[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[October 27, 2006]
[Pages 1933-1935]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following Discussions With Secretary General Jakob Gijsbert 
``Jaap'' de Hoop Scheffer of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and an 
Exchange With Reporters
October 27, 2006

    President Bush. I'm proud to welcome the Secretary General of NATO 
here to the Oval Office. We've just had a fascinating discussion.
    First, Mr. Secretary General, you've been a very strong leader. As a 
matter of fact, you've made NATO a values-based organization that is 
capable of dealing with the true threats of the 21st century. I 
appreciate your leadership. I particularly appreciate the fact that you 
have led the 26 nations of NATO into Afghanistan to help this young 
democracy. You know what I know, that the real challenge for the future 
is to help people of moderation and young democracies succeed in the 
face of threats and attacks by radicals and extremists who do not share 
our ideology, have kind of a dark vision of the world.
    I appreciate the fact that you're reaching out to global partners, 
nations which share our value but have not been considered a--
necessarily considered a part of NATO. I want to thank your view of 
making sure NATO continues to provide the opportunity for other nations 
to join NATO.
    I'm looking forward to Riga. The Riga summit is a time for us to 
celebrate the great successes of this partnership. Mr. Secretary General 
and I will be there reminding our partners that we have a lot of work to 
be done in the noble cause of peace.
    So welcome.
    Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer. Mr. President, thank you very 
much, and thank you for giving me your time. I can echo your words. NATO 
is delivering security in the 21st century. And that means defending 
values, and that means defending values not only in Europe but far away 
from NATO's traditional area. And the case in point, of course, is 
Afghanistan, where there was a regime which was grossly violating human 
rights, no women's rights, public executions. There we are trying to 
assist the Afghan Government to establish democracy, to establish human 
rights, to establish those values.
    And let me say that when, in those actions of NATO, of those brave 
NATO soldiers, civilians are killed, as happened 2 days ago, that's 
always a tragedy. That's a tragedy.
    But let me convince you to look at the broader picture. They are 
against democracy. Girls did not go to school when the Taliban was 
running Afghanistan. Now they go to school. Now there is a precedence. 
Now there is a government. Civilian victims are a tragedy, but we are 
there in favor

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of democracy. They are there to destroy democracy, and they are there to 
destroy our values.
    Mr. President, I'm looking forward to the Riga summit, where we'll 
see a 21st century NATO delivering security in many, many places of the 
world with 50,000 soldiers, including many Americans, on three 
continents. That is the challenge, but I can tell you that NATO is up to 
the challenge. NATO is delivering security, and NATO will continue to do 
this, indeed, with its presence, but also with global partners, because 
terrorism, proliferation, failed states, and failing states are global 
threats we have to face and to counter on a global scale.
    Mr. President, once again, thank you very much for being here.
    President Bush. Yes, sir.
    I'll answer a couple of questions this morning. Jennifer [Jennifer 
Loven, Associated Press].

Iran

    Q. Thank you, sir. What does it say to you that Iran is doubling its 
enrichment capacity?
    President Bush. It says to me that we must double our effort to work 
with the international community to persuade the Iranians that there is 
only isolation from the world if they continue working forward on such a 
program. And I've read the speculation about that that's what they may 
be doing, but whether they've doubled it or not, the idea of Iran having 
a nuclear weapon is unacceptable. And it's unacceptable to the United 
States, and it's unacceptable to nations we're working with in the 
United Nations to send a common message.
    Caren [Caren Bohan, Reuters].

Interrogation of Terrorists

    Q. Sir, do you agree with the Vice President that a dunk in the 
water is a ``no brainer'' when it comes to interrogating a terror 
suspect?
    President Bush. This country doesn't torture. We're not going to 
torture. We will interrogate people we pick up off the battlefield to 
determine whether or not they've got information that will be helpful to 
protect the country.
    Keil [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News].

2006 Midterm Elections

    Q. Mr. President, with the elections just about 10 days away, polls 
show that voters are more disenchanted with the Republican-led Congress 
than at any time since 1994, when the Democrats lost power. What 
explanation or answer do you have for people who feel that way?
    President Bush. Keil, I understand people here in Washington have 
already determined the outcome of the elections. As I said in my press 
conference the other day, I've seen it before, where people start 
measuring the drapes in their new offices before the vote has been 
counted--in other words, they're taking the people's vote for granted.
    This election is going to be determined by how our candidates run 
locally. And I believe if they continue to emphasize the big issues--
keeping taxes low and protecting the American people--we'll win. And so 
we'll see how the outcome comes. I know there's a lot of speculation 
here in Washington, DC, and there's a lot of fascination about listening 
to these pundits and people who are giving their opinions.
    All I can tell you is what I see: I see enthusiasm amongst 
Republicans; I see candidates who are saying, ``Vote for me. I will work 
to make sure America doesn't get attacked again.'' And I'm seeing 
candidates saying, ``I understand that if we run up your taxes like the 
Democrats do, it's going to hurt this economy, and so we'll keep your 
taxes low.''
    Thank you all very much.

Note: The President spoke at 10:53 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House.

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