[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 21 (Monday, May 27, 2002)]
[Pages 860-862]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With Giulio Borrelli of RAI Italian Television

May 21, 2002

Terrorist Alerts

    Mr. Borrelli. Mr. President, raising the alarm about the possibility 
of new terrorist attack without being specific is a way of crying wolf, 
which can frighten people. Can Americans stop the suicide bombers?
    The President. Yes, it's a very interesting question. Well, first of 
all, the Vice President and the Director of the FBI was expressing a 
general threat--they're basically saying--with which I agree--that the 
Al Qaida still exists; they still hate America and any other country 
which loves freedom; and they want to hurt us. They're nothing but a 
bunch of coldblooded killers.
    And if we had a specific threat to ourselves or to Italy, for that 
matter, we would deal with it in a way that you probably wouldn't know 
about. In other words, we'd be on the phone to the Italian authorities, 
sharing information to protect our--just so that they would help our 
friends protect themselves. Had we had a specific threat here in 
America, we would have used our assets to harden the threat. But no, 
it's a real problem.
    The best way to secure our homeland, the best way for Italy to be 
secure, and other countries, is to find these killers, is to hunt for 
them, is to chase them down. And that's what we're going to do. And the 
good news is, for those of us who love freedom, and the bad news is, for 
the enemy, this country is very patient and very united and going to be 
very deliberate in our pursuit of freedom.

Europe-U.S. Relationship

    Mr. Borrelli. The U.S. and Europe are divided on important issues, 
as the next step in the war on terrorism and steel trade. Do you think 
you have to change something in your leadership to be more convincing 
with European countries? Or do they have to modify their policy?
    The President. Well, I don't think either of us have to change 
because we share great values. See, we love freedom. We hate those who 
want to kill. That's the common ground, and that's very important. And 
that's the high ground.
    And you bring up interesting issues, you know. You bring up the 
issue of steel. We trade--first of all, we have trade disputes because 
there is so much trade. If we had no trade, there would be no disputes. 
And we've got $2 trillion worth of trade, which is a significant amount 
of trade. Obviously, I was concerned about what imports were doing to 
our industry. And under the rules of the WTO, under the guidelines that 
we've all agreed to, I acted. I am confident and hope that our European 
trading partners will also

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respond within the guidelines of the WTO. And that's the way you settle 
disputes. A trade dispute is hardly a breach of an important 
relationship. It is a way to work through a difficult situations.
    And as far as the axis of evil, you know, I understand there are 
some that would hope that the threat would go away just on its own, but 
we're going to have to act. I will, of course, consult with our friends. 
I'm deliberate in my thinking. I have no set plans right now. But I am 
serious about making it clear to countries around the world that we need 
to work together to rid the world of the threat. And the threat is a 
nontransparent dictator--dictatorship having a weapons of mass 
destruction to be used countries such as yours and mine. And that's a 
threat that we must deal with if we want to do our duty to history.

Situation in the Middle East

    Mr. Borrelli. How can America and Europe improve their efforts to 
make peace in the Middle East?
    The President. Yes, that's a great question. We are working together 
well, I believe. I was very pleased with--and the Secretary of State is 
the one who keeps me abreast of the levels of cooperation. During the 
recent issues in the Middle East, the EU and our country worked very 
closely to try to lay out the foundations and a pathway to peace.
    I gave a speech right here in the Rose Garden on April the 4th that 
said parties have responsibilities: Israelis have got responsibilities 
if they're interested in peace; the Arab world has responsibilities; as 
do the Palestinians. I've talked about a vision of two states living 
side by side, at peace, with respect to each other. The Europeans agree 
with that position, so we're on the same--we share the same vision. And 
I believe that the Europeans also agree that there will never be peace 
so long as terrorists continue to kill and that we've all got to use our 
collective efforts to stop the terrorist attacks.
    We definitely agree that we've got to provide hope for the 
Palestinian people. There's a lot of people who've been suffering for a 
long period of time. We need an economic development package that will 
help the Palestinians realize a hopeful future. But we cannot do so 
until there is the institutions of a credible state in place. In other 
words, we're not going to give money if it ends up going into somebody's 
pockets and not to help the people we're trying to help.
    So we've got the framework. We've got the vision for peace and the 
framework for getting there, and now we've just got to continue working 
together to achieve it. It is a difficult subject. People have been 
killing each other there for a long period of time. But once there is 
the collective vision for peace--and I think we're building that 
collective vision--and once people understand their responsibilities--
and we're now laying out the responsibilities--we have an opportunity to 
move toward that vision of peace, and that's exactly what we're doing.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy

    Mr. Borrelli. Last time I came here I asked you if you received an 
invitation to have dinner with Mr. Chirac or Mr. Berlusconi, which one 
would you accept? You answered, you like Italian food. Do you still 
enjoy Italian cuisine made by Berlusconi?
    The President. I love Italian cuisine. And I'm very close to the 
Prime Minister. He is a--he is a good man; he's easy to be around 
because he is a good listener and a good talker. And I like his 
judgment, and I like his friendship.

President's Upcoming Meeting With Pope John Paul II

    Mr. Borrelli. When you go to Rome, you meet the Pope.
    The President. Yes.
    Mr. Borrelli. One of his desires is to visit Ground Zero in New 
York. Will he be visiting soon?
    The President. I hope so, but that's up for the Pope to make that 
decision. He is a--I had the honor of visiting the Holy Father the last 
time I was--the visit in beautiful Rome. And actually, it was outside of 
Rome; we went to the summer--the summer palace overlooking the 
spectacular lake. And you know, he's getting older, and whether or not 
he's able to travel to Ground Zero will be up to--up for the Holy Father 
to decide. But I just want you to know I'm looking forward

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to that visit. It is a great honor to be in his presence. He's a great 
man.
    Mr. Borrelli. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. Thank you, sir.

Note: The interview was taped at 1:33 p.m. in the Map Room at the White 
House for later broadcast. Mr. Borrelli referred to President Jacques 
Chirac of France. A tape was not available for verification of the 
content of this interview.