    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [November 13, 2003]
    [Pages 1515-1517]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1515]]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Judicial Nominees and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    November 13, 2003

        The President. I have the job of nominating people to serve on the
    Federal benches. I have handled my duty in the right way by picking
    superb men and women to serve our country as Federal judges, people of
    integrity and honor, people of high intelligence, three of whom are with
    me today. Carolyn Kuhl, Janice Brown, Priscilla Owen really represent the best of America--superb, superb
    women.
        And yet, these three women are being
    denied a chance to serve on the bench because of ugly politics in the
    United States Senate. These folks deserve an up-or-down vote on the
    Senate floor. If they get an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor, they
    will be confirmed because the majority of justices believe they should
    serve. And yet a few Senators are playing politics. And it's wrong, and
    it's shameful, and it's hurting the system.
        I have told these three ladies I will stand
    with them until the bitter end because they're the absolute right pick
    for their respective positions. And the Senators who are playing
    politics with their nominations are acting shamefully. And I want to
    thank you all for being such stalwarts for justice and fairness and
    decency, and I appreciate you standing here.
        Carolyn Kuhl. Thank you, Mr. President.
        The President. Let me answer a couple quick--please.

    Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, could you tell us your ideas about how you would
    like to see--speed up the transfer of power in Iraq? Are you interested
    in setting up, for example, an interim government before a constitution
    is written?
        The President. What I'm interested in doing is working with
    Ambassador Bremer and the
    Governing Council to work on a plan that will encourage the Iraqis to
    assume more responsibility. Ambassador Bremer sat right here yesterday
    and talked to me about the Iraqis' desire to be more involved in the
    governance of their country. And that's a positive development because
    actually that's what we want. We want the Iraqis to be more involved in
    the governance of their country. And so Ambassador Bremer, with my
    instructions, is going back to talk to the Governing Council to develop
    a strategy. And he'll report back after he's consulted with the very
    people that we want to assume more responsibility.
        Yes.

    Steel Tariffs

        Q. Mr. President----
        The President. You're in there, Stretch [David Gregory, NBC News].
        Q. What's your timetable for deciding on whether to lift the steel
    sanctions? And how far do you think the U.S. industry has gone now in
    restructuring toward----
        The President. Well, that's exactly what I'm reviewing now. Part of
    the--the decision was based upon the International Trade Commission's
    finding that our industry had been harmed, and therefore, I imposed some
    tariffs in order to allow for a restructuring of the industry. I'm in
    the process of reviewing the extent to which the industry has been
    restructured. I'm going to make a decision within a reasonable period of
    time.
        Q. Mr. President?
        The President. Yes, Stretch.
        Q. Thank you, sir.
        The President. Excuse me, I couldn't tell if you wanted to ask a
    question or not today. [Laughter]

    Iraq

        Q. How worried----

    [[Page 1516]]

        The President. Is this about the judges?
        Q. Yes, right.
        The President. Okay.
        Q. I would--if I had time, I would. What are you prepared to do
    about the fact and how worried are you about the fact that ordinary
    Iraqis appear to be more irritated with the presence of U.S. troops and
    more supportive of Iraqi insurgents?
        The President. Well, first of all, the goal of the terrorists,
    whether they be Ba'athists or mujahideen fighters or Al-Qaida-type
    fighters, is to create terror and fear amongst average Iraqis, is to
    create the conditions where people are just so fearful for their lives
    that they cannot think positively about freedom. That's their goal.
        Our goal, of course, is to continue to work with those Iraqi
    citizens who understand that freedom is a precious commodity, those who
    understand that there is a hopeful life possible in a part of the world
    where a lot of hope has been diminished in the past. And that's the
    struggle--that's the struggle. And we're going to prevail because, well,
    one, we got a good strategy to deal with these killers. Two, I believe
    by far the vast majority of Iraqis do understand the stakes and do want
    their children to grow up in a peaceful environment and do want their
    children going to a school and do want to be able to live a free life
    that is prosperous. That's what I believe. And I--recently, I was told
    by--for example, Bremer was
    telling me about a survey done by an American firm in Baghdad, for
    example, and it said that by far the vast majority of people understand
    that if America were to leave and the terrorists were to prevail in
    their desire to drive us out, the country would fall into chaos. And no
    one wants that, and so I'm confident we'll prevail in the long run. And
    I'm confident we're doing good work right now.
        Yes.
        Q. Mr. President, are you----

    Judicial Nominations

        The President. Do you have a followup on the judges?
        Q. Yes, well, the Democrats say they have confirmed 98 percent of
    your judges----
        The President. Yes.
        Q. ----and by focusing on the few that they are opposing, that
    you're picking essentially an unfair fight.
        The President. Well, our circuits--circuit courts remain, in some
    cases, dangerously vacant. And here are three cases where people are
    being treated unfairly. My question is, why won't they give these three ladies an up-or-down vote? Where's the justice?
    These are eminently qualified people. These are three women who are--
    represent the best of American jurisprudence. And why won't they let
    them come to the floor? If they're so fair, bring them up to a vote--
    today. Let these three nominees get onto the floor of the United States
    Senate for an up-or-down vote, and then I will listen to whether or not
    they're fair or not.
        Yes, last question, then I've got to go.

    President's Upcoming Visit to the United Kingdom

        Q. Are you concerned, Mr. President, that the massive amount of
    protesters that are going to be in London next week will undercut your
    message of unity in Iraq?
        The President. I am so pleased to be going to a country which says
    that people are allowed to express their mind. That's fantastic. You
    know, freedom is a beautiful thing. And the fact that people are willing
    to come out and express themselves says I'm going to a great country.
        And secondly, I don't expect everybody in the world to agree with
    the positions I've taken. But certainly, those should agree with the
    goals of the United States, which is peace and freedom. You see, we
    believe that freedom is not America's gift to the world. We believe
    freedom is the Almighty's gift to everybody in the world. We

    [[Page 1517]]

    believe free societies are peaceful societies. We believe in human
    justice and human dignity and human rights. We cry when we hear stories
    about people being tortured, women being raped in rape rooms. We weep
    when we discover mass graves of innocent Iraqis. We understand that
    tyranny is not the form of government that will bring hope and justice.
    And therefore, we're not only willing to defend our own security; we're
    also willing to defend the rights of others.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:30 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House, following a meeting with Carolyn B. Kuhl, nominee to be U.S.
    Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit; Janice Brown, nominee to be U.S.
    Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit; and Priscilla Owen,
    nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. In his remarks,
    he referred to L. Paul Bremer III, Presidential Envoy to Iraq.