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Bush Outlines 'New Reality' Steps to Improve Homeland Security
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

"The new department [Department of Homeland Security] would enable government and law enforcement officials to better coordinate and organize and provide clear lines of authority, he asserted. Currently, more than 100 federal organizations are involved in protecting the homeland, but not one of them has primary responsibility, he said. "Each agency operates separately, sometimes completely unaware of what others are doing," Bush said. "The result is duplication that we cannot afford, and inefficiencies which create problems."

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
In the first war of the 21st century, "the battlefield is here at home," and America's police, firefighters and rescue workers are on the front lines, President Bush said this morning.

"Like our military, which is also on the front line of the war against terror, you deserve all the tools and resources to do your work," the president said after touring Washington's downtown Emergency Operations Center. "The country is going to support you, because we now understand the stakes."

The threat of terrorist attack is growing, so the need for action is important, Bush stressed. "One of my jobs is to make sure nobody gets complacent," he said. "One of my jobs is to remind people of the stark realities that we face."

Every morning in the Oval Office, he said, he reads threats to the country. "Some are blowhards, but we take every one of them seriously. It's the new reality," he added.

The nation is adjusting, Bush said. Customs agents are now at overseas ports inspecting containers. More federal marshals are traveling on commercial airplanes. Officials have stepped up security at power plants, ports and border crossings. Officials have also deployed detection equipment to look for weapons of mass destruction to better protect the American people.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

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