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I'm absolutely convinced that the threat we face now, the idea of a terrorist in the middle of one of our cities with a nuclear weapon, is very real and that we have to use extraordinary measures to deal with it.

We haven't had an agenda for American cities probably since at least Jimmy Carter. We have left cities to fend for themselves.

All of the leading terrorism experts are clear on one thing: that in terms of protecting America, we are almost never going to know a place or a time of an attack.

America will be far safer if we reduce the chances of a terrorist attack in one of our cities than if we diminish the civil liberties of our own people.

The greatest fear that haunts this city is a suitcase bomb, nuclear or germ. Many people carry small gas masks. The masses here seem to be resigned to the inevitable, believing an attack of major proportions will happen.

I hope that none of the countries in the Middle East are planning anything but the peaceful utilization of nuclear energy.

The risk of just one terrorist with just one nuclear weapon is a risk we simply cannot afford to take.

And finally, let me just say it is a fact that not every city can dedicate resources to terrorism.

Back on September 11, terrorists attacked our metropolitan cores, two of America's great cities. They did that because they knew that was where they could do the most damage and weaken us the most.