John Ashcroft quotes - page 2

We must remain constantly vigilant. We dare not underestimate our enemy. Al Qaeda is committed to the destruction of America, and they are in it for the long haul. They are much smarter than many give them credit for being, and they are definitely much more patient than the pace of our fast-food society conditions us to be. Their commitment does not depend on bin Laden or any other single leader. (John Ashcroft)
I was deeply grieved and suddenly depleted by a draining weariness. This day had been a nightmare, and I had not yet been asleep. View quote
John Ashcroft
My family has never suggested to me that my identity or value to them depended on my station in life. I knew that they did not consider me any more or less valuable because I held some political office. They valued me as a husband and father, whether or not I won an election. Nor did they regard holding office on Capitol Hill or in the Missouri statehouse as the epitome of success. Quite the contrary, my family had endured numerous personal sacrifices because of my public positions. View quote
John Ashcroft
I'm trying to think of all the reasons that are appropriate for me to refuse to answer that question. View quote
John Ashcroft
Politics disabuses a person of the notion that you can please everybody. It is an inescapable fact that people will always have different opinions, and some people are going to disagree. Sooner or later, a person constructs his or her own "platform" and stands on it, regardless of what others think, say, or do. It is also true that some people delight in another person's demise. View quote
John Ashcroft
It wasn't that people were antagonistic; it was more that they were accustomed to doing their work in a certain way, and change always causes some people to be uncomfortable. View quote
John Ashcroft
To me, capital punishment is a form of societal self-defense. It should not be employed indiscriminately, but in cases of the most heinous crimes, the death penalty may be the only appropriate punishment. Some people believe it is right to take a life to save the life of someone else, but they would not vote to take the life of a convicted criminal, no matter how horrible the crime. Others believe that killing another person for any reason is simply wrong. I respect those opinions, but I disagree with them. I'm convinced that government has a duty to promote community defense. The death penalty, when applied in appropriate cases, can be a strong deterrent to crime. It is certainly a deterrent to the convicted criminal sentenced to death, and it is also a deterrent to other potential capital offenders. View quote
John Ashcroft
I have to chuckle sometimes when I am painted as "hard-nosed." In truth, our Justice Department wasn't nearly as aggressive as Roosevelt's. And our respect for civil liberties was far more extensive than the response following Pearl Harbor. Yes, we were tough, but we always operated within the law; it was never our policy or practice to detain any noncombatant without charges. In our conduct, we never approached the limits of the law as closely as Roosevelt did. View quote
John Ashcroft
We need honest, reasoned debate; not fear-mongering. To those who pit Americans against immigrants, and citizens against non-citizens; to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty; my message to you is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists- for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil. View quote
John Ashcroft
The way the terrorist is trained to operate, especially the suicide terrorists, makes punishment and the threat of punishment far less valuable to those who would prevent the crime. View quote
John Ashcroft
We have to think outside the box, inside the Constitution, find ways to do things that will elevate our security, reduce the risk of the incidence of terrorist attack. (John Ashcroft)
Nothing remains great without a capacity to change and to accommodate the conditions of a changing world. View quote
John Ashcroft
There is no priority higher than the prevention of terrorism. View quote
John Ashcroft
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. View quote
John Ashcroft
An FBI agent ought to be able to surf the net and look for sites that instruct people how to make bombs. View quote
John Ashcroft
The FBI. is a massive culture. It's been a culture that served America well, and it's been focused on prosecution. But what we need in terms of terrorism is prevention. View quote
John Ashcroft
Reasonable regulations regarding the ownership of weapons are appropriate. View quote
John Ashcroft
I have to chuckle sometimes when I am painted as "hard-nosed." View quote
John Ashcroft
The liberties and freedoms which we hold dear and we recognize and cherish and respect guide the way we gather information in the United States. View quote
John Ashcroft
We've got to understand that the whole nature of the way American democracy guards its freedom has been changed. View quote
John Ashcroft
All of us want to have meaning in our lives and want to feel like we're doing something that makes a difference. I believe we're doing that in the Justice Department. (John Ashcroft)
The Internet provides very serious challenges to our ability to keep from children the kinds of things that are destructive to them. View quote
John Ashcroft
It doesn't help to wait until something happens and then prosecute the offenders, especially if it's the idea of the offender to extinguish himself in the commission of the crime. View quote
John Ashcroft
I don't play full court anymore. I just play half-court. View quote
John Ashcroft
We need to strengthen our analytic capacity in Washington, we need to centralize the anti-terrorism effort. View quote
John Ashcroft