    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [March 1, 2008]
    [Pages 302-307]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Anders Fogh
    Rasmussen of Denmark in Crawford,
    Texas
    March 1, 2008

        President Bush. Welcome. Thanks for coming. A couple opening
    statements, and we'll answer two questions apiece.
        Mr. Prime Minister, we're really thrilled you're here. Laura and I love having you and Anne-Mette with us. Pretty good guests when you can have a
    meaningful mountain bike ride at sunset and then at sunrise, and the man
    not even break into a sweat. You're in incredible condition, and I
    really have enjoyed my time with you--my time when we talked and my time
    when we rode. I also appreciate the fact that you're a good personal
    friend and a strong leader.
        I want to share with you some of the things we talked about. First
    of all, we talked about the war on terror and the ideological struggle
    of the 21st century. I appreciate your clear vision of the threats we
    all face and the opportunities that, by working together, we can help
    young democracies survive and help people realize the blessings of free
    societies.
        I do want to thank you very much for the strong support of the NATO
    mission in Afghanistan. I know brave Danish soldiers have lost their
    lives. Our deepest sympathies go for their--to their loved ones. It is
    painful when anybody loses a life in any time, but--much less in combat.
    But it's very important for the people of Denmark, like it is for the
    people of the United States, to understand that, one, we're denying
    extremist groups safe haven, the very same groups that attacked and
    killed thousands of innocent people. We're helping young girls go to
    school. We're helping infrastructure develop. We're helping people find
    health care. We're helping a hopeful society begin to emerge. And we
    spent a lot of time talking about that.
        I also appreciate very much the Danish contributions to help the
    people of Iraq. I strongly believe on the policy of return on success.
    We're returning some of our troops based upon success. That's precisely
    what the Danish Government did, because they were successful in their
    mission. And I congratulate you, Mr. Prime Minister, for having a
    vision.
        I also was able to share with you my sense of what's happening in
    Iraq. We're watching a young democracy grow, much to the amazement of a
    lot of critics, a lot of people who said, ``Well, it's impossible for
    this to happen in the rocky soils of Iraq.'' And it's happening today,
    and there's still more work to be done.
        We're looking forward to our summit in Bucharest. We talked about
    what we intend to do and how to work to have a comprehensive, strategic
    plan available for Iraq--I mean, for Afghanistan, so our allies can take
    this plan home, can explain to the people why it's important. We also
    talked about the need to make sure that there's more civilian-military
    cooperation, that tangible evidence of a free society begins to become
    more evident to people and to grassroots in Afghanistan.
        We talked about the spirit of NATO's open door policy. And we
    jointly welcome new nations in the alliance, so long as they meet the
    standards for membership.
        We also talked about other global challenges. We talked about Iran,
    about how Iran must verifiably suspend its uranium enrichment program
    and come clean about its nuclear intentions and past actions. I also
    want Iran to stop supporting terror.
        We also talked about Africa. I briefed the Prime Minister on our
    trip to Africa, talked about our mutual desire to help the folks
    suffering in Darfur. We talked about what happened in Kenya, and we're
    most grateful to the leaders there to help reconcile what could have
    been a very difficult situation.

    [[Page 303]]

        Finally, we talked about climate change, more than once. We talked
    about climate change as I showed him my ranch and about how we're
    conservationists here in Crawford. And then we talked about the need for
    us to develop alternative technologies. And I really do welcome
    Denmark's leadership for the 2009 U.N. climate change meeting. And I
    appreciate very much you taking the lead in this issue.
        And look, it was a great visit. And I'm now looking forward to
    giving the man a hamburger--[laughter]--after answering a couple of
    questions. But welcome, sir.
        Prime Minister Rasmussen. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Let me
    first of all express my gratitude for your invitation to visit your
    ranch in Crawford. My wife and I are very pleased to be here. We have
    had a rewarding stay and a challenging stay, I must say. [Laughter] You
    made me work very hard out there on the terrific mountain bike trails on
    your wonderful ranch. And I can't imagine a better place to spend time
    talking and enjoying time with good friends. And I can't imagine a
    better symbol of the close and strong ties between the United States and
    Denmark.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir.
        Prime Minister Rasmussen. Mr. President, freedom, democracy, and
    human rights are the core values that unite us. Freedom and dignity of
    the individual are universal values. It is values that people living
    under oppression and brutal regimes strive for. We have an obligation to
    stand by these people in their struggle for liberty and democracy. This
    is our common challenge. And you, Mr. President, and the United States
    have, above anyone else, advanced this vision of liberty and democracy
    around the world. Allow me to pay tribute to you for this.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir.
        Prime Minister Rasmussen. And it is no easy task; there are
    obstacles and opponents. But I do share your vision. Freedom is
    universal. And in the struggle between democracy and dictatorship, no
    one can be neutral. It is as simple as that.
        That is why we are in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. That is why
    we removed the brutal dictator in Iraq. That is why your leadership in
    the Middle East is crucial. That is why we work for development and
    against extremism in Africa. That is why we have joined forces in the
    Balkans, stabilized and recognized Kosovo, and work for Balkan countries
    to be fully integrated in Europe.
        The United States and Europe are key partners in this endeavor.
    Through NATO and the European Union, we reach out to aspiring countries
    like Ukraine and Georgia. We support their efforts to reform and develop
    links with Europe and across the Atlantic. And we will send a strong
    signal of support from our upcoming NATO summit in Bucharest.
        Mr. President, as you mentioned, in 2009 Denmark will host the
    Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. And it will take place
    in the land of windmills. We need a comprehensive global agreement, and
    American leadership is needed to reach that goal. And American
    leadership is crucial in order to motivate major economies like India
    and China to contribute.
        Climate is a huge international challenge. Many countries are
    suffering from adverse weather conditions. We need to protect our globe.
    We need to reduce CO2 emissions through green technology. We
    need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. And we need to break our
    addiction to oil, not only to counter climate change, but also to reduce
    our dependency on unstable and sometimes even undemocratic regimes. And
    I see the United States and Europe as key partners in the struggle to
    fight climate change and ensure energy security.
        Mr. President, together we have handled the challenges of the past.
    Now let us together meet the challenges and threats of the future. We
    owe that to future generations.

    [[Page 304]]

        Thank you.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir.
        Deb [Deb Riechmann, Associated Press].

    Iraq/Iran

        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. Yes, Deb.
        Q. I'd like to ask you about Iraq. General Petraeus and Gates are
    talking about a pause in troop reductions once we get to the pre-surge
    levels in July. Will that be it, or is it possible that there will be
    additional drawdowns before you leave office?
        And also, does the Iraqi Government's decision to host Ahmadi-nejad
    in Baghdad undermine your efforts to isolate Tehran?
        President Bush. To the latter, I--look, I mean, he's a neighbor. And
    the message needs to be, quit sending in sophisticated equipment that's
    killing our citizens, and that the message will be that we're
    negotiating a long-term security agreement with the United States
    precisely because we want enough breathing space for our democracy to
    develop.
        My message is for him, stop exporting terror, and that the
    international community is serious about continuing to isolate Iran
    until they come clean about their nuclear weapons ambitions. And that's
    why there will be action in the United Nations here early next week as
    we work collaboratively to continue to send a clear message.
        In terms of troop levels, there is going to be enormous speculation,
    again, about what decision I will make. I can only tell you, Deb, that
    it's going to be based upon the recommendations of Secretary
    Gates, General Petraeus, the Joint Chiefs. My sole criterion is, whatever we do, it
    ought to be in the context of success.
        If we fail in Iraq, the consequences for world peace will be
    enormous; the consequences for the security of the United States will be
    enormous. And therefore, my question is, what does it take to succeed?
    And we're not going to let politics drive my decision--again. If I
    worried about polls and focus groups, I wouldn't have sent more troops
    in. I sent more troops in because the situation was unacceptable. And
    now we're succeeding. And so therefore, Ryan
    Crocker--the Ambassador--and General Petraeus will be coming back, and they'll report to the country,
    and they'll report to me. And the decisions--you'll see them evolve.
        Q. Can I ask just one follow-up?
        President Bush. Maybe. [Laughter]

    U.S. Troop Levels in Iraq/Iraqi Provincial Elections

        Q. Are you worried about reducing U.S. troop presence before the
    elections in October?
        President Bush. Deb, see, that's what I said. I just--politics isn't
    going to play into it.
        Q. You mean the Iraqi politics?
        President Bush. Oh, you mean the Iraqi--I thought you meant our----
        Q. No, no.
        President Bush. I didn't listen.
        Q. I'm sorry. [Laughter]
        President Bush. I apologize.
        Q. I believe there's Provincial elections coming up in----
        President Bush. There are.
        Q. Okay. Which----
        President Bush. The 1st of October 2008, that's very observant.
        Q. Would you be worried about----
        President Bush. And I was not being observant. And it must be
    because I'm just so relaxed on the ranch, I didn't even bother to listen
    to your question. [Laughter]
        Q. Would you be concerned about doing it before then?
        President Bush. I think our generals ought to be concerned about
    making sure there's enough of a presence so that the Provincial
    elections can be carried off in such a way that democracy advances. But
    that--I'll wait and hear what they have to say. But yes, I mean, that
    ought to be a factor in their recommendation to me. I apologize.

    [[Page 305]]

        Do you want to call on somebody?
        Prime Minister Rasmussen. Yup.

    Progress in Iraq

        Q. Thank you. Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, the war in Iraq--if
    we could stay on that subject for just a minute--I mean, it's been going
    on for almost 5 years. Is there anything you would have done
    differently, Mr. President, if you had known back then in 2003 what you
    know today?
        President Bush. That's an interesting question. One thing I wouldn't
    do differently is leave Saddam Hussein in power. It was the right
    decision then; it's the right decision today; and it will be viewed as
    the right decision when history is finally written.
        You know, I--look, I mean, there's going to be ample time to second-
    guess decisions, and I'll let the historians do that. A war is
    constantly changing, and what appears to have been an easy decision
    today might have been a lot difficult when you take it--put it in
    historical context. And so my focus, sir, is moving forward and making
    sure this progress that we're watching continues.
        And there's been some ups and downs, obviously. I mean, the great
    moments were, of course, the writing of a modern Constitution for the
    Middle East and votes for a President and a Parliament. And then 2006
    came along, and an enemy was able to stir up unbelievable sectarian
    hatred and violence. And so I had a choice to make, you know, accept it
    and allow for failure, or do something about it. And obviously, I chose
    the latter, which was--I wouldn't call that exactly a popular decision.
    But if you follow popularity as your guide, then you sacrifice principle
    and vision.
        And so, look, this is a--this will be an important chapter of my
    Presidency, and they'll be analyzing these decisions for a long time.
    And I just got to tell you, I've got great faith in the capacity of
    democracy to be transformative, not only for the people of Iraq but for
    the region. And that's why we're discussing with the Iraqis a long-term
    security agreement, to have a--have the kind of effect that will enable
    people to be confident to make hard decisions when it comes to
    reconciliation and political progress.
        But the historians, I'm sure, will find ample--well, there's some
    short-term historians already trying to find some ample opportunity to
    figure out what went right or what went wrong, what we could have done
    differently. But there's no such thing as accurate short-term history,
    as far as I'm concerned. There needs to be time for people to be able to
    see and put things in proper perspective.
        Michael [Mike Emanuel, FOX News].

    Afghanistan

        Q. Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you for bringing us to the
    great weather.
        The President. Yes, back to Texas, man. The guy cut his teeth in
    Texas. [Laughter]
        Q. Mr. President, you've had an opportunity to meet with multiple
    leaders this week to talk about the war in Afghanistan. As you head into
    the NATO summit next month, what do you anticipate, in terms of, do you
    think some of the allies may be able to contribute more in terms of
    trainers and Provincial Reconstruction Teams?
        And, Mr. Prime Minister, we've heard the President and other U.S.
    officials praise Denmark's contribution to Afghanistan. I'm wondering
    what you think can be done to encourage some other NATO allies to
    perhaps step up and contribute more.
        President Bush. As you know, my administration has made it
    abundantly clear, we expect people to carry their--to carry a heavy
    burden if they're going to be in Iraq--Afghanistan. In other words,
    Secretary Gates made--said, look, if we're
    going to fight as an alliance, let's fight as an alliance.
        Having said that, I understand there's certain political constraints
    on certain countries. And so we ought to be--I am going

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    to go to Bucharest with the notion that we're thankful for the
    contributions being made and encourage people to contribute more. The
    United States is putting in 3,200 additional marines. We are trying to
    help Canada realize her goal of 1,000 additional fighters in the
    southern part of the country, as is Anders working toward that.
        You know, the key in Bucharest is for people to--from around the
    world to understand, one, how important the mission is to the successes
    that are being achieved. Remember last year about this time--it was: The
    Taliban was going on the offensive; the Taliban was going to be doing
    this; the Taliban was going to be doing that. Well, the Taliban had a
    bad year when it came to military operations. And are they still
    dangerous? Yes, they're dangerous. They're still capable of convincing
    young kids to go in and blow people up with suicide vests. That's
    dangerous. Are they overwhelming the Government? No. Do they have a
    presence in the country? Yes. Do we have the capacity to go after them?
    Absolutely. Do we need more capacity? Yes, we do, and that's the
    mission, and that's what we'll work on.
        The other thing, as Anders mentioned and I mentioned, was that this
    is an opportunity to keep an open door policy for NATO, presuming that
    countries meet certain criterion and meet the obligations to which they
    signed up.
        Prime Minister Rasmussen. Thank you very much. We have to make sure
    that our mission in Afghanistan will be a success. A lot is at stake for
    the Afghan people, for international security, and for NATO. Therefore,
    we need more troops in Afghanistan. This is the reason why Denmark
    decided to increase our number of troops, equivalent to 50 percent, last
    autumn.
        I feel confident that we can convince partners to contribute with
    more troops than today. And I think the best way to encourage partners
    to contribute to a higher degree is to show the good example. Denmark is
    a small country, but per capita, Denmark is among the biggest
    contributors in Afghanistan. And we work together with the British in
    the southern Helmand Province, really a hot spot. And so I think the
    good example is a very important thing.
        And finally, I think we should be better to tell the positive
    stories about Afghanistan because, actually, there is a lot of progress:
    democracy, construction of infrastructure, roads, the health system is
    in a better condition, not least education. Girls and women have now
    access to the educational system. We should be better to tell this
    positive story and, thereby, encourage the international community to
    step up its efforts.
        President Bush. Final question, Anders, I'm getting hungry.
    [Laughter]
        Prime Minister Rasmussen. Yes. We have a Danish gentleman over here.
        President Bush. Yes.

    2008 Presidential Election/Environment

        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, you talked about climate. Did these talks
    make you believe that a bridge can be made so that there will be an
    agreement at the U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009?
        And, Mr. President, based on what we have heard the two Democratic
    leading contenders for your job state about foreign policy, what parts
    of your foreign policy do you see threatened by----
        President Bush. Yes. You know, that's a very clever attempt--I'm
    going to let him answer the climate change thing--but it's a very clever
    attempt by you to drag me into the middle of the 2008 campaign, similar
    to what these two fine folks--three fine folks have been doing. So
    therefore, we'll let it sort out. But I will tell you this: The issue in
    America is going to be, who will keep taxes low and who will be tough in
    protecting America. And our candidate for President is going to win
    because he will have convinced the American people to this truth.
        Nice try. [Laughter]

    [[Page 307]]

        Prime Minister Rasmussen. Thank you. Our talks about climate change
    have really been encouraging. Actually--excuse me, Mr. President--I
    think the American President is really a convinced environmentalist. And
    the President has assured me that the United States will take leadership
    in our endeavors to achieve a comprehensive global deal in Copenhagen in
    2009.
        And I have commended the President for his initiative to gather the
    15 or 17 major economies in the world, because we have to take on board
    all the major emitters of greenhouse gases. And I consider the American
    initiative a very valuable input in our preparations for the Global
    Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. So based on our talks today,
    I'm a bit more optimistic than I was before.
        President Bush. I know when he says committed environmentalist, it
    doesn't conform to stereotype. All I ask people is to look at the
    record.
        Thank you all very much for coming. We're thrilled you're here at
    the ranch. Good to see some of you again. Welcome.

    2008 Presidential Election

        Q. Did you vote in the Texas primary?
        The President. I did, and I'm not telling you who. [Laughter] Thank
    you.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 12 p.m. at the Bush
    Ranch. In his remarks, he referred to Anne-Mette Rasmussen, wife of
    Prime Minister Rasmussen; President Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad of Iran; and
    Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--
    Iraq.