[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[July 6, 2006]
[Pages 1325-1332]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Stephen
Harper of Canada
July 6, 2006
President Bush. Thank you all. Welcome. It's been my honor to visit
with Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, in the Oval Office.
After this exercise in democracy, I'll be buying him lunch, where we'll
continue our discussions. I'm impressed by his leadership style. I
appreciate the fact that he doesn't mince words. He tells me what's on
his mind, and he does so in a real, clear fashion.
We talked about a lot of subjects. We talked about Iran and our
joint desire to convince the Iranian regime to give up its nuclear
weapons ambitions. We talked about North Korea, and I shared with him
our strategy to work with five other--four other nations to convince the
North Koreans to adhere to agreements they had already reached with the
world.
We talked about the war on terror, and I told the Prime Minister how
pleased Americans were that the Canadian Government did the hard work
necessary to disrupt terrorist plots. It just goes to show how safe
Canada is. When you've got a government that's active and a police force
that's capable, people ought to be rest assured that Canada is on top of
any plots.
I thanked the Prime Minister and the Canadian people for their
involvement in Afghanistan. This is a serious foreign policy decision by
the Government, and it's a necessary decision, in my judgment, to help
make this world a more peaceful place. It just goes to show the
important role Canada can play in foreign policy. Canada has got a set
of values that are extremely important for the world to see.
And I do want to thank the families of those soldiers who are in
Afghanistan for supporting their loved ones. Their soldiers are doing
fantastic work. I asked prior to your visit here from our military folks
how they were doing; they said, great. And they're making the country
proud.
I appreciate very much our discussion about Darfur. I believe that
Canada and the United States can make a difference in Darfur and should.
As you know, our Nation declared the situation in Darfur a genocide. We
will work with the international community to bolster the AU forces that
are there now. I believe they ought to be blue-helmeted, and I believe
there ought to be NATO involvement with a blue-helmeted, AU-augmented
force on the ground. The message has got to be clear to the Government
of Sudan: We're not going to tolerate this kind of activity.
I speak frequently with my Secretary of State on this issue, Mr. Prime Minister, to make sure
that we expedite the arrival of augmented troops to save lives. I talked
to Kofi Annan the other night, by the way, about
this very subject. And so I appreciate your understanding, and I really
appreciate your working on this.
You know, we cooperate closely in our neighborhood. We just renewed
the NORAD accord, and I want to thank you for that. I remember going
out--one of the hurricanes was about to hit us here,
[[Page 1326]]
and I can remember talking to and having dinner with a Canadian general
there, and it was a--it just reminded me of how close that our relations
need to be.
We talked about trade. We have a lot of trade with Canada. It's in
this Nation's interest to trade with Canada. It's in, I think, the
Canadian interest to trade with the United States. I'll let the Prime
Minister speak to that. But it's important when you have trade to have
goods and services and people flow as smoothly as possible between our
two countries.
We've had some disputes in the past, trade disputes. That's what you
expect when you have a lot of trade. And probably the most nettlesome
trade dispute was softwood lumber. And I appreciate the Prime Minister's
leadership in helping us resolve this issue. It's a tough issue. It was
a tough issue for the Canadian Government; it's a tough issue for us.
Nevertheless, the fact that we were able to reach an accord just goes to
show how trading partners can be active in trade and be willing--and
solve problems. I think this is a really important solution, and I want
to thank you for that.
Needless to say, the Prime Minister expressed deep concerns about
the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The last time I was with him,
he expressed concerns. He basically was a little impatient, if I might
clarify your--it seemed like you were impatient, at least--[laughter]--
and straightforward. ``Look,'' he said, ``I understand there's a law on
the books. Show us what's going to happen.'' And I understand the
concerns. If you have a relationship like we have, where there's a lot
of activity and a lot of people moving across the border, it makes sense
for the Prime Minister of Canada to say, ``Look, we just want to know
what the rules are to determine whether or not it is compatible with our
relationship.''
And so I assured him that my view is--simple and easy to understand
is the operative words. And we will continue our discussions about this
initiative, particularly since the Secretary of Homeland
Security, Chertoff--who is sitting right
over there, by the way--will be joining us for lunch. Unless you don't
want me to invite him. [Laughter]
We talked about--well, we talked about a lot of subjects, and that's
what you'd expect friends to do.
Mr. Prime Minister, the floor is yours. I'm proud you're here, and
thanks for coming.
Prime Minister Harper. Well, thank you very much, Mr. President, for
the invitation and for the kind words. And thank you for doing something
I never thought I'd see, which is have the Canadian media stand when I
entered the room. But we certainly enjoy that.
[At this point, Prime Minister Harper spoke in French, and no
translation was provided. He then continued in English, as follows.]
Prime Minister Harper. ----your hospitality. The United States and
Canada have a strong relationship, strong and firm relationship based on
the largest commerce and social interaction in the history of any two
countries of the world, and we were able to discuss a wide range of
bilateral and international matters where we, more often than not, share
common values and common objectives.
We discussed many topics of interest to our respective countries and
citizens, in particular, as the President mentioned, the Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The President and I agreed that the
implementation of the provisions of the WHTI must not unduly hinder
cross-border travel or tourism or trade. And to that end, we've tasked
our officials to agree on common standards for securing alternate
documents and, preferably, as soon as possible.
We discussed the critical role Canada, in particular our oil sands,
can play in providing energy security. The President and
[[Page 1327]]
I have agreed to task our officials to provide a more forward-looking
approach focused on the environment, climate change, air quality, and
energy issues in which our Governments can cooperate. We raised the
issue of how regulatory cooperation could increase productivity, while
helping to protect our health, safety, and environment.
We also expressed, as the President just did, our mutual
satisfaction on the significant progress made on the longstanding
softwood lumber dispute. Both countries have now initialed the legal
text. That legal text faithfully reproduces and documents the agreements
reached between our Governments and various premiers on April the 27th,
and I now urge all relevant parties to move forward with its
implementation.
The President and I also discussed a number of important
international issues, in particular our role in Afghanistan. We have
2,300 men and women on the ground as part of the Canadian forces.
They're playing an important role in security and development in order
to protect our national interest, rebuild Afghanistan, and ensure it
never becomes again a safe haven for terrorists.
We also discussed recent developments in Iran, and we expressed our
mutual concern about North Korea's latest provocative acts. We also
discussed the upcoming G-8 meeting in Russia, where issues like energy
security, infectious diseases, education, and innovation will be on the
agenda. And finally, we did touch briefly on the recent Mexican
election. Canada has full confidence in Mexico's institutions and
processes, and I look forward very much to working with the next
President of Mexico.
President Bush. Thank you, sir.
Keil [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News].
North Korea
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Do you want the United Nations to
impose sanctions on North Korea? And how will you go about persuading
the Russians and the Chinese to back those moves if you make them? And
in addition to that, sir, what kind of threat do you think North Korea
poses to world peace right now?
President Bush. Nontransparent societies run by Governments that
aren't selected by the people are--very difficult to tell what's going
on. That's part of the problem. We're dealing with a person who was asked not to fire a rocket by the Chinese, the
South Koreans, the United States, the Japanese, and the Russians. And he
fired seven of them, which then caused the Secretary of State and myself to get on the phone with our partners
and reminded them that--of the importance of speaking with one voice.
It's to--saying to Kim Jong Il, there is a
better way forward for you than isolating yourself from the rest of the
world; that there is a opportunity for you to stick to some of your
agreements, and that is to verifiably disarm; and that there will be a
better life than being isolated and, most importantly, a better life for
your people than isolation will bring.
And so I was on the phone this morning with Hu Jintao and President Putin, and
last night I talked to Prime Minister Koizumi and President Roh. And my
message was that we want to solve this problem diplomatically, and the
best way to solve the problem diplomatically is for all of us to be
working in concert and to send one message, and that is--to Kim Jong Il--that we expect you to adhere to international
norms, and we expect you to keep your word.
One way to send a message is through the United Nations. And the
Japanese laid down a resolution which we support. But we're working with
our partners to make sure we speak with one voice. Diplomacy takes a
while, particularly when you're dealing with a variety of partners. And
so we're spending time diplomatically making sure that voice is unified.
I was pleased from the responses I got from the leaders. They, like
me, were--are concerned, concerned about a person
[[Page 1328]]
who doesn't seem to really care about what others say. And so we're
working it, working it hard. And it's--and by the way, an effective
policy is one which is not just the United States trying to solve
problems. So I spent time talking to the Canadian Prime Minister about
it. I mean, Canada is a, should be, and must be an active participant in
helping deal with problems.
He brought up Haiti, for example, in the Oval Office. Canada has
made a significant contribution to stability in Haiti in the past. And
it's an important--my only point is, is that we will continue to work
with others to deal with problems that crop up.
Q. How much of a threat to the world----
President Bush. Well, you know, Dick, I think that--let's put it
this way--he's going to pose less of a threat the
more isolated he becomes and the more we work together. And as I
mentioned to you, it's hard to tell. This is a society in which there's
very little freedom, including freedom of the press. There's not a lot
of light shining in there.
And so we take his statements very seriously. He's kind of declared himself to be a nuclear power. We
obviously watch very carefully his testings. We're trying to make sure,
by the way, that the missile that he fired wasn't headed for Canada. We
don't know for a fact where it was headed. But, for example, one thing
that Stephen and I talked about is he could be seemingly firing a
missile at the United States, say, at--I don't know, this is all
speculation--but could be headed toward the Northwest of our country.
And it wouldn't take much for it to get off course and end somewhere
where he may not have intended.
My only point is, is that we will work very closely on these matters
together. It's in our interests that we send a clear message to the
leader of North Korea.
Canada-U.S. Border
Q. Christian St. Pierre, Radio Canada. Happy birthday, sir.
President Bush. It's amazing, the first birthday greeting I got from
the press came from the Canadian press. [Laughter] Thank you. I am
grateful. You're not 60 years old, are you? [Laughter] Well, let me just
say this--it's a lot younger than you think.
Q. President Bush----
President Bush. Sure.
Q. My question is about the security at the border. On the passport
issue, you seem very open, but there is a deadline of 2008.
President Bush. Yes.
Q. Is there any chance of getting a--of dealing? And Mr. Harper, can
you comment in French and English, please?
President Bush. Thank you. We are responding to congressional law.
And I--let me reinterpret your--is your question, is there flexibility
in the law, basically? Yes, I think that if Congress decides there needs
to be flexibility, there will flexibility. Interestingly enough, the
Senate passed--made its intention clear to extend deadlines. That hasn't
happened in the House yet. And so we are operating in the executive
branch under the idea that nothing will change, and therefore, we need
to get to the Canadian Government as quickly as possible our definition
of what a reasonable policy is. If Congress decides to be flexible, we
obviously will be flexible.
But the reason we're dealing with this issue is because the
legislative branch put this into law, put the need to have these kind of
documents into law. And as I told Chertoff,
who is responsible for implementing the law, that I would like this--to
the extent the law allows, for there to be a lot of flexibility and
simplicity.
As the Governor of Texas, I'm used to a border situation where
hundreds of thousands of people crossed every day. See, we--on our
southern border, there are a lot of Mexican citizens who come into the
United States and work on a daily basis and then go back home. It
happens a lot. And therefore, I fully understand the need
[[Page 1329]]
for there to be simplicity in the documentation. It needs to be easy for
somebody who is known and a person that is--makes a living on the other
side of the border. There's--a lot of kids go to college in, like, El
Paso, Texas, and they're living in Mexico, so they've got to go back and
forth on a regular basis. So I'm familiar with this issue a lot, and I
really do emphasize the need for us to be mindful of what a onerous
program could mean to good relations as well as facilitation of trade.
I can remember Stephen's concerns about the effect of this
initiative might have on conventions, for example, in Canada. He brought
up today an interesting example of Little League teams playing baseball
in Manitoba. And so, in other words, there's a lot of just daily
commerce that we've got to be mindful about, not just trade, but the
movement of people. And we are, we are.
And so to answer your question, if the Congress provides
flexibility, of course we will work with the Canadian Government to
extend deadlines. If the Congress says, ``No, this is what our intent
is,'' we will work with the Canadian Government to make the law work.
[Prime Minister Harper spoke in French, and no translation was
provided.]
Prime Minister Harper. We're on two tracks here. We've indicated we
want to cooperate. We understand this is a congressional law the
administration has to put into place. We're prepared to cooperate to
make it work as smoothly and effectively as possible. We need more
information, and we've been pressing for that for some time, and we'll
continue to do so.
At the same time, our other track is obviously to encourage some
reexamination of the law. The Senate has recently passed an amendment
that would delay this process by a year and a half. We have some
indications from some quarters of the House of Representatives, some
will there to consider the same thing.
As I say, we--and I just want to emphasize--we in Canada share the
United States security concerns and objectives. I think, as you all
know, recently with events in Toronto, it's been brought home to all of
us that we face exactly the same kind of security threats and are
defending exactly the same kinds of values. And I would hate to see a
law go into place that has the effect of not just limiting and
endangering trade or tourism but endangering all those thousands of
social interactions that occur across our border every day and are the
reason why Canada and the United States have the strongest relationship
of any two countries, not just on the planet but in the history of
mankind.
And I would just urge the Congress to think carefully, that if the
fight for security ends up meaning that the United States becomes more
closed to its friends, then the terrorists have won. And I don't think
either of us want that. So we're prepared to cooperate, and also urge
the Congress to apply some flexibility in reaching their objectives of
security.
President Bush. Thank you.
Jim Axelrod [CBS News].
North Korea/Foreign Policy
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Kim Jong Il has been described as
quirky, as odd. A member of your administration yesterday compared him
to an unloved child looking for attention. And I'm wondering if you
agree with that assessment. Does he pose----
President Bush. Who was that person? [Laughter]
Q. Does he pose--come to the booth, sir, I'll tell you who it was.
[Laughter] Does he pose any particular unique problems to deal with? And
do you feel that he's looking, for instance, at what's been offered to
the Iranians by the world community in terms of incentives and saying,
``I'd like a little of that for myself''?
President Bush. It's hard for me to tell you what's on his mind.
He lives in a very
[[Page 1330]]
closed society. It's unlike our societies where we have press
conferences and people are entitled to ask questions, and there's all
kinds of discussions out of administrations and people saying this,
saying that, and the other. This is a very closed society.
We do know there's a lot of concentration camps. We do know that
people are starving. As a matter of fact, our Nation has tried to help
feed the hungry. But what we don't know is his intentions, and so I
think we've got to plan for the worst and hope for the best. And
planning for the worst means to make sure that we continue to work with
friends and allies, as well as those who've agreed to be a part of the
six-party talks, to continue to send a unified message.
We've also got a very strong Proliferation Security Initiative,
because one of the threats that can emanate from a closed society,
particularly one that claims to have nuclear weapons, is proliferation.
One of the real dangers we face is weapons of mass destruction in the
hands of people who would like to continue to hurt us, hurt the United
States or hurt Canada, hurt anybody who has the courage to stand up and
embrace freedom, see. That's the big threat.
And so we don't know, Jim, about his intentions, but we take--we're
planning. And so one of the things we've done--and I thank Canada's
contribution--is for there to be a very strong initiative to prevent
proliferation, through what we call the Proliferation Security
Initiative. And it's an important initiative. It's a way to say, we're
not going to allow you to threaten us; we're not going to allow you to--
the rocket--as I say, I'm not exactly sure what the azimuth was of the
rocket. We've got our people still analyzing that. But, for example, we
didn't--we don't know what was on the rocket. We don't know where the
rocket was headed. It would have been helpful, of course, had he said, ``Here's what we're going to do. Here's our
intentions. Here's what--we want to work with you; we want to explain
it.'' Who knows--maybe send a satellite--who knows what his intention
was.
But that's not the way he decided to deal
with it. He just decided to say--to start firing, and he fired seven of
them. And we take this seriously. We take, and we all should take,
threats seriously. That's one of the lessons of September the 11th, is
that what takes place in other parts of the world can come home to hurt
the American people. See, a failed government in Afghanistan enabled
plotters and planners to train and then come and kill 3,000 of our
citizens. And so it used to be that's it's okay if something were
happening from afar, oceans could protect us. I presume that's how some
in Canada used to feel. The lesson of September the 11th is, is that
we're vulnerable, and therefore, we've got to deal with each threat.
I've assured the American people and assured our friends and allies,
we want to deal with threats diplomatically. The best way to deal with
threats diplomatically is to encourage others to be a part of the
process. And that's what we're doing. That's why we've got the six-party
talks.
And one of the keys in the six-party talks is for all the nations to
send clear messages to Kim Jong Il. That's why I
was on the phone this morning, saying as clearly as I could to our
fellow partners,
four other
leaders, to say, let's send a common message that you won't be rewarded
for ignoring the world and that you'll be isolated if you continue to do
this, and yet there's a way forward.
See, I care deeply about the people in North Korea. I truly do. It
breaks my heart to know that young children are literally starving to
death. And I wish--I just wish at some point in time there was an
openness in that society where we could help save lives. I'm also
realistic enough to realize what weapons of mass destruction could mean
in the world in which we live.
And so we're working this issue hard. We're working the Iranian
issue hard. Steve
[[Page 1331]]
and I talked about a strategy going into the G-8 session. I talked to
President Putin this morning abut making
sure that not only do we send messages to the North Koreans but that our
strategy will work with Iran.
And it's just really important for the American President to see the
world the way it is, not the way we would hope it would be, and to deal
with threats, and to do so in a way that will achieve results. And it
takes a while. I mean, these threats didn't arise overnight, and these
problems won't be solved overnight. But we've got strategies in place to
deal with them.
And one of the reasons why it's important to have Steve here is so
we can talk about how we can work together to deal with it. And they're
not just threats to our security that normal people think of. HIV/AIDS
on the continent of Africa is a threat to our security in the long run.
That's why I'm proud to report the United States took the lead on
setting up the Global Fund, as well as bilateral programs to help save
people's lives. I think it's in our interests. I also happen to believe
in the admonition, ``To whom much is given, much is required.''
And so we've got a robust foreign policy on a lot of fronts, and I
intend to keep it that way. And I'm confident that what we're doing is
going to make this world a better place. And I'm proud to have allies
like Steve who understand the stakes of the 21st century.
Birthday Present for the President
Q. Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, before I ask you a question,
I'm just curious what you think of that belt buckle the Prime Minister
gave you as a birthday gift, and are you wearing it?
President Bush. I hadn't seen it yet. [Laughter] Oh, Lee, you gave
it away. [Laughter]
North Korea/Missile Defense System
Q. Mr. President, on a serious note, in light of the North Korean
missile test and the fact that North Korea could launch another series
of missiles at any minute, did you ask Canada to reconsider joining in
the Ballistic Missile Defense Shield?
And, Prime Minister, do you still think it's wrong and not in
Canada's interest to join the BMD? And if--when you're responding, could
you do it in French and English, please?
President Bush. Anyway, thanks for the belt buckle in advance.
[Laughter]
Prime Minister Harper. No problem at all.
President Bush. Looking forward to getting it.
Prime Minister Harper. Figure if you're going to be 60, you should
get something.
President Bush. That's right. Just hope the belt fits. [Laughter]
No, I didn't bring it up, because I figured if he was interested, he
would tell me. I did explain to him, however, that we will continue to
build a robust system, because I think it's in--I know it's in our
interest to make sure that we're never in a position where somebody can
blackmail us.
So we'll continue to invest and spend. And since this issue first
came up, we've made a lot of progress on how to--towards having an
effective system. And it's in our interest that we continue to work
along these lines.
But, no, my attitude was--this is a--this was a particularly
difficult political issue inside Canada, and my relationship is such
that if Stephen thought it was of importance, he would have told me
what's on his mind. Now, maybe he's going to bring it up over lunch, but
he didn't bring it up earlier.
Prime Minister Harper. Let me just begin by saying----
President Bush. Interesting question, though.
Prime Minister Harper. Let me just begin by saying that--first of
all, the question was asked earlier, I think, is North Korea a threat. I
don't think the issue is
[[Page 1332]]
whether North Korea is a threat. North Korea clearly wants to be a
threat. And I think--I just want to repeat what the President has said.
Given that that's a society of the kind of nature it is, I think this
should concern us immensely, and the fact that it is prepared to arm
itself and prepared to threaten to use such armaments--I think it is
something that we should be gravely concerned about, as was said
earlier.
Missiles that are fired in the direction of the United States
constitute a threat to Canada. That's one of the reasons why our
Government renewed, on a permanent basis, the NORAD treaty. Through
NORAD we have a special relationship on air defense and we share
information on these kind of matters. I think as you know, to answer
your specific question, the Government of Canada is not prepared to open
a missile defense issue at this time, but I will say that I think it
should be obvious, when we look at this kind of threat, why the United
States and others would want to have a modern and flexible defense
system against this kind of threat. So I think that's something, at
least, our Government fully understands.
[Prime Minister Harper spoke in French, and no translation was
provided.]
President Bush. Welcome. Thank you for your birthday greetings.
President's Birthday
Q. Mr. President, happy birthday.
President Bush. Thank you very much. Yes.
Q. It's also my birthday.
President Bush. Today's your birthday, too?
Q. Yes, sir.
President Bush. It is? Come on up. Let's have a birthday picture.
Come up, come up, come up. [Laughter] Come on. Get up here. Anybody else
have their birthday today? [Laughter] It's your birthday? Yes, sure. It
is your birthday? Come on. [Laughter] It's amazing how everybody's
birthday is today.
[All present sang Happy Birthday to the President and others celebrating
birthdays.]
President Bush. Dear Richard--he just told me he's 30 years old.
[Laughter] Happy birthday. Happy birthday.
Note: The President's news conference began at 11:55 a.m. in the East
Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary-
General Kofi Annan of the United Nations; Chairman Kim Jong Il of North
Korea; President Hu Jintao of China; President Vladimir V. Putin of
Russia; Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; and President Roh
Moo-hyun of South Korea.