[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.