Next week, I will return to New York, where I will
address the United Nations General Assembly. I look forward to talking
to the world leaders gathered there about our obligation to defend
civilization, and how we must work together to support the forces of
freedom and moderation throughout the Middle East.
As we work with the international community to defeat the terrorists
and extremists, we must also provide our military and intelligence
professionals the tools they need to keep our country safe. Congress is
considering two vital pieces of legislation to help us do just that. My
Administration is working closely with members of both parties to pass
these bills.
The first bill would allow us to use military commissions to try
suspected terrorists for war crimes. We need this legislation because
the Supreme Court has ruled that military commissions must be explicitly
authorized by Congress.
I recently announced that 14 suspected terrorists, including Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed, the man believed to be the mastermind of the 9/11
attacks, had been transferred to Guantanamo Bay. As soon as Congress
acts to authorize the military commissions I have proposed, the men our
intelligence agencies believe helped orchestrate the deaths of nearly
3,000 Americans on September the 11th, 2001, can face justice.
This bill will also provide clear rules for our personnel involved in
detaining and questioning captured terrorists. The information the
Central Intelligence Agency has obtained by questioning men like Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including planned
strikes inside the United States and on a U.S. Marine base in East
Africa, an American consulate in Pakistan, and Britain's Heathrow
Airport. This CIA program has saved American lives, and the lives of
people in other countries.
Unfortunately, the recent Supreme Court decision put the future of
this program in question, and we need this legislation to save it. There
is debate about the specific proposals in this bill, and my
Administration will work with Congress to find common ground. I have one
test for this legislation: The intelligence community must be able to
tell me that the bill Congress sends to my desk will allow this vital
program to continue.
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 America. It has helped detect and prevent terrorist attacks
on our own country. The principle behind this program is clear: When al
Qaeda operatives are calling into or out of our country, we need to know
who they are calling, why they are calling, and what they are planning.
Both these bills are essential to winning the war on terror. So we
will work with legislators from both sides of the aisle to get them
passed. By passing these critical bills, we will bring terrorists to
justice, continue collecting vital intelligence from captured terrorists
in a lawful way, and monitor terrorist communications, so we can stop
new attacks on our nation.
Thank you for listening. |