24 June 2002
Bush Says U.S. Seeks To Strengthen Maritime Borders
(Asks Congress to respond quickly on defense bill) (2800)
President Bush says a Coast Guard contract to replace aging ships and
aircraft and improve communications and information sharing, to be
awarded June 25, is part of a U.S. effort to give U.S. coastal
authorities more time to identify threats and respond to them.
During a speech on homeland security he delivered in Port Elizabeth,
New Jersey June 24, Bush said the Coast Guard also is working on ways
to improve its detection of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). "We're
not going to let the world's worst leaders blackmail America with the
world's worst weapons," he said.
Bush said the best way to protect the United States is to "chase the
killers down wherever they think they can hide and bring them to
justice." Homeland security must continue to be improved, he said,
"because those killers are still out there.
"You see, we fight people who, on the one hand, send youngsters to
their death and they, themselves, try to hide in a cave.... You know
they claim in the name of a great religion that death is justified."
Bush also urged Congress to send the fiscal year 2003 defense bill to
his desk quickly. Members of Congress "don't need to delay the defense
bill in a time of war," he said.
And he announced that he had telephoned Philippine President Gloria
Arroyo "to congratulate her on her country's steadfast desire to rout
out" terrorists.
Following is the transcript of the president's remarks:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Newark, New Jersey)
June 24, 2002
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON HOMELAND SECURITY
Port Elizabeth, New Jersey
11:03 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Well, not
everybody be seated. (Laughter.)
Thank you all very much for coming today. It is my high honor to be in
the midst of so many great Americans, people who serve our country
with dignity and honor, people who allowed me to say: we're winning,
and we're going to continue to win as we fight for our freedoms.
(Applause.)
I'm honored to be here at the largest marine cargo terminal on the
east coast. I'm so impressed with the massive size of this operation
and its obvious importance to the economy of our country -- but not
nearly as impressed as I have been and am by the way New Jersey
firefighters and police officers and emergency rescue units and Port
Authority officers responded on September the 11th and have continued
to respond. (Applause.)
The country has come to appreciate so very much the dedication of our
nation's first responders, thanks to the bravery of many in this
audience and the continued hard work you do on behalf of all America.
So on behalf of a grateful nation, I want to thank you for the job
you're doing for the people of New Jersey and the people of New York.
And, as importantly, for the people of this great land, your fellow
Americans. (Applause.)
I appreciate the many who have traveled with me today, key Cabinet
members and heads of agencies all involved with the defense of our
homeland. I appreciate Norm Mineta, the Secretary of Transportation,
who's doing such a fantastic job in his important Cabinet position. I
want to thank Tom Ridge, who's the Homeland Security Advisor, who's
with me today. I appreciate the Secretary of Agriculture, Ann Veneman;
and Christie Todd Whitman, who is running the Environmental Protection
Agency. (Applause.) They still remember you. (Laughter.)
I appreciate Commissioner Robert Bonner of the U.S. Customs.
(Applause.) Admiral Tom Collins, who's the Commander of the U.S. Coast
Guard. (Applause.) I want to thank Commissioner Jim Ziglar of the INS
[Immigration and Naturalization Service] for his steadfast leadership.
Jim, thank you very much. (Applause.) I appreciate Jack Sinagra of the
Port Authority Chairman, and all those who work hard to make sure this
port runs well.
I also want to thank very much the Governor of New Jersey for being
here. Jim, thank you for coming, appreciate your time. (Applause.)
Members of the might[y] New Jersey Congressional delegation who have
joined us -- Senator Torricelli and Senator Corzine, thank you all for
being here. Congressman Mike Ferguson, Frank LoBiondo, Congressman
Steve Rothman, Congressman Marge Roukema. (Applause.) I'm honored you
all are here, and thanks for coming. Rush Holt, I appreciate you being
here, Rush. Thank you for your time.
I marvel at the strength of our country. It's an incredibly great
country because the people are great. Today when I landed at -- on Air
Force One, I had the honor of meeting a young lady named Joanna Glick.
She's a member of the U.S. Freedom Corps. Her brother, Jeremy, was one
of the heroes on Flight 93. That was the flight in where average
citizens were flying across the country; they realized their airplane
was to be used as a weapon to harm their fellow Americans. They told
their loved ones good-bye on cell phones; they said a prayer; and they
drove the airplane in the ground.
They served something greater than themselves in life. And Joanna and
her classmates Kelly Bianco and Allison Cohen heard the call, the
example of her brother to serve something greater than themselves in
life. They understand that in order to defeat evil, you can do so by
loving your neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. They
started what they call the Teen Freedom Corps in their high school.
They serve as a fabulous example for young and old alike to respond to
the challenge of our country, by working to make somebody else's life
better. Would you girls please rise, and thank you for being here.
(Applause.) I'm real proud of you. Thank you. I'm really proud of your
service and your leadership.
I also want to thank Arlene Howard for coming. Arlene is my friend,
mother of George Howard, Port Authority policeman. (Applause.) She
represents so many moms and dads and loved ones who mourn for the loss
of a child or a husband or a wife. I appreciate your strength, Arlene.
I love seeing you every time. She's always telling me what to do.
(Laughter.)
But being here reminds me that the country still continues to pay
tribute to the heroism of 9/11, and we must. As we pay tribute to the
heroes, we pay tribute to America's character. And it's important for
many to see the character of our country. One of those heroes was Fred
Morrone. Many of you may have known Fred. He was the Port Authority
Superintendent of Police and Director of Public Safety.
Immediately after the plane crashed into One World Trade Center, Fred
raced from his New Jersey City office to the Trade Center. He oversaw
the evacuation of staff from the Port Authority's offices on the 67th
floor. The plane crashes, he heads over, up to the 67th floor. Many
were leaving -- he's heading in. Evacuees heading downstairs saw the
calm superintendent urging people to leave in an orderly fashion. He
was posthumously awarded the Port Authority's Medal of Honor.
(Applause.)
Eddie Calderon was a civilian employee of the Port Authority, a former
Marine -- you're never really a former Marine. Eddie was a Supervisor
of the Trade Center's Operation Control Center. On the morning of
September the 11th, Eddie stayed at his desk, speaking to people
trapped in elevators, coordinating requests for information from
firefighters. When a coworker expressed concern about Eddie's own
safety, here's what he said: "I'm a Marine. I do not ever leave
anybody behind." He, too, received the Port Authority Civilian Medal
of Honor. (Applause.)
I know their loved ones are with us today. Our nation is extremely
grateful for the dedication and example for others to see. God bless
you all. (Applause.)
All together, 75 Port Authority employees were killed on September the
11th. And you need to know, no matter how long it takes, we're going
to hunt their killers down, one by one, and bring them to justice.
(Applause.)
This is a different kind of war, and it has placed many Americans on
the front line of this war. America's firefighters and police officers
and postal workers and all the folks who work here at the Port
Authority, New York and New Jersey, to keep America safe.
And we're working hard to make sure your job is easier, that the port
is safer. Here's some examples of what's taking place. The Customs
Service is working with overseas ports and shippers to improve its
knowledge of container shipments, assessing risk so that we have a
better feel of who we ought to look at, what we ought to worry about.
Inspectors here can focus on high risk shipments. America will be
better protected.
The Port Authority of New York and Jersey has been putting together a
$60 million closed-circuit TV security system, with cameras all around
sensitive areas here at the port. This will strengthen our ability to
safeguard these facilities. Coast Guard inspectors and law enforcement
officials currently board targeted commercial vessels shortly before
they enter the Port Authority, and then they escort them safely to
docks. Tomorrow, the Coast Guard's Deep Water Project will award a
multi-year contract to replace aging ships and aircrafts, and improve
communications and information sharing.
The whole purpose is to push out our maritime borders, giving us more
time to identify threats and more time to respond. The Coast Guard is
also working on ways to better detect weapons of mass destruction.
They've assembled strike teams, one of which I was able to meet today.
No, we're better and stronger and wiser today than we were. We're
working harder than ever before. As I travel our country, I remind our
citizens there are thousands of people working as hard as they
possibly can to keep America safe. Today I recognize I'm in the midst
of that type of citizen, who's working hard to keep America safe.
Thank you for a grateful nation. (Applause.)
We must constantly think of ways to improve our ability to protect the
homeland, because these killers are still out there. Somebody asked me
to describe them one time. I said, they're nothing but a bunch of
cold-blooded killers. And they still hate the fact that we love
freedom. And they really can't stand the fact that we're not backing
down. See, they thought we'd probably just file a lawsuit or two.
(Laughter.) They didn't understand America. That's what they didn't
know. They didn't understand our character. They don't have any idea
about what makes the people right here tick.
And so we've got to continue to do everything we can to protect
innocent lives. And that's why I think it is vital the federal
government reorganize, so that we've got people involved with homeland
security under a Cabinet office dedicated to homeland security. You
see, we've got to change -- change our priorities. (Applause.) We've
got to focus our priorities. We've got to set clear goals. If cultures
need to be changed within agencies, we'll change the cultures, because
this new war of the 21st century requires a hundred percent focused
effort to protect the homeland.
Now I know some are nervous about taking this from here and that from
there. It is the right thing to do, to have the over 100 agencies
involved with homeland security under one authority, so that we can
have accountability and responsibility in Washington, D.C. I want to
thank the members of Congress who understand that it's important to
put their own personal turf aside. It's also important to put our
political parties in the background as we focus on doing what's right
for the country. (Applause.)
I believe with hard work and a lot of effort, and a lot of reminding
by the President that this is the right thing to do on behalf of the
American people, we can get this new Cabinet agency up and running. It
will make your jobs easier, for those of you involved with the
agencies I'm talking about. It'll make our federal government more
responsive. It will allow us to communicate better. It will allow all
of you to make sure that the hard hours you're putting in are able to
more secure the homeland.
But I want you to know that no matter what we do here in America, the
best way to protect the homeland is to chase the killers down wherever
they think they can hide, and bring them to justice. (Applause.) And
we're making progress. Sometimes you'll read about it, and sometimes
you won't. It's important for our country to understand this new war
of the 21st century is really not like any other war we've fought. You
see, we fight people who, on the one hand, send youngsters to their
death and they, themselves, try to hide in a cave. Those are the kind
of people we fight. You know, they claim in the name of a great
religion that death is justified.
You know, this country will take its time because we defend freedom.
This country will not blink because we defend freedom. We love
freedom. And we love our fellow Americans. The mighty United States
military in step one performed brilliantly in Afghanistan. And I
submitted a defense budget up in Washington -- that's big, no question
about it -- because anytime we commit our young into harm's way they
deserve the best pay and the best training possible. (Applause.)
And I expect the United States Congress to get the defense bill to my
desk quickly. They don't need to delay the defense bill in a time of
war. They need to deliberate like they're supposed to, and get it to
my desk. And the big increase also says the United States of America
is in this fight for the long run.
You know, the enemy would have loved to have seen a scrawny little
budget up there. They'd have said, well, we were right, they're going
to quit. We're not quitting. I don't care where the theater is, how
long it takes, this mighty nation is going to track them down until we
can say with certainty, our children and our grandchildren are free.
(Applause.)
We've hauled in about 2,400 of them. This weekend I called Gloria
Arroyo, the President of the Philippines, to congratulate her on her
country's steadfast desire to rout out the Abu Zubaydah killer
organization. This is the organization which captured the Burnhams.
They're nothing but cold-blooded killers again. They may espouse some
kind of doctrine; they have no regard for innocent life. I told Gloria
early on in the fight that we'd help her -- if she wanted us to take
on the enemy without her, we'd be glad to do that, too. And she said,
no, we'd like your help to train so we can go get them. And she did.
So I guess it's 2,401. But we're making progress, one person at a
time.
At the same time, we recognize that there are other threats that could
face our country and our history -- these nations which have no regard
for human rights, and at the same time want to develop weapons of mass
destruction. We're not going to let the world's worst leaders
blackmail America with the world's worst weapons.
This country recognizes history has called us into action. History has
given us an opportunity to lead the world to more freedom. And as far
as I'm concerned, history will record this: The United States of
America led a mighty coalition to freedom so that all freedom-loving
people in every country could grow up in a peaceful environment; so
children of all walks of life could grow up understanding what freedom
means, in a peaceful way.
I think out of the evil done to America, the evil so many saw
firsthand and had to live with, will come incredible good. I believe
there will be peace in the world if the America -- if America
continues to lead and remain strong. And I believe here at home,
thanks to the loving hearts of thousands of our fellow citizens,
America can not only be a safer place, but a better place.
I want to thank you all for coming today. I want to thank you for
giving me the chance to be the President of the greatest country on
the face of the earth. (Applause.) God bless, and God bless America.
(Applause.)
(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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