George Schultz Quotes

But I warn my colleagues that we will fail in our efforts to protect the homeland if we do not take additional steps to avoid a trade-off between protecting ourselves against terrorists attacks and preparing for and responding to natural disasters.

First of all, I don't think that America is truly prepared for a biological or a chemical attack. However, we are moving in the right direction.

If terrorists attacked New York, Washington, or San Francisco with a weapon of mass destruction, the next day we will all be asking what steps we might have taken to prevent it. So the question is, “Why do we not take those steps now?”

When these attacks occur, as they likely will, we will wonder what more we could have done to stop them.

I believe when the country feels threatened it is important that we are seen to be working together to find an appropriate structure for dealing with terrorists in our midst.

We can never completely prevent another tragedy like the Boston Marathon attacks from happening. But every American should ask themselves if their community is as prepared as it could be.

As the third anniversary of the September 11th attacks draws near we must ensure our nation is prepared to handle the continued threat of violence and terrorism on our country.

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

We don't have to learn to live with terror, but we must be prepared and accept the reality it is here.

If you're Chris Christie, who is governor of New Jersey, a state that obviously was impacted by 9/11, this gives you an opportunity to talk about how, as governor, you had to deal with terrorism and security issues.

Well, the hardest thing to do, as we know from our own experience on 9/11 is protect everything all the time.

Since September 11, the U.S. has significantly improved its security to prevent another attack.

The real protection of life and property, always and everywhere.

The attacks of September 11 persuaded many Americans that what might seem to be obscure or distant potential threats can very quickly materialize and it therefore makes sense to attend to them even before they become urgent.

The prompt assimilation of that intelligence will be essential if we are to avoid another September 11th.

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

If al Qaeda or any other enemy of our country manages to create a situation or explode a bomb or murder or incapacitate large numbers of our people, we cannot wait for 7 weeks of a special election in order to deal with that.

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.

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

As foreign attacks increase, it's easy to treat them like bad weather happening somewhere else. It's what we read over breakfast. But when that storm hits your shores, remember this: Wishful thinking never saved a single life. The truth, however, has.

We know that terrorism is going to happen in the future, and we need to be prepared for it.

Victory looks like no more September 11ths.

There's a sense of urgency that the president does not possess, that there is a 9/11 in the making.

Because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again, that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States, and that we'll fall back into the pre-9/11 mind set if you will, that in fact these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts, and that we're not really at war. I think that would be a terrible mistake for us.

One of the things I've suggested is that it may be that more 9/11s are necessary.