[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.