    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 14, 2002]
    [Pages 1584-1586]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Silvio
    Berlusconi of Italy and an Exchange With
    Reporters at Camp David, Maryland
    September 14, 2002

        President Bush. It's my honor to welcome Silvio Berlusconi, the
    Prime Minister of Italy, to Camp David. I've been looking forward to
    having a chance to spend some quality time in a quality place. We're
    going to have a good visit, meeting about our common interests. And
    we'll have a good lunch with my wife. And I've invited my brother and my
    sister; I want my family members to meet a good friend, a strong leader.
        We're making progress in the war against terror. I tell the American
    people all the time that we're doing everything we can to protect our
    homeland by hunting down killers, one person at a time. And yesterday,
    thanks to the efforts of our folks and people in Pakistan, we captured
    one of the planners and organizers of the
    September the 11th attack that murdered thousands of people, including
    Italians. One by one, we're hunting the killers down. We are relentless.
    We are strong, and we're not going to stop.
        Secondly, I had a chance to speak to the United Nations to talk
    about another threat that face--we face--that we face, all of us face,
    in the civilized world, and that is a threat of weapons of mass
    destructions in the hands of leaders who disregard human liberty, that
    do not believe in freedom--a leader, in this
    case, who's poisoned his own people, poisoned his neighbors, attacked in
    his neighborhood, and refuses--refuses--to comply with United Nations'
    regulations, as a matter of fact, defies the United Nations. And we're
    making progress.
        And so, Mr. Prime Minister, you're here at an important time. I look
    forward to talking with you, and thank you for coming.
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. Thank you. Well, first of all, I'm glad
    to be here with President Bush, with whom I have a very deep friendship.
    I'm here as the Prime Minister of a country which is a loyal and
    faithful ally of the United States of America.
        The United States is a country to which my people bears a deep
    gratitude because it owes to the generosity of this great democracy its
    freedom and its prosperity. We'll never forget the fact that about a
    half a century ago, through the sacrifice of so many young Americans,
    Italy and Europe were saved from totalitarianism. I'm here as a sincere
    ally, and I know that we, as an ally, we're respected, and we heard. So
    I'll be able to speak as a friend, speak truthfully, in order to find,
    as usual, common solutions and common positions.
        President Bush. Thank you.
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. I would like to add one more thing.
        President Bush. Sure.
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. I consider the flag of the United States
    is not only a flag of a country but is a universal message of freedom
    and democracy.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir.
        His English is very good. [Laughter]
        Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to call upon an American
    reporter. Silvio will call upon an Italian reporter. I then will call
    upon an American reporter. Silvio

    [[Page 1585]]

    will call upon an Italian reporter. And that's it, because we've got to
    go have our talks.
        Scott [Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press]. And I will this time let
    the interpreter--pardon me for not allowing her to work.

    Situation in Georgia/United Nations

        Q. Thank you, sir. President Putin is borrowing your logic to argue
    he has the right to attack terrorists in Georgia. Would that action be
    justified in your view? Are you concerned other countries, India,
    Pakistan, China, may use your arguments to justify actions they see fit?
        President Bush. I made it very clear to the Georgian Government that
    we expected them to rout out the Al Qaida-type terrorists in the Pankisi
    Gorge. We are working with the Georgian Government and training Georgian
    troops. I have told Vladimir Putin that he
    must give the Georgians a chance to achieve a common objective, an
    objective that's important for Georgia, an objective that's important
    for Russia, an objective important for the United States, and that is to
    get the Al Qaida killers and bring them to justice. And so I urge him to
    continue to work with us to allow the Georgians--troops--to do their
    job.
        And finally, one final point for the world to hear: Saddam
    Hussein has defied the United Nations 16
    times. Not once, not twice--16 times he has defied the U.N. The U.N. has
    told him after the Gulf war what to do, what the world expected, and 16
    times he's defied it. And enough is enough. The U.N. will either be able
    to function as a peacekeeping body, as we head into the 21st century, or
    it will be irrelevant. And that's what we're about to find out.
        But remember what I said in my speech, now is the time to deal with
    the problem.
        Q. What about the appropriation of your argument?
        President Bush. I should have clarified it by my statement. I just
    clarified it by my--not should have, I just.

    Support for the President's Action

    [At this point, a question was asked in Italian, and no translation was
    provided.]

        Prime Minister Berlusconi. Well, first of all, as I said before, we
    want a common position with the United States of America. And we welcome
    the decision of President Bush to bring the problem to the table in the
    Security Council. As it was stated clearly, the United Nations cannot
    continue to see its image undermined and its resolutions flaunted.
        I would hasten to add, the decision taken by President Bush found
    agreement of my European colleagues and of the Russian Federation.
        President Bush. Thank you.
        Patsy [Patricia Wilson, Reuters].

    United Nations

        Q. Mr. President, if Saddam Hussein has defied the United Nations 16
    times and stiffed the world for a decade, why does he deserve one more
    chance?
        President Bush. That's a very interesting question. Why don't you
    interpret the question? He stiffed the world 16 times, why does he get
    another chance?
        First of all, the United Nations deserves another chance to prove
    its relevance. See, we're entering a new world. Wars of the future are
    not going to be like wars of the past. We fight these terrorists that
    hide in caves and send their youngsters to suicidal death. They strike
    America, but they're likely to strike Italy. They hate freedom. They
    also are willing and want to work with countries like Iraq to develop
    the capacity to deliver weapons of mass destruction. And therefore, the
    international community must work together to prevent this from
    happening.
        So this is a chance for the United Nations to show some backbone and
    resolve, as we confront the true challenges of the 21st century. It's a
    chance for the United Nations to show its relevance, and that's why I
    gave the speech I gave. But make

    [[Page 1586]]

    no mistake about it, if we have to deal with the problem, we'll deal
    with it.

    Italy's Role in the War on Terrorism

    [At this point, a question was asked and answered in Italian.]

        President Bush. Thank you all. Welcome to Camp David. No, you
    misunderstood. Two questions apiece. Sorry. Two and two, si.
        Q. ----English, Mr. President.
        President Bush. Oh, you want an English translation. Sorry, thought
    you might have been trying to defy the two-question rule. Very good.
    [Laughter]
        Q. What was the question?
        Interpreter. The question was----
        President Bush. That doesn't matter. Just write the answer.
        Interpreter. ----is Italy able to play the mediating role----
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. The role of Italy, now.
        Interpreter. At this moment, what's the role Italy is going to play?
        And the reply was: Italy today is playing a role which it wasn't
    able to play up to some times ago, because Italy finds itself at a
    center of a series of relationships with the countries of the European
    Union, with the countries of the Middle East, with the countries of the
    Mediterranean, and we have the special friendship with the Russian
    Federation, with our common friend Vladimir Putin. So Italy is playing
    its part, and it's able then to play its role in this context.
        President Bush. Thank you all very much.
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. Grazie. Arrivederci.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:52 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an Al Qaida operative suspected of helping to plan
    the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, who was captured in Karachi,
    Pakistan; President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and President Vladimir Putin
    of Russia. The Prime Minister spoke in Italian, and his remarks were
    translated by an interpreter.