The White House
President George W. Bush
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For Immediate Release
September 7, 2006

Fact Sheet: Progress Report: Fixing the Problems Exposed by the 9/11 Attacks

      President Bush Discusses Progress in the Global War on Terror
      9/11 Five Years Later: Successes and Challenges
      In Focus: National Security

Today, President Bush Delivered A Progress Report On What We Have Done To Fix The Problems Exposed By The 9/11 Attacks. The President looked back at four key stages of the 9/11 plot, the gaps in America's defenses that each stage exposed, and the ways we have addressed those gaps to make our country safer and help prevent another attack.

Over The Past Five Years, We Have Waged An Unprecedented Campaign Against Terror At Home And Abroad – And That Campaign Has Succeeded In Stopping Another Attack On Our Homeland. Thanks to the efforts of our intelligence, law enforcement and military communities, America has not been struck again since the attacks of 9/11. Yet we have seen our enemies strike in Britain, Spain, India, Turkey, Russia, Indonesia, Jordan, Israel, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries. Just last month, police and intelligence officers from Britain, America, Pakistan, and other allies foiled a suicide plot to blow up passenger planes on their way to the U.S.

In The First Key Stage Of The 9/11 Plot, Al Qaeda Conceived And Planned The Attacks From Abroad

After 9/11, The President Set Forth A New Doctrine: Nations That Harbor Or Support Terrorists Are As Guilty As The Terrorists, And Will Be Held To Account. The first stage of the 9/11 plot exposed serious flaws in the old approach to terrorism – most importantly, that allowing states to give safe haven to terrorist networks is a grave mistake.

Key Advantages Al Qaeda Enjoyed While Plotting The 9/11 Attack In Afghanistan Have Been Taken Away. With Afghan allies, America removed the Taliban from power and closed the al Qaeda training camps. In addition to military efforts, we are using financial tools, diplomatic pressure, and intelligence operations to disrupt the day-to-day functions of al Qaeda. As a result, al Qaeda can no longer move widely without fearing for their lives, transfer money easily through the international banking system, or communicate openly without risking detection.

In The Second Key Stage Of The 9/11 Plot, KSM And Bin Laden Identified, Trained, And Deployed Operatives To The United States

Since 9/11, We Have Addressed The Gaps In America's Defenses That Were Exploited By Al Qaeda To Carry Out The 9/11 Attacks. We have upgraded technology and added new layers of screening and security to the immigration and visa system. Today, visa applicants like those who participated in the 9/11 hijackings would have to appear for face-to-face interviews, be fingerprinted and screened against an extensive database of known or suspected terrorists, and be checked again upon arrival to make sure their fingerprints match the fingerprints on their visas.

Terrorist Watchlists Have Been Improved. We have established common criteria for posting terrorists on a consolidated terrorist watchlist that is widely available across Federal, State, and local government. Information from this list would be accessible at airports, consulates, border crossings, and to State and local law enforcement.

At The President's Direction, The NSA Created The Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP). Before 9/11, U.S. intelligence professionals found it difficult to monitor international communications, such as those between the planners of the 9/11 attack abroad and the al Qaeda operatives secretly in the United States. The TSP helps protect Americans by allowing us to track terrorist communications like these, so we can learn about threats like the 9/11 plot before it is too late.

Once Again, The President Called On Congress To Promptly Pass Legislation Providing Additional Authority For The Terrorist Surveillance Program. A legal challenge to the TSP was recently upheld by a Federal district court judge in Michigan. The Administration strongly disagrees with this ruling, is appealing it, and believes its appeal will be successful. A series of protracted legal challenges would put a heavy burden on this crucial program and could present unacceptable delays.

In The Third Key Stage Of The 9/11 Plot, The Rest Of The 19 Al Qaeda Operatives Arrived In The United States

In Response To 9/11, The FBI Has Made Protecting America From Terrorist Attack Its Top Priority. The FBI has hired more counterterrorism agents and analysts; created a unified National Security Branch to coordinate terrorism investigations and intelligence operations; and expanded the number of Joint Terrorism Task Forces to help Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers work together.

In Addition, We Worked With Congress To Tear Down The Legal And Bureaucratic Wall That Kept Law Enforcement And Intelligence From Sharing Information. All levels of government are sharing far more information than ever before and connecting the dots to stop terrorists before they strike. With Congress, we have:

At Every Level, America’s Law Enforcement Officers Now Have A Clear Goal – To Identify, Locate, And Stop Terrorists In Our Country Before They Can Kill. Before 9/11, Mohammed Atta and one of his co-conspirators, the terrorist who would go on to pilot Flight 93, were pulled over by police, but there was no information that the men were dangerous, so officers treated the encounters as routine traffic stops. Today, a police officer who stops a driver for a routine traffic violation can access terrorist watchlists and be automatically directed to the Terrorist Screening Center if there is a match.

The Fourth And Final Stage Of The 9/11 Plot Came On The Morning Of The Attack

We Have Taken Many Steps To Address The Security Gaps That The Hijackers Exploited That Morning. We have created the Transportation Security Administration to ensure that every passenger and every bag is screened; increased the number of Federal air marshals on domestic and international flights; trained and authorized thousands of pilots to carry firearms; and hardened cockpit doors to prevent terrorists from gaining access to the controls.

We Are Working To Stay Several Steps Ahead Of The Terrorists, America Has Gone On The Offense Across The World, And Our Country Is Safer

On 9/11, We Saw That The Terrorists Have To Be Right Only Once To Kill Our People – While We Have To Be Right Every Time To Stop Them. To protect the American people, we need to do everything in our power to stop the next attack.

As We Fight The Enemies Of A Free Iraq, We Must Also Ensure That Al Qaeda And Its Allies Never Get Their Hands On The Tools Of Mass Murder. We launched the Proliferation Security Initiative, a coalition of more than 70 countries that are cooperating to stop shipments related to deadly weapons. We worked with Great Britain to persuade Libya to give up its nuclear weapons program and put the black market nuclear network of A.Q. Khan, who was shipping equipment to Iran and North Korea, out of business.

 

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