[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 43 (Monday, October 28, 2002)]
[Pages 1817-1819]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With Secretary General Lord Robertson of 
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and an Exchange With Reporters

October 21, 2002

    President Bush. It's my honor to welcome Lord Robertson back to the 
Oval Office. I think we've met, gosh, five--four or five times since 
I've been the President. I've enjoyed every meeting. He does a great job 
at NATO. NATO is an incredibly important part of U.S. foreign policy. I 
appreciate the alliance.
    We are mainly discussing issues that we will confront and/or deal 
with in Prague, including NATO expansion. He's soliciting the views of 
the administration. I told him that we would give him a definite answer 
about our views on expansion in a couple of weeks,

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and that timetable seemed satisfactory with him.
    But Lord Robertson, welcome back. I appreciate you being here. 
Thanks for your strong leadership.
    Lord Robertson. I'm delighted to be again in the Oval Office, Mr. 
President.
    And the President has shown, not just by meetings with me but in 
every other way possible, his and his administration's commitment to 
NATO and to the strength of this trans-Atlantic alliance that has bound 
together these democratic and freedom-loving states over all of the 
years.
    We're now a month to the day away from the Prague summit, probably 
the most important summit meeting in NATO's history, a transformation 
summit where NATO has to transform itself to deal with the threats and 
the challenges of the 21st century. And I believe we will have a good 
package on new members, a robust enlargement, new capabilities to deal 
with terrorism and to deal with the other challenges and nightmares that 
we may face ahead in the future, and new relationships with Russia, with 
Ukraine, with our partner countries, building the world's largest 
permanent alliance and one which the world can rely on.
    President Bush. Three questions. Fournier [Ron Fournier, Associated 
Press].

North Korea

    Q. Sir, is North Korea an imminent threat to the United States, and 
what consequences, if any, will it face for hiding its nuclear program 
from you?
    President Bush. One, we had a bit of troubling news when we 
discovered the fact that, contrary to what we had been led to believe, 
that they were enriching uranium with the idea of developing a nuclear 
weapon. I say ``troubling news,'' obviously, because we felt like they 
had given their word they weren't going to do this.
    I view this as an opportunity to work with our friends in the region 
and work with other countries in the region to ally against 
proliferation of serious weapons and to convince Kim Chong-il that he 
must disarm. To this end, I'm going to be talking to Jiang Zemin at 
Crawford. I look forward to a good discussion with the President of 
China about how we can work together to take our relationship to a new 
level in dealing with the true threats of the 21st century.
    I will see the leaders of Japan and South Korea and Russia the next 
day, in Mexico. I intend to make this an important topic of our 
discussions. This is a chance for people who love freedom and peace to 
work together to deal with a--to deal with an emerging threat. I believe 
we can deal with this threat peacefully, particularly if we work 
together. So this is an opportunity to work together.
    Q. They're not an imminent threat, though?
    President Bush. You know, that's an operative word. We view this 
very seriously. It is a troubling discovery, and it's a discovery that 
we intend to work with our friends to deal with. I believe we can do it 
peacefully. I look forward to working with people to encourage them that 
we must convince Kim Chong-il to disarm for the sake of peace. And the 
people who have got the most at stake, of course, in this posture are 
the people who are his neighbors.
    Arshad [Arshad Mohammed, Reuters].

Nature of Iraqi Threat

    Q. Mr. President, can you explain so the boys in Lubbock can 
understand----
    President Bush. Crawford or Lubbock?
    Q. Lubbock or Crawford, both----
    President Bush. Lubbock is a little more sophisticated than 
Crawford, Arshad. [Laughter]
    Q. Crawford, then.
    President Bush. Or Scotland, for that matter.
    Q. Why----
    President Bush. Yes, Arshad.
    Q. Why you threaten military action against Iraq, but you believe 
that Korea's nuclear weapons program only merits diplomatic efforts?
    President Bush. Saddam Hussein is unique, in this sense: He has 
thumbed his nose at the world for 11 years. The United Nations has 
passed 16 resolutions to deal with this man, and the resolutions are all 
aimed at disarmament, amongst other things. And for 11 years, he said, 
``No, I refuse to disarm.''

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    Now, what makes him even more unique is the fact he's actually 
gassed his own people. He has used weapons of mass destruction on 
neighboring countries, and he's used weapons of mass destruction on his 
own citizenry. He wants to have a nuclear weapon. He has made it very 
clear, he hates the United States, and as importantly, he hates friends 
of ours.
    We've tried diplomacy. We're trying it one more time. I believe the 
free world, if we make up our mind to, can disarm this man peacefully.
    But, if not, there's--we have the will and the desire, as do other 
nations, to disarm Saddam. It's up to him to make that decision, and 
it's up to the United Nations. And we'll determine here soon whether the 
United Nations has got the will, and then it's up to Saddam to make the 
decision.
    Stretch [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News].

Regime Change in Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, again, for the good people of Crawford----
    President Bush. Yes. It's been a big day for Crawford.
    Q. If you can explain this in a way that they and the rest of us 
will understand, there is some hints over the weekend, the possibility 
that taking weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq is our goal, raising 
the possibility or the implication that he could somehow remain in 
power.
    Can you say authoritatively and declaratively whether we can 
achieve--you can achieve--if you can achieve your aims there in a way 
that leaves him still in office?
    President Bush. The stated policy of the United States is regime 
change because for 11 years, Saddam Hussein has ignored the United 
Nations and the free world. For 11 years, he has--he said, ``Look, you 
passed all these resolutions. I could care less what you passed.'' And 
that's why the stated policy of our Government, the previous 
administration and this administration, is regime change--because we 
don't believe he is going to change.
    However, if he were to meet all the conditions of the United 
Nations, the conditions that I've described very clearly in terms that 
everybody can understand, that in itself will signal the regime has 
changed.

Note: The President spoke at 3:35 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to General Secretary Kim Chong-il of 
North Korea; President Jiang Zemin of China; Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi of Japan; President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea; President 
Vladimir Putin of Russia; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.