    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [July 21, 2003]
    [Pages 904-907]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 904]]

    The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Silvio
    Berlusconi of Italy in Crawford, Texas
    July 21, 2003

        President Bush. Thank you for coming. I'm honored to host my friend
    the Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi. It's such an honor for
    us to welcome--I say ``us''; Laura welcomes him
    as well as I to our ranch. We welcome the Prime Minister as a good
    friend, and he represents a country which is a strong ally to America.
    Welcome.
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. Thank you.
        President Bush. I want to thank him for being such a gracious host
    during our trips overseas, and we're really pleased to return the
    hospitality.
        Last year, on America's Memorial Day, Prime Minister Berlusconi
    visited a American military cemetery in Italy to honor our service
    members who gave their lives defending freedom in Europe. His actions
    touched me personally. He understands the history and the values that
    our two countries share. The people of the United States and Italy love
    freedom, and we know that freedom must be defended.
        We also understand that defending freedom requires costs and
    sacrifice. And the United States is grateful for Italy's willingness to
    bear the burdens with us. Italy and America stood together through
    nearly a half a century of cold war. Over the past decade, we have stood
    together against oppression and hatred in the Balkans. And in the months
    since September the 11th, 2001, Italy and America have stood side by
    side against tyranny and global terror.
        The war on terror continues. We will see it through to victory.
    Global terrorist networks are a threat to America, to Italy, and to all
    peaceful nations. And we are disrupting and destroying those networks.
    The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a threat to America,
    to Italy, and to all peaceful nations. We will persevere until that
    threat is removed. Radicalism and ideologies of hatred are a threat to
    America, to Italy, and to all peaceful nations. And we are determined to
    spread liberty and progress and hope.
        My country is especially grateful to the Italian troops and police
    who are serving with skill and courage in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our
    efforts to work for freedom and stability in these countries and
    throughout the entire region are an integral part of the war on terror.
    And we will make both our nations safer and advance the peace of the
    world.
        The Prime Minister and I are both encouraged by signs of progress
    toward a great goal in the Middle East: two states, Palestine and
    Israel, living side by side in peace and security. Both Prime Minister
    Abbas and Prime Minister
    Sharon are showing leadership and courage. Now
    it is time for governments across the Middle East to support the efforts
    of these two men by fighting terror in all its forms. This includes the
    Governments of Syria and Iran. This behavior is--today, Syria and Iran
    continue to harbor and assist terrorists. This behavior is completely
    unacceptable, and states that support terror will be held accountable.
        Supporting and harboring terrorists undermines the prospects for
    peace in the Middle East and betrays the true interests of the
    Palestinian people. Terrorism is the greatest obstacle to the emergence
    of a Palestinian state, and all leaders who seek this goal have an
    obligation to back up their words in real actions against terror. And
    leaders who are interested in a peaceful solution in the Middle East
    must support the efforts of Prime Minister Abbas to build a democratic
    Palestine and ease the hardships faced by the Palestinian people.
        The Prime Minister and I are in complete agreement that Europe and
    America are both more secure and more effective

    [[Page 905]]

    when we act together. I'm pleased that Prime Minister Berlusconi is now
    serving as the President of the European Union. And I'm confident that
    under his leadership of the EU, Europe and America will continue to meet
    the great challenges before us.
        Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your leadership, your wise
    counsel, and your friendship, and welcome to Crawford, Texas.
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for
    hosting me, and thank you for inviting me here to visit a country which
    I love very much to talk about our common concerns: that is, freedom,
    democracy, and justice and development.
        Thank you very much for welcoming me in your home, making me feel as
    a member of your family. Please let me say so, this is again a chance
    for me to talk to you and tell you about the gratitude I have, the
    gratitude I personally have, my country has for you, for a country which
    allowed us to enjoy our freedom and our welfare and well-being and to
    enjoy all of this.
        This morning I attended one of your meetings, work meetings, and I
    was strongly impressed by the burden of responsibilities that you take
    on yourself and on your country. And I really thought that it was
    extremely important for the citizens in the West to know with what
    attention and care and with what spirit of sacrifice and generosity the
    United States and its President follow the developments all over the
    world which might bring about danger and threat and hurt any country in
    the world.
        He already mentioned the subjects we discussed in our meeting and
    already said that we have a common vision on all of these issues, with
    no exception. I'll go back to Italy and Europe with a belief which I
    already had but which was strengthened by my visit here. My belief is
    that we really need to support and develop the culture of union and
    cohesion and certainly not nurture the culture of division. Selfishness,
    narcissism, and division shall never win. We need to revive the huge
    strength of cohesion. And this has to be a vital force, able to plan and
    build something. And this is the message which I'm going to bring back
    to my European allies as President of the European Union.

        Once again, thank you, Mr. President, for the friendship of your
    people to my country and for your personal friendship and esteem.

        President Bush. Thank you, sir. Before the Prime Minister and I take
    a tour of the ranch, we'll answer a couple of questions.

        Deb, AP [Deb Riechmann, Associated Press].

    Liberia

        Q. Mr. President, a mortar shell has hit the U.S. Embassy in
    Liberia. The U.S. has sent a contingent of Marines there to protect its
    interests. What about the civilians being killed? There were some
    civilians dragged in front of the Embassy this morning. Sir, my question
    is, can the U.S. stand by and watch the violence spiral out of control,
    and what about sending U.S. peacekeepers?

        President Bush. Well, you're right, we just sent a group of troops
    in to protect our interests, and we're concerned about our people in
    Liberia. We'll continue to monitor the situation very closely. We're
    working with the United Nations to effect policy necessary to get the
    cease-fire back in place. We are working with ECOWAS to determine when
    they will be prepared to move in the peacekeeper troops that I have said
    we'd be willing to help move into Liberia. We're monitoring the
    situation very carefully.

        You call on somebody.

        Prime Minister Berlusconi. [Inaudible]

        President Bush. No, you get to call on somebody.

        Prime Minister Berlusconi. Si, si. Prego.

    [[Page 906]]

    Iraq

        Q. The question, if possible, could be answered by both of you--that
    is, the situation in Iraq. Did you discuss the possibility of having
    Italian troops taking over and replacing the--taking over the
    peacekeeping operations and taking over from the U.S. military? And did
    you talk about reconstruction of Iraq? And did you also mention the
    possibility that countries which did not participate in the coalition
    can have the same role and the same share in the reconstruction of Iraq?
        President Bush. No, we didn't talk about Italy replacing the United
    States as peacekeepers. Yes, we did discuss how to broaden the coalition
    to bring more security to Iraq.
        It's very important for our citizens of both countries to understand
    that this extension of hostility is really a part of the war to liberate
    Iraq. There are people in Iraq who hate the thought of freedom. There
    are Saddam apologists who want to try to stay
    in power through terrorist activity. And I explained to the Prime
    Minister, we're patient, we're strong, we're resolute, and we will see
    this matter through. And obviously, the more help we can get, the more
    we appreciate it. And we are continuing to work with other nations to
    ask their help and advice. And we appreciate the leadership of the Prime
    Minister.
        Secondly, the answer to your question about reconstruction efforts,
    the answer is, who can do the best job for the Iraqi people? The
    reconstruction effort shouldn't be viewed as a political exercise. It
    shouldn't be viewed as an international grab bag. It shouldn't be viewed
    as a special opportunity.
        The answer to your question is, how best to improve the lives of the
    Iraqi people, how best to quickly establish electricity and clean water
    and hospitals and schools, all the things necessary for a free society
    to develop. And so if that can be--if that question can be answered
    positively by somebody who didn't necessarily agree with the decision,
    that's fine. We're interested--mostly interested in the Iraqi people.
        Okay, Adam [Adam Entous, Reuters].
        Q. Thank you, Mr. President.
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. I share----
        President Bush. You want to answer that? Sure.
        Prime Minister Berlusconi. No, no, I completely share what the
    President just said.
        President Bush. Then why don't you ask the Prime Minister a question
    so he can answer a question.
        Q. Mr. President.
        President Bush. Yes, Adam.

    North Korea

        Q. New evidence suggests North Korea may have built a second, secret
    site to process plutonium. How concerned are you? Are you going to let
    this stand? Also, are you still hopeful of making progress in talks
    through the Chinese?
        President Bush. Well, I appreciate you bringing up the latter,
    because I do believe we can solve this issue diplomatically by
    encouraging the neighborhood--the Chinese, the South Koreans, and the
    Japanese to join us with a single voice that says to Mr. Kim Chong-
    il, ``A decision to develop a nuclear arsenal is
    one that will alienate you from the rest of the world.''
        The desire by the North Koreans to convince the world that they're
    in the process of developing a nuclear arsenal is nothing new. We've
    known that for a while. And therefore, we must continue to work with the
    neighborhood to convince Kim Chong-il that his
    decision is an unwise decision. And we will do just that.

    Iraq

        Q. Under what condition would you accept a new United Nation
    resolution about Iraq? You know that some countries are asking.
        President Bush. Well, we're in close consultation with the U.N. We
    believe that

    [[Page 907]]

    1483 empowers countries to make a proper decision to get involved in
    Iraq. Let me talk about the U.N. in relations to Iraq in general. Mr. de
    Mello is doing a very fine job. He is
    working very closely with Bremer. They've got a fine relationship, and that bodes well for
    future discussions. Fourteen eighty-three is a very strong resolution
    and a very adequate resolution.
        But we're constantly in touch with U.N. officials. And Kofi
    Annan was in my office the other day, discussing
    a lot of different issues, and one of the issues was Iraq. The more
    people involved in Iraq, the better off we will be. And that's exactly
    what our intention is, to encourage people to participate in the--making
    Iraq more secure and more free. A free Iraq is a crucial part of winning
    the war on terror.
        And now I'm going to go see to it that the Prime Minister is well
    fed. We're going to feed him some chicken.
        Thank you, sir. I appreciate it very much. Thank you all.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 11:13 a.m. at the Bush
    Ranch. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu
    Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority; Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of
    Israel; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Chairman Kim Chong-il
    of North Korea; Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Special Representative
    for Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello of the United Nations; and L. Paul
    Bremer III, Presidential Envoy to Iraq. Prime Minister Berlusconi spoke
    in Italian, and some reporters asked their questions in Italian, and
    their remarks were translated by an interpreter.