[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 45 (Monday, November 12, 2001)]
[Pages 1608-1612]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Tony Blair of the 
United Kingdom and an Exchange With Reporters

November 7, 2001

    President Bush. The last time we were standing here, I was getting 
ready to give an

[[Page 1609]]

address to the United States Congress. And I knew then that the Prime 
Minister and the people he represents were going to be great friends of 
the United States in our mutual struggle against terrorism, and he has 
certainly proven that over the last weeks. We've got no better friend in 
the world than Great Britain. I've got no better person that I would 
like to talk to about our mutual concerns than Tony Blair. He brings a 
lot of wisdom and judgment as we fight evil.
    He also is, like me, determined. Nothing will deter us in this all-
important goal. We both recognize that we wage a fight to save 
civilization and that we must prevail and, not only must prevail, will 
prevail.
    We've had a great discussion about progress in Afghanistan. I fully 
believe we're making great progress. I told the American people many 
times, and I've told the press corps many times that this is a struggle 
that's going to take a while, that it's not one of these Kodak moments. 
There is no moment to this; this is a long struggle and a different kind 
of war. But we're patient, and our close friends are patient, which is 
bad news for the Taliban and the people they harbor.
    Secondly, we talked a lot about making sure that our great 
compassion for the innocents in Afghanistan is fulfilled. We must feed 
the people. And the Prime Minister has--every time I've talked to him, 
which is a lot, is constantly talking about how we make sure that we 
fulfill the mission, not only military but fulfill the mission of 
helping people in need. And also, we continue to discuss the vision of a 
post-Taliban Afghanistan, and how do we make sure that all parties 
involved in that part of the world have a stake in the future? He's got 
a clear vision; he is a strong friend; and I welcome him back to the 
White House.
    Prime Minister Blair. First of all, can I say how pleased I am to be 
back at the White House in the company of President Bush and to have 
continued the discussions we've been having over these past weeks and 
continue them face to face. And can I thank him once again for his 
leadership and his strength at this time. And can I say to him, on 
behalf of the people of my country, but I believe people right across 
the world, that the determination to see that justice is done is every 
bit as strong today as it was on September the 11th.
    The cause is just. The strategy is there. The determination is 
there, and there is a complete and total commitment to making sure that 
this is a battle in which we will prevail, and we will. I have no doubt 
about that at all.
    What we've discussed already and will carry on discussing is, 
obviously, the military strategy in Afghanistan. We have discussed the 
humanitarian issues to make sure that we are doing everything we 
possibly can to help the plight of people in Afghanistan. And we should 
never forget that some 4\1/2\ million of them were refugees before the 
11th of September.
    We have discussed, also, the reconstruction of Afghanistan, how we 
make sure that after the present Taliban regime led by Mullah Omar is 
out of the way, that we construct a broad-based regime that is 
representative of all the different groupings in Afghanistan and offers 
some hope of stability and prosperity for that part of the world.
    And we have, obviously, also discussed how important it is that at 
this moment in time, we carry on building that strong coalition against 
international terrorism in all its forms. And I believe that that 
coalition, if anything, is even stronger today.
    Certainly, from the discussions I had with European leaders just a 
few days ago, their commitment is real, and their determination is also 
absolute to see this thing done. So can I once again thank President 
Bush very much for his kindness in welcoming me here.
    President Bush. The Prime Minister has consented to take a couple of 
questions, as will I. We are going to enforce the one-question rule, 
however, Fournier [Ron Fournier, Associated Press]. And that is, you get 
to ask me or him a question. [Laughter]
    Q. That's an Executive order?
    President Bush. Well--[laughter].
    Prime Minister Blair. It looks like it.
    Are you going to go first, George, or what?

Progress in the War on Terrorism

    Q. It has been 8 weeks since the September 11th attacks, and we 
don't know where Usama bin Laden is. It has been several weeks since the 
anthrax attacks, but we

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don't know who sent the letters. What do you say to Americans who might 
be frustrated and impatient despite your admonition about the ``Kodak 
moment''?
    President Bush. Yes. I will say to them, we fight a new kind of war. 
Never would we dream that someone would use our own airplanes to attack 
us and/or the mail to attack us. I will tell them that we have put a 
sound strategy in place that has got Usama bin Laden and the Al Qaida 
thugs on the run. And I will tell them that we will bring them to 
justice.
    I can't tell them exactly when. But I will tell them that we will 
prevail. There's no question in my mind. We know he hides in caves, and 
we're shutting down caves. We know he moves around at night, and we're 
looking for him.
    We know that, slowly but surely, the Taliban is crumbling; its 
defenses are crumbling; its folks are defecting. We know that if you're 
on the frontline and if you're a Taliban soldier, you're likely to get 
injured, because we're relentless in our pursuit of the mission.
    In terms of the anthrax, we don't know who did it yet. We do know 
it's a terrorist. Anybody who would use the mail to try to kill an 
American is a terrorist. But we do know this, Ron, that we've responded 
rapidly, that our health officials are performing really fine work. And 
I truly believe, as I've said many times, I believe they have saved a 
lot of lives. We know how to treat anthrax. And we now know we need 
sanitation machines in our post offices, machines to sanitize the mail, 
and we're putting those in.
    We know that we're fighting evil. And the American people are 
patient. They've heard the call. And tomorrow night I'm going to put out 
an address that reminds the Nation that we're truly a great nation, that 
we've responded in ways that the enemy could never have imagined. And 
I'm so proud of the patience and steadfast nature of our people.
    Mr. Prime Minister.
    Prime Minister Blair. [Inaudible]--say a word on that?
    President Bush. No, you can call on somebody.
    Prime Minister Blair. Yes.

Situation in the Middle East

    Q. Mr. President, since we're limited to only one leader, can I ask 
you whether you think you can win this struggle against terrorism 
without a settlement in the Middle East? And in view of the rather 
strident notes struck by both sides on the Prime Minister's tour of the 
Middle East last week, what do you think the United States can do to 
bring that resolution about?
    President Bush. Of course we can win the war against Al Qaida.
    Q. Without a Middle East settlement?
    President Bush. Oh, I believe we can. I believe we're going to--we 
are hunting them down as we speak, and we will bring them to justice.
    But remember, the war is beyond just Afghanistan. There are over 60 
Al Qaida organizations around the world. And today we struck a blow for 
freedom by cutting off their money--one of their money sources. And I'm 
absolutely convinced we can.
    Having said that, however, we are both working hard to try to bring 
peace to the Middle East. My Secretary of State, who is here, spends 
enormous amounts of time on the phone with both parties, urging for 
there to be calm so that we can get into the Mitchell process. There is 
a process in place that will lead to peace, called Mitchell. It has been 
embraced by all or most of the nations of the world, and we are working 
hard to get us into the Mitchell process.
    There is no doubt in my mind--no doubt in my mind--we will bring Al 
Qaida to justice, peace or no peace in the Middle East.
    Prime Minister Blair. Can I just say a word on that? There is no way 
whatever in which our action in Afghanistan is conditional on progress 
in the Middle East. And indeed, one of the things that bin Laden wants 
to do is to try and hijack the Palestinian cause for his own purposes.
    Now, we are taking the action in Afghanistan, and I believe, 
incidentally, people are patient about this. I think they understand 
this is not a conventional conflict; it is not fought in a conventional 
way. It takes a lot of strategy and planning and determination over a 
period of time to be successful. But be under no doubt at all: Our 
objectives, which is to close down that terrorist network

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in Afghanistan, those objectives will be achieved.
    Now, even though it is not conditional in any sense, of course we 
want to see progress in the Middle East. That's why we are devoting 
enormous amounts of time to it. And I believe it is possible to see how 
we can make progress in the Middle East. And I described some of the 
ways that could happen when I was in the Middle East last week. So be 
under no doubt, either, that, irrespective of the action in Afghanistan, 
it is in everybody's interest that we make progress in the Middle East, 
and we will strain every sinew we possibly can to do so.

Nuclear Arms Reduction/ABM Treaty

    Q. Mr. President, have you decided on a figure for how far you can 
cut the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, and do you agree with President 
Putin who said that a common approach can be devised for interpreting 
the ABM Treaty to allow for missile defense without abandoning the 
treaty?
    And if Mr. Blair could address the issue of, would a failure to 
reach an arms agreement undermine the momentum of the international 
coalition?
    President Bush. So much for Executive orders. [Laughter]
    Q. It was an umbrella question. [Laughter]
    President Bush. Oh, it was an umbrella question.
    I think it's best that I share with Mr. Putin the acceptable level 
of offensive weapons with him, before I do with you. And so I'm going to 
reserve--I'm not going to tell you until I tell him. [Laughter]
    Q. Have you reached a decision?
    Prime Minister Blair. And then, I guess I had better not, either.
    President Bush. I have reached a decision. And I've spent time 
thinking about the issue. I've told the American people that the United 
States will move to reduce our offensive weapons to a level commensurate 
with being able to keep the peace and, at the same time, much lower 
levels than have been negotiated in previous arms control agreements. We 
don't need an arms control agreement to convince us to reduce our 
nuclear weapons down substantially, and I'm going to do it. And I can't 
wait to share that information with the President. I will do so.
    Listen, the ABM Treaty is outmoded and outdated, and we need to move 
beyond it. It's exactly what I've been telling the President ever since 
I've been meeting with him, and my position has not changed. And if he's 
got some interesting suggestions on how to make the ABM Treaty not 
outdated and not outmoded, I'm more than willing to listen.
    But our Nation and this terrorist war says to me more than ever that 
we need to develop defenses to protect ourselves against weapons of mass 
destruction that might fall in the hands of terrorist nations. If 
Afghanistan or if the Taliban had a weapon that was able to deliver a 
weapon of mass destruction, we might be talking a little different tune 
about our progress against Al Qaida than we are today.
    So it's important for us to be able to develop defenses that work. 
And the ABM Treaty prevents us from doing that.

Open Skies Agreements

    Q. Mr. Prime Minister, I'd like to divert your attention a little 
bit away from military conflicts toward the economic side of things. I'd 
like to ask you if you've had a chance at all to ask the President if 
they would formally launch open skies agreements and, if not, if that 
means that the UK's position is now that the EU is going to be handling 
this matter?
    Prime Minister Blair. No. I mean, no doubt we will discuss these 
issues, but we haven't yet.
    President Bush. We haven't had dinner yet.
    Q. But does that mean that the EU is going to be in charge of it 
now?
    Prime Minister Blair. No, it doesn't mean that at all.

Operation Enduring Freedom

    Q. Mr. President, could I ask a question of your guest? But feel 
free to jump in if you so desire.
    President Bush. It depends on what the question is.
    Q. Well, sir, it is a multiple-part question, for which I am famous. 
But anyway, Prime

[[Page 1612]]

Minister, as you know, the air war in Afghanistan is one month old 
today. There are many experts on both sides of the Atlantic who believe 
that the air war is limited in its ability to really inflict a decisive 
blow against the Taliban. Many say the only way you can defeat the 
Taliban is to put boots on the ground. One, do you agree? And two, are 
you willing to commit large numbers of British troops, beyond the SAS 
and the Royal Marines, to the effort to defeat the Taliban?
    Prime Minister Blair. Well, first of all, let me say something to 
you I often say to our own media when I am asked a question about the 
precise nature of our military operations. And that is that I have 
learned in these situations that it is not a sensible thing to discuss 
in detail the types of military operation that you may undertake, for 
very obvious reasons.
    But we are completely committed to seeing this thing through. I 
think people know that the strategy has to encompass more than 
airstrikes alone, although do not underestimate the enormous damage that 
is now being done to Taliban frontline troops, because that is where the 
air power is being concentrated.
    But of course, there are other operations that we will mount, as 
well. And there are, obviously, the support and the assistance that we 
are giving to the Northern Alliance. There are the measures that we are 
taking of a political and diplomatic nature, as well.
    And when you said a moment or two ago that the airstrikes were 
just--and the conflict was a month old, I think it is probably just as 
well to reflect upon that for a moment. It is simply a month old. And we 
have begun this action. We have taken it at a number of different 
levels. I think it is already having a huge impact.
    Some of the information that I have seen--I think sometimes people 
don't always reflect on maybe enough when we state it to people--but 
literally, we have destroyed virtually all the terrorist training camps 
of Al Qaida; we have destroyed an enormous amount of the military 
infrastructure of the Taliban. Their air power, insofar as it exists, is 
completely taken out. We therefore have a very, very strong situation 
from which to move forward. And I think what is--what is different about 
this conflict is that every part of it has to come together; in other 
words, not just the military part but also the support for those parties 
in opposition to the Taliban, and the political and diplomatic aspects 
that help build a strong coalition that can secure the objectives we 
want to see. And I have absolutely no doubt at all that we will achieve 
the objectives that we want.
    And those objectives are very simple. Sometimes people say to me, 
``Well, you know, clarify the military objectives.'' There's no 
difficulty about doing that at all. It's Al Qaida and the terrorist 
network shut down; it's the Taliban regime out; it's a new regime in 
that is broad-based; and it's a decent future for the people of 
Afghanistan, based on some stability and progress, not based on a regime 
that oppresses its people, treats its people appallingly, is a threat to 
regional stability, and basically thrives on the drugs trade.
    Now, I think those are pretty clear objectives, and I've absolutely 
no doubt at all that we will achieve them in full, and we will not let 
up until we do.
    President Bush. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 5:15 p.m. in the Cross Hall at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al 
Qaida terrorist organization; and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. 
The President also referred to the Report by the Sharm al-Sheikh Fact-
Finding Committee, which was chaired by former Senator George J. 
Mitchell.