[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
[[Page 1547]]
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
[[Page 1548]]
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;
[[Page 1551]]
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.