[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.