For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 6, 2002
Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation
The Cross Hall
8:00 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. During the next few minutes, I want
to update you on the progress we are making in our war against terror,
and to propose sweeping changes that will strengthen our homeland
against the ongoing threat of terrorist attacks.
Nearly nine months have passed since the day that forever changed
our country. Debris from what was once the World Trade Center has been
cleared away in a hundred thousand truckloads. The west side of the
Pentagon looks almost as it did on September the 10th. And as children
finish school and families prepare for summer vacations, for many, life
seems almost normal.
Yet we are a different nation today -- sadder and stronger, less
innocent and more courageous, more appreciative of life, and for many
who serve our country, more willing to risk life in a great cause. For
those who have lost family and friends, the pain will never go away
-- and neither will the responsibilities that day thrust upon all of
us. America is leading the civilized world in a titanic struggle
against terror. Freedom and fear are at war -- and freedom is
winning.
Tonight over 60,000 American troops are deployed around the world
in the war against terror -- more than 7,000 in Afghanistan; others
in the Philippines, Yemen, and the Republic of Georgia, to train local
forces. Next week Afghanistan will begin selecting a representative
government, even as American troops, along with our allies, still
continuously raid remote al Qaeda hiding places.
Among those we have captured is a man named Abu Zabedah, al Qaeda's
chief of operations. From him, and from hundreds of others, we are
learning more about how the terrorists plan and operate; information
crucial in anticipating and preventing future attacks.
Our coalition is strong. More than 90 nations have arrested or
detained over 2,400 terrorists and their supporters. More than 180
countries have offered or are providing assistance in the war on
terrorism. And our military is strong and prepared to oppose any
emerging threat to the American people.
Every day in this war will not bring the drama of liberating a
country. Yet every day brings new information, a tip or arrest,
another step, or two, or three in a relentless march to bring security
to our nation and justice to our enemies.
Every day I review a document called the threat assessment. It
summarizes what our intelligence services and key law enforcement
agencies have picked up about terrorist activity. Sometimes the
information is very general -- vague talk, bragging about future
attacks. Sometimes the information is more specific, as in a recent
case when an al Qaeda detainee said attacks were planned against
financial institutions.
When credible intelligence warrants, appropriate law enforcement
and local officials are alerted. These warnings are, unfortunately, a
new reality in American life -- and we have recently seen an increase
in the volume of general threats. Americans should continue to do what
you're doing -- go about your lives, but pay attention to your
surroundings. Add your eyes and ears to the protection of our
homeland.
In protecting our country, we depend on the skill of our people --
the troops we send to battle, intelligence operatives who risk their
lives for bits of information, law enforcement officers who sift for
clues and search for suspects. We are now learning that before
September the 11th, the suspicions and insights of some of our
front-line agents did not get enough attention.
My administration supports the important work of the intelligence
committees in Congress to review the activities of law enforcement and
intelligence agencies. We need to know when warnings were missed or
signs unheeded -- not to point the finger of blame, but to make sure
we correct any problems, and prevent them from happening again.
Based on everything I've seen, I do not believe anyone could have
prevented the horror of September the 11th. Yet we now know that
thousands of trained killers are plotting to attack us, and this
terrible knowledge requires us to act differently.
If you're a front-line worker for the FBI, the CIA, some other law
enforcement or intelligence agency, and you see something that raises
suspicions, I want you to report it immediately. I expect your
supervisors to treat it with the seriousness it deserves. Information
must be fully shared, so we can follow every lead to find the one that
may prevent tragedy.
I applaud the leaders and employees at the FBI and CIA for
beginning essential reforms. They must continue to think and act
differently to defeat the enemy.
The first and best way to secure America's homeland is to attack
the enemy where he hides and plans, and we're doing just that. We're
also taking significant steps to strengthen our homeland protections
-- securing cockpits, tightening our borders, stockpiling vaccines,
increasing security at water treatment and nuclear power plants.
After September the 11th, we needed to move quickly, and so I
appointed Tom Ridge as my Homeland Security Advisor. As Governor Ridge
has worked with all levels of government to prepare a national
strategy, and as we have learned more about the plans and capabilities
of the terrorist network, we have concluded that our government must be
reorganized to deal more effectively with the new threats of the 21st
century. So tonight, I ask the Congress to join me in creating a
single, permanent department with an overriding and urgent mission:
securing the homeland of America, and protecting the American people.
Right now, as many as a hundred different government agencies have
some responsibilities for homeland security, and no one has final
accountability. For example, the Coast Guard has several missions,
from search and rescue to maritime treaty enforcement. It reports to
the Transportation Department, whose primary responsibilities are
roads, rails, bridges and the airways. The Customs Service, among
other duties, collects tariffs and prevents smuggling -- and it is
part of the Treasury Department, whose primary responsibility is fiscal
policy, not security.
Tonight, I propose a permanent Cabinet-level Department of Homeland
Security to unite essential agencies that must work more closely
together: Among them, the Coast Guard, the Border Patrol, the Customs
Service, Immigration officials, the Transportation Security
Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Employees
of this new agency will come to work every morning knowing their most
important job is to protect their fellow citizens. The Department of
Homeland Security will be charged with --
The Department of Homeland Security will be charged with four
primary tasks. This new agency will control our borders and prevent
terrorists and explosives from entering our country. It will work with
state and local authorities to respond quickly and effectively to
emergencies. It will bring together our best scientists to develop
technologies that detect biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons, and
to discover the drugs and treatments to best protect our citizens. And
this new department will review intelligence and law enforcement
information from all agencies of government, and produce a single daily
picture of threats against our homeland. Analysts will be responsible
for imagining the worst, and planning to counter it.
The reason to create this department is not to create the size of
government, but to increase its focus and effectiveness. The staff of
this new department will be largely drawn from the agencies we are
combining. By ending duplication and overlap, we will spend less on
overhead, and more on protecting America. This reorganization will
give the good people of our government their best opportunity to
succeed by organizing our resources in a way that is thorough and
unified.
What I am proposing tonight is the most extensive reorganization of
the federal government since the 1940s. During his presidency, Harry
Truman recognized that our nation's fragmented defenses had to be
reorganized to win the Cold War. He proposed uniting our military
forces under a single Department of Defense, and creating the National
Security Council to bring together defense, intelligence, and
diplomacy. Truman's reforms are still helping us to fight terror
abroad, and now we need similar dramatic reforms to secure our people
at home.
Only the United States Congress can create a new department of
government. So tonight, I ask for your help in encouraging your
representatives to support my plan. We face an urgent need, and we
must move quickly, this year, before the end of the congressional
session. All in our government have learned a great deal since
September the 11th, and we must act on every lesson. We are stronger
and better prepared tonight than we were on that terrible morning --
and with your help, and the support of Congress, we will be stronger
still.
History has called our nation into action. History has placed a
great challenge before us: Will America -- with our unique position
and power -- blink in the face of terror, or will we lead to a freer,
more civilized world? There's only one answer: This great country
will lead the world to safety, security, peace and freedom.
Thank you for listening. Good night, and may God bless America.
END 8:13 P.M. EDT
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