    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [October 16, 2002]
    [Pages 1815-1817]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and an Exchange With Reporters
    October 16, 2002

        The President. So, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to have
    an opening statement; the Prime Minister will make an opening statement.
    I will call on a person; he will call--the Press Secretary will call on
    a person. I will call another; he will. And that's it, two questions a
    side.
        It's my honor to welcome the Prime Minister of our close friend to--
    back to the White House. We've just had a good discussion about peace
    and security, about prosperity. I first want to say that I understand
    that--what terror has done to economy. Terror has affected our economy.
    Terror has affected the Israeli economy, but we've got great confidence
    in the Israeli economy. We've got great confidence in the Israeli
    people. The greatest asset Israel has is the brainpower and ingenuity of
    her people. And I'm convinced that the economy will be strong.
        I appreciate so very much the fact that the Prime Minister is
    committed to working with his Cabinet to move some of the Palestinian
    money to the Palestinian people, that he cares about the human condition
    of the Palestinians, and that under a monitoring system to make sure
    that the money being sent back to the Palestinian people will not be
    used for terrorist activities, that he is willing to work with his
    Cabinet to do just that. I believe that's important.
        We talked about the framework for peace, the idea of working toward
    peace, the idea of two states living side by side in peace as a part of
    our vision. And to this end, Bill Burns,
    Ambassador from the State Department, is going back to the Middle East
    to continue to work on the process, continue to work toward achieving
    concrete, real, objective, and measurable reforms, so that there's a
    peaceful future for the region.
        So, Mr. Prime Minister, thanks for coming. It's good to welcome you.
    I appreciate you being here.
        Prime Minister Sharon. I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for
    having us again here. I would like to express our deep appreciation to
    your leadership facing the world terror. We regard terror as the most
    dangerous thing, and seeing the terror spread now, seeing that your
    leadership--under your leadership, the world will be

    [[Page 1816]]

    able to face the terror and contain terror and stop terror.
        We have been facing terror for over 120 years, and we still face
    terror. But we believe the day will come, and I hope it will be soon,
    that we'll be able to start peace negotiations. I believe that Jews and
    Arabs will be able to live together. And we, on one hand, are taking all
    the necessary steps against terror. And we will continue to defend our
    citizens. In the same time, we'll take all the necessary steps to move
    forward the political process. And I believe the day will come, and
    we'll have peace.
        We discussed--we had interesting discussions here, very important. I
    would like to thank you, Mr. President, for the friendship and
    cooperation. And as far as I remember, as we look back towards many
    years now, I think that we never had such relations with any President
    of the United States as we have with you, and we never had such
    cooperation in everything as we have with the current administration. I
    would like to thank you for that, and we are looking forward for better
    future for all of us.
        The President. Thank you, sir.
        Barry [Barry Schweid] of AP.

    Situation in Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, are you asking the Prime Minister, have you asked
    the Prime Minister not to respond if Iraq attacks? And Mr. Prime
    Minister, have you any concrete offers of help from the administration
    to reduce the risk of an Iraqi attack?
        The President. Well, first of all, I have told the Prime Minister
    that my hope is, is that we could achieve a disarmament of the Iraqi
    regime peacefully. I haven't given up on the fact that we can achieve it
    peacefully. We have no plans to use our military until--unless we need
    to. I explained to the Prime Minister, just like I explain to every
    citizen who is interested in this, the military is my last choice, not
    my first choice.
        So we talked about the desire to--for the U.N. Security Council to
    be strong and for the nations that care about peace to see that
    Saddam is disarmed. And he's got to disarm
    himself. That's what we talked about.
        Q. If I could ask for the Prime Minister's response, please.
        The President. He's trying to do the two-question thing. [Laughter]
        Q. Two leaders, two questions.
        The President. Wait a minute, Barry. He's an old pro.
        Q. Mr. President, I would like to complete my colleague's question.
    If an Iraqi missile lands in Tel Aviv, killing tens of people----
        The President. You mean an unprovoked attack--if tomorrow an Iraqi
    missile lands?
        Q. Theoretically, and it can be practically.
        The President. If Iraq were to attack Israel tomorrow, I'm sure
    there would be an appropriate response.
        Q. How should Israel respond? How should you respond----
        The President. If Iraq attacks Israel tomorrow, I would assume the
    Prime Minister would respond. He's got--he's got a desire to defend
    himself.
        Our hope is that the Iraqi regime will disarm peacefully. But I
    can't--maybe--maybe Saddam will attack
    tomorrow. He's certainly a dangerous man. And he's got to understand
    that the international community won't tolerate an unprovoked attack on
    Israel or anybody else, for that matter. Of course, he's done it in the
    past. That's what I've explained to the American people. He's attacked
    two nations. He's gassed his own people. He's a dangerous man. That's
    why he must be disarmed, and that's why the international community must
    work to disarm him.
        Patsy [Patricia Wilson, Reuters].

    U.N. Resolution on Iraq

        Q. Thank you, sir. It's been more than a month since you said you
    expected the United Nations to act in days or weeks on a new Iraq
    resolution. How much longer

    [[Page 1817]]

    are you prepared to wait, and why aren't you losing patience?
        The President. Because I'm a patient man. [Laughter] My mother and
    wife think that's hysterical when I say that, of course. [Laughter]
        Let's see, because it takes a while to get things done in the U.N.,
    I guess is the answer. I mean, we will--I've made the commitment to go
    to the U.N.; I've asked the U.N. to act. We have got to deal with
    members of the Security Council. There are differing opinions on members
    of the Security Council. And we've got to work hard to reach a
    consensus, a resolution that will, on the one hand, do everything it can
    to disarm Saddam Hussein and also has got the
    capacity for there to be consequences should he not disarm. And
    therefore, we're working closely with the Perm Five as well as others on
    the Security Council to reach this resolution.
        I am a patient man. I think it's important. I made the decision to
    go to the U.N., and therefore, we're willing to work with the U.N. If
    the U.N. can't act, however, if they're unable to act, if once again
    after 11 years and 16 resolutions they cannot bring themselves together
    to disarm Saddam Hussein, then we will lead a
    coalition to do just that. But in the meantime, we're giving the U.N.
    time to listen to the arguments and to, hopefully, come together soon to
    get a resolution which will achieve the objectives.
        Q. Mr. President----
        The President. Yes. The Prime Minister is looking for a question or
    two. [Laughter]
        Q. If you will allow me, I will ask him about----
        The President. No, I'm sorry, strict guidelines. We must be
    disciplined.

    Possible Terrorist Attacks on Israel

        Q. Mr. President, the Hezbollah is threatening to escalate the
    situation in the Israeli northern border, and Israel has intelligence
    information that Palestinian terror organizations are also planning to
    escalate and have more terror attacks because the United States might
    attack Iraq to disarm Saddam Hussein. Is there any limitations on Israel
    to defend itself? Did you ask the Prime Minister not to do certain--not
    to take certain measures if he's attacked by Hezbollah or by the terror
    organizations, the Palestinian terror organizations?
        The President. We certainly want to work with Israel, and we'll make
    it clear to Hezbollah, nations housing Hezbollah, whether in the context
    of Iraq or not, we expect there to be no attacks. This is terrorist
    activity, and we will fight terror wherever terror exists.
        I find it--the doctrine that says ``if you harbor a terrorist''
    still exists. And we expect--again, apart from Iraq, we expect Hezbollah
    not to attack our friend. And so we will work with Israel and work with
    other nations, making it clear to them our position on harboring
    terrorist activities.
        Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:24 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Assistant Secretary of State for
    Near Eastern Affairs William J. Burns; and President Saddam Hussein of
    Iraq.