[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 18 (Monday, May 5, 2003)]
[Pages 504-506]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia and 
an Exchange With Reporters

April 30, 2003

    President Bush. It's my honor to welcome to the Oval Office a friend 
and courageous person, the President of Colombia. He is determined to 
fight terror. He is determined to fight the flow of narcotics to 
America. We appreciate his determination. We appreciate his strength.
    And so it's my honor to welcome you, Mr. President. Before I ask you 
to speak and before we answer two questions a side, I do want to say 
that today we issued the roadmap. The roadmap is the beginning of a long 
process to achieve peace in the Middle East. In order for there to be a 
peace in the Middle East, it is important for all parties to assume the 
necessary responsibilities to achieve the conditions so that peace can 
happen. That starts with fighting off terror, to prevent killers from 
disrupting that which most citizens want in the Middle East, and that is 
a peaceful, hopeful world.
    I strongly condemn the killings that take place in the Middle East 
in the last couple of days. I applaud the words of Abu Mazen, the new 
Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, who renounced that terror. 
I look forward to spending time and energies to move the process 
forward.
    And finally, Mr. President, you're here on a day in which our 
country has achieved another notable success in the war against terror. 
The Pakistan authorities have detained Waleed bin Attash. He's a killer. 
He was one of the top Al Qaida operatives. And he was right below Khalid 
Sheik Mohammed on the organizational chart of Al Qaida. He is one less 
person that people who love freedom have to worry about.

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    I want to thank our friends in Pakistan. I want to thank the Agency, 
the CIA, for working hard to continue to win the war against terror. And 
make no mistake about it, Mr. President, we will win the war against 
terror.
    Thank you for your courageous fight in the war against terror, and 
welcome to the Oval Office.
    President Uribe. Thank you, Mr. President, for your warm welcome. 
This is very important for my country. Colombia has suffered terrorism 
for a long time. Thus, Colombia understands the need to fight terrorism 
in our country and in other--in any other country. And your Government, 
your people, your country, they are our best allies for us to succeed in 
our fight.
    Thank you again, Mr. President.
    President Bush. Thank you.
    We'll have one--we'll alternate questions between the American side 
and the Colombian side. Tom [Tom Raum, Associated Press].

Terrorist Attacks

    Q. Mr. President, even as the new Palestinian Cabinet was sworn in, 
there was a terror attack, and the suicide bomber was linked to Mr. 
Abbas' own party. How much confidence do you have that the new Prime 
Minister can control, can reign in these people?
    President Bush. Well, for certain, in order for there to be peace, 
we must all join together to fight off terror. Abu Mazen has publicly 
declared that he will fight terror. He understands that in order for the 
Palestinian lives to improve, terror must be battled.
    Listen, he's a man I can work with. And I look forward to working 
with him and will work with him, for the sake of peace and for the sake 
of security.
    Do you want to call on one of your reporters?
    President Uribe. Half of my Cabinet are made of women.
    President Bush. No, I'm very impressed by that. [Laughter] Not only 
that, but they're very smart women.
    Q. [Inaudible]--Mr. President.
    President Bush. Thank you.

Colombia-U.S. Trade Agreement

    Q. Mr. President, people in Colombia, we want to know how difficult 
is to sign a bilateral trade agreement with Colombia. Is that going to 
be done?
    President Bush. Well, we've got a lot of work to do. The President 
and I look forward to discussing trade. One thing that is for certain is 
we've started down the road on a free trade agreement through the Free 
Trade Agreement of the Americas, which I'm absolutely confident will 
boost the capacity of the Colombian economy to grow.
    And so we'll work--we'll talk about all aspects of trade, including 
the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, which, in my judgment, is the 
most hopeful trade agreement there is. We've got all kinds of different 
opportunities to work together, whether it be in trade or 
counternarcotics or fighting terror. And we will stand as a strong 
friend and supporter of the Colombian people as they take on difficult 
tasks.
    Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Sir, previous Middle East peace initiatives haven't been all that 
successful. What's different about this time?
    President Bush. Well, just because history has proven to be 
unsuccessful doesn't mean that we're not going to try, for starters. I'm 
an optimist. I believe now that we have a interlocutor from the 
Palestinian Authority that has spoken clearly about the need to fight 
terror, that we have a good opportunity to advance the peace process. 
And I will seize the opportunity.
    Secondly, the war on Iraq has made it absolutely clear that those 
who harbor terrorists, fund terrorists, or harbor weapons of mass 
destruction will be held to account. That, in itself, helps create the 
conditions to move peace forward.
    And by the way, in order for peace to occur, all parties must assume 
their responsibilities. That includes the Arab nations which surround 
Israel and the potential Palestinian state. They must cut off funding to 
terrorists. They must create the conditions necessary for peace. Israel 
is going to have to make some sacrifices in order to move the peace 
process forward. But no sacrifice

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should be made that will allow and encourage terror to continue and 
reign.

Colombian Terrorists

    Q. Mr. Bush, more than 500 terrorists from the FARC have handed 
themselves--[inaudible]. We're wondering if the United States Government 
would be willing at some point to help reinsert into society these 
terrorists that have now handed themselves--[inaudible].
    President Bush. To help in what fashion? I didn't get your question.
    Q. [Inaudible]--to reinsert to the civil society----
    President Bush. To bring what to the civil society? I'm sorry.
    Q. To reinsert themselves, to go back to civil----
    President Bush. Oh, to help them go back into civil society?
    Q. Yes.
    President Bush. Well, some terrorists are just plain coldblooded 
killers. They're hard to retrain, somebody who is a killer. And we--it's 
going to be--the President is going to have to make that decision, 
what's best for his country. All I know is the man is absolutely 
committed to fighting terror. For that, I appreciate it. He has got a 
straightforward, strong vision about what has to happen to people who 
are willing to kill innocent people. And that is, they must be dealt 
with severely.
    And it's interesting, we share the same strategy. When Al Qaida came 
and killed Americans, there's only one way to deal with them. That was 
to hunt them down, find them, and bring them to justice. And as I 
mentioned, today we found one of the Al Qaida leaders. It was a major, 
significant find, his detention. And the war goes on. It takes a while. 
We must be patient and strong and diligent and focused.
    And the President of Colombia is diligent, strong, and focused. He 
knows what he must do to make Colombia, a great nation, more safe and 
more secure against people who, in my opinion, are nothing but 
terrorists.
    President Uribe. Regarding this point, we have only one 
determination, to defeat terrorists in Colombia. When you look at the 
people in the terror organizations, you find the ringleaders, you find 
professional killers, and you find young people mistakenly led by 
professional killers. Therefore, we have the obligation to defeat 
terrorists and the duty, the obligation, to give those young people the 
opportunity to come to live under our Constitution again.
    We are telling them, you have the opportunity to follow the 
ringleaders of the terror organizations, or you have the opportunity to 
come to live in our community with the respect of our Constitution. For 
those who make--who choose this option, we are ready to give them a new 
opportunity.
    President Bush. Thank you.
    Q. [Inaudible].
    President Bush. Never can tell what's going to kick in--the urge. 
[Laughter]

Note: The President spoke at 5:21 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu 
Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority; Waleed Mohammed bin Attash, Al 
Qaida leader suspected of planning the terrorist attack on the U.S.S. 
Cole in Yemen in October 2000; and Khalid Sheik Mohammed, senior Al 
Qaida leader responsible for planning the September 11 attack, who was 
captured in Pakistan on March 1. The Office of the Press Secretary also 
released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.