[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[March 18, 2002]
[Pages 421-423]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks Following a Roundtable Discussion on Small Business and an
Exchange With Reporters in O'Fallon, Missouri
March 18, 2002
The President. Thank you so very much, Rolf,
for your invitation to come. Rolf is a classic example of what makes
America unique and strong. He had an idea and a dream. He built his own
business. He employs good, hard-working people here in Missouri. He's
got a vibrant business.
And I explained to these folks that one of my jobs is to create an
environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit flourishes, in which
small-business owners are able to keep making a living and keep people
employed. I talked about making the death tax repeal* permanent, so that
Rolf can pass his assets to a family member, if
he so chooses. I talked about some expensing items, some items to make
sure the small-business owner has got an incentive to invest more, which
means more jobs. Tomorrow I'll be talking about regulatory relief. I'm
also talking about ways so that a small-business owner such as Rolf can
better afford health care for his employees, so that they're able to
work here and, at the same time, enjoy health benefits like those from--
large companies enjoy.
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*White House correction.
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We had a good discussion. And it's important to the American people
to understand the role of small business in our society. Most new jobs
created are created by small businesses. And more people are able to
realize the American Dream by starting their own business. And so one of
things we've all got to work toward is an environment in which the small
business flourishes. Rolf, thank you for letting
me come. I want to thank you all for a great discussion. I'll answer a
couple of questions.
Terrorist Attack on Church in Pakistan
Q. Mr. President, do you have any sense of who carried out the
attack yesterday in Pakistan at the church, why they did it? Do you
think they're trying to undermine Musharraf and his support for the war
on terrorism?
The President. Very interesting question. I talked to President
Musharraf this morning, first thing. He is
very sympathetic, obviously. He was deeply concerned about the American
loss of life, and he wanted to share that with me. And I appreciated his
phone call. We both talked about the need to continue fighting people
that would kill for political reasons. And it goes to show that there is
still some--that that part of the world is a dangerous place at times.
And the tougher President Musharraf is
[[Page 422]]
and the more steadfast the United States is, the stronger we stand
against terrorist activity, the more lives we'll ultimately save.
Q. Mr. President----
The President. He doesn't know who it
is--excuse me for a minute. He doesn't know who it is yet. And when we
find him, we'll bring him to justice.
Situation in the Middle East
Q. Sir--thank you. Vice President Cheney is in the Middle East.
Should he meet with Chairman Arafat? Would you like to see that happen?
And if no, why not?
The President. I talked to the Vice President today, and he's had a very good visit in the Middle
East. He is--matter of fact, he was 15 minutes away from going in to see
Prime Minister Sharon. He had General
Zinni with him. General Zinni is optimistic
that we're making some progress in the Middle East.
And the answer to who the Vice President
ought to meet with or not meet with depends upon General Zinni's recommendations. He's the man on the ground. He's in
charge of trying to foster an environment such that we can get into
Tenet and then eventually get into the Mitchell peace plan. Our
Government has laid out a pathway to a peaceful resolution of a very
difficult set of problems, and Zinni's over there working hard to get us
into that process.
Operation Anaconda
Q. Mr. President, Operation Anaconda, we've been told, is
successful, and----
The President. Operation?
Q. Operation Anaconda, we're being told, is successful, and it's
over. Do you feel the war in Afghanistan--that part of the war is now
over?
The President. John, I don't. I feel like we've got a lot more
fighting to do in Afghanistan. First of all, we were successful in
Operation Anaconda. I want to thank our troops, our brave troops, for
fighting in incredibly tough terrain and against difficult
circumstances. And the difficult circumstances were not only the
terrain, it was the fact that we were fighting against an enemy that
refuses to surrender. These are people that are there to die. And we
accommodated them.
And it's a--but there are more Al Qaida killers in Afghanistan,
perhaps in Pakistan, willing to come back into Afghanistan. The reason--
and I know for a fact that they were trying to--in the midst of this
battle, in the midst of the United States military and our coalition
forces being very successful, they were trying to reinforce. And these
are people that are--they were willing to reinforce in the midst of the
Shahi-Kot Mountain Range, where they were getting wiped out; they were
willing to come back into Afghanistan to continue to try to hurt us.
These are killers. They hate America. They hate America's freedom; they
hate what America stands for. And they are relentless.
But so are we, and we will be more relentless than they are. That's
why I've urged the American people to be patient, and the American
people are patient. And that's why I've urged Congress to fund the U.S.
military. And I hope Congress does fund the U.S. military to the
fullest, because we've got a lot more fighting to do in Afghanistan.
Situation in the Middle East
Q. Many Mideast leaders are saying that the U.S. should be focusing
more on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and less on Iraq. Can you give
a reaction to that?
The President. I appreciate their advice, but we will not allow one
of the world's most dangerous leaders to have the world's most dangerous
weapons and hold the United States and our friends and allies hostage.
That's just not going to happen. And so I appreciate their advice. But
we will continue working with them. We will continue dialog. I have told
people that we're a deliberate nation. We'll talk to our friends and
allies. But what I said about
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the axis of evil is what I mean. I can't be any more plain about it.
Note: The President spoke at 2:30 p.m. in a conference room at Albers
Manufacturing Co. In his remarks, he referred to Rolf Albers, chairman
and chief executive officer, Albers Manufacturing Co.; President Pervez
Musharraf of Pakistan; Barbara Green, an employee at the U.S. Embassy in
Islamabad, Pakistan, and her daughter Kristen Wormsley, who were killed
in the March 17 terrorist attack at the Protestant International Church
in Islamabad; Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel; and U.S. Special
Envoy to the Middle East Gen. Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret.). The President
also referred to the Tenet plan, the Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire and
security plan of June 13, 2001, negotiated by Director of Central
Intelligence George J. Tenet; and the Mitchell Report, the Report of the
Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, issued April 30, 2001. A
reporter referred to Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian
Authority.