    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 9 (Monday, March 7, 2005)]
    [Pages 355-358]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks at the Central Intelligence Agency and an Exchange With
    Reporters in Langley, Virginia

    March 3, 2005

        The President. I want to thank Director Goss for his hospitality. It
    was such a pleasure to come out and see hundreds of folks who work here
    at the Central Intelligence Agency.
        I came for a couple of reasons. One, I wanted to assure the people
    here that their contribution was incredibly vital to the security of the
    United States and that, together, we've achieved a lot in securing this
    country. There's a lot of really incredibly bright, capable, hard-
    working, dedicated Americans who work in this building. So my first
    mission was to thank them.
        And the second thing was to explain that the reforms that we'll be
    implementing through the good graces of Ambassador

    [[Page 356]]

    Negroponte, if confirmed by the Senate, will actually help the CIA do
    its job better.
        And I got a great reception. I want to thank you, again, Director,
    for your hospitality. We're making progress in the war on terror. The
    world is changing. And this country of ours will continue to do our
    duty, which is to find terrorists, bring them to justice through good
    intelligence and hard work and some brave souls, and at the same time,
    work to spread freedom and liberty around the world.
        I'll answer a couple of questions. Tom [Tom Raum, Associated Press].

    Implementing Intelligence Reform

        Q. Mr. President, your CIA Director, Mr. Goss, said yesterday that
    he has to wear five hats now and that he was concerned there were some
    ambiguities in the new arrangement about his relationship with Mr.
    Negroponte and Secretary Rumsfeld. Do you feel there are such
    ambiguities, and will you move to--if there are, will you move to clear
    them up? And will this prevent--will this present a problem for the flow
    of intelligence in this time, this transition period?
        The President. That's an excellent question. Porter and I have
    discussed this, of course, because I don't want there to be any
    interruption of intelligence coming to the White House, and there won't
    be. As a matter of fact, Porter Goss comes every morning with the CIA
    briefer to deliver the briefing. And that, of course, will go on. And
    it's--secondly, we don't even have Ambassador Negroponte confirmed yet.
    In other words, it's hard to implement reforms without somebody to be
    the reformer. And so the process is ongoing. Obviously, when his name
    gets up to the Senate, we hope there's a speedy confirmation.
        But one of the purposes of the whole process, Tom, is to make sure
    that information flows are smooth and that efforts are coordinated. The
    CIA is the Central Intelligence Agency; it's the center of the
    intelligence community. But there's a lot of other intelligence-
    gathering operations around Government. And the job of Ambassador
    Negroponte is to be--to take the information and make sure it is
    coordinated in its distribution to not only the White House but to key
    players in my administration. And so I'm confident that the process will
    work.
        Obviously, one of the reasons I came here is because I know there's
    some uncertainty about what this reform means to the people of the CIA,
    and I wanted to assure them that the reforms will strengthen their
    efforts and make it easier for them to do their job, not harder. I'm
    glad I came out.
        Terry [Terry Moran, ABC News].

    Social Security Reform

        Q. Mr. President, on Social Security reform, what's your judgment
    about where this process stands right now, with polls showing the public
    skeptical; some Republicans, like Senator Grassley, are seeming to back
    away from your proposal; and Democrats wanting to declare it dead.
        The President. I would say this: I am--know we're at the early
    stages of the process. I've only had nine trips around the country so
    far--or nine States on my trips. I've got a lot more work to do. Now, I
    do believe we're making progress on the first stage of getting anything
    complicated and difficult done in Washington, and that is to explain the
    problem. And the surveys I have seen, at least, say that the American
    people understand we have a problem. And I'm going to continue going out
    to explain that to people, the nature of the problem. And the problem
    is, in 2018, the system starts losing money. In 2027, it's 200 billion
    in the hole, and it gets bigger every year thereafter. In other words,
    we can't pay for the promises we've made. That's the problem.
        And my second phase of this explanation to the American people is to
    say to seniors who have retired or people near retirement, you don't
    have anything to worry about; you're going to get your check. I've got a
    lot of work to do on that, and I understand that. But we're making
    progress. People are beginning to say, ``We have a problem.'' The next
    phase, when people say we have a problem, is going to be, ``What are you
    going to do about it?'' And I'm willing to put out some ideas about what
    to do about it. In my judgment, ultimately, I think politicians need to
    be worried about not being a part of the solution.

    [[Page 357]]

        And so I'm looking forward to continue to make the case. As you
    know, Terry--you have followed me a lot--I like to get out amongst the
    people. I get energized--I get energized by being with people, and I get
    energized when I think about taking on big problems, because that's why
    we got elected. The American people expect people to come together to
    solve problems. And I'm looking forward to listening to Republicans and
    Democrats. I said, ``Put your ideas out there. There will be no
    political third rail when it comes to Social Security.'' Now is the time
    for good people of good will to come together and get the problem fixed.

    Tax Reform

        Q. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said today that a consumption tax,
    maybe even a national sales tax, might spur greater economic growth.
    What do you think about that?
        The President. I think that I'm going to wait until the tax
    commission I put together, the reform commission headed by former
    Senator John Breaux, Democrat of Louisiana, former Senator Connie Mack,
    Republican of Florida, comes forward with some ideas. I told the
    American people I want to work to simplify the Tax Code and make it
    easier to understand, so people are spending less time filing paper, and
    I believe a simplified Tax Code will spur entrepreneurial activity. And
    so I'm looking forward to what the commission has to say.

    War on Terror

        Q. You mentioned Usama bin Laden earlier this morning, and you've
    said several times that there's progress being made on the war on
    terrorism. But more than 3 years after September 11th, you still don't
    know where he is. How would you assess the adequacy of the intelligence
    you're getting on bin Laden, and do you expect that he's going to be
    found anytime soon, even within your second term?
        The President. If Al Qaida was structured like corporate America,
    you'd have a chairman of the board still in office, but many of the key
    operators would no longer be around. In other words, the executive vice
    presidents, the operating officers, the people responsible for certain
    aspects of the organization have been brought to justice--a lot of them
    have been. And we are--spend every day gathering information to locate
    Usama bin Laden and Zawahiri, obviously people like Zarqawi. We're not
    resting on our laurels. We've had great successes, and--but that doesn't
    mean that we should stop.
        And one of the reasons I came out here was to remind people that
    we've had great successes. I appreciate their successes--Khalid Sheik
    Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh. I can go down the list. But there's more
    work to be done. And it's a matter of time. As far as I'm concerned and
    as far as the CIA is concerned, it's a matter of time before we bring
    these people to justice. And I can't thank the intelligence gatherers,
    the analysts, and the operators--I can't thank them enough for the
    sacrifices they're making.
        Last question.

    Iran/Syria

        Q. Mr. President, on Iran, you spoke to Condoleezza Rice yesterday,
    we were told. What can you tell us about the pros and cons that you're
    weighing now as you reach a decision on going forward with the EU?
        The President. Yes, let me just tell you how I see the state of
    action here. First, I am most appreciative that our friends in Europe
    agree with the United States that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon,
    period--no ands, ifs, or buts. And I thought that was a very important
    statement from the leaders I met with. And by the way, Mr. Putin feels
    the same way. And to me that is a very--a positive start for achieving
    our common objective. First, you got to agree to the goal, and the goal
    is no weapon.
        Secondly, I have told our European friends who are handling the
    negotiations on behalf of the rest of the world that we want to help
    make sure the process goes forward. And we're looking at ways to help
    move the process forward.
        The guilty party is Iran. They're the ones who are not living up to
    international accords. They're the people that the whole world is
    saying, ``Don't develop a weapon.'' And so we are working with our
    friends to make sure not only the world hears that but

    [[Page 358]]

    that the negotiating strategy achieves the objective of pointing out
    where guilt needs to be as well as achieving the objective of no nuclear
    weapon. And I felt good about our visits.
        I did visit with Condi yesterday, and I'm about to go visit with her
    again in the Oval Office to discuss not only this issue but other key
    issues, including Lebanon, where the message is loud and clear from the
    United States and France and many other nations that Syria must withdraw
    not only her troops but her secret service forces out of Lebanon now.
    And I look forward to talking to Condi about getting an amplification on
    her visit with our allies overseas. I look forward to not only hear
    their words; I want to hear about their body language. I want to hear
    about their enthusiasm for the project. I think I'm going to find it was
    quite high because the people now understand that if you believe in
    democracy, why not let the democracy in Lebanon flourish and grow? And
    the United States of America strongly supports democracy all around the
    world, including Lebanon. And it cannot flourish so long as Syrian
    troops are there. It's time for Syria to get out.
        Listen, thank you all. I appreciate seeing you.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:11 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    John D. Negroponte, nominee to be Director of National Intelligence;
    former Senators Connie Mack, Chairman, and John B. Breaux, Vice
    Chairman, President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform; Usama bin
    Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; Ayman Al-Zawahiri,
    founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and senior Al Qaida associate;
    senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; Khalid Sheik Mohammed,
    senior Al Qaida leader responsible for planning the September 11, 2001,
    terrorist attack, who was captured in Pakistan on March 1, 2003; Ramzi
    bin al-Shibh, an Al Qaida operative suspected of helping to plan the
    September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, who was captured in Karachi,
    Pakistan, on September 11, 2002; and President Vladimir Putin of Russia.