    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [September 19, 2001]
    [Pages 1129-1132]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1129]]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Megawati
    Sukarnoputri of Indonesia and an
    Exchange With Reporters
    September 19, 2001

        President Bush. President Megawati was just telling me she had
    visited Washington during President Kennedy's time. It is my honor to
    welcome you back to Washington and to the Oval Office as President of
    your great nation.
        I look forward to having a very good discussion about our relations,
    as well as what we're going to do, as people who love freedom, about
    terrorism. I want to thank you very much for your strong statements of
    support for the American people and your strong statement against
    terrorist activities. It meant a lot to us. You represent the nation
    with the most Muslim people in the world. I've made it clear, Madam
    President, that the war against terrorism is not a war against Muslims,
    nor is it a war against Arabs. It's a war against evil people who
    conduct crimes against innocent people.
        And so, welcome to Washington, DC. I look forward to a long
    discussion. I appreciate so very much your vision for your very
    important country. Welcome.
        President Megawati. Thank you, Mr. President. I will speak in
    Indonesian. I'm very honored to be your guest here today, even though we
    are in a moment of grief. I would like to express on behalf of the
    people and Government of Indonesia our deepest condolences to the
    American people. And we share this moment of grief with you.
        I also want to say thank you, because even though you're having a
    difficult time, you're still able to meet me in this place which I'm
    quite familiar with. Thank you very much, Mr. President.
        The President. Yes. Ron [Ron Fournier, Associated Press].

    Response to Terrorist Attacks

        Q. Mr. President, do you have any reason to believe Iraq is
    connected with the terrorist attack? And if so, what would your response
    be?
        And could I ask your guest if she could respond to her Vice
    President saying that the tragedy would cleanse the sins of the United
    States?
        President Bush. First, let me--anybody who harbors terrorists needs
    to fear the United States and the rest of the free world. Anybody who
    houses a terrorist, encourages terrorism will be held accountable. And
    we are gathering all evidence on this particular crime and other crimes
    against freedom-loving people.
        And I would strongly urge any nation in the world to reject
    terrorism, expel terrorists. I would strongly urge the Taliban to turn
    over the Al Qaida organizers who hide in their country. We're--we're on
    the case. We're gathering as much evidence as we possibly can to be able
    to make our case to the world about all countries and their willingness
    to harbor or not harbor terrorists.
        Q. A specific message to Iraq?
        President Bush. The message to every country is, there will be a
    campaign against terrorist activity, a worldwide campaign. And there is
    an outpouring of support for such a campaign. Freedom-loving people
    understand that terrorism knows no borders, that terrorists will strike
    in order to bring fear, to try to change the behavior of countries that
    love liberty. And we will not let them do that.
        Now, this is a campaign in which nations will contribute in a
    variety of ways. Some nations will be willing to join in a very overt
    way. Other nations will be willing to

    [[Page 1130]]

    join by sharing information. And information, in a campaign such as
    this, is going to be incredibly important. It's very important for us to
    be able to find where these people are. There's going to need to be a
    campaign--there needs to be a financial component of the campaign, where
    we need to cooperate to make sure we cut off funds, find these
    organizations that serve as front groups for funding these terrorist
    cells.
        And so my message to all nations is we look forward to full
    cooperation.
        Did you have a question for the President?

    Indonesia's Response

        Q. Yes. Could you respond, please, to the Vice President of your
    country who said that the tragedy will cleanse the Nation--the sins?
    Thank you.
        President Megawati. After I heard and witnessed and saw what
    happened, the tragic events in New York and Washington, I immediately
    issued a statement which strongly condemned these attacks, which were
    very inhumane. And afterwards I sent a letter to President Bush
    expressing my condolences. So this is the position of my Government on
    this issue. So it's very clear.

    Response to Terrorist Attacks

        Q. Mr. President, since you've declared war against terrorism, there
    are a number of countries who seem to be saying, not so fast. China, in
    particular, has said that any strike must be preceded by irrefutable
    evidence. Others have raised concerns about civilian casualties. So the
    first question is, are you now prepared to provide such irrefutable
    evidence to countries? And what, in your mind, is the biggest challenge
    that you face in trying to construct this coalition?
        President Bush. Well, first of all, we'll do what we need to do to
    achieve the first objective of a long campaign. And the first objective
    is to bring people to justice who we feel like committed this particular
    set of atrocities, and to hold the organization accountable and to hold
    those who harbor them accountable. That's the first objective of a very
    long campaign.
        David [David Gregory, NBC News], I think that the real challenge for
    America and our allies in this effort is to do a couple of things: One,
    condition the world, starting with our own country, that this will be a
    different kind of battle, a series of battles, that they will be fought
    visibly sometimes and sometimes we'll never see what may be taking
    place; that the--and that we fully understand that some nations will be
    comfortable supporting overt activities, some nations will be
    comfortable supporting covert activities, some nations will only be
    comfortable in providing information, others will be helpful and only
    feel comfortable helping on financial matters--I understand that;
    thirdly, that as these various--as the campaign evolves, some nations
    may take a more active role than others.
        The mindset of war must change. It is a different type of battle.
    It's a different type of battlefield. It's a different type of war. And
    that, in itself, is going to be a real challenge for America and those
    other nations who understand that, because sometimes--look, the mission
    is to rout out terrorist activities. And there's a variety of ways in
    which that can happen.
        Clearly, one of our focuses is to get people out of their caves,
    smoke them out and get them moving and get them. That's about as plainly
    as I can put it. And we're focused on that. But we're also focused, and
    we recognize that the Al Qaida organization exists in some 60-plus
    countries, and we're beginning to work with other nations that are
    receptive to the notion of fighting terrorism, and say, ``Help us round
    up these people. You can play a constructive role.''
        We fully understand that certain NGOs, nongovernmental
    organizations, serve as fronts, as a funding mechanism for terrorist

    [[Page 1131]]

    organizations. We expect there to be activity on those fronts, as well.
        So the challenge is to redefine the terms of the conflict, the
    campaign, in a way that the leaders understand, and in a way that the
    people of the world understand. There's a certain impatience with war of
    the past. People demand a certain clarity of a specific battlefield. But
    this is the first--this is a new type of struggle. It's really the first
    series of battles in the 21st century.
        Again I repeat, terrorism knows no borders. It has no capital, but
    it does have a common ideology, and that is they hate freedom, and they
    hate freedom-loving people. And they particularly hate America at this
    moment. But many leaders understand that what happened in New York City
    and Washington, DC, could have easily have happened in their capital, as
    well.
        It's a long answer to a short question.
        Q. Can I follow on one point? Do you, to your mind, have irrefutable
    evidence that links Al Qaida and specifically Usama bin Laden to these
    attacks?
        President Bush. When we take action, we will take action because we
    believe--because we know we'll be on the right. And I want to remind
    people that there have been terrorist activities on America in the past
    as well. And there has been--there have been indictments have been
    handed down. This is a war not against a specific individual, nor will
    it be a war against solely one organization. It is a war against
    terrorist activities. Our Nation must do everything we can to protect
    the homeland, and we are. The Attorney General
    briefs on a daily basis, as does the Director of the FBI, talking about what we're doing to do the best
    we can to protect the American people from any further activity.
        But the best way to make sure that America is safe, the people of
    Indonesia are safe is to find terrorism at its roots and to root it out,
    to get them out of their caves and get them moving, cut off their
    finances, and hold them accountable.

    Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian
    Authority

        Q. Mr. President, now that Chairman Arafat has said he was willing
    to fight terrorism and he wants to join your coalition, are you willing
    to talk to him?
        And for President Megawati, a quick question is, are you able to
    offer your Government and your people's support for this coalition, or
    do you have that support in your country?
        President Bush. Let me first--I would hope that Chairman Arafat
    backs up his strong statement with action. We take his words very
    seriously that he is interested in doing everything he can to reduce
    terrorism and violence in the Middle East. That was a very positive
    statement he made. And I hope he stays focused on achieving the goal he
    stated. And so to that end, our administration and our Government is
    continuing to talk to Chairman Arafat to encourage him to live up to his
    words, and at the same time working with the Israelis to encourage them
    to seize the moment. Progress is being made.
        Madam President, I said at the time, through my tears I see
    opportunity. One of the opportunities I saw was the ability not to put--
    not only for freedom-loving nations to come together to say resolutely
    we will fight terrorism, but I felt like there would be--that this event
    may shake up the attitudes of the Middle East where people would end up
    resolving to show the world that there could be peace there as well. And
    progress is being made. And I want to tell the American people, the
    Secretary of State--even though we're
    focused on what happened in New York and Washington, DC, we're also very
    much involved in the Middle East, and Secretary Powell was on the phone
    yesterday with leaders in the Middle East, urging them to seize this
    moment. And so we have a sense of--we now have a sense of optimism that
    something positive may take place in the Middle East.

    [[Page 1132]]

        Your question to the President?

    Indonesia's Response

        Q. Are you able to offer the support of your country to this
    coalition against terrorism?
        President Megawati. Indonesia has always been against violence.
    Anything that relates to violence, including acts of terrorism, we will
    definitely be against it.
        President Bush. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:22 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. A reporter referred to Vice President Hamzah Haz of Indonesia.
    President Megawati spoke in Indonesian, and her remarks were translated
    by an interpreter.