    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [February 15, 1991]
    [Pages 147-148]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Exchange With Reporters in Andover, Massachusetts, on the Iraqi Offer To
    Withdraw From Kuwait
    February 15, 1991

        Q. Mr. President, is there any indication that Iraqis are turning
    around and going home?
        Q. Do you think this is words only, this Iraqi statement?
        The President. What statement? You mean this morning?
        Q. Yes.
        The President. Oh, there's no evidence of any withdrawal. I mean, as
    I said down in

    [[Page 148]]

    Washington, it's a cruel ploy. What he did was reiterate some conditions
    and add some new ones. And it's totally unacceptable to everybody.
        You know, my heart goes out to the people in Iraq that you saw kind
    of jumping with joy early on, firing their weapons--which is I guess
    their sign of joy--in the air, and only to recognize when the fine print
    came out that it was a step backwards.
        So, there's no sign of any withdrawal. I wish there were; so did the
    whole world.
        Q. ----members of the coalition, sir?
        Q. What do you think the use of the word ``withdrawal'' means? It's
    the first time we've heard that.
        The President. I don't know. It doesn't mean compliance with the
    United Nations resolutions. Until that happens, regrettably, there will
    not be a cessation of hostilities. There will be no pause, there will be
    no cease-fire, there will be no reliving experiences in the past that
    were unhelpful to a peaceful, satisfactory conclusion of the war. And
    so, there's nothing in this thing to offer hope. I wish I thought there
    was; there's not.
        Q. Any sign that this tempts any members of the coalition?
        The President. No, they're all--the ones we've talked to are all
    solid and got on this thing the minute they saw the declaration coming
    out of Baghdad, pronounced it--it was an initiative--pronounced it dead
    on arrival because there wasn't anything new or significant. There was
    just some more conditions including asking the American taxpayer to pay
    for damage in Iraq. It's the other way around--there--reparation
    sanctions are called for under the United Nations. Reparations for
    Iraq--undoes the damage that it's done to its neighbors. I don't know
    how you repay for the loss of human life in Kuwait, the brutality, the
    15-to-20-year-old Kuwaitis just this last week. You can't make amends
    for that.
        But this was a cruel ploy. And the world saw it as such, including
    the coalition, which is just as solid today as it's ever been.
        Now, I've got to get on and learn something more about the Patriot.
    But thank you all very much.

                        Note: The exchange began at 12:40 p.m. in the
                            Andover Room of the assembly building at the
                            Raytheon Missile Systems plant. In his remarks,
                            President Bush referred to President Saddam
                            Hussein of Iraq. A tape was not available for
                            verification of the content of this exchange.
                            Following the exchange, the President toured the
                            plant facilities.