    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [October 15, 2001]
    [Pages 1238-1240]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Silvio
    Berlusconi of Italy and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    October 15, 2001

        President Bush. It's my honor to welcome the leader of one of our
    Nation's best friends, the Prime Minister of a country that has had so
    much to do with our Nation and its development. I'm also pleased to be
    able to give him a lunch.

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    After all, I had one of the best lunches I've had at his--since I've
    been the President, because of the Prime Minister.
        We had a long discussion about our mutual desire to rout out
    terrorism where it might exist. He understands as well as I understand
    that the war on terrorism will be waged on many fronts, and I'm so
    pleased with the efforts of his Government to join with us in disrupting
    the financial networks of terrorist organizations. I'm pleased that
    we're sharing intelligence. I'm pleased that the Prime Minister
    understands that Al Qaida has cells all around the world, and he's more
    than willing to work with us to disrupt those cells, to bring people to
    justice. We're making progress. One reason we're making progress is
    because we've got good, strong friends such as the Italians and the
    Italian Government.
        So Mr. Prime Minister, welcome. It's my honor to have you here.
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. Thank you, Mr. President. I am here,
    first of all, to express our great pain and sadness for the attack on
    September the 11th and to say to you that if the same attack had been--
    had occurred on an Italian city, we would have felt the same pain as you
    are.
        And also I'm here to express to you our desire to be as close as
    possible and to provide both moral and material support. As I mentioned
    earlier this morning, this attack was an attack not only against
    citizens but also against freedom and liberty. The U.S. is the defensor
    of liberty all over the world, and that's what this attack was about.
        President Bush. We'll answer a couple of questions.

    Anthrax

        Q. These anthrax attacks, sir, do you believe that there is any
    connection to bin Laden's organization? Your Vice President, on Friday,
    seemed to indicate there may be some possible link.
        President Bush. There may be some possible link. We have no hard
    data yet, but it's clear that Mr. bin Laden
    is a man who is an evil man. He and his spokesmen are openly bragging
    about how they hope to inflict more pain on our country. So we're
    watching every piece of evidence. We're making sure that we connect any
    dots that we have to find out who's doing this. I wouldn't put it past
    him, but we don't have hard evidence, yet.
        Yes, Ron [Ron Fournier, Associated Press].
        Q. Do you have anything that points towards bin Laden, besides your
    gut? And has there been any other reports of anthrax-tainted mail being
    received by U.S. businesses or Government offices today?
        President Bush. There has been today. I just talked to Leader
    Daschle. His office received a letter, and
    it had anthrax in it. The letter was field tested. The staffers that
    have been exposed are being treated. The powder that had been field
    tested is now, obviously, going to the CDC lab.
        Beyond that, I don't know more about it. I spoke to the
    leader. He is, obviously, concerned, as am
    I. The key thing for the American people is to be cautious about letters
    that come from somebody you may not know, unmarked letters, letters that
    have got--that look suspicious, and give those letters and packages to
    local law authorities.
        Again, the process is working, but today the Senate majority
    leader--his office did receive a letter.
        Q. Was it definitely anthrax, or just a preliminary test, do you
    know?
        President Bush. The field test shows it to be anthrax. Ron, there's
    more tests being conducted as we speak. The leader believes it is anthrax, but we'll find out more as time
    goes on.
        They've got the letter. As he said, it was a letter that had been
    wrapped a lot and that the powder was within the confines of the--within
    the envelope. It wasn't on the outside of the envelope; it was within
    the envelope. And a staffer opened the letter. They obviously became
    suspicious of

    [[Page 1240]]

    the material within the letter and immediately called in for a field
    test. The field test was done, shows it to be anthrax, and then all
    people are being treated.

    India and Pakistan

        Q. India says it opened fire on Pakistani positions in the Kashmir
    region today, this just an hour or two after Secretary Powell landed in
    Pakistan. How helpful is something like that?
        President Bush. I haven't see a report yet, John [John King, Cable
    News Network]. And I think it is very important that India and Pakistan
    stand down during our activities in Afghanistan--down, for that matter,
    forever.
        But I am--I need to find out more about the report; I will find out
    more about the report. As you noted, our Secretary of State is in the region. One reason he's there is to talk
    to both sides about making sure that there is no--that if there are
    tensions--and obviously, there are--that they be reduced, that we are
    mindful that activities around Kashmir could create issues in that part
    of the region, particularly as we're conducting our operations in
    Afghanistan.
        Yes, sir.

    National Economy/Italian Cooperation

        Q. Mr. President, you have mentioned that you would--the other
    evening in your press conference, that you would like to see more action
    from the allies, and you mentioned what the U.K. is doing. What would
    you say about what Italy has done? And what was the subject of your
    conversation? Would you like to see something more done by Italy? And
    also from Europe, would you like to see more economic action from the
    European side to help the U.S. economy? Thank you.
        President Bush. Thank you. First of all, we're taking measures here
    at home to get our economy started. There is some optimism, as some
    numbers recently have shown that consumer confidence is getting
    stronger, that people are beginning to get on the airways more, that
    people are traveling. So there are some positive signs.
        I hope to work with--I am working with Congress and hope to get a
    stimulus package that will dovetail nicely with the tax cuts we had this
    summer, coupled with some of the spending measures we've taken since
    September the 11th.
        First of all, I'm very pleased with the cooperation and support of
    Italy. They have been very strong from the beginning. The Prime Minister
    has been very--not only supportive but has asked how to help in
    significant ways to fight terrorism.
        Again, I repeat to you, this is a war that's going to be fought on a
    variety of fronts. One such front will be to disrupt financial--the
    finances of the terrorist organizations. And he was discussing with me
    some Executive orders that had been taken recently that showed Italy's
    desire to be very firm about disrupting finances. There is a sharing of
    information that goes on.
        I'm confident that if we put out the word that we needed more help
    from Italy, they would be more than willing to help. Each of us has a
    role to play. And the Italian Government, under this good man's
    leadership, is playing a very significant role.
        We're going to go eat lunch. Thank you.
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. Grazie.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:11 p.m. on the Colonnade at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al
    Qaida terrorist organization. The Prime Minister spoke in Italian, and
    his remarks were translated by an interpreter.