[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[November 18, 2002]
[Pages 2092-2094]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Interview With Czech Television
November 18, 2002
NATO's Role in the 21st Century
Q. Mr. President, this week in Prague, NATO will invite seven
countries to join the Alliance. But there are other topics on the
agenda, and the future of NATO is one of them. What do you see NATO will
be doing in the 21st century? What is its role?
[[Page 2093]]
The President. Well, I think--first of all, I'm excited about going
to Prague, and I want to thank the citizens of that important city and
the great country for their hard work in recovering from the floods and
preparing Prague for our arrival.
This is going to be a historic meeting because, as you said, we're
expanding NATO. The most important alliance America has is NATO, and the
expansion of NATO is something that I think is very important.
The role of NATO is different as we go into the 21st century. NATO
used to be a way to defend Europe from the Warsaw Pact. But the Warsaw
Pact no longer exists. Russia is not an enemy. And we face new threats,
and the new threats are global terror. And so one way to make sure NATO
is relevant is to focus on the true threats to freedom, address those
threats, and figure out ways that we can work together to accomplish
what we want, which is a peaceful world, which means better
intelligence-sharing, the capacity to cut off money, and a military
operation that reflects the nature of the wars we'll be fighting. And
that's going to be one of the most important discussions we face there
in Prague.
Cooperation in the War on Terror
Q. Well, there are really big gaps between the war-fighting
capabilities of NATO--of the United States, on one hand, and the
European countries, on the other hand. And Lord Robertson is saying that
the Americans are not always willing to share the technology necessary
for NATO. Are you ready to participate on organization of European
forces?
The President. Well, I think what has to happen is there first be a
strategy that recognizes that the Czech Republic can provide a certain
contribution or the French or the British--not the French but the
Germans or the British can provide certain kind of capabilities--and
that we dovetail each capability to an overall strategy. In which case,
of course, America is willing to work with our friends and allies to
make sure the NATO Alliance works properly.
In other words, everybody can contribute something. But it all has
got to be done within the strategy of the true threats we face in the
21st century, which is global terrorism. That's the biggest threat to
freedom right now.
NATO and Iraq
Q. You will certainly talk about Iraq. Will the United States, if it
decides to go to war with Iraq, seek the support of NATO as an alliance?
The President. Well, first, I hope we don't have to go to war with
Iraq. I mean, my first choice is not to commit our troops to regime
change. I hope that Saddam Hussein does what
he said he would do, and that is disarm. For the sake of peace, he must
disarm. Most nations understand that--most nations in NATO understand
that. They want Saddam to disarm. The U.N. Security Council has spoken
and says he must disarm. So it's his choice to make.
If he refuses to disarm, then we will
lead a coalition of the willing and disarm him. And of course, I hope
our NATO friends come with us. I think they will realize it's in the
interest of peace and stability that that happen. But we're not close to
that decision point yet because we're just beginning the process of
allowing Saddam the chance to show the world whether or not he will
disarm.
And that's an important distinction the people of the Czech Republic
must know. It's not up to me. It's up to him.
He said he would disarm, and the inspectors are not the issue. The
inspectors are simply a means to determine his willingness. And we'll
see. He's had a bad history. He's had 11 years of lying and deceiving,
and now it's time to bring him to account, one way or the other.
[[Page 2094]]
NATO-U.S. Shared Values
Q. Some critics now see NATO as a toolbox, and the United States
just goes and picks whatever it needs when it needs it. Do you agree?
The President. No, of course not. I mean, I think we view this as an
alliance of nations with whom we share common values, the common values
of freedom and individual rights and democracy. This is an opportunity
for us to combine our values with our deep desire to have a peaceful
world. And we will work in concert with each other, not in opposition to
each other. And by working in concert we can really address those
threats.
See, that's the interesting thing that people have got to know.
There's threats to your freedom. If you embrace freedom and love freedom
and willing to stand strong against global terrorism, you will be
threatened. And we can't let that happen. It's just a different type of
threat that we face, but it's a true threat.
We face it here in America today. There's still an enemy that wants
to hit us. There's still an enemy that wants to hit our friends. And the
NATO Charter says, ``If you attack one, you attack us all.'' And that's
a very important alliance, a very important statement of commonality to
keep the peace.
I think NATO is a good thing, and I look forward to working with our
friends in NATO.
Q. Mr. President, thank you very much for the interview.
The President. Thank you. I'm so looking forward to going to Prague.
It's going to be an exciting time for Laura and
me to go. Thank you. Good job.
Note: The interview was videotaped at 1:20 p.m. in the Library at the
White House. In his remarks, the President referred to President Saddam
Hussein of Iraq. The interviewer referred to Secretary General Lord
Robertson of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The transcript of
this interview was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on
November 19. A tape was not available for verification of the content of
this interview.