The text of President Bush's news conference at the White House Friday, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions:
BUSH: Thank you.
It's always a pleasure to be introduced into the Rose Garden.
Thank you, Wendell.
Thank you for coming. Looking forward to answering some of your questions.
This week our nation paused to mark the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It was a tough day for a lot of our citizens. I was so honored to meet with family members and first responders, workers at the Pentagon, all who still had heaviness in their heart.
But they asked me a question. They kept asking me, What do you think the level of determination for this country is in order to protect ourselves? That's what they wanted to know.
You know, for me, it was a reminder about how I felt right after 9/11. I felt a sense of determination and conviction about doing everything that is necessary to project the people. I'm going to go back to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly. And I'll talk to all leaders gathered there about our obligation to defend civilization and liberty, to support the forces of freedom and moderation throughout the Middle East.
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As we work with the international community to defeat the terrorists and extremists, to provide an alternative to their hateful ideology, we must also provide our military and intelligence professionals with the tools they need to protect our country from another attack.
And the reason they need those tools is because the enemy wants to attack us again.
Right here in the Oval Office, I get briefed nearly every morning about the nature of this world. And I get briefed about the desire of an enemy to hurt America. And it's a sobering experience, as I'm sure you can imagine. I wish that weren't the case, you know, but it is the case.
And therefore, I believe that it's vital that our folks on the front line have the tools necessary to protect the American people. There are two vital pieces of legislation in Congress now that I think are necessary to help us win the war on terror.
We will work with members of both parties to get legislation that works out of the Congress.
The first bill will allow us to use military commissions to try suspected terrorists for war crimes. We need the legislation because the Supreme Court recently ruled that military commissions must be explicitly authorized by Congress.
So we're working with Congress. The Supreme Court said, You must work with Congress. We are working with Congress to get a good piece of legislation out.
The bill I have proposed will ensure that suspected terrorists will receive full and fair trials without revealing to them our nation's sensitive intelligence secrets.
As soon as Congress acts on this bill, the men our intelligence believed helped orchestrate the 9/11 attacks can face justice.
The bill would also provide clear rules for our personnel involved in detaining and questioning captured terrorists.
The information that the Central Intelligence Agency has obtained by questioning men like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has provided valuable information and has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including strikes within the United States.
For example, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed described the design of plane attacks on building inside the U.S. and how operatives were directed to carry them out. That is valuable information for those of us who have the responsibility to protect the American people.
He told us the operatives had been instructed to ensure that the explosives went off at a point that was high enough to prevent people trapped above from escaping.
He gave us information that helped uncover al-Qaida cells'efforts to obtain biological weapons.
We've also learned information from the CIA program that has helped stop other plots, including attacks on the U.S. Marine base in East Africa, our American consulate in Pakistan, or Britain's Heathrow Airport.
This program has been one of the most vital tools in our efforts to protect this country. It's been invaluable to our country, and it's invaluable to our allies.
Were it not for this program, our intelligence community believes that al-Qaida and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland.
By giving us information about terrorist plans we couldn't get anywhere else, this program has saved innocent lives. In other words, it's vital.
That's why I asked Congress to pass legislation so that our professionals can go forward doing the duty we expect them to do.
Unfortunately, the recent Supreme Court decision put the future of this program in question. It's another reason I went to Congress. We need this legislation to save it.
I'm asking Congress to pass a clear law, with clear guidelines, based on the Detainee Treatment Act that was strongly supported by Sen. John McCain.
There's a debate about the specific provisions in my bill, and we'll work with Congress to continue to try to find common ground.
I have one test for this legislation. I'm going to ask one question, as this legislation proceeds, and it's this: The intelligence community must be able to tell me that the bill Congress sends to my desk will allow this vital program to continue. That's what I'm going to ask.
The second bill before Congress would modernize our electronic surveillance laws and provide additional authority for the terrorist surveillance program.
I authorized the National Security Agency to operate this vital program in response to the 9/11 attacks. It allows us to quickly monitor terrorist communications between someone overseas and someone in the United States, and it's helped detect and prevent attacks on our country.
The principle behind this program is clear.
When an al-Qaida operative is calling into the United States or out of the country, we need to know who they're calling, why they're calling and what they're planning.
Both these bills are essential to winning the war on terror.
We'll work with Congress to get good bills out, because we have a duty _ we have a duty to work together to give our folks on the front line the tools necessary to protect America.
Time's running out. Congress is set to adjourn in just a few weeks. Congress needs to act wisely and promptly, so I can sign good legislation.
And now I'd be glad to answer some questions.
Q: Mr. President, former Secretary of State Colin Powell says the world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism. If a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former secretary of state feels this way, don't you think that Americans and the rest of the world are beginning to wonder whether you're following a flawed strategy?
BUSH: If there's any comparison between the compassion and decency of the American people and the terrorist tactics of extremists, it's flawed logic. It's just _ I simply can't accept that.
It's unacceptable to think that there's any kind of comparison between the behavior of the United States of America and the action of Islamic extremists who kill innocent women and children to achieve an objective.
My job and the job of people here in Washington, D.C., is to protect this country.
We didn't ask for this war. You might remember the 2000 campaign. I don't remember spending much time talking about what it might be like to be a commander in chief in a different kind of war.
But this enemy has struck us and they want to strike us again. And we'll give our folks the tools necessary to protect the country. That's our job.
It's a dangerous world. I wish it wasn't that way. I wish I could tell the American people, Don't worry about it. They're not coming again. But they are coming again.
And that's why I've sent this legislation up to Congress. And that's why we'll continue to work with allies in building a vast coalition, to protect not only ourselves but them.
The facts are _ is that after 9/11, this enemy continued to attack and kill innocent people.
I happen to believe that they're bound by a common ideology. Matter of fact, I don't believe it, I know they are. And they want to impose that ideology throughout the broader Middle East. That's what they have said.
Makes sense for the commander in chief and all of us involved in protecting this country to listen to the words of the enemy. And I take their words seriously. And that's what's going to be necessary to protect this country, is to listen carefully to what they say and stay ahead of them as they try to attack us.
Steve?
Q: Can I just follow up?
BUSH: No, you can't.
Steve?
If we follow up, we're not going to get _ I want Herman to be able to ask a question. It's his last press _ not yet, Herman.
Soon. You and Wendell seem...
Q: Thanks very much, sir.
What do you say to the argument that your proposal is basically seeking support for torture, coerced evidence and secret hearings?
And Sen. McCain says your plan would put U.S. troops at risk. What do you think about that?
BUSH: This debate is occurring because of the Supreme Court's ruling that said that we must conduct ourselves under the Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention.
And that Common Article 3 says that, you know, There willbe no outrages upon human dignity. It's like _ it's very vague. What does that mean, outrages upon human dignity ? That's a statement that is wide open to interpretation.
And what I'm proposing is that there be clarity in the law so that our professionals will have no doubt that that which they're doing is legal.
You know, it's a _ and so the piece of legislation I sent up there provides our professionals that which is needed to go forward.
The first question that we've got to ask is: Do we need the program?
I believe we do need the program. And I detailed in a speech in the East Room what the program has yielded; in other words, the kind of information we get when we interrogate people within the law.
You see, sometimes you can pick up information on the battlefield, sometimes you can pick it up, you know, through letters, but sometimes you actually have to question the people who know the strategy and plans of the enemy.
And in this case, we questioned people like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who we believe ordered the attacks on 9/11, or Ramzi Binalshibh or Abu Zubaydah, cold-blooded killers who were part of planning the attack that killed 3,000 people.
And we need to be able to question them, because it helps yield information, information necessary for us to be able to do our job.
Now, the court said that you've got to live under Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. And the standards are so vague that our professionals won't be able to carry forward the program, because they don't want to be tried as war criminals. They don't want to break the law.
These are decent, honorable citizens who are on the front line of protecting the American people. And they expect our government to give them clarity about what is right and what is wrong in the law. And that's what we have asked to do.
And we believe a good way to go is to use the amendment that we worked with John McCain on, called the Detainee Treatment Act, as the basis for clarity for people we would ask to question the enemy.
In other words, it is a way to bring U.S. law into play. It provides more clarity for our professionals.
And that's what these people expect. These are decent citizens who don't want to break the law.
Now, this idea that somehow, you know, we've got to live under international treaties, you know _ and that's fine; we do. But oftentimes the United States government passes law to clarify obligations under international treaty.
And what I'm concerned about is if we don't do that, that it's very conceivable our professionals could be held to account based upon court decisions in other countries. And I don't believe Americans want that.
I believe Americans want us to protect the country, to have clear standards for our law enforcement, intelligence officers, and give them the tools necessary to protect us within the law.
It's an important debate. It really is. It's a debate that really is going to define whether or not we can protect ourselves.
I will tell you this _ and I've spent a lot of time on this issue, as you can imagine. And I've talked to professionals, people I count on for advice. These are the people who are going to represent those on the front line protecting this country.
They're not going forward with the program. They're professionals _ will not step up unless there's clarity in the law.
So Congress has got a decision to make. You want the program to go forward or not? I strongly recommend that this program go forward in order for us to be able to protect America.
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