    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 37 (Monday, September 17, 2001)]
    [Pages 1302-1303]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks While Touring Damage at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia

    September 12, 2001

        The Secretary and I--first of all, I must tell you I am overwhelmed
    by the devastation.
        I am so grateful for the people who are working here. We're here to
    say thanks to not only the workers on this site but the workers who are
    doing the same work in New York City. I want to say thanks to the folks
    who have given blood to the Red Cross. I

    [[Page 1303]]

    want to say thanks for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who pray
    for the victims and their families.
        Secretary Rumsfeld told me, when I talked to him, that he felt the
    blast shake the Pentagon; even though he was on the other side of the
    building, the building rocked. And now I know why.
        Coming here makes me sad, on the one hand; it also makes me angry.
    Our country will, however, not be cowed by terrorists, by people who
    don't share the same values we share, by people who are willing to
    destroy people's lives because we embrace freedom. The Nation mourns,
    but our Government will go on; the country will function. We are on high
    alert for possible activity.
        But coming here confirms what the Secretary and I both know, that
    this is a great Nation. People here working hard prove it; people out
    here working their hearts out to answer families' questions, to remove
    the rubble and debris from this office. I want to thank everybody not
    only on this site but all across America for responding so generously,
    so kindly, in their prayers, in their contributions of love and their
    willingness to help in any way they can.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:53 p.m. at the site of the attack.