[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
[November 14, 2003]
[Pages 1527-1530]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi of Italy and an Exchange With Reporters
November 14, 2003
President Bush. Thank you all for coming. Mr. President, it is my
honor to welcome you to the Oval Office. You come at a difficult period
for your country. You come at a time when your nation grieves for the
brave sons who lost their life. I send our Nation's gratitude and
prayers to the loved ones who are grieving today in Italy.
I want to thank you for the friendship between our two nations. I
want to thank you for your strong leadership in standing up to the
terrorists who are trying to create fear and chaos. And I want to thank
you for your understanding that a free and peaceful Iraq will help make
the entire world more peaceful.
And so it is my privilege and honor to welcome a close friend to the
Oval Office. Welcome.
President Ciampi. Today I come to the United States as President of
the Italian Republic and as a staunch advocate of European integration.
I will go to Arlington Cemetery this afternoon. No Italian, no European
can ever forget how much democratic Europe owes to the young Americans
who gave their lives for our freedom. On Sunday I will go to Ground Zero
to honor the victims of terrorism.
President Bush. Thank you.
President Ciampi. I want to thank President Bush for his words, for
expressing solidarity in connection with the horrible attack against
Italian forces in Iraq. Italy went to Iraq not to take part in a war but
to contribute to rebuild a country. This is the identity of the Italian
Republic, to build peace, to solve post-conflict situations. We have
done it in the past, and we do it in many parts of the world today.
With President Bush, we agreed on the goal to accelerate full
implementation of United Nations Resolution 1511. We support the idea of
drawing a roadmap for the Iraqi political process in order to establish
a full-fledged Government.
The ideals of democracy and freedom have their roots and their
strongest foundation in Europe and North America. As it happens, even
among friends, there have
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been problems between us on specific aspects of transatlantic
cooperation. We are committed, especially us Italians, to put them fully
behind us, for they do not dent and cannot dent the--[inaudible]--
solidarity between Europe and the United States. Upholding Atlantic
cohesion is a duty and a necessity.
I already mentioned to President Bush, and we will continue to do so
during the working lunch, about the rationale of what the European Union
wants to do to become more united and speak with a single voice. We are
progressing in bringing about and completing a constitutional treaty
which will enable the European Union to function better and, again, to
speak with a single voice.
A united, stronger--with a new configuration of Europe, it will be a
stronger Europe with 25 member states and over 450 million citizens and
will reinforce and extend a vast area of security and peace. And they
will become a better partner also for the United States.
I intend to continue my conversation with President Bush so that we
can work together, United States, Italy, Europe, to reinforce pressures
to bring about a solution to the conflict of Israel and Palestinian
problems, so that we can arrive to a right and just solution. And this
will help us to fight, better, terrorism. And we have to fight
terrorists--terrorism in a better way so that the Islamic world will
know that we view them as a civilization both near and friendly to ours.
In conclusion, I think that we should reinforce our action to
increase the actions also within the international institutions, such as
the United Nations, to whose establishment the United States has made a
fundamental contribution. Italy will continue to fight, with
determination, terrorists.
President Bush. Thank you. Listen, we'll have a couple of questions
here. We'll alternate between the American press and the Italian press.
We expect there to be some order here during the question-and-answer
period. In order to set the example, Jennifer [Jennifer Loven,
Associated Press], would you like to begin in a calm and rational way?
Coalition Goals and Tactics in Iraq
Q. I would. With the speeding up of the transfer of power in Iraq,
do you envision that meaning a quicker reduction of U.S. forces there?
President Bush. Well, we are--I instructed Ambassador Bremer to take--to go back to Iraq with the
instructions that we will work with the Governing Council to speed up
the political process in a rational way. That's what he's going to do,
on the belief that we've made a lot of progress on the ground, that the
Governing Council is better prepared to take more responsibility.
In terms of security, we will do whatever it takes to help Iraq
develop into a free and peaceful country. That is our goal. And we will
stay there until the job is done, and then we'll leave. And the enemy
has changed tactics on the ground, and so we're changing our response,
and that's what you're beginning to see now. The discussions with
General Abizaid and the discussions with
Bremer and all the different
pieces of evidence to that effect are really saying that as the enemy
changes, so will we. And we'll bring them to justice, and Iraq will be
more secure, and Iraq is going to be free. And that's in the Nation's
interest that it be so.
Would you like to call on an Italian member of the press? There is
traveling press from Italy, isn't there? Would anybody care to ask a
question?
It's the old double-question trick.
Q. It's a question to both you, President Bush, and President
Ciampi. Italy is going through very difficult times, as it is the case
for other countries who are present in Iraq. And so the question is,
will the presence of U.S. and Italian troops in Iraq change their
strategy in order to respond to the deterioration of the situation?
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President Bush. That's a very good question. I'll go first, if you
don't mind. The answer to your question is yes. It's very important that
our commanders on the ground be given flexibility to be able to adjust
tactics to an enemy that is changing its tactics. First of all, the
enemy wants to create the condition of fear. They want people to fear
them. They will lose that aspect of the battle because our will will
remain strong.
And secondly, we must use more Iraqis to gather intelligence and to
be on the frontline of securing their own country. And that's exactly
what we're doing.
And third, when we find actionable intelligence, we will strike fast
to bring killers to justice. And that's what we're doing as well.
President Ciampi. I only want to add a few words, and this concerns
exclusively tactical maneuvers that have to be decided by the commanders
who are on the field, onsite. Our military forces received specific and
very clear instructions when they went to Iraq. The implementation of
these instructions stem from the assessment of their commanders on the
field.
President Bush. Yes, very good. Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters]. Yes,
sorry.
Q. Can you envision pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq before Saddam
Hussein is found?
President Bush. Look, we will stay until the job is done, and the
job is for Iraq to be free and peaceful. A free and peaceful Iraq will
have historic consequences. And we'll find Saddam Hussein. The goal is for a free and peaceful Iraq, and by being
strong and determined, we will achieve that objective.
Final question here. I promised the President I would buy him lunch,
and if we keep answering questions, we won't be able to eat lunch.
President Ciampi. I have nothing else to add.
President Bush. Okay.
Sir, please.
Humanitarian Aid Workers in Iraq
Q. I have a question to President Bush. Given the difficult security
situation in the country and given the fact that the Red Cross left the
country, what can be done to ensure and guarantee the protection of the
return of the Red Cross and also of other humanitarian organizations?
President Bush. Yes, that's an excellent question. Thank you for
asking that. First, there are Red Cross workers still there. The
headquarters left Baghdad, but many workers are still there. Secondly,
there are--besides the Red Cross, there are other organizations still in
place that are delivering the humanitarian help that is needed to help
Iraq rebuild herself.
It is very important for the leaders of the NGOs to recognize that
if they don't go into Baghdad, they're doing exactly what the terrorists
want them to do. The situation on the ground for the Iraqi citizens, the
humanitarian situation, is improving, and the main reason why is because
there are ministries up and running, staffed by very capable Iraqi
citizens.
We will stay the course, and as more and more Iraqis realize freedom
is precious and freedom is a beautiful way of life, they will assume
more and more responsibilities, not only for security but for
humanitarian reasons as well.
Finally, I want to thank the Italian people once again for working
toward a world that is more humane and more decent and more peaceful.
The Iraqi people deserve to live a life of freedom. The Iraqi people
deserve to have their children go to schools. The Iraqi people deserve
to be free of torture chambers and mass graves. And the work we are
doing together is humane and compassionate and necessary for peace, and
I thank the people of Italy.
Thank you all.
President Ciampi. I just want to add that the Italian Red Cross is
still in Iraq, and they're still carrying out their duties, and
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they're giving assistance to the people who is really in need of
assistance.
President Bush. All right. We've got to go eat. I hope you do too.
Note: The President spoke at 11:55 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to L. Paul Bremer III, Presidential
Envoy to Iraq; and Gen. John P. Abizaid, USA, combatant commander, U.S.
Central Command. President Ciampi spoke in Italian, and his remarks were
translated by an interpreter.