The Speech President Bush Should Have Given

The full actual text is available in print, audio, and video at www.whitehouse.gov

The essence of what Mr. Bush should have said Thursday night:

My fellow Americans, tonight I will speak about three topics:

1) to address what the United States will do externally in immediate response to the thousands of murders committed in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania on September 11;

2) to discuss what the United States will do internally to prevent a recurrence of these and similar types of events;

3) to discuss what we all can do to repair the damage to our economy.

First, while our investigation will continue for a long time, we have every reason to believe that we know who was responsible for these murders. In the event we determine that other private individuals or governments were involved, we will take the same steps against them that I am now announcing against the responsible parties.

(Insert here the speech as delivered up to the part about the Office of Homeland Security.)

Second, many suggestions have been made as to how your government should respond. The principles which will guide us are to maintain (and if possible expand) the level of civil liberties which existed in the United States on September 10, to make potential terrorist targets as secure or hard as possible, and to disrupt terrorists and their networks operating in the United States and elsewhere.

A decrease in civil liberties is precisely what the terrorists sought. They will not get it. There is no need for it.

Given the amount of information available to, and it now appears ignored or not comprehended by, those officially responsible as their primary and sole task for the prevention of such attacks, certain changes have been made and will be made in the future. There are some who have suggested creation of yet another level of bureaucracy (perhaps to be called the Office of Homeland Security) to coordinate all the existing bureaucracies. We do not need another level of bureaucracy. We do need creative, imaginative leadership of the intelligence and federal counter-terrorist law enforcement services of this country. To all those who currently work for these services, I, on behalf of the United States, thank you for your continuing and future efforts to focus solely on your task of obtaining, analyzing, and acting in a timely manner on the information needed to protect this country. I will personally address by closed circuit broadcast every domestic officer and employee of the CIA and FBI within the next week to make crystal clear their role and responsibilities.

An hour ago I accepted the immediate resignations of the Director of Central Intelligence and the Director of the Federal Aviation Administration. At the same time, the immediate resignations of the Directors of the Counterterrorism Center of the CIA and the Assistant Director of the FBI in charge of counter-terrorism efforts were accepted. As presently advised, their deputies will be in charge until permanent replacements are nominated and, where necessary, confirmed by the Senate.

The Director of the FBI who took office a few days before September 11, has done a fine job to date in investigating what happened and in apprehending a substantial number of people who might have been inclined to participate in or to support future terrorist acts. In addition, he will be personally accountable for insuring that the anti-terrorist activities of the FBI and information available to the FBI is properly coordinated in the future.

I have also directed that certain additional stringent physical security measures be adopted at the numerous critical facilities in the United States. These measures are in place and will be strengthened as needed. Certain measures which I will not discuss publicly have also been taken and will continue to be taken to assess the risk to critical facilities in the United States and to test the continuing vitality of the security procedures in force. These measures include a detailed assessment of the security arrangements at each critical facility in the United States. These measures also include frequent, unscheduled, unannounced tests of these security arrangements.

Since September 11, there has been for understandable reasons a drastic decrease in travel by commercial airliner in this nation. This has also led to a decrease in travel-related activities.

Some have proposed that we spend $15 billion or more to enable the airlines to continue to fly almost empty planes. I will not sign any such legislation. I have acted and will continue to act to restore confidence in the security of commercial airlines. Before the terrorist attack, economic activity was decreasing. The airlines were operating at a loss, which condition was expected to continue through at least the end of this year. We have asked the airlines for, and received, certified financial information to enable us to provide, where appropriate, financial assistance in return for debt and/or equity in the airlines. Included in the financial information provided by the airlines was a debt repayment schedule for the next year. I mentioned earlier that sacrifices would be required from all Americans. These sacrifices will take many forms. I am pleased to announce that the banks who administer the airlines debt payments have obtained the consent of all debt holders to a one year moratorium on the repayment of all payments of principal and interest owed by the domestic airlines until September 30, 2002.

However, principally, the airlines need confident customers. In addition to the restrictions already in place on carry-on items, additional steps have been and will be taken.

Beginning at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, no commercial airliner from any nation will be allowed to enter or use the airspace of the United States unless it has on board at least one armed air marshal approved by the United States. For the immediate future, many of these marshals will be specially trained military and local law enforcement agents. Over the long term, all air marshals will be graduates of the federal air marshal training program. We have made arrangements to provide such marshals for every flight scheduled to be operated tomorrow by a domestic airline and expect to be able to approve marshals for foreign carriers within the next few days. These air marshals will be armed with ammunition which I am advised will stop a full-size man but which will not pierce the hull of the aircraft.

Within the next week, training and similar ammunition and/or stun guns will be provided to each member of the cockpit crew of every airliner using our airspace all of whom will be required to be so armed while operating any airliner in our airspace.

Starting thirty days from today, every airliner operating in our airspace will be required to have an armored intrusion resistant cockpit door. The Boeing Company has agreed to manufacture and install these doors at cost.

Beginning at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, all personnel operating security checkpoints through which passengers must pass before boarding airliners entering our airspace will work for the Federal government. The United States government has assumed the contracts the airlines currently have with private security firms. We will offer training and employment to all current screeners. These screeners will perform up to the standards set by the federal government or they will work elsewhere. Their performance will be tested frequently on an unscheduled, unannounced basis. Let me emphasize here that there is no evidence that the screeners at the airports involved in the tragic events of September 11 allowed anything on the planes which was not authorized by the regulations approved by the FAA.

Once Americans have confidence in the security of commercial aviation, they will fly again.

Our economy is today in large part the same economy that existed on September 10. Our jobs, farms, shops, homes with the exception of lower New York City are all the same. Before this tragedy, economic activity was slowing and as a result stock market prices were falling and the number of airline passengers were decreasing. Economic trends normally fluctuate. We have had good economic times and bad economic times in the past; we will have them in the future. The financial measures we are taking are intended to repair the economic damage done by the attacks, to restore the normal functioning of our free market economy, and to prevent profiteering; these measures are not intended to and insofar as we are able will not protect any person, company, or industry against normal market forces.

In a war against another nation, there is a clear ending point. In a war against amorphous terrorist groups, there is no clear ending point. Thus, the price of our liberty will truly be eternal vigilance. Let us proceed with confidence, common sense, and renewed dedication to the principles of liberty and democracy for which this nation stands.

(insert here last 5 paragraphs as delivered).