    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [June 25, 2007]
    [Pages 799-800]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With President Toomas Ilves of Estonia
    June 25, 2007

        President Bush. We'll make those statements only today.
        Mr. President, welcome. It is a high honor to welcome President
    Ilves to the Oval Office. He is the President of a country which has
    emerged from some really dark days. And having been in Estonia, I can
    report to my fellow citizens that people now see the light of day; they
    see a better future because of the form of government has changed.
    President Ilves is a very strong advocate for democracy and the
    marketplace, and as a result, his country is thriving and doing well.
    And so we welcome you.
        I thank you very much for your voice, heard very clearly, for those
    who suffer under tyrannical societies, and that is, is that freedom is a
    precious gift to all and that democracy and societies based upon liberty
    are the best way to not only enable people to realize their talents but
    to lay the foundation for peace. And along these lines, Estonia has been
    a very strong friend to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. These young
    democracies are fighting off extremists.
        I was--briefed the President today about my conversation with the
    Prime Minister of Iraq, as well as our
    conversations with David Petraeus and
    Ambassador Crocker. Today, once again, we
    saw the brutality that extremists can inflict upon societies when a
    suicider killed innocent people who were working toward reconciliation.
    All the more reason, Mr. President, for us to remain firm and strong as
    we stand for this young democracy--these young democracies.
        The people of Estonia paid a high price. You lost--I know you lost
    two soldiers in Afghanistan recently, and our thoughts and prayers go to
    the families and the people of Estonia. We thank you for your sacrifice
    and just want you to know that we're committed to working hard to make
    sure that we succeed, and we succeed for the sake of peace for
    generations to come.
        We talked about a lot of other interesting subjects as well. Of
    course, the President pushed me very hard on visas. I readily concede
    there's an inconsistency in our policy where the people of Estonia are
    treated differently from other people inside Europe, even though the
    people of Estonia are making great sacrifices for the cause of democracy
    and liberty alongside with U.S. forces. And to this end, Mr. President,
    I will continue to pursue with Congress a modernization of the visa
    program. I thank you for bringing it up, and frankly, I don't blame you
    for bringing it up.
        We also talked about an interesting subject, and one that I can
    learn a lot about, and that is the cyber attacks that make us all
    vulnerable. Estonia recently went through a wave of cyber attacks. And
    this President, one, understands the issue well, two, has got some
    ideas, including a NATO center of excellence in Estonia to deal with
    this issue. And I want to--really want to thank you for your leadership,
    and thank you for your clear understanding of the dangers that that
    imposes not only on your country, but mine and others as well.
        And--but I'm dealing with a man who is a clear thinker. He speaks
    with moral authority and moral clarity, and he's a voice for reason and
    hope around the world. And we're proud to welcome you here to the Oval
    Office.
        President Ilves. Thank you very much, President Bush. It is great to
    be back here, to be in the United States, a strong ally of my country, a
    country that has been with Estonians throughout the cold war, supporting
    Estonia's desires for democracy and for independence. And even in the
    darkest of times and since the reestablishment of our independence, has
    been with

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    us all along as a very strong partner, strong supporter of our
    membership in NATO. A country that, whenever things have been tough for
    us, has stood with us, and it's one reason why Estonia is a strong ally
    of the United States.
        I'm grateful for President Bush's position, which I did push him
    hard on, on the visa issue. It is something of concern in Estonia, but I
    think all the other new members of NATO, the ones who are--who have been
    very good allies in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and our people don't always
    understand why it is that those people--that--those countries that have
    been the strongest supporters of the United States find it often the
    most difficult to come for vacation. But that--I think that is an issue
    which is more in the hands of Congress, and we hope that Congress will
    resolve this.
        We did, in fact, suffer a series of attacks on our computer
    infrastructure. It is a serious issue if your most important computer
    systems go down in a country like mine, where 97 percent of bank
    transactions are done on the Internet. When you are a highly Internetted
    country like we are, then these kinds of attacks can do very serious
    damage. And I do think it's the wave of the future; not that it's a good
    wave, but it is something that we have to deal with more and more.
        We know that the United States and Israel and Denmark have come
    under cyber attack before, and I think that it's an issue that will
    require much more attention in the future. And I'm very happy that two
    countries that are very vast in terms of information technology can work
    together on these issues.
        So I think that--well, it's a--for me, it's been--it's a very good
    visit. And I know that President Bush has a busy schedule, but I do hope
    that when his term in office is up, that you will come to my ranch,
    which is a lot smaller than yours. [Laughter]
        President Bush. Thank you all for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:49 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of
    Iraq; Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-National
    Force--Iraq; and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker.