The president also visited the Central Intelligence Agency, where he gave CIA employees and Director George Tenet a vote of confidence even as a key Republican senator suggested Tenet was incompetent.
During a White House meeting with Sikh leaders, and another session with Arab-Americans and Muslims, Bush expressed support for Americans whose ethnic background and religion have made them objects of suspicion and hostility since the attacks on Sept. 11.
The president’s message seemed aimed at domestic and international audiences.
He wanted to reassure U.S. citizens who also are Arab, Muslim and East Indian of his concern about the backlash against them while urging other citizens to refrain from blaming the innocent.
Bush also reiterated to Muslims worldwide that the U.S. war against terrorism is not against Islam.
“I have told the nation more than once that ours is a war against evil, against extremists; that the teachings of Islam are teachings of peace and good,” the president said during the meeting with Muslim leaders in the White House.
“And the Al Qaeda organization is not an organization of good, an organization of peace. It’s an organization based upon hate and evil,” he said, referring to the terror network led by Osama bin Laden, the exiled Saudi dissident the administration has blamed for the attacks.
Addressing the Muslim leaders and Americans generally, the president added:
“I also want to assure my fellow Americans that when you [Muslim Americans] pledge allegiance to the flag with your hand on your heart, you pledge just as hard to the flag as I do. . . . “
Indian-Americans who practice Sikhism have been harassed by other Americans because of their turbans, which resemble those worn by bin Laden and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers who have provided him a haven.
Bush also expressed sympathy for a Sikh who was killed in Arizona soon after the attacks in New York City and the Pentagon. The president promised that the government would bring those responsible to justice.
During his visit to the CIA headquarters, which is named for former President George Bush, the president had words of encouragement for director Tenet.
“You know, George and I have been spending a lot of quality time together,” Bush told CIA employees. “There’s a reason. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him and I’ve got a lot of confidence in the CIA. And so should America.”
The president’s comments were in marked contrast to a statement Wednesday by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Shelby said in a television interview that “the job is getting away” from Tenet because the agency failed to learn of the attacks before they were carried out.
Bush refrained from criticizing Shelby, calling him “a concerned American” trying to find answers to the Sept. 11 tragedy.
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“I’m sure other Americans are asking how this could have happened, including the president,” Bush said.
The CIA visit followed on a similar visit Tuesday to the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters as Bush sought to demonstrate his appreciation for their efforts to investigate the terrorists and thwart future attacks. Both agencies have been chided by critics for intelligence lapses prior to the Sept. 11 attacks.
The president’s schedule also signaled the White House’s attempt to return, as much as possible, to a semblance of normalcy. Bush took part in a picture-taking event with the Boys’ and Girls’ Club Youth of the Year, the first such event staged since the attacks.