[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[September 25, 2002]
[Pages 1656-1658]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia and an Exchange With Reporters
September 25, 2002

    President Bush. Thank you. Welcome. Here's what we're going to do. I 
am going to give a statement; President Uribe will give a statement. I 
will call upon an American journalist; the President will call upon a 
Colombian journalist. I will then call upon another American journalist; 
the President will call upon a Colombian journalist. And then you all 
will leave. [Laughter]
    Mr. President, welcome to the Oval Office. It is my honor to welcome 
this good man, this friend of freedom, to the Oval Office. I have been 
incredibly impressed by his vision for a peaceful Colombia and a 
prosperous Colombia. He's a man who told the people of his country that 
he would work to eradicate terrorism, narcotrafficking. The Colombian 
people believe him, and so do I. And today I want to affirm our 
country's strong desire to help the Colombian Government and the 
Colombian people prosper and to live in freedom. I appreciate his 
leadership. I appreciate his strength of character. I appreciate his 
clear vision.
    So, Mr. President, bienvenidos a la Oval Office, aqui en la Casa 
Blanca.
    President Uribe. Muchas gracias, Presidente.

[At this point, President Uribe continued in Spanish, and no translation 
was provided.]

    President Bush. Thank you, sir.
    Would you like that translated into English?

[[Page 1657]]

    President Uribe. Thank you, Mr. President, for this warm welcome. We 
need the support of your country, the support of your Government, your 
personal support for my country to solve problems of violence, economic 
and social problems. You have set up a very effective example of the way 
we need to go on to fight and to defeat terrorism. We are in necessity 
to have allies such as you and your Government for Colombians to restore 
law and order, for Colombians to restore a way of creating employment, 
of improvement of our standard of living.
    Thank you, Mr. President.
    President Bush. Por nada. [Laughter]
    Patsy Wilson, Reuters.

President Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Al Qaida

    Q. Mr. President, do you believe that Saddam Hussein is a bigger 
threat to the United States than Al Qaida?
    President Bush. That's a--that is a interesting question. I'm trying 
to think of something humorous to say--[laughter]--but I can't when I 
think about Al Qaida and Saddam Hussein. They're both risks. They're 
both dangerous. The difference, of course, is that Al Qaida likes to 
hijack governments. Saddam Hussein is a dictator of a government. Al 
Qaida hides; Saddam doesn't. But the danger is, is that they work in 
concert. The danger is, is that Al Qaida becomes an extension of 
Saddam's madness and his hatred and his capacity to extend weapons of 
mass destruction around the world.
    Both of them need to be dealt with. The war on terror--you can't 
distinguish between Al Qaida and Saddam when you talk about the war on 
terror. And so it's a comparison that is--I can't make because I can't 
distinguish between the two, because they're both equally as bad and 
equally as evil and equally as destructive.
    Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. Question for a Colombian reporter?

Assistance to Colombia

    Q. Mr. President Bush, the Colombian Government is here asking for 
support from the U.S. Government, economic support, both with the Andean 
Trade Preference Act and also maybe from the Department of Treasury. Is 
the Government--the U.S. Government willing to help the Colombian 
Government?
    President Bush. We're certainly willing to help the Government and 
the Colombian people realize a prosperous future. I've asked my 
Secretary of Treasury to be here today to 
listen to the dialog with the President. There will be further 
discussions. The Andean Trade Preference Act has been renewed and 
revitalized to the benefit of the Colombian economy. We had a big 
discussion here in America, and I got a favorable vote out of our 
Congress that I'm confident will benefit those who seek work in 
Colombia. We look forward to working with international institutions to 
help this good man and this good--important country to grow and prosper.
    And so the purpose of this visit is to not only talk about 
prosperity and economic growth and vitality, but it's also to talk about 
how to fight terror. And I'm looking forward to a good and active 
discussion.
    Terry Moran [ABC News].

2002 Elections and the War on Terrorism

    Q. Mr. President, are you politicizing the war? Do you think 
Americans should base their vote in November in part on where a 
candidate stands on the war?
    President Bush. I think the American people ought to understand that 
life has changed here in this country, that it used to be two oceans 
would separate us from danger, that we were quite comfortable in our 
shores knowing that it would take an unusual circumstance to be 
attacked. After September the 11th, we were attacked, and the American 
people understand that this country must deal with the true threats.
    I am as determined today as I was on September the 11th to pursue an 
enemy

[[Page 1658]]

which still wants to hurt America. I am absolutely determined to make 
sure that 10 years from now we don't look back and say, ``What happened? 
Why did America go soft? Why did we ignore true threats that face our 
people?''
    And I hope the American people understand that. I was concerned, of 
course, after September the 11th, that as time went by, some might 
forget, some might forget the true threats. Of course, I'm reminded of 
that every day when I come here to the Oval Office, that we face true 
threats. And Terry, my job is to protect the American people. It's my 
most important job, most important assignment I have. And I will 
continue to do that, regardless of the season.
    Q. So it's a legitimate political issue?
    President Bush. Legitimate national security concern is what it is. 
You may try to politicize it. I view it as my main obligation; that is 
to protect the American people. It's the most important job this 
President will have, and it's the most important job future Presidents 
will have, because the nature of war has changed. We're vulnerable, and 
therefore, I expect--the American people should expect me, and any 
President, to do everything we can to protect the homeland. And I will; 
I'll do that.

Carlos Costano/International Criminal Court

    Q. Mr. President, a question for both. What are your reactions on 
the U.S. extradition request of Colombian paramilitary leader Carlos 
Costano? And if you would also answer, Colombia sent you a letter 
yesterday saying that there's no need to sign a bilateral agreement with 
the U.S. in terms of the ICC that you are seeking to sign with all other 
countries in the world. Do you think--do you still like a bilateral 
agreement with Colombia and those----
    President Bush. Yes, we want an Article 98 with all countries, 
absolutely. I strongly reject the ICC. I'm not going to accept an ICC. 
I'm not going to put ourselves in a position where our soldiers and 
diplomats get hauled into a court over which we have got--the 
prosecutors whom we don't know, the judges--I mean, we're not going to 
allow ourselves to do that. And our friends shouldn't want us to be put 
in that position. Therefore, we're seeking Article 98s from our friends.
    And we will hold people to account. If they're a terrorist, we're 
going to hold them to account. So the guy who got indicted yesterday 
made a decision to be a terrorist. We made a decision to hold him to 
account. And we will continue to do that. We believe that's part of our 
responsibility as freedom-loving people.
    And I look forward to working with President Uribe to hold others to 
account, if they continue to terrorize the world. And terrorism--
terrorists attacked our country and hurt us. If they attack Colombia and 
hurt them, they're still equally as guilty, as far as we're concerned. 
It doesn't matter who the victim is. What matters is whether or not 
they're practicing terrorist activities.
    And we will continue to fight terror. It's our obligation, our duty. 
History has called us into action.
    Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 11:32 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Carlos Costano, leader of the 
United Self-Defense Forces, who was indicted on drug trafficking 
charges. The President also referred to the U.S. effort to seek a 
bilateral agreement with the Government of Colombia under Article 98 of 
the Rome Treaty, with the aim of preventing U.S. nationals from falling 
under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.