    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [December 28, 2001]
    [Pages 1546-1553]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Welcoming General Tommy R. Franks
    and an Exchange With Reporters in Crawford, Texas
    December 28, 2001

        The President. Good morning. As you can see, I've invited a guest to
    come to the ranch. Tommy Franks is no stranger to Texas. After all, he
    was raised in Midland, Texas. And I'm looking forward to taking him over
    to the house here in a minute to say hello to Laura. Both of them went to Midland Lee High School, at about
    the same time.
        But Tommy has just come back from the Afghan theater. He gave me a
    full briefing on what he saw and what he heard. We just got off of a
    teleconference with the national security team, to discuss his trip and
    to discuss what's taking place in Afghanistan.
        I want to thank you for coming, Tommy. I am real proud of the
    military, and I'm proud of the commander. Tommy has done everything
    we've asked. He is fulfilling the mission with patience and discipline
    and success. He's a down-to-earth, no-nonsense guy, precisely the kind
    of man we need to lead a complex mission such as this.
        You know, a couple of months ago, a lot of people said that this
    administration and our military really weren't sure what we were doing.
    But I had confidence all along, and the reason why I did--confidence in
    the success of what we set out to do--was because I had a chance to be
    briefed by Tommy Franks on the strategy and on the plan and on how we
    were going to use our United States military. And he hasn't let us down.
    The country needs to be proud of the military, and one reason that I'm
    so pleased to welcome Tommy

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    is to be able to say that out loud in Tommy's presence.
        So I'm going to have Tommy say a few words, and then we'll be glad
    to answer a couple of questions.
        General Franks. Thank you, Mr. President. As the President said, my
    wife and I recently have had an opportunity to be with a bunch of great
    young people, soldiers and sailors, airmen, marines, in the frontline
    states around Afghanistan and in Afghanistan and Kandahar and at Camp
    Rhino and up in Kabul. We had a chance to meet with these young people
    who are doing the work for the Nation.
        We also had a chance to attend the installation ceremony in
    Afghanistan, where we saw Mr. Karzai and members of that team form an
    interim government in Afghanistan, where for the first time in decades,
    more than 26 million people will have an opportunity to have their way
    represented in that government.
        And the combination of seeing these great young people and seeing
    this momentous event just filled me with a desire to be able to brief
    the President on what's going on over there in the theater, on what our
    people are doing, how they feel about what they're doing.
        And so, Mr. President, thanks very much for having me out here in
    Crawford.
        The President. You bet.
        Scott [Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press].

    Videotape of Usama bin Laden/War on
    Terrorism

        Q. Mr. President, what's your reaction to the new bin Laden tape
    this week? And do you fear he's now eluded the manhunt? Also, are you
    concerned that if military tribunals require a unanimous verdict for the
    death penalty, some terrorists could avoid execution?
        The President. Let me start with the first of your three questions,
    which was what? I've already forgotten.
        Q. What's your reaction to the bin Laden tape? Are you afraid he's
    eluded the manhunt?
        The President. Oh, the tape, yes. I didn't watch it all. I saw
    snippets of it on TV. You know, it's--who knows when it was made.
    Secondly, he is not escaping us. This is a guy who, 3 months ago, was in
    control of a country. Now he's maybe in control of a cave. He's on the
    run.
        Listen, a while ago I said to the American people, our objective is
    more than bin Laden, but one of the things for certain is we're going to
    get him running and keep him running and bring him to justice. And
    that's what's happening. He's on the run, if he's running at all.
        So we don't know whether he's in a cave with the door shut or a cave
    with the door open; we just don't know. There's all kinds of reports and
    all kinds of speculation, but one thing we know is that he's not in
    charge of Afghanistan anymore. He's not in charge of the--he's not the
    parasite that invaded the host, the Taliban. We know that for certain.
    And we also know that we're on the hunt, and he knows that we're on the
    hunt. And I like our position better than his.
        In terms of whether or not the tribunals will be able to render the
    justice necessary, that--I spoke to the Secretary of Defense today about the story in the newspaper. Evidently,
    somebody in our Government wanted to show off to his family or her
    family in between Christmas and New Year's by leaking information in the
    press that he or she thought would be helpful to the Government. The
    truth of the matter is, the Secretary of Defense hadn't even seen the
    report that was on the front page of America's newspapers. So my answer
    to your question, Scott, is I know that the leaked report is
    preliminary, that they're still in discussions about how best to bring
    justice.
        But one thing is for certain, that whatever the procedures are for
    the military tribunals, our system will be more fair than

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    the system of bin Laden and the Taliban. That is for certain. The
    prisoners that we capture will be given a heck of a lot better chance in
    court than those citizens of ours who were in the World Trade Center or
    in the Pentagon were given by Mr. bin Laden.
        David [David Gregory, NBC News]. Good to see you, lad.
        Q. Good to see you.
        The President. Thank you.
        Q. Can you say with confidence now that Usama bin Laden is no longer
    in a position to mastermind another terrorist attack against the United
    States or our allies? And related to that, you talked about 2002 being a
    year of war. What can you say to prepare the American people for what
    that vision is, what they need to be prepared for, as compared to what
    they've seen in Afghanistan?
        The President. Well, I hope 2002 is a year of peace. But I am also
    realistic, and I know full well that bin Laden and his cronies would
    like to harm America again; bin Laden and his cronies would like to harm
    our allies. How do I know that? I receive intelligence reports on a
    daily basis that indicates that that's his desires. And therefore, the
    United States must be vigilant, must make sure we continue to focus on
    our homeland security measures, must disrupt, must use our intelligence-
    gathering network to prevent the enemy from attacking. And so, while I
    hope 2002 is a year of peace, I'm realistic.
        As to whether or not bin Laden is in control of some network, who
    knows? The thing we're certain about is that he's on the run, that he's
    hiding in caves, if hiding at all. And the other thing I'm certain about
    is we will bring him to justice. I don't know whether it's going to be
    tomorrow, but Tommy will tell you that I haven't said, ``Tommy, get him
    tomorrow.'' I said, ``Just get him,'' and we will. We will bring him to
    justice.
        We don't know, David, whether or not he's given any orders to any of
    his soldiers, but we take nothing for granted. And so our country still
    remains on alert, and we're actively looking for anybody who would harm
    America.
        The shoe bomber was a case in point, where
    the country has been on alert. A stewardess on an American Airlines
    flight--or a flight attendant on an American Airlines flight was
    vigilant, saw something amiss, and responded. It's an indication that
    the culture of America has shifted to one of alertness. And I'm grateful
    for the flight attendant's response, as I'm sure the passengers on that
    airplane. But we've got to be aware that there are still enemies to the
    country. And our Government is responding accordingly.

    Situation in South Asia

        Q. Mr. President, do you think that India and Pakistan are sliding
    toward war?
        The President. One of the things that we discussed today in the
    national security conference, and I discussed yesterday with members of
    my national security team, was the India and Pakistan issue. Colin
    Powell has spoke to both sides today, urging
    restraint, urging calm. I was pleased to--I'm pleased to note that
    President Musharraf has announced the
    arrest of 50 extreme terrorists--extremists or terrorists. And I hope
    India takes note of that, that the President is responding forcefully
    and actively to bring those who would harm others to justice.
        The war on terror is not just an American war on terrorists; it's a
    civilized government war on terror that we're talking about here. But my
    Government and my administration is working actively to bring some calm
    in the region, to hopefully convince both sides to stop the escalation
    of force. And as I say, I'm pleased that President Musharraf is responding to the Indian requests to round up those
    who would do harm to others and incarcerate them, which he did.

    [[Page 1549]]

    Argentina

        Q. Are you making any calls yourself, sir?
        The President. Not yet. I will if need be. As a matter of fact, I
    have been making calls recently to leaders in our own hemisphere. I
    spoke to the Presidents of Mexico and
    Uruguay, Chile and
    Brazil about the Argentinean
    situation. I made it clear to those Governments that we want to work
    with them, to work together to make sure that the Argentineans
    understand that we will support a plan that sustains economic growth--
    we're willing to offer technical assistance through the IMF--that our
    Government is aware of what's taking place and that we're fully engaged
    in the issue.

    Impact of September 11 on the President

        Q. Mr. President, some say that the events of 2001 have changed you,
    while others say that you're the same person you always were.
        The President. Yes.
        Q. Who's right? Or is it fair to say there's some truth in both
    arguments?
        The President. Talk to my wife. [Laughter] I
    don't know. I don't spend a lot of time looking in the mirror, except
    when I comb my hair. And--listen, I'll give you a hint. I liked coming
    to the ranch before September the 11th; I like coming to the ranch after
    September the 11th.

    Enron Corporation

        Q. [Inaudible]--the war for a moment. Have you had any contact with
    Ken Lay or other Enron officials in the last 6 weeks----
        The President. No.
        Q. ----and do you think that there is something the Government
    should do to help Enron----
        The President. I have had no contact with Enron officials in the
    last 6 weeks. Do I think the Government ought to help what now?
        Q. Help Enron or do something to help prevent some of these
    employees from losing their life savings.
        The President. Well, I think the life savings issue is something we
    need to look into. I think it's very important to understand what took
    place. The Government will be looking into this. I mean, the SEC will be
    looking into matters; Congress appears to be looking into matters. There
    will be a lot of Government inquiry into Enron and what took place
    there.
        I'm deeply concerned about the citizens of Houston who worked for
    Enron who lost life savings. It's very troubling to read the stories
    about those who locked up Enron stock--had their Enron stock locked up
    in their 401(k) plans and then saw their savings dissipate. I think it's
    very important for us to fully understand the why's of Enron. And there
    will be plenty of investigations.

    Recess Appointments

        Q. Sir, will you make recess appointments----
        The President. Thinking about it. I don't know yet. I'm right now
    focused on the military operations in Afghanistan and giving Tommy a
    tour of my ranch. But I, at the appropriate time, will take a good, hard
    look at recess appointments.
        I'm disappointed that a lot of my appointments were stalled in the
    United States Senate, weren't given a hearing. This Scalia man got out of committee, but never given a vote on the
    floor of the Senate. He's a good fellow; he ought to be approved. But
    I'll take a good, hard look at all the options available to me.

    Operation Enduring Freedom

        Q. Mr. President, is there a timetable in your mind for withdrawing
    U.S. troops from Afghanistan? Or as long as bin Laden is still on the
    run, do you imagine them being there indefinitely?
        The President. I imagine us being there for quite a long period of
    time. But my

    [[Page 1550]]

    timetable is going to be set by Tommy Franks. Tommy is in charge of the
    military operations; he's in charge of the military. I'll let Tommy
    speak for himself, but I will tell you this: We won't be making
    political decisions about what to do with our military.
        I gave Tommy a mission; it was a well-defined mission. And Tommy is
    in charge of getting that mission done, and when Tommy says, ``Mission
    complete, Mr. President,'' that's when we start moving troops out. But
    until he says that, I am--I will make the case to the American people
    that we're doing the right thing.
        Q. What's your definition of the mission being complete in
    Afghanistan, sir?
        The President. In Afghanistan? Well, Taliban gone, the country
    secure, the country stable, that Al Qaida cells rounded up, Taliban
    fighters brought to justice. The over 6,000 troops, prisoners being
    held--prisoners of war being held by our allies interrogated, finger-
    printing--I mean, there's a lot to do. And the American people just must
    understand when I said that we need to be patient, that I meant it. And
    we're going to be there for a while. And I don't know the exact moment
    when we leave, David, but it's not until this mission is complete.
        The world must know that this administration will not blink in the
    face of danger, and will not tire when it comes to completing the
    missions that we said we would do. The world will learn that when the
    United States is harmed, we will follow through. The world will see that
    when we put a coalition together that says, ``Join us,'' I mean it. And
    when I ask others to participate, I mean it. And in order to lead the
    coalition, we must show that we will complete the mission. And part of
    that mission is, as Tommy will tell you, is to make sure that
    Afghanistan is a stable country.
        And he's got a lot to say on that if you want him to talk about it.
    Okay, bring the man to the mike.
        Q. General Franks, could you talk about how you took evasive action
    when you were fired upon the other day? There was a report yesterday
    that your helicopter was fired upon.
        Q. You should get right to that, sir, after you do the first
    question. [Laughter]
        General Franks. Let me take that--let me take your question first.
    As we look around, today we have more than 50 nations involved in this
    coalition effort and around Afghanistan, providing support and so forth.
    We have 26 nations represented at our headquarters down in Tampa,
    Florida. We have 16 nations represented on the ground or in the air or
    at sea around Afghanistan.
        And it's interesting that over the past 10 days, the numbers I've
    just described have grown, rather than shrinking. I think the view is
    that Afghanistan is a part of a global effort against terrorism, that
    we'll stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to do what the President
    has said. We will do away with the Taliban, and that has been done. We
    now have a legitimate interim government in Kabul.
        We will destroy the Al Qaida terrorist network inside Afghanistan.
    We will take care of the screening and the work that needs to be done
    with all these detainees--finger-printing, DNA work, photography,
    screening, interrogation. We'll determine which ones need to be brought
    out and need to be handled in some form of legal process.
        How long will that take? I think the President said it immediately
    after the 11th of September, and I think many of us have said it about
    every day since then: It will take as long as it takes.
        Interesting to me, the fact that these young people standing at
    Kandahar Airport a few nights ago, in the middle of the night, watching
    the USO show, showed me absolutely no desire to leave their mission at
    all. And so, I think it's best for all of us to recognize that we will
    not be hurried;

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    we will not be pressed into doing something that does not represent our
    national objectives; and we will take as long as it takes.
        And a very short answer to the business of the helicopter--I have
    been told since I took that helicopter ride that someone took a shot at
    the helicopter. I didn't see it when it happened, and I believe it may
    have happened, but then again, this is Afghanistan, and we have pockets
    of Taliban still in that country. And that's one of the reasons that
    we're going to stay there until we have mopped all that up.
        Q. Mr. President----
        The President. Yes. It's your big day, Scott, two questions.
        Q. A one-part question this time, I promise.
        The President. Four questions, excuse me. [Laughter]

    Usama bin Laden

        Q. Would you prefer to see bin Laden captured and questioned about
    the attacks and possible future attacks?
        The President. You know, dead or alive is fine with me.

    Argentina

        Q. Mr. President, you mentioned Argentina, and you talked about you
    support more technical assistance from the IMF for them. Would you
    support more money for Argentina from the IMF, or has the well kind of
    run dry there?
        The President. Well, it depends upon what Argentina decides to do.
    The key for Argentina is to get her fiscal house in order, get monetary
    policy in order, and to develop a plan that will show sustained economic
    vitality and economic growth. But it's up to Argentina on how to develop
    the plan. As you know, there's been an interim government in place;
    there will be elections in a couple of months. And the point we've made
    to the Argentinean Government, as well as to our friends in the region,
    is that we will be willing to help them develop the plan, if they ask
    for technical advice. It will all be done through the IMF.
        But the first order of business is for the Argentineans to develop a
    plan to show us how they're going to get their house in order. They've
    got a lot of work to do, but--and all of us that are concerned about
    Argentina are willing to work together to get the job done. There was
    near unanimity on my phone calls to the other leaders in the region
    that--of the course of action that I just laid out.

    Military Tribunals/John Walker Lindh

        Q. Have you decided that anybody should be subjected to a military
    tribunal?
        The President. Well, Americans shouldn't, as you know. I mean, I
    excluded any Americans.
        Q. Of the prisoners, have you decided that anyone----
        The President. Oh, have I made any decisions yet? Not at all; not
    yet, Dave. We're still--I still want to make sure that the--I still want
    to see what the Secretary of Defense
    recommends as to how to proceed. He has--as I said, he hasn't seen the
    now-famous document that some American decided to leak.
        I don't know why people do that. I guess either to make you feel
    good and/or to make themselves feel good. But nevertheless, it was not
    very helpful. And as the Secretary of Defense said, he hasn't even seen the document yet. But they're working
    through, and we're working through, as you know, all the other types of
    cases that have come forward. I mean, as Tommy said, there's a lot of
    people to be questioned, and there's also a lot of decisions to be made
    as to how to run these folks through our system. And we're just not
    quite there yet. We've got time.
        Q. What about Walker?
        The President. Well, same situation. We've got time. And Walker is
    well-berthed on a U.S. warship. It's a heck of a lot more comfortable on
    that ship than he was in the basement of that prison. When he

    [[Page 1552]]

    decided--when he was captured, Walker made a terrible decision, and our
    system is such that he'll have proper justice. But he's working with the
    enemy, and we'll see how the courts deal with that.

    Airline Treatment of Secret Service Agent

        Q. Sir, were you upset that that Secret Service agent was kept off
    that plane? Because you have been saying this----
        The President. Yes, I was. I talked to the man this morning. I told
    him how proud I was that he was by my side. He's here on the ranch, and
    he's guarding me. And of course, I was. We'll let the facts--they're
    going to get the facts out. There's an inquiry going on as to
    specifically what took place. But if he was treated that way because of
    his ethnicity, that will make me madder than heck.

    Usama bin Laden

        Q. There are increasing news reports that bin Laden escaped to
    Pakistan----
        The President. Oh, yeah? Well, sorry to interrupt your question, but
    if you'd asked me the question yesterday, you would have said there's
    increasing news reports that he's dead, and the day before, that he's
    hiding in a cave. In other words, there's increasing speculation about
    bin Laden. But what one shouldn't speculate on is if he's alive, he's on
    the run. And you don't need to worry about whether or not we're going to
    get him, because we are. And it's just a matter of time. I mean, I've
    read reports where he dyed his hair red. That's not going to stop us
    from finding him.
        Q. But what assurances have you gotten from President Musharraf that
    if that is the case, that he'll find him and turn him----
        The President. Well, I appreciate that. President
    Musharraf has been very helpful. Tommy has
    visited with him; I visited with him; the Secretary of Defense has visited with him. And he said he will help in
    all matters. And we believe he'll help with Mr. bin Laden, too, if in
    fact he happens to be in Pakistan. Who knows where he is? But one thing
    is for certain: He's on the losing side of a rout. And the other thing
    for certain is we're not going to stop until we get him and all those
    murderers that are associated with him.
        And who knows how many we've gotten to date, because we're gathering
    evidence. We don't know whether some of those people are in those caves.
    And Tommy did a fine job of shutting them down. They may still be locked
    up in there. And as you know, we're sending troops up in that region to
    take a look at some of the caves to find out what's in there. And we're
    going to have to dig some of them out.
        But as time will go on, we will know more and more about how
    successful we've been. The point is, is that we are going to be there
    for a while. I'm patient. The commander on the ground is executing the
    plan, and the American people are in strong support of what's taking
    place.
        Listen, thank you all for being here today. It's great to see you.
    Welcome back to Prairie Chapel Ranch, and maybe we'll get you back out
    here before the New Year's. If not, Happy New Year. Thank you.

    President's Visit to Crawford

        Q. What are you doing for New Year's?
        The President. Probably going to bed early. [Laughter]
        Q. What are you doing with your days here?
        The President. Well, I'm up--I was up this morning at 5 a.m., spent
    a little quality time with the First Lady. And I
    just finished my book, ``Theodore Rex,'' by Edmund Morris, which is a
    fabulous book on Teddy Roosevelt. I recommend people reading it. I am
    going to--I would have gotten up and run 3 or 4 miles this morning,
    which I'll probably do that this afternoon. I'm going to take Tommy
    around to show him parts of the ranch. But if Tommy weren't here, I'd be
    working down there, a little chainsaw work, clearing some brush, burning
    some brush.

    [[Page 1553]]

        We're making great progress in one of our--one of the bottom areas
    that was heretofore relatively inaccessible. One of these days I'll take
    you down there. It's a beautiful place. It's a bodark grove--bodark tree
    is a native tree, real hard wood that grows these giant green, kind of
    apple-looking things. But I'll spend time doing that.
        And then this afternoon--it gets dark here about 5:30 p.m., and so
    I'll probably watch a little University of Texas football tonight.
        Q. What about the tree you planted yesterday?
        The President. Tree plant, very good. My senior staff gave me a
    beautiful oak, 10-inch oak. And we planted her right outside the house.
    I haven't written my thank-you note yet, so I'll give them a verbal
    ``Thanks for the tree.'' It is a beauty. And we planted about--I think
    we planted so far about 35 trees, live oaks and cedar elms here. And
    it's going to be a beautiful sight for when these trees--when they take
    off.
        Did a little fishing yesterday, by the way. Not very successful. The
    water is cold; the fish are at the bottom. They're not biting very much.
    But just the fact that I was able to fish was a nice treat.
        Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:58 a.m. outside the old residence at the
    Bush Ranch. In his remarks, he referred to President Pervez Musharraf of
    Pakistan; President Vicente Fox of Mexico; President Jorge Batlle of
    Uruguay; President Ricardo Lagos of Chile; President Fernando Henrique
    Cardoso of Brazil; Kenneth L. Lay, chairman and chief executive officer,
    Enron Corp.; Eugene Scalia, nominee to be Solicitor for the Department
    of Labor; and Secret Service Agent Walied Shater. Gen. Tommy R. Franks,
    USA, commander in chief, U.S. Central Command, referred to his wife,
    Cathy; and Hamid Karzai, Chairman, interim Grand Council of Afghanistan.