24 October 2001
Transcript: Sept. 11 and Anthrax Both Terror Attacks on U.S., Bush Says
(In Oct. 24 speech says "both series of actions will not stand")
(2580)
Evil and hatred link the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United
States and the sending of anthrax through the mails, President Bush
says.
"Both series of actions are motivated by evil and hate. Both series of
actions are meant to disrupt Americans' way of life. Both series of
actions are an attack on our homeland. And both series of actions will
not stand," the President said in October 24 remarks to employees at a
privately owned printing plant in Glen Burnie, Maryland, outside of
Baltimore.
Bush told the printing plant employees that the military campaign in
Afghanistan is intended not to harm the Afghan people but to bring to
justice the terrorists who attacked the Twin Towers in New York and
the Pentagon in Washington on September 11.
"While we are holding the Taliban government accountable, we're also
feeding Afghan people," he said.
The U.S. military, he said, "is slowly, but surely, encircling the
terrorists so that we'll bring them to justice. We're patient. We're
firm. We have got a strategy that is going to work. And make no
mistake about it, justice will be done."
"We're learning about terror and evil, and our country is responding
forcefully. The American people have got remarkable spirit and
remarkable resolve. We are strong, we are united, and we are
determined to prevail," he said.
Bush also discussed his plans to revive the nation's economy, which he
said has been affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks.
"The government is going to react with an economic stimulus package
that is good for workers," he said. "The House is getting ready to
vote on that package. I urge them to pass it. And then I urge the
Senate to act quickly to make sure that the American people understand
that at this part of our homeland defense, our country and the
Congress is united."
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
October 24, 2001
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO EMPLOYEES OF THE DIXIE PRINTING COMPANY
Dixie Printing Company Glen Burnie, Maryland
1:42 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Newth, thank
you very much. And Ray, and Susan Blavett, (phonetic) -- thank you for
being here, as well. I'm glad my SBA Director is here -- Hector
Barreto is in charge of the Small Business Association. And, Hector,
thank you for coming. I want to thank the employees of Dixie Printing,
and my fellow Americans. (Applause.)
Some might ask why, in the midst of war, I would come to Dixie
Printing. They say, here you are conducting a campaign against
terrorists, and you take time to come to a small business. And the
answer is, because we fight in the war on two fronts. We fight a war
at home; and part of the war we fight is to make sure that our economy
continues to grow.
When the terrorists struck our homeland, they thought we would fold.
They thought our economy would crater. That's what they wanted. But
they don't understand America. They don't understand the
entrepreneurial spirit of our country. They don't understand the
spirit of the working men and women of America. They don't understand
that small business owners all across our country are saying, we're
not going to allow you to terrorize us. We're going to make sure our
-- (applause.)
I am here to report that we're doing well on both fronts. Overseas,
our diplomatic efforts are strong. Nations all across the globe have
bound with the United States to send a clear message that we'll fight
terrorism wherever it may exist.
Recently I was in China. I had an interesting meeting, as you can
imagine, with the President of Russia, the head of China, Mexico,
Chile -- were all represented. And to a leader, from all kinds of
nations -- some Muslim, some not -- the people said, we stand with
America. We stand with America in our noble goal of finding the
evildoers and bringing them to justice.
As you know, I have asked our military to take an active role in the
campaign. I set out a doctrine to America that said the following: Not
only will we hold terrorists accountable for their activities, we will
also hold those accountable, those nations accountable that harbor
them, that hide them, that try to feed them. And that's exactly what
we're doing in Afghanistan.
I gave the Afghan government, the Taliban government, plenty of time
to respond to the demands of the United States. I said, you must hand
over the al Qaeda leadership which hides in your country. I said, you
must free those who you illegally detain in your country. And I said,
you must destroy the camps that have been used to train the
terrorists. And they had time to respond, and they didn't respond
positively, and, therefore, they're paying a price.
Our military is conducting a campaign to bring the terrorists to
justice, not to harm the Afghan people. While we are holding the
Taliban government accountable, we're also feeding Afghan people. You
need to be proud of the United States military. It's doing its job. It
is slowly, but surely, encircling the terrorists so that we'll bring
them to justice. We're patient. We're firm. We have got a strategy
that is going to work. And make no mistake about it, justice will be
done. (Applause.)
But there is another front in this war, and the front is here at home.
It's something that, obviously, we're not used to in America. We've
had oceans which have protected us over our history. Except for Pearl
Harbor, we've never really been hit before. And yet, on September
11th, this great land came under attack. And it's still under attack
as we speak. Anybody who puts poison in mail is a terrorist. Anybody
who tries to affect the lives of our good citizens is evil.
I'm oftentimes asked by our friends in the press, do I know if there's
a direct connection between what took place on September the 11th and
what's happening today. I have no direct evidence, but there are some
links. Both series of actions are motivated by evil and hate. Both
series of actions are meant to disrupt Americans' way of life. Both
series of actions are an attack on our homeland. And both series of
actions will not stand.
It's important for the American people to know our government is doing
everything we can on both fronts of this war. On the home front, we've
got an Office of Homeland Security, the job of which is to organize
and coordinate our functions of government in such a way as to disrupt
and find those who would harm our citizens. We've got thousands of FBI
agents scouring the information, asking questions, following up leads,
all aimed to raise the risk of someone who would harm our citizens.
And, as well, we've responded to every incident that has occurred. Our
nation has responded with bravery and courage. I'm proud of our health
officials who responded so quickly to the incidents that took place.
And, unfortunately, we lost life, and our prayers are with anybody who
loses life in America. But I firmly believe their quick actions saved
many lives, as well.
We're learning about terror and evil, and our country is responding
forcefully. The American people have got remarkable spirit and
remarkable resolve. We are strong, we are united, and we are
determined to prevail. (Applause.)
One of the effects of the attacks has been on our economy. Make no
mistake about it: September 11th affected economic growth, and our
government must respond in an effective way. And so I'm here to talk
about an important part of the home front security, and that is our
economy.
First of all, the bases for economic growth are very strong. The
entrepreneurial spirit is really strong in America. We're the haven
for small business opportunity in our country. I mean, more jobs are
created through small business owners and the entrepreneurs of America
than they are through large corporate America. And so, as we think
through how to encourage economic growth, we've got to always keep in
mind the small business and the medium-sized businesses of America.
Secondly, our tax structure has been improved. In other words, we're
giving people more of their own money back. And that's an important
part of economic growth. We just finished distributing about $40
billion in rebate checks. Maybe some of you have received a $600 or
$300 check. (Applause.) That's part of encouraging growth. And, by the
way, those tax cuts that have just begun will continue next year, and
the year after that, as well. (Applause.)
And we've acted confidently and quickly to spend money necessary to
help the country recover from the attacks. We spent money on helping
rebuild New York City and the Pentagon. We have spent money to
stabilize our airline industry, which was the industry most directly
affected by the attacks of September the 11th. We've spent money to
take care of workers who have lost jobs, and that's necessary and
that's important.
And we've taken enough money -- spending money to make sure we defend
our country and accomplish our mission overseas. That spending has
amounted to about $60 billion, above and beyond our budget. That money
will help with job creation and will help our economy grow. It's
necessary to spend that kind of money in a time of emergency, and
we're in times of emergency.
But I strongly believe it's time to balance this amount of spending
with additional tax relief. My judgment, we've provided a lot of money
in the short run, and in order to encourage and stimulate our economy,
we ought to offset that money with additional tax relief -- and I want
to describe some of what that means.
First, we need to accelerate the tax relief that is already going to
happen. In other words, instead of waiting for next year's tax relief
to happen, let's put it into this year, to bolster consumer spending.
We want you to have more money to spend, particularly as we head into
the Christmas season. We want our consumers feeling confident.
One way to feel confident is for the people to know there's a strong
homeland security initiative and strategy, that our country is doing
everything we can to succeed. And there's nothing like boosting
confidence than a little extra money in the pocket, too. (Applause.)
I also believe we ought to have rebates for low- and moderate-income
workers, people who might have filed an income tax return, but didn't
get any rebate last time. Those good folks have been particularly
hard-hit as a result of September the 11th. And that ought to be a
part of our consumer confidence package.
And then there's the business side, and I want you to know that we've
thought very carefully about how to stimulate economic vitality and
growth. And it's a package that will help small business America. It's
a package that will do two things: One, encourage more investment,
immediate investment in plant and equipment, and, therefore, one that
will help small businesses not only retain their work force, but,
hopefully, expand their work forces.
And, therefore, we need to reform the corporate income tax to get rid
of the alternative minimum tax, which so severely affects small
businesses like Dixie. (Applause.) As well, we need to allow
businesses to deduct more of the cost of new investments immediately.
We need to say to the Dixie Printings of America, if you invest in
equipment now, you're rewarded for that investment. To me, that makes
common sense. It's a good way to make sure that we enhance the
employment opportunities of America.
The terrorists wanted our economy to stop. It hasn't. They wanted to
diminish the spirit of America. It didn't. They thought the government
wouldn't be able to react. The government is going to react with an
economic stimulus package that is good for workers. The House is
getting ready to vote on that package. I urge them to pass it. And
then I urge the Senate to act quickly to make sure that the American
people understand that at this part of our homeland defense, our
country and the Congress is united. (Applause.)
You know, I said early on that through my tears I see opportunity. And
I believe my faith teaches that out of evil can come good. And there's
been a lot of good that has come out of this terrible situation. By
the way, there's a spirit of cooperation in Washington that is very
positive. We've got Republicans and Democrats talking to each other.
(Laughter.) That's good. It's very important during this time in our
history that we in Washington, D.C. show that we can work together.
I don't know if you know this or not, but I'm now having a weekly
breakfast with the leaders of the House and the Senate, both
Republicans and Democrats. And I can report that there is no party
that has got a lock on patriotism. The Democrats, just like
Republicans, want to win this war. And we're talking about how to best
solve the problems with which we're confronted.
But there's also a lot of other good, too. We've got moms and dads
reassessing values, recognizing there are things that are so precious
in life, like their children and their marriage and their family, and
their church and their synagogue and their mosque. Values are strong
in America. Those who struck our country didn't realize -- didn't
realize because they're so evil and so dark and so negative, they
couldn't realize that there's going to be such good that comes out of
what took place in America.
We're resolved. We are strong. We're determined. We're patient. And
this nation is going to do whatever it takes. You see, my attitude is,
is that how the Dixie Printings behave, and how the workers behave
here, and how the citizens of Maryland behave are incredibly
important. How you respond to these attacks are incredibly important,
not only to help win the war today, but to set the example for future
generations of Americans.
It's important that we win today, place that flag of freedom squarely
in the world. Because this is the first battle of the 21st century,
and it's a battle we must win -- we have no choice -- for our children
and our grandchildren. And it means that the country is going to have
to do what it takes.
And I'm here to report, we are. We are going to do it. (Applause.)
So I want to thank you for giving me a chance to drop in to say hello.
I am so honored to be the President of this great nation -- and I
mean, great. What a fabulous land we have. And the reason why is
because we've got such fabulous citizens.
Thank you for letting me come by. God bless. (Applause.)
END 2:04 P.M. EDT
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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