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THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                         (Annapolis, Maryland)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                       May 22, 1998

FACT SHEET

SUMMARY OF PRESIDENTIAL DECISION DIRECTIVES 62 AND 63

President Clinton today ordered the strengthening of the nation's defenses against emerging unconventional threats to the United States: terrorist acts, weapons of mass destruction, assaults on our critical infrastructures and cyber-attacks.

The Combating Terrorism directive (PDD-62) highlights the growing threat of unconventional attacks against the United States. It details a new and more systematic approach to fighting terrorism by bringing a program management approach to U.S. counter-terrorism efforts.

The directive also establishes the office of the National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection and Counter-Terrorism which will oversee a broad variety of relevant policies and programs including areas such as counter-terrorism, protection of critical infrastructure, preparedness and consequence management for weapons of mass destruction.

The Critical Infrastructure Protection directive (PDD-63) calls for a national effort to assure the security of the increasingly vulnerable and interconnected infrastructures of the United States. Such infrastructures include telecommunications, banking and finance, energy, transportation, and essential government services. The directive requires immediate federal government action including risk assessment and planning to reduce exposure to attack. It stresses the critical importance of cooperation between the government and the private sector by linking designated agencies with private sector representatives.

For more detailed information on this Presidential Decision Directive, contact the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (703) 696-9395 for copies of the White Paper on Critical Infrastructure Protection.

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