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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 29, 2001
Radio Address of the President to the Nation
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I want to report to you on the progress being made on many fronts in our war against terrorism. This is a different kind of war, which we will wage aggressively and methodically to disrupt and destroy terrorist activity.
In recent days, many members of our
military have left their homes and families and begun moving into a
place for missions to come. Thousands of Reservists have
been called to active duty. Soldiers, sailors, airmen,
Marines and Coast Guardmen are being deployed to points around the
globe, ready to answer when their country calls. Our
military families have accepted many hardships, and our nation is
grateful for their willing service.
The men and women of the Armed Forces are
united in their dedication to freedom and they will make us proud in
the struggle against terrorism.
International cooperation is gaining
momentum. This week, I met with the Prime Ministers of two
of America's closest friends: Canada and Japan. Other
countries, from Russia to Indonesia, are giving strong support as the
war against terrorism moves forward. America is grateful to
the nations that have cut off diplomatic ties with the Taliban regime
in Afghanistan, which is sheltering terrorists.
The United States respects the people of
Afghanistan and we are their largest provider of humanitarian
aid. But we condemn the Taliban, and welcome the support of
other nations in isolating that regime.
We have also launched a strike against the
financial foundation of the global terror network. Our goal
is to deny terrorists the money they need to carry our their
plans. We began by identifying 27 terrorist organizations,
terrorist leaders and foreign businesses and charities that support or
front for terrorism.
We froze whatever assets they had here in
the United States, and we blocked them from doing business with people,
companies or banks in our country. Many governments and
financial institutions around the world are joining in this effort to
starve terrorists of funding.
This week I visited the headquarters at
the FBI and the CIA. Their agents and analysts have been on
the case around the clock, uncovering and pursuing the
enemy. In the long campaign ahead, they will need our
continued support, and every necessary tool to do their work.
I'm asking Congress for new law
enforcement authority, to better track the communications of
terrorists, and to detain suspected terrorists until the moment they
are deported. I will also seek more funding and better
technology for our country's intelligence community.
This week, we also took strong steps to
improve security on planes and in airports, and to restore confidence
in air travel. We're providing airlines with federal grants
to make cockpits more secure through measures including fortified doors
and stronger locks. And we're dramatically increasing the
number of federal air marshals on our planes.
Americans will have the confidence of
knowing that fully equipped officers of the law are flying with them in
far greater numbers. I'm also working with Congress to put
federal law enforcement in charge of all bag and passenger screening at
our airports. Standards will be tougher and enforced by
highly trained professionals who know exactly what they're looking
for. To enhance safety immediately, I've asked governors to
place National Guardsmen at security checkpoints in airports.
As all these actions make clear, our war
on terror will be much broader than the battlefields and beachheads of
the past. This war will be fought wherever terrorists hide,
or run, or plan. Some victories will be won outside of
public view, in tragedies avoided and threats eliminated. Other
victories will be clear to all.
Our weapons are military and diplomatic,
financial and legal. And in this struggle, our greatest
advantages are the patience and resolve of the American people.
We did not seek this conflict, but we will
win it. America will act deliberately and decisively, and
the cause of freedom will prevail. Thank you for listening.
END
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