    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 5, 2006]
    [Pages 1321-1325]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With President Mikheil
    Saakashvili of Georgia and an Exchange
    With Reporters
    July 5, 2006

        President Bush. We'll have opening statements and a couple of
    questions.
        First, Mr. President, welcome. I was--reminded the President about
    what a fantastic visit I had to Georgia. Laura
    and I will never forget your hospitality; we will never forget the food,
    for which Georgia is quite famous; we will never forget the fantastic
    folk dancing we saw. And then I'll never forget our visits and the
    speech to the Georgian people. It was a fantastic trip.
        It was made fantastic because my friend not only was a good host,
    but he is a man who shares the same values I share. He believes in the
    universality of freedom. He believes that democracy is the best way to
    yield the peace. The Georgian Government and the people of Georgia have
    acted on those beliefs. I want to thank you for your contribution in
    Iraq, to help the Iraqi people realize the great benefits of democracy.
    It's hard work, but it's necessary work.
        We had a very good discussion about a variety of topics. I assured
    the President that Georgia is our friend, and we care deeply about the
    people of Georgia. It's--a remarkable experience has taken place. I
    congratulate the President and his Government on creating an economic
    climate that fosters growth and opportunity. I love

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    the stories about the entrepreneurial spirit that's beginning to
    flourish.
        And one of the interesting stories that captured my imagination is
    when the President first came into office and he cleaned out the police
    forces in order to rid the country of corruption in the law enforcement,
    understanding full well that the people must trust security in order for
    a society to flourish.
        And so, Mr. President, you've got hard work ahead of you. You've
    tackled problems with vigor and enthusiasm. But most importantly, you've
    stayed true to a philosophy that I admire. So welcome back to the Oval
    Office, and please give your good wife all my
    very best.
        President Saakashvili. I will certainly tell Sandra. And I mean, Mr.
    President, it was an incredible honor for me to stand next to you in the
    Freedom Square in Tbilisi. And I felt like it was, you know, after--it
    was vindication for all those Georgians, including my family members,
    who perished in gulag, who died fighting for their freedom, their
    liberty, their independence. And, basically, this was an incredible
    occasion, because I'm also--I've studied diplomacy for many years, and I
    can tell you, it was brilliant exercise of self-diplomacy, the way you
    appreciated our culture, our openness, our warmth. And we will certainly
    never forget it.
        Georgia is, indeed, performing. It is a very--I mean, it has strong
    economic growth. This is a very beautiful country that attracts lots of
    investment now. We have low tax rates, but we dramatically increased our
    tax collection, which means that low taxes and less government is a very
    good thing to have, as you well know.
        So basically, we are getting there. And one thing, you know, we
    discussed with President Bush the upcoming G-8 summit. And, certainly,
    there are lots of issues that are at stake there, and we believe very
    strongly in the same values, in the same principles. And we are talking
    to the President--to the country, which is the--for Georgians, I mean,
    for generations of Georgians, American freedom are synonymous--they have
    been synonymous for me all my life, when I lived under Soviets and after
    that. And it still stays very much that way because all freedom-loving
    people today, whenever they have something to share with somebody, come
    to America. And this is a very strong thing.
        And one thing I can tell, Mr. President, your freedom agenda does
    indeed work. I mean, you can see it in Georgia. We are seeing it in
    Iraq. And please stay there; please fight there until the end. We will
    stay with you there, whatever it takes, because your success in Iraq is
    success for countries like Georgia. It's a success for every individual
    that loves freedom, every individual that wants security, to live in
    more secure world for himself, herself, or their children. And whatever
    it takes to help you. We are not a big country; we are beautiful, small
    country with lots of attractions. I invited you to come. I had mountain
    biking here yesterday, and I invited you to come over and have mountain
    biking in Georgia.
        But one thing is important, that you know we really cherish the same
    things. And I'm so honored to be here on the Independence Day, and I
    watched yesterday fireworks--and around the time of your birthday. So
    happy birthday. I'm honored to be invited now. [Laughter] And God bless
    you, America, Georgia, and the whole world. Thank you very much.
        President Bush. Mr. President, thank you. Deb [Deb Riechmann,
    Associated Press].

    North Korea

        Q. Mr. President, on North Korea, how is it possible to punish a
    country that is one of the poorest and most isolated in the world? And
    secondly, had you been hoping for a stronger response from China?
        President Bush. The North Korean Government can join the community
    of nations and improve its lot by acting in concert

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    with those who--with those of us who believe that she shouldn't possess
    nuclear weapons, and by those of us who believe that there's a positive
    way forward for the North Korean Government and her people. In other
    words, this is a choice they make. Yesterday, as you know, they fired
    off a series of rockets. The world had--particularly those of us in the
    six-party talks--had asked for that not to happen. It's a matter of good
    faith. The Government made a different decision.
        And so it's their choice to make. What these firing of the rockets
    have done is they've isolated themselves further, and that's sad for the
    people of North Korea. I am deeply concerned about the plight of the
    people of North Korea. I would hope that the Government would agree to
    verifiably abandon its weapons programs. I would hope that there would
    be a better opportunity to--for that Government and its people to move
    forward. The Chinese will play--have played and will continue to play a
    very important role in the six-party talks. It's my view that the best
    way to solve this problem diplomatically is for there to be more than
    one nation speaking to North Korea, more than America voicing our
    opinions.
        And therefore, the five of us--Russia, South Korea, Japan, China,
    and the United States--spoke with one voice about the rocket launches,
    and we will work together to continue to remind the leader of North
    Korea that there is a better way forward for his
    people.
        Georgia.
        President Saakashvili. You know, regarding the--I mean, I'm not
    intervening off the agenda, but one thing I have to tell you, in
    Georgia, that I just sent over to President Bush the letter that
    Georgian freedom fighters sent him 7 years ago, and it never made it to
    the White House. It was intercepted by KGB, and all the people who wrote
    it were shot.
        I'm sure lots of people out there in Korea are writing similar
    letters today. And I'm sure that North Korean missiles will never reach
    the United States, but those letters will, eventually, very soon,
    because that's a part of freedom agenda that President Bush has and what
    we strongly believe in.
        President Bush. Do you want to call on a Georgian?
        President Saakashvili. Please. Whatever.

    Georgia/North Atlantic Treaty Organization

        Q. Mr President, Georgia is planning IPP to NATO. What do you think,
    how fast can Georgia finish this IPP process and get Membership Action
    Plan? And do you think that Georgia should and will be a NATO member
    during your Presidency? Thank you, sir.
        President Bush. Listen, I believe that NATO would benefit with
    Georgia being a member of NATO, and I think Georgia would benefit. And
    there's a way forward through the Membership Action Plan. And we'll work
    with our partners in NATO to see if we can't make the path a little
    smoother for Georgia. Georgia has got work to do, and the President
    understands that. But I'm a believer in the expansion of NATO. I think
    it's in the world's interest that we expand NATO.
        Kelly [Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News].

    North Korea

        Q. Thank you, sir. On the North Korean missiles, what have you
    learned about their intentions or their capabilities, and what threat
    level do you think they still possess given that their intercontinental
    missile failed?
        President Bush. I spoke with Secretary Rumsfeld yesterday. He called me right after the launch, and he
    said they had preliminary information that they were going to analyze
    about the trajectory of the larger rocket. The other five rockets that
    were fired, the scuds, were--their performance was pretty predictable.
    It's kind of a routine weapon that some of these nations have.

    [[Page 1324]]

        I asked him this morning again, when I met with him, about the
    information. They're still analyzing, trying to figure out the intention
    of the North Korean leader as to why he would
    have fired the rocket and what they were trying to learn from it.
        One thing we have learned is that the rocket didn't stay up very
    long and tumbled into the sea, which doesn't, frankly, diminish my
    desire to solve this problem. So the first part of your question is,
    we're still analyzing what the intentions were. We're trying to analyze
    the data to determine flight path, for example.
        I view this as an opportunity to remind the international community
    that we must work together to continue to work hard to convince the
    North Korean leader to give up any weapons
    programs. They've agreed to do that in the past, and we will hold them
    to account. And I also strongly believe that it is much more effective
    to have more than one nation dealing with North Korea. It's more
    effective for them to hear from a group of nations rather than one
    nation.
        And so today the Secretary of State--
    starting last night, the Secretary of State has been in touch with
    counterparts. I, of course, will be on the phone as well. We want to
    send--to continue to send a clear message that there is a better way
    forward for the leader of North Korea. It's hard
    to understand his intentions. It's hard to understand why he would not
    only fire one missile that failed but five others. And so we're talking
    with our friends and allies on the subject.

    Spread of Democracy/Georgia-U.S. Relations

        Q. Mr. President, as you mentioned, you've faced a lot of important
    challenges in many places like Iran and Iraq, Afghanistan, and North
    Korea. And at the same time, the whole world recognizes your personal
    role in promoting democracy and freedom all around. And how do you
    think--is there any chance that Georgia's aspiration to build free and
    democratic country may be left off of your agenda?
        President Saakashvili. Tricky question.
        President Bush. Freedom--I believe freedom is universal. And I
    believe the spread of liberty is important for peace. And therefore, the
    freedom agenda will be at the heart of everything I do. The freedom
    agenda is ingrained in my--it's not only ingrained in my policy, it's
    ingrained in my soul. I believe it strongly. And I believe the United
    States has an obligation to work with others to help them secure their
    liberty.
        I understand that elections are only the beginning of the freedom
    agenda and that there's work needed to be done around the world,
    including our own country, to continue to build strong institutions and
    build the organizations necessary for a civil society to develop.
    Remember, ours was a country that wrote a great Constitution but
    enslaved people for 100 years. It takes time. And so I understand that,
    and I want to work with our friends that ask. Georgia is a sovereign
    government, and when governments say, ``Will you help,'' America must
    always listen to requests for help, and specifically to Georgia.
        One of the signature pieces of policy in my administration has been
    the Millennium Challenge Account. It's a foreign funding mechanism that
    recognizes countries that fight corruption, support rule of law, invest
    in the health and education of their people, and adopt open markets. And
    one of the most robust Millennium Challenge Account projects is with
    Georgia. It's a sign--should be a sign to the people of Georgia and
    people in the neighborhood that the United States respects the decisions
    this Government has made and wants to work closely with the people of
    Georgia to help Georgia succeed, to help create the conditions for
    success.
        And so to answer your question, yes, I've got a lot that comes to my
    desk here, absolutely. I've got a lot to think about. But

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    my friend, the President, wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't have
    Georgia on my mind. [Laughter]
        Thank you all very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:15 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Sandra Roelofs, wife of President
    Saakashvili; and Chairman Kim Jong Il of North Korea.