    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [June 16, 2008]
    [Pages 826-835]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom in London, England
    June 16, 2008

        Prime Minister Brown. I'm delighted to welcome President Bush and
    the First Lady back to London. And his visit today is an opportunity to
    celebrate the historic partnership of shared purpose that unites the
    United Kingdom and the United States of America. We both share a great
    love of history and about how we have forged the ideas of democracy and
    liberty over centuries. And the special partnership that President Bush
    and I both agree today is a partnership not just of governments but of
    peoples, is driven forward not simply by mutual interests but by our
    shared values. Both countries founded upon liberty, our histories forged
    through democracy. Our shared values expressed by a commitment to
    opportunity for all, putting into practice what Churchill called the
    ``joint inheritance of the English-speaking world.''
        So let me thank President Bush for being a true friend of Britain
    and for the importance he attaches to enhancing our transatlantic
    partnership, from the work we do in Afghanistan and Iraq to every part
    of the world. And let me thank him for the steadfastness and the
    resolution that he has shown in rooting out terrorism in all parts of
    the world; in working for a Middle East peace settlement; in bringing
    hope to Africa; in working for a free trade world where, in spite of
    today's current difficulties with oil and food prices, there is and
    should be a wider and deeper prosperity in future for all.
        Now, in our substantive and wide-ranging talks last night and this
    morning, the President and I have discussed a number of central issues.
    We have discussed Iran's nuclear ambitions. We have discussed Iraq and
    Afghanistan, where our forces are working side by side. We have
    discussed the criminal cabal that now threatens to make a mockery of
    free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. We have discussed what we can do
    about democracy in Burma.
        We have resolved, first of all, as we did some years ago, that it is
    in the British national interest to confront the Taliban in Afghanistan,
    or Afghanistan would come to us. And so today Britain will announce
    additional troops for Afghanistan, bringing our numbers in Afghanistan
    to the highest level. And let me thank our troops and the troops of
    America and 42 other countries who are in Afghanistan, as I thank

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    our forces in Iraq for their courage and for their professionalism. And
    let me acknowledge the bravery of the five members of the 2d Paratroop
    Regiment, British men who have in the last few days sacrificed their
    lives for freedom.
        Eighteen months ago, the Taliban boasted that they and their paid
    foreign fighters would drive our forces out of southern Helmand. Now
    most agree that security is on the way to being transformed. Last week
    in Paris, a total of 80 countries pledged 20 billions, with nearly a
    billion from the United Kingdom, to support the Afghan National
    Development Strategy.
        Our aim is to generate progress where the fourth poorest country in
    the world, laid low by decades of conflict, can as a democracy enjoy
    peaceful social and economic development, with our forces, over time,
    moving from a direct combat role to train and support Afghanistan's own
    Army and police.
        In Iraq, there is still work to be done, and Britain is playing and
    will continue to play its part. Where we have over 4,000 troops in
    Basra, we will continue the shared policy of Iraqis taking more control
    over their own affairs, moving from combat to overwatch in Basra. Our
    policy is showing success as we continue the task we have set ourselves:
    strong and well-trained Iraqi forces capable of securing the peace, firm
    commitments to new local government elections soon, and speeding up the
    social and economic development of Iraq so that people have a stake in
    the future.
        Our message today to the Iranian people is that you do not have to
    choose the path of confrontation. The latest rounds of talks with the
    Iranians took place over the weekend. Once again, we put our enhanced
    offer on the table, including political and economic partnership and
    help with nuclear technology for civilian use. We await the Iranian
    response, and we'll do everything possible to maintain the dialogue. But
    we are also clear that if Iran continues to ignore united resolutions,
    to ignore our offers of partnership, we have no choice but to intensify
    sanctions. And so today Britain will urge Europe, and Europe will agree,
    to take further sanctions against Iran.
        First of all, we will take action today that will freeze the
    overseas assets of the biggest bank in Iran, the Bank Melli.
        And second, action will start today for a new phase of sanctions on
    oil and gas. And I will repeat that we will take any necessary actions
    so that Iran is aware of the choice it has to make: to start to play its
    part as a full and respected member of the international community or
    face further isolation.
        We discussed the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. In recent
    weeks, under Robert Mugabe's increasingly desperate and criminal regime,
    Zimbabwe has seen 53 killings, 2,000 beatings, the displacement of
    30,000 people, the arrest and detention of opposition leaders, including
    Morgan Tsvangirai, and this is wholly unacceptable. Mugabe must not be
    allowed to steal the election that is now less than 2 weeks away. And
    that is why we call for Zimbabwe to accept a United Nations human rights
    envoy to visit Zimbabwe now and to accept the international monitors
    from all parts of the world who are available to ensure that this is a
    free and fair election.
        We agreed that at the G-8 in Japan, the United Kingdom and the
    U.S.A. would propose a plan to recruit and train health workers for the
    poorest countries. To save the lives of mothers who needlessly die in
    childbirth, we are developing proposals to tackle the diseases that
    bring needless death and suffering, including malaria, AIDS, and
    neglected tropical diseases. And we agreed also to work together to
    ensure G-8 commitment to scale up funding on education and get the
    remaining 72 million children who do not go to school today into school.
        The world oil prices trebled in recent months. In the right of this,
    I welcome Saudi Arabia's initiative to host a producer-consumer summit
    in Jeddah on the 22d

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    of June. And we will all work together to ensure an enhanced dialogue
    between oil producers and consumers.
        And the President and I also agreed that over the next few weeks, we
    need to press hard to achieve a world trade deal. Both of us are ensured
    that this could unlock new opportunities for the world economy. It would
    also help reduce high global food prices.
        Finally, we go from here to Northern Ireland. The United States has
    played an essential role in securing peace in Northern Ireland and
    helping the people of Northern Ireland move away from conflict to,
    potentially, a new prosperity. And I want to thank President Bush for
    his personal efforts to speed up the Northern Ireland peace process and
    to make sure that there is investment in Northern Ireland, not just from
    the rest of the United Kingdom but from America.
        And I thank him for his work to ensure that the recent investment
    conference in Northern Ireland was a huge success. And there will be
    further announcements of jobs in Northern Ireland today. America has
    played a huge role in this peace process, and President Bush is to be
    thanked by all the people of the United Kingdom for what he has done.
        So, Mr. President, I thank you again for your friendship, for your
    leadership, for your commitment to us continuing to work together to
    solve the challenges facing the world. I'm pleased you're here. I value
    the gains we've made together, and I look forward to our continued
    friendship.
        President Bush. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. I thank you very much
    for your friendship. Thank you for your hospitality. This is--this has
    been a good trip. By the way, some are speculating this is my last trip.
    Let them speculate. Who knows? [Laughter] But it's been a--we had a
    great dinner last night. I want to thank you and Sarah. And thanks for calling together the historians. It's
    a--you know, Great Britain has produced great historians. And I am--I
    love reading a lot of their works, and it was so kind of you to have
    them over. And the food was good too. [Laughter]
        And also, we had a great visit yesterday. Laura and I went to see Her Majesty the Queen. And I thank her for her hospitality. And then
    yesterday at the Embassy, thanks to our Ambassador, I had the opportunity to speak to some of your
    soldiers. And I was--listened to their stories of courage and bravery
    and sacrifice, and it was so--really touching. And I really appreciate
    the British people supporting the people who wear the uniform. And I am
    looking forward to going to Northern Ireland this evening. You've taken
    the lead. We're just pleased to help. And hopefully, this visit will
    help keep the process moving.
        First thing about Gordon Brown, he's tough on terror. And I
    appreciate it, and so should the people of Great Britain and the world.
    He fully understands that while some want to say that the terrorist
    threat is gone or there's nothing to worry about, it is something to
    worry about. And he was--you were tested early in your Prime
    Ministership. You dealt with the challenge. And I appreciate your
    continued focus and your understanding that we've got to work together
    to protect our people and your understanding that freedom is
    transformative, and the ultimate way to succeed against these extremists
    who use murder as a way to achieve their political objectives is to
    marginalize them through the advance of liberty.
        And that's what we're doing in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. And
    it is tough work. It's hard to take a society that had been ravished by
    brutality and convince people to take the risk necessary to work for
    civil society and freedom for women and to educate their children. But I
    believe it's necessary work for the sake of peace and for our security.
    And I believe it's in the moral interests of comfortable nations to help
    others realize the blessings of liberty. Oh, for some that sounds like
    hopeless idealism. For those of us involved with

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    making public policy necessary to protect our people, it is the only
    realistic way to guarantee the peace for our people.
        And so you've been strong on Afghanistan and Iraq, and I appreciate
    it. But more importantly, the people of Afghanistan and Iraq appreciate
    it. The march to democracy is never smooth. We've had our own history.
    America is viewed as a great democracy. Just remember, many of our
    citizens were enslaved for a long period of time before we finally got
    it right.
        But it's in our interests to help these folks. It's in our interests
    little girls go to school in Afghanistan. It's in our interests that
    there be free elections in Iraq. And it's in our interests that we help
    these governments survive. And it's taken sacrifice from our people; I
    understand that. The fundamental question history is going to look back
    on is, did we understand the duty that we've been called to do to
    protect ourselves and help others? And this Prime Minister has
    understood the duty.
        No, I know there's a lot of discussion here in the British press
    about, well, you know, is there going to be enough troops or not enough
    troops and all that business. Is he trying to distance this, that, and
    the other? It's just typical. But I just want to remind you that he has
    left more troops in Iraq than initially anticipated. And like me--we'll
    be making our decisions based upon the conditions on the ground, the
    recommendation of our commanders, without an artificial timetable set by
    politics.
        I thank you for your troop announcement today in Afghanistan as
    well. Then you issued a strong statement on Iran. It was a clear
    statement, and it was a strong statement, and it was a necessary
    statement, because the free world has an obligation to work together in
    concert to prevent the Iranians from having the know-how to develop a
    nuclear weapon. And now is the time to work together to get it done, and
    I appreciate your statement.
        Hopefully, the Iranian leadership will take a different position
    than the one they've taken in the past, which is basically, who cares
    what the free world says; we're going to--we'll go our own way. And now
    has faced--they face serious isolation, and the people who are suffering
    are the Iranian people. We have no qualms with the Iranian people. As a
    matter of fact, we want the Iranian people to thrive. It's in our
    interests that there be a hopeful society. It's their Government who has
    denied them their rightful place in the world.
        And so I want to thank you very much for working hard to, you know,
    to help keep this coalition together to provide pressure necessary so we
    can solve the problem diplomatically. That's my first choice. Iranians
    must understand all options are on the table, however.
        Thank you for your strong words on Zimbabwe. And I--you know, you
    obviously are emotional on the subject. And I don't blame you, because
    the people of Zimbabwe have suffered under Mugabe leadership. And we will work with you to ensure these
    good folks have free and fair elections to the extent--best extent
    possible, which obviously Mr. Mugabe does not want to have.
        We talked about Darfur. We talked about Burma. I strongly support
    your health care worker initiative. I'm looking forward to going to the
    G-8 to articulate that. And we expect the people of the
    G-8--the leaders of the G-8 countries to fulfill their obligations,
    because last year we met, and we had a--we discussed a lot of issues,
    including HIV/AIDS and malaria on the continent of Africa. And they all
    came forth and said, we'll match the United States. Except most nations
    haven't matched the United States to date except for Great Britain. You
    know, they haven't done their part in matching the United States.
        And so my message at the G-8 is: Looking forward to working with
    you; thanks for coming to the meeting; just remember, there are people
    needlessly dying on the continent of Africa today. And we expect

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    you to be more than pledge makers; we expect you to be checkwriters for
    humanitarian reasons.
        Now, we did talk about energy and Doha. I'm concerned about Doha.
    I'm concerned that while we're making some progress on the agricultural
    side, that nations such as Brazil and India and China are not making
    corresponding openings on manufacturing and service--and the service
    sector on their part. And in order to have a successful round, which I
    believe is essential, and so does Gordon--to fight off protectionism and
    to help poor nations develop, that now is the time to get a Doha round
    completed. And in order to do so, there has to be more movement on the
    manufacturing and service sector so there can be a fair and equitable
    deal.
        Finally, we talked about global climate change. And I briefed Gordon
    on our strategy for the major economies meeting to, hopefully, reach an
    international goal for 2050 that will have intermediate strategies that
    are binding on each nation within the U.N. framework. And the reason why
    I believe this is the right approach to take--that unless China and
    India are a part of a binding international agreement--and the United
    States--then we will not have effective policy in dealing with climate
    change. It might make us all feel good, but the results won't be
    satisfactory. And so hopefully, in Seoul, South Korea, coming up, there
    will be a major economy meeting agreement on a long-term goal with
    binding commitments.
        Mr. Prime Minister, all in all, it's been a great meeting. Thank you
    for the conversation, and thank you for your friendship.
        Prime Minister Brown. Thank you. Questions.

    British and U.S. Troop Levels in Iraq/Afghanistan

        Q. Nick Robinson, BBC News.
        President Bush. Who? Can you say his name again, please? [Laughter]
        Q. Good to have you here.
        President Bush. Yes. Missed the hat. [Laughter]
        Q. Prime Minister, isn't it time to withdraw British troops from
    Iraq in order to send them where the military really needs them, to
    Afghanistan, or are you too worried about his reaction if you do?
        And, Mr. President, are you prepared----
        President Bush. We miss you, Nick. We miss you, buddy.
        Q. Are you prepared to see British troops withdrawn from Iraq while
    you're still in office, or are you concerned about the symbolic
    significance of that?
        Prime Minister Brown. Can I just say that in Iraq, there is a job to
    be done, and we will continue to do the job. And there's going to be no
    artificial timetable. And the reason is that we are making progress--
    making progress in the Iraqis themselves being trained up to run their
    own armed forces and, of course, to be the police men and women in their
    areas. And we're making progress also because we hope local government
    elections will happen later this year. We hope to return the airport
    that we are responsible for in Basra to civilian use as well. And most
    of all, in the next stage, we want to see the economic and social
    development of Basra and the southern part of Iraq proceed so that
    people have a stake in the future.
        So yes, we are moving from what we call combat to overwatch, and
    that's been announced many months ago. Yes, as a result of what happened
    in Basra a few months ago, we have kept higher the level of troops that
    are necessary, but yes, also, we have a job that's still to be done. And
    that job is to train up the forces; that job is to speed up economic and
    social development; and that job is to have local government elections
    so that Iraqis can take control of their own democracy. And I'm
    determined that we continue to do that job.
        And that will happen not at the cost of lesser troops for
    Afghanistan, but with more

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    troops going to Afghanistan. The Defense Secretary will announce later
    this afternoon that we will send more troops to Afghanistan. The reason
    is that we want to help the Afghans train up their own Army and their
    own police forces. And the reason is, we want to have better equipment
    in Iraq--in Afghanistan in future. And therefore, there's going to be a
    reconfiguration of our troops. There will be some coming out and some
    more going in, and that--an overall increase in the numbers so that we
    will have the highest level of troops in Afghanistan. You cannot trade
    numbers between the two countries.
        There is a job to do in Iraq, and I've described it. And there is a
    job to do in Afghanistan, and we will continue to do it. And the fact
    that 43 countries are helping us in Afghanistan and 80 countries are
    supporting the economic and social development of Afghanistan shows how
    in this country, which is one of the poorest in the world, we are trying
    to make progress more quickly. So the announcement will come later today
    from the Defense Secretary.
        President Bush. We're withdrawing troops. We anticipate the 30,000
    surge troops will be coming home by July--more or less 30,000. And so
    the plan is, bring them home based upon success. That's what we expect
    the British Prime Minister to do. That's what I'm doing--that as the
    Iraqis are trained up, as they're taking more responsibility, as the
    security situations decline, as the economy is improved, as political
    reconciliation is taking place, we can bring more troops home. That's
    the whole purpose of the strategy. And so give the Iraqis more
    responsibility. Let them take more--be in more charge of their own
    security and their own Government, and that's what's happening.
        And so yes, I mean--look, the key thing for me is that I have--you
    know, is that Gordon shares with me his plans. He listens to--and he
    talks to his commanders, and he picks up the phone and says, ``Here's
    what we're thinking.'' So there's no surprises. And as I said yesterday
    on TV here, I have no problem with how Gordon Brown is dealing with
    Iraq. He's been a good partner and--but, as I told you, we're bringing
    ours home too.

    Military Operations in Afghanistan/Oil Supply

        Q. Mr. President, I'd like to ask you about recent events along the
    Pakistan-
    Afghanistan border. Do you back President Karzai when he says he may
    send his troops into Pakistan to take care of some of the militants who
    are launching attacks on his territory? And do you think that the
    agreements that the new Government of Pakistan is pursuing with some of
    the militant tribes in that area amount to the sort of appeasement that
    you talked about in your speech last month?
        And, Mr. Prime Minister, I'd like to ask you about the meeting--
    upcoming meeting in Saudi Arabia. What do you expect to come out of that
    meeting? And do you think it would be helpful if your friend there,
    standing there, Mr. Bush, were to see you in Jeddah at that meeting?
        President Bush. Our strategy is to deny safe haven to extremists who
    would do harm to innocent people. And that's the strategy of
    Afghanistan. It needs to be the strategy of Pakistan. It's in all our
    interests to prevent those who murder innocent people to achieve
    political objectives to gain safe haven.
        And so we'd look forward to working--I mean, one thing that can
    happen is, there can be, you know, more dialogue between the Pak
    Government and the Afghan Government. Now, there was--in the past, they
    had a jirga amongst tribal leaders in the region on both--from both
    sides of the border that made a difference. And I think that would be a
    good idea to restart the jirga process.
        I know there needs to be dialogue between the intel services between
    the respective countries. And I know there needs

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    to be better cooperation, and there needs to be trilateral cooperation
    on the border--trilateral being Pak, Afghan, and coalition border
    patrols--to prevent people from coming back and forth across the border.
        And there's a lot of common ground. I repeat: It is in no one's
    interest that extremists have a safe haven from which to operate. And
    I'm, you know--I mean--and obviously, it's a testy situation there. And
    if I'm the President of a country and people are coming from one country
    to another--allegedly coming from one country to another--to kill
    innocent civilians on my side, I'd be concerned about it. But we can
    help. We can help calm the situation down and develop a strategy that
    will prevent these extremists from, you know, from developing safe haven
    and having freedom of movement.
        Prime Minister Brown. Can I say, I'm traveling to Jeddah next Sunday
    at the invitation of the King of Saudi Arabia. And I want a long-term
    dialogue, and this is part of a process, not an event, between oil
    producers and oil consumers. I think there is a view developing that the
    price of oil is increasingly dependent not just on today's demand and
    supply factors but on what people perceive as demand outstripping supply
    next year, in the medium term, and in the long term.
        And I want to tell the King of Saudi Arabia and others who are there
    that the world will build more nuclear power. And I have suggested that
    on present trends, it would be about 1,000 nuclear power stations over
    the next 30 years. The world will increase its use of renewables. The
    world will increase its use of coal. It will lessen its dependence on
    oil, and that the world is determined to make a more efficient use of
    oil.
        And I think this dialogue between producers and consumers is
    absolutely essential. President Bush has just been in Saudi Arabia. I
    have not been there recently. I want to go and talk to the King and talk
    to others there about what I believe should be a process whereby we
    understand what are the pressures on demand in future years, as well as
    we understand the pressures on supply. And I believe that that long-term
    debate about the future can have an effect on today's markets.
        Now, that's what the debate is about. And that is part of a process
    that I hope will continue, if necessary, with a meeting in London later
    and with further meetings, so that there is a genuine dialogue between
    producers and consumers about what is the most worrying situation in the
    world at the moment, and that is the trebling of the price of oil.

    President's Decisionmaking/Freedom Agenda/Lisbon Treaty

        Q. Mr. President, in his last major speech, Tony Blair said on Iraq:
    ``Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right. But if I got it wrong,
    I'm sorry.'' Is it possible you got it wrong? Would you share, at this
    point, those slightly more reflective sentiments? And in particular,
    should you, in retrospect, perhaps have concentrated a little more on
    Afghanistan?
        And could I ask the Prime Minister, is the Lisbon Treaty dead in the
    water now? And if so, what happens next for Europe?
        President Bush. History will judge the tactics. History will judge
    whether or not, you know, more troops were needed earlier, troops could
    have been positioned here better or not. Removing Saddam Hussein was not
    wrong. It was the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do for
    our security, right thing to do for peace, and the right thing to do for
    25 million Iraqis.
        And now the fundamental question is, will we have the willpower and
    the patience to help the Iraqis develop a democracy in the heart of the
    Middle East? It's a democracy that's not going to look like America.
    It's not going to look like Great Britain. But it's a democracy that
    will have government responsive to the people. People say: ``Was that
    worth it? Is it necessary?'' Absolutely, it's necessary, if you believe
    we're

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    in an ideological war being--the theaters of which right now--the most
    notable theaters are Afghanistan and Iraq.
        The strategic implications of a free Iraq are significant for our
    future. For example, a free Iraq will make it easier to deal with the
    Iranian issue. A free Iraq will send a clear signal to reformers and
    dissidents, would-be journalists throughout the Middle East that a free
    society is available for you as well. And the question facing the
    Western World is, will we fall prey to the argument that stability is
    more important than forms of government, that what appears to be stable
    and peaceful--is that more important than how people live their lives,
    what kind of government? You just heard the Prime Minister speak
    eloquently about Zimbabwe. The lesson there is, forms of government
    matter.
        Freedom has had a transformative effect in Europe, in the Far East.
    And the fundamental question is, will we work to see it have a
    transformative effect in the Middle East? Now, there are many doubters.
    I understand that, because there is some who say that perhaps freedom is
    not universal. Maybe it's only Western people that can self-govern.
    Maybe it's only, you know, white-guy Methodists who are capable of self-
    government. I reject that notion. I think that's the ultimate form of
    political elitism, and I believe an accurate reading of history says
    that freedom can bring peace we want. And it'll bring peace to the
    Middle East, unless of course we become isolationist, unless of course
    we lose our confidence, unless of course we quit.
        And so yes, I'm sure there's--people will say, they could have done
    things better here and there. But I'm absolutely confident that the
    decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision.
        Prime Minister Brown. And can I just emphasize: The passion for
    freedom, I think, is a universal value, and I believe that Iraq is a
    democracy today because of the action that we have taken. And our next
    task is to make sure that all Iraqis feel that they have an economic
    stake as well as a democratic stake in the future of the country. And
    that's why the work continues.
        On Europe, I'll meet Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach of Ireland, when I'm
    in Belfast later today. The legal position on the European treaty is
    very clear, that all 27 members must sign and, therefore, ratify the
    treaty before it comes into force. It is for each member to decide its
    own process for doing so. And we will continue our process of debating
    this in the House of Lords and then royal assent during the course of
    this week.
        I think a short period of reflection is necessary for the Irish to
    put forward their proposals about how they will deal with this, and we
    look forward to the Irish coming to the European Council on Thursday
    with a view of what should be done. I believe that when David Miliband
    makes a statement to the House this afternoon following a meeting of the
    European foreign ministers, he will be able to say that all the European
    Union members believe that Ireland should be given this time to reflect
    on what they need to do and then make their proposals about how the
    situation can be resolved.

    Iran/North Korea/Six-Party Talks

        Q. Good morning, Mr. President, Prime Minister. I'd like to ask you
    both about Iran. President Bush, you've talked about it at every stop. A
    similar process, it seems, that is deterring North Korea from its
    nuclear ambitions has basically allowed North Korea to make progress
    toward nuclear weapons. At what point are you willing to draw a line
    here with Iran? And isn't Iran seemingly learning a lesson from the
    North Korea experience?
        President Bush. Ed [Edwin Chen, Bloomberg News], I just strongly
    disagree with your premise that the six-party talks has encouraged Iran
    to develop nuclear weapons. I don't know why you have even come to that
    conclusion because the facts

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    are, the six-party talks is the only way to send a message to the North
    Koreans that the world isn't going to tolerate them having a weapon.
        I mean, in other words, they are--we'll see what they disclose, but
    we, hopefully, are in the process of disabling and dismantling their
    plutonium manufacturing. We're, hopefully, in the process of getting
    them to disclose what they have manufactured and eventually turning it
    over. We're, hopefully, in the process of disclosing their proliferation
    activities, and it's a six-party process. I mean, the only way, in my
    judgment, to diplomatically solve these kinds of problems with nations
    like Iran and North Korea, nontransparent nations, is through a
    multilateral process where there's more than one nation sending the same
    message to the leaders of these respective countries.
        And so I disagree with your premise. As a matter of fact, the
    Iranians must understand that when we come together and speak with one
    voice, we're serious. That's why the Prime Minister's statement was so
    powerful, and that's the lesson that the North Koreans are hearing. And
    so it's--I said the other day that, you know, one of the things that I
    will leave behind is a multilateralism to deal with tyrants, so problems
    can be solved diplomatically.
        And the difficulty, of course, is that sometimes economics and money
    trumps national security interests. So you go around asking nations--by
    the way, it's not a problem for Great Britain--so you say to your
    partners, don't sell goods; you know, let's send a focused message, all
    aiming to create the conditions so that somebody rational shows up. In
    other words, people, hopefully, are sick of isolation in their
    respective countries, and they show up and say, we're tired of this;
    there's a better way forward.
        And in order for that to be effective, Ed, there has to be more than
    one voice. So if I were the North Koreans and I were looking at Iran, or
    the Iranians looking at North Korea, I'd say, uh-oh, there are
    coalitions coming together that are bound tightly, more tightly than
    ever, in order to send us a focused message.
        And you know, let me just say one thing about the Iranian demand for
    civilian nuclear power: It's a justifiable demand. You just heard the
    Prime Minister talk about the spread of civilian nuclear power, which I
    support--starting in my own country, by the way. We need to be building
    civilian nuclear power plants.
        And so when the Iranians say we have a sovereign right to have one,
    the answer is, you bet. You have a sovereign right; absolutely. But you
    don't have the trust of those of us who have watched you carefully when
    it comes to enriching uranium because you have declared that you want to
    destroy democracies in the neighborhood, for example. Therefore--and
    this is the Russian proposal, by the way--therefore, we'll provide fuel
    for you, and we'll collect the fuel after you've used it so you can have
    your nuclear--civilian nuclear power, which undermines what the Iranians
    are saying, and that is, we must enrich in order to have civilian
    nuclear power. You don't need to enrich to have civilian nuclear power.
    The Russian proposal is what we support. This proposal wouldn't have
    happened had there not been a multilateral process.
        And so what these nations need to see is, we're serious about
    solving these problems. And the United States spends a lot of time
    working with our partners to get them solved.
        Thank you very much.
        Prime Minister Brown. Thank you all very much.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 11 a.m. in the Locarno
    Treaty Room of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Building. In his
    remarks, he referred to Sarah Brown, wife of Prime Minister Brown; Queen
    Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom; U.S. Ambassador to the United
    Kingdom Robert H. Tuttle; and President Robert

    [[Page 835]]

    Mugabe of Zimbabwe. Prime Minister Brown referred to Secretary of State
    for Defense Desmond Browne and Secretary of State for Foreign and
    Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband of the United Kingdom; King Abdallah
    bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia; and Prime Minister Brian Cowen
    of Ireland. Reporters referred to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan;
    and former Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom.