08 October 2001
Bush "Resolute" and "Determined" to Win War Against Terrorism
(Fleischer briefs on President's day October 8) (890)
By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent
Washington -- President Bush is "resolute" and "determined" to win the
fight against terrorism and "has been gratified by the support he is
receiving around the world, including nations in the Middle East," the
day after military operations began in Afghanistan, White House Press
Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters October 8.
Bush "is steeled by the fact that he has such a clear understanding
about what this is about. He's described it as the first war of the
21st century, and a very different type of war," Fleischer said.
"This war is not against the Afghani people, this war is against the
oppressive Taliban regime and those who practice terrorism," the White
House Press Secretary said.
Early October 8 Bush discussed the military operations, as well as
other fronts in the war against terrorism, in phone calls with New
Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark, Korean President Kim Dae-Jung,
and China's President Jiang Zemin, Fleischer said.
All three leaders "reiterated their support and discussed with the
President ways to cooperate. And they all said they were looking
forward to seeing each other at the upcoming APEC (Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation) meeting in Shanghai," said the Press Secretary.
President Bush also presided at a White House ceremony in which former
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was sworn in to the new position of
Director of Homeland Security "for the purpose of coordinating the
some 46 agencies that have jurisdiction over what is called homeland
defense," Fleischer said.
Asked if Bush had seen the taped broadcast of Osama bin Laden first
made public October 7, Fleischer said "the President saw the tape
yesterday and his reaction to it is mostly that this is really not
about Osama bin Laden; this is much broader than that. If Osama bin
Laden was gone tomorrow, the war would continue beyond tomorrow.
"This is not just about one man. And I don't think that surprises
anybody. This is about an entire network that has people in place in
some 60 countries that presents a threat to the United States, that
presents a threat to other nations around the world."
"This is an entire network of terrorists that has global reach and
those who continue to harbor those terrorists who have carried out an
attack on our country. And any statements made by one person, Osama
bin Laden or otherwise, are not what the President is focused on. He's
focusing on a multiple front effort that involves a series of actions
to win this war on terrorism."
Fleischer said he could not stress enough the importance of thinking
of this war "in a different way" than World War II or previous wars
the U.S. has fought.
"In so many ways, a person sitting at a computer terminal wearing a
suit, who was able to shut down and dry up terrorist money plays just
as valuable a role on the financial front as people do on the military
front. And that is the President's focus. That's how the President
approaches this," he said.
Asked how President Bush will be able to maintain the current high
level of support from the American people for his anti-terrorist
campaign, Fleischer said, "the American people have a very firm
understanding about what's happened to us. This was not any ordinary
terrorist incident. This was a willful and deliberate, well-planned
and well-coordinated attack on the World Trade Center and on the
Pentagon by people who have abilities throughout the world to inflict
further harm on the United States and on our friends and on our
allies. And they understand that we're talking about people who, as
the President has put it, live in the shadows, who live in caves. And
this is a matter that is going to take some considerable time to
address.
"But from all indications, the American people understand that. And I
think this will be a case where the United States, based on the plans
the President has made, has reacted in a measured fashion, will
continue to react in a fashion that targets action where action needs
to be targeted, and was done in a methodical, well-planned fashion,
and I think that is how you always keep the support of the American
people."
The United States was attacked on September 11 and innocent civilians
were killed, he said. "It is the right, under international law, under
the United Nations charter ... to take actions to defend our people,
and to do so because we were attacked and because others are at risk.
The President, Fleischer said, "sees an opportunity to do something
for the next generation so they will not have to endure what our
generation has gone through -- not only in what took place in New York
on September 11th, but in a previous bombing in the World Trade
Center, around the world in other terrorist acts."
Fleischer would not comment on any operational details of the ongoing
military action in Afghanistan, saying that such information "will
come from the Pentagon, not the White House."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
