Bob Beckel Quotes

The safety and security of the nation depends more so than ever before on intelligence.

Despite constant vilifying by the media and congressional threats to take away the tools needed to uncover plots, FBI agents and CIA officers work silently around the clock and risk their own lives to keep us safe.

Governments in countries across the world have a duty to do everything possible to keep the public safe from terrorist attacks.

Security is a component of everyday life that one spending time in Washington, D.C., gets accustomed to. Metal detectors, police vehicle barriers and heavily-armed police officers become strangely commonplace after awhile.

If you don’t know who they are, where they are, and what they’re planning, you can’t get them before they get you.

I joined the Secret Service in June 1999 as a special agent and vividly remember an agency brimming with pride.

The President can't go around in a steel box, as much as the Secret Service would like him to. Protection is an art form, keeping the President available to the public while protecting. Most of the hard protection is done by the police, the perimeter work.

I'm not one who wants to micromanage the Capitol Police whatsoever. However, if they see or feel that there are some greater opportunities to provide the same, if not better, safety and security for folks, I think Capitol Police should explore all those options - but not just focus that from a cost perspective.

Counterterrorism isn't really about the nunchakus, the guns and gadgets. It's about psychology.

I have no problem with the security... It's something that must be done for the times in which we live. Safety first.

I think that the American people should rest assured and be assured that every federal agency that has a role to play in this terrorism is working overtime now, taking every necessary action to protect our great citizens.

Since the tragedies, the Department of Homeland Security was established to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, and most importantly, to share intelligence information among government agencies and departments.

There is no priority higher than the prevention of terrorism.

For some, the very act of intelligence gathering seems illegitimate when applied to the crime of terrorism.

I believe that reforming our intelligence community is one of the most important things that we can do in order to ensure that our country is in fact safer, stronger and wiser.

Intelligence is our first line of defense against terrorism, and we must improve the collection capabilities and analysis of intelligence to protect the security of the United States and its allies.

Make decisions about the President's personal security. He can overrule you, but don't ask him to be the one to counsel caution.

On a regular basis, to appease White House or campaign staffs, Secret Service officials order agents to ignore basic security rules and let people into events without being put through a magnetometer or metal detector.

NARA must provide security at our facilities to protect our public patrons, our staff, and our holdings.

And while the U.S. can never be 100 percent safe from a future strike, our government is working around the clock on measures to protect the American people.

When it comes to terrorism, the only path to safety is the path to action.

Historically, decisive security action took place only after a disaster had occurred or a specific plot had been discovered.

The security [of European national is dependent on the effective intelligence of their neighbors.

It's a genuine dilemma for governments, deciding how much information to share in this threat-filled era.

My admonition is, 'No counterterrorism lead goes uncovered.'