[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 47 (Monday, November 25, 2002)]
[Pages 2047-2053]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With European Journalists

November 18, 2002

    The President. So here's what we're going to do. I'll say a few 
comments, and we'll kind of do the loop until we run out of time.
    First, I'm really looking forward to this trip. I think it's going 
to be historic. You'll ask me who I'm voting for, for expansion; I'm not 
going to tell you. You'll find out on Thursday. I say that because 
that's what we've all agreed to.
    But if you're interested in knowing my philosophy toward the Prague 
summit, then you need only look as far as the speech I gave in Warsaw, 
Poland, that talked about a Europe whole, free, and at peace. I believe 
NATO expansion--and in that speech, you'd see that I talked about NATO 
expansion as good for America, because a Europe whole, free, and at 
peace is good for America.
    I am--believe in the spirit of the countries that we're talking 
about. I believe in their spirit. These are countries that have lived 
under totalitarianism, and they understand the value of freedom. And 
they love freedom, and I love that spirit. I think that's going to be a 
very important part of invigorating the Alliance.
    The Alliance is a crucial alliance. It's a strong alliance. We're 
going into a new period. And the idea of having members that are willing 
to shoulder their share of the burden of keeping the peace with the new 
threats is good, but--and this spirit of understanding what 
totalitarianism can mean and understanding the responsibilities of being 
free nations--that come with being a free nation is very important at 
this summit.
    So I'm really looking forward to it. It's--I'm excited to go to 
countries that have invited me to come. I look forward to the events. 
And so, with that, I'll answer some questions. Why don't we start here? 
You are from?

President's Upcoming Visit to Romania

    Q. Yes, sir. I am from Romania.
    The President. That's good.
    Q. Sir, the Romanian people waited for the Americans after the World 
War II. We've waited for you almost 60 years. You know, the farmers were 
raising the corn in such a way that the American planes could land. That 
happened in '45 and the fifties. Now, for my parents, it might be a 
little bit late, but for my 11-years daughter, it might have a chance. 
You're coming to Bucharest next Saturday. This time are the Americans 
really coming to Romania?
    The President. Great question. No more Munichs. No more Yaltas. 
America--I come to your country because I believe that Romania is an 
important part of a Europe which is whole and free and at peace. The 
story of Romania is a powerful story, of people taking charge of their 
own lives, of----

[At this point, a tape recorder stopped.]

    The President. We had a click here, in case anybody is interested. 
This one right here. Poor planning? [Laughter] Nobody claims it? 
Shouldn't have said poor planning. This is nobody's?
    Q. Might be mine.
    The President. It's yours?
    Q. Yes. If it's out, it's out. That's okay. [Laughter]
    The President. You don't want--if you've got to, turn it over. 
Getting quite articulate there. [Laughter]
    A lot of us watched the story of your country ridding yourselves of 
a totalitarian dictator, and it was a powerful story. But the story 
didn't end there. The story ended with a desire for freedom and 
democracy and open markets.
    And the answer to your question is: Absolutely. That's what the 
whole Prague summit is about: All for one, and one for all. We remember 
here in our country when, after the attacks of September the 11th, NATO 
stood up and said, ``An attack on the United States is an attack on 
us.'' I will say the same thing about Romania and Lithuania and the 
Czech Republic, and anybody else that might be a member of NATO. And 
that's what I feel.
    I appreciate that question. That's--your question is one of the 
reasons I look so forward to going to Romania----

[[Page 2048]]

    Q. Thank you, sir.
    The President. ----to be able to provide that assurance in what is 
going to be a, as I understand it, magnificent event where, on the one 
hand, I will be able to point to statues of heroic liberators, people 
who believed in freedom, that freedom was ingrained in their soul, and 
on the other hand, point to a balcony where the dictator had his--he 
realized reality. It's--as a matter of fact, I was looking at my speech 
last night.

End of the Cold War

    Q. I'm from Lithuania, and Lithuania was recognized 11 years ago by 
your father, President Bush----
    The President. Forty-one, we call him.
    Q. ----who took an active role in managing the collapse of the 
Soviet Union. How do you recall these times?
    The President. Yes. Well, first, I want--I remember that, in terms 
of the Baltic states, that our country always viewed the Baltics as 
independent. During the Soviet era, we viewed the Baltics as 
independent. Secondly, I recall the times leading up to the collapse of 
the Soviet leadership, not only with my dad's actions as President but 
those of Ronald Reagan as well, where there was clarity of thought, that 
there was no equivocation when it came to issues such as freedom.
    And I keep saying that word because it is an issue that we face 
collectively today in other parts of the world. Freedom is essentially a 
human condition. It's not an American gift. It is God's gift to the 
world. I believe that. I believe that everybody--the Almighty 
recognizes, through His mercy and grace, that people are--the freedom of 
each individual. Everybody counts. Everybody is precious.
    It was exciting times for Americans to watch the change in the 
Soviet Union, because it meant that the days of significant animosity 
could be ending. A lot of us grew up when the two big countries were 
fierce enemies, and the rest of the world watched to see whether or not 
there would be war and watched many times in horror as to whether or not 
there would be war, because the consequences of war between the Soviet 
Union and America would have been devastating for a lot of people. It 
looked like that, to us, that the collapse of the Soviet Union would 
provide an opportunity for peace. That's the most significant--that's 
the most exciting thing for me, that the relationship would be changed.
    I'm honored to be in a position to help further the change of the 
relationship. I'll answer the Russian journalist's question in a 
minute--I'm not going to anticipate it--but I am going, after Prague, 
immediately to Russia for a reason.
    And anyway, it was exciting times for us. But the exciting--the true 
excitement is going to come when the people of the Baltics realize the 
world has changed dramatically, and it finally has changed dramatically 
in many ways, that Russia is not an enemy, that the United States is not 
an enemy of Russia, that the United States is still a friend of the 
Baltics. But most importantly, the Baltic people have got an opportunity 
now to realize their full potential. And that was what was 11 years ago 
we first saw, and it's an honor to be a continuing part of that history.
    Yes, sir.

Chechnya/War on Terror

    Q. Mr. President, I would like to ask you a question regarding 
Chechnya.
    The President. Sure.
    Q. I guess it will be one of the topics you will discuss with Mr. 
Putin----
    The President. Absolutely.
    Q. Do you believe that after the latest events--mainly, after 
hostage in Moscow and after the statements made by Usama bin Laden 
raising the terrorist acts in Bali and Moscow, do you believe, Mr. 
President, that you can understand better this red--terrorists pose to 
Russia? And would you agree--would you agree with President Putin, who 
says that the Chechen kind of terrorism vis-a-vis Russia is of the same 
nature as the Al Qaida terrorism to the United States?
    The President. Right. You didn't ask the question I thought you were 
going to ask. I'm going to Russia to make it clear to the Russians and 
to Vladimir Putin, they have nothing to fear from NATO expansion, that a 
Baltic--the Baltics in NATO are positive for Russia.
    Now, my answer to your question--I thought you were going to ask why 
I'm going

[[Page 2049]]

to St. Petersburg. Anyway--[laughter]--and I'm going--I didn't hesitate 
when Vladimir and I talked about my trip to St. Petersburg, that it was 
very important for me to go there. And it was important for me say--
explain why I think it's a positive development.
    Terrorism--first of all, I've got a good friend in the fight against 
terrorism in Vladimir Putin. He understands the stakes. And so do I. He 
understands that as you embrace freedom and embrace change and--that 
there will be people who resent that and want to impose their will.
    Secondly, I thought that at the theater that he was confronted with 
a very difficult situation. Eight hundred people were--were going to 
lose their lives. Clearly, these people were killers, just like the 
killers that came to America. There's a common--a common thread, that 
anytime anybody is willing to take innocent life for a so-called cause, 
they must be dealt with. And he made some very tough decisions. And 
people tried to blame Vladimir; they ought to blame the terrorists. 
They're the ones who caused the situation, not President Putin.
    Thirdly, I believe Chechnya can--I hope that Chechnya can be solved 
peacefully, that there's ways to discuss the political dialog in such a 
way that this issue can be solved peacefully. Thirdly, to the extent 
that there are Al Qaida members infiltrating Russia, they need to be 
dealt with; they need to be brought to justice. And I--you know, when 
Usama, praising these--the Muslim attacks in Chechnya, it's clear that 
there is an Al Qaida interest.
    That's why we're working so hard in Georgia with the Georgians to, 
one, encourage a dialog between Shevardnadze and President Putin, and 
two, develop a joint strategy to deal with the Al Qaida members which 
may be in the Pankisi Gorge. And so--but I will continue to talk to 
Vladimir about the need to protect and recognize the rights of 
minorities within any country and at the same time deal with terrorism. 
And I hope he can find that balance. I think he can.

Czech Republic and NATO

    Q. Mr. President, how do you assess the performance of the Czech 
Republic in NATO in preparation for this summit?
    The President. Yes, well, first of all, they've been valuable 
members of NATO. I was able to express that to your President in his 
recent visit--who, by the way, is an outstanding human being and is 
highly respected and highly regarded in all of America. NATO has been--I 
mean, the Czech Republic has been a--was unhesitating in its support of 
Article 5 in NATO, for which I am grateful. Every conversation I've had 
with the President, he has been nothing more than anxious for the Czech 
Republic to perform its role within NATO.
    The interesting thing--let me give you kind of a broader statement 
about what you'll see at the Prague summit--is that everybody has got 
something to contribute in the military capacities of NATO to deal with 
the new threats. And the Czech Republic, certainly, is such a country. 
There's going to be--I guess, the best word will be specialization--
there needs to be a specialization as we develop the military capacity 
to deal with the true threat.
    Russia is not a threat, and therefore, the military strategies of 
NATO need to be changed to recognize that new reality. Russia is--Russia 
is a friend, not an enemy. NATO was formed because of the Warsaw Pact. 
The Warsaw Pact doesn't exist and, therefore, now--but there is a threat 
to all of us. And that is the threat in the form of international and 
global terrorism, which we must be able to deal with. The Czech Republic 
understands that. They're willing to help specialize. And it's up to the 
Czech Republic to determine that--along with Lord Robertson and his 
strategy--to determine how best to meet with the threats we face.
    Obviously, we've had good relations with the intelligence service of 
the Czech Republic, which is one of the key ingredients in order to 
fight terror. If you know somebody is thinking about doing something to 
us or we know somebody is thinking about doing something to you, we 
share intelligence. We've got good intelligence-sharing with Russia, by 
the way, now, because of the joint threat of global terror.
    It's a key ingredient in order to make sure we're able to find the 
new enemy. The enemy doesn't travel in army formations. They're killers. 
They take theaters. They

[[Page 2050]]

crash airplanes into buildings. They bomb resorts. And we must know as 
much about their whereabouts and their plans as possible, in order to 
find them and bring them to justice. And therefore, there needs to be a 
different attitude about the threats we face.
    In terms of the Prague summit, I am mindful of what happens when the 
U.S. President shows up at times. I mean, it is--you know, there is 
going to be a lot of noise and clamor. But I'm actually confident that 
the Czech Republic will do a fine job. It is a big deal that this city 
of Prague hosts this, and nations from all over Europe coming and--plus 
the Canadians and ourselves. I'm sure there's going to be people who are 
willing to express their voices, that maybe perhaps think NATO--
something about NATO is not the way they like it, or whatever it may be. 
We believe in free speech. Hopefully, they'll have an opportunity to 
speak freely in a way that's not--that doesn't promote violence.
    But the thing that impresses me most about the Czech Republic and 
its Government is, in spite of the terrible flood, devastating floods, 
that this Government and these people are anxious to host this meeting 
and will be able to do so in a great way. And it shows the great 
character of the people, to rise above the devastation to be able to 
host this summit. So I'm really looking forward to it. I can't wait to 
get there and will be there soon.

Romania and NATO

    Q. Mr. President, what symbol would you associate to Romania on the 
new NATO map? I mean, where is the place of Romania in this new NATO 
map?
    The President. How do you mean, what's the place? What do you mean--
well, first of all, you're getting me caught--if these countries get 
in--[laughter]. But the fact that I'm going to your country I guess says 
something. [Laughter]
    Q. We hope so.
    The President. Right now I'm off the record. Anyway--[laughter]--
first of all, the map is more than just countries on a piece of paper; 
the map is an attitude. It's an attitude that says that we want to work 
toward open markets and open societies and transparency and fight 
corruption. We want to participate in the global war against terror in a 
way that we're capable of doing so.
    Physically, of course, Romania will be the leading edge of Europe 
extending its reach into Eastern Europe. And it's a significant reach. 
It is--today, it's interesting, the Vice President and I were being 
briefed on an issue, and we looked at the map, and the Vice President 
said, ``I have trouble adjusting to the actual map of NATO.'' In other 
words, the point was that NATO now--NATO's reach is far east. And 
Romania represents that eastern reach. So physically it's a significant 
statement of the power of an alliance and the willingness of a people to 
adopt the habits necessary to have a free society.
    It's--I think that's probably the most significant thing about the 
NATO map. It's an attitude. It's the soul of NATO, like I described 
earlier. But it's the presence of Romania--really recognizes the change. 
And it's a significant change. It's an historic--this will be an 
historic day, our meeting on one day--Thursday, I think is the day--in 
which the decision will be actually announced.

Lithuania

    Q. Although--Mr. President, although, yes--recognize the annexation 
and occupation of Lithuanian, to most Americans our country was unknown 
territory for a long time. And can you recall, when did you first and 
what hear about Lithuania? And what did you think of Lithuania at that 
time? And what do you think now?
    The President. Well, there's a lot of Lithuanian Americans who kept 
the hope alive of a free and independent Lithuania in America, not so 
much in my home State of Texas, mainly in the Midwest. And I think a lot 
of people took pity on the people of Lithuania, given the circumstances. 
And the Government took its position. But there was a patience by our 
leadership that eventually freedom would prevail.
    Lithuania is kind of a--it's got kind of a--all the Baltics, for 
that matter--have got an interesting kind of romance because it's a 
small country. It's totally overwhelmed, divided up. It's kind of handed 
out as pieces of a--pieces of a settlement that saddened a lot of 
Americans. But nobody ever gave up hope, I think. Most Americans never 
gave

[[Page 2051]]

up hope that the Baltics would some day be able to realize their vast 
potential.
    I'm going to tell you an interesting story. This is from another 
Baltic country. It's from the Prime Minister of Estonia, came to see me. 
I'm very hesitant to put words into another leader's mouth. They tend to 
do it to me, and I don't like it. So I would paraphrase, loosely 
paraphrase. He was there at the time when--and one of the things I do is 
welcome a lot of leaders to America; it's an interesting experience. I 
have done so with the Lithuanian leadership as well.
    And I said--this is the day where I told our Congress we were going 
to encourage a national debate and dialog on Iraq. And I started to give 
him my rationale as to why I was thinking about Iraq. He said, ``You 
don't need to talk to me''--this is paraphrasing now--about Iraq. He 
said, ``Our country has watched democracies go soft in the face of 
totalitarianism, and we lived in slavery for 50 years.''
    Now, that's a paraphrase for the American press. But the point I 
want to make to you is that he was clear about obligations we have. 
That's what I think about the Baltics. The spirit--and Romania, for that 
matter, and the Czech Republic as embodied in the works and thoughts of 
Vaclav Havel. That's what I think about your country. You know, I firmly 
believe that--again, I keep repeating myself, but it's on my mind 
because this is exactly what we're dealing with at the NATO expansion. 
And this is the concept of how precious freedom is for people. It is a--
and it has a lot to do, frankly, with my thinking about Iraq too.
    The fact that people are tortured and subjugated, aren't free to 
realize their potential, really bothers me. I think we have an 
obligation to work to free people. There's all kinds of ways to do it, 
but we have that obligation. It doesn't happen as quickly sometimes as 
we would like. But that's an obligation of all of us who have got--who 
live in free countries. You have that obligation. But there's no doubt 
you'll recognize that obligation because you're freshly free from 
subjugation. And that's what I was talking about, about the invigoration 
of the soul of NATO. That's what I think about when I think about the 
Baltics.

United Nations Resolution on Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, you mentioned Iraq.
    The President. Yes.
    Q. Do you think--do you believe that Russian support of the U.N. 
resolution on Iraq has promoted any kind of reconciliation between the 
position of Russia and America on this matter? And what would you like 
to tell to President Putin in regard to----
    The President. Oh, yes. Well, first, I appreciate them working 
together with us on the resolution. The U.N. Security Council sent a 
clear signal to Iraq and the world. We expect them to disarm, is what 
the signal said. And actually, the U.N. Security Council sent a signal 
about themselves, that they want to be relevant.
    You see, if you send out 16 resolutions and all 16 resolutions were 
ignored, at some point in time, somebody has got to tell the truth and 
say, ``You're not relevant. Why pass a resolution unless you really mean 
it?'' And so we got together, and we said, ``Fine, let's pass this 
significant resolution.'' And the Russians were helpful and voted for 
it. And now the word is out, that the U.N. Security Council will be a 
relevant body. In other words, we intend to enforce the serious 
consequences if there's not disarmament, and that we're able to work 
with our friends. I thought that was a very positive thing.
    And I will tell this to Vladimir Putin. It's probably better for me 
to tell him, but not through your newspapers, but I'll try anyway. The 
issue is not inspectors. The issue is disarmament. That's the issue. And 
the question is, will Saddam Hussein disarm? That's what the U.N. 
Security Council has said, once again, with Russian support, along with 
other--a lot of other countries. And so he must show us whether or not 
he'll disarm, for the sake of peace.
    And if he doesn't, then we, of course, will consult, like we said we 
would do--we'd hold a meeting. But the interesting thing about the U.N. 
Security Council resolution is, all countries are free to act. And that 
was explained to Vladimir what my sentiments--I'm very strong about. 
This is not a--this isn't a free pass for Saddam, now that the 
resolution has been passed. Quite the contrary. We expect him to disarm. 
And we expect him to do everything he can to disarm. And we

[[Page 2052]]

expect him to be cooperating in his disarmament for the sake of peace.
    And that's what the U.N. Security Council said to me, that people 
now have finally come to the conclusion that it's time now to deal with 
the issue. Hopefully, this can get done peacefully. But it's up to Mr. 
Saddam Hussein, and we'll see. It's time for him to declare if he's got 
any weapons. And we'll proceed from there.

 NATO and Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, will you ask the allies in Prague to contribute to 
military action if such action becomes necessary?
    The President. I will--first of all, I believe that the NATO 
Alliance understands the issue. The countries there would like to see a 
disarmed Saddam Hussein. They--a peaceful country, they believe in 
peace, just like I believe in peace. And a Saddam Hussein with weapons 
of mass destruction is--particularly since he's used them in the past, 
and he clearly can't stand America and many of our friends, would mean 
it would be likely for us not to have peace.
    Imagine a Saddam Hussein with a nuclear weapon. It's certainly not 
an ingredient for peace, quite the contrary. And so the NATO countries 
understand that. And if, in fact, military action is needed, we'll 
consult with them, and everybody will be able to make a decision that 
they're comfortable with. But I wouldn't preclude a peaceful settlement. 
I hope it happens peacefully. But if it doesn't, just--people will know 
that our intent is to lead a coalition of like-minded, freedom-loving 
countries, a coalition of the willing to disarm Saddam Hussein. And one 
way or the other, he's going to be disarmed, and it's in everybody's 
interest that that be the case.
    So we'll talk about that. All right? Thank you for your time. Now, 
are you going on these trips? You're going to go to the NATO summit? 
That's going to be exciting. How many journalists will be there?

NATO Summit in Prague

    Q. Two thousand seven hundred--that was the last figure I note from 
Prague before I came here.
    The President. Two thousand seven hundred.
    Q. Including TV crews.
    The President. Wow. Well, I can't wait for my press conference. I'm 
going to have about a 2-hour press conference there in front of 2,700. 
[Laughter]
    Q. Two days.
    The President. Two days. [Laughter] Just kidding, Steve [Steve 
Holland, Reuters].
    Q. Can't wait for that.
    The President. You're going?
    Q. Yes, sir.
    The President. It's going to be exciting. It's going to be a very 
exciting time. And so you have just come from Prague?
    Q. Yes.
    The President. So you tell me what the feeling is like there in the 
city.
    Q. Well, the city is almost evacuated, in expecting the summit, 
because----
    The President. The city is evacuated?
    Q. No, I'm joking, but the area around the conference center is 
almost evacuated. And the kids, they have holiday, and the shops are 
going to be closed, and the center of the city, Wenceslas Square where 
the demonstrations usually take place, is under police surveillance. So 
Prague is getting ready, so everyone is expecting how to get to work 
in--they are making arrangements.
    The President. Yes. And how many people are coming, just total? Do 
they have an estimate? From outside the Czech Republic.
    Q. More than 2,000 people--I mean, delegations and----
    The President. Oh, it's got to be way more than that.
    Q. ----with the staff and everything.
    The President. Well, the press is 2,700 alone. I bet there's--our 
mighty delegation--[laughter].
    Q. But only two hotels were affected by the floods. Only two of the 
number of the hotels that are ready for--to accommodate the delegations 
and----
    The President. They're ready?
    Q. ----only two hotels were badly affected by the floods. 
Otherwise----
    The President. How is the recovery from the floods?
    Q. It was bad. It was tough, and now it's getting better. There are 
some neighborhoods in Prague where people cannot return to their homes 
because of the----

[[Page 2053]]

    The President. Still?
    Q. ----and it's not only Prague. It's the whole country, going into 
Germany.
    The President. So sad.
    Q. So it's very bad. No chronicle--no person ever remembers such a 
disaster.
    The President. It's a 500-year flood.
    Q. A thousand.
    The President. A thousand-year flood. Wow, that's too bad.
    Q. But as we say, Charles did it--from the 14th century. [Laughter]

President's Visits to Europe

    The President. Well, I'm glad the country is recovering. We're 
really looking forward to it and looking forward to our trips, too. 
They're going to be magnificent.
    Q. We expect more people than for the Pope in 1999.
    The President. Really? It's going to be exciting. I'm looking 
forward to it. I better make sure my speech is--I think they'll like it.
    All right. We'll see you there. Thanks. Thanks for coming. I'm 
looking forward to going to St. Petersburg again.
    Q. Yes, sure. Thank you very much.
    The President. The second time in one year. Maybe a third time.
    Q. Did you like it?
    The President. Yes, it was spectacular. Remember, we went out on the 
boat, Vladimir, myself, Sergey Ivanov, floated a--White Nights. 
Fantastic. It won't be White Nights this time, though. Will be white 
days, right, snowing?
    Q. Yes, snowing. [Laughter]
    The President. We'll see you all there. Thank you.

Note: The interview was taped at 10:45 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House for later broadcast, and the transcript was embargoed for 
release by the Office of the Press Secretary until 6:30 p.m. In his 
remarks, the President referred to President Vladimir Putin of Russia; 
Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; Prime 
Minister Siim Kallas of Estonia; President Vaclav Havel of the Czech 
Republic; President Eduard Shevardnadze of the Republic of Georgia; 
Secretary General Lord Robertson of the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization; President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Russian Minister of 
Defense Sergey Borisovich Ivanov. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of this interview.