[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
[September 10, 2003]
[Pages 1131-1133]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Sabah of Kuwait and an Exchange With Reporters
September 10, 2003
The President. A couple of questions. First, we'll have a couple of
statements.
It's my honor and honor of senior members of my administration to
welcome you, sir, to the Oval Office. Kuwait is a steady and strong
friend of the United States. I thank you for your friendship.
This country led a vast coalition to make the world more secure and
more peaceful, and Kuwait was steadfast in your support of our common
desire to respect human life, to promote peace, and I want to thank you
for that very much. We called upon you to make some difficult choices,
and you made those choices, and the world is better off as a result of
the decisions your Government made. So it's my honor to welcome you
here, sir, today.
Prime Minister Sabah. I would like to take this opportunity to thank
the President, and thank you, Mr. President, for this invitation and for
asking us to come here. I believe that the discussions that I had with
you were frank discussions, and they were discussions between friends,
people who are friends and allies together.
I would like to assure you that this friendship and the alliance
between our two countries and our two peoples will continue. And it will
not be limited to the official Government levels, but it will be also,
and continue to be, between the people. This relationship will continue
to exist because we strongly believe that it's in the interest of the
peoples in both countries as well as the region.
Once again, Mr. President, thank you, sir, for this invitation.
The President. Mr. Prime Minister.
Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated Press].
PLO Prime Minister-Designate Ahmed Korei
Q. Mr. President, what's your evaluation of the new Palestinian
Prime Minister? Do you think he's someone that you'll be able to work
with as well as you were able to work with Mr. Mahmoud Abbas?
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The President. Well, time will tell. I still believe strongly that
two states living side by side in peace is a hopeful vision for the
future of the Middle East. The roadmap is still there. The fundamental
question is whether or not people, peaceful people, will be on the road.
And one of the essential tenets of the roadmap is that people are
responsible, parties need to be responsible for creating the conditions
necessary for peace to prevail. Probably the most--the most important
condition for peace to prevail is for all parties to fight off terror,
to dismantle organizations whose intent is to destroy the vision of
peace.
And the Prime Minister-designee--I understand he accepted the
position minutes ago--the question is, will he be confirmed by his--
Parliament? And his job is, if he's interested in a two-state solution,
is to consolidate power within his administration, to get the security
forces under control--all security forces--and then to unleash those
security forces against killers. And we can make progress if that's the
case.
But the Prime Minister and I discussed this subject. He made a very
interesting point, that nations need to cut off funding to terrorist
groups. And I appreciated that very much. In other words, that's part of
the responsibility. Israel, of course, has got responsibility not only
to protect her people but to create the conditions necessary for those
in the Palestinian Authority who do believe in peace, who do believe in
the vision, to prevail.
And so it's tough times there now, and we mourn the loss of innocent
life. But the vision is still there, because I strongly believe it's in
the interest of everybody that two states live side by side in peace.
Would you care to call on somebody from the press?
Kuwait
Q. Mr. President, what do you expect from Kuwait, to play a role in
the future in peace and the future of Iraq? And how do you view this
visit and Kuwait as an ally to the United States?
The President. Well, this is a very important visit, because it
gives me a chance to publicly offer my sincere thanks to an important
leader in the Oval Office. Secondly, we did discuss our mutual
responsibilities to promote peace. I assured the Prime Minister that
this country would stay in Iraq to fulfill our promise to Iraqi citizens
who are desperate for peace and for the chance to succeed.
The Prime Minister said that he appreciated our commitment. He was
glad to be reassured that we will finish the job and said he'd be
willing to help. And I appreciate that.
Our friendship is one where we're able to have mutual but frank
discussions, and we will continue our discussions over lunch. And I am
grateful for his presence and his willingness to talk frankly about
issues that relate to our future.
Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].
New U.N. Resolution on Iraq
Q. Given the French and German opposition, how are you going to get
a new U.N. resolution on Iraq? Are you willing to concede any control to
the U.N.?
The President. Oh, I think that--we're hopeful we can get a good
resolution. We're in consultations now. I think it's in everybody's
interest that Iraq be free and be peaceful. And we will continue to work
through issues. I don't think they're opposed to the resolution. I think
you're putting words in their mouth that--they may want to fine-tune a
resolution, and we're--listen, we're open for suggestions.
But what is necessary is, however, to trust the Iraqi people to--the
Governing Council to come up with a timetable for elections. They're
making good progress there now. They've got ministers in charge of key
parts of the country. They are beginning to put in place the timetable
necessary for the writing of a constitution. And there will be free
elections. And that ought to
[[Page 1133]]
be decided by the Governing Council. These are people who know full well
how best to move Iraq forward.
And we'll work with all parties involved. My call, however, to
nations is, is that let us not get caught up in past bickering. Let us
move forward. A free Iraq is in everybody's interest. A peaceful Iraq is
in the world's interest. And I'm confident we can work together to
achieve that. The Secretary of State will be going around the world
urging people to make serious contributions, and I will, once again,
make that plea. We expect and hope that our friends contribute to the
reconstruction of Iraq. It is in your interest that you do so.
Final question, Dick--Stretch [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News].
Funding for Iraq and Domestic Programs
Q. Mr. President, the $87 billion you say will be needed for
peacekeeping in Iraq accounts for roughly a fifth of the domestic
discretionary spending next year. Realistically, sir, how can you do
that and hold the line on domestic programs without gutting those
programs? Can you really have one----
The President. Of course, we can do--first of all, the $87 billion,
it's important to spend that money. It's in our national interest that
we spend it. A free and peaceful Iraq will save this country money in
the long term. It's important to get it done now.
And yes, I also believe the 4-percent discretionary--increase in
discretionary spending number I sent up to Congress makes sense.
Somebody--I heard somebody say, ``Well, what we need to do is have a tax
increase to pay for this.'' That's an absurd notion. You don't raise
taxes when an economy is recovering. Matter of fact, lower taxes will
help enhance economic recovery. We want our people going back to work.
We've got good momentum now in our economy. We don't want to destroy
that momentum.
But the $87 billion is worth it. And I look forward to working with
Congress to get that number completed and get the job done.
Thank you all.
Note: The President spoke at 11:58 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
House. A reporter referred to former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu
Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority. Prime Minister Sabah spoke in
Arabic, and his remarks were translated by an interpreter.