    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 15 (Monday, April 14, 2003)]
    [Pages 415-420]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Tony Blair of the
    United Kingdom in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland

    April 8, 2003

        Prime Minister Blair. Good morning, everyone. First of all, I would
    like to extend a very warm welcome to President Bush to Northern
    Ireland. America has long been a friend of Northern Ireland and a friend
    to us in this important period for the peace process. So it's both
    significant and welcome that the President is here in person to give
    once more his support and to join with me and, later today, with the
    Irish Taoiseach in urging the parties to take the final steps towards a
    lasting peace here in Northern Ireland.
        It's also perhaps fitting that here in Northern Ireland a good part
    of our discussion focused on the Middle East. It's not so many years ago
    that it would have been said that the peace process here was in far
    worse shape than the process out in the Middle East. Yet, here we are,
    for all the difficulties in Northern Ireland, able to point back to real
    improvements in the security and the standard of living of people here
    and to point forward to turning progress into lasting change, lasting
    security, and lasting peace, which is what people want to see here. And
    we've made that progress because of patience and perseverance and
    because friends like those in the United States of America have helped
    us get there.
        So to those who can sometimes say that the process in the Middle
    East is hopeless, I say we can look at Northern Ireland and take some
    hope from that.
        I want to thank the President also for the impetus he has given to
    the two-state solution in the Middle East that he outlined last June, a
    secure Israel and a viable Palestinian state, and for his decision that
    the roadmap be published, which as you know, depends upon the foundation
    of Abu Mazen's cabinet.
        Of course, our discussions have naturally continued to focus upon
    Iraq, upon the continuing military campaign, where, once again, our
    forces have performed superbly. And I want to pay tribute to the U.S.,
    UK, and other coalition forces. In all parts of the country, our power
    is strengthening; the regime is weakening; the Iraqi people are turning
    towards us.
        I'd like to pay tribute to the professionalism and the compassion
    that they continue to show and to express my condolences to the families
    of those that have lost their lives in this conflict, most recently, the
    three brave soldiers who lost their lives fighting to liberate Basra. I
    think anyone who has seen the joy on the faces of people in Basra as
    they realize that the regime that they detest is finally collapsing
    knows very well that this was, indeed, a war of liberation and not of
    conquest.
        On weapons of mass destruction, we know that the regime has them. We
    know that as the regime collapses, we will be led to them. We pledged to
    disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, and we will keep that
    commitment.
        On Saddam, his grip on power has been prized away. He has ruled by
    fear. But as the knowledge sinks in that we will get the job done, the
    people realize there's not going to be a repeat of 1991; there's not
    going to be a repeat of the past. The power of Saddam is ending.
        And our enemy in this conflict has always been Saddam and his
    regime, not the Iraqi people. We are the friends of the Iraqi people. So
    much of our discussion today has focused on how we continue to get vital
    supplies of food, water, and medicines to them and how we help the
    process of transition to the day when Iraq is governed by the Iraqi
    people for the Iraqi people.
        As we said, our forces will not stay in Iraq a day longer than is
    necessary. We will take on the legal and moral obligations that will
    fall to us as the forces on the ground to stabilize the country, to keep
    basic services going, to protect civilian life. Then we will help Iraq
    move as swiftly as possible to an Interim Authority run by Iraqis. And
    that, in turn, is designed to pave the way for a truly representative
    government which respects human rights and the rule of law, which spends
    Iraq's wealth not on palaces and weapons of mass destruction but on the
    well-being, prosperity of the people of Iraq.
        And this new Iraq that will emerge is not to be run either by us or,
    indeed, by the U.N.

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    That is a false choice. It will be run by the Iraqi people. All of us
    will do what we can to help in that process of transition. We are, of
    course, agreed, as we say in our joint statement, that there will be a
    vital role for the United Nations in the reconstruction of Iraq. But the
    key is that Iraq, in the end, should be governed by the Iraqi people.
        Once again, let me thank President Bush for coming here. Let me say,
    as well as our own pride in our own forces during the course of this
    conflict, we have watched with immense admiration the skill and tenacity
    and professionalism of the American forces. This is a strong alliance.
    We're strong allies. And I think, day by day, the proof of the wisdom of
    that alliance grows.
        Thank you.
        President Bush. Thank you very much, Tony. It's an honor to be with
    you again. It's--I'm really pleased to be here in Northern Ireland.
        The Prime Minister is a man of his word. He is a man of great
    ability, deep conviction, and steady courage. He has my admiration, and
    he has the admiration of the American people.
        Our two countries are joined in large tasks because we share
    fundamental convictions. We believe that free nations have the
    responsibility to confront terrorism. We believe free nations must
    oppose the spread of weapons of mass destruction. And we believe that
    free nations must advance human rights and dignity across the world. We
    believe that the just demands of the international community must be
    enforced, not ignored. We believe this so strongly that we are acting on
    our convictions.
        America and Britain have been partners in Afghanistan, where a
    terrorist regime has been replaced by a government committed to justice
    and to peace. At this moment, our military forces are fighting side by
    side in Iraq to defend our security and to free that nation from
    oppression. Our Governments are working to help bring about a settlement
    in the Middle East that protects the rights of Israelis and
    Palestinians, that promotes the peace, that promotes security, that
    promotes human dignity.
        In Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister and I are committed to
    helping the parties take the final steps toward a lasting peace. Later
    this week, Prime Minister Blair and the Taoiseach will release a plan
    setting out the remaining actions that must be taken to realize the
    promise of the Good Friday agreement. I support and my Government
    strongly supports their efforts. At the meeting this afternoon, I will
    urge Northern Ireland's political leaders to adopt this plan as their
    own.
        This is an historic moment, and I ask all the communities of
    Northern Ireland to seize this opportunity for peace.
        Prime Minister Blair and I are also reviewing the course of the
    battle in Iraq. We're spending a lot of time talking about that
    country's future beyond war and beyond tyranny. As the Prime Minister
    mentioned, our armed services are conducting themselves with great
    courage and, at the same time, great humanity. I'm proud of our forces.
    I'm proud of the British forces. We're both proud of the Australian
    forces.
        We share sacrifices. We share grief. We pray for those families who
    mourn the loss of life, American families, British families. And as this
    war has progressed, the world has witnessed the brutal desperation, the
    true character of the Iraqi regime. The world is also witnessing the
    liberation and humanitarian aid our coalition is bringing to that
    country as a new day begins in Iraq.
        In fighting this war, we're taking every precaution to protect
    innocent life. We're showing respect for the Iraqi people, respect for
    their culture. There will be difficult fighting ahead, yet the outcome
    is not in doubt: Iraq will be free.
        After the current regime is removed, our coalition will work to
    restore electricity and water supplies, medical care, and other
    essential services in Iraq. We'll move as quickly as possible to place
    governmental responsibilities under the control of an Interim Authority
    composed of Iraqis from both inside and outside the country. The Interim
    Authority will serve until a permanent government can be chosen by the
    Iraqi people.
        The rebuilding of Iraq will require the support and expertise of the
    international community. We're committed to working with international
    institutions, including the

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    United Nations, which will have a vital role to play in this task.
        This work when the war is finished will not be easy, but we're going
    to see it through. A free Iraq will be ruled by laws, not by a dictator.
    A free Iraq will be peaceful and not a friend to terrorists or a menace
    to its neighbors. A free Iraq will give up all its weapons of mass
    destruction. A free Iraq will set itself on the path to democracy. The
    end of Saddam's regime will also remove a source of violence and
    instability in the Middle East.
        Prime Minister Blair and I are determined to move toward our vision
    of broader peace in that region. We're committed to implementing the
    roadmap toward peace, to bring closer the day when two states, Israel
    and Palestine, live side by side in peace and stability.
        Peace in the Middle East will require overcoming deep divisions of
    history and religion. Yet we know this is possible; it is happening in
    Northern Ireland. We are proving that old patterns of bitterness and
    violence, the habits of hatred and retribution, can be broken when one
    generation makes the choice to break those habits. And now this process
    of healing must be carried forward.
        The United States and the United Kingdom accept our
    responsibilities--accept our responsibilities for peace. We accept our
    responsibilities for security. Across the world, we are meeting these
    responsibilities together. America has no finer ally than the United
    Kingdom and no finer friend than the Prime Minister. And I'm grateful
    for his leadership in these crucial days.
        Prime Minister Blair. Right. Adam [Adam Boulton, Sky News].

    Northern Ireland Peace Process

        Q. Mr. President, welcome to Northern Ireland. I wonder if I could
    ask you how you feel about meeting the leaders of the Republican
    movement, bearing in mind that unlike Saddam Hussein, they have directly
    targeted British civilians, British politicians, members of the British
    military and the police, and also, of course, that they oppose the war.
    So you're welcoming Gerry Adams, apparently, and yet, you're not going
    to see someone like the Democratic Unionists who are a constitutional
    party opposed to terrorism.
        President Bush. Right. This isn't my first time I've met Mr. Adams
    or any of the other parties who have committed to the Good Friday
    agreement--as a matter of fact, I welcomed to the Oval Office, around
    Saint Patrick's Day of this year and last year and the year before.
        I am honored to have been asked to be here to help move the process
    along. These are men who have committed to an agreement that the Prime
    Minister and the Taoiseach worked a long time to achieve. They've signed
    on to a process that will yield peace. They have agreed to put hatreds
    in the past. They have agreed to say the history is just that--history.
    And they look forward to a future in which young generations of Northern
    Irelanders can grow up in peace. That's what they've committed
    themselves to. And as a result of making that commitment, I am perfectly
    comfortable about urging them to see the process through.
        There is such hope here in Northern Ireland that the past can be
    broken. And the Prime Minister is right when he says that when the peace
    process is successful here, it will send a really important signal to
    other parts of the world. It'll confirm the fact that people who have a
    vision for peace can see that vision become a reality.
        It's the same vision we need to have in the Middle East. It's a
    hopeful time in the Middle East, as far as I'm concerned. I believe we
    can make substantial progress. I'm pleased with the new leader of the
    Palestinian Authority. I look forward to him finally putting his cabinet
    in place so we can release the roadmap.
        I believe peace is possible. Being here in Northern Ireland even
    makes me even more firm in my belief that peace is possible. I've talked
    at length with the Prime Minister about how hard he had to work to bring
    the process this far. I'm willing to expend the same amount of energy in
    the Middle East. And so I hope these leaders hear me when I say that--
    achieve the agreement, because it will have an effect beyond Northern
    Ireland. And I think it will.
        Yes, Ron [Ron Fournier, Associated Press].

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    Regime Change in Iraq/Postwar Plans

        Q. Mr. President, how reliable was the intelligence that put Saddam
    Hussein at the site of last night's attack? Did he survive? And given
    the incursions in Baghdad recently, is the war nearly over?
        President Bush. You know, I don't know whether he survived. The only
    thing I know is he's losing power. I know that because the Royal Marines
    in Basra worked so hard that the people of Basra are beginning to
    understand that--a couple of things: One, when we said we would come and
    stay to achieve their liberty, we meant it; that in Basra, for example,
    the Royal Marine--the presence of the Royal Marines is providing enough
    comfort for people to begin to express their own opinions. They're
    beginning to realize freedom is real.
        These are people in the south of Iraq that had been betrayed,
    tortured, had been told they were going to be free, took a risk in the
    past and then were absolutely hammered by the Iraqi regime. They were
    skeptical. They were cynical. They were doubtful. Now they believe.
    They're beginning to understand we're real and true, and it's happening
    elsewhere. Freedom is spreading south to north.
        So the only thing I can tell you is, is that that grip I used to
    describe that Saddam had around the throats of the Iraqi people are
    loosening. I can't tell you if all 10 fingers are off the throat, but
    finger by finger, it's coming off. And the people are beginning to
    realize that. It's important for the Iraqi people to continue to hear
    this message: We will not stop until they are free; Saddam Hussein will
    be gone. It might have been yesterday. I don't know. But he'll be gone,
    and they just need to know that, because we're not leaving. And not only
    that, they need to hear the message that we're not leaving after he's
    gone until they are ready to run their own government.
        I hear a lot of talk here about how we're going to impose this
    leader or that leader. Forget it. From day one, we have said the Iraqi
    people are capable of running their own country. That's what we believe.
    The position of the United States of America is, the Iraqis are plenty
    capable of running Iraq, and that's precisely what is going to happen.
        Prime Minister Blair. Andy.

    U.N. Role in Postwar Iraq

        Q. Andrew Marr, BBC News. Picking up if I could, just on that last
    point for both of you, have you agreed whether the United Nations will
    have any role in selecting the Interim Iraqi Authority? Or will that be
    entirely for the coalition?
        President Bush. Yes. I mean, when we say vital role for the United
    Nations, we mean vital role for the United Nations in all aspects of the
    issue, whether it be humanitarian aid or whether it be helping to stand
    up a Interim Authority. The Iraqi people will decide who's on the
    Iraqi--the Interim Authority. The Interim Authority is a transition
    quasi-government until the real Government shows up, until the
    conditions are right for the people to elect their own leadership. And
    the United Nations will have a vital role.
        When we say vital role, that's precisely what we mean, that they
    will be involved, along with the coalition, in helping to stand up an
    Interim Authority. But the Iraqi people are responsible for who's on
    that Authority. And Tony can describe what's happening in Basra. He
    might describe some of the meetings that are taking place as leadership
    begins to emerge.
        It is a cynical world that says it's impossible for the Iraqis to
    run themselves. It is a cynical world which condemns Iraq to failure. We
    refuse to accept that. We believe that the Iraqi people are capable,
    talented, and will be successful in running their own Government.
        Prime Minister Blair. I agree with all that, as you would expect.
    And can I just make this further point to you, the one thing that is
    interesting is that as people in Iraq realize that Saddam and his regime
    are going, as they realize that, they are coming out. And it's not that
    they're welcoming us because they're welcoming foreign troops. They're
    welcoming the fact of their liberation from a regime--the more we know
    about it, the more brutal, repressive, tyrannical we see its character.
    And therefore, these people, given a chance, already now they're in
    discussion with our people inside Basra--people coming forward, people
    talking about those who have got support within the local community.

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        Iraq--it's not just that it's right that Iraq is run by Iraqi
    people; they want the chance to run their own country. They haven't
    wanted to be under the yoke of tyranny for all these decades. The reason
    you have this incredibly tyrannical, repressive security apparatus was
    in order to suppress the proper feelings of the people there.
        Now, of course, we're going to work with everyone. We'll work with
    the U.N. We'll work with everyone in order to bring this about. But if I
    can just make this point to your point, the important thing is not to
    get into some battle about words of the precise role here or there, but
    let's all work together internationally--the coalition forces, the
    international community together--to do what we really should be doing,
    which is making sure that that will of the Iraqi people is properly
    expressed in institutions that in the end they own, not any outside
    power or authority.
        And I think if we keep that vision in our minds, then we'll get this
    right. And rather than having a sort of, you know, endless diplomatic
    wrangles over it, let's all just agree that the basic things that the
    Iraqi people want is they want to have a country where they are able to
    exploit their own wealth for their own prosperity, where they have basic
    protection of human rights, and where they have a Government genuinely
    representative of Iraqi people--of the full diversity of Iraqi people.
        And I think what the President's just said there is so true, that--I
    can't tell you how many times people have said to me in these
    situations, ``Well, the outside world doesn't really understand. Somehow
    these people who are living under these types of tyrannies, really,
    that's the way they live.'' It's not the way they want to live. It's the
    way they're forced to live. Give them a chance to live freely, and they
    will live freely.
        President Bush. Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

    U.N. Debate on Postwar Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, what is--what exactly is the vital role for the
    U.N. that you both mentioned? How do you explain what is a vital role?
    And are we going to see the same U.N. debate over postwar Iraq that we
    saw before the war?
        President Bush. Well, I view a vital role as a agent to help people
    live freely. That's a vital role. That means food; that means medicine;
    that means aid; that means a place where people can give their
    contributions; that means suggesting people for the IIA; that means
    being a party to the progress being made in Iraq. That's what that
    means. And I want to thank Kofi Annan for naming a personal
    representative to the process yesterday. It is a positive step.
        We have said all along there needs to be a role for the United
    Nations. We said so in the Azores. We will keep repeating it. And
    evidently there's some skepticism here in Europe about whether or not I
    mean what I say. Saddam Hussein clearly now knows I mean what I say. And
    when, you know, we--and people in Iraq will know we mean what we say
    when we talk about freedom. And a vital role for the United Nations
    means a vital role for the United Nations.
        Prime Minister Blair. Absolutely. And there is no reason whatever
    why we need to go back into the wrangles we had over, you know, the so-
    called second resolution. If people keep in mind the key objective,
    which is the well-being of the Iraqi people--whatever is--the past is
    the past. But this country is in the process of being liberated. If they
    keep in mind the well-being of the Iraqi people, then I think we all
    then share a responsibility to make that objective be fulfilled in terms
    of what the Iraqi people want, in terms of their democratic rights, in
    terms of their prosperity, in terms of their freedom. And with good will
    and common sense, I'm sure it can be done.
        President Bush. Thank you. I appreciate you.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 11:08 a.m. in the Throne
    Room at Hillsborough Castle. In his remarks, he referred to Prime
    Minister Bertie Ahern of Ireland; President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Sinn
    Fein leader Gerry Adams; Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the
    Palestinian Authority; and Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Special
    Adviser for Iraq Rafeeuddin Ahmed of the United Nations.

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