John Ashcroft Quotes

I feel the best way to ensure Americans’ freedom is to tighten restrictions on that freedom in any way possible. Only through wiretaps, illegal searches and seizures, unfettered government intrusion, a controlled media and a complete crackdown on free speech can we ensure the liberties of all people.

In this new war, our enemy’s platoons infiltrate our borders, quietly blending in with visiting tourists, students, and workers. They move unnoticed through our cities, neighborhoods, and public spaces. They wear no uniforms. Their camouflage is not forest green, but rather it is the color of common street clothing. Their tactics rely on evading recognition at the border and escaping detection within the United States. Their terrorist mission is to defeat America, destroy our values and kill innocent people.

The Internet provides very serious challenges to our ability to keep from children the kinds of things that are destructive to them

Frankly, the president, during the first opportunity I had to be in a Cabinet meeting, before we started the meeting, he said, Folks, before we begin this meeting, I’m going to call on General Ashcroft and ask him invite the wisdom and presence of God in what we do. And I thought to myself how ashamed I’d been that so many times in my life I had entered upon great important tasks and I had cheated myself and those that I had served of a blessing.

The goal of terror is not traditional territorial enlargement; rather the war target of the terrorist is the dismemberment of the will of the community it terrorizes.

What did John Ashcroft say about moderates, he said, quote, there are two things you find in the middle of the road, a moderate and a dead skunk and I don’t want to be either.

A calculated, malignant, devastating evil has arisen in our world, … Civilization cannot ignore the wrongs that have been done. America will not tolerate their being repeated. Justice has a new mission, a new calling against an old evil.

There is no priority higher than the prevention of terrorism

The worst mistake a boss can make is not to say ‘well done’.

We’re going to protect and honor the Constitution, and I don’t have the authority to set it aside…. If I had the authority to set it aside, this would be a dangerous government, and I wouldn’t respect it.

We must not descend to the level of those who perpetrated Tuesday’s violence by targeting individuals based on their race, their religion, or their national origin. Such reports of violence and threats are in direct opposition to the very principles and laws of the United States and will not be tolerated.

Prior to September 11, we thought the world beyond our shores was one world of risk and the world in our continent was another world of risk