[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 22 (Monday, June 2, 2003)]
[Pages 689-691]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With TVP of Poland

May 29, 2003

President's Upcoming Visit to Poland

    Q. Mr. President, in a few hours you begin your quite unexpected 
visit to Poland. Are you going to Krakow just to thank us for our 
support and participation in the war in Iraq?
    The President. That's one reason I'm going to Krakow. I think it's 
very important for the Polish people to understand how deeply Americans 
appreciate their sacrifice and their courage and their willingness to 
work with us in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
    I'm also going to Auschwitz to remind people that we must confront 
evil when we find it, and there's no better place to remind people that 
there has been evil in the world than at Auschwitz. I'm also going to 
talk about the great spirit of the Polish people, and I'm looking 
forward to it. I will have been to Poland now twice since--in my 
Presidency, and there's a reason, because I have a special fondness for 
Poland.

French and German Verbal Attacks on Poland

    Q. Mr. President, as you probably know, we've been strongly 
criticized for our support

[[Page 690]]

to America. President Chirac started by telling us that we lost our 
chance to sit quietly. German press called us American trojan donkey in 
Europe--not even a horse, American trojan donkey. How do you perceive 
these opinions from American perspective?
    The President. I think it's unfortunate that some of the countries 
in Europe will try to bully Poland for standing up for what you think--
what they think is right. And I'm going to say in my speech, Poland 
needs to be in the EU and Poland can be a friend of the United States 
and the two are not in conflict. I'm also going to remind the countries 
of Europe that we must work together. We don't need divides between us. 
We need to work together to achieve big objectives, which is to fight 
terror, to fight global poverty, to fight AIDS, and to promote freedom.

Possible Polish Isolation Within the European Union

    Q. But Mr. President, aren't you afraid that, for our support to 
America, we might be isolated in the future united Europe, which we are 
about to enter?
    The President. No, I don't think you will be isolated. I think 
Poland is too important a country to be isolated. I think the days of 
harsh lecturing are over with. I think Poland is going to be such an 
important member of the EU that people will welcome Poland's entry with 
open arms.
    No, I don't think so. I think that was a heated rhetoric of the 
moment.

Polish Support in Iraq

    Q. But thanks to your decision we are going to run one of the zones 
in Iraq. And of course our EU partners do not want to be there with us. 
They say that we're new, we're unexperienced, and we simply do not 
deserve getting what we got. And aren't you afraid that we may fail in 
Iraq, or are you absolutely sure that you made the right decision?
    The President. I'm absolutely sure I made the right decision.
    Q. Why?
    The President. Because I've seen the Polish troops in action. And I 
know President Kwasniewski, and I know the spirit of the Polish people. 
And there's no doubt in my mind that Poland will be able to accomplish 
the objectives we set out together.
    And it was also--the critics need to watch very carefully what's 
happening. NATO is going to support the Polish efforts inside of Iraq. 
Poland will not be alone. Poland will have plenty of support. Poland is 
a member of this coalition of the willing, who stood up for freedom and 
stood up for peace and stood up for security. And Poland also recognizes 
that there's more work to do. And I'm--also I'm going to Poland to thank 
the Polish people for caring about freedom in other parts of the world.

Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction

    Q. But still, those countries who didn't support the Iraqi Freedom 
operation use the same argument, weapons of mass destruction haven't 
been found. So what argument will you use now to justify this war?
    The President. We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found 
biological laboratories. You remember when Colin Powell stood up in 
front of the world, and he said, ``Iraq has got laboratories, mobile 
labs to build biological weapons.'' They're illegal. They're against the 
United Nations resolutions, and we've so far discovered two. And we'll 
find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven't 
found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong. 
We found them.

Future Poland-U.S. Relations

    Q. Mr. President, the last question. Coming back to your trip to 
Warsaw. Two years ago you quoted a very popular song in Poland, ``On 
that wheat field I'm going to build my San Francisco, over the molehill, 
I'm going to build my bank.'' And there are such places in Poland in 
which people believe they could build a little San Francisco, if, for 
example, they have American military base in their neighborhood. What 
would you tell these people today, Mr. President?
    The President. Well, I'm telling them that we're looking at all 
options, of course. I make no promises, but we will remember who our 
friends are. And the Polish people have been strong friends of the 
United States. And for that, we are very grateful.

[[Page 691]]

    Q. Thank you very much, Mr. President, and here's something for you. 
They couldn't come for a concert to play for you, the--the songs that 
you quoted, and they wrote it here: ``To Mr. President Bush, fond 
greetings from the mountains, and hope you enjoy it.''
    The President. Oh, thank you so very much. I'm honored. I look 
forward to listening to this. I've got just the CD player to use, right 
upstairs in the residence here.
    Q. That's great. It's number three on that CD.
    The President. Well, thanks.
    Q. Thank you.

Note: The interview was taped at 2:28 p.m. on May 29 in the Library at 
the White House for later broadcast and was embargoed for release by the 
Office of the Press Secretary until 1:30 p.m. on May 30. In his remarks, 
the President referred to President Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland. A 
reporter referred to President Jacques Chirac of France. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of this interview.