    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [October 21, 2002]
    [Pages 1850-1852]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With Secretary General Lord Robertson of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and an
    Exchange With Reporters
    October 21, 2002

        President Bush. It's my honor to welcome Lord Robertson back to the
    Oval Office. I think we've met, gosh, five--four or five times since
    I've been the President. I've enjoyed every meeting. He does a great job
    at NATO. NATO is an incredibly important part of U.S. foreign policy. I
    appreciate the alliance.
        We are mainly discussing issues that we will confront and/or deal
    with in Prague, including NATO expansion. He's soliciting the views of
    the administration. I told him that we would give him a definite answer
    about our views on expansion in a couple of weeks, and that timetable
    seemed satisfactory with him.
        But Lord Robertson, welcome back. I appreciate you being here.
    Thanks for your strong leadership.
        Lord Robertson. I'm delighted to be again in the Oval Office, Mr.
    President.
        And the President has shown, not just by meetings with me but in
    every other way possible, his and his administration's commitment to
    NATO and to the strength of this trans-Atlantic alliance that has bound
    together these democratic and freedom-loving states over all of the
    years.
        We're now a month to the day away from the Prague summit, probably
    the most important summit meeting in NATO's history, a transformation
    summit where NATO has to transform itself to deal with the threats and
    the challenges of the 21st century. And I believe we will have a good
    package on new members, a robust enlargement, new capabilities to deal
    with terrorism and to deal with the other challenges and nightmares that
    we may face ahead in the future, and new relationships with Russia, with
    Ukraine, with our partner countries, building the world's largest
    permanent alliance and one which the world can rely on.
        President Bush. Three questions. Fournier [Ron Fournier, Associated
    Press].

    North Korea

        Q. Sir, is North Korea an imminent threat to the United States, and
    what consequences, if any, will it face for hiding its nuclear program
    from you?

    [[Page 1851]]

        President Bush. One, we had a bit of troubling news when we
    discovered the fact that, contrary to what we had been led to believe,
    that they were enriching uranium with the idea of developing a nuclear
    weapon. I say ``troubling news,'' obviously, because we felt like they
    had given their word they weren't going to do this.
        I view this as an opportunity to work with our friends in the region
    and work with other countries in the region to ally against
    proliferation of serious weapons and to convince Kim Chong-il that he must disarm. To this end, I'm going to be talking
    to Jiang Zemin at Crawford. I look forward to a
    good discussion with the President of China about how we can work
    together to take our relationship to a new level in dealing with the
    true threats of the 21st century.
        I will see the leaders of Japan and
    South Korea and Russia the next day, in Mexico. I intend to make this an
    important topic of our discussions. This is a chance for people who love
    freedom and peace to work together to deal with a--to deal with an
    emerging threat. I believe we can deal with this threat peacefully,
    particularly if we work together. So this is an opportunity to work
    together.
        Q. They're not an imminent threat, though?
        President Bush. You know, that's an operative word. We view this
    very seriously. It is a troubling discovery, and it's a discovery that
    we intend to work with our friends to deal with. I believe we can do it
    peacefully. I look forward to working with people to encourage them that
    we must convince Kim Chong-il to disarm for the
    sake of peace. And the people who have got the most at stake, of course,
    in this posture are the people who are his neighbors.
        Arshad [Arshad Mohammed, Reuters].

    Nature of Iraqi Threat

        Q. Mr. President, can you explain so the boys in Lubbock can
    understand----
        President Bush. Crawford or Lubbock?
        Q. Lubbock or Crawford, both----
        President Bush. Lubbock is a little more sophisticated than
    Crawford, Arshad. [Laughter]
        Q. Okay, let's do Crawford, then.
        President Bush. Or Scotland, for that matter.
        Q. Why----
        President Bush. Yes, Arshad.
        Q. ----why you threaten military action against Iraq, but you
    believe that Korea's nuclear weapons program only merits diplomatic
    efforts?
        President Bush. Absolutely. Saddam Hussein is unique, in this sense: He has thumbed his nose at
    the world for 11 years. The United Nations has passed 16 resolutions to
    deal with this man, and the resolutions are all aimed at disarmament,
    amongst other things. And for 11 years, he said, ``No, I refuse to
    disarm.''
        Now, what makes him even more unique is
    the fact he's actually gassed his own people. He has used weapons of
    mass destruction on neighboring countries, and he's used weapons of mass
    destruction on his own citizenry. He wants to have a nuclear weapon. He
    has made it very clear: He hates the United States, and as importantly,
    he hates friends of ours.
        We've tried diplomacy. We're trying it one more time. I believe the
    free world, if we make up our mind to, can disarm this man peacefully.
        But if not, there's--we have the will and the desire, as do other
    nations, to disarm Saddam. It's up to him to
    make that decision, and it's up to the United Nations. And we'll
    determine here soon whether the United Nations has got the will, and
    then it's up to Saddam to make the decision.
        Stretch [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News].

    Regime Change in Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, again, for the good people of Crawford----
        President Bush. Yes. It's been a big day for Crawford.

    [[Page 1852]]

        Q. If you can explain this in a way that they and the rest of us
    will understand, there is some hints over the weekend, the possibility
    that taking weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq is our goal, raising
    the possibility or the implication that he could somehow remain in
    power.
        Can you say authoritatively and declaratively whether we can
    achieve--you can achieve--if you can achieve your aims there in a way
    that leaves him still in office?
        President Bush. The stated policy of the United States is regime
    change, because for 11 years MDNM/Saddam Hussein has ignored the United Nations and the free world. For
    11 years he has--he said, ``Look, you passed all these resolutions. I
    could care less what you passed.'' And that's why the stated policy of
    our Government, the previous administration and this administration, is
    regime change--because we don't believe he is going to change.
        However, if he were to meet all the
    conditions of the United Nations, the conditions that I've described
    very clearly in terms that everybody can understand, that in itself will
    signal the regime has changed.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:35 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to General Secretary Kim Chong-il of
    North Korea; President Jiang Zemin of China; Prime Minister Junichiro
    Koizumi of Japan; President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea; President
    Vladimir Putin of Russia; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.