[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 33 (Monday, August 16, 2004)]
[Pages 1501-1502]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

August 7, 2004

    Good morning. My most solemn duty as President is to protect our 
country, and in the 3 years since our country was attacked, we have 
taken important steps to overcome terrorist threats to this Nation.
    We have pursued terrorists across the world, destroying their 
leadership and denying them sanctuaries. We are working with other 
governments to break up terror cells and stop planned attacks, on 
virtually every continent. We've created a new Department of Homeland 
Security to win the battle against terror on the home front. We are 
working to secure our borders, air and sea ports, and critical 
infrastructure. We are bringing the best technologies to bear against 
the threat of chemical and biological warfare.
    We're using the tools of the PATRIOT Act to track terrorists within 
our borders and stop them before they kill our people. We have 
transformed the FBI to focus on the prevention of terrorist attacks. 
We've established a Terrorist Threat Integration Center to merge and 
analyze foreign and domestic intelligence on global terror in a single 
place. And we are sharing that intelligence in unprecedented ways with 
local officials and first-responders who need it to protect our 
communities.
    I agree with the conclusion of the 9/11 Commission. Because of these 
steps at home and abroad, our country is safer than it was on September 
the 11th, 2001. Yet, we're still not safe. The elevation of the threat 
level in New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC, is a grim reminder of 
the dangers we continue to face. Information from arrests in Pakistan, 
taken together with information gathered by the U.S. intelligence 
community, indicated that Al Qaida has cased financial targets in New 
York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC, and has recently updated their 
targeting information. This information was buttressed by other 
information we already had.
    We and our allies are working to protect our people from these 
threats. As we fight the ongoing terrorist threat, we will continue 
moving forward with additional changes to protect our country.
    This week I asked Congress to create the position of a National 
Intelligence Director. The person in that office will be appointed by 
the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and will serve 
at the pleasure of the President. The Director will serve as the 
President's principal intelligence advisor and will oversee and 
coordinate the foreign and domestic intelligence community. The CIA will 
be managed by a separate Director. The National Intelligence Director 
will assume the broader responsibility of leading the intelligence 
community across our Government, and he or she will have the resources 
and authority to meet that responsibility.
    This week I also announced that we establish a new National 
Counterterrorism Center. This new center will build on the excellent 
work of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center and will become our 
Government's knowledge bank for information about known and suspected 
terrorists. This center will also be responsible for preparing the daily 
terrorism threat report for the President and senior officials, and its 
Director will report to the National Intelligence Director, once that 
position is created.
    We will act on other valuable recommendations made by the 9/11 
Commission. In the coming days, I will issue a series of directives to 
various departments on essential steps for the Government on the war on 
terror. As we take these steps, our Nation is grateful to the dedicated, 
hard-working men and women of our intelligence community who are working 
day and night to keep our country safe.

[[Page 1502]]

    We're a nation in danger. We're doing everything we can in our power 
to confront the danger. We're making good progress in protecting our 
people and bringing our enemies to account. But one thing is certain: 
We'll keep our focus; we'll keep our resolve; and we will do our duty to 
best secure our country.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 8:51 a.m. on August 6 in 
Kennebunkport, ME, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on August 7. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
August 6 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.