General Wesley K. Clark
Remarks on Counter-Terrorism

Concord, NH
January 14, 2004

(As prepared for delivery)

Thank you President Hutson for that kind introduction and for having me here today at the Franklin Pierce Law Center. It's always nice to be on the same stage with a fellow officer - even if you are a Navy man. I'd also like to thank the faculty and students for peeling themselves away from their books for a little politics. I know you don't get enough of it up here.

Two years ago, our nation was rocked by a tragedy so horrific that you'd be hard pressed to find an American who didn't remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when it happened.

The world we knew on September 10, 2001 seems to be gone. In its place is a new world: one where the threat of terrorism looms large - in our subways, on our airplanes, at our harbors.

The effects of that day are indelibly stamped on nearly every aspect of American life.

At home, two weeks ago, we rang in the New Year at terror alert code orange. Once again, we were a nation on edge, looking over our shoulders for the smallest sign of danger.

Abroad, we are a nation at war. In total, more than 130,000 service men and women are still on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our all-volunteer Army is stretched almost to the breaking point. And since September 11th, our nation has buried almost 600 soldiers, and more than 10,000 have been wounded.

Two years after 9-11, the war on terrorism is far from over.

Like most Americans, and like most of America's allies, I rallied behind President Bush in the weeks and months after 9-11, eager for him to lead our country through a time of crisis. I supported him when he grabbed that bullhorn at Ground Zero and when he stood before a Joint Session of Congress in late September 2001.

But today, despite his tough talk, George Bush still hasn't finished the job he started. Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda network are still at large. Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, is still on the loose, and al Qaeda seems to still be a functional organization. New terrorist cells have been formed and old ones reinvigorated. The Administration's failure to create the conditions for stability in Afghanistan have left the nation with a resurging Taliban presence and the warlords are gaining renewed strength. And opium production, which al Qaeda uses to fund its efforts, is back on the rise.

At home, two years after 9-11, America remains insufficiently protected from terrorist attacks. Our borders, ports, critical infrastructure, and nuclear facilities are vulnerable targets, and our cash-starved states can't afford the first-responders we need to keep our communities safe.

Like many Americans, I've lost faith in our Commander in Chief. He has failed to lead effectively and honestly, and every day, Americans live at risk because of his failures.

After September 11th, we witnessed one of the greatest showings of solidarity in world history - including nearly every Muslim nation. Today, with brash arrogance, we've alienated almost every single one of them, including some of our oldest allies. We've gone from a world united with us against terrorism to a world deeply divided and increasingly hostile toward America.

Even worse, recent polls show that today, in a stark reversal, many citizens of Muslim countries think more highly of Osama bin Laden than they do of George W. Bush and the United States.

The bottom line: George Bush hasn't done his job. Al Qaeda is at large. Our world is more divided. Our reputation has been compromised. Our homeland is unnecessarily at-risk. We can - and we must - do better.

In this election, the question we need to ask ourselves is simple: Have we done all we can do to make America safe? Have we used our resources wisely to ensure success in the years ahead?

The answer I'm finding in city after city, stop after stop, is a resounding "no."

The question now is who has the best vision to make America safer four years from today.

I am running for president to take on terrorism, to stomp out the al Qaeda network, and protect America at home and abroad. Because we need a higher standard of leadership in America. One that puts the nation's interests above political interests. Not one that puts old rivalries above new threats.

Within days of the September 11th attacks, President Bush pinned responsibility on Al Qaeda and the Taliban regime. He called them murderers and vowed that the United States would retaliate. And we did. President Bush declared that our forces would "smoke [Al Qaeda] out of their holes" and would get bin Laden dead or alive.

But instead of ferreting out Al Qaeda, the Bush Administration militarized the war on terror. He pulled a world class bait and switch, and turned America's attention, energy and resources to Iraq. In fact, it's been months since Mr. Bush has even mentioned Osama bin Laden. The only name we hear is Saddam Hussein, and the only country we hear about is Iraq. And according to former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, this isn't a coincidence: The Bush Administration starting planning their actions against Iraq during their first days in the White House - long before the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and despite being warned that our greatest threat was Osama bin Laden, not Saddam Hussein.

But diverting our attention from al Qaeda hasn't made the problem go away. Ending the dictatorship in Iraq has not gained us ground against a loose but lethal network of jihadists that now reside in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. On the contrary, there have been more Al Qaeda operations in the last several months than in any comparable period - in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Morocco.

The Bush Administration says that rooting out terrorism is going to be a "long, hard slog." I agree. Quashing terrorism is not easy. And if we continue with George W. Bush, the slog is going to be a lot longer and harder than necessary.

Today, I'm announcing my strategy to fight terrorism, destroy al Qaeda, and protect America. My counter terrorism plan has three parts: first, a concerted effort to reengage our allies and work with the Islamic world; second, an all out offensive to destroy al Qaeda wherever it remains; and third, a strong homeland security to defend America's borders.

First, we need to isolate terrorists rather than isolating ourselves. We can't win the war unilaterally or by military force alone. That means we must restore the alliance that the Bush Administration has spent the last three years undercutting. As President, I will launch a new Atlantic Charter with our European allies to meet the new threats of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, and strengthen our response to the old threats that are still with us. The central premise of the Charter will be a commitment from all to work together as a first, not last resort.

If necessary, America will always reserve the right to act alone in defense of our country. But the only way to win the war against the al Qaeda network is to work cooperatively with our friends and allies - and to only rely on force as a last resort. We need to have every government in the civilized world energized to stop al Qaeda operatives in their tracks, keep them from recruiting, raising money or operating on their territory, and alleviating the conditions that have promoted the rise of terrorism in the first place. Achieving full cooperation from the international community is not a military mission. It is a matter of law, diplomacy and persuasion. That is what I will work toward as president - developing real partnerships -- partnerships where nations use intelligence, law-enforcement and financial means to stop the al Qaeda network.

We need to broaden NATO's scope so that it's more than a military alliance. It must truly live up to its charter and strategic concept - helping to harmonize laws, track proliferation and anti-proliferation efforts, and help focus worldwide counterterrorism efforts. This means enhancing NATO's structure to be able to deal with the full array of intelligence and legal, commercial, and law enforcement activities essential to detecting, identifying, detaining and prosecuting terrorists, their networks of supporters, and those who would proliferate weapons of mass destruction. And, if necessary, it means mustering the national and international resolve essential to employing military forces as a last resort.

Using NATO as our focal point, we must reach out to and engage the Islamic world. For example, Saudi Arabia must accept its responsibilities to halt the invective of hatred and disassemble the terrorist financing networks. Working with NATO and other interested governments, the Saudis should realign their policies to promote greater internal economic development based on effective secular education and greater opening to the West.

We must put special effort into our policy toward the Muslim world. The fight against terrorism is their fight as much as it is ours. Instead of alienating people and nations in that part of the world, as the Bush Administration has done, we should work together, as a united front, against al Qaeda to identify, target, and disrupt terrorist organizations and the finance and logistical efforts behind them. And we should be working in favor of reforms that will undercut the abilities of any remaining terrorists.

But there is no country whose future will be more important in the war against al Qaeda than Pakistan. Right now, we know that the Taliban and al Qaeda are operating beyond the rule of law in Pakistan. We know that Pakistani laboratories are responsible for selling nuclear weapons technology to Iran and North Korea. And we know that many religious schools there, the radical madrassas, are educating tens of thousands for Jihad in Kashmir and against the United States.

We must present President Musharaff of Pakistan with a clear choice: either work with America and the civilized world to defeat al Qaeda and stop the proliferation of nuclear technology -- or become another outlaw nation. Recent events indicate that Pakistani leaders may be ready for a real break with the past, and I encourage them to continue down that path.

Early in my Administration, I will invite President Musharaff to Washington to meet with me and with congressional leaders. In those meetings, I will offer a dramatic multi-billion dollar assistance program and a new relationship with America.

But this new relationship and new assistance will require real change by the government. No longer will we turn a blind eye to nuclear technology exports. No longer will we ignore the religious schools that preach hate and justify terrorism. And no longer will we accept weakness as an excuse not to go into the outlying provinces to root out al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Second, we have to recognize that even with the full weight of international law, diplomacy, and law enforcement, some use of military force may still be necessary. In that event, I have a plan to take the offensive and extinguish al Qaeda once and for all. To do this right, we will have to bring our allies in so that they are as committed to success as we are. Today, because the reputation of the United States is at an all-time low, many countries around the world have resisted the presence of special operations forces on their territory. Others have refused American troops because the United States has not sought international legitimacy for its actions.

To address this problem, we will ask NATO to create a combined Joint Counter-Terrorism Strike-Force, composed of forces from NATO members and nations outside the alliance, including Arab countries like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as South Africa, Singapore, and the Philippines. The Strike Force's number one mission will be to seek out, capture and destroy al Qaeda operatives and their associates. It will be built using same combined joint task force concept developed by NATO during the 1990s.

The first mission of this new Joint Counter-Terrorism Strike Force will be to take down Osama bin Laden. With help from Arab countries, who may have intelligence and access that Americans can't get, I will send that Strike Force into the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan where most believe bin Laden is holed up and where he and his deputies continue to order terrorist attacks. I will work directly with other countries and our military to refocus our energies where they should have been all along: on capturing or killing those who committed the attacks on September 11 and making sure they can never, never attack our country again.

Third and finally, we can't be secure abroad unless we're secure at home. Right now, two years after September 11th, we're short on homeland security and long on homeland insecurity. While we've taken steps to protect our borders, we have not gone far enough to protect our citizens.

We've manned our airplanes with marshals and beefed up security at airports, but other points of entry are still wide open. Our borders to the north and south are guarded inconsistently. Most packages and freight soar right through customs without the slightest inspection. Most bridges, tunnels, and nuclear power plants are completely unguarded. And a litany of federal mandates have been passed on to the states without a dime of federal funding - forcing states to cut their programs to pay for the exorbitant costs of police, firefighters, and other first responders. To put it in perspective, every time we go to higher state of alert, it costs cities $70 million dollars a week, money they desperately need during this economic downturn for everything from schools to health care.

What has the Bush Administration done to protect the homeland? They've shortchanged vital areas of homeland security -- providing little of the funding needed for our police, fire fighters, and other first responders. And they haven't done enough to secure our most vulnerable facilities. The result is continuing vulnerability on nearly every front. Right now, for example, there are at least 123 chemical facilities in the United States that can literally be turned into weapons of mass destruction, producing plumes of deadly vapor clouds capable of injuring or killing more than a million people. As president, I will not rest until Americans are safe from the threat of terrorism.

We will set high standards in cyber security, in bio-weapons defense, and in critical infrastructure protection. And my Homeland Economic Security Fund will invest $40 billion dollars to directly fund jobs that immediately improve our security. The fund will improve our defenses against terrorist attacks by paying to train more firefighters and police officers, and to hire more Coast Guard, Customs Service and law enforcement personnel. It will also pay for construction projects to safeguard bridges, ports and tunnels, and fund high-tech efforts to develop ways to detect nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and materials.

As part of my national security strategy, I will also implement a new national service program called the Civilian Reserves. In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11th, people were asking what they could do to help their country. Here in New Hampshire, people lined up to give blood until the blood banks said "no more." In times like those, we see a tremendous desire on the part of Americans to volunteer, but we have no way of organizing their efforts, cultivating their talents, and utilizing them where they are needed most. The Civilian Reserves will reinvigorate that American ethic of service, tap our vast reservoir of skill, and call millions more Americans to duty. The Civilian Reserves will work in partnership with professional first responders and other non-profit and non-governmental organizations.

America has always had the power to confront the threat from al Qaeda. But instead of using law, diplomacy, economics and military means to defeat this threat, our will and our energy have been focused on Iraq. While still ensuring success in Iraq, I will return America's focus to the more urgent threat from al Qaeda.

With help from others, with a new relationship with key Islamic countries, with a strong homeland defense, and with the power of our military and joint operations, I pledge to you today that we will prevail in our fight against global terrorism. I will bring a higher standard of leadership to America, leadership that will win the war on terrorism while living up to our ideals, and retaining the respect of the world.

Thank you.