    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
    [July 21, 2004]
    [Pages 1391-1394]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Adrian
    Nastase of Romania and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    July 21, 2004

        President Bush. There will be two opening statements, one by me, one
    by the Prime Minister. I'll call upon a member of the American press.
    The Prime Minister will call somebody from the Romanian press. And then
    we'll do that one more time.
        Mr. Prime Minister, welcome. We've just had a very good visit. It's
    the kind of visit that friends would have. We talked about our
    relationship. I complimented Romania and the Prime Minister's
    understanding that we need to work together to fight terror. We talked
    about the need to continue to work together to spread freedom and,
    therefore, peace in troubled parts of the world. And I want to thank him
    very much for his understanding and his vision.
        We talked about economic ties. He asked if it would be possible to
    spread the word that Romania is a good place to invest, and I told him
    that because the country makes the right decisions, that American
    companies will take a look at Romania. Trade is up, which is good for
    Romanian people and for the American people. There is commerce going
    back and forth, which is a positive development.
        I congratulated the Prime Minister on Romania's role at the United
    Nations. I think he handled the Presidency very well, and we appreciate
    that very much.
        So it's been a very good visit. And I'm glad you're back, and I look
    forward to further discussions with you.
        Prime Minister Nastase. Thank you very much, Mr. President. It's
    good to be back. Mr. President, thank you for your hospitality. It is,
    by the way, the first time that I've been here representing an ally of
    the

    [[Page 1392]]

    United States. And I am very proud to come here to confirm to the
    President our continuous support for fighting together terrorists in the
    world and also our support for the vision of President Bush, not only on
    general issues but very specifically on a very complex process of
    changes in Iraq.
        I had the honor to chair the Security Council during the Romanian
    Presidency, in New York. And, well, I briefed the President with major
    decisions, prospects, possibilities which are now offered for a wise
    political decision concerning Iraq. Reconstruction, stabilization,
    political development are the keywords for the future of Iraq. And we
    want to encourage the Iraqi people to take the ownership of their own
    choices.
        Well, I briefed the President also on regional developments. I
    briefed the President with some of the developments on the continuous
    reforms that we are making in Romania. But also, well, I wanted to
    assure him that we are interested in opening more transparent procedures
    and, well, better integrity standards for civil servants and
    politicians.
        I think this is part of the end of the transition in a country which
    suffered a lot but where there is a huge willingness to understand what
    can make us speed up the process of modernization. And we count very
    much on President Bush, on his colleagues, and also on the American
    businessman.
        It was also very important to discuss about what happens now in
    areas in, like, the Black Sea, the Balkans. And I offered the President
    a five-star location for military bases, and there will be a decision on
    that very soon.
        Mr. President, may I say also that the honor for us, being here--
    it's a great privilege, a great honor. We remember with great pleasure
    your visit to Bucharest and the rainbow speech and the gathering of more
    than 200,000 people.
        Thank you very much again.
        President Bush. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister.
        Okay, Scott [Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press].

    Alleged Mishandling of Classified Documents by Former National Security
    Adviser Samuel R. Berger

        Q. Thank you, Mr. President. President Clinton suggested that
    perhaps politics was behind the disclosure of the Sandy Berger
    investigation. Do you have anything to say about that? And also, when
    did you learn about this probe?
        President Bush. I'm not going to comment on this matter. This is a
    serious matter, and it will be fully investigated by the Justice
    Department.
        Q. When did you learn, sir, if I may?
        President Bush. I'm not going to comment on it. It's a very serious
    matter that will be fully investigated by the Justice Department.
        Prime Minister Nastase. Romanian Public Television.

    Romania-U.S. Economic Relations

        Q. Mr. President, please, you said something about improving of
    economic relations between Romania and the U.S. Could you be more
    specific on that issue, please?
        President Bush. Relations improve as market conditions improve
    inside Romania. In other words, American businesses look for places to
    invest capital where they can get a reasonable rate of return. American
    businesses like environments where there's transparency and strong
    anticorruption rules, where people--where the workforce is well educated
    and hard-working.
        And the Prime Minister and I talked about those ingredients. He said
    he's had some good visits with business leaders here in America. But
    those are decisions, in our country, that are made apart from
    Government. In other words, each individual business will make that
    decision. They are investment decisions in Romania apart from the
    offices of Government. And that's what

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    the Prime Minister understands. And as he said, he had some good visits
    today. I'm sure he'll brief you on those visits later on.
        Caren [Caren Bohan, Reuters].

    National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

        Q. Your advisers were meeting today with the Chairmen of the 9/11
    Commission.
        President Bush. Yes.
        Q. In light of what you know now, do you think the attacks were
    preventable? And also, do you plan to meet personally with the
    Commissioners to discuss their findings and recommendations?
        President Bush. First of all, I haven't talked to my advisers who
    have met with the Commission yet. I will later on. Secondly, I am going
    to meet with, as I understand it, with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the
    Commission. So I haven't had a chance to fully see--read that which they
    have developed. I look forward to it. This is a--I've always said this
    is an important Commission.
        And the main reason why is, is because a President and a Congress
    must have the best possible intelligence to make good decisions about
    how to protect America and our friends and allies. We've spent a lot of
    time today talking about counterterrorism or counterproliferation. And
    the best way to succeed in counter--those efforts is to share
    intelligence. And therefore, we need to have good intelligence. And the
    main recommendations, as I understand it, from the 9/11 Commission will
    be as how best to structure the intelligence agencies.
        Again, I haven't seen the report. I hope they talk about more human
    intelligence, because human intelligence is one of the most effective
    ways for us to gather intelligence in the first place. I hope they talk
    about it--and I suspect they will--about using modern technologies to
    better listen and see events taking place so that we can protect
    ourselves. And then, of course, there needs to be a full discussion
    about how best to coordinate the different intelligence gathering
    services here in the country.
        Let me say one other thing about the 9/11. I told the Commissioners
    right here in the Oval Office that had we had any inkling whatsoever
    that terrorists were about to attack our country, we would have moved
    heaven and Earth to protect America. And I'm confident President
    Clinton would have done the same thing--
    any President would have.
        So anyway, I'm looking forward to the report. I'm glad--they've done
    a lot of good work, and it's going to be very useful for the country to
    listen to what they have to say.

    Upcoming Romanian and U.S. Elections

        Q. Thank you, sir. Question for President Bush. Sir, in both United
    States and Romania, you have elections this autumn. It might be four
    possibilities: Either you win and Mr. Nastase is winning; either you
    both lose; either one of you is winning, the other one is losing.
        President Bush. Right.
        Q. Sir, which one of these four possibilities represents the biggest
    disadvantage for Romania? [Laughter]
        President Bush. Well, let me answer you this way: I am going to win.
    And the Prime Minister told me he is going to win. And therefore, the
    other three possibilities you've outlined are not going to happen. The
    interesting thing is, is that here we are talking about elections in
    Romania. That's what I was thinking during this discussion, that we--a
    person standing for election in Romania and the United States President
    are now talking about what it means to campaign, a conversation which
    would not have been taking place 20 years ago.
        You know, I'll never forget my trip to Bucharest, at the rainbow
    speech. It was one of the most moving experiences of my Presidency. And
    the reason why was that

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    the rainbow itself, that appeared in the midst of a rainstorm in front
    of 200-plus-thousand people, ended right behind--from my vision, ended
    right behind the place where the tyrant Ceausescu gave his last speech.
    It was a very powerful message. It moved me deeply during the moment.
    And it still moves me to think that there was a powerful message being
    delivered by nature, to the point where I remember turning back to the
    people of Romania and said, ``God is smiling on Bucharest.'' And I meant
    that.
        And part of my beliefs, Mr. Prime Minister, is that one of the great
    universal values of the world is that men and women deserve to be free.
    And here we are talking about an election voted on, in your country and
    mine, by free people.
        Thank you for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:04 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Thomas H. Kean, Chairman, and Lee
    H. Hamilton, Vice Chairman, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks
    Upon the United States (9/11 Commission).