WASHINGTON, DC - Facing a GOP revolt in the Senate, President Bush urged Congress on Friday to join in backing legislation to spell out strategies for torturing and trying terror suspects as well as wiretapping citizens without court orders, saying "the enemy wants to attack us again because they still hate us for our freedom."
"Time is running out," Bush said in a Rose Garden news conference. "Congress needs to act wisely and promptly. We have to balance the freedom teeter-totter."
"Listen, you guys just don't seem to be getting what I'm saying. This is why I have brought out this graphic of the freedom teeter-totter. See, there are terrorists out there, and they hate us for our freedom, see because we're way up on the teeter-totter enjoying the fresh air and they are way down by the ground."
"So, we are working to resolve this by elevating their freedom, which is why we have liberated Afghanistan and Iraq. But as you can see, you can't just lift the Middle East up to our level if we stay at ours. A teeter-totter just doesn't work that way. We must also lower our freedoms or we will never get this thing to balance," said Bush, growing animated as he spoke.
The president is urging the Senate to pass a bill more like a House-passed one that would allow his administration to continue holding and trying terror suspects before military tribunals.
"If not for this program, we will never be able to lower our freedoms, and mark my words, we will be attacked again because of that. Like I said, they hate us for our freedoms," he said.
"Unfortunately recent actions by the Supreme Court have put the future of our torture program and warrantless wiretapping program in question. ... We need legislation to save our ability to torture and wiretap without a warrant so that we can further erode our freedoms."
The high court earlier this year struck down Bush's current arrangement for trying detainees held at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the FISA law remains in effect, requiring that any wiretap be brought before a court within 72 hours in order to get a retroactive warrant.
Bush said that it was vital to change the law to lower our freedoms. "Listen, you all have families right. Stretch, you like your family, right? Well, do you ever want to see your family again? Yeah, I thought so. Well, then we need to balance the freedom teeter-totter. We need to lower our freedoms here so that we can raise them there. Or else this thing is never going to get balanced. How are the terrorists going to stop hating us for our freedom if we don't start getting rid of that freedom?"
He called it an important debate that "defines whether or not we can spy and torture people here in this country like they do in those other countries. If we continue to refuse, they will continue to hate us for it. Congress has got a decision to make. For your families' sake, I hope they make the right one."
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