[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 21 (Monday, May 27, 2002)]
[Pages 858-860]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With Claus Kleber of ARD German Television

May 21, 2002

President's Upcoming Visit to Germany

    Mr. Kleber. Mr. President, ``George Bush'' is probably the best name 
a man can carry to Berlin----
    The President. Oh, well, thank you.
    Mr. Kleber. ----given the achievements of your father, especially. 
But still, the city, right now, even as we speak, is bracing, expecting 
huge demonstrations. And the largest police force in the history of the 
city has been mobilized to protect you.
    The President. Thank you.
    Mr. Kleber. Not only against terrorism--yes, I guess. It is not only 
about the terror threat, which of course is on everybody's mind.
    The President. Sure.
    Mr. Kleber. But also, thousands of demonstrators of all colors, more 
than ever before. Have you been made aware of that?
    The President. No. I--but that's good. That's democracy. See, I love 
to visit a place that is confident in her freedom, a place where people 
feel free to express themselves, because that's what I believe in.
    And so I'm looking forward to my visit. I'm going to have a great 
visit with the Chancellor. I'll be at the Bundestag, and I look forward 
to a speech there that talks about the importance of our relationship; 
that is, the relationship between Germany and America and what we can do 
together.
    I'm anxious--I've never been to Germany, so I'm anxious to go, and 
I'm looking forward to it.
    Mr. Kleber. It's too bad that the President never gets to really see 
a city like Berlin.
    The President. Yes.
    Mr. Kleber. There's always this security around.
    The President. The bubble.
    Mr. Kleber. Yes.
    The President. That's true. And that's part of my life; that's part 
of the--that's one of the drawbacks of being the President. You really 
are encapsulated into a bubble, whether it be in Germany or in America, 
for that matter.
    Mr. Kleber. There is, beyond the demonstrations and beyond the 
people who show up everyplace just to cause havoc, there is a mood in 
Germany right now, pervasive among decent people, who are concerned 
about an America that more and more seems to stand in many important 
questions outside the global consensus, from the Kyoto agreement to the 
International Criminal Court to

[[Page 859]]

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, military options versus Iraq, all these 
questions. My question to you: Is your Government really still part of 
that global family? Or is it more, America looks for coalitions of the 
willing, meaning if you go with us, fine; if you don't, we find somebody 
else or we go it alone?
    The President. Well, that's a very complicated question. Let me just 
tell you this: I'm coming to Germany to say that together we can work to 
achieve peace, and we must work together to achieve peace.
    I'm going to talk about a NATO--the idea of expanding NATO to help 
achieve peace. I'm going to reaffirm those institutions that are 
important, where we can cooperate.
    I am--listen, I believe in alliances. I know America can't win the 
war on terror alone. I understand there's some reluctance about some of 
the positions I take. But one of the things that the German people at 
least ought to respect is, I speak my mind. There's no doubt where I 
stand. And I remember, when Ronald Reagan came to Germany, he said: Mr. 
Gorbachev, tear down the whole wall. He didn't say, tear down a couple 
of bricks. He said, tear the whole thing down. And I guess I tend to 
speak that way too.
    But the German people will know, if they listen to my speech, that I 
care deeply for the alliance and friendship we have with the German 
people. And I believe together we can do a lot of good in the world.

President Saddam Hussein of Iraq

    Mr. Kleber. Iraq is an issue very much on everybody's mind in this 
context. Your Government seems to be determined to end the regime of 
Saddam Hussein by any means necessary. This seems to include military 
options. Is there any way that this man, this dictator, can address your 
concerns and stay in power? Or are we drifting towards a war?
    The President. Well, first, let me say this, that Iraq ought to be 
on the minds of the German people, and they ought to be on the minds of 
the American people, because the Iraq Government is a dangerous 
Government. Iraq ought to be centerpiece in our thinking.
    This is a Government that's gassed its own people. This is a 
Government that is not transparent, and this is a Government we know 
wants to develop weapons of mass destruction. They may have weapons of 
mass destruction; we just don't know. This is a dangerous regime. And 
for the good of freedom and for the good of our future, we've got to 
deal with it.
    Mr. Kleber. One way or the other?
    The President. One way or the other, absolutely.
    Now, I'm not going to--I have no military plans on my desk that 
calls for--that plots out a military operation. I'm looking at all 
options. And of course, I'll consult closely with our allies and 
friends. I look forward to talking this subject with the Chancellor of 
Germany. I will be very blunt in my assessment of his--``his'' being 
Saddam Hussein's--threat to the freedom of the world.
    But this is a threat that we better take seriously, and we better 
take it seriously now.

September 11

    Mr. Kleber. One question about September 11th.
    The President. Sure.
    Mr. Kleber. I don't care about this Washington second-guessing game; 
this is really not what I'm getting to. We have pictures of your travel 
pool on Air Force One looking in horror at this little flat screen which 
was back in the plane, seeing the second tower collapse.
    The President. Yes.
    Mr. Kleber. I wondered what was going on at about that time in the 
front of the plane?
    The President. Well, thanks for asking. First of all, I learned 
about the attack--the second attack; I knew about the first attack when 
I walked into a schoolroom. I thought it was an accident. And I'm 
listening to an education briefing, and Andy Card, my Chief of Staff, 
whispered in my ear, he said, ``America's under attack. There's been a 
second plane crash. America is under attack.'' I made up my mind right 
then and there that if somebody was attacking us, we would respond with 
the full might of America.
    Mr. Kleber. But there was little you could do at that moment, in 
that plane.
    The President. At that moment, no, there wasn't. You're right. I 
mean, I was trying to get out of harm's way. We were concerned

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about threats on the President. We were worried about future attacks, 
and there's a lot of belief that Flight 93 was headed to the White 
House.
    I was concerned about things like, is my wife safe? You know, I was 
worried about that. I was worried about things such as my parents. I was 
worried about my girls. And that's what I was concerned--I was worried 
about Americans who were grieving.
    But at the same time, you need to know about me that I was also 
thinking clearly about how to respond. If America is under attack, my 
job as the President is to protect the homeland, to find out the facts, 
and to deal with it in a firm way.
    I want to thank the German people and the German Government, not 
only for their sympathy but for understanding the new war of the 21st 
century. And we have a new war, and we'd better deal with it, because 
this is an evil group of people that are interested in destroying 
civilization. And so long as I'm the President, I'm going to do 
everything I can to prevent that from happening.
    Mr. Kleber. Your people give me the signal to stop. I would love to 
keep going.
    The President. Well, I'm sorry we can't, but maybe some other time.
    Mr. Kleber. Have a safe trip.
    The President. Thank you.
    Mr. Kleber. Take care. Bless you.
    The President. Thank you.

Note: The interview was taped at 1:12 p.m. in the Map Room at the White 
House for later broadcast. In his remarks, the President referred to 
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of this interview.