With his campaign in full swing, President George W. Bush moderated a panel discussion Tuesday morning in Buffalo with local and state officials about the USA Patriot Act.
Over 700 first responders from area police and fire departments filled the invitation-only event, held at Kleinhans Music Hall on the city's West Side.
Bush took the stage at 9:35 a.m. flanked by members of the FBI, the local U.S. Attorney's office and other local officials.
"I think you'll find this to be an interesting discussion on how federal, state and local authorities are working hard to prevent a terrorist attack," Bush said.
The Patriot Act is a piece of legislation enacted following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. According to the Department of Justice, the act gives law enforcement officials new tools in the fight against terror.
The main theme of the talk was the increased information capabilities given to agencies under the act. Prior to the act's passage, government agencies like the FBI, CIA and different branches of the FBI could not freely share information.
"We changed the law and the bureaucratic mindset to allow for the sharing of information," Bush said.
Since it passed through Congress, the Patriot Act has drawn criticism from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, which says the act encroaches on citizen's civil liberties. The event was partly a response to these critics, including critics currently housed in Congress.
Several provisions of the act are set to expire in December 2005. Bush is lobbying in several similar panels around the nation for Congress to renew the provisions and enhance the act.
Members of the panel were chosen to illustrate the vital uses of the act's provision as seen by the administration. Locally, the "Lackawanna Six" case - in which the U.S. Attorney's office prosecuted six men with Al-Qaeda connections - was upheld as the perfect example of a success of the Patriot Act.
Michael Battle, the U.S. attorney of the Western District of New York, reiterated the increased communication within the FBI Buffalo field office. According to Battle, within five months of passage of the Patriot Act the FBI was able to gather enough information to prosecute the case.
"Prior to the Patriot Act, we were fighting with one arm tied behind our backs," Peter Ahearn, special agent in charge at the Buffalo field office of the FBI, said.
Although the campaign was not designated as a campaign event, Bush opened the event with several comments aimed at a war-weary electorate.
"This was handled by the White House as official business," President of Erie County Republican Party Robert E. Davis said.
The events of Sept. 11 served as a guiding force in the administration's war on terrorism.
"Never did we dream that they would use our own airplanes as weapons to fly and to mercilessly kill thousands of our citizens," Bush said. "From that day forward we have changed our attitude."
Bush extends his "lessons of Sept. 11" to the current war in Iraq and how the nature of war has changed.
"When you see a threat overseas you must act - you can't wait and hope," said Bush, explaining his doctrine of preemptive action. "The message should be clear there is no cave or hole deep enough to hide from the justice of the United States of America and our coalition forces."
Bush introduced local resident Peggy Conroy, whose husband is a staff sergeant in the National Guard serving in Karbala, Iraq, and her three boys as an example of many of the military families who currently have family members serving in Iraq.
Bush said that he believed that bringing freedom to the Middle East is the way to combat terrorism long-term.
"We're working for freedom for a part of the world that needs freedom," Bush said. "Deep in the heart of every human being is the deep desire to be free."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
