    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [February 1, 1996]
    [Pages 121-127]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With President Jacques Chirac of France
    February 1, 1996

        President Clinton. Good afternoon. Please be seated.
        President Chirac and I have just concluded a very good discussion.
    Let me begin by saying how much the United States appreciates the
    President's strong leadership and the vital role France is playing all
    around the world. This is a time for the world's great democracies to
    reach out, not retreat. Many of the problems we face, including
    terrorism, international organized crime, and drugs, have no respect for
    borders. And the extraordinary opportunities we enjoy to shape a safer
    and more prosperous future for our people can be realized only if we
    stay engaged and if we work together.
        France and the United States are doing that, building on our
    historic alliance to meet the challenges of this new era. NATO is a
    cornerstone of that alliance. The President and I spent a good deal of
    time discussing its present and its future. In Bosnia, all of us can see
    NATO's critical role in ending a terrible war and helping peace to take
    hold and restoring stability to the heart of Europe. President Chirac
    and I reviewed the impressive progress our troops are making. We agreed
    the mission in Bosnia is moving forward steadily, surely, and as safely
    as possible.
        The Bosnia operation also demonstrates how well NATO can work with
    Europe's new democracies. Countries that were our Warsaw Pact
    adversaries less than a decade ago now are serving side by side with our
    troops for peace. This is a tribute to the decision that we made to
    reach out to them through the Partnership For Peace and by holding out
    the possibility of opening NATO's doors to new partners. We agreed that
    NATO must and will continue its steady progress toward enlargement and
    will strengthen its relationship with Russia.
        Let me say again, I told President Chirac how pleased we in the
    United States are with France's recent decision to move closer to the
    military side of NATO, a move that will strengthen our alliance and a
    move that is very, very important to the United States. I also welcomed
    the French efforts to build a stronger European defense identity within
    NATO. This will allow our European allies to deal more effectively with
    future security problems and spread the costs and risks of our
    leadership for peace while preserving the basic structure of NATO.
        The Franco-American partnership extends well beyond NATO and,
    indeed, well beyond Europe. We've seen it in Cambodia, where our

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    cooperation was vital to the success of democratic elections. We see it
    in Haiti, where French gendarmes are taking part in the international
    police force and playing a critical role. And in Africa, both our
    countries today are working to help people realize their tremendous
    economic and political potential. Today President Chirac and I agreed to
    work together on preventive diplomacy in Africa to begin to head off
    conflicts before they start.
        Finally, we focused on a series of new threats to the safety of our
    citizens that demand a coordinated response: the spread of weapons of
    mass destruction, terrorism, international organized crime, drug
    trafficking, and of course, the threats to the global environment.
        I welcome France's decision to end nuclear testing in the Pacific
    and its strong support for signing a zero-yield comprehensive nuclear
    test ban treaty this year. That is a project we can and we will work on
    together, and I believe we will succeed. As I said in the State of the
    Union, the comprehensive test ban treaty is one of my highest priorities
    as President. It will dramatically reduce the nuclear threat to every
    American and to people all over the world. Having France as a strong
    partner in this crusade significantly increases the prospects for
    success.
        Let me add also that we greatly appreciate France's offer to join
    and contribute to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Corporation,
    the organization that will provide alternative energy to North Korea as
    it freezes and then dismantles its dangerous nuclear weapons programs.
        This past year terrorists have taken lives of people in the very
    heart of Paris and in the very heart of America. The President and I
    agreed that our law enforcement officials can and must work even more
    closely together, sharing their experiences and their expertise until we
    succeed in defeating terrorism. We'll look at new ways to stop the flow
    of drugs to our streets and the spread of organized crime by backing
    down--cracking down harder on money laundering and making it easier to
    extradite criminals.
        Finally, let me say again to the President, I want to thank you for
    your long and consistent leadership in Bosnia, for the sacrifices made
    by the French there, especially the French soldiers. And I want to tell
    you how much it means to me and to all Americans that today you
    presented the Legion of Honor to the families of the three American
    diplomats who were killed there in the search--ultimately the successful
    search--for a peace agreement.
        This is symbolic of the friendship that the United States has with
    France. You are our oldest ally. I thought it quite appropriate today
    that we had your welcoming ceremony on the lawn of the White House in
    full view of the Jefferson Memorial, where Thomas Jefferson was our
    first envoy--the symbol of our friendship, our alliance with France.
        Now the United States has another forceful and energetic partner for
    peace and progress in President Chirac. Let me invite him to make a
    statement, welcome him again to the United States, and then we will take
    your questions.
        Mr. President.
        President Chirac. President Clinton has more or less said everything
    there was to be said, because, anyway, everything that we said he said
    wonderfully. It was all that.
        I just have some brief remarks. First of all, a sentiment of
    gratitude for the way I've been welcomed here--and I deeply appreciated
    this--welcomed in the White House and in Congress. And secondly, there
    was a very fundamental agreement between us on most of the subjects that
    we talked about. And I think the most outstanding example is Bosnia,
    where the action undertaken by President Clinton has been decisive for a
    peace agreement that a few months before that, no one could really have
    imagined. France was not absent, naturally, from this effort that led to
    this. And if the country manages to regain equilibrium in peace and come
    back to peace, this will be, to a large extent, due to the President of
    the United States.
        And I also wanted to mention two problems here which, among others,
    I'm deeply concerned about. First of all, the question of the necessary
    reform of the organization of the Atlantic Alliance in order to adapt it
    to the needs of our time. We can, I think, expect the very best in terms
    of peace from that organization as long as the organization has adapted
    to the new circumstances. And secondly, my second point is the fact that
    we really must understand how absolutely essential it is that we should
    not disengage ourselves from development aid. Many countries in the
    world are in the process of being excluded while they're precisely
    making very substantial efforts in order to try to move towards
    democracy and the market economy,

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    so we must help them in that effort. Those were the two messages that I
    wish to express today to Congress, to the Congress.
        Now lastly, I felt very deep emotion in awarding this morning to
    three wonderful women, wonderful ladies, the Legion of Honor in the name
    of the people of France and the Republic of France, the three widows of
    three great American diplomats who gave their very best efforts to help
    achieve peace and, alas, lost their life in that country of Bosnia.
        Well, those are some thoughts I wanted to share with you, but now of
    course I'm ready to answer questions.
        President Clinton. We'll call on an American journalist, and then
    President Chirac will call on a French journalist, and then we'll
    alternate back and forth until we run out of time.
        Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International].

    1996 Election and Sanctions on Iran and Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, I have a question for each President. You have had
    a lot of trouble with the Republican Congress, and at the same time you
    seem to be telling the Democrats it's every man for himself, that you
    will not campaign for a Democratic Congress, that it's self-defeating.
    So I'd like you to comment on that.
        And President Chirac, the U.N. says that a half-million Iraqi babies
    have died of malnutrition since 1990. Are you trying to persuade
    President Clinton to speed up the sanctions on Iraq and Iran?
        President Clinton. Let me answer my question first. First of all,
    who am I to criticize people who ask and report questions, but no one
    who was in the conversation thought that that's what I said. I made it
    very clear that I want more Democrats elected to Congress; I will work
    for them. I worked hard for Senator Wyden in Oregon. And I think you'd
    have to look a long time to find a President who's worked any harder to
    help his party's candidates for Congress than I have.
        I was asked a very precise question. I was asked whether I would go
    to the American people in 1996 and say, ``I cannot do anything as
    President, I cannot achieve anything as President unless you give me a
    Democratic Congress.'' And my answer to that is, was, and I will say
    again: We have had lots of experience with Presidents trying that
    argument, and it has never worked--not ever, not once.
        The American people want arguments presented to them about their
    lives and the ideas and the principles at stake. Will I campaign for
    Democrats? Yes, I have, and yes, I will. And I have organized my affairs
    so that I will be able to do quite a bit of that. Do I want more
    Democrats to get elected to Congress? Of course I do. How do I expect it
    to happen? Not by telling the American people I need it but by saying,
    ``Here's where we stand. Here's what the differences are. Here's what
    the future is. I hope you will choose the same choice that I'm making.''
        Q. You don't think you have coattails?
        President Clinton. I didn't say that. I said the coattails that come
    will come because people agree that we have better ideas for them and
    their lives. That's why. That's the argument. And every time a President
    in the entire history of the country has tried to personalize the
    election and say, ``I need this for me,'' it has never worked. The
    American people vote based on what they believe in is best for
    themselves and their families. They exercise their judgment. So you have
    to put forward a set of ideas.
        When you put forward a set of ideas and all people say that they
    agree with these ideas, then you have a good chance to prevail. That's
    what happened in `92 in a way that I like. That's what happened in '94
    in a way that I didn't like. And that's what I hope will happen in '96
    in a way that I like. I was responding to the literal way I was asked
    the question, not to my fidelity to my party or my involvement with the
    campaign efforts.
        Mr. President, you want to answer the question you were asked?
        President Chirac. Well, I would simply like to say, my dear lady,
    that at least the children who--for me, children who die of hunger is
    something that is unbearable, whatever their nationality. It's something
    that we just cannot countenance. That being said, I never, never uttered
    the sentence that you attribute to me. I might have done that, but I
    didn't.
        Now, I think concerning Iraq, because in fact that was what you
    wanted me to say something about, I think that there is an international
    organization or an international rule, if you like. There is Security
    Council, and there are certain requirements that were laid down, in
    particular Resolution 986. And my wish would be is that that resolution
    be implemented by Iraq. And if it is implemented by Iraq then, yes, I do

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    hope that the sanctions will then be lifted so that there should be
    fewer small children lacking in the basic requirements.

    NATO

        Q. A question to President Chirac. Pending the necessary reform of
    NATO, can France take a new further step to work closer to the military
    committee of NATO, the military side, as has just been said, and then
    become a full member?
        President Chirac. I don't know if everyone has understood or heard
    the question. I don't know if it has been translated.
        No, for the moment, there's not necessary for yet a further step,
    no. What's important now is that France should talk with its partners
    about the reform which, in our view, is essential, concerning the
    military organization of the alliance.
        I'd like to say that from looking at that--I'm not talking about the
    past. I mean, the past is the past. It's behind us. But with some vision
    of the future, in the way we see the future. We in fact are very close
    to the thinking of most of our great European partners, both concerning
    the diagnosis and how we should carry out the reforms. And today I was
    able to note that this viewpoint was to a very large extent shared by
    the Americans. And I said, ``Well, I am delighted at that.''

    Budget Negotiations and the Debt Limit

        Q. A few questions on the budget, sir. With little sign of life on
    the budget talks, are your agency heads drawing up plans to lay off or
    fire employees to grapple with a series of belt-tightening continuing
    resolutions for the rest of the year? And secondly, could there be a
    hint of breakthrough in the Speaker's comments today that he's
    considering a smaller, shorter lasting----
        President Clinton. First, let me say the most hopeful thing that has
    happened is the statement by the Speaker and Mr. Armey and Senator Dole
    that they intend to seek an extension to the debt limit through the
    middle of March. And I applaud that. Secondly, there have been a number
    of statements made which make me believe that the situation is far from
    gone. I still believe that there is a good chance that if we keep
    working at it, we can get a balanced budget agreement. So I think the
    atmosphere is good. I think the attitude has been basically
    constructive, and I still am quite hopeful about it. So the answer to
    your question is no, I do not foresee there to be mass layoffs and
    draconian continuing resolutions.
        President Chirac. Would there be a French lady, perhaps? Yes? We
    also have lady journalists. Please speak French. [Laughter]

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. It's a question to President Clinton. I wanted to ask him if he
    thinks a peace agreement will take place between Syria and Israel before
    the summer, and do you share the opinion of President Chirac that
    Lebanon should not have to pay the price of peace? And did you talk
    about this, and how do you see the future of Lebanon after all of this?
        President Clinton. Yes, I share the opinion of President Chirac that
    Lebanon should not be asked to pay the price of the peace agreement. I
    do not believe that the independence and future of Lebanon should be
    sacrificed, nor do I think it will be.
        Now, having said that, I believe that the only satisfactory
    resolution for Lebanon over the long run is, first, an agreement between
    Israel and Syria. I think a good peace agreement between Israel and
    Syria will make possible the right kind of future for Lebanon. As to
    when it will happen, I can't say. That is up to the parties and will be
    a function of developments within Israel and Syria, as well as the
    progress of the developments over some very difficult issues in the
    talks.
        But I can tell you this: I believe that President Asad is genuinely
    committed to the right kind of peace. And I believe Prime Minister Peres
    is genuinely committed to the right kind of peace. And I see their
    military leaders talking. I see others reaching out, trying to work
    through the complex issues that are still left to be resolved. And so
    I'm quite hopeful. But the United States does not impose timetables on
    others, nor do we project them. All we try to do is to help the parties
    make peace. The timetable, like everything else, is up to them.

    1996 Election

        Q. Mr. President, your spokesman frequently tells us that you don't
    really feel yourself to be in a campaign mode, but yet tomorrow you're
    heading to New Hampshire. Are you trying to have it both ways?
        President Clinton. Sure. Doesn't everyone? [Laughter]

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        Q. And which of these incarnations will we see in New Hampshire
    tomorrow? And will you answer Senator Dole and the other Republican
    leaders or candidates who have been saying since the State of the Union
    that you've been talking from the right but governing to the left?
        President Clinton. I think that's self-evidently not true. Of
    course, you know, sometimes I think it depends on how they define the
    left. I'm still a little to the left of Attila the Hun, I guess. It
    depends on how they define left and right. [Laughter]
        But I believe that the most important thing I can do this year is to
    do my job. And I believe it is my first responsibility. I believe that I
    can present myself to the American people as a candidate without
    completely undermining my ability to do my job. And that's what I'm
    going to try to do. But it would be inappropriate for me not to go to
    New Hampshire and Iowa before the first caucus and the first primary and
    to give an accounting to the people there in a more direct fashion.
    That's what I'm going to do. I don't know that the arguments I will make
    and the statements I will make to be that much different than I would if
    I were here in Washington, but I think they're entitled to see the
    President show up there, and I'm going to show up, try to convince them
    to be for me.
        President Chirac. I'd like to add something of this particular
    issue, if I may. If I've understood carefully, if the interpretation has
    been correct--and I have no doubt about that--President Clinton has said
    that he was to the left to Attila. Well, I didn't feel that this was
    aimed at me, quite honestly--[laughter]--whatever certain French
    journalists may feel about the subject.
        President Clinton. I'm not at all sure I'm to the left of President
    Chirac. [Laughter] That was good. [Laughter] That was good.
        Thanks.
        Q. I have a question for both Presidents. My first question to you,
    Mr. President. It seems--in English for President; and then French,
    President Chirac. [Laughter]
        President Clinton. Are you trying to have it both ways? [Laughter]
        President Chirac. Yes, all your friends already know you speak
    English, so now you speak French, right? [Laughter]

    Isolationism

        Q. Mr. President, it would appear that your understanding, agreement
    with President Chirac, it seems that you get on with him much more than
    Mr. Chirac can get on with the Republicans in the Congress who tend to
    be isolationists. Would you agree with that, and would President Chirac
    agree with that statement?
        President Clinton. Well, I hope he wouldn't agree with that
    statement, because it would not be in France's interest to get involved
    in our domestic politics. But let me say the United States, throughout
    our history, because of our relative geographic isolation from the
    turbulence that has gripped Europe in the 20th century, that gripped
    Asia in the 20th century and before, has often had periods of
    isolationism. We departed from that at the end of World War II, to wage
    with you in partnership the cold war.
        So it should not surprise anyone that, at the end of the cold war,
    when the imminent threat of a standoff with a nuclear superpower has
    lessened, that the historic isolationist impulses have reasserted
    themselves. I think the more important thing is that there is a struggle
    within both parties not to let that happen.
        As President, I can speak with one voice; even though the
    Republicans may vote together almost all of the time in the Congress,
    that is not possible for them or even for my Democratic allies in the
    Congress. So I believe one of my most important jobs is to try to
    persuade Americans of both parties not to return to isolationism, not to
    abandon our responsibilities to international development, something the
    President called on the Congress to meet today. And I would like to see
    this become America's commitment, and not a partisan one.
        I will say, I have received a lot of support from Republicans for my
    foreign policy initiatives, even though most of them oppose what we were
    trying to do in Bosnia, for example. I don't want this to become a
    partisan issue; I want America to be Europe's partner for peace and
    democracy and freedom without regard to which party is dominating our
    politics here. We are building a new consensus for that, and our
    building job is not over. But I don't think that it should become a part
    of France's concern in terms of the internal politics of the United
    States.

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        President Chirac. Yes, I certainly wouldn't wish to interfere in any
    way in domestic policy of the United States. While I can say that I get
    on very well with Bill Clinton, I say that I also got on very well with
    George Bush. So you can draw whatever conclusions you like from that.

    Flat Tax

        Q. Mr. President, a lot of people are probably interested in your
    opinion of the Malcolm Forbes success in the polls, at least, and
    specifically, how do you see his flat tax? Is this something that you're
    looking at and something that you would endorse, because it certainly
    appears to have a following out there?
        President Clinton. First of all, I don't know because I can't answer
    the question of why he's doing well, except that I know only what all of
    you tell me, you know, through the media I read about it. But I think
    that he has obviously been able to have a commanding financial lead in
    advertising his positions, and they're sharply formed and clear.
        And I think the flat tax has a lot of appeal to a lot of Americans
    for two reasons. Number one, it seems to be simple, and a lot of people
    find the Tax Code complex. It gives them a headache to think about. And
    number two, it has a superficial fairness, and even if it's not fair,
    people say, ``The system we've got is not fair, so maybe I would trade
    one unfair system for another one just for more simplicity.'' And of
    course there are some, thirdly, who believe that it would actually
    promote greater economic growth. I think that's a relatively small
    number of people.
        My problem with the flat tax is twofold. Number one, I think that
    every one I have seen--every one I have seen--is projected to run a huge
    deficit for the United States Government. And when you close the gaps
    that would be necessary to avoid running a deficit, to make it revenue
    neutral, every one I have seen raises taxes on Americans with incomes
    under $100,000. That is a level of unfairness I think is inappropriate.
        Now should we do things to simplify the Tax Code? I think we should.
    We now have, oh, 57 percent of our filers file the standard deduction at
    15 percent. We're trying to get millions more people filing their
    Federal, State, and local taxes together. We're trying to offer more
    people the opportunity to file electronically, file over the telephone.
    There may be other things we can do to make the system both fair and
    simpler.
        But I have seen no flat tax proposal which I could support, because
    I can't support going back to the early years of the eighties where we
    have some supply side theory that explodes the deficit. That's what
    we're paying for now. And I can't, in good conscience, support a system
    that would raise taxes on all Americans with incomes under $100,000.

    Foreign Aid

        Q. You said that it's important that--it's a bad thing if the
    developed countries reduce their aid to the underdeveloped countries.
    You said this, President Chirac. Do you think that President Clinton
    understood and heard your message?
        President Chirac. Yes, I did have the feeling that he really got the
    message. I didn't at all feel that I was preaching in the desert.
        President Clinton. I agree with him entirely. I am opposed to the
    reduction of United States support for the IDA. Most Americans--when the
    Congress does that, they are playing to a popular feeling in the country
    that the United States spends a fortune on foreign aid. In fact, the
    United States only spends about one percent of its budget on foreign
    aid. There is no other rich country in the world that spends a smaller
    percent of its budget on foreign aid than we do.
        Now, we can justify being a little below other countries because we
    spend a higher percentage of our income on defense with global defense
    commitments in Europe, in Japan and Korea, and elsewhere in ways that
    benefit the whole world, and south of our border. So we could be
    forgiven, perhaps, for not spending the same percentage of our income
    and our budget on foreign aid as other countries because of what we do
    for global defense. But we shouldn't be going lower. And I agree, I
    agree with President Chirac on that.
        And then, to go back to the question we were asked about
    isolationism, it seems to me that the biggest short-term danger we have
    in isolationism is on the question of not contributing that small amount
    of money in assistance programs which will prevent problems from
    occurring. I have received the support I needed from the United States
    Congress and from the American people to move in Haiti, to move in
    Bosnia,

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    to be active in the Middle East and in Northern Ireland, to do what had
    to be done, even in crises times, in other places. But the problem is
    that even in this time of balancing the budget, this is such a small
    part of our budget. President Chirac is absolutely right in emphasizing
    this to all the developed countries in the world.

    Whitewater Investigation

        Q. Mr. President, just a short time ago, Susan MacDougal's attorney
    told me that he has filed a request today to have you subpoenaed to
    testify. And that would be to substantiate Susan MacDougal's claims
    regarding David Hale and the loan. What do you think of this request,
    and would you want to testify on this matter if it comes to a subpoena?
        President Clinton. I can't comment on it, because I don't know what
    the facts are. I'm sorry.
        You want to ask one more question?
        Q. He has issued it, though.

    Bosnia

        Q. This is a question to both Presidents. It was said that the
    military American presence in Bosnia would be limited to one year. And
    you certainly talked about this. So what would be advisable? What should
    one do at the end of one year?
        President Clinton. Well, first of all, before I said that to the
    American people, there was a peace agreement in Dayton with a military
    annex that set forth precisely what the mission would be. And if I might
    compliment the Presidents of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia, they actually
    involved NATO's military leaders in developing this annex. And they
    said, here is what we want the military mission to be--not the economic
    development mission, not the civilian police mission, not the political
    mission--the military mission. We want you to separate the forces. We
    want you to maintain free movement within the country. We want you to
    help, insofar as you can, to facilitate that movement, and to give the
    parties time to let peace take hold.
        And the judgment of the military commanders was that this particular
    mission, the military mission, should go on for no more than a year,
    that after a year people should be able to worry about the other things,
    the political, the economic, the civilian law enforcement, police-type
    work that had to be done. And so I believe the world community will have
    to find mechanisms to do that.
        But at the end of the--we said about a year, the military mission,
    as defined in the Dayton talks and ratified in the Paris peace signing,
    can be completed. That's what our military people said. So all I did was
    to reflect the military opinion of our generals and NATO's generals.
        Q. Thank you, Mr. President.
        President Clinton. Thank you very much.

    Note: The President's 114th news conference began at 5:12 p.m. in Room
    450 of the Old Executive Office Building. President Chirac and the
    French journalists spoke in French, and their remarks were translated by
    an interpreter. In his remarks, the President referred to President
    Hafiz al-Asad of Syria; Prime Minister Shimon Peres of Israel;
    Republican Presidential candidate Malcolm S. (Steve) Forbes, Jr.;
    President Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina; President Franjo
    Tudjman of Croatia; and President Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia.