[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
[August 14, 2008]
[Pages 1141-1142]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following Briefings at the Central Intelligence Agency in 
Langley, Virginia
August 14, 2008

    I want to thank the Director, Mike 
Hayden, and DO Steve Kappes for hosting me 
out here at the CIA. I get a chance to thank a lot of the folks who work 
out here for their service to the country.
    It's really important for the people who work here to understand the 
significant--the significance of the contributions they're making to 
secure the homeland. The people here work long and hard hours. And 
they're smart, capable, and they deserve the Nation's thanks.
    We also had a couple of briefings, one on the war on terror and the 
other on the situation in Georgia. Got a lot of folks, smart folks 
analyzing the situation on the ground and, of course, briefing us on 
different possibilities that could develop in the area and the region.
    I sent Condi Rice, Secretary of State 
Rice over there. She'll be coming back to brief me Saturday. I'm looking 
forward to hearing firsthand what she has seen, what she has heard. And 
my call, of course, is for the territorial integrity of Georgia to be 
respected and for the cease-fire agreement to be honored.
    And we will be working this issue throughout the coming weeks, and 
people out here at the Agency have been incredibly helpful. And I want 
to thank you very much for your hospitality. Thank you, Michael. I appreciate you. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 2:52 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Stephen R. Kappes, Deputy Director, Central Intelligence Agency.

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