For Immediate Release
Office of the
Press Secretary
November 29, 2001
President Says U.S. Attorneys on Front Line in War
Remarks by the President to U.S. Attorneys Conference
Presidential Hall
Dwight David Eisenhower Office Building
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President's Remarks
 Listen to the
President's Remarks
3:06 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Well, John, thank you very much for
those kind words. And I appreciate your strong
leadership. It is a principled leadership, it is a steady
leadership, and it is a leadership that is good for America.
I guess we call you
General. (Laughter.) That means you all are in
the Army. (Laughter.) And I am glad you are.
I also want to thank Larry Thompson for his good work; thank you
for being here, Larry. And where's Al Gonzales, who is my
-- (applause.) Al led the effort to scour the country for
the best to serve as U.S. attorneys, and I appreciate his hard
work. And I suspect you new U.S. attorneys appreciate his
hard work, as well. (Laughter.)
But Al has been my lawyer for a long time, and was a lawyer for
the state of Texas, and was a judge for the state of
Texas. And he is a pretty special guy, and I'm glad he's
here in Washington with me. And I'm glad you all are
here, as well. Thank you for coming. I want to welcome
you here.
I want to welcome the new U.S. attorneys. I want to
congratulate you. I must tell you that we set a high
standard, and you met it. And for that, I hope you're
proud. And I am grateful that you are willing to serve
the country, particularly at this time.
I know you know this, but I want to remind you that you have got
a significant commitment to the security and safety of the American
people. We all do. That's our
job. And it's a job we will keep.
The security and safety of our people was threatened before
September the 11th. In many neighborhoods, there's too
much gun violence in America. Despite all the progress
against crime, teenagers, almost as many teenagers die from gunshot
wounds as from all natural causes combined. And that's
not right, and we are going to do something about it.
We must help people reclaim their neighborhoods and their
streets. We must help those who want to live in a
comfortable environment feel safe. That's one of our
primary jobs. And so I proposed a program called Project
Safe Neighborhoods. And you have a clear charge to fight
gun violence in America.
U.S. Attorneys will work with state and local authorities in an
all-out campaign, in a focused and vigorous effort to cut gun
crime. By September of this year -- of next year, 2002,
we hope to have 200 new attorneys hired to prosecute crimes
committed with a gun, 200 new attorneys to help you stay focused on
an important mission, which is the safety of our citizens.
Investigators will have the best training and the latest
technology available. We want to enhance the technology,
so we can find those, track those, communicate better with each
other, to bring people to justice who commit a crime with a gun.
We'll improve data-sharing and criminal record-keeping, to ensure
that people who shouldn't have guns don't get them. We've
got to prevent those people who want to use guns to hurt our fellow
citizens from getting them in the first place.
And finally, we want to make sure that the federal government
works more closely with communities and community-based programs,
and faith-based groups, to steer our children away from guns before
they take a life or lose their own. In other words, on the one hand,
I want you to be tough. And on the other hand, I want you
to rally the compassionate loving souls in neighborhoods who can
teach children lessons from right, from wrong.
This is an important calling. The methods work in
those cities where they've -- we tried a program that I just
outlined, they work. Statistics show it, and now we've
got to make sure it exists all across the country.
This is an important charge for you. It's one of your
top priorities, because it's one of mine. We have got to
send this message -- and I mean a clear message, an unambiguous
message -- that if you illegally carry or use a gun, there is one
consequence in America: arrest and jail. The best way to
make sure our neighborhoods are safe is to enforce the laws on the
books. And to the best of our ability, we will give you
more tools to do that.
The safety and security of America also faces a new threat, and
that is the threat of terror. It is the calling of our
time, to rid the world of terror. And it is the calling of our time
to protect the American people.
You know, it's interesting -- I can't imagine what a speech like
this would have been like prior to September the 11th, but I doubt I
would have ever said, you are now on the front line of
war. And that's where you are. And make no
mistake about it, we've got a war here just like we've got a war
abroad. And we have a huge responsibility, and that's to
defend America while protecting our great liberties. And
I'm confident you can do the job; otherwise you wouldn't be sitting
here.
Our enemies are resourceful, and they are incredibly
ruthless. They hide and they plot, and they target
freedom. They can't stand what America stands
for. It must bother them greatly to know we're such a
free and wonderful place -- a place where all religions can
flourish; a place where women are free; a place where children can
be educated. It must grate on them
greatly. But that's what we're going to keep doing,
because that's what America is about.
And we owe it to the American people. We owe it to our
citizens, to the families, to be relentless and methodical in
tracking down terrorists and bringing each and every one of them to
justice. That's our calling. It's the calling
of the 21st century. And it's a calling that we will not
tire for; it's a calling that we will keep in our
minds. And you must keep it in your minds, because I can
assure I'm going to keep it in mine.
The government and the people are determined. And I
have been able to travel our country some, and I know you can -- if
you were to report back to me, you would tell me you've seen the
same determination, and the same patience, and the same unity, to
achieve this objective. I like to remind people that the
evil ones have roused a mighty nation, and they will pay a serious
price.
Abroad, our military and our alliance is making good progress --
good, steady, significant progress. We're disrupting
their cash flows. We're finding their
bankers. And we're shutting them down.
And it's not just America. There are a lot of other
countries who have participated with us, and that's heartening.
We've got great intelligence-sharing now, around the
world. I've been able to say to a lot of leaders, face to
face, you tell us when their coming. And if we find out
something about you, we'll let you know, too. And that's
important. It's important to know as much information as possible
about the enemy. It's important to try to figure out
where they hide, and their intentions. It helps to have a
vast coalition willing to share that kind of information.
And we're bringing a lot of terrorists to justice around the
world, as well. I think we've arrested over 300 -- we,
the coalition, has arrested over 350 al Qaeda members and
terrorists. I was able to thank President Aznar of Spain
this week, for arresting eight -- eight terrorists, eight people who
hate freedom are now in jail, where they should be. And
hopefully they'll give us some information that we will share with
other coalition members, to keep us all safe.
And as we speak, we're enforcing the doctrine that makes it plain
that not only do we seek the terrorists, but we also hold
governments that harbor them and feed them and house them and hide
them accountable for their behavior, as well.
Afghanistan is the first overseas front in this war against
terror. And I'm pleased to report the military is
performing really well. In a short period of time, most
of the country now is in the hands of our allies and friends. We've
rescued the humanitarian aid workers. We've destroyed the
Taliban military. They're in total
confusion. The government that used to hate women, and
not educate its children, and disrupt humanitarian supplies, and
destroy religious symbols of other religions is now in rout.
And we've got al Qaeda on the run, too. Now, they
think they can hide, but they can't hide for long. And
they think they can run, but they can't run forever, because we will
patiently, diligently, pursue them until they are brought to
justice. (Applause.)
And on the home front, terrorist violence must be prevented, and
must be defeated. And it will be, with vigilance,
aggressive investigation, and certain
punishment. Already, we've committed significant new
resources to homeland security. We've improved our
ability to detect and stop terrorist activity. But we've still got a
lot of work to do.
I'm pleased to report the culture of the FBI is changing, the
people you'll be working with in the field is
changing. Now, one in four employees of the FBI are
directly involved with the efforts to track down every lead and to
disrupt the evil ones. And our new investigations are
moving forward. And as we do so, our laws are being
enforced fairly and in full.
We'll hear from material witnesses. We'll give them a
chance to participate in the war against terror by telling us what
they know. We will apply the immigration
laws. We're interviewing people, on a voluntary basis.
We're saying, welcome to America. You have come to our
country; why don't you help make us safe? Why don't you
share information with us? Why don't you help us protect
innocent people, women and children and men? Why don't
you help us value life? As you enjoy the freedoms of our
country, help us protect those freedoms.
But there is no doubt about our intentions, and there shouldn't
be. Those who plot terror, and those who help them, will
be held accountable in America. That's what we're going to
do. Protecting the innocent against violence is a solemn
duty of this country. It is our most important
responsibility now. And all of us in this room accept
that responsibility. And we will tell the American people
plainly, we will fulfill that responsibility.
To meet that obligation, a wartime reorganization is underway at
the Justice Department. More investigators will go to
front lines. The federal government will work more
closely with state and local authorities -- and so will
you. Agents will receive better training and new
technology, to help track and capture terrorists or those who
support them. And these changes are essential, and I want
to thank the Attorney General and Director Mueller for beginning
this transformation.
I have also reserved the option of trial by military commission
for foreign terrorists who wage war against our
country. Non-citizens, non-U.S. citizens who plan and/or
commit mass murder are more than criminal suspects. They
are unlawful combatants who seek to destroy our country and our way
of life. And if I determine that it is in the national
security interest of our great land to try by military commission
those who make war on America, then we will do so. (Applause.)
We will act with fairness, and we will deliver justice, which is
far more than the terrorists ever grant to their innocent victims.
Ours is a great land, and we'll always value
freedom. We're an open society. But we're at
war. The enemy has declared war on us. And we
must not let foreign enemies use the forums of liberty to destroy
liberty, itself. Foreign terrorists and agents must never again be
allowed to use our freedoms against us.
Many of you will play a crucial part in our victory against
terrorism, and make no mistake, we're going to win the
war. Decisions important to millions of Americans will be
made in your offices. Your work in the cause of justice
will help ensure the security of this nation. And as you
join this fight, you will honor the Constitution. You
will not only protect our people, but you will uphold our values.
Every federal prosecutor has the unique privilege of standing up
in a court and telling the judge that you are there on behalf of the
United States. In a time of war, these words are even
more deeply felt, are even more significant.
Yours is a great trust, and one of the great
professions. Today, you carry not only the confidence and
respect of the American people, but you carry our deep gratitude, as
well. God bless.
END
3:24 P.M. EST
 
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