Bush: "My attitude is, we're going to respond before we're attacked"

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/11/20061106-4.html

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THE PRESIDENT: And the reason I'm bringing this up to you is that there is a different mind-set in Washington, D.C. than what I believe. See, I believe our professionals have all the tools necessary to protect you; Democrats don't. There's an attitude up there that says, well, we'll respond after we're attacked. My attitude is, we're going to respond before we're attacked. (Applause.)

I felt it was important, if al Qaeda or an al Qaeda affiliate was making a phone call in the United States, that we knew why. In this different kind of war, we must understand what the enemy is thinking if our job is to prevent an attack. When that bill came up in front of the United States House of Representatives, the vast majority of Democrats voted against it.

I felt it was important that when we picked somebody up off the battlefield that we had an opportunity to question that person. See, we picked up Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who our intelligence services think was the mastermind of September the 11th. Here's my way of thinking: If he knew about one attack, he might know about another attack. (Applause.) When this bill came up in front of the House and the Senate, the overwhelming majority of Democrats voted no. If the people of this country expect their government to do its most important job, you better elect people who will give our professionals the tools necessary to protect you, and those people are Republicans. (Applause.)

We're involved in a global struggle, and we will face the enemy where we find them, no matter what the theater of war is. The most important theater, however, is Iraq. See, one of the lessons of September the 11th is that when we see a threat we have got to take that threat seriously. I saw a threat in Saddam Hussein; members of the United States Congress in both political parties saw the same threat; the United Nations saw the threat. My decision to get rid of Saddam Hussein was the right decision and the world is better off for it. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: USA, USA, USA --