[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 41 (Monday, October 15, 2001)]
[Pages 1448-1449]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Announcing the Most Wanted Terrorists List

October 10, 2001

    Thank you very much for that warm welcome. I'm pleased to be back at 
the FBI to unveil a new line of attack on our war against terrorism, the 
Most Wanted Terrorist list.
    Terrorists try to operate in the shadows. They try to hide, but 
we're going to shine the light of justice on them. We list their names; 
we publicize their pictures; we rob them of their secrecy. Terrorism has 
a face, and today we expose it for the world to see.
    Mr. General, thank you very much for your leadership, your strong 
resolve, the values you espouse. I want to thank all the Justice 
Department folks who are here today.
    I'm so honored to be up here with the Secretary of State. He's doing 
a fabulous job of rallying the world to our cause. And I want to thank 
the State Department officials who are here today, as well.
    And of course, Director Mueller, I want to thank you and the fine 
men and women of the FBI for your diligent efforts to disrupt and find 
anybody who tries to harm Americans.
    I also want to introduce Tom Ridge, the Director of the Office of 
Homeland Security. Thank you for being here, Governor, as well as 
General Wayne Downing, the Deputy National Security Adviser for 
Combating Terrorism. Thank you all for coming.
    The men on the wall here have put themselves on the list because of 
great acts of evil. They plan, promote, and commit murder. They fill the 
minds of others with hate and lies. And by their cruelty and violence, 
they betray whatever faith they espouse.
    These 22 individuals do not account for all the terrorist activity 
in the world, but they're among the most dangerous, the leaders and key 
supporters, the planners and strategists. They must be found. They will 
be stopped, and they will be punished.
    This effort is part of a worldwide assault on terror. All our allies 
and friends will now be familiar with these evildoers and their 
associates. For those who join our coalition, we expect results. And a 
good place to start--help us bring these folks to justice.
    Eventually, no corner of the world will be dark enough to hide in. I 
want to thank all the State Department employees for helping to build an 
unprecedented--I mean unprecedented--coalition to stand with us for 
freedom.
    I want to thank the American people for understanding that we are 
engaged in a new war, a war that will require a new way of thinking. 
There is a fascination about the conventional aspects of the military 
operations that are taking place now, and I can understand that. But the 
American people must understand that we're making great progress in 
other fronts, that we're halting their money, that we've got allies 
around the world helping us close the net. And today, by shining the 
spotlight on the first 22, it's going to make it more likely they will 
be brought to justice.
    I say ``the first 22'' because our war is not just against 22 
individuals. Our war is against networks and groups, people who coddle 
them, people who try to hide them, people who fund them. This is our 
calling. This is the calling of the United States of America, the most 
free nation in the world, a nation built on fundamental values, that 
rejects hate, rejects violence, rejects murderers, rejects evil. And we 
will not tire. We will not

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relent. It is not only important for the homeland security of America 
that we succeed; it is equally as important for generations of Americans 
who have yet be born.
    Now is the time to draw the line in the sand against the evil ones. 
And this Government is committed to doing just that.
    I also want to remind my fellow Americans as we round up the 
evildoers, as we look for those who might harm our fellow Americans, we 
must remember not to violate the rights of the innocent.
    Our war is not against a religion. Our war is against evil. There 
are thousands of Muslim Americans who love America just as much as I do. 
And we will respect their rights. We will not let the terrorists cause 
decay of the fundamental rights that make our Nation unique. As a matter 
of fact, what they'll find out is that our Nation has responded in a way 
they never envisioned. We're united. People of all faiths, all 
religions, all areas of our country are united in the common effort to 
stamp out evil where we find it. It is the right thing to do. It is the 
right course of action for our Nation and the world, and I want to thank 
you all for helping.
    It is now my honor to bring the Director of the FBI to the podium.

Note: The President spoke at 11:02 a.m. in the Bonaparte Auditorium at 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters. In his remarks, he 
referred to Attorney General John D. Ashcroft.