    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [June 15, 2004]
    [Pages 1046-1055]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan
    June 15, 2004

        President Bush. Good day. Laura and I are
    pleased to welcome President Karzai back to the White House--really glad
    you're here.

        President Karzai. Thank you very much.

        President Bush. Thanks for the good visit, and I'm looking forward
    to having a good lunch with you and your delegation.

        President Karzai. Well, I'm looking forward to that.
        President Bush. President Karzai recently visited Fort Drum and
    thanked American troops on behalf of the Afghan people----
        President Karzai. Yes.
        President Bush. ----for their service and sacrifice. And Mr.
    President, that was a sign of a true friend. I want to thank you for
    doing that.
        President Karzai. Thank you very much.
        President Bush. I also appreciate your honor and your courage and
    your skill in

    [[Page 1047]]

    helping to build a new and democratic Afghanistan. You've been
    instrumental in lifting your country from the ashes of two decades of
    war and oppression. Under your leadership, Afghanistan's progress has
    been dramatic.
        Three years ago, the Taliban had granted Usama bin Laden and his terrorist Al Qaida organization a safe refuge.
    Today, the Taliban has been deposed; Al Qaida is in hiding; and
    coalition forces continue to hunt down the remnants and holdouts.
    Coalition forces, including many brave Afghans, have brought America,
    Afghanistan, and the free world its first victory in the war on terror.
    Afghanistan is no longer a terrorist factory sending thousands of
    killers into the world.
        Three years ago, 70 percent of Afghans were malnourished, and one in
    four Afghan children never saw their 5th birthday.
        President Karzai. Yes.
        President Bush. Today, clean water is being provided throughout the
    country; hospitals and clinics have been rehabilitated; and millions of
    children have been vaccinated against measles and polio.
        Three years ago, women were viciously oppressed and forbidden to
    work outside the home and even denied what little medical treatment was
    available. Today, women are going to school, and their rights are
    protected in Afghanistan's Constitution.
        President Karzai. Yes.
        President Bush. That document sets aside a certain number of seats
    for women in the National Assembly, and women will soon compete for
    those seats in open elections this September.
        Three years ago, the smallest displays of joy were outlawed. Women
    were beaten for wearing brightly colored shoes. Even the playing of
    music and the flying of kites were outlawed. Today, we witness the
    rebirth of a vibrant Afghan culture. Music fills the marketplaces, and
    people are free to come together to celebrate in open.
        Afghanistan's journey to democracy and peace deserves the support
    and respect of every nation, because free nations do not breed the
    ideology of terror. Last week, at the G-8 summit, President Karzai
    talked with world leaders about the challenges of building a secure and
    stable country.
        My Government reaffirms its ironclad commitment to help Afghanistan
    succeed and prosper. Security is essential for steady progress and
    growth. The forces of many nations are working hard with Afghans to find
    and defeat Taliban remnants and eliminate Al Qaida terrorists. We're
    helping to build the new Afghan national army and to train new Afghan
    police and border patrol. Together, we will maintain the peace, secure
    Afghanistan's borders, and deny terrorists any foothold in that country.
        I'm proud to call President Karzai a strong ally in the war on
    terror.
        The United States is also joining with Afghanistan to announce five
    new initiatives that will help the Afghan people achieve the peace,
    stability, and prosperity they deserve. First, the United States pledges
    its full support as Afghans continue to build the institutions of
    democracy. America will launch an ambitious training program for newly
    elected Afghan politicians and help newly elected Assembly members
    better serve those who elected them.
        Second, Afghanistan and America are working together to print
    millions of new textbooks and to build modern schools in every Afghan
    province. Girls as well as boys are going to school, and they are
    studying under a new curriculum that promotes religious and ethnic
    tolerance. We pledge to continue this progress through a new $4 million
    women's teacher training institute in Kabul. Graduates of this
    innovative program will return to their provinces and rural districts to
    train other teachers in the crusade against illiteracy.
        Education can be nurtured in other ways as well. Cultural exchange
    programs help to foster understanding and respect as well as accelerate
    progress. Last year, close to 100 Afghans studied here in various
    training programs. More want to come to learn

    [[Page 1048]]

    and to share their experiences, so our third initiative will expand
    these opportunities to include more than 250 qualified Afghans who will
    participate in Humphrey, Fulbright, Cochran, and other exchange
    programs.
        Fourth, to promote bilateral economic ties, the United States and
    Afghanistan announced our intent to pursue a bilateral trade and
    investment framework agreement. Years of war and tyranny have eroded
    Afghanistan's economy and infrastructure, yet a revival is underway.
    Afghans are busy starting their own businesses. Some 15,000 licenses
    have already been issued for foreign businesses and investors to explore
    economic opportunities in Afghanistan. Working with Japan, we have
    rebuilt the Kandahar-Kabul highway, a vital commercial and
    transportation link between Afghanistan's two largest cities. A
    bilateral trade agreement will add new fuel to the economic revival.
        And finally, we pledge to continue our efforts to create
    opportunities for women. The United States is dedicating $5 million to
    fund training programs and grants for small businesses. Under the
    Taliban, women were oppressed; their potential was ignored. Under
    President Karzai's leadership, that has changed dramatically. A number
    of innovative programs designed in collaboration with the Afghan
    Government are increasing the role of women in the private sector. The
    traditional funding we announce today--the additional funding we
    announce today will provide Afghan women with small-business grants and
    training in business management skills. As my wife, Laura, has said, no society can prosper when half of its
    population is not allowed to contribute to its progress.
        The road ahead for Afghanistan is still long and difficult. Yet, the
    Afghan people can know that their country will never be abandoned to
    terrorists and killers. The world and the United States stands with them
    as partners in their quest for peace and prosperity and stability and
    democracy.
        Welcome, President, glad you're here.
        President Karzai. Thank you very much. Thank you. Mr. President,
    it's a tremendous privilege and honor for us to be invited again by you
    and the First Lady to the White House. It was a great honor for me today
    to be speaking to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. I will cherish
    that memory of talking to the representatives of the American people.
        There, today I thanked America for the help that it gave us liberate
    ourselves and rebuild ourselves and prosper. That help has been the
    source of all growth in the past 2 years. Our economy in the year 2002
    grew by 30 percent, in the year 2003 by 25 percent or more. In the year
    2004, the growth is estimated to be 20 percent. And we are hoping, as
    some of the banks have predicted, that the Afghan economy will grow 'til
    2008 by 15 percent, and beyond that, for another 5 years, by 10 percent.
        Thank you very much. This could have not been possible without your
    help, without America's assistance.
        We are sending today 5 million children to school. Almost half of
    those children are girls. Our universities are open. Our universities
    are coming up in all--all over the country, in all the provinces of the
    country.
        We are building a national army, a vital institution for the defense
    of our country. You want us to stand on our own feet; you want us to
    defend our own sovereignty and provide security to our people; and
    you're helping us do that. The national army of Afghanistan is popular
    with the Afghan people. Wherever they go, people receive them with
    welcome. In Farah Province, where they went some months ago, school
    girls and boys gave them flowers. Thank you very much for that.
        We are also building our police forces. We have a constitution that
    we have today which is the most enlightened in that part of the world.
    And that constitution has been made possible because of the liberation
    that you helped us gain and because of the stability that the United
    States

    [[Page 1049]]

    helped us have in Afghanistan. As a result of that, we have a
    constitution that sets us as an example of an Islamic democratic state.
    Thank you very much, Mr. President, for that.
        We are looking forward in this relationship to a stronger
    relationship, and I'm sure the United States will remain committed to
    Afghanistan.
        Afghanistan is, in the month of September, looking forward to
    elections--Presidential elections and elections of parliament and
    elections of the provincial assemblies and district assemblies. So far,
    we have registered 3.8 million voters, and out of the 3.8 million
    voters, Mr. President, 35.4 percent are, so far, women. And as the trend
    continues, as we move forward to the registration of more voters, the
    number of women registering will exceed, definitely, 40 percent. In
    certain parts of the country, in the central highlands, today I learned
    that the registration of women has exceeded that of men. They are more
    than 50 percent. This could have not been achieved in Afghanistan
    without your help and that of the international community.
        Afghanistan has problems too. Among the problems is the question of
    drugs. The Afghan Government is adamant, the Afghan people are adamant
    to fight this menace, to end it in Afghanistan, and we seek your help in
    that.
        Thank you very much, Mr. President. It's been nice visiting the
    United States again. One likes to stay here and not go, it's such a good
    country. [Laughter] Thanks very much.
        President Bush. Get home and get to work, will you?
        President Karzai. Thank you, yes. [Laughter]
        President Bush. We'll answer some questions, in the tradition of
    democratic societies. Are you ready?
        President Karzai. I'm ready.
        President Bush. We'll start with Hunt [Terence Hunt, Associated
    Press].
        President Karzai. I now know, Mr. President, what the free press
    means. We have it in Afghanistan.
        President Bush. That's good.
        Hunt.

    Saddam Hussein/Usama bin Laden and Mullah Omar

        Q. Mr. President, Iraq's Prime Minister says the new government
    expects to take custody of Saddam Hussein and all other detainees when
    sovereignty is transferred in about 2 weeks, and your spokesman says
    that that's under consideration. Will you turn him over by that date,
    and what factors are you weighing in that decision?
        And President Karzai, who will try Usama bin Laden and Mullah Omar
    when they're caught?
        President Bush. We're working with the Iraqi government on a couple
    of issues. One is the appropriate time for the transfer of Saddam
    Hussein, and secondly, we're working to make sure there's appropriate
    security. I mean, one thing, obviously, is that we don't want and I know
    the Iraqi interim government doesn't want is there to be lax security
    and for Saddam Hussein to somehow not stand trial for the horrendous
    murders and torture that he inflicted upon the Iraqi people. So we're
    working with them.
        President Karzai. Usama and Mullah Omar have committed crimes
    against the Afghan people, against the people in the United States, and
    against the international community. They are international criminals.
    They are wanted by the international community. They are wanted by the
    world conscience. They have to be arrested and tried. And when they are
    arrested, we will consult the international community and find
    appropriate mechanism for their trial.
        President Bush. Caren [Caren Bohan, Reuters].

    [[Page 1050]]

    Muqtada Al Sadr

        Q. Mr. President, you've referred to Muqtada Al Sadr as a thug, and
    your administration has promised to bring him to justice. Is it
    appropriate for the new interim Iraqi government to now welcome him into
    the political fold?
        President Bush. The interim Iraqi government will deal with Al Sadr
    in the way they see fit. That's--they're sovereign. When we say we
    transfer full sovereignty, we mean we transfer full sovereignty, and
    they will deal with him appropriately.
        Let's see here. Do you want to run the table, or do you want to go
    eat lunch?
        President Karzai. Go ahead.
        President Bush. Run the table, okay.
        Holly [Holly Rosenkrantz, Bloomberg News].
        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. Hold on a second, I'll get you in a minute, please.
    A little patience in front of the President here.
        Holly.

    U.S. Economy

        Q. Mr. President, there are signs that inflation may be on the
    horizon in the U.S. economy. How concerned are you about this? What are
    you--I mean, do you think this might slow down the recovery that you've
    been so happy about? Also, if I can ask you a followup on the security
    about Saddam Hussein. What guarantee----
        President Bush. How many questions? One question apiece. If we're
    going to stand out here in 100-degree temperature, let's just have one
    question.
        Q. Okay.
        President Bush. You can pass your question on to some other person,
    and I might call on them. I'm not so sure I'm going to be so
    international this press conference. [Laughter]
        The first question was about am I concerned about economic vitality?
    I'm pleased with--what?
        Q. ----inflation----
        President Bush. No, I thought you said am I worried that inflation
    is going to--what I'm pleased about is the fact that our economy is
    strong and is getting stronger. All indications are--is that the
    economic stimulus plan we put in place is working. There's strong
    growth. There is--there are new jobs being added. Consumer spending is
    up. Disposable--after-tax disposable income is high. In other words, the
    ingredients for continued economic growth are present, and I'm very
    pleased. I'm particularly pleased because it means that workers are able
    to do their duties to their families.
        And I am an optimistic person. I guess if you want to try to find
    something to be pessimistic about, you can find it, no matter how hard
    you look, you know? I'm optimistic. I have seen what we have come
    through. We've been through a recession, a national emergency, corporate
    scandals, a war, and yet, our economy is incredibly strong, which speaks
    to the great vitality of the American entrepreneurial spirit and the
    vibrancy of the small-business sector. And the plans we put in place are
    working.
        There's more to do. We need an energy plan out of the United States
    Congress if we expect our economy to grow in the long term. We need tort
    reform. We need to make sure that the--we deal with the cost of health
    care in a rational way by not empowering the Federal Government, I might
    add, but by empowering consumers. And I've laid out such a plan to do
    so.
        I mean, there's other things we need to do. We need to make sure
    that we don't become economic isolationists. And--no, I'm optimistic
    about the future.
        Roberts [John Roberts, CBS News], I take it you had a question to
    ask.
        Q. If I could just pick up on that, sir, about pessimism. Your
    presumed Democratic challenger is spending this week and next harshly
    critical of your economic policies. And while things have looked good in
    the last few months, could the case not be made that over the longer
    term of your administration, that you're still operating at

    [[Page 1051]]

    an economic deficit? And what do you plan to do to avoid the fate of
    Bush 41, who didn't get credit for an improving economy in an election
    year?
        President Bush. Well, I think one thing the American people have
    seen is that I know how to lead. When I first came to office, the
    economy was headed into a recession, and we acted. We acted in a way
    that called upon the true strength of the American people, and that is,
    we encouraged the entrepreneurial spirit to flourish by letting people
    keep more of their own money. In other words, some might have said,
    ``Well, let's strengthen the Federal Government.'' I made the decision
    to strengthen the pocketbooks of the people. And they had more money to
    spend, and our policy is working.
        And not only that, we stimulated growth in the small-business
    sector. See, I recognized most new jobs are created by small-business
    owners, and a significant part of the economic stimulus plan was aimed
    at small businesses so that they would have confidence to expand and
    grow, and they have.
        And we also have overcome corporate scandal, which we acted in a
    bipartisan fashion on to make it clear that we're not going to tolerate
    dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. In other words, we acted, and
    the economy is getting better.
        We've overcome a lot. We've overcome a lot through good policy, but
    we've overcome a lot because I have great faith in the American people,
    in the small-business owners and the entrepreneurs and the workers of
    the country. And we're getting--not only are we strong today, we're
    getting stronger. Our economy is the strongest of any major
    industrialized nation in the world, and there's more work to do, see.
        Go ahead, Terry [Terry Moran, ABC News]. No, you've asked your
    question. Terry. Hold on for a second. Terry. Thank you, though.

    Transfer of Iraqi Prisoners/Saddam Hussein

        Q. Mr. President, back on the Iraqis being detained by U.S. forces.
    If the Iraqi government is truly going to be sovereign after June 30th,
    and if they are expressing the desire to take control over their own
    citizens----
        President Bush. Right.
        Q. ----and the coalition disappears, by what authority----
        President Bush. And what coalition disappears?
        Q. If the Coalition Provisional Authority, I'm sorry----
        President Bush. Okay.
        Q. ----the entity disappears----
        President Bush. Yes.
        Q. ----by what authority does the United States continue to hold the
    citizens of a sovereign country?
        President Bush. I fully agree that it's a sovereign country. That's
    why we're working with them to make sure that there is good security.
    Look, nobody wants Saddam Hussein to leave, and when there's a transfer
    of responsibility, we want to make sure that he is secure. He's a
    killer. He is a thug. He needs to be brought to trial. We want to make
    sure that the transfer to a sovereign government is done in a timely way
    and in a secure way. That's what we're discussing with the government.
        Yes, Stretch [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News]. And then you next.

    2004 Election

        Q. Mr. President, thank you. Just to follow up on John's question,
    in Afghanistan, things are improving, as you've mentioned. In Iraq,
    we're about to transfer sovereignty. And even domestically, the economy
    is booming. Why is it that you're having trouble pulling ahead of your
    opponent, John Kerry? I know you don't pay attention to the polls, but
    we are 4\1/2\ months from election day.
        President Bush. Yes.

    [[Page 1052]]

        Q. What can you do to improve your political standing as the
    campaign moves forward?
        President Bush. You see, I think you answered your own question. We
    are 4\1/2\ months from election day. In other words, there's a long time
    before the election. I'm just going to do my job, Stretch. My job is to
    continue to lead. My job is to say to the American people, ``Follow me.
    The world is going to be better. The world will be more free. The world
    will be more peaceful. The world will be--America will be a stronger
    country because our economy will improve. America will be a better
    country because we're calling upon the compassion of our fellow citizens
    to help a neighbor in need.''

    Iraqi Security

        Q. Mr. President, I want to follow up on this issue of Iraqi
    security because I'm detecting some reservation that you may have about
    the Iraqis' ability to really head up their own security after June the
    30th, because you seem to signal that there are concerns about their
    ability to even continue to detain Saddam Hussein. So what will happen
    between now and June 30th that would help you overcome that concern? And
    just related to that, there was a report from Baghdad yesterday
    indicating that after the deadly bombing, car bombing, that Iraqi
    police, as crowds gathered against the United States, just stood around
    and didn't do anything. Why is that happening?
        President Bush. Which question do you want me to answer?
        Q. Well, I think they're related; both----
        President Bush. No, they're not. [Laughter]
        Q. Please, I'll say, please.
        President Bush. Look, it's very hot out here. We've got a President
    from a--a respectful President here. Why don't you just ask one
    question, if you don't mind? I don't mean to be telling you how to do
    your business. All right, I'll answer both. [Laughter]
        First, I just want to make sure that as--when sovereignty is
    transferred, Saddam Hussein is--stays in
    jail. That's just a matter of discussion and understanding the
    procedures. That's all we're saying. I'm confident that when it's all
    said and done, he will stay in jail. I just want to be assured.
        Listen, we've got--we're over there for a reason. We're over there
    to make our country more secure, and one way to do so was to make sure
    Saddam Hussein was not in power. Secondly,
    we're there to help the Afghan--I mean, the Iraqi people. We want to
    make sure that he doesn't come back to power. And so therefore, it's a
    legitimate question to ask of the interim government, ``How are you
    going to make sure he stays in jail?'' And that's the question I'm
    asking. And when we get the right answer, which I'm confident we will,
    we will work with them to do so. Then we'll all be satisfied.
        Wendell [Wendell Goler, Fox News].
        Q. Mr. President----
        Q. How about the second part?
        President Bush. The second part was what? I forgot. It was so long
    ago that you asked it----
        Q. I know. I apologize. I was long-winded.
        President Bush. Oh, why did they stand back--look, the Iraqi people
    are going to have to figure out how to make sure their country is secure
    enough for a free government to emerge. And what you're watching is a
    government learning how to protect itself. The transfer of sovereignty
    to Iraq means not only will they have the freedom to make decisions on
    behalf of their people, but they will have to secure their own country.
    And you're watching this happen. You also heard the comments of Prime
    Minister Allawi, who made it very clear that
    these types of acts are terrorist acts against the Iraqi people.
        Wendell.

    [[Page 1053]]

    Reactions of Iraqis and Afghans to Coalition Presence

        Q. Mr. President, how do you explain why the success we've had in
    Afghanistan appears to be eluding us in Iraq? Is it possible that the
    Afghan people objected to the Taliban more strongly than the Iraqi
    people objected to the reign of Saddam Hussein?
        President Bush. No, that's not possible. The Iraqi people objected
    to the reign of Saddam Hussein, and you
    would, too, if you lived there, where you couldn't express yourself,
    where you got tortured, where there was mass graves.
        This is hard work, and it wasn't easy work in Afghanistan, by the
    way. I mean, it seems easy now that we're standing here, Wendell, after
    several years of working together with this great leader, but it was
    hard work. And out of kind of the desperate straits that the Afghan
    people found themselves is now a welcoming society beginning to grow.
    And the same thing is going to happen in Iraq.
        These aren't easy tasks. I mean, somehow there's this expectation,
    ``Well, all this is supposed to have happened yesterday.'' That's just
    not the way it works when you go from a society that has--that was
    subjugated to a tyrant--by a tyrant to a free
    society. And the President will tell you, it's hard work. It may look
    easy in retrospect, but it's not easy. And that's why it's very
    important for us to speak clearly to the people of Afghanistan and in
    Iraq that the United States will help them, will stay and help them
    fulfill the mission, which is a free and peaceful Afghanistan, a free
    and peaceful Iraq, which are in our Nation's interests.
        First, it's in our interests that we defeat terrorists there than
    fight them here. That's our short-term security interests. Secondly,
    it's in our long-term interests that we work for free societies in parts
    of the world that are desperate for freedom. And the reason I keep
    saying that, Wendell, is because I know that a free society is a
    peaceful society. And America is interested in working with friends to
    promote the peace, and that's what we're doing. The short-term solution
    for our security problem is to find the terrorists and bring them to
    justice before they hurt Americans again, is to deny them training
    bases, is to deny them affiliates and allies in the war on terror.
    That's what we have done in Afghanistan and Iraq. The long-term solution
    is to promote free societies that are able to defeat the forces of
    pessimism, darkness, intolerance, and hatred.
        Okay, a couple more questions. Yes. Let me work my way through the
    TV readers.
        Q. On another issue, have you been----
        President Bush. Which one, you or Sanger [David Sanger, New York
    Times]?
        Q. Me. [Laughter]
        President Bush. Okay.

    CIA Employee Identity Disclosure Investigation

        Q. On another issue, have you been called to answer questions
    regarding the CIA leak? And have you retained the attorney----
        President Bush. You need to call--you need to talk to the counsel
    over there.
        Yes, Elisabeth [Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times].

    Religion and Politics

        Q. [Inaudible]--Ron Reagan's remarks at the former President's
    funeral----
        President Bush. I didn't hear them.
        Q. He said that politicians should not wear religious faith on their
    sleeve. And a lot of Republicans interpreted those remarks as being
    critical of you and your position on stem cell. I'd like to ask you
    about that.
        President Bush. Whether or not a politician should wear their--I've
    always said I think it's very important for someone not to try to take
    the speck out of somebody else's eye when they may have a log in their
    own. In other words, I'm very mindful

    [[Page 1054]]

    about saying, you know, ``Oh, vote for me. I'm more religious than my
    neighbor.'' And I think it's perfectly--I think it's important for
    people of religion to serve. I think it is very important for people who
    are serving to make sure there is a separation of church and state.
        Yes.

    Status of Military Contractors Under Iraqi Interim Government

        Q. Mr. President, questions are being raised about the legal status
    of U.S. military contractors in Iraq. Your administration is asking for
    them to be granted immunity by the incoming Iraqi government. If they
    aren't going to operate under Iraqi law, will they operate under U.S.
    civilian law or under what legal jurisdiction?
        President Bush. I need to make sure I stay in touch with the lawyers
    on this subject. They are the ones who are raising the issue. We'll
    continue to work the issue.
        Q. So you haven't decided yet?
        President Bush. Right.
        Mike [Mike Allen, Washington Post].
        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. Yes. I'm getting distracted over here; there seems
    to be some noise.

    Al Qaida-Saddam Hussein Relationship

        Q. The Vice President, who I see standing over there, said yesterday
    that Saddam Hussein has long-established ties to Al Qaida. As you know,
    this is disputed within the U.S. intelligence community. Mr. President,
    would you add any qualifiers to that flat statement? And what do you
    think is the best evidence of it?
        President Bush. Zarqawi. Zarqawi is
    the best evidence of connection to Al Qaida affiliates and Al Qaida.
    He's the person who's still killing. He's the person--and remember the
    e-mail exchange between Al Qaida leadership and he, himself, about how
    to disrupt the progress toward freedom.
        Saddam Hussein also had ties to terrorist organizations as well. In
    other words, he was affiliated with terrorism--Abu Nidal, the paying of
    families of suiciders to go kill innocent people. I mean, he was no
    doubt a destabilizing force. And we did the absolute right thing in
    removing him from power, and the world is better off with him not in
    power.
        I look forward to the debate, for people saying, ``Oh, gosh, the
    world would be better off if Saddam Hussein were still in power.'' I
    think we'd have trouble finding takers, particularly those in Iraq as
    well. They're now living in a free society. And I repeat, it's hard work
    to go from Saddam Hussein to a free society, but we'll get there. And
    we'll get there because people want to be free. That's why we'll get
    there. People long to live in freedom. And the United States--and I will
    continue to make it clear that we will not abandon those who are
    building free societies, whether it be in Afghanistan or whether it be
    in Iraq.
        Richard [Richard Benedetto, USA Today].

    Movement Toward Democracy in Afghanistan

        Q. Mr. President, there have been some reports that the Afghan
    Government has been cooperating with warlords, former warlords in
    Afghanistan, and I wondered if you talked about that with President
    Karzai today----
        President Bush. Yes, I did.
        Q. ----and how you feel about it?
        President Bush. I did, and he can answer the question, what he told
    me.
        President Karzai. Yes. See, Afghanistan is emerging from years of
    oppression to a free, democratic society. And in democracy, you are
    supposed to be talking to each other. You are supposed to be preparing
    the country for a better future by negotiating and by understanding each
    other. And as the Afghan President, it's my job to take that nation, the
    Afghan people, into a better future, through stability

    [[Page 1055]]

    and peace, to a higher degree of democracy, to the elections. It's my
    job to do that peacefully. It's my job to keep stability and peace in
    Afghanistan. And I will talk to anybody that comes to talk to me about
    stability and peace and about movement towards democracy.
        No deals have been made. No coalitions have been made, and no
    coalition will be made. And they did not ask for it. First of all, we
    don't call them warlords. Some of those people are respected leaders of
    the Afghan resistance. Some of them are former Presidents, and we
    respect them in Afghanistan. Yes, there are bad people in the country as
    well with whom we're not making a deal, with whom we are not talking.
    This country is moving forward. It's a society now emerging with a
    strong civil society sense in institutions, and that's what we are doing
    there.
        President Bush. Mr. President, thank you very much.
        President Karzai. Thanks very much.
        President Bush. Lunch awaits us.
        President Karzai. Lunch awaits us, indeed. Thank you.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 11:27 a.m. in the Rose
    Garden at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Usama bin
    Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; former President
    Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Muqtada Al Sadr, Iraqi Shiite cleric whose
    militia engaged in an uprising in Iraq which began in early April; Prime
    Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi interim government; senior Al Qaida
    associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; and Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal, who
    was found dead in Baghdad, Iraq, on August 19, 2002. President Karzai
    referred to Mullah Omar, head of the deposed Taliban regime in
    Afghanistan.