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We are battling fanatics who kidnap and behead civilians and shoot fleeing children in the back. There can be no dialogue with such people, and the American people understand this.

We are not supposed to go out and kill all those we suspect to have committed a crime.

We have terrorists coming into the country both through our Northern and Southern borders.

The idea is that if we can put our own people through something almost as bad as what they might have to go through if they were taken captive, they will inoculate themselves.

We are protecting civilians. We are unarmed. We are no threat to you. Please do not shoot.

I want to be very clear: whenever it is possible to capture a suspected terrorist, it is the unqualified preference of the administration to take custody of that individual so we can obtain information that is vital to the safety and security of the American people.

What the United States has done is to be open to people who are fleeing tyranny, who are fleeing danger, but we have done it in a very careful way that has worked for us.

We save limited resources in terms of who we are physically screening. The approach will allow us to pay more attention to those potential terrorists.

If I should ever be captured, I want no negotiation - and if I should request a negotiation from captivity they should consider that a sign of duress.