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 Home > News & Policies > October 2001

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 9, 2001

Fact Sheet on New Counter-Terrorism and CyberSpace Positions
The National Director for Combating Terrorism & the Special Advisor to the President for Cyberspace Security Fact Sheet

   National Director & Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating                                 Terrorism
                 General Wayne Downing (U.S. Army Ret.)

Global  terrorism  poses  a  grave  danger  to the national security of the United  States  and to the safety of all Americans at home and abroad.  Our campaign   against   terrorism   must  include  military,  diplomatic,  law enforcement,   intelligence,   and   financial   operations   in   seamless coordination  with each other.  Many agencies of the federal government are involved in this effort, and close coordination among them is imperative to develop  and  execute a strategy that draws on and integrates all available resources.

To  achieve  this policy, the President has established the position of the National  Director  and  Deputy  National  Security  Advisor  for Combating Terrorism.  The National Director will be the President's principal advisor on  matters  related  to  combating global terrorism, including all efforts designed to detect, disrupt, and destroy global terrorist organizations and those who support them.

The  National  Director  will  report to the Assistant to the President for National  Security  Affairs.  The National Director will also report to the Assistant  to  the  President for Homeland Security with respect to matters relating to global terrorism inside the United States.

         Special Advisor to the President for Cyberspace Security

                              Richard Clarke

The  information  technology  revolution  has  changed  the way business is transacted,  government  operates,  and national defense is conducted.  The United  States  now  depends  upon  a  complex,  interdependent  network of critical  infrastructure  information  systems  that  are  essential to our national and economic security.  These networks include information systems in the government, telecommunications, banking and finance, transportation, energy, manufacturing, water, health and emergency services networks.

The  United  States must protect against the disruption of the operation of these  systems.   Any disruption that occurs must be infrequent, of minimal duration, manageable, and cause the least possible damage.

The  President's  Special  Advisor  for Cyberspace Security will coordinate interagency  efforts  to  secure  information  systems.   In the event of a disruption, the Special Advisor will coordinate efforts to restore critical systems.

The  Special  Advisor  will work in close coordination and partnership with the  private sector, which owns and operates the vast majority of America's critical  infrastructure.   The  Special  Advisor  will  be the President's principal  advisor  on matters related to cyberspace security and report to the  Assistant  to the President for Homeland Security and to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.

The  Special Advisor will also serve as chairman of a government-wide board that  will  coordinate  the protection of critical information systems (the President  is  expected  to  sign  an Executive Order soon establishing the board).