    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [March 8, 2008]
    [Pages 336-337]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 8, 2008

        Good morning. This week, I addressed the Department of Homeland
    Security on its fifth anniversary and thanked the men and women who work
    tirelessly to keep us safe. Because of their hard work and the efforts
    of many across all levels of government, we have not suffered another
    attack on our soil since September the 11th, 2001.
        This is not for a lack of effort on the part of the enemy. Al Qaida
    remains determined to attack America again. Two years ago, Usama bin
    Laden warned the American people, quote,
    ``Operations are under preparation, and you will see them on your own
    ground once they are finished,'' end quote. Because the danger remains,
    we need to ensure our intelligence officials have all the tools they
    need to stop the terrorists.
        Unfortunately, Congress recently sent me an intelligence
    authorization bill that would diminish these vital tools. So today I
    vetoed it, and here is why.
        The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable
    tools in the war on terror: the CIA program to detain and question key
    terrorist leaders and operatives. This program has produced critical
    intelligence that has helped us prevent a number of attacks. The program
    helped us stop a plot to strike a U.S. Marine camp in Djibouti, a
    planned attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi, a plot to hijack a
    passenger plane and fly it into Library Tower in Los Angeles, and a plot
    to crash passenger planes into Heathrow Airport or buildings in downtown
    London. And it has helped us understand Al Qaida's structure and
    financing and communications and logistics. Were it not for this
    program, our intelligence community believes that Al Qaida and its
    allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the
    American homeland.
        The main reason this program has been effective is that it allows
    the CIA to use specialized interrogation procedures to question a small
    number of the most dangerous terrorists under careful supervision. The
    bill Congress sent me would deprive the CIA of the authority to use
    these safe and lawful techniques. Instead, it would restrict the CIA's
    range of acceptable interrogation methods to those provided in the Army
    Field Manual. The procedures in this manual were designed for use by
    soldiers questioning lawful combatants captured on the battlefield. They
    were not intended for intelligence professionals trained to question
    hardened terrorists.
        Limiting the CIA's interrogation methods to those in the Army Field
    Manual would be dangerous because the manual is publicly available and
    easily accessible on the Internet. Shortly after 9/11, we learned that
    key Al Qaida operatives had been trained to resist the methods outlined
    in the manual. And this is why we created alternative procedures to
    question the most dangerous Al Qaida operatives, particularly those who
    might have knowledge of attacks planned on our homeland. The best source
    of information about terrorist attacks is the terrorists themselves. If
    we were to shut down

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    this program and restrict the CIA to methods in the field manual, we
    could lose vital information from senior Al Qaida terrorists, and that
    could cost American lives.
        The bill Congress sent me would not simply ban one particular
    interrogation method, as some have implied. Instead, it would eliminate
    all the alternative procedures we've developed to question the world's
    most dangerous and violent terrorists. This would end an effective
    program that Congress authorized just over a year ago.
        The fact that we have not been attacked over the past 6\1/2\ years
    is not a matter of chance. It is the result of good policies and the
    determined efforts of individuals carrying them out. We owe these
    individuals our thanks, and we owe them the authorities they need to do
    their jobs effectively.
        We have no higher responsibility than stopping terrorist attacks.
    And this is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven
    track record of keeping America safe.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on March 7 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 8. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    March 7, but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his
    address, the President referred to Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al
    Qaida terrorist organization. The Office of the Press Secretary also
    released a Spanish language transcript of this address.