[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 28 (Monday, July 18, 2005)]
[Pages 1146-1151]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia

July 11, 2005

    Thanks for the warm welcome. It's my pleasure to be back here at 
Quantico, the FBI Academy. I'm honored to be with so many courageous men 
and women who have stepped forward to protect our Nation.
    Today, we are fighting a global war on terror. And here at Quantico, 
you're training and retraining for a critical mission, and that's to 
defend our homeland. You're fighting the terrorists who wish to harm us. 
You're breaking up their cells. You're disrupting their financing. You 
are stopping them before they can strike our country and kill our 
citizens. Your work is difficult. It is dangerous. I want you to know 
how much your country appreciates you, and so do I.
    I thank the FBI folks who have welcomed me here. I also want to 
thank the DEA agents who are with us here today. By working to keep drug 
money from financing terror, you're playing an important part in this 
world--in this war. I want to thank the U.S. and international police 
officers who are training here. I want to thank the local first-
responders who have joined us. You protect us in times of emergency. I 
want to thank you for being on the frontlines of fighting these 
terrorists.
    Quantico is also known as the ``Crossroads of the Corps.'' In the 
war on terror, the Marines are serving with valor and distinction. You 
helped liberate 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, you 
stand between the American people and the worst dangers in the world. In 
this war, the Marines will fight, in the words of the Rifleman's Creed, 
``Until victory is America's and there is no enemy.'' America is 
grateful to have the United States Marine Corps defending our freedom. I 
want to thank you for your courage and your sacrifice.
    I appreciate our Attorney General, Al Gonzales, who has joined us 
today. General, thank you for being here. I want to thank Ambassador 
John Negroponte, the Director of the National Intelligence. Thanks for 
coming, Mr. Director. I appreciate Director Bob Mueller of the FBI--
doing a fantastic job. Thank you, Bob, for coming. Director Porter

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Goss of the CIA; Administrator Karen Tandy of the Drug Administration--
the Drug Enforcement Administration--[laughter]--thank you, Karen.
    I appreciate the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, 
Senator John Warner of Virginia, joining us today. Senator, thank you 
for coming. Senator George Allen from Virginia is with us as well. And I 
appreciate the vice chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, 
Congressman Curt Weldon, for being with us today. Thank you all for 
being here.
    Finally, I appreciate Colonel Mike Lowe, the Base Commander at 
Quantico. Colonel, thank you very much. I appreciate your hospitality 
today, and I appreciate your hospitality when I bring my mountain bike 
out here to ride. [Laughter]
    In London last Thursday, terrorists killed dozens of commuters and 
wounded hundreds more. Americans know what it's like to be attacked on 
our own soil. Our hearts go out to the many innocent people in London 
who suffered terrible injuries, and we pray for the families mourning 
the loss of loved ones. In this difficult hour, the people of Great 
Britain can know the American people stand with you.
    I was with the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Tony Blair, at the G-8 
summit in Scotland when the terrorists struck his homeland. The contrast 
could not have been more vivid. We were there to discuss ways to make 
the world a better and more compassionate place, and in London, the 
terrorists were killing innocent men and women in cold blood. These 
attacks were barbaric, and they provide a clear window into the evil we 
face.
    We don't know who committed the attacks in London, but we do know 
that terrorists celebrate the suffering of the innocent. We do know that 
terrorists murder in the name of a totalitarian ideology that hates 
freedom, rejects tolerance, and despises all dissent. Their aim--the aim 
of the terrorists is to remake the Middle East in their own grim image 
of tyranny and oppression by toppling governments, by exporting terror, 
by forcing free nations to retreat and withdraw.
    To achieve these aims, they attacked our country on September the 
11th, 2001. They've continued to kill in Bali, in Casablanca, Riyadh, 
Jakarta, Istanbul, Madrid, and elsewhere. These kind of people who blow 
up subways and buses are not people you can negotiate with or reason 
with or appease. In the face of such adversaries, there is only one 
course of action: We will continue to take the fight to the enemy, and 
we will fight until this enemy is defeated.
    The terrorists want to attack our country and harm our citizens. 
They believe that the world's democracies are weak and that by killing 
innocent civilians, they can break our will. They're mistaken. America 
will not retreat in the face of terrorists and murderers, and neither 
will the free world. As Prime Minister Blair said after the attacks in 
London, ``Our determination to defend our values and our way of life is 
greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to 
innocent people.'' The attack in London was an attack on the civilized 
world. And the civilized world is united in its resolve: We will not 
yield; we will defend our freedom.
    Our Nation has no greater mission than stopping the terrorists from 
launching new and more deadly attacks. And whether you're fighting the 
terrorists in Afghanistan or Iraq or routing out terrorists here at 
home, America is counting on you to stop them.
    To accomplish this vital mission, we have a comprehensive strategy 
in place. We're working to protect the homeland. We're working to 
improve our intelligence so we can uncover terrorist plots before they 
unfold, and we're staying on the offensive. We're fighting the enemy in 
Iraq and Afghanistan and across the world so we do not have to face them 
here at home.
    And we are spreading the hope of freedom across the broader Middle 
East. By offering an alternative to the terrorists' dark vision of 
hatred and fear, we are laying the foundation of peace for our children 
and our grandchildren.
    To protect the American people, we continue to take extraordinary 
measures to defend the homeland. We created a new Department of Homeland 
Security. We're posting Homeland Security personnel at foreign ports and 
strengthening airport and seaport security. We're instituting better 
visa screening for those entering the United States. We're working to 
prevent potential terrorists

[[Page 1148]]

from coming across our borders and violating our immigration laws. We're 
protecting our Nation's critical infrastructure, our bridges and 
tunnels, our transportation systems, our nuclear powerplants and water 
treatment facilities, and the cyber networks that keep our Government 
and our economy running.
    We've provided more than $14 billion over the last 4 years to train 
and equip local first-responders. In all, we've more than tripled 
funding for homeland security since 2001. We're working tirelessly to 
protect the American people and to prevent new terrorists attacks. In an 
age of new dangers, we're doing everything in our power to do our jobs. 
And I want to thank you for your hard work.
    To defend our homeland, we need the best possible intelligence. We 
face a new kind of enemy. This enemy hides in caves and plots in shadows 
and then emerges to strike and kill in cold blood in our cities and 
communities. Staying a step ahead of this enemy and disrupting their 
plans is an unprecedented challenge for our intelligence community. 
We're reforming our intelligence agencies to meet the new threats. We've 
established a new National Counterterrorism Center where we are bringing 
together all the available intelligence on terrorist threats. We're 
sharing intelligence across all levels of government, the Federal level, 
the State level, and the local level.
    We're working with our allies to share information and to prevent 
terrorists from obtaining weapons of mass destruction. Thanks to the 
hard work of hundreds in our intelligence community, we have stopped a 
number of grave threats to the American people. Together with our 
allies, we uncovered and dismantled Libya's nuclear program. We worked 
with Pakistan and other nations to shut down the world's most dangerous 
nuclear trading network. And since September the 11th, our coalition has 
disrupted a number of Al Qaida terrorist plots, arrested Al Qaida 
operatives here to case specific U.S. targets, and caught others trying 
to sneak into our country.
    Our enemy is constantly studying our defenses and adapting its own 
tactics, so we must constantly strengthen our capabilities. And that's 
why I appointed a bipartisan Commission, led by Judge Laurence Silberman 
and former Senator Chuck Robb. I asked them to give me an unvarnished 
look at our intelligence capabilities and our intelligence successes as 
well as analyzing our intelligence failures. Two weeks ago, after 
careful review, I approved 70 of the Commission's recommendations for 
implementation.
    One of the new steps we're taking is the creation of the National 
Security Service within the FBI, to more completely integrate the 
Bureau's work with the intelligence community. The purpose of this 
change is to strengthen the FBI, so it not only investigates terrorist 
crimes after they happen, but the FBI can be more capable to stop the 
terrorist acts before they happen. The FBI is in the fight. The FBI has 
deployed its personnel across the world, in Iraq and Afghanistan and 
other fronts in the war on terror. FBI agents are questioning captured 
terrorists and uncovering information that will help prevent new attacks 
on our homeland.
    Here in America, the FBI has helped break up terrorist cells and 
financing networks in California, in Oregon, Illinois, North Carolina, 
New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, and other States. And one of 
the important tools Federal agents have used to protect America is the 
PATRIOT Act. I call on Congress to reauthorize the 16 critical 
provisions of this act that are scheduled to expire at the end of this 
year. The terrorist threats against us will not expire at the end of 
this year and neither should the protections of the PATRIOT Act.
    The FBI efforts are central to our success in the war on terror. The 
agents and analysts in this hall and your colleagues around the country, 
work around the clock to prevent new attacks, and I thank you for that. 
With every cell you uncover and every terrorist you arrest, you're 
making this country safer. Thanks for a job well done.
    We know that there is no such thing as perfect security and that in 
a free and open society, it is impossible to protect against every 
threat. As we saw in London last week, the terrorists need to be right 
only once. Free nations need to be right 100 percent of the time. The 
best way to defend America is to stay on the offense. When terrorists 
spread their--spend their days and nights struggling

[[Page 1149]]

to avoid death or capture, they are less capable of arming and training 
and plotting new attacks.
    So, together with our allies, we're on the offense, and we will stay 
on the offense. We have damaged the Al Qaida network across the world. 
In the Persian Gulf, Al Qaida's chief of operations has been captured. 
In southeast Asia, a top strategist for Al Qaida's associate group was 
captured. In Pakistan, top Al Qaida leaders have been captured, 
including one of bin Laden's senior terrorist facilitators. We captured 
the mastermind of the September the 11th attacks. We captured a 
terrorist involved in the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and 
Tanzania, and a key planner in the attack on the U.S.S. Cole. Our ally 
Pakistan has killed or captured more than 600 terrorists, including bin 
Laden's chief of operations, a man named al-Libbi. Saudi Arabia has 
killed or captured more than two dozen of its most wanted terrorists.
    The terrorists remain dangerous, but from the mountains of 
Afghanistan to the border regions of Pakistan to the Horn of Africa and 
to the islands of the Philippines, our coalition is bringing our enemies 
to justice and bringing justice to our enemies. We will keep the 
terrorists on the run until they have no place left to hide.
    In the war on terror, Iraq is now a central front. The terrorists 
fight in Iraq because they know that the survival of their hateful 
ideology is at stake. They know that as freedom takes root in Iraq, it 
will inspire millions across the Middle East to claim their liberty as 
well. And when the Middle East grows in democracy and prosperity and 
hope, the terrorists will lose their sponsors. They'll lose their 
recruits. They will lose their hopes for turning that region into a base 
of attacks against America and our allies.
    The stakes in Iraq are high, and no one knows the stakes better than 
our troops. An American battalion commander in Iraq put it this way in 
an e-mail: ``I know that most of you are probably asking if our presence 
here and loss of human life are worth it. We're here for a purpose. And 
if not now, when will we stand up to the terrorists that are sick enough 
to do these things in God's name?''
    We are standing up, and the sacrifice is worth it. By helping 
Iraq's--the Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on 
terror, we are advancing the cause of freedom and the cause of peace.
    To help Iraqis build a free nation, we have a clear plan, with both 
a military track and a political track. Our military is pursuing the 
terrorists and helping to train Iraqi security forces so they can defend 
their people and fight the enemy on their own. Our plan can be summed up 
this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.
    Our troops see the progress the Iraqi security forces have made. 
Captain Glenn Colby of the Rhode Island National Guard says that when he 
arrived in Iraq over a year ago, the Iraqi police were afraid to go 
outside their building. Recently, he says, the soldiers were on patrol 
when the Iraqi police charged past them in hot pursuit of insurgents. He 
says of the Iraqi police, quote, ``Now you see them everywhere. You see 
them at checkpoints on the streets. You see them on patrol. You see them 
stand and fight.''
    The Iraqi people are seeing progress. They're stepping forward to 
the fight. One Iraqi who stepped forward is a traffic cop named Jamal. 
Recently, Jamal was training in the city of Irbil with about 200 other 
recruits, when a red car came hurtling toward them and it exploded. He 
survived, but many of his comrades did not. Here's what he says: ``I saw 
friends killed and wounded and crying out and blood everywhere. It is 
not the first time they tried to kill us. We're not afraid. I'll stay a 
policeman and serve my country.'' Americans are proud to serve alongside 
such brave allies, people willing to take risk for democracy and 
freedom, people willing to sacrifice.
    The leaders of the new Iraqi military see the progress. The Iraqi 
general in charge of his country's elite special forces puts it this 
way: ``Before, the Americans were taking the lead, and we were 
following.'' Now, he said proudly of his forces, ``We're taking the 
lead.'' We are working for the day when the entire Iraqi army can say 
the same thing. Our coalition will help Iraqis so they can fight the 
enemy on their own. And then American forces can come home to a proud 
and grateful nation.

[[Page 1150]]

    We know that the terrorists will not be defeated by force of arms 
alone. Iraqis need a strong military to engage the enemy. But just as 
important is a strong and secure democracy that will provide an 
alternative to the terrorists' ideology of hate. So Iraqis are hard at 
work building the institutions of a free society.
    In January, more than 8 million Iraqis defied the terrorists and 
cast their ballots in the country's first free elections in decades. 
Now, their Transitional National Assembly is working to write a new 
constitution for a free Iraq. And Iraq's new leaders are reaching out to 
Sunni Arabs who did not participate in the January elections. Last week, 
15 Sunni Arab delegates jointed the committee that is drafting a new 
Iraqi constitution. More and more, Sunni Arabs say they intend to vote 
in the constitutional referendum later this year. Support for the 
democratic progress--process is growing throughout Iraq, including in 
the Sunni Arab communities.
    As a Iraqis take these steps toward political and military reform, 
they are building a free nation that will be a beacon--a beacon of 
liberty in the Middle East. The success of democracy in Iraq is sending 
forth the news from Damascus to Tehran that freedom can be the future of 
every nature.
    The Palestinian people have gone to the polls and have chosen a 
leader committed to negotiation instead of violence. In Lebanon, people 
took to the streets to demand the restoration of their sovereignty, and 
they have now gone to the polls and voted in free elections. And as 
freedom spreads in these countries, it is inspiring democratic reformers 
in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
    Our troops on the frontlines see this transformation up close. 
Marine Lance Corporal Marty Schwader recently returned from Iraq. He 
says, ``We really kicked something off in the Middle East, and all the 
countries over there are starting to really think about the way they 
want to run their countries.''
    The heart of our strategy is this: Free societies are peaceful 
societies. So in the long run, the only way to defeat the ideologies of 
hatred and fear, the only way to make sure our country is secure in the 
long run, is to advance the cause of freedom.
    We have seen freedom conquer evil and secure the peace before. In 
World War II, free nations came together to fight the ideology of 
fascism, and freedom prevailed. And today, Germany and Japan are allies 
in securing the peace. In the cold war, freedom defeated the ideology of 
communism and led to a Europe whole, free, and at peace.
    Today in the Middle East, freedom is once again contending with an 
ideology that seeks to sow anger and hatred and despair. And like 
fascism and communism before, the hateful ideologies that use terror 
will be defeated by the unstoppable power of freedom and democracy.
    The Prime Minister recently said, ``There is no hope in terrorism 
nor any future in it worth living, and it is the hope that is the 
alternative to this hatred.'' So we'll spread the hope of freedom and 
leave a more peaceful world for our children and our grandchildren.
    This week there's great suffering in the city of London, but 
Londoners are resilient. They have faced brutal enemies before. A city 
that survived the Nazi blitz will not yield in the face of thugs and 
assassins. And just as America and Great Britain stood together to 
defeat the totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century, we now stand 
together against the murderous ideologies of the 21st century.
    History teaches us that we can be confident in the future because 
the darkness of tyranny is no match for the shining power of freedom. 
There will be tough fighting ahead. There will be difficult moments 
along the path to victory. The terrorists know they can't defeat us on 
the battlefield. The only way the terrorists can win is if we lose our 
nerve. This isn't going to happen on my watch. America and its allies 
will continue to act decisively, and the cause of freedom will prevail.
    Thank you for your service.

Note: The President spoke at 10:37 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; Abd al-Rahim al-
Nashiri, Al Qaida's chief of operations for the Persian Gulf; Nurjaman 
Riduan Isamuddin (also known as Hambali), Al Qaida's chief operational 
planner in Southeast Asia; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, senior

[[Page 1151]]

Al Qaida leader responsible for planning the September 11, 2001, 
terrorist attack, who was captured in Pakistan on March 1, 2003; Usama 
bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; Abu Faraj al-
Libbi, senior Al Qaida associate arrested in Pakistan on April 30; and 
President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority. The 
President 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 these remarks.