[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 20 (Monday, May 19, 2003)]
[Pages 599-601]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters in Pierce City

May 13, 2003

Devastation in Pierce City

    The President. This is this man's business. They built their 
business last year. They had a family restaurant. They had a family 
restaurant. The children worked in it. And their lives got turned 
upside-down in one minute. This whole town, this whole street got wiped 
out. The tornado just came straight down the street.
    And the only thing I can tell a man who has lost it all and a lady 
who has lost it all in one moment is, is that a lot of people are 
praying for them, and our Government is

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going to try to do our best. But if you look in his eyes, you can see 
that--the devastation that took place, when you lose something--all you 
own overnight. The good news is his family is still standing, and he's 
strong. God bless you. God bless you.
    Q. What's your name?
    Mr. Rector. Scott Rector. This is my wife, Lynette.
    The President. Rector--2002 is when he realized his dream.
    Mr. Rector. It's going to say, again in 2003, here in about 5, 6 
months. [Laughter]
    The President. Yes. Oh, Mike [Mike Allen, Washington Post], okay. 
We'll get you in a minute. Any questions, or anything?

Terrorist Attack in Saudi Arabia

    Q. Sir, do you think that the bombing in Saudi Arabia was the fault 
of Al Qaida?
    The President. Well, there's a lot of suspicion it is Al Qaida. Al 
Qaida is a group of people that they don't care about taking innocent 
life. And obviously, these killers didn't care about innocent life. And 
we'll find out. We'll find out. We're going to find out.
    Q. Sir, are you satisfied with the cooperation the Saudis have given 
you? And do you believe they did all they could to prevent this?
    The President. Well, we'll let the facts--we'll sort the facts out 
and find out what the facts are. Colin Powell is over there now, and I'm 
confident, when I get back to Washington tomorrow, that George Tenet of 
the CIA will give me a full briefing of what we know. And we'll just 
find out. Let me get back to Washington and sort through the facts.
    Q. Are you going to pull more Americans out of Saudi Arabia?
    The President. Let me get back to Washington, find out the facts. 
We'll assess all the threats. We'll take the necessary precautions. But 
one thing is for certain: The people that killed the Americans and other 
innocent life will be tracked down, and they will be brought to justice. 
It doesn't matter how long it takes. The war on terror goes on. And this 
incident in Saudi Arabia shows the country that we still have got a war 
to fight. And we will fight it, and we will win it.
    Just like the people of this city are going to rebuild this city, 
this country is going to defend our security and fight these terrorists.
    Q. This bombing looked like it was pretty well-planned.
    The President. It was very well-planned, yes.
    Q. So these guys have a little bit of money, they have some 
infrastructure----
    The President. It doesn't take much money to put a car bomb 
together. It takes hatred. It takes hatred in your heart. It takes an 
absolute disregard for innocent life. And that's the nature of Al Qaida. 
I can't say for certain it was Al Qaida yet, but I wouldn't be surprised 
if it was.
    Q. Do you think Iran----
    The President. Iraq?
    Q. Iran.

President's Visit to Pierce City

    The President. Oh, I have no idea. Look, it's way too early. Let me 
get back to Washington and get the facts, and we'll work on it. In the 
meantime, my heart is right here in Pierce City, Missouri, with the 
people whose lives were destroyed as a result of a tornado that swept 
down this street.
    And let me say one thing about what I saw at the church. I saw not 
only a determined group of citizens, but I saw a group of volunteers 
from all over this State, and even some from Texas, I want you to know, 
that they want to help them. And for that, I'm grateful, and I know 
their Nation is as well. There's a lot of love in this country.
    Q. There were so many storms, all of a sudden, unlike anything 
you've seen before.
    The President. That's what happens sometimes. You know? That's just 
what happens sometimes. Weather patterns change. And you know, I'm from 
Texas, where we had the Jarrell tornado came and just wiped out the city 
of Jarrell. They hadn't had a tornado in that part of the State in a 
long time, and lo and behold, one shows up, and people lost their life.
    Q. Do you think the Government is doing enough?
    The President. Well, that's what I'm here to ask. And I want to make 
sure FEMA responds quickly. I've been told by the Governor he's 
satisfied. The mayor has told me

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that he believes we're moving fast enough. But I'm moving out of the 
councils of government. I'm trying to get directly to the people to find 
out. And there's--a lot of people are content, and some people are 
frustrated.
    Yes, ma'am.
    Q. So many people here didn't have insurance----
    The President. That's right, and we're going to have to deal with 
that.
    Q. Is there money available that's not a loan for these people?
    The President. Well, we have--we'll just have to figure it out, take 
a look and see. But you're right, there's a lot--a lot of the homes were 
insured, and a lot of the businesses weren't. And as you can see, this 
street right here, all the commerce in this entire town was wiped out. 
The mayor was talking about what it means to be trying to run a city 
that has got no sales tax revenue because nobody can buy anything 
because the businesses are destroyed.
    And this is devastation--complete devastation here in Pierce City, 
and that's what we're here to--listen. We've got the people from the 
Federal Government all over it. The people from the State Government are 
listening to people's complaints. And we'll just see the best we can do. 
I am not going to make a promise to these good people that won't be 
fulfilled. So I'm here to listen, first of all.

Terrorist Attack in Saudi Arabia

    Q. Were you surprised at this attack could take place a year-and-a-
half--after a year-and-a-half of----
    The President. No, I'm not surprised. Al Qaida--until Al Qaida is 
completely brought to justice, they want to hurt Americans and our 
friends and allies. And so we'll do everything we can to secure the 
homeland, and we'll do the best we can to make sure people can't come 
into our country and hurt us. But the best way to secure the homeland is 
to chase these killers down, one at a time, and bring them to justice, 
which is the policy of the Bush administration and will be the policy of 
the Bush administration for a long--hopefully, a long time. I know so 
long as I'm the President, we will deal with these people.
    That's the only way to secure the country. And so these--they'll hit 
and run, and they'll try to hide. We're going to get them.

Texas Legislature

    Q. Sir, you mentioned Texas. Have you been following what's going on 
in the Texas legislature?
    The President. I have not.
    Q. Democrats leaving the State to avoid a vote----
    The President. No, I haven't--[laughter]--but I'm confident my 
friend, that Governor Perry will be able to deal with it.
    Why don't we get out of the rain? Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 2:30 p.m. during a tour of 
the city. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Bob Holden of Missouri; 
Mayor Mark Peters of Pierce City; and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. A tape 
was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.