    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [September 28, 2001]
    [Pages 1173-1175]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With King Abdullah II of Jordan and an Exchange With Reporters
    September 28, 2001

        President Bush. Your Majesty, welcome back.
        King Abdullah. Thank you.
        President Bush. It's great to see you. I look forward to our
    discussions. Jordan is a strong, strong friend of America. And right
    after September 11th, one of the early messages I received was from His
    Majesty, expressing the condolences of the Jordanian people, as well as
    his own personal condolences.
        I'm so pleased with our cooperative--the cooperation we have in
    fighting terror. I have assured His Majesty that our war is against
    evil, not against Islam. There are thousands of Muslims who proudly call
    themselves Americans, and they know what I know, that the Muslim faith
    is based upon

    [[Page 1174]]

    peace and love and compassion--the exact opposite of the teachings of
    the Al Qaida organization, which is based upon evil and hate and
    destruction.
        And finally, Your Majesty, as a welcoming gift, it is my honor to
    present you with a pen. This is no ordinary pen, since it's the pen I
    used to sign the Free Trade Agreement with Jordan this morning. At long
    last, we have together accomplished one of your main objectives in terms
    of economic cooperation, which is the Free Trade Agreement. I'm proud of
    the actions of our leadership in the House and the Senate, from both
    political parties, that recognize the importance of trade with Jordan.
    And so, Your Majesty, it's now officially the law, and here's the pen
    that signed it.
        King Abdullah. Thank you very much, sir. Very grateful.
        President Bush. Welcome back to the Oval Office.
        King Abdullah. Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to thank
    you for seeing us today. Obviously, I wish our meeting was under better
    circumstances, but obviously we're here to give our full, unequivocal
    support to you and to the people of America. And we will stand by you in
    these very difficult times. And we're proud of our friendship. We're
    proud of the relations we've had with your country over many, many
    years, as far back as his late Majesty, King Hussein.
        And it's in difficult times like this that true friends must stand
    with each other, and we'll be by your side, and we'll be there to
    support you. And I'm here to see what we can do to help.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir.
        We'll take a few questions.
        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. You're after the retirement lady. [Laughter]
        Q. I'm now the retirement lady. I feel very old. [Laughter]
        President Bush. Well, once you leave the White House, we view it as
    retirement. But go ahead. [Laughter]

    Saudi Arabia

        Q. What's your reaction to the Saudis' announcement that we can--
    that the U.S. can use airbases? And also, do you feel the military
    deployment is adequate? Do you feel comfortable with where it is?
        President Bush. Well, first, we will not be discussing any of the--
    our military plans. It is very important for the American people to know
    that any public discussion of military or intelligence matters could
    jeopardize any mission that we may be thinking about.
        Secondly, that I am most pleased with the cooperation we're getting
    in the Middle East. Clearly, the cooperation with our friend the
    Jordanians is strong and powerful, and we're united--but the Saudis as
    well. Not only are they helping stabilize Pakistan, which is a very
    important part of our diplomatic efforts; they are also cooperating with
    us in terms of any military planning we might be doing. And I'm really
    pleased.
        I had very good discussions--I know the King has as well--with our
    Saudi Arabian friends.
        Ron [Ron Fournier, Associated Press].

    Russian Experience in Afghanistan

        Q. Mr. President, thank you. Have you had any chance to study the
    long and difficult conflict that the Russians had in Afghanistan? And if
    so, what, if anything, did you learn that might be helpful in the
    conflict you have coming ahead?
        President Bush. Well, one of the things we will do is enforce the
    doctrine, part of the doctrine that says, if you harbor a terrorist,
    you're just as guilty as a terrorist. And in my speech to the Nation, I
    laid out the conditions that we expect the current Government of
    Afghanistan to follow.

    [[Page 1175]]

        I am fully aware of the difficulties the Russians had in
    Afghanistan. Our intelligence people and our State Department people are
    also fully aware. It is very hard to fight a conventional war--a
    guerrilla war with conventional forces. And we understand that. That's
    why I have explained to the American people that the new war on terror
    is going to be a different war. It will be fought on a variety of
    fronts. It will be fought on a financial front. It will require the best
    of intelligence and the sharing of intelligence. There may or may not be
    a conventional component to it.
        I said loud and clear, sometimes people will be able to see what we
    do on the television screens. Other times the American people won't be
    able to see what we're doing. But make no mistake about it; we're in hot
    pursuit. We're going to enforce the doctrine. We're going to be diligent
    and patient and determined to bring people to justice and to rout out
    terrorist activity around the world.
        And so there have been lessons learned in the past, and our
    Government is very aware of those lessons.
        Jim [Jim Angle, FOX News].

    Afghanistan/Middle Eastern Response

        Q. Mr. President, if I may, for Your Highness, how difficult is it
    for Middle Eastern nations to unite against someone who claims to be
    speaking and acting on behalf of Islam?
        And Mr. President, what's your reaction to word today that the
    Taliban says it has now located Usama bin Laden and has delivered an
    invitation to him to leave the country?
        President Bush. First of all--I'll answer first, and then Your
    Majesty. First, there is no negotiations with the Taliban. They heard
    what I said. And now they can act. And it's not just Mr. bin Laden that we expect to see and brought to justice;
    it's everybody associated with his organization that's in Afghanistan.
    And not only those directly associated with Mr. bin Laden, any terrorist
    that is housed and fed in Afghanistan needs to be handed over. And
    finally, we expect there to be complete destruction of terrorist camps.
    That's what I told them; that's what I mean. And we expect them--we
    expect them to not only hear what I say but to do something about it.
        And I want to tell His Majesty what I said the other day, and then
    he can respond to your question. The Al Qaida people don't represent
    Islam, as far as America is concerned. They represent evil. They're evil
    people. And that's not the Muslim faith that I know and understand, nor
    is it the Muslim faith of millions of Americans who are proud and devout
    Muslims.
        King Abdullah. Well, sir, as the President so well put it, what
    these people stand for is completely against all the principles that
    Arab Muslims believe in. And so, on those principles alone, I think it
    will be very, very easy for people to stand together. As the President
    said, this is a fight against evil, and the majority of Arabs and
    Muslims will band together with our colleagues all over the world to be
    able to put an end to this horrible scourge of international terrorism.
    And you'll see a united front.

    Note: The President spoke at 11 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al
    Qaida terrorist organization.