| Subject: President To Address Safety Fears..Atlanta Speech Focuses On Homeland Security |
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Date Posted: 14:42:14 12/03/01 Mon
{see caveat below}
President To Address Safety Fears Atlanta Speech Focuses On Homeland Security http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58551-2001Nov7.html By Mike Allen and Eric Pianin Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, November 8, 2001; Page A03
After a month of leaving most of the talking about anthrax to other administration officials, President Bush plans to give a major address tonight to explain what the government is doing to keep Americans safe and to suggest ways citizens can help.
Bush will travel to Atlanta this afternoon to tour the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has played a leading role in handling the mailed anthrax attack, and then will speak to an audience of firefighters, police officers, postal workers and others who have borne the brunt so far of what the administration calls homeland defense.
White House officials consider the speech to be Bush's most crucial address since he went before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 20 to declare his war aims. The president will try to reassure citizens about his long-term optimism for the country at the same time that he explains why the country will have to remain on alert for the foreseeable future.
The administration is taking a variety of steps to improve its communication on war-related issues. Karl Rove, Bush's senior adviser, is to meet in Beverly Hills on Sunday with 40 to 50 studio executives and film writers, actors and directors, in an effort to find ways the entertainment industry can support the war.
Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, said in an interview that the White House has not made any formal requests. But Valenti said the industry is open to a wide range of options for creating what he called "useful and worthwhile messages about the war," including messages of encouragement to troops. Valenti said he expects some new movies will be made "where heroism will be illuminated, as long as the story is compelling."
The White House media affairs director, Tucker Eskew, heads for London today to represent the White House at the 10 Downing Street branch of the Coalition Information Centers, a war information outfit that also will have operations in Washington and Pakistan. Eskew, who is being sent for at least three months, said the centers' mission is to explain the rationale and conduct of the war "quicker, more proactively and with a renewed assertiveness."
Administration officials hope tonight's speech will give Bush the same support for what has to be done on the home front that he has received for the military component of his war on terrorism.
Bush and his advisers have been unfailingly upbeat about the progress of U.S. bombing in Afghanistan and efforts at home to track down terrorists and guard against renewed attacks.
Yet the government's missteps in responding to the anthrax crisis, its two vaguely worded national alerts about imminent terrorist attacks that did not occur and its mixed messages to the public to remain vigilant yet return to a normal routine have drawn rebukes from some lawmakers and law enforcement experts. Moreover, the government's inability to find those responsible for the deadly anthrax mailings or the accomplices to the Sept. 11 terror attacks has begun to shake public confidence.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll, conducted Monday and Tuesday, found that 52 percent of respondents expressed confidence in the ability of the U.S. government to prevent future terrorist attacks against Americans in this country, down from 66 percent on Sept. 11.. Fifty-six percent of respondents said they think the United States is doing all it reasonably can to try to prevent further terrorist attacks, down from 68 percent on Oct. 15.
Last week, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III conceded that his agency was no closer to cracking the cases and pleaded for the public's help in the investigations. Then a senior FBI counterterrorism official acknowledged during Senate testimony on Tuesday that, one month into the investigation, his agency still could not answer such basic questions as how many laboratories in the United States handle anthrax bacteria.
"I think we have to get our act in order," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). At the hearing, she upbraided the FBI official for knowing so little about who had access to the strain of anthrax that was sent through the mails. "It's a real national security risk to our people to leave such an open door to the movement, possession and handling of these deadly agents," Feinstein said.
The Sept. 11 attacks and the spreading of anthrax through the mail have prompted calls for major changes at the FBI and the Justice Department, both of which are likely to emerge with less emphasis on traditional domestic crimes. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft plans an announcement today of a restructuring plan for the Justice Department in a speech to top managers, officials said. The plans include a stronger focus on tracking down terrorists and preventing future attacks, one official said.
Some lawmakers are sympathetic to the administration's plight in responding to an unprecedented situation. "A lot of this is catch-up and learning while you're in the line of fire," said Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.). "I think they have been quick studies, but . . . they're functioning without knowing what the terrorist threat is and without a coordinated strategy."
Since Sept. 11, federal, state and local officials have mobilized the most extensive homeland security effort in U.S. history, ranging from beefed-up Coast Guard and Immigration and Naturalization Service patrols to tightened security at airports, government buildings, monuments, dams, power plants, water filtration systems and industrial sites. Bush also appointed Tom Ridge, then the Pennsylvania governor, to head a new White House Office of Homeland Security, with a broad mandate to coordinate the anti-terrorist activities of nearly 50 federal agencies and to develop a long-term strategy for guarding against attacks.
Yet many in and outside the administration believe that the nation remains extraordinarily vulnerable to bioterrorist attacks, as well as assaults against nuclear power plants, chemical industry sites, port facilities, tunnels and the nation's food supply that all could result in an enormous number of casualties.
In a letter to congressional leaders yesterday, Bush said the attacks heighten the need for his long-sought legislation to make it easier for faith-based organizations to provide federally funded social services, which he calls his "Armies of Compassion" bill.
"America's charities have stood by America -- it is now time for America to stand by her charities, as they suffer from the economic consequences of September 11," Bush said.
Staff writer Dan Eggen contributed to this report.
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
{Caveat: Following federal action at WKII and the Jumping Bull residence in the 1970s, several news articles were planted by authorities in order to stir up national emotion against the AIM, highlight the "we're on it" image of the FBI and Nixon administration.. ... Native News Online has no way of verifying the accuracy of news reports from even major news papers. It is well to keep in mind that media control was one of the Naval War College's plans in the event of national panic in wake of Y2K, ergo this is not a policy restricted to the 70s. Most of us have read news articles later contradicted by other articles..foreign news sources which print information that differs from US. See: http://209.114.70.195/hosted/ishgooda/peltier/cointelpro/
Truth is out there..somewhere..maybe..Ish}
"in wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." Donald Rumsfeld quoting Winston Churchill, Sept 2001 {kind of like surrounding a precious stone with thieves?} ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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