[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[April 26, 1991]
[Pages 432-435]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at an Arbor Day Tree-Planting Ceremony and an Exchange With 
Reporters
April 26, 1991

    The President. Good morning, and welcome back. It's good to see 
Secretary Madigan here, Mike Deland, and the Deputy EPA Administrator, 
and the U.S. Forest Service Director. I'm glad that you're all here on 
this beautiful day on the South Lawn. We're competing with Randy Travis, 
who's about to appear over here, so it's tough competition. But I think 
what we've got going here is very, very important.
    As J. Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day, said: ``Other 
holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future.'' Our 
tree-planting initiative to plant and maintain a billion trees a year 
for 10 years is a major component of our America the Beautiful program. 
It's an initiative that relies on voluntary individual effort. And it is 
a program that will enhance the appearance and the quality of our 
environment.
    I welcome this opportunity to thank all the organizations 
represented here today who have committed themselves to the stewardship 
of our environment. We cannot succeed without your help. There is no way 
that government alone can get this important job done.
    Later today on the White House lawn, we're going to be having a 
National Celebration of Community Service. And it is therefore fitting 
that today, Arbor Day, our 440th daily Point of Light is TreePeople of 
Los Angeles, California, an organization that has trained volunteer 
citizen foresters for 18 years and has planted over 180 million trees 
around the globe. Andy Lipkis and Katie Lipkis, the cofounders, are here 
with us this morning.
    I was reminded by a fellow schoolmate here in Washington the other 
day that every Arbor Day in our little grade school we planted a tree 
every Arbor Day. And Secretary Madigan and the Forest Service Chief 
Robertson are here today to help me plant this beautiful purple leaf 
beech donated by Russell Watson, who's with us today. And I also have 
some great helpers back

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here--look at them over there--from Washington, DC's, own Trees for the 
City program.
    So, with no further ado, again, you're most welcome. Please keep up 
this dedication to our precious environment. And now, shall we begin? 
You guys want to do the heavy shoveling here? And I'll stand by and 
critique it.

[At this point, the tree was planted.]

    Q. Mr. President, any word on the Mideast peace process?
    The President. Let me finish the tree ceremony here before I address 
myself to Iraq, if that's all right. I may not address myself to Iraq, 
either, but----
    Now what was the one question?

Administration Travel Policy

    Q. The L.A. Times says that the White House--that you are very 
unhappy with John Sununu and you are going to change the travel policy.
    The President. He has my full support, and I've said I'm going to 
review the travel policy. And there might well be changes in it because 
I want this administration to continue to be above the perception of 
impropriety. So, if that requires changes, fine. As I said before, John 
Sununu acted in accordance with existing policy. But if there's reason 
to change it, I'll be out there in the front making some suggested 
changes.
    Q. Have you made up your mind yet?
    The President. I haven't made up my mind yet. We're taking a good, 
hard look at the whole travel policy.
    Q. When do you think you'll have it?
    The President. I have no idea, Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press 
International]. But we'll be out there and get it to you as soon as we 
get it. I think you may be among the first to get it.
    Q. Call me up. My number is--[laughter].

Middle East Peace Talks

    Q. Sir, has Secretary Baker made any progress in the Middle East as 
far as moving forward the----
    The President. Yes, he's made progress. I just talked to him. 
There's sadness in his family--his mother just passed away, so he will 
be coming home, stopping short of the two meetings that he had hoped to 
have in Israel. But it is most appropriate. I mean, they're a very close 
family. And, incidentally, Barbara and I expressed our regrets to him. 
We've known Mrs. Baker for many, many years. She's one of God's very 
special people. And so, he has this personal sadness.
    But he did have a meeting with Prime Minister Shamir. And I think 
it's fair to say that, though problems remain, I think the bottom line 
is there's some reason for optimism. I don't want to state why; I'm not 
going to go into the details of it. I will get debriefed by him when he 
gets here. And there are still some sticky problems, but we're not going 
to give up. We're going to continue to try to bring peace to that 
troubled corner of the world.

Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, are you confident that the Iraqis, in fact, will 
keep their military out of the refugee zones?
    The President. Yes, they're not going to--they don't want to tangle 
with the U.S. again. They----
    Q. Do you think their promise is good?
    The President. ----learned that the hard way, and the forces are 
there to be sure that it's good; put it that way. We're not looking for 
any fight. We want to help these Kurds, and we are. What the United 
States has done in terms of bringing relief to these pitiful people is 
just--we all ought to take great pride in the way our country is 
responding--and I might say at considerable cost. We're doing it because 
it's right.
    But I do not want to intervene and get our troops hauled into some 
conflict that's been going on for years. But when it comes to helping 
people, the United States is today doing what it's always done--being 
out in front on the relief effort. But I don't expect, Rita [Rita 
Beamish, Associated Press], any complication. I don't think Saddam 
Hussein is dumb enough to want to run into the U.S. troops again.
    Q. What about the long-term prospects?
    The President. This isn't a press conference.
    Q. What about the long-term prospects, Mr. President? What happens 
when the U.S. leaves, even if there's a small U.N.

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force there?
    The President. I don't know that there's going to be lasting peace 
in Iraq. Peace has escaped those people for years. So, I would hope, 
though, that the lesson having been taught to Saddam Hussein about 
aggression, that some of that lesson might spill over in terms of his 
own internal problems. I would hope that maybe out of the talks he's 
having with the Kurdish leaders you'll see some long-sought-after peace. 
But I can't certify that. And I would hope that--I would hope----
    Q. How long will the troops stay there?
    The President. They're going to stay there as long as it takes to be 
sure these refugees are taken care of, and not a minute longer. We're 
continuing to pull troops back. I want these kids home, and so do the 
American people want them home. P.s.: We will do what's necessary to see 
that this refugee aid gets to the people that need it, and gets there so 
that they can have it in safety. And then beyond that, we talked 
yesterday to the Secretary-General, and the U.N. has a major role to 
play here. Some of the United Nations critics ought to open their eyes, 
because the United Nations not only had a significant role in the 
repelling of aggression, which was our objective, but it is also playing 
a significant role in this refugee relief. So, we're going to continue 
on that track.
    I've got to--this is the last one.
    Q. Do you still think that Saddam Hussein will be deposed? And what 
do you think----
    The President. I'm confident he will because there will not be 
normal relationships with the United States or many other countries as 
long as he is in power. Those sanctions are going to stay there as far 
as we're concerned, and undoing some evil that is not going to--by that, 
I mean, working out something possibly with the Kurds--that's only part 
of the problem. And so, there will not be normal relations with this man 
as long as I'm President of the United States. I'll guarantee you that.
    Q. Sir, he's lasted this long. What's going to put him out of power? 
What's it going to----
    The President. The fact that he's been whipped bad in the military. 
His aggression--he's been forced to that which he said he would never 
do. His people don't like him, and it's only terror that's keeping him 
in power. And someday history will show you these things manage to take 
care of themselves. And I hope it happens soon because we want him out 
of there.
    We don't have any fight with the Iraqi people. I've said that from 
day one. Go back and look at the text back in August, September, 
October. Our fight is not with the Iraqi people. Our objective was to 
repel aggression, and we did it. And the American troops deserve 
enormous credit, and they're getting it every single day they come home. 
But beyond that, this internal matter has been going on for years--years 
and years. And I'd like to see it ended. And one good way to end it is 
to have somebody with a little more compassion as President of Iraq. But 
let them worry about that problem. I worry about it because there won't 
be normal relations until he's gone. But history has a way of taking 
care of tyrants.

Soviet-U.S. Relations

    Q. ----up of the CFE treaty assure a summit this year----
    The President. I honestly didn't hear the question.
    Q. ----summit, sir. A summit?
    Q. Soviets.
    The President. No set date on a summit. I don't know where that came 
from.
    Q. Has there been progress with the Soviets, sir?
    The President. On what?
    Q. With the summit.
    The President. On the arms control agenda?
    Q. Yes.
    The President. Modest progress.

                    Note: The President spoke at 8:49 a.m. on the South 
                        Lawn at the White House. In his remarks, he 
                        referred to Secretary of Agriculture Edward R. 
                        Madigan; Michael R. Deland, Chairman of the 
                        Council on Environmental Quality; F. Henry 
                        Babicht II, Deputy Administrator of the 
                        Environmental Protection Agency; F. Dale 
                        Robertson, Chief of the Forest Service; country 
                        musician Randy Travis; Andy and Katie Lipkis,

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                        cofounders of Tree-People; Russell G. Watson, 
                        Sr., owner of Robin Hill Farm Nursery; John H. 
                        Sununu, Chief of Staff to the President; 
                        Secretary of State James A. Baker III; Mrs. 
                        James A. Baker, the Secretary's deceased mother; 
                        Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir of Israel; 
                        President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and United 
                        Nations Secretary-General Javier Perez de 
                        Cuellar de la Guerra.