[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 34 (Monday, August 25, 2003)]
[Pages 1077-1081]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service

August 14, 2003

Liberia

    Q. Thank you for joining us today. We really appreciate you being 
here and taking time out to talk with us.
    I'd like to start out with a topic that's in the news this morning, 
and that's Liberia. Two weeks ago, you authorized Secretary Rumsfeld to 
send a small contingency into

[[Page 1078]]

that war-torn country to help out. And now this morning, we hear that a 
couple of hundred more U.S. forces are there to help out. What's the 
status there? Do you see this as a long-term deployment for our troops? 
Or do you think this is more short-term?
    The President. No, I know it's short-term. Here's what I said. I 
said, look, we have a special obligation in Liberia to help with 
humanitarian aid, and therefore, we will. And I said, secondly, we will 
have a limited mission of limited duration and limited scope and that we 
will help what's called ECOMIL, which is the western African nations' 
militaries, go in and provide the conditions necessary for humanitarian 
aid to move.
    We have yet to deploy anybody, really. Today you mentioned 200 
troops. Those 200 troops will be the first really deployed, other than 
assessment teams, and their job is to help secure an airport and a port 
so food can be offloaded and the delivery process begun to help people 
in Monrovia. We'll be out of there by October the 1st. We've got U.N. 
blue-helmeted troops ready to replace our limited number of troops.
    But our mission there is to help ECOWAS--help ECOMIL provide 
humanitarian aid.

Coalition Operations in Iraq

    Q. I'd like to turn to Iraq now.
    The President. Yes.
    Q. On May 1st, you flew aboard the Abraham Lincoln, and you 
addressed the Nation, and you announced the end of combat operations.
    The President. Actually, major military operations.
    Q. Okay, I stand corrected.
    The President. Because we still have combat operations going on.
    Q. We do, sir; you're right. But as you say, duty there continues to 
be tough, dangerous work. But ironically, more of our troops have died 
since May 1st than during the main hostility. What do your advisers tell 
you about the security threat in Iraq today? Is it getting better? Is it 
worse? Where do we stand?
    The President. Well, it's certainly getting better on a day-by-day 
basis. And the reason why is because we're routing out former Ba'athists 
and some foreign terrorists from the country. These are people who can't 
stand the thought of a free Iraq.
    Really, the way I'd like for your viewers to understand the Iraq 
theater is that the--Iraq is an integral part on the war on terror. See, 
Saddam Hussein was funding terrorist activities. He was providing money. 
Who knows what kind of armament he was providing. We know he had illegal 
weapons, and those weapons in the hands of terrorists would be very 
dangerous to the United States.
    Iraq is in the middle of a part of the region that has produced 
terror and terrorists. And therefore, a free Iraq is an integral part of 
winning the war on terror, because a free Iraq is going to be one that 
will help--will have an amazingly positive effect on its neighborhood. A 
free Iraq will no longer be a threat to the United States and our 
friends and allies. And so what you're seeing now is a continuation on 
the battle for Iraq; it's just a different kind of battle. The first 
wave of military operations was to get rid of--the first major goal of 
military operations was to get rid of Saddam Hussein and his regime, and 
we have done that. And now it is to make the country secure enough for 
democracy to flourish. And it's a different kind of combat mission, but 
nevertheless, it's combat--just ask the kids that are over there killing 
and being shot at.
    Listen, as Commander in Chief, I grieve for any loss of life. And I 
stand in--I send my deepest sympathies to the loved ones who grieve over 
the loss of a soldier, a loved one. But the cause is a good cause, 
because we will never forget the lessons of 9/11. This is part of the 
war on terror. And the effect of what we have done in Iraq and what 
we're doing in Iraq will be a very positive effect on future generations 
of Americans, and that's very important for people to understand.
    Q. You talked about a democracy in Iraq. August 8th was the 100th 
day since the end of combat operations there. But we've got a lot of 
forces that are still there. I guess my question to you is, will U.S. 
forces continue to bear the brunt of the responsibility there? I believe 
down in Crawford you told the press that America was committed to 
staying in Iraq until they were free.

[[Page 1079]]

    The President. Right.
    Q. But will that responsibility continue to fall on U.S. forces, or 
will our coalition partners step up and give us some relief?
    The President. Yes, I think what you'll find is, is that there will 
be a variety of different elements that will give relief to U.S. forces.
    First of all, we will stay there until the job is done. If America 
pulls out, there's no telling what'll happen. It'll certainly embolden 
terrorists to think that we are going to a mission and don't complete 
it. But think about the following dynamics. First of all, Britain is 
still there. Polish troops are now moving in and will be in, I think, by 
September 4th of this year, which is in 2 weeks. That's a major Polish 
contingent. There will be other nations going in to support not only the 
Polish contingent but the British contingent.
    We're developing an Iraq police force as well as an Iraqi army. And 
the idea is at some point in time, the Iraqi army is able to secure the 
powerlines and prevent the looting. See, what's happening there is 
there's a handful of people, an element of people who are willing to 
destroy the power grid as we rebuild it, in order to try to terrorize 
people. It would be helpful if other patrolled the power grid, other 
than our U.S. hunter-killer teams. And that's what's happening now. And 
this fall you'll see a lot of protective load, kind of the guarding 
role, being taken off the shoulders of U.S. troops and shared by 
coalition forces.
    But you know, you mentioned 100 days. I want to put this in 
perspective. Saddam Hussein had 12 years or so, or more, to hide weapons 
and to fool the world. I say ``12 years'' because that's really the 
timeframe from '91, the last U.S. incursion, until today, but no telling 
what he was doing prior to '91. He has had years to terrorize people. 
This is the guy, if you disagreed with him, you're liable to be dead and 
your family would be tortured as well or killed as well.
    And so we're dealing with a mindset and kind of a condition, an 
environment that has been in place for a long time, and yet we've only 
been there for 100 days. But we've done a lot in 100. In other words, my 
expectations aren't the democracy will flourish after 100 days. Of 
course, my expectations were that--I wasn't certain how long it was 
going to take for us to do an incredibly difficult, complex military 
operation. I knew that we had a good plan, because General Franks told 
me we had a good plan. But it happened a lot quicker than I thought.
    So I don't--my point is, I don't tend to put time, artificial 
timelines; I try to be realistic, however, about how long it takes to 
accomplish a complex mission.

Afghanistan/War on Terror

    Q. Mr. President, I'd like to talk about Afghanistan for a moment, 
formerly a hotbed of terrorist activity, and the first country to feel 
America's wrath and compassion in the war on terrorism after 9/11. But 
today, significant numbers of U.S. troops are still there helping to 
rebuild that country. My question for you is, is there a timetable for 
when U.S. forces will start to come home from there? Or is Afghanistan 
tied to Iraq?
    The President. Well, listen, we've got about 10,000 troops there, 
which is down from, obviously, major combat operations. And they're 
there to provide security, and they're there to provide reconstruction 
help. But both those functions are being gradually replaced by other 
troops. Germany, for example, is now providing the troops for ISAF, 
which is the security force for Afghanistan under NATO control. In other 
words, more and more coalition forces and friends are beginning to carry 
a lot of the burden in Afghanistan.
    We'll still have hunter-killer teams there to chase down remnants of 
Taliban and Al Qaida, because--we want, of course, Afghanistan to be a 
secure and democratic country. And we want to use--now that we're locked 
and loaded, as they say in the military, we want to chase down those who 
could eventually come back and harm America.
    In other words, Afghanistan and Iraq--they're linked. They're linked 
because they're both integral theaters in the war on terror. And a free 
Afghanistan and a free Iraq will make America more secure, and that's, 
after all, the mission that we're after. Nine-eleven taught us a lesson, 
that we're vulnerable, and 9/11 reminded me that my obligation as the 
Commander in Chief is to hunt down an enemy and bring them to justice

[[Page 1080]]

before they would ever harm America again. And that's what we're going 
to do, so long as I am the President.

North Korea

    Q. I'd like to go to the other side of the world for a moment, if I 
could, to North Korea.
    The President. Yes.
    Q. What is the status on their weapons of mass destruction and their 
ability to use them? And most specifically, how concerned should U.S. 
forces in the Pacific theater be--South Korea, Japan--that North Korea 
would use nuclear weapons against them?
    The President. Well, you know, we believe he has got a warhead. We 
know he's got rockets. And we know he's a dangerous man, and that's why 
we take his threats seriously. You know, the best thing to do, in my 
judgment, is to convince others to join us to convince Kim Chong-il to 
change his behavior.
    In other words, we tried the bilateral approach, and it didn't work 
because he didn't tell the truth. And so now our strategy is to get the 
Chinese involved, which they are, and to get the Russians involved and 
the Japanese involved and the South Koreans involved, all of us involved 
to tell Kim Chong-il that we expect him to denuclearize the Korean 
Peninsula for the sake of peace. And that's where we're headed.
    I'd like to solve this diplomatically, and I believe we can. It's 
going to take a lot of persuasion by countries besides the United States 
to convince him. He loves the idea of, you know, making people nervous 
and rattling sabers and getting the world all anxious. And my job is to 
tell others that let's speak with one voice and convince this man that 
developing a nuclear weapon on the Korean Peninsula is not in his 
interests.

Military Pay and Benefits/Military Families

    Q. I'd like to talk about people for a minute. You've talked about 
them earlier, and nobody knows better than you the sacrifices that our 
servicemembers are making day in and day out on the war on terrorism, 
whether it's Iraq, Afghanistan, here at home. What can servicemembers 
look for in the way of benefits, pay, housing, health care, that kind of 
thing, to repay them for their unselfish sacrifice to the Nation?
    The President. When I first came in, I made the commitment that help 
was on the way. I said that during the campaign to the military, help 
was on the way, and I've lived up to that commitment.
    Pay is going up. I think if you talk to the servicemen, they do feel 
the pay increases that we've--that I proposed and Congress has passed. 
And when you couple that with two significant tax cuts, our servicemen 
have got more money in their pocket than before.
    I ask the question all the time to troops. I don't know if I got--I 
hope I get the straight answer. You don't know; it must be a little 
awesome for a sergeant to talk to the Commander in Chief.
    Q. It's very awesome, sir. [Laughter]
    The President. And I turn to the guy and say, ``Can you feel your 
pay raise?'' And to a person, the answer is yes, they feel their pay 
raise, which is good. And that's what I want.
    The other thing is that when you and I first met at Fort Stewart, 
Georgia, I was given a tour of substandard housing. And I went back and 
talked to Don Rumsfeld about that and said, ``We've got to do something 
about that.'' Pay is one thing, and housing is another. And both of them 
are compatible; both of them are important for families in the military.
    And I think you'll find that we have--we're living up to our 
commitment to have a full-scale housing program ongoing for our troops. 
And the housing issue is getting a lot--the housing condition is 
improving, compared to the way it was in the past, and so I'm mindful of 
it.
    And health care is good for our troops. I think, again, if you ask 
the troops--that's who I ask, and they tell me they're pleased with the 
health care. And so the key is to continue the progress that we've made 
about making sure that the human condition in the military is excellent.
    Q. One final question, Mr. President. The families of America's 
fighting forces, they make huge sacrifices in the name of freedom, just 
like the servicemembers. You touched on it earlier. You touched on it in 
your speech

[[Page 1081]]

today. For months at a time, they give up their servicemembers. They 
don't know where they are. They don't hear from them. They don't know if 
they're safe. They don't know if they're dead or alive. What message do 
you have for the families today?
    The President. Well, my message is that what your loved one is doing 
is the right thing for the country. We are called upon to defend the 
United States of America. I take that oath, and every soldier takes that 
oath. And on 9/11, our world changed, and we realized this country is 
vulnerable and we better do something about it. And the best way to 
secure the homeland is to get the enemy before he gets us. At least, 
that's my attitude. And so, I--first of all, the commitment that their 
loved ones have made, the families of the service ones have made, is in 
line with this business about winning and fighting war.
    Every person is a volunteer in our military. They've chosen to 
defend the United States of America. And therefore, they need to get the 
best--if that's their attitude, and they made up their mind that's what 
they want to do, then my job is to get them the best equipment, the best 
pay, the best training possible, so that if we ever have to send them 
in, they'll be able to do the job.
    And I hope their loved ones understand that, that this is a 
volunteer army and it requires sacrifice. Look, I understand what it 
must mean for the moms and dads and sons and daughters to wonder about 
their loved one. It must be a nerve-wracking experience. On the other 
hand, it's for a good cause.
    I would tell you as well, as I think our military does is--I'm going 
to tell you two things I think the military does really well that will 
hopefully give comfort to people. One, there is a lot of communication 
that takes place with troops overseas and their loved ones at home. 
There are--there's e-mail efforts that go on, a lot of e-mail efforts. 
In other words, there's a capacity to communicate from afar, the likes 
of which our military has never had.
    Secondly, I have visited our wounded. One of my jobs as the 
Commander in Chief is to try to comfort those who grieve and to comfort 
those who are wounded--those who grieve as a result of loss of life, and 
those--and to comfort those who have been wounded, and I do. I'm 
responsible for putting them into combat, and I know that. And so I go 
to hospitals on occasion, Walter Reed or Bethesda.
    Ours is a country that can take a young, wounded soldier off the 
battlefield and have him in the best care in a number of days. I met 
many a troop that was wounded in Iraq and 3 days later was at Bethesda 
Naval Hospital getting the best possible treatment. And to me that 
speaks volumes about the commitment of our country to take care of our 
fighters and our soldiers and marines and sailors and airmen. If 
somebody gets hurt far from home, we will deliver the best care in the 
world in a rapid time. And I understand that doesn't replace an injured 
limb for a loved one, but it certainly should say loud and clear that 
this country cares deeply about those who are willing to sacrifice on 
its behalf.
    Q. As you say, sir, freedom isn't free.
    The President. That's right.
    Q. Thank you, Mr. President, very much. I really appreciate the 
time.
    The President. You bet. Thank you, sir. Good job.

Note: The interview began at 1:55 p.m. in Hangar Five at the Marine 
Corps Air Station in Miramar, CA, for later broadcast, and the 
transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on August 
18. In his remarks, the President referred to former President Saddam 
Hussein of Iraq; Gen. Tommy R. Franks, USA (Ret.), former combatant 
commander, U.S. Central Command; and Chairman Kim Chong-il of North 
Korea. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this 
interview.