[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[June 9, 2006]
[Pages 1107-1115]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Anders Fogh
Rasmussen of Denmark at Camp David,
Maryland
June 9, 2006
President Bush. Good day. Welcome to Camp David. More importantly,
welcome to Camp David to the Prime Minister and his wife. Mr. Prime Minister, we're glad you're here.
Welcome.
The invitation to come to Camp David is an expression of my high
regard for Prime Minister Rasmussen and our friendship between our two
countries. You know, I think--I was checking back; I think it's been
over 2 years since we've had a foreign leader come and visit us here.
And thanks for bringing such good weather. It's important to have good
weather today, because the Prime Minister is going to give me a mountain
biking lesson after this news conference.
[[Page 1108]]
A couple of thoughts, and then he's going to speak, and then we'd be
glad to answer some questions.
First, I appreciate the Prime Minister's belief that freedom can
help change the world and that freedom is universal. We had a really
important discussion about our desire to help others realize the great
blessings of liberty, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prime
Minister Rasmussen has been a strong believer in supporting the Iraqi
Government's desire to live in democracy. I thank you for your courage;
I thank you for your country's commitment of troops that are helping
make a difference.
We talked about the new Government in Iraq. The Prime Minister has
met Prime Minister Maliki; I have not, and
so it was very useful for me to hear from him firsthand about the Prime
Minister's determination to succeed. I appreciate his understanding of
the Prime Minister's desire to set priorities, starting with electricity
in Baghdad, security in Baghdad, and dismantling militia groups that are
creating havoc.
We discussed our common strategies in Iraq. One of the most
important strategies is to make sure that the police force in Iraq is
capable of inspiring the population who they're supposed to be
protecting. And I believe we took a long--we took a big step toward that
when the Prime Minister selected a new
Minister of the Interior and--as well as a
new Defense Minister.
And so we spent time on that, and we spent time on Afghanistan as
well. Prime Minister Rasmussen shared his thoughts with me about
President Karzai. We both agree that he's a
patriot, that he's the kind of person that we can back and that we will
back as this new democracy begins to develop.
We spent time on Iran. We shared thoughts about how to
diplomatically solve the problem. And the problem is, the Iranians want
to have a nuclear weapon, and they shouldn't have one.
We spent time talking about Darfur, our desire to help the AU forces
achieve stability in Darfur. I've spoken out on this subject a lot. I
believe there's genocide taking place, and I believe we have a
responsibility to work together to bring some security to the poor folks
that are being harassed and raped and murdered in the far reaches of
Darfur.
The Prime Minister and I share values, and he spent time making sure
that I understood his strong belief that when we fight the war on terror
and we help new democracies, that we've got to uphold the values that we
believe in. And he brought up the Guantanamo issue. And I appreciate the
fact that the Prime Minister is concerned about the decisions that I
made on--toward Guantanamo. I assured him that we would like to end the
Guantanamo. We'd like it to be empty. And we're now in the process of
working with countries to repatriate people.
But there are some that, if put out on the streets, could create
grave harm to American citizens and other citizens of the world. And
therefore, I believe they ought to be tried in courts here in the United
States. We will file such court claims once the Supreme Court makes its
decision as to whether or not--as to the proper venue for these trials.
And we're waiting on our Supreme Court to act.
We talked about bilateral relations. I am impressed by the fact that
the Prime Minister is off to the west coast with a message of new
technologies and the desire for Denmark to work with some of our venture
capitalists and businesses to promote energy independence, for example,
and to come up with technologies that will enable a country like ours to
become less reliant upon foreign sources of energy.
All in all, we had a very constructive visit, which will be
continued over lunch after the bike ride and--presuming he doesn't ride
me into the ground. [Laughter]
So, Mr. Prime Minister, welcome. Glad you're here.
Prime Minister Rasmussen. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Let me
first of
[[Page 1109]]
all express my gratitude for inviting me to Camp David. I'm very honored
to be here. And one could hardly imagine a better venue to spend time
for work and pleasure with close friends. So thank you very much.
We have had a very productive meeting this morning at this wonderful
setting. First we talked about Iraq. A few weeks ago, I met with the new
Iraqi Government, as the President pointed out. It was with a particular
sense of respect, I heard the views of the first permanent
democratically elected Government in Iraq. I would say that our efforts
have not been in vain.
Democracy is what it is all about. We agree on the very reason for
being engaged in Iraq: to put an end to oppression and to promote
freedom, democracy, and human rights. These are the very values we want
to defend. That also gives us strong obligation to live up to those
values in every step we take. When unacceptable events happen in Abu
Ghraib and when allegations are made about horrific events in Haditha,
it is not only a tragedy for the victims; it is damaging to our own
efforts and an offense to our very own values. The President has assured
me that all allegations will be investigated, and if there has been
wrongdoing, then the responsible will be prosecuted.
We are committed to remain in Iraq as long as the Iraqi Government
and the U.N. request our assistance and as long as we can make a
positive difference.
As the President mentioned, we had also a discussion on Iran. I am
pleased that the United States, under the President's leadership, has
joined his European allies in presenting a package to the Iranians. It's
now up to the Iranians to take advantage of this window of opportunity.
Secondly, we touched upon energy. I strongly share the President's
view that energy is a major strategic challenge. I think that
transatlantic cooperation can contribute to ensuring energy security and
sustainable development. It could, for instance, be instrumental in
developing new energy technologies.
In Denmark, this issue has been a high priority for 30 years. We
have focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency, and we are among
the leading countries when it comes to developing technologies in that
field. It is part of the reason for our strong economy and
competitiveness. And in Denmark, we have managed to combine economic
growth with energy efficiency. Over the last 25 years, the Danish
economy has grown by 50 percent without increasing the use of energy.
I think it's fair to say that Danish companies are at the edge in
developing new technologies, and they are already engaged in the United
States. Some of them are traveling with me to the west coast on Monday.
Which brings me to my final point on our bilateral economic
relations. Trade and investment between the United States and Denmark is
flourishing at impressive growth rates. The United States is now the
biggest foreign investor in Denmark. Likewise, Danish companies have
turned their attention towards the United States. Our top five companies
have created more than 20,000 jobs in the United States, and they have
engaged in a vast number of subcontractors. I think that the broad range
of subjects demonstrates the vitality and closeness of our relations.
Mr. President, the health experts tell us that we need daily
exercise. So before we even start thinking about lunch, I'm looking
forward to exploring Camp David in even greater detail on bike. It's
going to be hard work; I know that. But I will do my very best to keep
up with you, Mr. President. [Laughter]
So once again, thank you very much for your hospitality. Meeting
with you at Camp David has indeed been a great symbol of the close and
very warm relations between our two countries. Thank you.
[[Page 1110]]
President Bush. I'll take a couple of questions. Deb [Deb Riechmann,
Associated Press].
Iraq/Abu Musab Al Zarqawi
Q. Mr. President, after meeting with the Danish Prime Minister last
month, Maliki said he thought he could stand up the Iraqi security
forces in about a year-and-a-half. And with Zarqawi's death, do you
think this is realistic?
President Bush. I think it is--we'll get a realistic appraisal about
the capacity for standing up Iraqi troops as this new Government begins
to function as a government. It wasn't until just a couple of days ago
that they didn't had a Defense Minister. Now they've got a Defense
Minister, which will give us time
to assess their command and control, their capacity to be able to send
an order from the top to the bottom of their organization--a Defense
Ministry that will be independent from politics, hopefully.
Once we make those assessments, then I think I'll be able to give
the American people a better feel for what ``stand up/stand down''
means. And one of the reasons we're coming here--I'm coming here Monday,
by the way, Mr. Prime Minister, with a lot of my Cabinet members to
discuss the way forward in Iraq, to analyze the new Government, to look
carefully at what their blueprint for the future looks like, and to
figure out how we can help. And of course, I will share our thoughts
with the Prime Minister, because he's a very important part of our
coalition.
Zarqawi's death helps a lot. Zarqawi was bin Laden's main advocate, outside of some remote parts of the
world. He was the operator. He was the person that had made the
declaration that it's just a matter of time for America and other
democracies to leave, so that we could then--so that they could then
develop safe haven from which to launch further attacks. He beheaded
people; he was a coldblooded killer; he masterminded the bombing of the
hotel in Jordan; he masterminded the bombing of the U.N. headquarters
early on in the liberation of Iraq.
Removing Zarqawi is a major blow to Al Qaida. It's not going to end
the war, and it's certainly not going to end the violence. But it's
going to help a lot.
One of the goals of Al Qaida was to encourage sectarian violence
inside that country; it was to pit Sunni against Shi'a and Shi'a against
Sunni in order to be able to stop democracy. His whole ambition was to
stop the advance of democracy in Iraq. And our troops--who performed
brilliantly, by the way, in bringing this man to justice--did the Iraqis
and the Americans and anybody else who loves freedom a great service by
bringing him to justice.
Iraqi Government
Q. Can I ask you a followup?
President Bush. Probably not.
Q. How long will----
President Bush. Yes.
Q. You said you'd have to reassess with the new Government these
various things. How long do you think that that assessment is going to
take?
President Bush. See, part of the issue I deal with is people want to
know with certainty when certain things are going to happen, and I
understand that; it's a legitimate question. It's like, when are you
going to withdraw troops? And the answer is, when conditions on the
ground----
Q. I didn't ask that.
President Bush. No, I know, but I'm--you asked the question; I
answer them. The answer is, as to when we'll be able to stand up Iraqis
and stand down, when we'll be able to analyze the situation, depends
upon how these people react--how they react to pressure, how they react
to forming their Government. This is a brand new democracy. And the
problem with the war we have is it requires a certain degree of patience
in order to succeed. And we have to be patient here, as this new
democracy
[[Page 1111]]
begins to flourish and has to deal with people like Zarqawi who is trying to stop their advance.
And so, as soon as possible. I've told the American people I'd like
to get our troops out as soon as possible. But the definition of ``as
soon as possible'' is depending upon victory in Iraq. And victory in
Iraq is a country that can sustain itself, govern itself, and defend
itself. That's the definition of victory, and we're making progress
toward that goal.
Here you go.
Iran
Q. Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, last week, we saw a major
change in the policy towards Iran. And although you don't want to talk
about timetables, the Prime Minister talked about a window of
opportunity for the Iranians. How do you see that window of opportunity?
What is the timetable, and what will be the next step in the procedure
when we talk about Iran?
President Bush. Thank you. Actually, you saw a shift in tactics but
not a shift in strategy. I've always felt like we needed to solve this
problem diplomatically. And I always felt it was essential that when the
Iranians looked out at the world, they see a common, united group of
nations saying, ``No nuclear weapon.''
Part of the change in tactics was to do two things: One, say to the
Iranians, ``The choice is yours to make,'' see. ``You have said you're
going to verifiably suspend your program. Now we're going to see whether
or not you really mean it. And if you do, by the way, the United States
will come to the table.'' And I said to our friends and partners, ``If
they choose not to come back--to suspend verifiably, there must be a
consequence.'' There must be a sense of urgency on our part to send a
common message to them. And I applaud my Secretary of State for effectively delivering that message.
And so to answer your question, we've given the Iranians a limited
period of time--weeks, not months--to digest a proposal to move forward.
And if they choose not to verifiably suspend their program, then there
will be action taken in the U.N. Security Council.
Caren [Caren Bohan, Reuters].
Abu Musab Al Zarqawi
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Your initial public comments on the
death of Zarqawi have been described as more cautious than other
developments, such as the capture of Saddam Hussein. Are you more
cautious now? And, if so, why?
President Bush. Well, let me make sure everybody understands, I'm
thrilled that Zarqawi was brought to justice. And I am so proud of our
troops and intelligence officers who brought him to justice. This man
had a lot of blood on his hands. He killed a lot of people. And it's a
big deal to have brought him to justice. Having said that, I don't want
the American people to think that a war is won with the death of one
person that--we have still more work to do.
I am confident that Al Qaida will try to regroup and kill other
people in order to say, ``Well, we haven't lost our way.'' I believe
that. I also know that there are criminal elements and irritated people
inside of Iraq who will try to stop the progress of the Government; they
will continue to bomb.
The problem we have in this war is that all they've got to do is
kill some innocent people by a car bomb, and it looks like they're
winning, see. It takes a major event like an election or the death of
Zarqawi to understand that we're making progress. And so one of the
things I'm trying to be is realistic with the American people and say,
there's still going to be tough days ahead because the enemy has got the
capacity to get on our TV screens with death and destruction. That's
what they've got the capacity to do.
In the meantime, however, the political process--remember, a
government that can
[[Page 1112]]
sustain itself and govern itself and defend itself. Well, the governance
aspect, as the Prime Minister will attest, is making progress under
Prime Minister Maliki. It's a new type of
government. It's a unity Government that represents the Iraqi people
under a Constitution which they ratified, which is a remarkable feat, by
the way, in the Middle East. A government that can defend itself, and
that is, a government with an army that's well-trained, with a chain of
command that's responsive to civilian leadership.
And finally, a government that can sustain itself is one that not
only has an economic--a bright economic future for its people, but one
in which the internal security is such that people have confidence in
their Government. And frankly, that's the area where we need a lot of
work, which is in the police forces. The Interior Minister was dominated
by politicians that wanted to seek revenge, as opposed to provide
blanket security. And as General Casey
has said, ``The--training our troops--training the police is the mission
of our troops for 2006.'' And I want to thank the Prime Minister for his
great contribution through NATO and the police training academies that
we're helping to run.
But we're making progress. But I don't want--I want the people to
understand that our progress will be viewed as incremental progress. If
I didn't think we would succeed, I wouldn't stay. And if I didn't think
it was necessary for peace, I wouldn't have put our troops there in the
first place. And I told that to the Prime Minister. I said you can count
on America for standing by this new Government, because we're doing the
right thing. And people are going to look back at this moment in history
and say a democracy in Iraq helped change the world for the better and
helped provide security. It certainly helped address the simmering
resentment that exists in a part of a region that for too long has been
ignored, see.
And some say, I understand, that liberty isn't universal; therefore,
we shouldn't worry about freeing people of Iraq. I strongly disagree
with that. Liberty is universal. And not only in our attempts to defend
ourselves--we also have got to understand that to help win hearts and
minds, freedom is an avenue that will help do that. We've got to be
confident in our belief in freedom and confident in our knowledge that
freedom has the capacity to yield the peace we want.
Abu Ghraib Prison/Situation in Iraq
Q. Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister, in previous meetings, you
have discussed Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and now Haditha, and possibly
other crimes have been added to that list.
Mr. President, how did you try to convince the Prime Minister today
that that kind of violations of human rights will stop and guilty will
be prosecuted? And for Mr. Prime Minister, are you today convinced that
violations of human rights will stop so that these violations are not
undermining the war for democracy in Iraq? Thank you.
President Bush. You know, the last time--I think it was in Denmark,
we talked about Abu Ghraib, if I'm not mistaken. Yes. I told the people
in Denmark--on your soil--that it was a disgusting event. It soiled our
soul. It's not what America stands for. I also--I'm not sure I put it
this way, but I understand humans make mistakes, but there needs to be
accountability. And since then, those involved with the Abu Ghraib have
been brought to justice. And that's what happens in transparent
societies--which, by the way, stood in stark contrast to the society
that Saddam Hussein ran, where there was no
justice, where there was no transparency, where people weren't given a
chance to take their case in front of an impartial court. But that's
what's happened here in America.
I'm like the Prime Minister; I understand that these incidents run
contrary to what we believe; I know that. But I also want
[[Page 1113]]
to assure--I assured the Prime Minister that they'll be dealt with.
That's what societies like ours do. I can't guarantee success all across
the front, but I can guarantee there will be justice.
Prime Minister Rasmussen. I'm very much in line with that. What we
have seen in Abu Ghraib is not, was not what we are standing for. If the
allegations concerning Haditha show up to be true, it is definitely not
what the coalition, what America, what Denmark stands for. On the
contrary, we are in Iraq to promote freedom, democracy, respect for
human rights. And, of course, we should comply with these basic
principles in all our behavior.
I can give no guarantee, but just like the President, I can give the
guarantee that in free and open societies, the whole process will be
transparent. And if there are wrongdoings, the responsible will be
prosecuted. That's a guarantee you can give in a free and open society
based on the rule of law.
The President. Bret [Bret Baier, FOX News].
Abu Musab Al Zarqawi/War on Terror
Q. Mr. President----
President Bush. Fine looking shoes you've got on there. [Laughter]
Q. Thank you, sir. Mr. President, what are your top commanders
telling you, in the last 48 hours, about the possible impact of
Zarqawi's death? And how does that affect what you are trying to
accomplish in these strategy meetings here in Camp David, Monday and
Tuesday?
President Bush. First, we had the strategy meetings scheduled before
Zarqawi's death, interestingly enough. I haven't spoken to our
commanders yet, except to call General Casey and McChrystal and
congratulate them but, more importantly, for them to congratulate the
troops and the intel groups that were working on finding Zarqawi.
I suspect they will tell you what I just said, answered to Caren,
and that is that it's a big deal, but it's certainly not the end of
conflict. We had some--we believed that Al Qaida was stirring up
violence inside of Baghdad. And one of the things the Prime
Minister told the Prime Minister and me by
phone, that the security of Baghdad is a central part of having a
strategy that shows the Iraqi people that the Government is capable of
governing and achieving objectives. And therefore, if Al Qaida was a
part of--not the sole source, but a part of the violence inside of
Baghdad, it helps to get rid of their commander.
It's also a--General Abizaid, whose job
it is to think beyond just Iraq--he's the CENTCOM; he's the theater
commander--will tell you that the upper management of Al Qaida was
counting on Zarqawi to help implement their vision beyond Iraq.
See, it's really important for the American people to understand
that Al Qaida has got an ideology and a strategy to impose that
ideology. And part of the strategy is to create turmoil in moderate
Muslim nations. And they want to overthrow moderate Muslim nations. They
want to have their view of the world. I call it totalitarian, Islamo-
fascism. Whatever you want to call it, it is extreme, and it's real. And
Zarqawi was the implementer of that strategy, and he can no longer
implement. And that is helpful in winning the war on terror.
Iraq is a theater in the war on terror; it's not the war on terror.
It's a part of the war on terror. And Zarqawi was a general inside of
Iraq, and he was a part of their strategy outside of Iraq. And I suspect
General Abizaid--I don't mean to be putting
words into one of our top commanders, but I would suspect he would say
this was a major blow to Al Qaida.
The death of Zarqawi was very important for the people of Iraq. He
was sowing incredible violence inside of Iraq. He promoted spectacular
death. And by the way, he talked about human rights abuses, and we
definitely need to be held to account. But the world needs to hold to
account terrorists for civil rights abuses too. The
[[Page 1114]]
killing of innocent people to achieve a military objective is the
cornerstone of Al Qaida's military strategy. And this world of ours--
it's no question we ought to be concerned about what the United States
does. But I expect the free world, as well, to unite in condemnation of
terrorist activities around the world. See, there ought to be a
universal condemnation. We ought not to excuse that kind of behavior.
And yesterday's action--or a couple of days ago action, expressed
our disdain for that kind of killing of innocent life. And bringing him
to justice is a positive thing.
It's important for the Iraqi people to see progress in the death of
Zarqawi. There's no question progress toward more stable--it's not going
to solve all problems. And I'm sure, as I mentioned to you, there's
going to be some who step up and say, ``We will teach you a lesson, and
we will continue to send suiciders into neighborhoods just to show that
we've still got power.'' But they've lost their general. They've lost
the person that the top management of Al Qaida was counting on. And it's
a positive development.
Upcoming Meeting on Iraq
Q. Is there specific goals for Monday and Tuesday?
President Bush. Specific goals for Monday and Tuesday is to review
the Iraqi strategy, the Iraqi way forward. In other words, the Prime
Minister has put forward a strategy as to
how to achieve his objectives, which coincide with our objectives--a
nation that can sustain itself, govern itself, and defend itself. And we
want to review all aspects of that strategy. I felt that Camp David is a
good place to do it because it can be distracting down in Washington,
with phone calls and all those kinds of stuff; we can make sure the
people involved in senior levels of Government stay focused on the task
at hand.
I will be talking to Zal and our
commanders just to get assessment. One question I'll ask is precisely
the question you asked. I want to get a feel for their view of the Iraqi
Government's plans and how we can help Iraq achieve the objectives they
want. And then the next day, we're going to have the Ambassador from
Iraq to the United States up to
talk with him, as well as have a Cabinet meeting between my government
and the Maliki Government via secure video.
And I think that will be a very interesting moment for the Iraqi
Government, to see that we're concerned and interested about their plans
for success. And I think it will be interesting for us to be able to get
a sense for the type of people that the Prime Minister has attracted.
Ask Anders a question, will you? He's feeling a little defensive.
[Laughter]
Central Intelligence Agency
Q. I'm sorry, I have one for you, Mr. President. This week, a report
from the European Council talked about some CIA flights, illegal CIA
flights with the prisoners in Europe, and illegal CIA presence also in
some European countries. Have these flights taken place, and did you
discuss this in your meeting today?
President Bush. We haven't discussed it yet. I suspect we will now
that you brought it up. I would just--I can tell you what I'll tell the
Prime Minister, is that in cases where we're not able to extradite
somebody who is dangerous, sometimes renditions take place. It's been a
part of our Government for quite a period of time--not just my
Government, but previous administrations have done so in order to
protect people. And as we do so, we protect the sovereign rights of
nations that we're involved with.
Okay, thanks for the press conference. Enjoy yourselves. Get out of
here. [Laughter] Welcome, glad you all are here.
Q. Are you guys going to race?
President Bush. No, we're old--one of us is old. [Laughter] I'm
taking a lesson.
[[Page 1115]]
Note: The President's news conference began at 10:43 a.m. In his
remarks, he referred to Anne-Mette Rasmussen, wife of Prime Minister
Rasmussen; Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Minister of the Interior Jawad
al-Bulani, Minister of Defense Abu al-Qadir al-Mufriji, and former
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan;
senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, who was killed in
Baquba, Iraq, on June 7; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida
terrorist organization; Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., USA, commanding
general, Multi-National Force--Iraq; Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal,
USA, commander, Joint Special Operations Command, U.S. Central Command
Forward, U.S. Special Operations Command; Gen. John P. Abizaid, USA,
commander, U.S. Central Command; U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay
Khalilzad; and Iraq's Ambassador to the U.S. Samir Shakir al-Sumaydi.