    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [March 27, 2003]
    [Pages 301-307]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom at Camp David, Maryland
    March 27, 2003

        President Bush. Thank you all. It's my honor to welcome my friend
    and Prime Minister of Great Britain Tony Blair back to Camp David.
    America has learned a lot about Tony Blair over the last weeks. We've
    learned that he's a man of his word. We've learned that he's a man of
    courage, that he's a man of vision. And we're proud to have him as a
    friend.
        The United States and United Kingdom are acting together in a noble
    purpose. We're working together to make the world more peaceful. We're
    working together to make our respective nations and all the free nations
    of the world more secure, and we're working to free the Iraqi people.
        British, American, Australian, Polish, and other coalition troops
    are sharing the duties of this war, and we're sharing the sacrifices of
    this war. Together, coalition forces are advancing day by day, in steady
    progress, against the enemy. Slowly but surely, the grip of terror
    around the throats of the Iraqi people is being loosened.
        We appreciate the bravery, the professionalism of the British troops
    and all coalition troops. Together we have lost people, and the American
    people offer their prayers to the loved ones of the British fallen, just
    as we offer our prayers to the loved ones of our own troops who have
    fallen.
        We're now engaging the dictator's most
    hardened and most desperate units. The campaign ahead will demand
    further courage and require further sacrifice. Yet we know the outcome:
    Iraq will be disarmed; the Iraqi regime will be ended; and the long-
    suffering Iraqi people will be free.
        In decades of oppression, the Iraqi regime has sought to instill the
    habits of fear in the daily lives of millions. Yet, soon, the Iraqis
    will have the confidence of a free people. Our coalition will stand with
    the citizens of Iraq in the challenges ahead. We are prepared to deliver
    humanitarian aid on a large scale and, as a matter of fact, are
    beginning to do so as we speak.
        Today the Prime Minister and I also urge the United Nations to
    immediately resume the oil-for-food program. More than half the Iraqi
    people depend on this program as their sole source of food. This urgent
    humanitarian issue must not be politicized, and the Security Council
    should give Secretary-General Annan the authority
    to start getting food supplies to those most in need of assistance.
        As we address the immediate suffering of the Iraqi people, we're
    also committed to helping them over the long term. Iraq's greatest long-
    term need is a representative government that protects the rights of all
    Iraqis. The form of this government will be chosen by the Iraqi people,
    not imposed by outsiders. And the Prime Minister and I are confident
    that a free Iraq will be a successful nation.
        History requires more of our coalition than the defeat of a terrible
    danger. I see an opportunity, as does Prime Minister Blair, to bring
    renewed hope and progress to the entire Middle East. Last June 24th, I
    outlined a vision of two states, Israel and

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    Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. Soon, we'll
    release the roadmap that is designed to help turn that vision into
    reality, and both America and Great Britain are strongly committed to
    implementing that roadmap.
        For nearly a century, the United States and Great Britain have been
    allies in the defense of liberty. We've opposed all the great threats to
    peace and security in the world. We shared in the costly and heroic
    struggle against Nazism. We shared the resolve and moral purpose of the
    cold war. In every challenge, we've applied the combined power of our
    nations to the cause of justice, and we're doing the same today. Our
    alliance is strong; our resolve is firm; and our mission will be
    achieved.
        Mr. Prime Minister.
        Prime Minister Blair. Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you for
    your welcome. Thank you for your strength and for your leadership at
    this time. And I believe the alliance between the United States and
    Great Britain has never been in better or stronger shape.
        Can I also offer the American people, on behalf of the British
    people, our condolences, our sympathy, our prayers for the lives of
    those who have fallen in this conflict, just as we have offered the
    condolence, the sympathy, and the prayers to the families of our own
    British servicemen.
        Just under a week into this conflict, let me restate our complete
    and total resolve. Saddam Hussein and his hateful regime will be removed
    from power. Iraq will be disarmed of weapons of mass destruction, and
    the Iraqi people will be free. That is our commitment; that is our
    determination; and we will see it done.
        We had this morning a presentation of the latest military situation,
    which shows already the progress that has been made. It's worth just
    recapping it, I think, for a moment. In less than a week, we have
    secured the southern oilfields and facilities and so protected that
    resource and wealth for the Iraqi people and avoided ecological
    disaster. We've disabled Iraq's ability to launch external aggression
    from the west. Our forces are now within 50 miles of Baghdad. They've
    surrounded Basra. They've secured the key port of Umm Qasr. They've
    paved the way for humanitarian aid to flow into the country. And they
    brought real damage on Iraq's command and control. So we can be
    confident that the goals that we have set ourselves will be met.
        I would like to pay tribute to the professionalism and integrity of
    our forces and those of the United States of America, our other
    coalition allies, and to say how their professionalism, as well as their
    skill and their bravery, stands in sharp contrast to the brutality of
    Saddam's regime.
        Day by day, we have seen the reality of Saddam's regime: His thugs
    prepared to kill their own people; the parading of prisoners of war; and
    now, the release of those pictures of executed British soldiers. If
    anyone needed any further evidence of the depravity of Saddam's regime,
    this atrocity provides it. It is yet one more flagrant breach of all the
    proper conventions of war. More than that, to the families of the
    soldiers involved, it is an act of cruelty beyond comprehension. Indeed,
    it is beyond the comprehension of anyone with an ounce of humanity in
    their souls.
        On behalf of the British Government, I would like to offer my
    condolences particularly to the family and the friends of those two
    brave young men who died in the service of their country and to the
    ordinary Iraqi people, to whom we are determined to bring a better
    future.
        The future of the Iraqi people is one reason why much of our
    discussion has focused on humanitarian issues. Again, here we have the
    ship, the Sir Galahad, loaded with tons of supplies destined for the
    people of Iraq. The other immediate humanitarian priority is to restart
    the U.N. oil-for-food program, which the President and I discussed and
    which I will be discussing

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    with Kofi Annan later this evening, and this is urgent.
        We also discussed the postconflict issues. Contrary to a lot of the
    comment on this, the position is exactly as the President and I set out
    in the Azores, namely, that we will work with the U.N., our allies and
    partners and bilateral donors. We will seek new U.N. Security Council
    resolutions to affirm Iraq's territorial integrity, to ensure rapid
    delivery of humanitarian relief, and endorse an appropriate postconflict
    administration for Iraq.
        But let me emphasize once again that our primary focus now is and
    must be the military victory, which we will prosecute with the utmost
    vigor. And the immediate priority for the United Nations is, as the
    President was indicating a moment or two ago, the oil-for-food program.
        In addition, as has just been said to you, we had an excellent
    discussion of the Middle East, and we both share a complete
    determination to move this forward. It is, indeed, often overlooked that
    President Bush is the first U.S. President publicly to commit himself to
    a two-state solution, an Israel confident of its security and a viable
    Palestinian state. And I welcome the decision announced recently to
    publish the roadmap as soon as the confirmation of the new Palestinian
    Prime Minister is properly administered.
        Finally, I would just like to say this: I think it is important that
    we recognize at this time that the goals that we are fighting for are
    just goals. Whatever the difficulty of war, let us just remember this is
    a regime that has brutalized its people for well over two decades. Of
    course, there will be people fiercely loyal to that regime who will
    fight all the way; they have no option. But I have no doubt at all that
    the vast majority of ordinary Iraqi people are desperate for a better
    and different future, for Iraq to be free, for its government to be
    representative of its people, for the human rights of the people to be
    cared for.
        And that is why, though of course our aim is to rid Iraq of weapons
    of mass destruction and make our world more secure, the justice of our
    cause lies in the liberation of the Iraqi people. And to them we say, we
    will liberate you. The day of your freedom draws near.
        President Bush. We'll take two questions a side. We would hope that
    you would respect asking one question per question.
        Fournier [Ron Fournier, Associated Press].
        Q. That, of course, means I can ask each leader one question.
        President Bush. No, it does not mean that. Of course, you will
    anyway, but----

    Duration of Operation Iraqi Freedom/U.N. Role in Postwar Iraq

        Q. Yes, sir.
        First you, Mr. Prime Minister. Briefly, Secretary Powell said
    yesterday that the U.N. should have a role in postwar Iraq but that the
    United States should have a significant, dominating control of post-
    Saddam Iraq. How will that kind of talk play in Europe?
        And Mr. President, can you help me understand the timing of this
    war? You talked yesterday that it will be--we're far from over. Today
    you said it's going slowly but surely; we're working our way to our end
    goal. Given that the resistance is as strong as it's been in the south
    and that we have what you call the most hardened, most desperate forces
    still around Baghdad, are we to assume that this is going to last--could
    last months and not weeks--and not days?
        President Bush. I'll answer that question very quickly and then get
    to his. However long it takes to win. That's----
        Q. ----take months?
        President Bush. However long it takes to achieve our objective. And
    that's important for you to know, the American people to know, our
    allies to know, and the Iraqi people to know.
        Q. It could be months?

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        President Bush. However long it takes. That's the answer to your
    question, and that's what you've got to know. It isn't a matter of
    timetable; it's a matter of victory. And the Iraqi people have got to
    know that, see. They've got to know that they will be liberated and
    Saddam Hussein will be removed, no matter how
    long it takes.
        Go ahead.
        Prime Minister Blair. In relation to the United Nations, there's no
    doubt at all that the United Nations has got to be closely involved in
    this process. That's not just right; it's in everyone's interest that it
    happens. All I'm saying to people is, the focus--the immediate focus has
    got to be on the oil-for-food program, because that is the thing we need
    to get sorted out with the United Nations literally in the next few
    days.
        Now, after that is the issue of the postconflict administration,
    where, as we said in our Azores statement, it's important there, again,
    that the U.N. is involved and that any postconflict administration in
    Iraq is endorsed by it.
        But there are huge numbers of details to be discussed with our
    allies as to exactly how that is going to work. And also, the conflict
    is not yet over; we are still in the conflict. So we will carry on
    discussing that with the U.N., with other allies. But I think that is
    best done in those discussions without trying to do it by discussion
    through the press conference or through megaphone diplomacy.
        But about the role of the U.N. and the basis of the principles we
    set out in the Azores Summit, there is simply no difference at all
    there. But there are a huge amount of details as to exactly how that is
    to be implemented that have to be a matter of discussion, and also, a
    matter of a reflection of the reality that we will face when we get to
    the point of postconflict.
        Andy.
        Q. Andrew Marr from the BBC. For both leaders, if I may. We've, all
    of us, noted quite a shift in emphasis over the last few days from a
    hope that this could be over very, very quickly, to the military in both
    countries briefing about months. My question is really, why do you think
    that shift has taken place? Did we underestimate the scale of Iraqi
    resistance? Has it been the weather? Has it been poor advice at the
    beginning of the campaign, or is it a military question?
        Prime Minister Blair. Well, you know, in the previous two campaigns
    in which I've been involved, Kosovo and Afghanistan, you reach this
    particular point where people start asking--ask us to speculate on
    exactly how much time it takes to get the job done. The important thing
    is the job will be done. There is no point in entering into a
    speculation of how long it takes except to say we have been, I think,
    just under a week into this conflict. Now, because of the way it's
    reported--you've got this constant 24-hours-a-day media--it may seem to
    people that it's a lot longer than just under a week. But actually, it's
    just under a week. And in just under a week, there is a massive amount
    that has already been achieved. I mean, after all, coalition forces are
    within 50 miles of Baghdad; the southern oilfields are secured; the west
    is protected from external aggression; we've got forces going into the
    north.
        Now, we will carry on until the job is done. But there is absolutely
    no point, in my view, of trying to set a time limit or speculate on it,
    because it's not set by time; it's set by the nature of the job. All I
    would do, though, is point out to you that within those 6 or 7 days,
    actually an enormous amount has already been achieved.
        I think it's also important just to make one other point, which is
    we have very deliberately wanted to do this in a way that protects the
    future of the Iraqi people too. And that's one reason why we went
    immediately in to secure the oil installations in the south. If we
    weren't able to do that, then the prospects of the Iraqi people for the
    future would be blighted. That's why the air campaign has targeted very,
    very

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    specifically, as specifically as we possibly can, military command and
    control, the aspects of Saddam's regime, not the civilian population.
        So we're doing this in the way that we set it out to achieve our
    objectives. We will achieve our objectives.
        President Bush. I have nothing more to add to that.
        Randy [Randall Mikkelsen, Reuters].

    War Crimes/Weapons of Mass Destruction

        Q. Mr. President, you've raised the possibility of holding Iraqis
    accountable for war crimes. I'm wondering if now if you could describe
    what war crimes you think they've committed to date. And secondly, sir,
    should the Iraqis be prepared for U.S. retaliation with nuclear weapons
    if they were to attack coalition forces with weapons of mass
    destruction?
        President Bush. You heard the Prime Minister eloquently talk about
    the loss of British life. They were murdered, unarmed soldiers executed.
    I mean, that's a war crime. But you know, I'm not surprised. This man
    Saddam Hussein has tortured and brutalized
    his people for a long, long time.
        We had reports the other day of a dissident who had his tongue cut
    out and was tied to the stake in the town square, and he bled to death.
    That's how Saddam Hussein retains power.
        His sons are
    brutal, brutal people. They're barbaric in nature. So I'm not surprised
    he's committing crimes against our soldiers. I'm not surprised to hear
    stories about his thugs killing their own citizens and trying to blame
    it on coalition forces. I'm not surprised to know that regular army
    forces are trying to desert but get blown away by fellow Iraqi citizens.
    I'm not surprised, because the nature of the man who has run the country
    for a long period of time.
        If he uses weapons of mass destruction, that will just prove our
    case. And we will deal with it. We've got one objective in mind. That's
    victory, and we'll achieve victory.
        Q. [Inaudible].
        President Bush. Well, they've been sent a message in this war, too,
    in that if you launch a weapon of mass destruction, you'll be tried as a
    war criminal. And I urge those Iraqi generals who have any doubt of our
    word to be careful, because we'll keep our word. We're going to keep our
    word to the Iraqi people, and we'll keep our word to those war criminals
    in Iraq.
        Prime Minister Blair. Adam [Adam Boulton, Sky News].

    Nature of the Coalition/Execution of British Soldiers

        Q. I'd like to break the rule, because I don't think we know the
    details of why you're using this word ``executed'' about the British
    servicemen. I would like if you could explain that.
        But could I ask you both--you both went into the history, the
    justness of the cause that you believe that this war is. Why is it then,
    that if you go back to that history, if you go back over the last
    century or, indeed, recent conflicts in your political careers, you have
    not got the support of people who have been firm allies, like the
    French, like the Germans, like the Turkish? Why haven't you got their
    support?
        President Bush. We've got a huge coalition. As a matter of fact, the
    coalition that we've assembled today is larger than one assembled in
    1991 in terms of the number of nations participating. I'm very pleased
    with the size of our coalition.
        I was down yesterday at CENTCOM and met with many of the generals
    from the countries represented in our coalition, and they're proud to be
    side by side with our allies. This is a vast coalition that believes in
    our cause, and I'm proud of their participation.
        Q. They're not Western allies. Why not?
        President Bush. We have plenty of Western allies. We've got--I mean,
    we can give you the list. Ally after ally after ally has

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    stood with us and continues to stand with us, and we are extremely proud
    of their participation.
        Prime Minister Blair. Can I--in relation to our soldiers, the reason
    I used the language I did was because of the circumstances that we know.
        And the reason why I think it is important to recognize the strength
    of our alliance--yes, there are countries that disagree with what we are
    doing. I mean, there's no point in hiding it. There's been a division.
    And you obviously have to take and go and ask those other countries why
    they're not with us, and they will give you the reasons why they
    disagree. But I think what is important is to bear in mind two things.
    First of all, there are an immense number of countries that do agree
    with us. I mean, I hear people constantly say to me, ``Europe is against
    what you're doing.'' That is not true. There is a part of Europe that is
    against what we are doing. There are many existing members of the
    European Union and virtually all the new members of the European Union
    that strongly support what we are doing. So there is a division, but we
    have many allies.
        And the second point I'd make is this, that I understand why people
    hesitate before committing to conflict and to war. War is a brutal and a
    bloody business. But we are faced with the situation where Saddam
    Hussein has been given 12 years to disarm voluntarily of weapons of mass
    destruction that the whole of the international community accepts is a
    threat, and he has not done so. Instead, what we have had is 12 years in
    which he has remained in power with these weapons intact and brutalized
    his own people.
        Now, we felt we had come to the point where if we wanted to take a
    stand against what I believe to be the dominant security threat of our
    time, which is the combination of weapons of mass destruction in the
    hands of unstable, repressive states and terrorist groups, if we wanted
    to take a stand, then we had to act. And we went through the diplomatic
    process. We tried to make the diplomatic process work, but we weren't
    able to do so.
        And the other reason why I think it is important that we act and
    why, indeed, we have many, many allies, is because people do know that
    this is a brutal regime. That is not the reason for us initiating this
    action--that is in relation to weapons of mass destruction. But it is a
    reason why, if we do so, as we are doing, we do so in the full knowledge
    that we are, indeed, going to bring a better future for the Iraqi
    people.
        And if you just want one statistic--although statistics, I'm afraid,
    never have the same emotional appeal as pictures, but we don't see these
    pictures of what has happened in Iraq in the past--but just one
    statistic: Over the past 5 years, 400,000 Iraqi children under the age
    of 5 died of malnutrition and disease, preventively, but died because of
    the nature of the regime under which they are living. Now, that is why
    we're acting.
        And yes, there are divisions in the international community. There
    are many people on our side; there are those that oppose us. But that is
    for us, I'm afraid----
        Q. ----why do they----
        Prime Minister Blair. Well, I'm afraid, Adam, that is a question to
    ask to other people as well as to us. All I can tell you is why we are
    acting and why we believe our cause to be just. And yes, at the end of
    this whole process, we need to go back over it and ask why this has
    happened. But I simply say to you that if the world walks away from the
    security threat facing us and if we back down and take no action against
    Saddam, think of the signal that would have sent right across the world
    to every brutal dictator, to every terrorist group.
        Now, we believe that we had to act. Others have disagreed. As I say,
    at some point, we will have to come back, and we'll have to discuss how
    the disagreement arose. But I have no doubt that we're doing the right

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    thing. I have no doubt that our cause is just, and I have no doubt that
    were we to walk away from this conflict at this time, we would be doing
    a huge disservice to future generations.
        President Bush. Thank you all.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 11 a.m. in the hangar. In
    his remarks, he referred to President Saddam Hussein of Iraq and
    Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations.