President Bush Discusses Progress in Homeland Security in Illinois
Remarks by the President on Homeland Security
Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy
Glenview, Illinois
3:49 P.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for the warm welcome. It is a pleasure to
be back in the great state of Illinois. It's an honor to be sharing
the stage with some of America's finest citizens, our firefighters and
policemen, EMS teams. Thanks for welcoming me here.
Our country faces new and unprecedented threats. The American
people are counting on all who wear our nation's uniform. We are
counting on the brave men and women of our armed forces, who are
serving in distant corners of the world. We're counting on those who
wear the uniform here at home -- the police, the firefighters, the
emergency rescue personnel, and others who risk their lives each day to
protect our homeland and its citizens. The nation is proud of your
service. We're grateful for your sacrifices. (Applause.)
Here at the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy,
you're performing a critical mission. I've just seen an impressive
demonstration of the training that you provide to protect our
communities from acts of terrorism. You are showing the commitment of
our nation: We will work tirelessly to disrupt and prevent terrorist
attacks -- and if an attack should come, America will be prepared.
(Applause.)
I want to thank my friend, Tom Ridge, for taking on a tough
assignment. He's the first Secretary of the Department of Homeland
Security. His job is to coordinate agencies and groups of people that
have really never worked together as well as they should have. He's
done a fantastic job for the country, and I appreciate your service,
Tom. (Applause.)
I appreciate Al. Thanks for having us. Thanks for your leadership
here. And I want to thank Bob Lahey, as well, who is the Director of
NIPSTA. (Applause.) It sounds like Bob may have invited some of his
family here today. (Laughter.) I want to thank my friend, Congressman
Mark Kirk, who represents -- (Applause.)
You know, I'm traveling today by chopper from the O'Hare Airport,
and I was honored that truly one of the country's great mayors welcomed
me there, and flew over, and that's Mayor Richard Daley, of the great
City of Chicago. (Applause.) I want to thank Mayor Larry Carlson,
from Glenview for joining us. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming.
(Applause.) Mayor Peter Moy, of Lincolnwood, thank you for coming,
Peter. (Applause.) Mayor George Van Dusen of Skokie, thanks for
coming, George. (Applause.) Great first name. (Laughter.) Fill the
potholes. (Laughter and applause.)
I appreciate all the state and local officers who are here, as well
as the first responders. Thanks for having me. (Applause.)
The events of September the 11th, 2001, demonstrated the threats of
a new era. We found that oceans which separated us from other
continents no longer separate us from danger. We saw the cruelty of
the terrorists, and we glimpsed the future they intend for us. They
intend to strike the United States again. They're seeking increasingly
powerful weapons that would allow them to kill our citizens on an
unprecedented scale. That's the reality of the world we live in
today. We didn't ask for it -- it came to our shores because of what
we believe in. It came to our shores because we're the beacon of
freedom, and we're not going to change. (Applause.)
A new kind of threat has required a new kind of war, a new kind of
response -- and we are prosecuting the war on many fronts. Our
military has captured or killed hundreds of terrorists, removed
terrorist regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan that had harbored terrorists
and threatened our people. Our intelligence community helped uncover
the A.Q. Khan network that had supplied nuclear weapons-related
equipment and plans to Libya and Iran and North Korea -- and we put
them out of business. Our diplomats, working with Great Britain,
convinced Libya to give up its weapons of mass destruction. Our law
enforcement officials, working with friends and allies around the
world, have disrupted terrorist financing, and broken up terrorist
cells virtually on every continent.
The results of these efforts are solid, and they're clear: In just
three years, we've captured or killed about two-thirds of al Qaeda's
known leadership -- (applause) -- we've removed two terrorist regimes
from power and convinced a third to voluntarily disarm. We helped
eliminate the world's most dangerous nuclear trading network. Because
of these achievements, America and the world are safer. (Applause.)
As we conduct this war abroad, we will always remember where it
began: here in our homeland. We will not permit the terrorists to
find sanctuary or safe haven -- especially not within our own borders.
(Applause.) In the past three years, we have dismantled terrorist
cells, prosecuted terrorist supporters from California to Florida to
Massachusetts.
In Lackawanna, New York, we broke up a terrorist cell whose members
had trained in an al Qaeda-affiliated camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan.
In New Jersey, we indicted a man who was trying to sell shoulder-fired
surface-to-air missiles for the purpose of downing a U.S. commercial
airliner. Here in Illinois, we convicted a man with a longstanding
ties to bin Laden, who had been using a Chicago-area charity called the
"Benevolence International Foundation" to channel money to Islamic
militants.
Today, because we are on the offensive against terrorist networks,
the American people are safer. But this does not mean that our nation
is fully secure. In a vast, free society such as ours, there is no
such thing as perfect security. And no matter how good our defenses
are, a determined enemy can still strike us. Terrorists only need to
be right once; we need to be right every single time. (Applause.) Yet
our fellow citizens can be certain of this: Our government is doing
everything we can to stop another attack -- we're using every resource
and technological advantage we have as a nation to pursue our enemies,
at home and overseas. We're doing everything we can to protect our
country. In the past three years, we have taken unprecedented steps to
defend the homeland, to increase security, and to give our brave first
responders the tools they need to deal with a terrorist attack.
On September the 11th, 2001, there was no single department of
government charged with protecting the American homeland. So we have
undertaken the most sweeping reorganization of the federal government
since the start of the Cold War. Last year, we created the Department
of Homeland Security, merging 180,000 personnel from 22 different
government organizations into a single department with a single
mission: to protect America from future attacks.
On September the 11th, many of the police, firefighters, and rescue
personnel at the World Trade Center could not speak to one another by
radio. It made it much more difficult to work as a single team to save
lives. Since then, my administration has dedicated $280 million
specifically to improve the ability of our first responders to
communicate with each other and work together in a crisis. And later
this year, a new program called RapidCom will ensure that first
responders in Chicago and nine other large cities have the ability to
communicate clearly in a major emergency.
On September the 11th, we saw the character of America, as first
responders from around the country flooded New York and Pennsylvania
and Virginia with offers of assistance. Since then, we've helped
states establish Mutual Aid Agreements and Regional Response Plans, so
that when first responders need help from their neighbors they can be
certain the right assistance will get to the right people at the right
time.
Before September the 11th, the federal government set -- sent
threat information to local authorities by fax machines. Since then,
we've established 21st century communication networks, to make
information on rapidly emerging threats available to local officials in
real time -- and to give them access to the Department of Homeland
Security's state-of-the-art mapping and imagery capabilities.
On September the 11th, the FBI did not have either the right tools
or the clear mission to prevent terrorist attacks. So we are
transforming the FBI into an agency whose primary focus is stopping
terrorism. We have nearly tripled the number of FBI Joint Terrorism
Task Forces, where FBI agents work shoulder-to-shoulder with state and
local partners to stop the enemy before the next attack.
On September the 11th, there was no unified military command in the
Department of Defense whose job it was to protect the homeland of the
United States. So we have created a new Northern Command, with the
mission of defending the American homeland.
Before September the 11th, our intelligence and federal law
enforcement communities were often prevented from sharing information
about potential terrorist activities. They couldn't talk to each
other. So we passed the Patriot Act, permitting investigators who sit
next to each other to share information that could save American
lives. (Applause.)
On September the 11th, the federal government often did not share
classified information with local law enforcement -- the ones most
likely to first encounter terrorists and disrupt their planned
attacks. Today, we've established secure connections to Emergency
Operations Centers in every state and every governor's office, so local
officials will have information they need to recognize suspicious
behavior.
On September the 11th, there was no one place focused on pulling
together a complete picture of all the terrorist threats at home and
abroad. So we created the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, to
bring together all that information, and to get it to the people at the
federal, state and local level who need it to prevent attacks.
Since September the 11th, we have also implemented a new strategy
to protect our borders: Posting Homeland Security personnel at foreign
ports, we beefed up airport and seaport security at home, we've
instituted better visa screening for those entering the country. We
want to know who is coming in the country, why they're coming in the
country, and if they're leaving the country when they're supposed to
leave the country. (Applause.) We have instituted new measures to
protect critical infrastructure, including America's communications
system, and transportation networks.
After September the 11th, we created the Citizen Corps, a
grassroots effort spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security
and the USA Freedom Corps to help Americans learn how to be prepared
for, and respond to, attacks on our homeland. Nicole Meier is with
us. She is a member of the Citizen Corps Community Emergency Response
Team. She is a volunteer. She completed 20 hours of training on
disaster preparedness. By the way, Nicole and her three teenagers
helped clean up debris in neighborhoods struck by a tornado near Utica,
Illinois. I appreciate you being here, Nicole, and thank you for your
volunteerism for the country. (Applause.) Thanks for brining Gerhard.
That would be the husband. (Laughter.)
Since September of 2001, my administration has provided more than
-- along with the Congress, I might add -- has provided more than $13
billion to equip and train America's state and local first responders.
We've sent nearly one-half billion dollars to help the first responders
of the state of Illinois. (Applause.) Those funds have helped pay for
mobile command centers, mobile decontamination equipment, hazmat
trucks, mobile WMD-detection equipment, and other rescue equipment that
is making this state and local communities safer. In all, more than
half-a-million first responders across America have been trained since
2001.
We are also bringing the best technologies to bear against the
threat of chemical and biological weapons. Through the BioWatch
program, we have placed state-of-the-art equipment in many major U.S.
cities to detect biological agents. We have greatly expanded the
nation's stockpile of drugs and vaccines, including antibiotics to
treat exposure to anthrax. We have enough smallpox vaccine for every
American in case of an emergency. (Applause.) At the National
Institutes of Health, we have increased our investments in bio-defense
medical research and development to more than $1.6 billion a year.
That's nearly a 3,000 percent increase since 2001.
Yesterday, I signed into law the Project BioShield Act, to speed
the development of new vaccines and treatments against biological
agents that could be used in a terrorist attack. Project BioShield
makes available $5.6 billion over ten years to develop and stockpile
the best and latest medical countermeasures for anthrax, for botulinum
toxin, for Ebola, and for plague.
We have done all this in less than three years. There are good
people working hard on your behalf. There is more to do. The report
of the 9/11 Commission, which was released earlier today, will help us
in our efforts. The commission members have produced a serious and
comprehensive report with thoughtful recommendations. These fine
citizens dedicated more than a year of their lives in this effort. And
on behalf of the American people I thank them for their hard work.
(Applause.)
I agree with their conclusion that the terrorists were able to
exploit "deep institutional failings" in our nation's defenses that
developed over more than a decade. The commission's recommendations
are consistent with the strategy my administration is following to
address these failings and to win the war on terror. But the job is
not done. And this report will help our country identify even more
steps we can take to better defend America.
The commission has suggested a number of reforms to improve our
intelligence capabilities, so we can better anticipate emerging
threats. We will carefully study all their proposals, of course. We
agree that better coordination between the various intelligence
agencies is needed. We agree that more human intelligence is needed,
because we know the best way to figure out what the enemy is thinking
is to get to know the enemy firsthand. We agree that we need to
improve the technology at our disposal, and develop capabilities that
allow us to track our enemies anywhere in the world 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, 365 days a year. (Applause.)
I appreciate the hard work of the commission and the spirit in
which their recommendations are written. We will give serious
consideration to every idea, because we share a common goal: to do
everything in our power to prepare for, and to stop, any terrorist
attack.
The new threats of the 21st century, they are dangerous and they
are frightening, but America has the resources and the strength and the
resolve to overcome them. (Applause.) We are waging a broad and
unrelenting war on terror overseas and here at home. We're not going
to give up. We're not going to weaken. Our resolve is firm. We have
a duty to the American people. (Applause.) We are using this
country's technological advantages to develop new cures and defenses to
protect our citizens. We have dramatically improved our capacity to
prevent, and if necessary, respond to a terrorist attack.
In nearly three years since September the 11th, life in America has
in many ways returned to normal, and that's good for the country. It
means that citizens are doing their jobs, and raising their families,
and living as free people. Americans want to live in peace. I want
peace for our country, and peace for the world. (Applause.) Yet we
have not forgotten what happened to our nation on that day. We must do
everything we can to prevent an even bolder and deadlier attack. We
will never let our guard down.
Americans will always remember the courage we saw on that day, as
well: the unselfish heroism of police, and firefighters, and rescue
personnel who rushed toward danger to save lives. (Applause.) All of
you know that the next alarm could bring serious danger and even
sacrifice. Americans are grateful that you are on the job, we're
grateful that you're on the lookout for the enemy; we're grateful that
you're prepared to respond if tragedy strikes.
You are vital to the nation's defenses, the ones most likely to
first encounter a terrorist, the ones who will be the first on the
scene should there be an attack. You have dedicated your careers to
serving others. That is a noble calling. In these challenging times,
with the nation relying on your efforts, you deserve the full support
of our governments, and you can count on that support. (Applause.)
It's an honor for me to be here with those who defend us and
protect us. May God bless you and your families, and may God continue
to bless our great country. Thank you for coming. (Applause.)