[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 14 (Monday, April 11, 2005)]
[Pages 551-552]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

April 2, 2005

    Good morning. Before I begin today, I would like to say a word about 
Pope John Paul II. His Holiness is a faithful servant of God and a 
champion of human dignity and freedom. He is an inspiration to us all. 
Laura and I join millions of Americans and so many around the world who 
are praying for the Holy Father.
    This week, the members of the independent Commission looking into 
America's intelligence capabilities presented their report. I asked 
these men and women to give an unvarnished look at our intelligence 
about weapons of mass destruction, and they have delivered. I appreciate 
their hard work. Their recommendations are thoughtful and extremely 
significant, and their central conclusion is one that I share: America's 
intelligence community needs fundamental change to enable us to 
successfully confront the threats of the 21st century.
    My administration has already taken steps consistent with the 
Commission's recommendations. In February, I nominated John Negroponte 
to be our first Director of National Intelligence. This post was created 
to help ensure that our intelligence community works as a single, 
unified enterprise. When Members of Congress return to Washington, I 
urge them to move quickly on his confirmation because he will have a key 
role in the continued reform and restructuring of our intelligence 
capabilities.
    This week, I also directed Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend 
to oversee the interagency review of the Commission's findings and 
ensure that concrete action is taken.
    The Commission's report delivers a sharp critique of the way 
intelligence has been collected and analyzed against some of the most 
difficult intelligence targets, like Iraq. To win the war on terror, we 
will correct what needs to be fixed and build on what the Commission 
calls ``solid intelligence successes.'' These include the uncovering of 
Libya's nuclear and missile programs, which led Libya's leader to 
renounce weapons of mass destruction. In Pakistan, our intelligence 
helped expose and shut down the world's most dangerous nuclear 
proliferation network. We need to learn from the successes we've had and 
apply the lessons elsewhere.
    We also acknowledge the hard work and sacrifices of the men and 
women in our intelligence community. These talented people are on the 
frontlines in the war on terror. Their work is critical. We must prevent 
terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass murder that they would use 
against our people.
    The work our intelligence community is doing is also extremely 
difficult. Every day, dangerous regimes are working to conceal their 
programs and their possible relationships with terrorists. And the work 
our intelligence men and women do is, by nature, secret. The American 
people never hear about many of America's intelligence successes, but 
I'm aware of them. I'm proud of our efforts of our intelligence workers 
to defend our country, and the American people should be as well.
    The President and his national security team must have intelligence 
that is timely and accurate. In its report, the Commission points out 
that America needs to know much more about the weapons programs and 
intentions of our most dangerous adversaries. The members of the 
Commission have given useful and important guidance that will help 
transform our intelligence capabilities for the needs of a dangerous new 
century, and we will continue to give our intelligence professionals the 
tools they need and the structure they deserve so they can succeed in 
their essential work.
    It is not possible to guarantee perfect security in our vast free 
Nation, but at a time when we're at war and our margin for error

[[Page 552]]

is getting smaller, the consequences of underestimating a threat could 
be tens of thousands of innocent lives. I can assure you that the men 
and women in our intelligence community are working around the clock and 
doing everything they can to keep us safe, and my administration will 
continue to make intelligence reforms that will allow them to identify 
threats before they fully emerge so we can take action to protect the 
American people.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:34 a.m. on April 1 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on April 2. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
April 1 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his 
remarks, the President referred to Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi, 
leader of Libya. He also referred to the Commission on the Intelligence 
Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. 
The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of this address.