Office of the Press Secretary
July 23, 2003
** As Prepared **

San Francisco, CA - Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I appreciate your warm welcome and your invitation.

And may I say, congratulations to the Commonwealth Club for a century of outstanding civic - and civil - dialogue.

I always enjoy coming to California, a state well known for its innovation and progress. That's been true since Mark Twain's day, when the great writer called it a state of "astounding enterprises" and "magnificent dash and daring." "When she projects a new surprise," Twain wrote, "the grave world smiles and says, "Well, that is California all over.""

A century-and-a-half later, California still has the capacity to astound, over and over again. That spirit is especially welcome in this "grave new world" in which we now live.

Our nation is at war with terrorism. And the terrorists are at war with us. It's a different kind of war, one whose battlefields stretch from Afghanistan to Alameda County - a war in which the doctor and scientist, the computer programmer and community leader, are as crucial to victory as the general and sergeant and ensign.

Today terrorists seek with every means to destroy our lives, our liberty and our economic leadership around the world. The upshot of these three tightly woven elements of American life is that threats to one pose enormous consequences to all.

And, as we know all too well, these threats are real and demonstrated.

Nearly two years ago, on a shocking September morning, some 3,000 people lost their lives.

We lost family, friends, fellow citizens - many at the World Trade Center, many at the Pentagon.

We lost those brave passengers of United Airlines Flight 93, who - rather than let their hijackers speed toward our nation's capital - chose to steer their plane to the everlasting.

That day, many a soul was lifted high into the arms of angels, never to pass our way again. They left with our prayers - as they left us too soon.

There's no question - America was forever changed by that experience. In a once-inconceivable instant, we came face to face with a new kind of enemy, a new reality and a permanent condition - terrorism on American soil.

And while it goes without saying, it must be said: 9-11 may have marked this nation's first battle of the war against terror. But it will not, and for some time will not, mark its last. Terrorism is a tragic prologue - an unwelcome but immutable reality of life in the 21st century.

Terrorists come in many forms and factions - but they are not deterred by time. Blinded by centuries of hatred and absent any respect for human life, they are simply determined to do us harm.

And yet, we have made great progress to secure our nation, our way of life and our freedoms from terrorism.

The best way to deter terrorism, of course, is to go after terrorist networks where they live and operate.

And we should all be proud of our men and women in uniform who have served that cause - and their country - so well.

In Iraq alone, 95 percent of schools are now open, and all universities are open. All pre-war hospitals are operating. And 85 percent of towns have a governing council. This demonstrates that we're making strong progress toward our three goals for Iraqi post-war construction - security - essential services - and governance.

These successes have turned what was once a late-night knock on the door by militant Iraqi soldiers - into a knock of opportunity - and freedom - and hope for a better life for the Iraqi people.

What's more, these successes have significantly improved our national security, and that goes hand in hand with homeland security.

For the surest sign of that, we need only point to the President's decision to create the Department of Homeland Security.

It was a bold decision, the right decision, to unify our people, priorities and programs under a single line of authority to get this country to its highest level of protection in history.

Before then, no one department had homeland security as its primary charge. Now it is ours, after the biggest reorganization of government since Harry Truman established the Department of Defense 50 years ago.

It's been said that the most fatal illusion is the settled point of view. This is where danger finds easy sanctuary. This is why America's security must always be consistent with changing times. This is why the Department of Homeland Security was created.

The "new normalcy" after the terrorist attacks on our nation, and our determined efforts to deter and prevent them from ever happening again, are a new theme of life after 9-11.

But more than that, they are a signal - a signal to freedom's enemies that we will do everything possible, using every means possible, to defeat terrorism and all its many vices - murder, disorder, disruption.

Terrorism is provocation. Its design is to elicit fear through chaos and destruction. Weapons can come packaged in the form of threats alone - and threats carried out.

In many ways, terrorism is the "shadow enemy."

Its followers dot many nations around the world - in cities and cells across the globe. But, unlike the openly acknowledged enemies of history's largest battles, today's terrorist can be but one suicide bomber - one rogue regime that releases pathogens in the air - one crude cell of zealots in a cave with the ability to obtain weapons of mass destruction.

We can never guarantee that we are free from the possibility of terrorist attacks such as these. But we can say this: That today, the American people are more secure and better prepared than ever before.

I say that because we are more aware of the threat of terrorism, and more vigilant about confronting it. I say that because all across this nation, we work hard to rise to a new level of security and readiness each and every day.

As you can imagine, the challenge of this effort is enormous. The sheer depth and breadth of this nation, the magnitude of what occurs here, from sea to shining sea, means that one slip, one gap, one vengeful person, can threaten the lives of our citizens, at any time, in any number of ways.

Let me give you a typical day in the life of Homeland Security:

Today, more than 1 million people will cross our borders, some by car, some by sea, some by plane.

Today, 95,000 miles of coastline will meet our agencies' watchful eyes.

Today, 2.4 million pieces of luggage will pass through this country's 429 commercial airports.

Today, tons of imported food products will be inspected.

Today, thousands of visa and green card applications, some legal, some suspect, will reach the desk of immigration offices.

And today, our TSA employees will screen about 1.5 million passengers before boarding their aircraft. And, while doing so, they will offer countless smiles to harried travelers, who have responded to these new security measures for the most part with patience and good cheer!

This is just a small slice of a typical day in the life of homeland security.