Vice President Joe Biden Remarks on Extremism and Terrorism

February 17, 2015

• Unidentified Speaker: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. FIRST OF ALL, WELCOME. PARTICULARLY TO OUR FRIENDS FROM BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS. WHO HAVE COME A LONG WAY TO BE HERE. WE APPRECIATE IT A GREAT DEAL. BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. ESPECIALLY IN THIS, QUOTE, SNOW EMERGENCY. NOW, THOSE OF YOU FROM MINNESOTA KNOW THIS IS NOT MUCH OF AN EMERGENCY. I UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT IN WASHINGTON, WHEN YOU'RE HERE, SNOW IS COMING, EVERYTHING SHUTS DOWN. BUT WE DID HAVE SOME SNOW LAST NIGHT AND I APPRECIATE YOU ALL MAKING THE EFFORT. PARTICULARLY THOSE OF FROM YOU BOSTON WHO PROBABLY VIEW THIS AS VISITING THE CARIBBEAN. [LAUGHTER] SO THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH. LOOK, WE'RE HERE TODAY BECAUSE WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT IN DEALING WITH VIOLENT EXTREMISM, THAT WE NEED ANSWERS THAT GO BEYOND A MILITARY ANSWER. WE NEED ANSWERS THAT GO BEYOND FORCE. COUNTRIES, ALL OF US, INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES, NEED TO WORK THIS FROM THE GROUND UP. WE NEED TO WORK FROM THE GROUND UP AND ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITIES AND ENGAGE THOSE WHO MIGHT BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO BEING RADICALIZED. BECAUSE THEY ARE MARGINALIZED. SOCIETIES HAVE TO PROVIDE AN AFFIRMATIVE ALTERNATIVE FOR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES, A SENSE OF OPPORTUNITY, A SENSE OF BELONGING, AND THAT DISCREDITS THE TERRORISTS' APPEAL TO FEAR, ISOLATION, HATRED, RESENTMENT. AND WE ALSO HAVE TO -- POLICE HAVE TO BUILD PARTNERSHIPS WITHIN RELIGIOUS AND BUSINESS AND CIVIC COMMUNITIES. BUT WE'VE ALSO BROUGHT ALONG ALL THOSE FOLKS. WE HAVE RELIGIOUS LEADERS HERE, WE HAVE THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, CIVIC LEADERS, ALL WITH ONE PURPOSE IN MIND. HOW DO WE COUNTER THE APPEAL OF RADICALIZATION? IN SEPTEMBER PRESIDENT OBAMA CONVENED THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL, AS SOME OF YOU MIGHT REMEMBER, AND LED IN THE PASSAGE OF A RESOLUTION COMMITTING COUNTRIES TO TAKE ON THE SCOURGE OF FOREIGN FIGHTERS, FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS, BUT WE NEED -- MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE THAT WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE. LEADER AFTER LEADER EXPLAINED THAT IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO TAKE ON THESE NETWORKS OF EXTREMISTS WHO WISH USE ITERED -- WHO WISH TO DO US HARM. WE ALSO HAVE TO TAKE ON THE IDEOLOGY THAT ATTRACTS FIGHTERS FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD TO JOIN THEM. IN THIS MEET SOMETHING A CONTINUATION OF THAT EFFORT. OVER THE NEXT THREE DAYS WE'LL HEAR FROM LEADERS FROM GOVERNMENT, FROM CIVIL SOCIETY FROM COMMUNITIES IN NEARLY 70 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD IN THIS THREE-DAY CONFERENCE, ABOUT HOW THEY BELIEVE WE CAN MAKE GOOD ON THE COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT TO BUILD FROM THE GROUND UP HERE. AND I'D LIKE TO THANK AGAIN THOSE FROM BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS WHO ARE DEALING WITH THE MOST RECENT MAN NECESSARYTATIONS OF -- MANIFESTATIONS OF THIS CHALLENGE. WE ASKED YOU BOTH TO BE HERE TODAY BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN ACTIVE HAD AND INNOVATIVE. I CONSCIOUS ACTIVE AND INNOVATIVE. I JUST HAD A CHANCE TO MEET WITH THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND PARLIAMENT. THE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION IN OUR CLOSED MEETINGS WAS ABOUT WHAT TO BE DONE IN EUROPE NOW. THEY'RE ASKING ME WE DISCUSS WHAT HAD -- SOME OF THE THINGS WE HAVE DONE. BOTH OF YOU HAVE BEEN LEADING. WE'RE ANXIOUS TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY. THE FOCUS OF TODAY'S EVENTS ARE ON MAKING SURE THAT VIOLENT EXTREMISM NEVER FINDS A HOME IN THE COMMUNITIES OF THE UNITED STATES HERE. WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM REPRESENTATIVES FROM LOS ANGELES, MINNEAPOLIS, ST. PAUL, AS WELL AS BOSTON. AS WELL AS U.S. ATTORNEYS FROM EACH OF THOSE LOCALES, WHO HAVE BEEN LEADING IN THIS EFFORT AS WELL. YOUR CITIES WERE CHOSEN BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY DONE. WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY DONE. REVEREND BROWN AND I GO BACK A LONG WAY. I WROTE THE SO-CALLED CRIME BILL IN THE UNITED STATES, WHICH EVERYBODY THINKS PUT 100,000 COPS ON THE STREET, BUT IT VOTED -- DEVOTED MORE MONEY TO PREVENTION THAN ANY PROGRAM WE'VE EVER ENGAGED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SO REPRESENT RAND BROWN, YOU'VE BEEN AT THIS -- SO REVEREND BROWN, YOU'VE BEEN AT THIS FOR A LONG TIME. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT RADICALIZATION, I'M TALKING ABOUT COMMUNITIES BEING LEFT BEHIND. AND HOW TO DEAL WITH VIOLENCE. IN MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, YOU'VE BEEN WORKING TO BUILD RELATIONS WITH THE EAST AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS WHO HAVE MADE YOUR CITY THEIR HOME. AS THE SAME FOLKS HAVE MADE MY CITY A HOME ON A SMALLER SCALE. A VERY LARGE IDENTIFIABLE SOMALI COMMUNITY. I MIGHT ADD, IF YOU EVER COME TO THE TRAIN STATION WITH ME, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT I HAVE GREAT RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM BECAUSE THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF THEM DRIVING CABS AND ARE FRIENDS OF MINE. FOR REAL. I'M NOT BEING SOLICITOUS. I'M BEING SERIOUS, SO STARTING IN 2007, THE MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, YOU'VE TRAINED OVER 600 OFFICERS IN THE SOMALI LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. YOU'RE ACTUALLY STEPPING OUT TO TRY TO ENGAGE. YOU'VE INVITED HUNDREDS OF TEENS FROM THE COMMUNITY TO YOUR POLICE STATIONS FOR SPORTING EVENTS AND SWIMMING AND I'M SURE YOU HAVE PAL-POLICE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATIONS AND THE LIKE IN YOUR CITY. AND I KNOW YOU HAVE MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT. WE'VE ASKED LOS ANGELES TO BE HERE BECAUSE YOU'VE REACHED OUT TO THE COMMUNITIES. YOU'VE REACHED OUT, YOU'RE BUILDING NETWORKS TO TRY TO CONNECT THE NEEDS OF YOUR CITIZENS WITH ACCESS TO HELP, EVERYTHING FROM PROVIDING MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES TO COMING UP WITH STRATEGIES FOR OTHER INTERVENTIONS. SITTING WITH US TODAY IS THE HEAD OF THE MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL WHO CAME UP WITH A PROGRAM CALLED SAFE SPACES INITIATIVE. TEACHING COMMUNITY LEADERS, RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND COUNSELORS HOW TO DEAL WITH VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES. AND IN BOSTON, YOU ARE PLANNING TO PROVIDE FORMS AND PLATFORMS FOR COMMUNITY LEADERS IN EVERY COMMUNITY. THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY, ALL MINORITY COMMUNITIES, FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO ADVOCATE FOR NONVIOLENCE AND BE ABLE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES ONLINE, AS WELL AS IN PERSON. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING NEW TO BOSTON. AS I SAID ALL THE WAY BACK IN 1992, REVEREND BROWN STARTED THE 10-POINT COALITION,IFY REMEMBER CORRECTLY, REVEREND -- IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, REVEREND. WHERE A GROUP OF MINISTERS WORKED TO CHANGE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KIDS AND POLICE AND KIDS ON THE STREET. AND I MIGHT ADD, I'M VERY PROUD , AS VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TO SEE HOW BOSTON RESPONDED TO THE CRISIS THAT OCCURRED IN THE MARATHON. IT DID NOT TURN ITS VENOM, ITS ANGER, ITS FRUSTRATION AGAINST ANY COMMUNITY. IT RESOLVED TO PULL THE COMMUNITIES TOGETHER. I THINK THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT , AS LEAST I PERSONALLY COULD TAKE NO CREDIT FOR IT, BUT I WAS VERY PROUD OF -- I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THE ONE-YEAR ANVERSE AND BE THERE FOR THE SECOND MARATHON. I WAS PROUD, I WAS PROUD OF THE WAY THE BOSTONIANS STOOD UP AND MOVED ON. I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR, THOUGH, I'M NOT SUGGESTING TO THE PRESS OR ANY OF OUR GUESTS THAT I THINK AMERICA HAS ALL THE ANSWERS HERE. WE JUST HAVE A LOT MORE EXPERIENCE. BY THAT I MEAN, WE ARE A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS. THAT'S WHO WE ARE. THAT IS NOT HYPERBOLE. WE TALK, TEACH OUR KIDS WE'RE A MELTING POT. THE GOD'S TRUTH IS, WE ARE A MELTING POT. IT IS THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF OUR STRENGTH, IT IS THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF WHO WE ARE. WHAT WE'VE BECOME. IT STARTED ALL THE WAY BACK IN THE LATE 1700'S. THERE'S BEEN A CONSTANT UNRELENTING STREAM OF IMMIGRATION. NOT IN LITTLE TRICKLES BUT IN LARGE NUMBERS. I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE IN SINGAPORE WITH THE FORMER PRESIDENT WHO IS NOW 93 YEARS OLD AND I WAS TALKING TO HIM ON MY WAY TO CHINA, TO MEET WITH THE PRESIDENT AND I SAID, HE'S KNOWN AS SORT OF THE HENRY KISSINGER OF ASIA, FOR REAL. A VERY WISE MAN I SAID TO HIM, I SAID, WHAT ARE THE CHINESE DOING NOW? HE THOUGHT -- BECAUSE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW RAPIDLY THE MAN I'VE COME TO KNOW RELATIVELY WELL, THE PRESIDENT, HAS CONSOLIDATED POWER. AND HE SAID TO ME AND SPEAKS PERFECT ENGLISH, HE SAID, THEY'RE IN AMERICA LOOKING FOR THE BURIED BLACK BOX. AND I LOOKED AT HIM JUST LIKE YOU'RE LOOKING AT ME, LIKE, WHAT'S HE TALKING ABOUT? HE SAID, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR THAT SECRET THAT ALLOWS AMERICA TO CONSTANTLY BE ABLE TO REMAKE ITSELF. UNLIKE ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. I SAID, I CAN PRESUME TO TELL YOU WHAT'S IN THAT BLACK BOX, MR. PRESIDENT. I'M OLD ENOUGH NOW. I SAID, ONE IS THAT THERE IS -- IN AMERICA THERE'S AN OVERWHELMING SKEPTICISM FOR ORTHODOXY. FROM THE TIME A CHILD, WHETHER THEY'RE NATURALIZED OR THEY'RE NATIVE-BORN, THEY THINK ABOUT IT, A CHILD NEVER GETS CRITICIZED IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM FOR CHALLENGING ORTHODOXY. FOR CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO. I WOULD ARGUE IT'S UNLIKE ANY OTHER LARGE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. THERE'S A SECOND THING IN THAT BLACK BOX. AN UNRELENTING STREAM OF IMMIGRATION. NONSTOP, NONSTOP. FOLKS LIKE ME WHO ARE CAUCASIAN, OF EUROPEAN DESCENT, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2017 WE'LL BE AN ABSOLUTE MINORITY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ABSOLUTE MINORITY. FEWER THAN 50% OF THE PEOPLE IN AMERICA FROM THEN AND ON WILL BE WHITE EUROPEAN STOCK. THAT'S NOT A BAD THING. THAT'S A SOURCE OF OUR STRENGTH. SO, WE HAVE BEEN -- WE HAVEN'T ALWAYS GOTTEN IT RIGHT. I DON'T WANT TO -- I DON'T WANT TO SUGGEST WE HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS. BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE. OF INTEGRATING COMMUNITIES INTO THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, THE AMERICAN DREAM. A GENERATION FROM NOW, AS I SAID, THINGS WILL CHANGE EVEN MORE. IT'S NOT MERELY THAT WE'RE A MELTING POT, BUT WE'RE PROUD TO BE A MELTING POT. WITH THAT WE'VE MADE A LOT OF MISTAKES, BUT WE'VE ALSO MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS. WE'VE LEARNED A LOT OF HARD LESSONS. BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON WE'VE LEARNED, WE DON'T ALWAYS PRACTICE IT, IS THAT INCLUSION COUNTS. LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN. INCLUSION COUNTS. INCLUSION COUNTS. BEING BROUGHT IN AND MADE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY, WHETHER AS MY IRISH ANCESTORS WITH SIGNS, NO IRISH NEED APPLY, AND THE ANTI-CATHOLIC MOVEMENT OF THE NO-NOTHINGINGS IN THE LATE 1800'S, STRAIGHT THROUGH TO HOW SOME RESPOND TODAY TO THE NUMBER OF FOLKS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THAT ARE HIS SPANIC OF BACKGROUND. WE'VE -- HISPANIC OF BACKGROUND. WE'VE ALWAYS ULTIMATELY OVERCOME. IT BUT IT'S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT INCLUSION. BEING A PART OF THE WHOLE. WE STILL HAVE PROBLEMS BUT I'M PROUD OF THE AMERICAN RECORD ON CULTURE AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION OF NOT ONLY OUR MUSLIM COMMUNITIES BUT AFRICAN COMMUNITIES, ASIAN COMMUNITIES, HISPANIC COMMUNITIES, AND THE WAVE STILL CONTINUES. IT'S NOT GOING TO STOP. NOR SHOULD WE WANT IT TO STOP. AS A MATTER OF FACT, ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK WE CAN BE MOST PROUD OF. THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, WHEN I SAY WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SEE ONE ANOTHER, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT SURVEILLANCE, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT CAMERAS. I'M TALKING ABOUT BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT ONE ANOTHER AND SEE ONE ANOTHER. SEE WHO WE ARE. UNDERSTAND HOW SIMILAR WE ARE. IT'S ABOUT RECOGNIZING THE DIGNITY THAT EVERY PERSON IN AMERICA IS ENTITLED TO BE AFFORDED. WITHOUT EXCEPTION. EVERY PERSON IN AMERICA. IMMIGRATION -- EXCUSE ME, IMMIGRANT OR NATIVE-BORN. BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S ABOUT TREATING EACH OTHER WITH RESPECT AND ALTHOUGH WE NEED TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY CANNOT REPLACE CONTACT. TECHNOLOGY CAN'T REPLACE CONTACT. THAT WAS THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND THE NOTION WE HAD IN THAT BILL I WROTE A LONG TIME AGO CALLED COMMUNITY POLICING. IT WASN'T ABOUT JUST GETTING TOUGHER ON THE STREET. IT WAS ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THE POLICEMAN GOT OUT OF HIS CAR AND KNEW WHO THE LOCAL SHOP OWNER WAS, KNEW HIS NAME. MUHAMMAD, MY NAME IS OFFICER SHMEDLAP, HERE'S MY CARD -- NO, LITERALLY. LITERALLY. NOT FIGURATIVELY. WE DID COMMUNITY POLICING, THE POLICE AROUND THIS TABLE CAN TELL YOU. VIOLENT CRIME IN FOUR YEARS DROPPED OVER 19% IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. IT WAS BECAUSE THE POLICE OFFICERS WENT TO THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, THEY SHOWED UP IN THE CHURCH BASEMENTS. THEY WERE ENGAGED. AND THE GUY WHO SAID IT BEST IS A FRIEND OF MINE, WHO OCCASIONALLY GETS CRITICIZED, BUT HIS NAME IS BILL BRATEN. FORMER COMMISSIONER UP IN BOSTON AND LOS ANGELES AND NEW YORK, BOSTON, NEW YORK, L.A., NOW BACK IN NEW YORK. AND HE SAID, JOE, WHEN I WAS OUT IN LOS ANGELES, HE SAID, AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN WHO WAS AN ACTIVIST IN THE COMMUNITY CAME UP AND SAID TO ME SOMETHING I'VE NEVER FORGOTTEN. SHE SAID, THERE IS AN AFRICAN SAYING BY A LARGE AFRICAN TRIBE CENTERED JUST NORTH OF SOUTH AFRICA. AND THEY SAID, THE PHRASE IS -- AND SHE SAID, THE PHRASE IS, WE SEE YOU. WE SEE YOU. FOLKS, WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE A LOT OF PROGRESS UNLESS WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE ONE ANOTHER. WE SEE YOU. BILL BRATEN WAS CORRECT. IT'S IMPORTANT WHEN THE MINORITY COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT, FAITH LEADERS, SOCIAL WORKERS LIKE MY DAUGHTER, MENTAL HEALTH OFFICIALS, ATHLETIC ASSOCIATIONS, WMCA'S, YWCA'S ARE ALL WORKING TOGETHER. THAT'S WHERE IT WORKS, AS THE COMMUNITIES CAN TELL YOU. THAT'S WHERE IT WORKS. WHEN EVERYBODY IS IN THE GAME. IT CAN'T BE DONE WITHOUT THAT KIND OF COMMUNITY BUILDING. BUT THE EFFORTS, THE INITIATIVES THAT WE HOPE WILL ARISE FROM THIS SUMMIT ARE THOSE DESIGNED TO BRING TOGETHER COALITIONS TO HELP SOLVE THE PROBLEMS. BUT MAINLY SO EVERY CHILD AND EVERY MINORITY COMMUNITY IN AMERICA, PARTICULARLY NOW IN THE MUSLIM AMERICAN COMMUNITY, IS ABLE TO FEEL LIKE WE SEE THEM. WE ACTUALLY SEE THEM. WHO THEY ARE. CARMEN ORTIZ SAID IT BEST, HE SAID, OUR GOAL IS TO REALLY PROMOTE PUBLIC SAFETY AND TO HAVE A COMMUNITY TO BE PART OF OUR NATIONAL SECURITY. NATIONAL SECURITY FLOWS FROM A SENSE OF COMMUNITY. IT FLOWS FROM A SENSE OF COMMUNITY. SO IF YOU'RE DEALT OUT, IF YOU'RE NOT TREATED WITH RESPECT, IF YOU'RE NOT UNDERSTOOD, IF I CAN'T SEE YOU, THEN IT WON'T WORK. IT'S NOT EASY. WE HAVE SOME SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE IN THE PAST AND I HOPE WE CAN EXPAND ON IT. SO, LET ME SAY TO ALL OF YOU SINCE -- AND I APOLOGIZE FOR TAKING AS LONG AS I DID, BUT THIS IS THE OPENING SAL VOOF THIS THREE-DAY -- SALVO OF THIS THREE-DAY CONFERENCE AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE WHAT HAVE WE'RE TRYING TO DO AND TRYINGING TO FIGURE OUT WHY ALL OF YOU LEADERS HAVE BEEN INVITED, BECAUSE THAT'S BEEN YOUR BUSINESS. YOU'VE BEEN TRYING TO SEE, SEE. NOT HIDE FROM, SEE WHAT THE PROBLEMS ARE. AND RESPOND. AND IT'S NOT GOING TO BE EASY. BUT IT'S NECESSARY. AND I KNOW FROM MY DISCUSSIONS IN BELGIUM LAST WEEK, ALL OF EUROPE IS TRYINGING TO FIGURE THIS OUT RIGHT NOW. BECAUSE AGAIN, ALTHOUGH THERE'S BEEN A GOOD DEAL, THERE'S BEEN A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF IMMIGRATION OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS, 50 YEARS INTO EUROPE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, IT IS A NEWER PHENOMENON. THERE'S A LOT WE CAN DO TOGETHER, I