Lawrence Ari Fleischer

“ Yes, they are safe visiting the White House. Yes, they are safe visiting Washington, D.C. Suffice it to say, it is not business as usual. And that is one of the reasons why the Secret Service has expanded the perimeter around the White House. But it is not business as usual. The President said to the American people the other day that the government will take all appropriate precautions. ”

“ And I noticed today also, the United States is not the only nation that mourns. The United Kingdom has lost the lives of many of their citizens. Other nations also had their citizens working at the World Trade Center. And so it's a further expression of the wonderful solidarity that the world is showing with the United States. I think it's very touching for the United Kingdom to play America's National Anthem. Q Ari, just one more. Can there be war without a formal national enemy? ”

“ Our nation's leaders in Congress remain men and women of principle, and they will take the actions that they think are in the national interest. And I think as events unfold on the domestic front this fall, leaders of Congress and the rank and file of Congress will show those principles, and our government will unite. Q Ari, former President Bush spoke today, and expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of our human intelligence. Does the President, the current President Bush, share his father's concern about failures in human intelligence? ”

“ If you look across cities across the United States, if you look at all the actions that have been taken, as the President said, it's not business as usual. Security has been beefed up around the nation as a result of decisions that local security forces make as they see fit. Q Is this a result of new information, or just a -- they decided for today to expand it to Lafayette Park? ”

“ You know, I think what you're going to see is Democrats and Republicans alike uniting on all kinds of areas. I can't guess with specificity what the domestic future will look like. But based on the meeting the President had with the congressional leaders yesterday, I think it's fair to say that there is a different domestic mood. ”

“ Nevertheless, our nation should be heartened to see the joint action with the Congress, as the United States government unites, and the President and the Congress discuss the terms of any type of joint resolution that the Congress may offer. On the second question, I think we've really exhausted that topic. I've got nothing further to add. Q Ari, the President said this morning that he wanted to give Pakistan the opportunity to demonstrate that it can cooperate in this coalition he's trying to develop. ”

“ The world is uniting against terrorism. And the President sees this as a real opportunity for the world to do something that can save generations and protect generations from something that obviously has wreaked havoc on our nation, and has killed thousands. Q Ari, could you tell us about what is happening in Lafayette Park? And could you also tell us whether the White House, the Secret Service, thinks that tourists and the American public are safe visiting the White House right now? ”

“ Some people are there as a result of the heroic actions they took in saving lives. The President met with one family where a mother stood by the bed of her son, in the company of the soldier who rescued her son. ”

“ We're working with Congress on the language. Q Ari, as law enforcement officials proceed in trying to apprehend individuals inside the United States who may have knowledge or have been involved in the attack, what is the President telling law enforcement officials in terms of what actions can they take? Should people be prepared to see, say, phone taps that haven't been used in the past? ”

“ And beginning in just a few minutes, the President will meet with members of Congress from the Virginia area and the New York area to talk about the ongoing efforts of the federal government to be of assistance to the families and to the victims. ”

“ The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that they will direct all FHA approved lenders to provide relief to families with FHA insured mortgages affected by the recent attacks by providing additional mortgage flexibility and not to start or threaten foreclosure actions for at least 90 days. ”

“ And then an administration official said Mineta was "flat wrong," that that was not going to happen, and the Pentagon indicated they might use military people to train. Almost everyone seems to have a slightly different version of whether or not military people will be used in civilian law enforcement. MR. FLEISCHER: Let me see if I can't get to the bottom of it. Q Two questions. Do you have any special words for what the United Kingdom has done. The statements they've made are very strong, and today they played "The Star-Spangled Banner" when they had the changing of the guard. ”

“ Well, I can only say, in the President's words and as the President said, the U.S. will use all our resources to conquer the enemy. And anybody who chooses to be America's enemy will have to think about what that means. Q Ari, to clarify, we have people telling our reporters that they have been evacuated from the White House. Is that inaccurate? MR. FLEISCHER: There's no evacuation underway. If anybody in the OEOB is listening, there is no evacuation underway. These are security precautions, as I indicated, for precisely the reasons I indicated. ”