    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [May 4, 2005]
    [Pages 736-738]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With Estonian Television
    May 4, 2005

    60th Anniversary of the End of World War II in Europe

        Q. Thank you very much, Mr. President, for joining our viewers. Mr.
    President, do you understand and accept the reasons and explanations
    that two Baltic Presidents are not attending the celebrations in Moscow,
    9th May?
        The President. Yes, absolutely. First of all, I can understand the
    decision by your President and the President
    of Lithuania, as well as the President of
    Latvia. These are difficult decisions
    because--and they reflect the difficult times. And I honor those
    decisions. But I understand.
        There's a lot of Americans who came--whose families were in the
    Baltics. And this is a bittersweet moment for them when you think about
    it. On the one hand, our country helped defeat fascism, and upon the
    defeat of fascism, they saw their homelands be taken over by a
    repressive ideology. And so I fully understand and, matter of fact,
    understood it to the point where I brought it up to President
    Putin when I saw him in Slovakia and just
    said, ``You've got to understand this is going to create some
    sensitivities among our friends, among America's friends, Estonia and
    Lithuania and Latvia.''

    Democracy in the Baltic States

        Q. It's quite strange situation now. The war is over for 60 years,
    and it's not still over. Whose fault is it? Whose represented----
        The President. No, I appreciate that. Look, it's--I think it's time
    to move beyond fault and focus on the future. Now, that's easy for me to
    say because I didn't have any family members that were repressed or
    families divided. I didn't have to live under the yoke of communism. But
    I do believe that time will help heal the wounds.
        And listen, the Baltics are doing great. Their economies are
    growing. They're getting stronger. Freedom is working. People are able
    to express themselves in the public square. Independent media can come
    and interview the President in the White House. I mean, it is a--these
    are exciting

    [[Page 737]]

    times. But I readily understand why it takes time to heal the wounds of
    the past.

    Democracy in Russia

        Q. Democracy and the human rights situation in Russia is quite
    worrying. Are you going to discuss this item during your visit to
    Moscow?
        The President. Oh, of course. I have--first of all, I've got a
    relationship with President Putin that
    enables me to be able to have a frank discussion. He gave an interesting
    speech the other day. The press tend to focus on a comment about the
    Soviet times, and of course, that obviously riled emotions in the
    Baltics. I understand that. But he also went on to talk about democracy.
    I thought it was interesting that he spent a lot of time on his big
    speech to the nation on democracy. I believe Russia's interest lie to
    her west. I believe that Russia, by embracing the values that we share,
    will be able to deal with the many problems that she has. Russia has got
    enormous problems.
        And so, yes, of course, I'll talk to President Putin about that. And I will do so in a cooperative way,
    in a cooperative spirit. This is not an antagonistic relationship, and I
    don't think you want the relationship to be antagonistic after all,
    Russia is your neighbor. I think you would want your friend the United
    States to be in a position where I can go in and have a constructive,
    direct dialog. And I think one people--one thing people have learned
    about me is I'm a pretty direct person. I say what's on my mind; I try
    to do so diplomatically. But yes, I will. And I do so for the interests
    of the United States and for our friends and for the world.

    War on Terror

        Q. Mr. President, I can't let you go from here without a question of
    terrorism.
        The President. Sure.
        Q. Latest surveys show that the numbers of terrorism are increasing,
    not decreasing.
        The President. Yes.
        Q. Why is that?
        The President. Well----
        Q. You have made a lot of efforts.
        The President. Yes, that's why. If we weren't trying to find the
    enemy and bring them to justice, the world would look relatively
    peaceful. But we're on the offense. And so when you engage the enemy,
    when you try to bring them to justice, they don't like to be brought to
    justice.
        I've always told the American people here, ``It's best to find them
    where they try to hide so that we don't have to deal with them here at
    home.'' And so part of the reasons why there's--activity is up is
    because we're chasing them down. As a matter of fact, today a big news
    report came out that I would say one of the top Al Qaida leaders, a
    person very close to Usama bin Laden, was
    brought to justice in Pakistan by the Pak Government, with our help, but
    nevertheless, the Pak Government did the hard work--Abu Faraj al-
    Libbi. That's a very important part of
    defeating the Al Qaida.
        But no, we'll stay on the offense. And we'll be relentless and
    tireless in doing so. The best way to defeat terrorism in the long run,
    though, is by spreading freedom, is by giving people a chance to live in
    a free society.
        Q. How long it takes to curb, finally?
        The President. Yes, that's a good question. However long--it takes
    as long as necessary. I just don't know. I don't have a--I can't give
    you a timetable. But whatever it takes, so long as I'm the President and
    there's a threat to the United States of America and to our people--you
    see, a lot of people in Europe, for them, September the 11th was a date,
    a passing moment. No question they expressed deep sympathy, for which
    the United States is grateful. But for us, it was a change of attitude.
    It was a change of foreign policy. And I told the people when I ran for
    office the second time, I said, ``If you put me in office, every

    [[Page 738]]

    day I'm in office, I'll be relentless in chasing down the enemy.'' And
    so, for however long it takes.
        It takes a while for freedom to take hold. I know that. Look at
    Iraq. Iraq is going from a tyranny to a free society, and it's not easy.
    But they're getting there. This country is beginning to--it's getting on
    its feet. The security forces are beginning to work better. The
    terrorists are more desperate. But that free society will be an
    important part of sending a message to others. And free societies are
    peaceful societies. And that's the great example of Estonia, for which
    the United States is grateful, and we're proud to call you friend.
        Q. Thank you very much, Mr. President.
        The President. My honor.
        Q. Very much, indeed.
        The President. Thanks for coming.

    Note: The interview was taped at 2:23 p.m. in the Map Room at the White
    House for later broadcast and was released by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on May 5. In his remarks, the President referred to President
    Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia; President Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania;
    President Arnold Ruutel of Estonia; President Vladimir Putin of Russia;
    Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; and Abu
    Faraj al-Libbi, senior Al Qaida associate arrested in Pakistan on April
    30.