[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[May 31, 2006]
[Pages 1046-1048]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks Following Discussions With President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and an Exchange With Reporters
May 31, 2006
President Bush. I want to welcome the President of Rwanda to the
Oval Office again. He was here last year, and I'm honored to welcome you
back.
The President is--he's a man of action; he can get things done. I'm
proud of your leadership. We have talked about a lot of issues. We
talked about the Sudan, and I want to thank the President for committing
troops in the AU mission to help deal with what I have called a
genocide. We strategized about how we can go forward to resolve the
situation. I thank you for your wisdom; I thank you for your concern.
One of the interesting things about President Kagame's Government is
there is more women in his Government than anywhere else in Africa,
which I think speaks to the man's character and understanding about how
societies remain strong and whole. I appreciate his commitment to
education. And I want to thank you, Mr. President, for your
understanding that the best way for an economy to develop is to welcome
private capital. He's been working hard with companies here in America.
Many companies are taking a good look at Rwanda because they realize
it's a country where they will be treated fairly, and there is a
transparent society. And he's had some success, which will help people
find work. And that's, to me, a sign of leadership. So welcome back.
I, finally, want to thank you for your commitment to fighting HIV/
AIDS. This Government has done a really good job of using some of the
monies that we provided to save lives. And I've always told people that
it's one thing for the American Government--and the American people,
more importantly--to generously write checks to help, but it requires
strong leadership at home. And you provided that leadership.
So I welcome you back to the Oval Office, and thank you for your
friendship.
President Kagame. Thank you, President. It's a great honor for me to
be here, President, and I appreciate the discussion we have had on a
wide range of issues--starting with bilateral discussions we have had
about United States Government has been very helpful in its support of
Rwanda in different areas--dealing with HIV/AIDS, to supporting the
private sector to invest in our country, to dealing with infrastructure
programs. And also the support we have had during the period we were
working under the African Union mission to send our troops to Darfur.
The United States Government, with your support, Mr. President--we have
had our forces, our troops airlifted by the United States military to
Darfur and continued support for the African Union mission.
We are very grateful for--generally, the support in the area will
bring peace to the Great Lakes region and to supporting the efforts in
Sudan and, ultimately, that process of supporting my country to be able
to develop and continue building on the foundation we have laid in the
last 12 years. So we appreciate that, Mr. President.
President Bush. Welcome. The President and I will take two questions
a side, starting with the Americans. Nedra [Nedra Pickler, Associated
Press].
[[Page 1047]]
Iraq/U.S. Armed Forces
Q. Mr. President, what have you been told about the killings at
Haditha? And are you worried about the impact it could have on the
situation in Iraq?
President Bush. I am troubled by the initial news stories. I am
mindful that there is a thorough investigation going on. If, in fact,
the laws were broken, there will be punishment. I know this: I've talked
to General Pete Pace about the subject, who is a
proud marine, and nobody is more concerned about these allegations than
the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps is full of men and women who are
honorable people who understand rules of war. And if, in fact, these
allegations are true, the Marine Corps will work hard to make sure that
that culture, that proud culture will be reinforced, and that those who
violated the law, if they did, will be punished.
Rwanda
Q. I'll ask a question--I'm a journalist from Rwanda.
President Bush. Welcome.
Q. Can I ask you a question on the genocide of Rwanda? It's been 13
years after the genocide of Rwanda, but many perpetrators of the
genocide, many people who did it, who carried out the genocide are still
at large. One estimate is about over 50 of them in Europe and the U.S.,
others in the Congo. What's the U.S. going to do to help run--to get
these people to----
President Bush. The interesting thing about Rwanda today is that you
have a President who understands that part of a successful society is
for people to work hard on reconciliation. There's no question the
genocide in Rwanda was a real tragedy. It's one of the most significant
tragedies in modern history. And yet your President and his Government
has worked hard to reconcile, help people reconcile the tragedy at all
levels of society.
To the extent that he wants our help in finding certain perpetuators
of crimes, we'll be glad to do so. But the way I look at the situation
is that Rwanda can serve as an example for other societies that are
troubled. As you know, we're working hard in Iraq to bring a democracy--
to help a democracy grow there. And yet there's still sectarian
violence. People are still using violence to achieve either revenge or
political means. And the Rwanda example shows what's possible when
people work hard on reconciliation.
That's why I support Prime Minister Maliki's desire to have reconciliation moves. And the President
actually offered to help, and it may be at some point in time it makes
sense for the new Government in Iraq to do that. But I'm very proud of
the accomplishments that Rwanda has made over 13 years--13 years after
the genocide.
Kelly [Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News].
Iran
Q. Mr. President, Secretary Rice is outlining a change in U.S.
position toward Iran today, after so many years of not engaging directly
with them. Why now? And will you respond directly to the letter from the
President?
President Bush. I believe it's very important that we solve this
issue diplomatically, and my decision today says that the United States
is going to take a leadership position in solving this issue. And our
message to the Iranians is that, one, you won't have a weapon, and two,
that you must verifiably suspend any programs, at which point we will
come to the negotiating table to work on a way forward.
I thought it was important for the United States to take the lead,
along with our partners, and that's what you're seeing. You're seeing
robust diplomacy. I believe this problem can be solved diplomatically,
and I'm going to give it every effort to do so.
I've talked on the telephone in the last couple of days with Jacques
Chirac and Angela Merkel, and I spoke to Tony Blair when
he was here about this issue; I spoke to Prime Minister
Koizumi. I'm on the
[[Page 1048]]
phone a lot talking to--and President Putin, by the way--and I'm on the phone a lot talking to our
folks that share the same concern I share, and say, ``Look, let's get
this solved diplomatically,'' but there must be a united international
front that shares the same message, and that is, is that we will work
collaboratively to prevent the Iranians from developing a nuclear
weapon.
I also want to make it very clear that we have--we respect the
Iranian people, and we respect their heritage and their history, and we
hope their Government listens to the international demands and doesn't
isolate itself from the world and doesn't foolishly spend money on a
weapons program that takes away the capacity--the ability for the
Iranian economy to grow so people are able to put food on the table and
find work.
Final--anybody else from Rwanda?
Situation in Sudan
Q. Yes, Mr. President, I come from Rwanda. I heard the President of
Rwanda thanking you for the assistance you are giving on Darfur, but in
spite all that you've been doing, it has persisted. Are you planning to
up your support in that regard, Mr. President?
President Bush. To support the Rwanda troops in Darfur? I will. As a
matter of fact, we had a very good discussion about this subject. The
President is concerned about whether or not the United States will honor
its commitments. We will honor our commitments, but the United States
Congress must pass the supplemental with the money in there for the
Sudan. See, part of the money in a supplemental request that's working
its way through a conference committee now is to help repay a country
like Rwanda that's putting troops on the ground.
And so I told the President that sometimes the Congress doesn't move
as quickly as I'd like on issues, but I'm confident they'll get the
supplemental passed when they come back from their Memorial Day break.
That supplemental must, one, meet the financial conditions that I talked
about--in other words, I'm going to veto the bill if they spend more
money than I requested--and it's got to set--it's got to meet priorities
as well. And one of the priorities is our own troops who are in harm's
way. And another priority is helping the Katrina victims. And a third
priority in that bill that we've submitted is to help in Sudan. I told
the President I'm confident they'll pass that bill and that his troops
will get reimbursed.
Thank you all very much.
Note: The President spoke at 11:43 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to Gen. Peter Pace, USMC, Chairman,
Joint Chiefs of Staff; Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq; President
Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad of Iran; President Jacques Chirac of France;
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany; Prime Minister Tony Blair of the
United Kingdom; Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; and President
Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.