Chertoff Warns the World about Complacency with Historic Speech at Westminster College, Fulton, MO

Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff presented a lecture at Westminster College on Oct. 17, 2007, titled "The Battle for Our Future." His address is attracting national attention as a history-making echo of other famous prophetic speeches at the same college by Winston Churchhill, Margaret Thatcher, and Ronald Reagan.

CHERTOFF WESTMINSTER SPEECH CALLED "ONE OF HIS STRONGEST." Fox News Live reported on Secretary Chertoff's speech at Westminster College Wednesday, saying, "We may look back on Chertoff's speech...as one of his strongest where he warned the nation has become complacent and there are consequences, much like his 'gut feeling' comment in the summer, where he suggested that an attack on the US or US interests appears inevitable." Chertoff was shown saying, "As we stand here, I believe we still face the kind of weary complacency that Churchill and Reagan and Thatcher confronted in their own time when they had to speak here about the grim world in which we face."

A crowd numbering between 850 and 1,000 attended the college lecture and gave Secretary Chertoff a standing ovation at the beginning and end of his remarks. A small group of protesters representing Amnesty International were present. They numbered between 8 and 25 and included one professor according to different eye witness accounts. Students from the college asked questions of the Secretary after his speech, and his answers were masterful, dynamic, and thought-provoking. It was truly history in the making.

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