[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 24 (Monday, June 17, 2002)]
[Pages 1000-1001]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Meeting of the President's Homeland Security Advisory 
Council

June 12, 2002

    Well, thank you all very much for taking on this assignment. Joe, 
thank you for your being Chairman. And Bill Webster, we've got a lot of 
talented folks around this table. And I want to thank you for agreeing 
to help our Nation.
    We're under attack; that's the way it is. The more we love freedom, 
the more we espouse values that are decent and honorable, the more we 
welcome religion in our society, open political discourse, the more this 
enemy is going to try to hit us. And we've got two courses of action. 
One is to run them down, wherever they try to hide, and bring them to 
justice. That's precisely what we're going to do.
    These people are the kind of people that--they try to find a soft 
spot around the world and burrow in and plot and plan. And we're just 
going to have to enforce the doctrine: Either you're with us, or against 
us; either you join the coalition of freedom, or you're on the other 
side of the fence.
    And we're making good progress; we really are. The other night when 
I announced this Department of Homeland Security, I made mention of the 
fact that our coalition has hauled in about 2,400 of these terrorists, 
these killers. The problem is there's still quite a number of them still 
out there.
    We're using our military--we've got a great military, by the way. 
I'm really proud of the men and women who wear our uniform, and our 
Nation stands squarely with our military. We're using diplomatic 
pressure. That's an important tool. We're cutting off their money. 
That's--we've been fairly effective at cutting off their money. We can 
all do a little better job of denying them the funds they need. They 
don't need a lot of money, but they do need money to conduct their 
attacks.
    We're sharing intelligence. I know many members of this committee 
have been very much involved in the intelligence gathering capacity of 
America, and we're doing a better job of finding our weaknesses here at 
home and working on the weaknesses. The CIA and the FBI now are doing a 
much better job today than they had been prior to September the 11th of 
sharing information across these--what were once formidable 
jurisdictional boundaries. The culture of our agencies have changed 
since the war. The FBI has got a--has got a new job, which is to prevent 
attack, and that's now their primary focus. And Bob Mueller is doing a 
good job of recognizing the cultural shift that needs to take place, of 
taking input, listening to people, and responding.
    So we're making progress; we really are. But until we rout out every 
terrorist cell and every terrorist, until attitudes change about freedom 
in America, we've got to protect our homeland in a new way. And I want 
to thank you all for agreeing to help us. You're breaking new ground, 
and you're going to help us leave a legacy, so that future Presidents, 
future administrations, and future Congress can deal more effectively 
with how to do the most important job any elected official has, which is 
to protect innocent life.
    As you know, I called for the Department of Homeland Security. 
Obviously, I wouldn't have done so if I didn't think it was the absolute 
right thing to do. I think it's important to focus the mission, through 
reorganization. I know it's going to make--help us be more effective 
here at home.
    I also recognize how tough the chore is going to be. I mean, after 
all, we are asking people in Congress to give up turf, as they say, give 
up a little power. And I'm under no illusions that asking folks to give 
up power can be a difficult assignment. So one of the

[[Page 1001]]

things I'll do is remind the Members of Congress that this is not a 
political issue, that protecting America is an American issue, it's a 
duty we all have, and that I vow not to play politics with doing what's 
right.
    I'll also remind the Congress that I am going to speak to the 
American people about this issue. Once I propose it, I'm going to take 
my case beyond Washington to the true influence--the real influence 
peddlers of America; that's the American people, the people who work 
every day and who've got the capacity to inform their Members of 
Congress or the Senate their opinion. And that's what I'm going to 
continue to do.
    I'm going to continue to speak as plainly as I can about the need 
for this Department, assuring the American people that we're not 
interested in increasing the size and scope of the Federal Government, 
we're interested in efficiency. We want an organization that can work 
closely with local leaders such as my Mayor, Mayor Williams. We want to 
be able to respond better if something were to occur. We want to know 
how better to enforce our borders. We want to know when they're coming 
in the country and if they're overstaying their visas. We need to know 
that, in America, under this new--the new threats under which we live.
    We've got to--I signed a bioterrorism bill today. I want to thank 
you all for coming for the signing ceremony. I saw Jim Schlesinger 
there, and I'm sure you're glad I cut my remarks in half, because the 
temperature seemed to be--[laughter]--seemed to be a little warm out 
there. But the idea is to better coordinate our capacity to detect 
weapons of mass destruction and respond to them if they occur.
    And finally, we need an analytical capacity within a department that 
can take all the intelligence that's gathered, not only by the FBI or 
the CIA but all throughout our Government, and analyze it so we have a 
better feel for what the terrorists might be thinking and then how to 
respond.
    And you all can play a very useful role in this--in this process. 
You bring a lot of heft and a lot of experience and a lot of know-how. 
You can definitely help us understand how best to coordinate Government 
activities with the private sector, and that's essential, that we team 
up to do everything we need to do to protect America.
    So I want to thank you for your service. I want you to know this 
administration is totally committed to protecting the people. Many of 
you are aware of the President's briefing he gets, sees--or knows what 
the President reads. And they're still out there; these people--you 
know, these killers, they're still lurking around. But they picked on 
a--they picked on a group of people who are plenty determined, and 
that's the American people.
    We've got a fabulous nation. And we're tough, and we're determined, 
and we're united, and we're strong. And at the same time, we're showing 
the world that we're a compassionate nation as well. We won the first 
battle, or we're winning the first battle in the war of the 21st 
century, which was in Afghanistan. And we went into that country not as 
conquerors but as liberators. And I'm proud of our Nation, and I'm proud 
of your service to our Nation. And I want to thank you all for giving us 
your time.
    God bless you all. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:44 a.m. in the Indian Treaty Room in the 
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he 
referred to Joseph J. Grano, Jr., Chair, William H. Webster, Vice Chair, 
and James R. Schlesinger and Washington, DC, Mayor Anthony A. Williams, 
members, President's Homeland Security Advisory Council. H.R. 3448, the 
Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 
2002, approved June 12, was assigned Public Law No. 107-188.