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One Year Later
With Karen Hughes
Counselor to the President
Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2002; 1 p.m. EDT
One year after attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, how has the White House handled the largest and most fatal attack on U.S. soil? Strategies and priorities quickly changed as the Bush administration mounted a global war on terror and a huge reorganization of the goverment -- including a new Cabinet-level department -- to better ensure homeland security.
Counselor to the president, Karen Hughes, was online to discuss the Bush administration's response to the terrorist attacks, the mood in the White House and strategy going forward.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
washingtonpost.com:
Good afternoon, Karen, and welcome. This afternoon, the Office of Homeland Security raised the nation's terror level from yellow to orange. Between this development, tomorrow's one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and President Bush's address to the United Nations on Thursday, how is the White House balancing its priorities?
Karen Hughes: Clearly the President's top priority is always protecting the American people. Unfortunately, along with this week's reminders of the sadness and horror of September 11, we also have new reminders that our nation is under the ongoing threat of attack. These threats reached a level that made those responsible for analyzing them feel the only responsible course of action is to raise our alert status to to high. This means the government will be taking additional steps to do everything we can to protect American lives at home and abroad, including increasing security at key facilities and increasing surveillance. Members of our military, our law enforcement and our intelligence communities are working around the clock, doing everything possible to try to protect us, and those of us at the White House see that, so we are able to go about our jobs confident that every possible protection is being employed. Members of the communications team have been working with the President for the last week on his speeches for September 11 and the United Nations, so we feel we are in very good shape on those.
washingtonpost.com:
There appears to be a split within the administration as to whether we should go into Iraq. What is your position?
Karen Hughes: I have had the opportunity to watch the President make difficult decisions such as this one first-hand, so I have confidence that he will consider all options and make a decision based on the best information available. Clearly, Sadaam Hussein has defied the efforts of the international community to disarm him, and we cannot allow someone with his history of aggression to continue to seek weapons of mass destruction. The President will be speaking to the United Nations on Thursday, and reminding the leaders of the world that Saddaam Hussein has failed to keep the commitments he made to the world, and the United Nations must make its actions stand for something.
Columbia, Md.:
Do you believe a woman's perspective -- yours -- was important in formulating the administration's response to the events of Sept. 11 -- and do you believe that a woman's perspective today is different enough than a man's, that it is indispensable to meeting the challenges faced by the U.S., other countries, and humanity?
Karen Hughes: I always joke that it's hard for me to answer this question, because it's like asking whether I see the world differently because my eyes are blue. I do think I bring a Mom's perspective to the White House. I talk with parents at my child's school and at sporting events and run into people at the grocery store, so I think that helps me bring a real world perspective and knowledge about what people are concerned about to the White House. My move home to Texas has helped me keep that big picture perspective, and it is a reminder that the decisions that are made by the federal government have a direct impact on people's lives. The President has a number of senior women in his administration -- more than any administration in our history -- and I think they bring an important perspective to the White House.
Arlington, Va.:
Many have admired the president's determination in post Sept. 11 to portray the world in terms of black and white, good vs. evil, with us or against us. Is there any sense one year later that, like it or not, the world has a lot of "gray" and that dealing with the grays is what ultimately might define success?
Thanks.
Karen Hughes: Interesting question -- but I think a great deal of what is at stake in the world right now is black and white: freedom versus fear, those of us who value life versus those who glorify death, those who support our right to live and speak and worship freely versus those who want to impose their views and conformity on others. This is a remarkable moment in history, and the President sees it as a titanic struggle between good and evil. His clarity may make some uncomfortable, because it is sometimes easier to stay on the sidelines than to confront a threat to world peace such as that posed by the terror network or Saddam Hussein's refusal to comply with his own agreements to get rid of weapons of mass destruction. But I believe the President's clarity is a strength that will help all of us make the decisions necessary to achieve a more peaceful world.
Arlington, Va.:
What is the mood in the White House on the eve of the Sept. 11 anniversary and how will you be spending it?
Karen Hughes: Like all Americans, we are very sad and somewhat uncertain about how to feel about the day. It will be difficult to see those horrible images and all the reminders of that terrible day and the terrible loss so many families suffered. I hope the images will fill us with new horror and fresh resolve for the war we must still wage against those who even now want to threaten our freedom and are still plotting to try to take additional lives. I will be travelling with the President to the Pentagon, to the field in Pennsylvania where those great citizens drove the plane into the ground to save others, and to New York. I remember my first trip to New York after September 11, on September 14, when I first saw ground zero and was horrified and incredibly sad. But I was also very inspired as I saw the heroic efforts of rescuers and witnessed the incredible spirit of the people of New York, who came out and lined the streets with candles -- it was a very emotional day and I'm sure tomorrow will be as well.
Karen Hughes: I have to run to a meeting! Thanks so much for your time and interest - hope to do this again soon!
washingtonpost.com:
That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the
discussion.
Stay tuned to Live Online:
One
Year Later: Vernon Loeb on National Defense at 1 p.m. ET
Sally
Squires: The Lean Plate Club at 1 p.m. ET
One
Year Later: State Dept. on Global Diplomacy at 4 p.m. ET
Marc
Fisher: 2002 Election Special at 10 p.m. ET
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