Skip to ContentText OnlyGo to Search
Welcome to the White HousePresidentNewsVice PresidentHistory & ToursFirst LadyMrs. Cheney
Welcome to the White HouseGovernmentKids OnlyEspanolContactPrivacy PolicySiteMapSearch
Welcome to the White HouseReceive Email Updates
 

Issues
Economy
Iraqi Elections
Education
Social Security
National Security
Homeland Security
More Issues
En Español
Tsunami Relief

News
Current News
Press Briefings
Proclamations
Executive Orders
Radio
  
News by Date
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002
December 2001
November 2001
October 2001
September 2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001

Talk Back
Ask the White House
White House Interactive

Appointments
Nominations
Application

 

Photo Essays
Photo Essays
Search photos by date

 

White House Features - A Gallery of our special pages
  
Federal Facts
Federal Statistics
  
West Wing
History
 Home > News & Policies
Printer-Friendly Version
Email this page

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 31, 2005

President Discusses Schiavo, WMD Commission Report
Room 450
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building

video screen capture
multimedia

President's Remarks
video image view

     Fact sheetWMD Commission Report

11:31 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Today millions of Americans are saddened by the death of Terri Schiavo. Laura and I extend our condolences to Terri Schiavo's families. I appreciate the example of grace and dignity they have displayed at a difficult time. I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life, where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others. The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life.

President George W. Bush, flanked by former Senator Chuck Robb, D-Va., left, and Judge Laurence Silberman, delivers a statement regarding the release Thursday, March 31, 2005, of findings by the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. Senator Robb and Judge Silberman are co-chairs of the commission that was established in 2004. White House photo by Eric Draper The most solemn duty of the American President is to protect the American people. Since September the 11th, 2001, we've taken bold and vigorous steps to prevent further attacks and overcome emerging threats. We face a new and different kind of enemy. The threats today are unprecedented. The lives of our citizens are at stake. To protect them, we need the best intelligence possible, and we must stay ahead of constantly changing intelligence challenges.

So last year I issued an executive order creating an independent commission to look at America's intelligence capabilities, especially our intelligence about weapons of mass destruction. I asked two fine Americans to chair this commission, Judge Laurence Silberman and former Senator Chuck Robb. They have done an excellent job. I appreciate your service to our country.

I also want to thank the other members of the commission -- Senator John McCain, Rick Levin, Harry Rowen, Walt Slocombe, Bill Studeman, Judge Patricia Wald, Chuck Vest and Lloyd Cutler. I want to thank them for their hard work. They spent a lot of time on this project. I asked these distinguished individuals to give me an unvarnished look at our intelligence community, and they have delivered.

This morning the commission presented me with their recommendations, which are thoughtful and extremely significant. The central conclusion is one that I share: America's intelligence community needs fundamental change to enable us to successfully confront the threats of the 21st century.

My administration has taken steps consistent with the commission's recommendations. In February, I named John Negroponte the first Director of National Intelligence, a post that was created to help ensure that our intelligence community works as a single, unified enterprise. It's important for Congress to move quickly on John's confirmation, because he'll have a key role in the continued reform and restructuring of intelligence capabilities.

Today I've directed Homeland Secretary advisor Fran Townsend to oversee the interagency process, to review the commission's findings, and to ensure that concrete action is taken. The commission report delivers a sharp critique of the way intelligence has been collected and analyzed against some of the most different intelligence targets, especially Iraq.

A copy of the 13-chapter report issued Thursday, March 31, 2005, by the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. White House photo by Eric Draper To win the war on terror, we will correct what needs to be fixed, and build on what the commission calls solid intelligence successes. These include the uncovering of Libya's nuclear and missile programs. In Pakistan, our intelligence helped expose and shut down the world's most dangerous nuclear proliferation network. Where we have had success, the commission reports we have seen innovative collection techniques and a fusion of interagency intelligence capabilities. We must work to replicate these successes in other areas.

The men and women of our intelligence community work hard. And the sacrifices they have made have helped protect America, and our nation is grateful for their hard work. The work they're doing is critical. We need to prevent terrorists from getting their hands on the weapons of mass murder they would like to use against our citizens.

The work of our intelligence community is extremely difficult work. Every day, dangerous regimes are working to prevent us from uncovering their programs and their possible relationships with terrorists. And the work our intelligence men and women do is, by nature, secret, which is why the American people never hear about many of their successes. I'm proud of the efforts of our intelligence workers and I'm proud of their commitment to the security of our country, and the American people should be proud, too.

And that's why this report is important. It will enable these fine men and women to do their jobs in better fashion, to be able to more likely accomplish their mission, which is to protect the American people, and that's why I'm grateful to the commission for this hard work.

The President and his national security team must have intelligence that is timely and intelligence that is accurate. In their report today, the commission points out that America needs to know much more about the weapons programs and intentions of our most dangerous adversaries. They have given us useful and important guidance that will help us transform our intelligence capabilities for the needs of a dangerous new century.

In other words, we need to adjust. We need to understand the threats and adjust our capabilities to meet those threats. We will work to give our intelligence professionals the tools they need. Our collection and analysis of intelligence will never be perfect, but in an age where our margin for error is getting smaller, in an age in which we are at war, the consequences of underestimating a threat could be tens of thousands of innocent lives. And my administration will continue to make intelligence reforms that will allow us to identify threats before they fully emerge so we can take effective action to protect the American people.

I'm grateful for your hard work, and now the chairman of the commission and the co-chairman of the commission have agreed to answer your questions. Thank you, sir.

END 11:38 A.M. EST


Printer-Friendly Version
Email this page



President  |  Vice President  |  First Lady  |  Mrs. Cheney  |  News & Policies  | 
History & ToursKids  |  Your Government  |  Appointments  |  JobsContactText only


Accessibility  |  Search  |  Privacy Policy  |  Help



Сайт создан в системе uCoz