THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. I'm
honored to be joined by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the
Treasury. The Secretary of Treasury will stay over
afterwards, to answer any questions you have on this particular
initiative that we'll be announcing today.
This is the 100th day of our campaign against global
terrorism. And in those 100 days, we've accomplished
much. We've built a broad international coalition against
terror, and I want to thank the Secretary of State for his hard
work. We broke the Taliban's grip on Afghanistan. We took
the war to the al Qaeda terrorists. We're securing our
airways. We're defending our homeland. And we're attacking
the terrorists' international financial network. And I want
to thank the Secretary of the Treasury for his hard work.
Today I'm announcing two more strikes against the financing of
terror. We know that al Qaeda would like to obtain nuclear, chemical
and biological weapons. And we know that oftentimes they do
not act alone; al Qaeda has international supporters, and some of those
supporters hide themselves in the disguise of charity.
Last year a former official of the Pakistani Atomic Energy
Commission set up an organization known as the UTN. UTN
claims to serve the hungry and needy of Afghanistan. But it
was the UTN that provided information about nuclear weapons to al
Qaeda. So today I'm adding UTN, and three of its directors,
to our list of terrorists supporting financial organizations and
individuals. We're issuing orders to block any of their
assets within U.S. jurisdiction, and putting the world on notice that
anyone who continues to do business with UTN, and its principal
figures, will not do business with the United States.
Since September the 11th, we've witnessed a series of terrorist
attacks aimed at the United States and our friends around the world:
anthrax mailings here at home, suicide bombings against Israel; and
only last week, an armed attack on the Indian
Parliament. The legislature of the world's largest
democracy, a nation founded on the principles of freedom of speech,
freedom of worship, was ruthlessly attacked. The terrorists
killed eight innocent people. If their mission had
succeeded, they would have kidnapped and killed many of India's elected
representatives.
Last week's attack was only the most recent terrorist assault on
the institutions of Indian democracy. More than 30 people
were killed in a car bombing of the State Legislative Assembly in
Srinagar on October the 1st. These attacks on India's Parliament
buildings remind us that whatever grievances or causes the terrorists
may cite, their real target is democracy and freedom.
The United States condemns these terrorist attacks against
India. And we extend our sympathies and friendship to the
families of the murdered.
American power will be used against all terrorists of global
reach. So today I'm adding another terrorist organization to the list
of those whose assets are blocked by my executive
order. Lashkar-e-Tayiba is an extremist group based in
Kashmir. LAT is a stateless sponsor of terrorism, and it
hopes to destroy relations between Pakistan and India and to undermine
Pakistani's President Musharraf.
To achieve its purpose, LAT has committed acts of terrorism inside
both India and Pakistan. LAT is a terrorist organization
that presents a global threat. And I look forward to working
with the governments of both India and Pakistan in a common effort to
shut it down and to bring the killers to justice.
I'm optimistic about the future of our struggle against
terror. I know we've accomplished a lot so far, and we've
got a lot more to do. Over the past 100 days, we and our
British allies and others in the coalition have destroyed at least 11
terrorist training camps inside Afghanistan, terrorist factories that
produce thousands of trained operatives. We've also
destroyed 39 Taliban command and control sites.
Senior al Qaeda and Taliban officials have been captured or killed,
and potential escape routes for the survivors are constantly being
blocked to prevent the cowards from running.
American, Australian and German aid workers held hostage by the
Taliban have been liberated. We've dropped some 2.5 million
humanitarian rations to the hungry people inside
Afghanistan. Our attack on terrorist finances is
progressing. The assets of more than 150 known terrorists,
their organizations and their bankers have been frozen by the United
States.
One hundred forty-two countries have issued freezing orders of
their own. The result: more than $33 million in
terrorist assets have been blocked inside the United States; more than
$33 million more have been blocked abroad by our partners in the
international coalition.
At home, we've created a new Office of Homeland Security under my
friend, Tom Ridge; and worked with Congress to provide more than $20
billion to safeguard our territory. New airline security
legislation has been signed into law. Our law enforcement
agencies are protecting our safety, while respecting the constitutional
rights of our citizens.
We listed the 22 most wanted foreign terrorists. We're
reorganizing the INS so it can more effectively prevent the entry into
the United States by those who want to threaten our national security.
We arrested one of the murderers of the September 5, 1986 hijacking
of Pan Am Flight 73, showing would-be terrorists and current terrorists
that we have a long memory, that we're patient -- that if you think you
can hide, we'll come and find you and bring you to justice.
We made the first indictment against the terrorists, those
murderers of September the 11th. We and our coalition have
done much in the past 100 days. And with the help of
freedom-loving countries around the world, we will do much more to rid
the world of evil and of terrorists.
Thank you very much.
Q Mr. President, can you tell us where you
are, sir, on your deliberations over John Walker, and have you ruled
out a charge of treason?
THE PRESIDENT: I'm heading into the Oval Office --