to protect our fellow citizens.
        September the 11th showed that protecting America requires that we
    remove walls between agencies. Here at the NCTC, men and women from
    different agencies, of different backgrounds, work side by side to share
    information, to analyze information, to integrate information. See,
    prior to the attack, it was--we kind of all went about our own merry
    way. There was some interagency dialog but not a lot. And we learned a
    lesson about having walls between our agencies, and we're tearing those
    walls down. And here's a classic example of Government working--
    functioning better because of people talking to each other.
        I appreciate the fact that here you pool your expertise and your
    computer systems, all aimed at shining the spotlight on enemies who
    think they can hide in the shadows of the world. I appreciate the clear
    picture that you present. See, by working together, you're able to bring
    information to a central spot, and then present a clear picture to
    decisionmakers.

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        I also appreciate the fact that you're helping to ensure that
    Federal, State, and local law enforcement have the information they need
    to do their jobs. Thanks to your efforts, we're confronting the
    terrorists every day. See, the strategy is, we'll defeat them before
    they attack us; we'll face them overseas before we have to face them
    here at home. And the best way to make sure we do so is with the best
    possible intelligence.
        One of the most important tools to combat terror is the PATRIOT Act.
    Congress passed the PATRIOT Act with overwhelming bipartisan majorities.
    Over the past 3\1/2\ years, law enforcement and intelligence officers
    have proved that the PATRIOT Act works. It's a good piece of
    legislation. The PATRIOT Act has made a difference for those on the
    frontline of taking the information you have gathered and using it to
    protect the American people.
        At the end of this year, 16 key provisions of the PATRIOT Act are
    set to expire. In other words, the act that has worked, the act that has
    delivered good results or given people the tools to deliver results, is
    now set to expire. That doesn't make any sense to me, that if something
    is working, why should it expire? We need to renew the PATRIOT Act. We
    need to renew the PATRIOT Act because it has strengthened our national
    security. And here are four ways it has strengthened our national
    security.
        First, it authorizes law enforcement and intelligence to share vital
    information. Can you believe our system didn't allow parts of the FBI to
    share information? For example, if the intelligence group didn't--had a
    piece of information, they couldn't share it with the enforcement
    people, the law enforcement people. That doesn't make any sense. And so
    the PATRIOT Act enabled us to tear down walls.
        Secondly, the PATRIOT Act allows law enforcement to use the same
    tools against terrorists that they already use against criminals like
    drug dealers and mob bosses. It seems to make sense to me. I know it
    makes sense for the American people that if it's okay to use a certain
    tool to track a drug lord, we ought to be able to use that same tool to
    track a terrorist. And that's what the PATRIOT Act provided our law
    enforcement with, the ability to react consistently.
        Thirdly, the PATRIOT Act adopts the law to meet high-tech threats
    like computer espionage and cyberterrorism. It was a smart thing to put
    in the PATRIOT Act new provisions, provisions of law that said, ``Wait a
    minute, the enemy can use the Internet; why shouldn't we be able to
    counteract that activities--that activity by the enemy?''
        And finally, the PATRIOT Act protects the privacy and civil
    liberties of every American. That's what the American people have got to
    understand. The PATRIOT Act conforms to our Constitution, that as we
    fight this war on terror, we'll honor our Constitution. As we fight the
    war on terror, we'll protect the civil liberties of our citizens.
        Let me give you some examples of how Federal prosecutors and law
    enforcement agents have used the PATRIOT Act to get results. Mike
    Battle, the former U.S. Attorney for the
    Western District of New York, is with us. Mike helped prosecute the
    Lackawanna Six terror cell. See, there was a terror cell existing in the
    United States of America. And Mike and law enforcement officials there,
    in the summer of 2001, started investigating the Lackawanna Six. But
    they had to set up two separate investigations, a criminal investigation
    for drug crimes and a separate intelligence investigation for terror
    activity. And agents from the two investigations did not discuss their
    findings with each other.
        Then Congress passed the PATRIOT Act, and the two sides started
    sharing information. See, prior to the PATRIOT Act, parts of the same
    FBI office couldn't discuss a case with each other. And as a result of
    information sharing, the agents discovered that the suspects had
    attended an Al

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    Qaida training camp in Afghanistan. The prosecutor used the information
    to build a convincing case, and today, all six of the Lackawanna folks
    are in Federal prison. In other words, the PATRIOT Act worked. We've got
    hard-working people in the field, and so we gave the people tools--
    simple tools--that said, ``Here, this will enable you to better do your
    job.'' You can't ask people on the frontline of the war on terror to
    protect the American people and then not give them the tools necessary
    to do so.
        Carol Lam is with us. She's the U.S.
    Attorney from the Southern District of California. The information-
    sharing provisions in the PATRIOT Act helped Carol and her team connect
    the dots in an Al Qaida drugs-for-weapons plot. They put together such a
    strong case that two defendants admitted their plans to sell drugs for
    Stinger missiles and then sell those missiles to the Taliban. They're
    now in prison, thanks to Carol's good work and thanks to the ability for
    prosecutors and law enforcement to use the tools of the PATRIOT Act to
    better protect the American people.
        Rob Spencer is the U.S.--Assistant
    U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. He worked with Paul
    McNulty and used information obtained
    through the PATRIOT Act to lock up 10 men from the Virginia Jihad
    network. Some of those terrorists trained at camps in Pakistan and hoped
    to attack American troops in Afghanistan. Information from the
    investigation has also helped lead to the prosecutions of terror
    suspects in Australia and Great Britain.
        I mean, not only are we sharing information here at home; we're
    sharing information with our allies, with our coalition partners. See,
    terrorists are willing to strike at anybody who loves freedom, and our
    job is to protect free societies--the freest of all societies here at
    home and the free societies amongst our coalition partners. And the
    PATRIOT Act has helped do just that.
        Kelly Moore is the Assistant U.S.
    Attorney of the Eastern District of New York. Kelly used information-
    sharing provisions in the PATRIOT Act to build a case against a
    terrorist bankroller who had boasted about personally handing $20
    million to Usama bin Laden. They also busted
    another money raiser who planned to fund Al Qaida and Hamas. They were
    extradited to Germany, and they were convicted of the charges in March
    of this year.
        This is another example of the use of the PATRIOT Act to protect our
    country. I mean, listen, we got people who want to support these killers
    with their money. And part of securing the country is to cut off the
    flow of money, is to chase the money. By chasing the money, we can find
    facilitators. So these good folks use the PATRIOT Act to help find the
    money, and by finding the money, we helped remove a threat to the United
    States of America.
        John Kavanaugh, FBI Special Agent in
    Florida--John used the PATRIOT Act to help prosecutors pursue a case
    against three alleged terror supporters for funding murders and
    kidnappings abroad. Two of them are now in Federal custody, and the
    other is serving time overseas for terrorist activity.
        Robert Schumaker, FBI Supervisory
    Special Agent from Illinois--Robert led the investigation that helped
    close down a phony charity in Illinois that was channeling money to Al
    Qaida. Robert's efforts, combined with the information-sharing
    authorities in the PATRIOT Act, allowed prosecutors to build a case
    against a director of that sham
    organization.
        We're not only finding people and bringing them to justice; we're
    shutting down their sources for money. We're taking away their
    lifeblood, which is money. Listen, we're a free society, and people come
    and take advantage of our freedom. And so what we've got to do is use
    information and intelligence to deny them the capacity to funnel money,
    in this case to organizations that want to do harm to the United States
    and our friends and allies.

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        I want you to know that the information sharing as a result of the
    PATRIOT Act allowed the
    prosecutors in this case to build a case against the director, and he's now in prison. We're patient here in
    America. We're slowly but surely dismantling an organization that wants
    to do us harm. It doesn't matter how long it takes; we will stay on the
    offense. We spend a lot of time here in America protecting our borders
    and ports and airports, but the best way to secure the country is to
    stay on the offense, is to go find them before they can hurt us. And
    that's exactly what we're doing.
        And the PATRIOT Act has helped us accomplish that objective. The
    PATRIOT Act has helped save American lives, and it's protected American
    liberty. For the sake of our national security, the United States
    Congress needs to renew all the provisions of the PATRIOT Act, and this
    time, Congress needs to make those provisions permanent.
        I want to thank you for letting me come by. I appreciate the hard
    work you do. May God bless you all and your families, and may God
    continue to bless our country. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:15 a.m. at the National Counterterrorism
    Center. In his remarks, he referred to Paul McNulty, U.S. District
    Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Usama bin Laden,
    leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization.