[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 30 (Monday, July 26, 2004)]
[Pages 1356-1360]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy in 
Glenview, Illinois

July 22, 2004

    Thanks for the warm welcome. It is a pleasure to be back in the 
great State of Illinois. It's an honor to be sharing the stage with some 
of America's finest citizens, our firefighters and policemen, EMS teams. 
Thanks for welcoming me here.
    Our country faces new and unprecedented threats. The American people 
are counting on all who wear our Nation's uniform. We are counting on 
the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, who are serving in distant 
corners of the world. We're counting on

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those who wear the uniform here at home: the police, the firefighters, 
the emergency rescue personnel, and others who risk their lives each day 
to protect our homeland and its citizens. The Nation is proud of your 
service. We're grateful for your sacrifices.
    Here at the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy, 
you're performing a critical mission. I've just seen an impressive 
demonstration of the training that you provide to protect our 
communities from acts of terrorism. You are showing the commitment of 
our Nation: We will work tirelessly to disrupt and prevent terrorist 
attacks, and if an attack should come, America will be prepared.
    I want to thank my friend Tom Ridge for taking on a tough 
assignment. He's the first Secretary of the Department of Homeland 
Security. His job is to coordinate agencies and groups of people that 
have really never worked together as well as they should have. He's done 
a fantastic job for the country. And I appreciate your service, Tom.
    I appreciate Al. Thanks for having us. Thanks for your leadership 
here. And I want to thank Bob Lahey as well, who is the Director of 
NIPSTA. It sounds like Bob may have invited some of his family here 
today. [Laughter] I want to thank my friend Congressman Mark Kirk, who 
represents--[applause].
    You know, I'm traveling today by chopper from the O'Hare Airport, 
and I was honored that truly one of the country's great mayors welcomed 
me there and flew over, and that's Mayor Richard Daley of the great city 
of Chicago. I want to thank Mayor Larry Carlson from Glenview for 
joining us. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. Mayor Peter Moy of 
Lincolnwood--thank you for coming, Peter. Mayor George Van Dusen of 
Skokie--thanks for coming, George, great first name. [Laughter] Fill the 
potholes. [Laughter]
    I appreciate all the State and local officers who are here as well 
as the first-responders. Thanks for having me.
    The events of September the 11th, 2001, demonstrated the threats of 
a new era. We found that oceans which separated us from other continents 
no longer separate us from danger. We saw the cruelty of the terrorists, 
and we glimpsed the future they intend for us. They intend to strike the 
United States again. They're seeking increasingly powerful weapons that 
would allow them to kill our citizens on an unprecedented scale. That's 
the reality of the world we live in today. We didn't ask for it. It came 
to our shores because of what we believe in. It came to our shores 
because we're the beacon of freedom, and we're not going to change.
    A new kind of threat has required a new kind of war, a new kind of 
response, and we are prosecuting the war on many fronts. Our military 
has captured or killed hundreds of terrorists, removed terrorist regimes 
in Iraq and Afghanistan that had harbored terrorists and threatened our 
people. Our intelligence community helped uncover the A.Q. Khan network 
that had supplied nuclear weapons-related equipment and plans to Libya 
and Iran and North Korea, and we put them out of business. Our 
diplomats, working with Great Britain, convinced Libya to give up its 
weapons of mass destruction. Our law enforcement officials, working with 
friends and allies around the world, have disrupted terrorist financing 
and broken up terrorist cells virtually on every continent.
    The results of these efforts are solid, and they're clear: In just 3 
years, we've captured or killed about two-thirds of Al Qaida's known 
leadership; we've removed two terrorist regimes from power and convinced 
a third to voluntarily disarm; we helped eliminate the world's most 
dangerous nuclear trading network. Because of these achievements, 
America and the world are safer.
    As we conduct this war abroad, we will always remember where it 
began: here in our homeland. We will not permit the terrorists to find 
sanctuary or safe haven, especially not within our own borders. In the 
past 3 years, we have dismantled terrorist cells, prosecuted terrorist 
supporters from California to Florida to Massachusetts.
    In Lackawanna, New York, we broke up a terrorist cell whose members 
had trained in an Al-Qaida-affiliated camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan. 
In New Jersey, we indicted a man who was trying to sell shoulder-fired 
surface-to-air missiles for the purpose of downing a U.S. commercial 
airliner. Here in Illinois, we convicted a man with a longstanding ties 
to bin Laden, who had

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been using a Chicago-area charity called the ``Benevolence International 
Foundation'' to channel money to Islamic militants.
    Today, because we are on the offensive against terrorist networks, 
the American people are safer. But this does not mean that our Nation is 
fully secure. In a vast, free society such as ours, there is no such 
thing as perfect security. And no matter how good our defenses are, a 
determined enemy can still strike us. Terrorists only need to be right 
once; we need to be right every single time. Yet our fellow citizens can 
be certain of this: Our Government is doing everything we can to stop 
another attack. We're using every resource and technological advantage 
we have as a nation to pursue our enemies, at home and overseas. We're 
doing everything we can to protect our country. In the past 3 years, we 
have taken unprecedented steps to defend the homeland, to increase 
security, and to give our brave first-responders the tools they need to 
deal with a terrorist attack.
    On September the 11th, 2001, there was no single Department of 
Government charged with protecting the American homeland, so we have 
undertaken the most sweeping reorganization of the Federal Government 
since the start of the cold war. Last year, we created the Department of 
Homeland Security, merging 180,000 personnel from 22 different 
Government organizations into a single Department with a single mission: 
to protect America from future attacks.
    On September the 11th, many of the police, firefighters, and rescue 
personnel at the World Trade Center could not speak to one another by 
radio. It made it much more difficult to work as a single team to save 
lives. Since then, my administration has dedicated $280 million 
specifically to improve the ability of our first-responders to 
communicate with each other and work together in a crisis. And later 
this year, a new program called RapidComm will ensure that first-
responders in Chicago and nine other large cities have the ability to 
communicate clearly in a major emergency.
    On September the 11th, we saw the character of America as first-
responders from around the country flooded New York and Pennsylvania and 
Virginia with offers of assistance. Since then, we've helped States 
establish Mutual Aid Agreements and Regional Response Plans so that when 
first-responders need help from their neighbors, they can be certain the 
right assistance will get to the right people at the right time.
    Before September the 11th, the Federal Government set--sent threat 
information to local authorities by fax machines. Since then, we've 
established 21st-century communication networks to make information on 
rapidly emerging threats available to local officials in real time. 
We've given them access to the Department of Homeland Security's state-
of-the-art mapping and imagery capabilities.
    On September the 11th, the FBI did not have either the right tools 
or the clear mission to prevent terrorist attacks, so we are 
transforming the FBI into an agency whose primary focus is stopping 
terrorism. We have nearly tripled the number of FBI Joint Terrorism Task 
Forces, where FBI agents work shoulder to shoulder with State and local 
partners to stop the enemy before the next attack.
    On September the 11th, there was no unified military command in the 
Department of Defense whose job it was to protect the homeland of the 
United States, so we have created a new Northern Command, with the 
mission of defending the American homeland.
    Before September the 11th, our intelligence and Federal law 
enforcement communities were often prevented from sharing information 
about potential terrorist activities. They couldn't talk to each other. 
So we passed the PATRIOT Act, permitting investigators who sit next to 
each other to share information that could save American lives.
    On September the 11th, the Federal Government often did not share 
classified information with local law enforcement, the ones most likely 
to first encounter terrorists and disrupt their planned attacks. Today, 
we've established secure connections to Emergency Operations Centers in 
every State and every Governor's office so local officials will have 
information they need to recognize suspicious behavior.
    On September the 11th, there was no one place focused on pulling 
together a complete picture of all the terrorist threats at home and 
abroad. So we created the Terrorist

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Threat Integration Center to bring together all that information and to 
get it to the people at the Federal, State, and local level who need it 
to prevent attacks.
    Since September the 11th, we have also implemented a new strategy to 
protect our borders. Posting Homeland Security personnel at foreign 
ports. We've beefed up airport and seaport security here at home. We've 
instituted better visa screening for those entering the country. We want 
to know who is coming in the country, why they're coming in the country, 
and if they're leaving the country, when they're supposed to leave the 
country. We have instituted new measures to protect critical 
infrastructure, including America's communications system and 
transportation networks.
    After September the 11th, we created the Citizen Corps, a grassroots 
effort spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security and the USA 
Freedom Corps to help Americans learn how to be prepared for and respond 
to attacks on our homeland.
    Nicole Meier is with us. She is a member of the Citizen Corps 
Community Emergency Response Team. She is a volunteer. She completed 20 
hours of training on disaster preparedness. By the way, Nicole and her 
three teenagers helped clean up debris in neighborhoods struck by a 
tornado near Utica, Illinois. I appreciate you being here, Nicole, and 
thank you for your voluntarism for the country. Thanks for bringing 
Gerhard. That would be the husband. [Laughter]
    Since September of 2000, my administration has provided more than--
along with the Congress, I might add--has provided more than $13 billion 
to equip and train America's State and local first-responders. We've 
sent nearly one-half billion dollars to help the first-responders of the 
State of Illinois. Those funds have helped pay for mobile command 
centers, mobile decontamination equipment, hazmat trucks, mobile WMD-
detection equipment, and other rescue equipment that is making this 
State and local communities safer. In all, more than a half a million 
first-responders across America have been trained since 2001.
    We are also bringing the best technologies to bear against the 
threat of chemical and biological weapons. Through the BioWatch program, 
we have placed state-of-the-art equipment in many major U.S. cities to 
detect biological agents. We have greatly expanded the Nation's 
stockpile of drugs and vaccines, including antibiotics to treat exposure 
to anthrax. We have enough smallpox vaccine for every American in case 
of an emergency. At the National Institutes of Health, we have increased 
our investments in biodefense medical research and development to more 
than $1.6 billion a year. That's nearly a 3,000-percent increase since 
2001.
    Yesterday, I signed into law the Project BioShield Act to speed the 
development of new vaccines and treatments against biological agents 
that could be used in a terrorist attack. Project BioShield authorizes 
$5.6 billion over 10 years to develop and stockpile the best and latest 
medical countermeasures for anthrax, for botulinum toxin, for Ebola, and 
for plague.
    We have done all this in less than 3 years. There are good people 
working hard on your behalf. There is more to do. The report of the 9/11 
Commission, which was released earlier today, will help us in our 
efforts. The Commission members have produced a serious and 
comprehensive report with thoughtful recommendations. These fine 
citizens dedicated more than a year of their lives in this effort. And 
on behalf of the American people, I thank them for their hard work.
    I agree with their conclusion that the terrorists were able to 
exploit ``deep institutional failings'' in our Nation's defenses that 
developed over more than a decade. The Commission's recommendations are 
consistent with the strategy my administration is following to address 
these failings and to win the war on terror. But the job is not done. 
And this report will help our country identify even more steps we can 
take to better defend America.
    The Commission has suggested a number of reforms to improve our 
intelligence capabilities so we can better anticipate emerging threats. 
We will carefully study all their proposals, of course. We agree that 
better coordination between the various intelligence agencies is needed. 
We agree that more human intelligence is needed, because we know the 
best way to figure out what the enemy is thinking is to get to know the 
enemy

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firsthand. We agree that we need to improve the technology at our 
disposal and develop capabilities that allow us to track our enemies 
anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
    I appreciate the hard work of the Commission and the spirit in which 
their recommendations are written. We will give serious consideration to 
every idea because we share a common goal: to do everything in our power 
to prepare for and to stop any terrorist attack.
    The new threats of the 21st century--they are dangerous and they are 
frightening, but America has the resources and the strength and the 
resolve to overcome them. We are waging a broad and unrelenting war on 
terror overseas and here at home. We're not going to give up. We're not 
going to weaken. Our resolve is firm. We have a duty to the American 
people. We are using this country's technological advantages to develop 
new cures and defenses to protect our citizens. We have dramatically 
improved our capacity to prevent and, if necessary, respond to a 
terrorist attack.
    In nearly 3 years since September the 11th, life in America has in 
many ways returned to normal, and that's good for the country. It means 
that citizens are doing their jobs and raising their families and living 
as free people. Americans want to live in peace. I want peace for our 
country and peace for the world. Yet we have not forgotten what happened 
to our Nation on that day. We must do everything we can to prevent an 
even bolder and deadlier attack. We will never let our guard down.
    Americans will always remember the courage we saw on that day as 
well, the unselfish heroism of police and firefighters and rescue 
personnel who rushed toward danger to save lives. All of you know that 
the next alarm could bring serious danger and even sacrifice. Americans 
are grateful that you are on the job. We're grateful that you're on the 
lookout for the enemy. We're grateful that you're prepared to respond if 
tragedy strikes.
    You are vital to the Nation's defenses, the ones most likely to 
first encounter a terrorist, the ones who will be the first on the scene 
should there be an attack. You have dedicated your careers to serving 
others. That is a noble calling. In these challenging times, with the 
Nation relying on your efforts, you deserve the full support of our 
governments, and you can count on that support.
    It's an honor for me to be here with those who defend us and protect 
us. May God bless you and your families, and may God continue to bless 
our great country. Thank you for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 3:49 p.m. in the field training facility. 
In his remarks, he referred to Albert Rigoni, president, Northeastern 
Illinois Public Safety Training Academy; A.Q. Khan, former head of 
Pakistan's nuclear weapons program; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al 
Qaida terrorist organization; and the National Commission on Terrorist 
Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission).