Remarks at Oak Park High School in Kansas City, Missouri

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, June 17, 2002

June 11, 2002

Thank you very much. Please be seated. Thanks for that great Missouri welcome. I'm honored to be back here, to talk about how we're doing and what we're doing to make sure that America is safe and secure and America's a promising place for everybody who lives here.

I'm traveling in pretty good company today. I've asked--I had asked two of my Governors friends to join me in Washington, DC, to serve our Nation. And thankfully, they both agreed. First, the former Governor of New Jersey, now the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, a fine lady, a person doing an excellent job on behalf of all America, Christie Todd Whitman. And the former Governor of Pennsylvania, a man who, right after the attacks on our country, agreed to leave his job and come and serve as the adviser on homeland security, the first such adviser, a guy who has worked endless hours to make sure America s as safe as can possibly be, and that's my Friend Tom Ridge.

I want to thank Members of the United States Congress who are here today, some of whom flew down on Air Force One. I'm not suggesting they like a free flight. [Laughter] But it was good to have them on the plane: Senator Kit Bond, from the State of Missouri--where are you, Kit--thank you. Congressman from this area, Sam Graves--Sam, thank you for being here. [Applause] Sounds like Sam has got a lot of his cousins here. [Laughter] Kenny Hulshof as well, from the State of Missouri--Kenny, thank you for being here. I appreciate it.

The next fellow's not from this area, although he claims he was born in Kansas City. He's a Congressman from California, chairman of the Rules Committee, David Dreier. Thank you for coming, David. Former Congressman Jim Talent has joined us today. I'm glad you're here, Jim. Thank you for coming. And the mayor of Kansas City, Madam Mayor Kay Barnes, is here. Thank you for coming, Madam Mayor. I'm honored you're here.

I also want to thank the school officials. Mr. Principal, thank you for opening up this beautiful high school. I appreciate you giving us a chance to come by and share some thoughts with my fellow citizens.

You know, I don't know what went through the minds of the enemy when they hit us. I can't imagine what they were thinking; what kind of thought process did they have? I guess they thought America was so materialistic and so self-absorbed and so selfish that all we would do after the attack was maybe file a lawsuit or two. They didn't understand that we love freedom, and if somebody tries to take our freedoms away or if somebody tries to frighten us because of our freedoms, we'll respond. And I'm proud to report this mighty Nation has responded. We are fierce, and we're tough when it comes to defending our values.

I see a lot of you have brought your children; I want to thank you for that. And I want you, as moms and dads and as grandparents, to make sure you tell your children that we fight not to seek revenge but we do so because we seek justice and that the overriding ambition of this country is to achieve long-lasting peace.

It's important our fellow citizens of all ages understand the goal and vision of a strong and tough America is a more peaceful world, that we long for chance for our own children and children all across the globe to grow up in societies which tolerate people based on-- and don't prejudice--based upon people's religious beliefs, that we honor--we honor freedom of religion; we respect other people's opinions; we honor the notion of being able to speak freely with political discourse. That's what we honor.

It's important that when our children read about military movements or arrests, that it's all done with a clear understanding that this is a peaceful nation and that we long for a freer day for everybody around the globe.

Our country is--I like to use the word "tough," because we are. We are; we're a tough country. We've got a great military. And for those of you who have got relatives in the military, I want to thank you on behalf of a grateful nation and thank them on behalf of a grateful nation as well.

We're also a patient nation. The American people understand that this is a new type of war. After all, we were attacked. We lost thousands of innocent citizens. Old wars used to be battle lines and tanks moving here and equipment moving there and logistics. New wars are wars fought against shadowy enemies, people who hide in caves and then are willing to send youngsters to their death. And that kind of war's going to require patience and resolve. It's going to require us gathering the best intelligence we possibly can. It requires our great Nation to assemble a vast coalition of freedom-loving people to join us as we're seeking these killers one by one. It requires us cutting off their money. One of the things that the terrorists and the enemy can't stand is to have their money dried up. They operate on money as well as they do on hate, and we're working with the financial institutions all over the world.