    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [December 14, 2001]
    [Pages 1515-1517]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Thaksin
    Chinnawat of Thailand and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    December 14, 2001

        The President. I want to welcome the Prime Minister of our longtime
    friend Thailand to the Oval Office. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you so
    much for being here.
        Prime Minister Thaksin. Thank you, Mr. President.
        The President. This is not the first time I've had a chance to have
    a meaningful discussion with the Prime Minister. We sat next to each
    other in Shanghai, and we had a couple of hours worth of very
    substantive discussions about our relationships, about our mutual
    concerns, about our desire to work closely together on a variety of
    fronts. The Prime Minister has assured me--and this visit is further
    confirmation--that our longtime friend will be a steady ally in the
    fight against terror. Mr. Prime Minister, I thank you for that.
        And secondly, today our Secretary of State and the Foreign Minister
    of his government are going to work on a framework for economic
    cooperation which will be completed. And it's further evidence that this
    relationship is a strong, strong relationship.
        And so, Mr. Prime Minister, I'm so thrilled you are here, and
    welcome to the Oval Office.
        Prime Minister Thaksin. Thank you, Mr. President. Thailand and the
    U.S. has been treaty allies since 1833. This is very right for me to
    visit and giving full support to U.S., which is our very long ally. And
    it's very right for me to discuss war against terrorism and also
    economic issues that we should further enhance the cooperation among our
    two countries.
        The President. Thank you.
        Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters]--what we're going to do is two
    questions from the American press, two questions from our visitors, if
    there are any. Steve.

    Usama bin Laden

        Q. Sir, what do you expect Americans to get out of the bin Laden
    tape? And what do you say to some of the Islamic world who contend it's
    a farce or a fake?
        The President. Well, for those who contend it's a farce or a fake
    are hoping for the best about an evil man. I mean, this

    [[Page 1516]]

    is bin Laden unedited. This is bin Laden--the bin Laden who has murdered
    people. This is the man who sent innocent people to their death by--this
    is a man who is so devious and so coldhearted that he laughs about the
    suicide--so-called suicide bombers that lost their lives.
        It is preposterous for anybody to think that this tape is doctored.
    That's just a feeble excuse to provide weak support for an incredibly
    evil man.
        And you know, I had mixed emotions about this tape because there's a
    lot of people who suffered as a result of his evil. And I was hesitant
    to allow there to be a vivid reminder of their loss and tragedy
    displayed on our TVs. On the other hand, I knew that it would be--that
    the tape would be a devastating declaration of guilt for this evil
    person.
        Ron [Ron Fournier, Associated Press].
        Q. Sir, two things. Is Usama bin Laden cornered? And when you weigh
    the pros and cons of either option, would you rather take him alive so
    you can question him or dead so you don't have to deal with him?
        The President. I don't care. Dead or alive, either way. I mean, I--
    it doesn't matter to me.
        Secondly, I don't know whether we're going to get him tomorrow, or a
    month from now, or a year from now. I really don't know. But we're going
    to get him. And I--the American people must understand that I have no
    timetable in mind. There's no--I don't have a calendar that I say,
    ``Well, gosh, if he's not gotten by this certain moment, then I'll be
    disappointed,'' because I am pleased with the progress that we're making
    in Afghanistan. I mean, there is no such thing as a Taliban. We have
    liberated, literally liberated village after village from incredible
    barbaric behavior toward women and children. I think one of the joyous
    parts of this war, if there is such a thing as a joyous part of a war,
    is to see the--is to see what it means for our country and our alliance
    to free people.
        We're achieving a lot of our objectives, but we're chasing a person,
    obviously, who is willing to send suicide bombers, on the one hand, and
    hide in a cave; somebody who is--encourages young people to go kill
    themselves, and he, himself, refuses to stand and fight. And so he may
    hide for a while, but we'll get him.
        Anybody care to talk to the Prime Minister?

    Situation in the Middle East

        Q. I'll ask one. Mr. President, do you see any signs of hope or
    progress in stopping the killing in the Middle East? And do you believe
    that Israel has been justified in its retaliatory actions against the
    Palestinian leadership and in the Prime Minister's decision to cut off
    contacts with Chairman Arafat?
        The President. First, let me talk about Chairman Arafat. Chairman
    Arafat has said that he intends to fight
    terror and to bring those to justice who are killing--murderers--in the
    Middle East, and now is his time to perform. The world expects Chairman
    Arafat to lead, and so do I. And I will continue to work with our
    friends and allies to make it--to talk to Mr. Arafat in very blunt
    terms.
        And that is, if you want to achieve the Mitchell--if you want to get
    in the Mitchell process, if you want there to be a peace, you must do
    everything in your power; you must use your security forces to bring to
    justice those who murder to keep peace from happening.
        The world has now seen that there are killers and murderers around
    the world and in the Middle East that are not interested in peace. Our
    Government strongly desires peace. We have sent emissaries throughout my
    administration to work to get a secure enough environment to get into
    the Mitchell process. We still have a man in place, General
    Zinni, working to get there to be some kind of
    security arrangements so we could possibly get into Mitchell. But so
    long as there's killers and people who

    [[Page 1517]]

    would derail the peace process by murdering others, it's going to be
    very difficult to do.
        I will continue to make peace in the Middle East a priority, and it
    starts with routing out terror wherever it exists.
        Listen, thank you all very much. Have a great weekend.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:50 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Minister of Foreign Affairs
    Surakiat Sathianthai of Thailand; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al
    Qaida terrorist organization; Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian
    Authority; and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Gen. Anthony Zinni,
    USMC (Ret.). The President also referred to the Report of the Sharm el-
    Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, chaired by former Senator George J.
    Mitchell, issued April 30. A reporter referred to Prime Minister Ariel
    Sharon of Israel.