05 July 2002
Transcript: Wolfowitz Likens Fighting Terrorism to Fighting Disease
(Deputy defense secretary comments on anti-terror progress) (1240)
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz says that "some spectacular
progress" has been made in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan.
Speaking on the July Fourth Independence Day holiday, Wolfowitz told
NBC Today's Matt Lauer that he believes the level of resistance to
terrorism in Afghanistan and elsewhere has surprised the terrorists.
Still, he said, they have burrowed underground in 60 nations and "it's
going to take a long time to root them out."
Asked about the current danger posed by al-Qaida, the deputy secretary
rated the organization as "a very serious threat" which is not limited
to Afghanistan. He said, however, that "people should not obsess or
focus on a single person" in the global war against terrorism.
"This evil organization is not like some poisonous snake; if you chop
the head off, it's no longer dangerous," Wolfowitz explained. "It's
more like a disease that's infected a healthy body," he said, "and
you've got to go after all the different points of infection."
Following is the transcript of Wolfowitz's remarks:
(begin transcript)
NEWS TRANSCRIPT from the United States Department of Defense
DOD News Briefing
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz
Thursday, July 4, 2002 - 7:14 A.M. EDT
(Live interview with Matt Lauer for NBC Today.)
Lauer: On Close-up this morning, the threat of terror this Fourth of
July. There is unprecedented security across the country today for the
nation's Independence Day celebrations, with the government warning
this might be a day terrorists would want to strike.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz is on the National Mall this
morning. Mr. Wolfowitz, good morning to you. Wolfowitz: Good morning.
It's nice to be here.
Lauer: I know hundreds of thousands of people will gather in that
location and other locations all across the country to celebrate the
Fourth. How would you rate the level of security in this country on
this holiday?
Wolfowitz: We're at a heightened level of vigilance and alertness. As
the president has said, it's a day to be alert, but it's also a day to
celebrate. This is the first Fourth of July during this war.
And it's worth remembering, when Abraham Lincoln was president 140
years ago on that first Fourth of July of the Civil War, he called a
special session of Congress to celebrate that holiday which marks what
this country stands for, what we're all about, what the terrorists are
trying to take away from us, which is government of the people, by the
people, for the people. And this is more than just a big party. This
is a day really to mark what this country stands for.
Lauer: Obviously symbolic. It represents our freedom. And because of
that, officials have said the terrorists might choose this as an
attractive date or attractive target. And because of that, we've got
heightened security, as you mentioned. But wouldn't it seem more
likely that a terrorist attack would come when our guard is down, as
it seemed to be down on September 11th?
Wolfowitz: We absolutely have to be alert all the time. We know
they're out there plotting. We know they're trying to kill Americans,
and this isn't the only day they'll try. What we can't do is let them
drive us away from our way of life. This is really a way to come out
here and celebrate this great holiday, I think as a way to send a
message to them that we're winning; they can't win.
Lauer: The president made it very clear, in the days following
September 11th, that the war on terrorism would be a long and
difficult one. We hear almost weekly reports of arrests being made
around the world. The hunt continues for members of terror
organizations like al Qaeda. How would you rate our progress in that
overall war of terrorism?
Wolfowitz: Well, we've made some spectacular progress. I think it's
obvious. The incredible feats of our men and women in uniform in
Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world, but particularly Afghanistan,
I think, have surprised the whole world. I believe they've surprised
the terrorists.
But what the president said is true. They're burrowed into some 60
countries around the world. They have headquarters in Hamburg, Germany
and in Jacksonville, Florida, not just in Afghanistan, and it's going
to take a long time to root them out. So we've got to be alert. We've
got to be vigilant. But as every American sports fan knows, the best
defense is a good offense, and we're going after them where they live.
Lauer: Well, let me ask you about Afghanistan. There was a military
operation there last weekend, U.S. forces attacking a series of cave
compounds looking for a top al-Qaida member, who I understand escaped.
How would you rate al-Qaida in particular and their ability these days
to organize and carry out terrorist acts against U.S. interests around
the world?
Wolfowitz: I would rate them as a very serious threat, not primarily
in Afghanistan. I think they've pretty much been forced underground,
literally underground, in that country. But they're burrowed in all
over the world.
We saw the hijackers lived in the United States, some of them for as
long as two years, working their plots. We've got to assume there are
still people around here. You mentioned arrests just taking place in
the last few days. And it's not just the United States. It's not just
Afghanistan. It's all over the world.
Lauer: Are you surprised it's proved so hard to track down their
leaders?
Wolfowitz: Not at all. But I also think people should not obsess or
focus on a single person. This evil organization is not like some
poisonous snake; if you chop the head off, it's no longer dangerous.
It's more like a disease that's infected a healthy body, and you've
got to go after all the different points of infection.
Lauer: And finally, Secretary Wolfowitz, I know the Iraqis have been
quietly talking to the United Nations about possibly allowing weapons
inspectors back into that country. Are you hopeful that could happen
soon?
Wolfowitz: That represents -- I'm glad you asked that question -- a
much bigger threat that the president has called attention to in his
State of the Union message and at other times since then, which is
this very dangerous combination of countries that have weapons of mass
destruction, that support terrorists, and that are hostile to the
United States. And Iraq is just one of those countries.
If I might also, though, by the way -- this pin I'm wearing is a
special one for today. It's got the flag of the United States but also
the flag of the District of Columbia, one of hundreds or thousands of
communities around this country where policemen and firemen and
emergency workers of all kinds are working to keep us safe. So this is
a day to pay tribute to all those people in the armed forces and in
other organizations that are on the front lines of this fight against
terrorism.
Lauer: Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. Mr. Wolfowitz, thanks.
Happy Fourth of July.
Wolfowitz: Thank you; to you also.
(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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