[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 52 (Monday, December 31, 2001)]
[Pages 1828-1834]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Welcoming General Tommy R. Franks and an Exchange With Reporters 
in Crawford, Texas

December 28, 2001

    The President. Good morning. As you can see, I've invited a guest to 
come to the ranch. Tommy Franks is no stranger to Texas. After all, he 
was raised in Midland, Texas. And I'm looking forward to taking him over 
to the house here in a minute to say hello to Laura. Both of them went 
to Midland Lee High School, at about the same time.
    But Tommy has just come back from the Afghan theater. He gave me a 
full briefing on what he saw and what he heard. We just got off of a 
teleconference with the national security team to discuss his trip and 
to discuss what's taking place in Afghanistan.
    I want to thank you for coming, Tommy. I am real proud of the 
military, and I'm proud of the commander. Tommy has done everything 
we've asked. He is fulfilling the mission with patience and discipline 
and success. He's a down-to-earth, no-nonsense guy, precisely the kind 
of man we need to lead a complex mission such as this.
    You know, a couple of months ago, a lot of people said that this 
administration and our military really weren't sure what we were doing. 
But I had confidence all along, and the reason why I did--confidence in 
the success of what we set out to do--was because I had a chance to be 
briefed by Tommy Franks on the strategy and on the plan and on how we 
were going to use our United States military. And he hasn't let us down. 
The country needs to be proud of the military, and one reason that I'm 
so pleased to welcome Tommy is to be able to say that out loud in 
Tommy's presence.
    So I'm going to have Tommy say a few words, and then we'll be glad 
to answer a couple of questions.
    General Franks. Thank you, Mr. President. As the President said, my 
wife and I recently have had an opportunity to be with a bunch of great 
young people, soldiers and sailors, airmen, marines, in the frontline 
states around Afghanistan and in Afghanistan, in Kandahar and at Camp 
Rhino and up in Kabul. We had a chance to meet with these young people 
who are doing the work for the Nation.
    We also had a chance to attend the installation ceremony in 
Afghanistan, where we saw Mr. Karzai and members of that team form an 
interim government in Afghanistan, where for the first time in decades, 
more than 26 million people will have an opportunity to have their way 
represented in that government.
    And the combination of seeing these great young people and seeing 
this momentous event just filled me with a desire to be able to brief 
the President on what's going on over there in the theater, on what our 
people are doing, how they feel about what they're doing.
    And so, Mr. President, thanks very much for having me out here in 
Crawford.
    The President. You bet.
    Scott [Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press].

Videotape of Usama bin Laden/Military Tribunals

    Q. Mr. President, what's your reaction to the new bin Laden tape 
this week? And do you fear he's now eluded the manhunt? Also, are you 
concerned that if military tribunals require a unanimous verdict for the 
death penalty, some terrorists could avoid execution?
    The President. Let me start with the first of your three questions, 
which was what? I've already forgotten.
    Q. What's your reaction to the bin Laden tape? Are you afraid he's 
eluded the manhunt?
    The President. Oh, the tape, yes. I didn't watch it all; I saw 
snippets of it on TV. You know, it's--who knows when it was made. 
Secondly, he is not escaping us. I mean, this is a guy who 3 months ago 
was in control

[[Page 1829]]

of a country; now he's maybe in control of a cave. He's on the run.
    Listen, a while ago I said to the American people, our objective is 
more than bin Laden, but one of the things for certain is we're going to 
get him running and keep him running and bring him to justice. And 
that's what's happening. He's on the run, if he's running at all.
    So we don't know whether he's in a cave with the door shut or a cave 
with the door open; we just don't know. There's all kinds of reports and 
all kinds of speculation, but one thing we know is that he's not in 
charge of Afghanistan anymore. He's not in charge of the--he's not the 
parasite that had invaded the host, the Taliban; we know that for 
certain. And we also know that we're on the hunt, and he knows that 
we're on the hunt. And I like our position better than his.
    In terms of whether or not the tribunals will be able to render the 
justice necessary, that--I spoke to the Secretary of Defense today about 
the story in the newspaper. Evidently, somebody in our Government wanted 
to show off to his family or her family in between Christmas and New 
Year's by leaking information in the press that he or she thought would 
be helpful to the Government. The truth of the matter is the Secretary 
of Defense hadn't even seen the report that was on the front page of 
America's newspapers. So my answer to your question, Scott, is I know 
that the leaked report is preliminary, that they're still in discussions 
about how best to bring justice. But one thing is for certain, that 
whatever the procedures are for the military tribunals, our system will 
be more fair than the system of bin Laden and the Taliban. That is for 
certain. The prisoners that we capture will be given a heck of a lot 
better chance in court than those citizens of ours who were in the World 
Trade Center or in the Pentagon were given by Mr. bin Laden.
    David [David Gregory, NBC News]. Good to see you, lad.
    Q. Good to see you.
    The President. Thank you.

Usama bin Laden/Vision of 2002

    Q. Can you say with confidence now that Usama bin Laden is no longer 
in a position to mastermind another terrorist attack against the United 
States or our allies? And related to that, you talked about 2002 being a 
year of war. What can you say to prepare the American people for what 
that vision is, what they need to be prepared for, as compared to what 
they've seen in Afghanistan?
    The President. Well, I hope 2002 is a year of peace, but I am also 
realistic. And I know full well that bin Laden and his cronies would 
like to harm America again; bin Laden and his cronies would like to harm 
our allies. How do I know that? I receive intelligence reports on a 
daily basis that indicates that that's his desires. And therefore, the 
United States must be vigilant, must make sure we continue to focus on 
our homeland security measures, must disrupt, must use our intelligence-
gathering network to prevent the enemy from attacking. And so, while I 
hope 2002 is a year of peace, I'm realistic.
    As to whether or not bin Laden is in control of some network, who 
knows? The thing we're certain about is that he's on the run, that he's 
hiding in caves, if hiding at all. And the other thing I'm certain about 
is we will bring him to justice. I don't know whether it's going to be 
tomorrow, but Tommy will tell you that I haven't said, ``Tommy, get him 
tomorrow.'' I've said, ``Just get him,'' and we will. We will bring him 
to justice.
    We don't know, David, whether or not he's given any orders to any of 
his soldiers, but we take nothing for granted. And so our country still 
remains on alert, and we're actively looking for anybody who would harm 
America.
    The shoe bomber was a case in point, where the country has been on 
alert. A stewardess on an American Airlines flight--or a flight 
attendant on an American Airlines flight was vigilant, saw something 
amiss, and responded. It's an indication that the culture of America has 
shifted to one of alertness. And I'm grateful for the flight attendant's 
response, as are, I'm sure, the passengers on that airplane. But we've 
got to be aware that there are still enemies to the country. And our 
Government is responding accordingly.

Situation in South Asia

    Q. Mr. President, do you think that India and Pakistan are sliding 
toward war?

[[Page 1830]]

    The President. One of the things that we discussed today in the 
national security conference, and I discussed yesterday with members of 
my national security team, was the India and Pakistan issue. Colin 
Powell has spoke to both sides today, urging restraint, urging calm. I 
was pleased to--I'm pleased to note that President Musharraf has 
announced the arrest of 50 extreme terrorists--extremists or terrorists. 
And I hope India takes note of that, that the President is responding 
forcefully and actively to bring those who would harm others to justice.
    The war on terror is not just an American war on terror; it's a 
civilized-government war on terror that we're talking about here. But my 
Government and my administration is working actively to bring some calm 
in the region, to hopefully convince both sides to stop the escalation 
of force. And as I say, I'm pleased that President Musharraf is 
responding to the Indian requests to round up those who would do harm to 
others and incarcerate them, which he did.

Argentina

    Q. Are you making any calls yourself, sir?
    The President. Not yet. I will if need be. As a matter of fact, I 
have been making calls recently to leaders in our own hemisphere. I 
spoke to the Presidents of Mexico and Uruguay, Chile and Brazil about 
the Argentinean situation. I made it clear to those Governments that we 
want to work with them, to work together to make sure that the 
Argentineans understand that we will support a plan that sustains 
economic growth, we're willing to offer technical assistance through the 
IMF, that our Government is aware of what's taking place, and that we're 
fully engaged in the issue.

Impact of September 11 on the President

    Q. Mr. President, some say the events of 2001 have changed you, 
while others say that you're the same person you always were.
    The President. Yes.
    Q. Who's right? Or is it fair to say there's some truth in both 
arguments?
    The President. Talk to my wife. [Laughter] I don't know. I don't 
spend a lot of time looking in the mirror, except when I comb my hair. 
And--listen, I'll give you a hint. I liked coming to the ranch before 
September the 11th; I like coming to the ranch after September the 11th.

Enron Corporation

    Q. [Inaudible]--the war for a moment. Have you had any contact with 
Kenneth Lay or other Enron officials in the last 6 weeks----
    The President. No.
    Q. ----and do you think that there is something the Government 
should do to help Enron----
    The President. I have had no contact with Enron officials in the 
last 6 weeks. Do I think the Government ought to help what now?
    Q. Help Enron or do something to help prevent some of these 
employees from losing their life savings.
    The President. Well, I think the life savings issue is something we 
need to look into. I think it's very important to understand what took 
place. The Government will be looking into this. I mean, SEC will be 
looking into the matters; Congress appears to be looking into the 
matters. There will be a lot of Government inquiry into Enron and what 
took place there.
    I'm deeply concerned about the citizens of Houston who worked for 
Enron who lost life savings. It's very troubling to read the stories 
about those who locked up their plans--locked up Enron stock--had their 
Enron stock locked up in their 401K plans and then saw their savings 
dissipate. I think it's very important for us to fully understand the 
why's of Enron. And there will be plenty of investigations.

Recess Appointments

    Q. Sir, will you make recess appointments----
    The President. Thinking about it. I don't know yet. I'm right now 
focused on the military operations in Afghanistan and giving Tommy a 
tour of my ranch. But I, at the appropriate time, will take a good, hard 
look at recess appointments.
    I'm disappointed that a lot of my appointments were stalled in the 
United States Senate, weren't given a hearing. This Scalia man got out 
of the committee, but never given a vote on the floor of the Senate. 
He's a good

[[Page 1831]]

fellow; he ought to be approved. But I'll take a good, hard look at all 
the options available to me.

Operation Enduring Freedom

    Q. Mr. President, is there a timetable in your mind for withdrawing 
U.S. troops from Afghanistan? Or as long as bin Laden is still on the 
run, do you imagine them being there indefinitely?
    The President. I imagine us being there for quite a long period of 
time. But my timetable is going to be set by Tommy Franks. Tommy is in 
charge of the military operations; he's in charge of the military. I'll 
let Tommy speak for himself, but I will tell you this: We won't be 
making political decisions about what to do with our military.
    I gave Tommy a mission; it was a well-defined mission. And Tommy is 
in charge of getting that mission done, and when Tommy says, ``Mission 
complete, Mr. President,'' that's when we start moving troops out. But 
until he says that, I am--I will make the case to the American people 
that we're doing the right thing.
    Q. What's your definition of the mission being complete in 
Afghanistan, sir?
    The President. In Afghanistan? Well, Taliban gone, the country 
secure, the country stable; that--you know, Al Qaida cells rounded up, 
Taliban fighters brought to justice; the over 6,000 troops, prisoners 
being held--prisoners of war being held by our allies interrogated, 
finger-printed--I mean, there's a lot to do. And the American people 
just must understand, when I said that we need to be patient, that I 
meant it. And we're going to be there for a while. And I don't know the 
exact moment when we leave, David, but it's not until this mission is 
complete.
    The world must know that this administration will not blink in the 
face of danger and will not tire when it comes to completing the 
missions that we said we would do. The world will learn that when the 
United States is harmed, we will follow through. The world will see that 
when we put a coalition together that says, ``Join us,'' I mean it. And 
when I ask others to participate, I mean it. And in order to lead the 
coalition, we must show that we will complete the mission. And part of 
that mission is, as Tommy will tell you, is to make sure that 
Afghanistan is a stable country.
    And he's got a lot to say on that if you want him to talk about it. 
Okay, bring the man to the mike.
    Q. General Franks, could you talk about how you took evasive action 
when you were fired upon the other day? There was a report yesterday 
that your helicopter was fired upon.
    Q. You should get right to that, sir, after you do the first 
question. [Laughter]
    General Franks. Let me take that--let me take your question first. 
As we look around, today we have more than 50 nations involved in this 
coalition effort in and around Afghanistan, providing support and so 
forth. We have 26 nations represented at our headquarters down in Tampa, 
Florida. We have 16 nations represented on the ground or in the air or 
at sea around Afghanistan.
    And it's interesting that over the past 10 days, the numbers I've 
just described have grown, rather than shrinking. I think the view is 
that Afghanistan is a part of a global effort against terrorism, that 
we'll stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to do what the President 
has said. We will do away with the Taliban, and that has been done. We 
now have a legitimate interim government in Kabul.
    We will destroy the Al Qaida terrorist network inside Afghanistan. 
We will take care of the screening and the work that needs to be done 
with all these detainees--finger-printing, DNA work, photography, 
screening, interrogation. We'll determine which ones need to be brought 
out and need to be handled in some form of legal process.
    How long will that take? I think the President said it immediately 
after the 11th of September, and I think many of us have said it about 
every day since then: It will take as long as it takes.
    Interesting to me, the fact that these young people standing at 
Kandahar Airport a few nights ago, in the middle of the night, watching 
a USO show, showed me absolutely no desire to leave their mission at 
all. And so, I think that it's best for all of us to recognize that we 
will not be hurried; we will not be pressed into doing something that 
does not

[[Page 1832]]

represent our national objectives; and we will take as long as it takes.
    And a very short answer to the business of the helicopter: I have 
been told since I took that helicopter ride that someone took a shot at 
the helicopter. I didn't see it when it happened, and I believe it may 
have happened, but then again, this is Afghanistan, and we have pockets 
of Taliban still in that country. And that's one of the reasons that 
we're going to stay there until we have mopped all that up.
    Q. Mr. President----
    The President. Yes. It's your big day, Scott, two questions.
    Q. A one-part question this time, I promise.
    The President. Four questions, excuse me. [Laughter]

Usama bin Laden

    Q. Would you prefer to see bin Laden captured and questioned about 
the attacks and possible future attacks?
    The President. You know, dead or alive is fine with me.

Argentina

    Q. Mr. President, you mentioned Argentina, and you talked about you 
support more technical assistance from the IMF for them. Would you 
support more money for Argentina from the IMF, or has the well kind of 
run dry there?
    The President. Well, it depends upon what Argentina decides to do. 
The key for Argentina is to get her fiscal house in order, get monetary 
policy in order, and to develop a plan that will show sustained economic 
vitality and economic growth. But it's up to Argentina on how to develop 
the plan. As you know, there's an interim government in place; there 
will be elections in a couple of months. And the point we've made to the 
Argentinean Government, as well as to our friends in the region, is that 
we will be willing to help them develop the plan, if they ask for 
technical advice. It will all be done through the IMF.
    But the first order of business is for the Argentineans to develop a 
plan to show us how they're going to get their house in order. They've 
got a lot of work to do, but--and all of us that are concerned about 
Argentina are willing to work together to get the job done. There was 
near unanimity on my phone calls to the other leaders in the region 
that--of the course of action that I just laid out.

Military Tribunals

    Q. Have you decided that anybody should be subjected to a military 
tribunal?
    The President. Well, Americans shouldn't, as you know. I mean, I 
excluded any Americans.
    Q. Of the prisoners, have you decided that anyone----
    The President. Oh, have I made any decisions yet? Not at all; not 
yet, Dave. We're still--I still want to make sure that the--I still want 
to see what the Secretary of Defense recommends as to how to proceed. He 
has--as I said, he hasn't seen the now-famous document that some 
American decided to leak.
    I don't know why people do that. I guess either to make you feel 
good and/or to make themselves feel good. But nevertheless, it was not 
very helpful. And as the Secretary of Defense said, he hasn't even seen 
the document yet. But they're working through, and we're working 
through, as you know, all the other types of cases that will come 
forward. I mean, as Tommy said, there's a lot of people to be 
questioned, and there's also a lot of decisions to be made as to how to 
run these folks through our system. And we're just not quite there yet. 
We've got time.

John Walker

    Q. What about Walker?
    The President. Well, same situation. We've got time. And Walker is 
well-berthed on a U.S. warship. It's a heck of a lot more comfortable on 
that ship than he was in the basement of that prison, when he decided--
when he was captured. Walker made a terrible decision, and our system is 
such that he'll have proper justice. But he's working with the enemy, 
and we'll see how the courts deal with that.

[[Page 1833]]

Secret Service Agent

    Q. Sir, were you upset that that Secret Service agent was kept off 
that plane? Because you have been saying this----
    The President. Yes, I was. I talked to the man this morning. I told 
him how proud I was that he was by my side. He's here on the ranch, and 
he's guarding me. And of course, I was. We'll let the facts--they're 
going to get the facts out. There's an inquiry going on as to 
specifically what took place. But if he was treated that way because of 
his ethnicity, that will make me madder than heck.

Usama bin Laden

    Q. There are increasing news reports that bin Laden escaped to 
Pakistan----
    The President. Oh, yeah? Well, sorry to interrupt your question, but 
if you'd asked me the question yesterday, you would have said there's 
increasing news reports that he's dead, and the day before, that he's 
hiding in a cave. In other words, there's increasing speculation about 
bin Laden. But what one shouldn't speculate on is if he's alive, he's on 
the run. And you don't need to worry about whether or not we're going to 
get him, because we are. And it's just a matter of time. I mean, I've 
read reports where he dyed his hair red. That's not going to stop us 
from finding him.
    Q. But what assurances have you gotten from President Musharraf that 
if that is the case, that he'll find him and turn him----
    The President. Well, I appreciate that. President Musharraf has been 
very helpful. Tommy has visited with him; I've visited with him; the 
Secretary of Defense has visited with him. And he said he will help in 
all matters. And we believe he'll help with Mr. bin Laden, too, if in 
fact he happens to be in Pakistan. Who knows where he is? But one thing 
is for certain: He's on the losing side of a rout. And the other thing 
for certain is we're not going to stop until we get him and all those 
murderers that are associated with him.
    And who knows how many we've gotten to date, because we're gathering 
evidence. We don't know whether some of these people are in those caves. 
And Tommy did a fine job of shutting them down. They may still be locked 
up in there. And as you know, we're sending troops up in that region to 
take a look at some of the caves to find out what's in there. And we're 
going to have to dig some of them out.
    But as time will go on, we will know more and more about how 
successful we've been. The point is, is that we are going to be there 
for a while. I'm patient. The commander on the ground is executing the 
plan, and the American people are in strong support of what's taking 
place.
    Listen, thank you all for being here today. It's great to see you. 
Welcome back to Prairie Chapel Ranch, and maybe we'll get you back out 
here before the New Year's. If not, Happy New Year. Thank you.

New Year's Eve/President's Visit to the Ranch

    Q. What are you doing for New Year's?
    The President. Probably going to bed early. [Laughter]
    Q. What are you doing with your days here?
    The President. Well, I'm up--I was up this morning at 5 o'clock, 
spent a little quality time with the First Lady. And I just finished my 
book, ``Theodore Rex,'' by Edmund Morris, which is a fabulous book on 
Teddy Roosevelt. I recommend people reading it. I am going to--I would 
have gotten up and run 3 or 4 miles this morning, which I'll probably do 
that this afternoon. I'm going to take Tommy around to show him parts of 
the ranch. But if Tommy weren't here, I'd be working down there, a 
little chainsaw work, clearing some brush, burning some brush.
    We're making great progress in one of our--one of the bottom areas 
that was heretofore relatively inaccessible. One of these days I'll take 
you down there. It's a beautiful place. It's a bois d'arc grove--bois 
d'arc tree is a native tree, real hard wood, that grows these giant 
green, kind of apple-looking things. But I'll spend time doing that.
    And then this afternoon--it gets dark here about 5:30 p.m., and so 
I'll probably watch a little University of Texas football tonight.
    Q. What about the tree you planted yesterday?
    The President. Tree plant, very good. My senior staff gave me a 
beautiful oak, 10-inch

[[Page 1834]]

oak, and we planted her right outside the house. I haven't written my 
thank-you note yet, so I'll give them a verbal: Thanks for the tree. It 
is a beauty. And we planted about--I think we planted so far about 35 
trees, live oaks and cedar elms, here. And it's going to be a beautiful 
sight for when these trees--when they take off.
    Did a little fishing yesterday, by the way--not very successfully. 
The water is cold; the fish are at the bottom. They're not biting very 
much. But just the fact that I was able to fish was a nice treat.
    Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 9:58 a.m. outside the old residence at the 
Bush Ranch. In his remarks, he referred to President Pervez Musharraf of 
Pakistan; President Vicente Fox of Mexico; President Jorge Batlle of 
Uruguay; President Ricardo Lagos of Chile; President Fernando Henrique 
Cardoso of Brazil; Kenneth L. Lay, chairman and chief executive officer, 
Enron Corp.; and Eugene Scalia, nominee to be Solicitor for the 
Department of Labor. Gen. Tommy R. Franks, USA, commander in chief of 
the U.S. Central Command, referred to his wife, Cathy; and Hamid Karzai, 
Chairman, interim Grand Council of Afghanistan.