[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 29 (Monday, July 22, 2002)]
[Pages 1213-1220]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With President Kwasniewski

July 17, 2002

    President Bush. It's an honor to welcome my friend the President of 
Poland to the White House. Mr. President, welcome.
    President Kwasniewski. Thank you very much.
    President Bush. Poland is a close friend and a good ally and an 
influential nation in the center of Europe. Poland has influence across 
Europe. America and Poland see the world in similar terms. We both 
understand the importance of defeating the forces of global terror, and 
America appreciates all that Poland is contributing to this great 
struggle.
    Our nations also understand the importance of building a better 
world beyond terror, one where prosperity replaces poverty and democracy 
and tolerance replace dictatorship and hatred. Poland and the United 
States are part of the great alliance of liberty, and we're working to 
spread the hope of freedom and prosperity across the globe.
    We had good talks this morning, and I want to highlight two 
initiatives we agreed on. First, we agreed to expand cooperation between 
our militaries. Both Poland and the United States are seeking to 
transform our Armed Forces and develop new capabilities. We need to meet 
the new threats, such as terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. By 
sharing ideas and expertise, our militaries can help each other reach 
out--reach our transformation goals faster and improve our ability to 
work together. We hope this initiative will be a model for similar 
efforts with other NATO Allies.
    Second, our Governments agree to cooperate more closely to expand 
our economic ties. The Polish-American trade and investment relationship 
is important to both countries, and it's particularly important to 
creating jobs and high-tech growth opportunities in Poland. We will work 
to resolve some company-specific issues and also improve Poland's 
investment climate.
    These two initiatives will help build our strong working 
relationship.
    Tomorrow the President and I look forward to traveling to Troy, 
Michigan. I believe you have to go beyond Washington to truly capture 
the energy and diversity of our country. Mr. President, I think you'll 
like the trip. Troy is just one of countless communities across our 
Nation that has been enormously enriched by the contributions and values 
of Polish Americans. It will be a great honor for me to travel to such a 
community with the President of a free and independent Poland.
    Mr. President.
    President Kwasniewski. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, 
Mr. President, let me once again emphasize how pleased I am to stand 
here on the hospitable land, the country that is so close to the Polish 
people, where millions of people live here of Polish extraction. I'm 
coming as a President of the Republic of Poland to the United States 
from the country which may set an example of success for others. And we 
know that this success is due to the support of our American friends.
    Today I am here as the President of democratic, developing Poland, 
Poland that is important in its region and whose voice is very 
significant, both in Europe and worldwide. I am here as President of the 
country which enjoys strategic partnership with the United States and 
friendship which is hundreds of years long and well tested, as well as 
enjoys perspectives that we have discussed with

[[Page 1214]]

President George Walker Bush for a long time today.
    During our conversations, we have discussed combatting terrorism 
that has to be brought to the final end. And Poland has been 
contributing to this particular combat. And we're sure that under the 
leadership of the United States, we could eliminate this particular 
threat from the world of the 21st century, so that we could build a 
future on the basis of the dialog, the protection of human rights, and 
mutual tolerance.
    Poland, with its soldiers in Afghanistan, is present in NATO, and 
Poland is active in exchange of information of intelligence and special 
units. We are ready to develop our cooperation along these lines.
    We have spoken about NATO. Poland is one of the new members, and we 
are convinced that the new summit in Prague will be the day on which new 
countries will be invited to become members of NATO who have met the 
requirements. Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, our friends from Slovakia, and 
our close partners from Bulgaria and Romania and Slovenia will be 
welcomed there. We want a strong NATO. We want NATO to be ready to 
ensure security in Europe as well as in the Euro-Atlantic theater and a 
NATO that is going to be ready to respond to threats where the basic 
values of life and ethnic cleansing or acts of terror are taking place.
    I've presented to President George Walker Bush an initiative that I 
had presented a few days ago in Riga, to develop cooperation with 
countries which are in NATO, which will be in NATO, and with those ones 
which are going to be outside of NATO--I'm thinking here of the Balkan 
states. And I rejoice in the fact that the initiative of cooperation has 
been accepted as interesting by the United States, and as deserving 
further development.
    We have also spoken of Europe, and Poland wants to become a member 
state of the European Union. And we are sure that, at the beginning of 
2004, we are going to become a member state, and we think that our 
future should be built with very close cooperation with the United 
States and Europe. And we want Poland to contribute, with its potential 
to global security and to building peace and mutual trust.
    On bilateral issues, we have emphasized that we're closing a 
particular chapter of transformations that have been taking place in 
Poland and in countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Today, we can say 
that our partnership has matured, that we're opening a new chapter where 
we're going to be treated mutually as fully fledged partners ready to 
take actions, both current actions as well as those that are going to 
take place in the future.
    I am convinced that the United States may draw on the experiences 
that Poland has gained in its transformation. We are ready to share 
these transformation experiences with other countries. I am also 
convinced that we're going to serve very well the military cooperation, 
especially in the areas of training, equipment, and the cooperation of 
special units with the particular military forces. And transformation is 
Poland's specific experience, as I want to emphasize again.
    I would also like to say that it's very significant that we have 
been creating a very positive climate for European investments. 
Americans have so far made an investment of $8 billion U.S., and we want 
the climate for further investments to be very good. We would hope that 
new American companies will be opening their new headquarters in Poland, 
making it possible for them to operate vis-a-vis other states of the 
region.
    Let me also emphasize that since the very first moment in 
Washington, DC, we have been feeling the atmosphere of extreme 
wishfulness, kindness, and hospitable that I wish to extend my words of 
gratitude now in this context to President Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush. 
We're not only guests here, as we feel, but we're also friends that are 
coming from Poland for a visit to the United States.
    I'm convinced, too, that this visit will encourage further contacts 
and to develop enough contacts at all levels concerning not only 
politicians and elites but also citizens of the two countries, 
nongovernmental organizations and various institutions, social 
institutions. We want very much the Polish-American relations to get the 
new momentum. And free of the challenges that we have

[[Page 1215]]

had in the recent decades, they could become the greatest contribution 
to the world, to Europe, and to Poland and the United States.
    And thank you for your attention.
    President Bush. We'll answer some questions. We'll alternate between 
the American press and the Polish press, three apiece.

Corporate Responsibility/National Economy

    Q. Mr. President, even while you're calling for transparency in 
corporate America, you refuse to ask the SEC to turn over documents from 
its investigation into Harken Energy Corporation, your old company. And 
the Vice President has answered few questions about his role at 
Halliburton, his old company, which is now under investigation by the 
SEC. Why not just clear the air, ask the SEC to release those documents, 
and ask the Vice President to talk about Halliburton in a public forum?
    President Bush. Well, first, the Vice President--I've got great 
confidence in the Vice President, doing a heck of a good job. When I 
picked him, I knew he was a fine business leader and a fine, experienced 
man. And he's doing a great job. That matter will take--run its course, 
the Halliburton investigation, and the facts will come out at some point 
in time.
    Secondly, as to a look at Harken, the SEC, as a result of Freedom of 
Information requests, has released documents, and the key document said 
there is no case. It was fully investigated by career investigators. 
Some of you, I think, have talked to the head career investigator, and 
he's made it clear there was no case.
    The key thing for the American people is to realize that the 
fundamentals for economic vitality and growth are there, low interest 
rates, good monetary policy, productivity increases, economic vitality, 
and growth in the first quarter and that, as Chairman Greenspan said 
yesterday, that we've got to change from a culture of greed to a culture 
of responsibility. And I believe that's going to happen.
    Congress is working on some legislation. I hope they get it to my 
desk before they go home. I think it's important to send a signal to the 
American people that reforms have been enacted, laws will be upheld. But 
as I said the other day in Alabama, I've got--I'm an optimist about the 
future of this economy. I think that the ingredients for growth are in 
place, and that's important to our friends from Poland because, as he 
mentioned, we invest and we trade and the stronger our economy is, the 
more likely it is we'll have investment and trade together.
    President Kwasniewski. Now it's time for Polish journalists. I 
invite--Polish TV.

Poland's Role in the War on Terrorism

    Q. Polish public television, TVP. The question to both of you. 
Regarding the future of the anti-terrorist coalition and possible next 
phase of the war against terrorism, do you expect an increase of 
Poland's involvement? And do you think that Poland is ready to meet the 
expectations?
    President Bush. Well, first, I've been very impressed by Poland's 
troops. And we've got confidence in the Polish military. And we want to 
continue to train together. Particularly, our special forces need to 
work together, because the ability to succeed in the war--the new war of 
the 21st century means that we have to move quickly and move in a way 
that is effective and sometimes lethal.
    It's interesting, you said the ``next phase of the war against 
terror.'' Almost every day is a new phase, in some ways, because we're 
reminding different countries which may be susceptible to Al Qaida that 
you're either with us or against us. And so we're constantly working on 
bolstering confidence amongst some nations which may sometimes forget 
that either you're with us or you're with the terrorists. That's kind of 
a--that's a phase, I guess you could say. Phase one was Afghanistan. 
Phase two is to make sure that other countries don't become places for 
training or places where the Al Qaida think they can hide.
    And we spent a lot of time on that here. I talked to Aleksander a 
lot about that today. The Polish Government has been very strong about 
working with us. The other--I also told him, of course, that we'd stay 
in close consultation, and we will.
    President Kwasniewski. I would just constrain myself to say that we 
have been part

[[Page 1216]]

of the coalition from the very beginning, to the potential that reflects 
Poland's possibility and capability, such as our station in Bagram, and 
there is a Polish logistics unit, and they're right there. Our 
intelligence forces have been cooperating very closely, and we know that 
the commitment on the part of the Republic of Poland will be growing 
with the needs that are going to be growing.
    We have discussed with President George Walker Bush on how to 
modernize the Polish Armed Forces so that they could meet the challenges 
of the war against terrorism. And then Secretary Rumsfeld and Minister 
Szmajdzinski talked about talks, and they will be continued. And we hope 
that the effect will be that the Polish Armed Forces will be transformed 
in such a way so that, as a very serious and mature partner, they would 
be able to respond in unison with other armed forces.
    Poland is a member of the anti-terrorist coalition and has been very 
closely cooperating with the United States. And we want to reconfirm our 
readiness to continue this combat.

Reform of the Palestinian Authority/Vice President Cheney

    Q. Mr. President, do you agree with your Secretary of State's 
willingness to consider working with a Palestinian Government that has 
Yasser Arafat as a figurehead leader, despite your call in June for a 
new and different leadership? And if I may follow up on Ron's [Ron 
Fournier, Associated Press] question----
    President Bush. You get one question. [Laughter]
    Q. If I could follow on Ron's, are you confident the SEC will find 
that Vice President Cheney did nothing wrong while at Halliburton?
    President Kwasniewski. His question was----
    President Bush. It happens worldwide.
    Yes, I am, to answer your second question. And first, I am confident 
as well that we need to put institutions in place so that a peaceful 
Palestinian state can emerge. And that ought to be the primary focus.
    The reform of the Palestinian state is a crucial element to 
achieving the confidence necessary amongst all parties so that we can 
eventually achieve the vision of two states living side by side in 
peace. That's really important.
    The issue is much bigger than a person, as far as I'm concerned. I 
made it clear, I thought. The person you mentioned, Mr. Arafat, has 
failed to deliver. I still feel that way. And I know the Palestinian 
people will be better served by new leadership.
    And so we are--but my focus of my administration is to work with 
leaders from around the world, some of whom were in New York yesterday, 
to work to make sure there's a new constitution which divides power, so 
that one person doesn't get to decide the fate of a group of people who 
have suffered mightily; that there are security arrangements in place, 
so that they serve to make the area more secure, as opposed to security 
forces all existing--all of which exist to keep a person in power; 
reforms of financial institutions to make sure there's full 
transparency, to make sure that the money that we spend on humanitarian 
aid ends up helping Palestinian people, not a few leaders.
    Those institutional changes, Randy [Randy Mikkelsen, Reuters], are 
essential for the evolution of a state. It's essential that those 
institutions are developed so that the people of Palestine get helped. 
That's essential.
    And I do believe we're making progress to this end. It is a--this is 
an issue much bigger than a single person. Mr. Arafat would like the 
whole issue to be about him. That's the way it's been in the past. 
Except when you analyze his record, he has failed the Palestinian 
people. He just has, and that's reality.
    Q. [Inaudible]
    President Bush. You only get--that's your third-second followup. 
[Laughter] Unbelievably aggressive today. [Laughter]
    President Kwasniewski. Mr. President, now is Polish turn.
    President Bush. You're in good standing with your colleagues for 
that. Break some new ground.
    President Kwasniewski. It's a press conference, not interview. 
[Laughter]
    President Bush. Yes.
    Q. Polish Public Radio. Mr. President, this is a question addressed 
to both Presidents.

[[Page 1217]]

    President Bush. An old Fournier trick.

Polish-U.S. Relations/War on Terrorism

    Q. There are some differences between Europe and the United States. 
Europe seems to be more eager to deal with economy and political sources 
of terrorism. United States seems to be more determined to apply 
military solutions. European Union and the United States differ in some 
important trade issues. What is the differences present in your today 
conversation? Poland is going to be a member of the European Union. 
Might this membership complicate relations in between our two countries?
    President Bush. No. That's an easy one. [Laughter] No, it won't. Let 
me make it clear to you, make sure--if I could kind of change one of 
your premises. We use military power, no question about it, and we'll 
continue to do it, to hunt these killers down, one by one. And that's 
all they are, is killers, coldblooded killers.
    We also understand that in order to make it hard for them to attack 
the United States again, or any of our friends, that we must disrupt 
their finances. We spend a lot of time on working with our friends to 
disrupt finances. And so we have a multifaceted approach to the war on 
terror. It's important for you to understand that. We don't necessarily 
place one aspect on the war against terror as more important than the 
other.
    In terms of the--listen, we've got great friends in Europe. Poland 
is a great friend, and the United States fully understands that we must 
cooperate together to achieve victory in the war against terror. That 
means intelligence sharing and working cooperatively on finance, making 
sure our militaries cooperate together. NATO--a useful role for NATO, 
the new role for NATO, is going to be to defend Europe against terrorist 
activity. And therefore, NATO needs to change, so that it can do a more 
effective job of defeating the enemy. Russia is not the enemy. Russia 
is--you know, the idea of Russian tanks storming across Europe are no 
longer the problem. And therefore, cooperation on chasing down killers, 
one by one, even becomes more focused and more important in many ways. 
And that's the nature of our relationship.
    So I welcome Poland going into the EU, if that's what the President 
and the country think is best.
    President Kwasniewski. I wish to say that we have discussed the 
subject, and it is true to say that in Europe, Poland has been 
criticized as a state that has extremely been--has been very pro-
American. And for that reason--I haven't witnessed any criticism or 
heard any criticism, for that reason, here in America.
    But the issue of whether Europe or America, relations, et cetera, 
reminds me of a question that is very often addressed by a child: Is Mom 
or Dad better? From the educational point of view, it's a false 
question, because under these circumstances that we are now in, we're 
creating a family based on the same fundamental values or based on 
similar or very similar objectives, and also based on the historical 
heritage for Europe and the United States are quite similar and very 
penetrating.
    It seems to me that outside of current politics, or different 
accents in politics, certainly we could not talk, and we should not 
talk, about any conflicts of opinions. Poland wants to become a member 
state of the European Union, and that's how we see our political and 
economic opportunity. And we hope it's going to be true the first of 
January 2004. And I want to assure that Poland, as a member state of the 
European Union, will be doing all it can and will be able to do for the 
cooperation between the United States and Poland and Europe to be even 
better.
    I would like to refer to what President George Walker Bush said in 
Warsaw last year in June. ``We have to be building a spirit of Europe,'' 
he said, ``whole and free,'' a whole and free Europe. And I believe that 
this is a good reply to this question, a good answer on how we should 
work together and how a Europe that is going to be in its whole entirety 
based on the same values to be the traditional and very close ally and 
partner for the United States.
    I am convinced that Poland's membership in the European Union will 
not only be a problem in relations between Poland and the United States, 
but because we are going to get new incentives for development, this 
type of cooperation between Poland and the

[[Page 1218]]

United States will be greatly welcomed also by the United States.

Financing Homeland Security

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. The strategy that you announced 
yesterday indicated that we're already spending about $100 billion on 
homeland security. What have you determined about the costs going 
forward? How much is it going to cost us, and how much of that total do 
you see coming from State and local governments, on the one hand, and 
from the private sector, on the other?
    President Bush. It's going to be hard to quantify how much the 
private sector spends. Let's just say they need to spend enough to work 
in a cooperative way, and many private sector companies realize it's in 
their interests to do so.
    The key thing about the national strategy is that we have the 
ability to have a Department of Homeland Security that's able to affect 
a national strategy by setting priority. And the priority is to protect 
our homeland.
    Mr. President, we've got agencies who've got many different 
functions, and we want the primary function of agencies that have 
anything to do with homeland security to be protecting America, because 
we still feel like we're under attack.
    The key cost issue is the cost of transition toward this new 
Department of Homeland Security. And we're confident that, if we're 
given the management tools necessary, we can affect that in a cost-
effective way, that transition in a cost-effective way. That's why I 
spent some time talking to Members of Congress yesterday about giving us 
some management flexibility, flexibility in personnel decisions, 
flexibility in reorganization decisions. I think that's going to be an 
important part of making sure that the cost of transition is a realistic 
cost. As a matter of fact, we think we can save money as a result of 
overlap.
    In terms of how much it costs down the road, that's going to depend 
upon how effective we are at defeating the enemy. The best homeland 
security is to hunt the enemy down, one by one, and bring them to 
justice. That's the best way to secure the homeland, and the more 
effective we are at that, the more cost effective it will be at home. 
And so the budget we submitted is one we think is important for this 
year, and we'll reassess on an annual basis.
    Q. As you know, Mr. President, the State and local governments are 
saying they're at the end of their rope financially, at the moment, 
because of the economic downturn. Do you see a substantial burden on 
them----
    President Bush. Well, we'll just have to work--help them work 
through their budgets. But remember, the--we'll just have to see. 
They're concerned about budgets in a lot of areas, Medicaid, different 
areas. And the--I believe this economy is going to come back, and I 
think it's going to help improve their financial picture when it does.

Poland's Role in Europe/Russia-U.S. Relations

    Q. TVN Polish Network. A question for both of you. Would you please 
expand on the subject of the specific role that Poland is going to play 
in Central and Eastern Central Europe, especially within the context of 
new enhanced relations between the United States and Russia? What is 
Poland going to do?
    President Bush. Well, that's a very good question. First of all, the 
President talked about the Riga initiative that he described. It's a--
and it's something that caught our imagination and caught our attention. 
We thought it was a very interesting set of ideas, and we want to 
explore that with him further, which would really put Poland in a unique 
role of fostering continued relations with countries which may or may 
not be admitted into NATO, for example.
    In terms of the Russia-U.S. relationship, it's a strong 
relationship. But the--and it's a relationship which is important, 
because it helps Russia think Westward. And Poland can be a part of 
that, of course. The President has had great visits with President 
Putin, and he's talked about the benefits of thinking West.
    And the other important part, the most immediate effect, is when 
Russia looks West, she sees Poland and realizes there is no threat from 
Poland. Poland is a peaceful

[[Page 1219]]

neighbor. Poland's at peace with all its neighbors. And that is a very 
important contribution to the stability of our relationship.
    If we were--as I was very aggressive about, in talking about NATO 
expansion, if Russia thought that the neighborhood was unsettled, it 
might create some issues. But Poland has provided a great source of 
stability in the neighborhood, and therefore Russia feels less 
threatened. And I think that's an important nuance, as we say, in 
foreign policy. I think that's the word, isn't it? ``Nuance''? Yes. 
[Laughter]
    Anyway, but it's been a vital contribution, Mr. President, and I 
thank you for that.
    Making sure you're awake.
    President Kwasniewski. Thank you. First, I also wish to say that 
some journalists in Poland have been writing that good relations between 
the United States of America and Russia mean that the role of such 
states as Poland, or such states that joined NATO from Central Europe, 
has been decreasing or on a decline. I think that this is not a very 
wise thesis or assumption.
    But let me emphasize that especially the states of Central and 
Eastern Europe and Russia want Russia to become a fully democratic 
state, a state exercising a very peaceful attitude to all other nations. 
So good American-Russian relations are a guarantee for us, and President 
George Walker Bush has just mentioned that, that there is no threat from 
the Russian Federation and there will be no threat from the Russian 
Federation.
    I want to be in the shade of Russia and not afraid, as opposed to 
being a country that is right upfront and is afraid of Russia. I think 
it's the very vital interest of Poland and other states for Russia-the 
United States relations to be very good. And we are very happy with the 
Russia-NATO partnership. This is a new quality of ensuring security in 
the world and especially in our region.
    Now, secondly, we are extremely happy that the American position is 
very, very pro-enlargement of NATO. I think, politically, this is a very 
significant decision that will result in the further development, 
broadening of the security zone in Europe. We are also very happy that 
there is a support for the Riga initiative, because it means that 
countries which are not going to become members of NATO will also--could 
be also--can be also benefiting from the outcome and from the results of 
this success, so they--we can also be supporting democracies, emerging 
democracies in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, in Macedonia, et cetera 
and et cetera, something that has been the world's problem. And I think 
the Balkan states are going to be an area of development, economic 
development and development of security.
    I also want to assure you, and President Bush knows about it, that 
Poland has been functioning as an exporter of stability. We have been a 
unique state because, in the last 10 years, Poland has not changed its 
border by a single inch, and all our neighbors have changed. None of our 
neighbors have been neighbors of Poland 10 years ago, neither the east--
Eastern Germany or the German Democratic Republic, neither the Soviet 
Union nor any other country. So this is a piece of evidence that you can 
export stability. You can be a pretty important factor contributing to 
security in Europe, but also in the Euro-Atlantic dimension.
    And finally, I'd like to say that we talked about the cooperation 
with the Ukraine. Let me use this opportunity to say that Ukraine should 
play an even more important role in Europe and in the region, and I am 
convinced that we should be supporting and favoring all efforts aimed at 
furthering development and cooperation with Ukraine and cooperation with 
the United States. And I am convinced that, strategically looking at the 
future, we should not be in the position not to see the 50 million state 
located right in the heart of the European continent.
    So, speaking in brief words, we have made a review of politics in 
the area, and perspectives are good. But I think they should be utilized 
in the best possible ways. And in that sense, the Polish-American 
cooperation is very, very important.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President's news conference began at 12:03 p.m. in the East 
Room at the White House. President Kwasniewski spoke in Polish, and his 
remarks were translated by an interpreter. In his remarks, President 
Bush referred to William R. McLucas, former Director, Division of 
Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission;

[[Page 1220]]

Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority; and President 
Vladimir Putin of Russia. President Kwasniewski referred to Minister of 
National Defense Jerzy Szmajdzinski of Poland.