    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [May 29, 2003]
    [Pages 551-552]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 551]]

    Interview With TV3 of France
    May 29, 2003

    France-U.S. Relations

        Q. Mr. President, are you going to forgive the French attitude on
    Iraq? What are you going to tell President Chirac when you're going to
    see him face to face?
        The President. Sure.
        Q. Are you still mad at him? Are you going to take sanctions against
    France?
        The President. No, no. No sanctions. I'm not mad. I mean, I'm
    disappointed, and the American people are disappointed. But now is the
    time to move forward, and there's a lot of issues that we can work
    together on. I know that Jacques Chirac feels
    strongly about Africa, and so do I. And therefore, we can work together,
    for example, on the AIDS pandemic in Africa. I laid out a bit initiative
    here for the American people, and the Congress passed a $15 billion, 5-
    year plan to work on HIV/AIDS in Africa. And there would be an
    opportunity, for example, for America and the French to work together to
    solve some big problems.
        And I'm going to remind him, just like
    I'm going to remind a lot of people, that we can do a heck of a lot more
    together than we can arguing with each other. And I can understand why
    some didn't agree with our policy in Iraq, but it's now time to move
    forward.

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Considering the roadmap, peace in Middle East--you are going to
    meet most of the protagonists next week--how do you plan concretely to
    succeed where your predecessors failed?
        The President. Yes. Well, first of all, I appreciate the
    understanding of Jacques Chirac and the
    administration about me leaving a little early from Evian to go to the
    Middle East, where I will first meet with our Arab friends, some of the
    leaders in the neighborhood, and remind them they have a responsibility
    to the process. In other words, if they're interested in the achievement
    of peace, that they must cut off funding, for example, or work to cut
    off the financing of money to terrorist groups that would like to
    destroy the process.
        Secondly, I believe that the Palestinian Authority--the new Prime
    Minister ``Abu Mazen'' is firmly committed to
    the defeat of terror and the advancement of a state and the institutions
    necessary to make a state viable. And so I'm very encouraged by his
    emergence.
        And thirdly, I believe Israel recognizes it's in their self-interest
    to support the notion of two states living side by side in peace. I'm
    the first President to have ever proposed that. I did so at the United
    Nations, and I take that vision into the Middle East knowing that the
    process is going to be difficult. But I believe that people now see the
    necessity of achieving that end result.

    Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, what do you answer to the American press that are
    trying to say that you have not released yet the proof of the existence
    of arms of massive destructions in Iraq? What do you answer to them?
        The President. Well, they must not be paying attention, is what I
    answer, because we've discovered mobile biological laboratories, the
    very same laboratories that Colin Powell
    talked about at the United Nations, the very same laboratories that were
    banned by the resolutions of the United Nations.
        Q. The situation in Iraq is far from being stabilized. We have seen
    some American soldiers killed. Do you fear the rise of Muslim
    fundamentalism in this region against the occidental world, against
    United States? And do you fear at the same time the risk

    [[Page 552]]

    of creation of an Islamic republic backed by neighboring Iran?
        The President. No, I don't fear that. I think the Iraqi people want
    to run their own state. They don't need to have an Iranian-backed
    regime. I think the Iraqi people are plenty capable of managing their
    own affairs.
        Secondly, I fully recognize that democracy didn't flourish
    overnight. But I didn't expect it to. This is a country which has been
    ravished by a brutal dictator who murdered
    and tortured to stay in power. And it wasn't all that long ago that they
    were liberated from Saddam Hussein. So it's going to take a while.
        And therefore, I've told Jerry Bremer  Paul
    ``Jerry'' that our Government, my Government, will be
    patient, as he makes progress toward improving the lives of the Iraqi
    people. And I say ``he,'' it's not only Jerry Bremer and the United
    States; there's a lot of people that are involved with the
    reconstruction of Iraq. And as life returns back to normal and as we get
    a hold of the situation--particularly in Baghdad--of the killers and
    people that are wreaking havoc--in other words, as we bring security to
    the neighborhoods, you'll see a good, democratic government emerge.

    Iran

        Q. Is Iran a preoccupation for you--the ayatollahs with Al Qaida,
    which might be in that country attacking the United States?
        The President. Well, we are concerned--we are concerned that there's
    Al Qaida inside of Iran and have made our concerns very clearly. And
    this will give me a chance to do so again. To the extent that they have
    got Al Qaida in their country, we expect them to detain them and
    eventually hand them over to their countries of origin. There's no
    preoccupation. Our main focus right now is to find Al Qaida wherever
    they exist and bring them to justice, and we will do that. We'll
    continue to do that, and we expect others to join us.
        And I want to compliment the French for joining in this fight
    against Al Qaida. The French intelligence service have been very good to
    work with, and we've shared intelligence which has made France more
    secure and America more secure. And for that I'm grateful.
        Q. Mr. President, I want to thank you very much, and I definitely
    wish you all the best and great success for the future.
        The President. Thank you, sir. Thanks for coming.

    Note: The interview was taped at 2:43 p.m. in the Library at the White
    House for later broadcast. The transcript was embargoed for release by
    the Office of the Press Secretary until 4:30 p.m. In his remarks, the
    President referred to President Jacques Chirac of France; Prime Minister
    Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority; former President
    Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and L. Paul Bremer III, Presidential Envoy to
    Iraq. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this
    interview.