[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 40 (Monday, October 8, 2001)]
[Pages 1397-1398]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

September 29, 2001

    Good morning. I want to report to you on the progress being made on 
many fronts in our war against terrorism. This is a different kind of 
war, which we will wage aggressively and methodically to disrupt and 
destroy terrorist activity.
    In recent days, many members of our military have left their homes 
and families and begun moving into a place for missions to come. 
Thousands of reservists have been called to active duty. Soldiers, 
sailors, airmen, marines, and coastguardmen are being deployed to points 
around the globe, ready to answer when their country calls. Our military 
families have accepted many hardships, and our Nation is grateful for 
their willing service.
    The men and women of the Armed Forces are united in their dedication 
to freedom, and they will make us proud in the struggle against 
terrorism.
    International cooperation is gaining momentum. This week, I met with 
the Prime Ministers of two of America's closest friends, Canada and 
Japan. Other countries, from Russia to Indonesia, are giving strong 
support as the war against terrorism moves forward. America is grateful 
to the nations that have cut off diplomatic ties with the Taliban regime 
in Afghanistan, which is sheltering terrorists.
    The United States respects the people of Afghanistan, and we are 
their largest provider of humanitarian aid. But we condemn the Taliban, 
and welcome the support of other nations in isolating that regime.
    We have also launched a strike against the financial foundation of 
the global terror network. Our goal is to deny terrorists the money they 
need to carry out their plans. We began by identifying 27 terrorist 
organizations, terrorist leaders, and foreign businesses and charities 
that support or front for terrorism.
    We froze whatever assets they had here in the United States, and we 
blocked them from doing business with people, companies, or banks in our 
country. Many governments and financial institutions around the world 
are joining in this effort to starve terrorists of funding.
    This week I visited the headquarters of the FBI and the CIA. Their 
agents and analysts have been on the case around the clock, uncovering 
and pursuing the enemy. In the long campaign ahead, they will need our 
continued support and every necessary tool to do their work.
    I'm asking Congress for new law enforcement authority to better 
track the communications of terrorists and to detain suspected 
terrorists until the moment they are deported. I will also seek more 
funding and better technology for our country's intelligence community.
    This week, we also took strong steps to improve security on planes 
and in airports, and to restore confidence in air travel. We're 
providing airlines with Federal grants to make cockpits more secure 
through measures including fortified doors and stronger locks. And we're 
dramatically increasing the number of Federal air marshals on our 
planes.
    Americans will have the confidence of knowing that fully equipped 
officers of the law are flying with them in far greater numbers. I'm 
also working with Congress to put Federal law enforcement in charge of 
all bag and passenger screening at our airports. Standards will be 
tougher and enforced by highly trained professionals who know exactly 
what they're looking for. To enhance safety immediately, I've asked 
Governors to place National Guardsmen at security checkpoints in 
airports.
    As all these actions make clear, our war on terror will be much 
broader than the battlefields and beachheads of the past. This war will 
be fought wherever terrorists hide or run or plan. Some victories will 
be won outside of public view, in tragedies avoided and

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threats eliminated. Other victories will be clear to all.
    Our weapons are military and diplomatic, financial and legal. And in 
this struggle, our greatest advantages are the patience and resolve of 
the American people.
    We did not seek this conflict, but we will win it. America will act 
deliberately and decisively, and the cause of freedom will prevail. 
Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 12:04 p.m. on September 28 in the 
Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on September 
29. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on September 28 but was embargoed for release until the 
broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this address.