Kerry Press Release: Statement by John Kerry on the 9/11 Commission Report

[Skinner]

For Immediate Release
July 22, 2004

Statement by John Kerry on the 9/11 Commission Report

Detroit, MI – Senator John Kerry issued the following statement today:

“After months of hard work for which we are all grateful, the 9/11 Commission has produced a report with urgent implications for the safety of the American people. Nearly three years after terrorists attacked our shores and murdered our loved ones, this report carries a simple message about our current state of security for every American who remembers that dark September day: We can do better. We must do better. And it’s time to act – now.

“I received an initial briefing on the report from Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton this morning. We have a big agenda of reforms and no time to lose in tackling them. I understand that Senators Lieberman, McCain and others will soon introduce legislation that contains the Commission’s recommendations. The administration and the Congress must get to work on this legislation immediately.

“This is not a time for bickering. It is not a time for politics. When it comes to protecting our people and securing our homeland, there are no Democrats. There are no Republicans. There are only Americans who will do anything to defend America and our way of life.

“This is a time to come together. This is a time for bipartisan solutions. And this is a time to act – now.

“The terrorists will not wait for us, and we must not wait for them.

“And mark my words – if I am elected president and there has still not been sufficient progress on these issues, I will not wait a single day more. I will lead.

“I will convene an Emergency Security Summit that brings together leading Democratic and Republican members of Congress, leaders of the agencies that play a vital role in our fight against terrorism and the 9/11 Commissioners. We will assess what we have achieved and what more is to be done. And then we will do it.

“With so much at stake, we need to gather leaders who are ready to be reformers and work together to find solutions. And, as president, I will be directly involved in making sure that we do anything and everything to make our country safer.

“A Kerry-Edwards administration will put in place a comprehensive new national security strategy aimed at getting the terrorists before they get us. We will transform our military to meet new threats, restore the strength of our alliances, and lead with the power of our ideas. We will use every available resource to destroy terrorists and deny them sanctuary, funds and new recruits.

“We will also transform our intelligence services -- by strengthening leadership, maximizing coordination among our intelligence agencies, and making sure that we have the personnel at home and abroad to get the job done.

“And we will strengthen our homeland defenses. From better protecting our transportation systems, to safeguarding our ports and infrastructure, to improving our emergency communications systems and integrating our watch lists, to providing our first responders with the resources they need to do their jobs – we will do whatever it takes to make our homeland more safe and more secure.

“We must act – now. As president, I will not rest until I can look into the eyes of a mother who lost her son in those towers and fought for this report to come out and say ‘We are as safe as we can be.’ I will not rest until I can look into the eyes of a firefighter or a first responder whose colleagues ran up those stairs while others ran down and say ‘We are as safe as we can be.’ And, as president, I will not rest until I can look into the eyes of the American people who want a future of freedom and security and say ‘We are as safe as we can be.’”

-30-

www.johnkerry.com

Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc.

[Estel]

1. Wow...

VERY Presidential!! Quite abit different that Babybush's "they did a pretty good job!"

[Beetwasher]

2. Bush's Statement:

"Ummm, I colored in all the picshers w/ my new crayons!"

[mike_c]

3. terror, terror, and more terror....

“A Kerry-Edwards administration will put in place a comprehensive new national security strategy aimed at getting the terrorists before they get us."

Or to paraphrase Orwell, "We have always been at war with terror."

Why won't people call this naked monkey (the WOT) a nudist? Either my ancestors were marooned on this planet by mistake, or I'm really from France....

[emulatorloo]

5. So terrorists don't exist? The country is already protected from attack?

Or we don't try to prevent another 9/11?

I understand the problems w GWB's "anti-terrorism" "strategy."

Doesn't follow that there should be no anti-terrorism strategy.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

9. Too bad your comment is completely unrelated to reality.

non sequitur

[Pastiche423]

4. Oh fuck, just read my sig line

[sandnsea]

7. What Would Dean Do?

Do we really have to go there to get through some people's thick heads that terrorists really do exist and any Presidential candidate has to have a plan to deal with them? WWDD???

[Zorra]

6. What else could he say? Bu$h knew?

Didn't everyone already know that this report was going to say exactly what it said? Didn't we know it was going to be another whitewash for Bu$h?

Why was Slade Gorton on the Committee? He attached a "midnight surprise" rider for a mining special interest onto a Kosovo and hurricane victims relief fund bill while serving as a Senator from Washington State. He arguably lost his seat in the next election because of it:

Senator Slade Gorton's political maneuvering to attach a mining rider on the Emergency Funding bill for hurricane victims and to fund the war in Kosovo, has inspired a national uproar. The rider exempts the controversial gold mine that Battle Mountain Gold Co.(BMG) of Houston, Texas, wants to develop on Buckhorn Mountain in the Okanogan Highlands of North Central Washington from the current Federal Mining Law.

http://www.televar.com/~kliegoha/action.htm

Why was he a member of the 9/11 committee?

They wasted our money on this commission.

They could have just skipped the investigation and report and told us just what they wanted us to hear in the beginning.

A committee of fresh out of law school public defenders could have probably done a more honest and accurate job in this investigation.

[Pastiche423]

8. Yes, I suspected the report

would be a whitewashed cover-up. But one can always dream...

This is America today. Land of the status quo and siding w/the dark side to win at any cost.

"Teach your children well..."

Are you?