[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 38 (Monday, September 25, 2006)]
[Pages 1626-1627]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

September 16, 2006

    Good morning. On Monday I visited New York, Pennsylvania, and the 
Pentagon to attend memorials marking the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 
attacks. It was an emotional day for me and for our country. On that 
day, we remembered those who lost their lives, and we paid tribute to 
those who gave their lives so that others might live. We rededicated 
ourselves to protecting the American people from another attack.
    Next week, I will return to New York, where I will address the 
United Nations General Assembly. I look forward to talking to the world 
leaders gathered there about our obligation to defend civilization and 
how we must work together to support the forces of freedom and 
moderation throughout the Middle East.
    As we work with the international community to defeat the terrorists 
and extremists, we must also provide our military and intelligence 
professionals the tools they need to keep our country safe. Congress is 
considering two vital pieces of legislation to help us do just that. My 
administration is working closely with members of both parties to pass 
these bills.
    The first bill would allow us to use military commissions to try 
suspected terrorists for war crimes. We need this legislation because 
the Supreme Court has ruled that military commissions must be explicitly 
authorized by Congress.

[[Page 1627]]

    Recently, I announced that 14 suspected terrorists, including Khalid 
Sheikh Mohammed, the man believed to be the mastermind of the 9/11 
attacks, had been transferred to Guantanamo Bay. As soon as Congress 
acts to authorize the military commissions I have proposed, the men our 
intelligence agencies believed helped orchestrate the deaths of nearly 
3,000 Americans on September the 11th, 2001, can face justice.
    This bill will also provide clear rules for our personnel involved 
in detaining and questioning captured terrorists. The information the 
Central Intelligence Agency has obtained by questioning men like Khalid 
Sheikh Mohammed has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including planned 
strikes inside the United States and on a U.S. Marine base in east 
Africa, an American consulate in Pakistan, and Britain's Heathrow 
Airport. This CIA program has saved American lives and the lives of 
people in other countries.
    Unfortunately, the recent Supreme Court decision put the future of 
this program in question, and we need this legislation to save it. There 
is debate about the specific proposals in this bill, and my 
administration will work with Congress to find common ground. I have one 
test for this legislation: The intelligence community must be able to 
tell me that the bill Congress sends to my desk will allow this vital 
program to continue.
    The second bill before Congress would modernize our electronic 
surveillance laws and provide additional authority for the terrorist 
surveillance program. I authorized the National Security Agency to 
operate this vital program in response to the 9/11 attacks. It allows us 
to quickly monitor terrorist communications between someone overseas and 
someone in America. It has helped detect and prevent terrorist attacks 
on our own country. The principle behind this program is clear: When Al 
Qaida operatives are calling into or out of our country, we need to know 
who they are calling, why they are calling, and what they are planning.
    Both these bills are essential to winning the war on terror, so we 
will work with legislators from both sides of the aisle to get them 
passed. By passing these critical bills, we will bring terrorists to 
justice, continue collecting vital intelligence from captured terrorists 
in a lawful way, and monitor terrorist communications, so we can stop 
new attacks on our Nation.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on September 15 in the 
Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on September 
16. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on September 15 but was embargoed for release until the 
broadcast. In his address, the President referred to Khalid Sheikh 
Mohammed, senior Al Qaida leader responsible for planning the September 
11, 2001, terrorist attack, who was captured in Pakistan on March 1, 
2003. He also referred to H.R. 6054, the ``Military Commissions Act of 
2006,'' and S. 2455 and S. 3874, both concerning the terrorist 
surveillance program. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a 
Spanish language transcript of this address.