[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 43 (Monday, October 27, 2003)]
[Pages 1447-1454]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With the White House Press Pool

October 22, 2003

    The President. What I thought I would do is just----
    Q. On the record?
    The President. Yes, on the record. I thought I would just give you 
some observations of this trip and then answer some questions. Just 
first observation is that we have worked hard to build up good bilateral 
relations in the Far East. And the--part of the purpose of the trip is 
to continue to foster those relations.
    It struck me as interesting that the United States now has got good 
enough relations with both--with countries like Japan and South Korea 
and China to effect policy which helps our mutual security and our 
economy--and economy. I think that's a very positive development.
    The most notable example of where that is taking--where it is 
helping is in North Korea. When I visited with Hu Jintao, I spent a lot 
of time talking about North Korea, our mutual desire to effect change 
with Kim Chong-il. And it was a very positive discussion. But I also had 
the very same discussion with Koizumi and President Roh. I mentioned it 
to Vladimir. I didn't have a bilateral with Vladimir Putin, but I did 
talk to him about it in passing.
    My point is, is that by working hard to establish good relations on 
a lot of fronts, when a common problem arises, we can effect the 
solution in a positive way. I know you asked me, Steve [Steve Holland, 
Reuters], about the North Korean reaction. I didn't exactly see what 
official said it. But I--what I hope my answer conveyed to you in public 
there was that this requires a degree of patience, because Kim Chong-il 
is used to being able to deal bilaterally with the United States. But 
the change of policy now is, is that he must deal with other nations, 
most notably China. And I was pleased with my discussions with Hu 
Jintao, about his--reaffirming his mutual desire--or his desire, which 
is our mutual goal, that Kim Chong-il disarm. He realizes that it's a 
problem.
    We discussed the security guarantees, what form they may come in. I 
made it very clear, obviously--I said this during the pool spray there--
that a treaty is not going to happen, but there are other ways to effect 
on paper what I have said publicly--we have no intention of invading. 
Obviously, any guarantee would be conditional on Kim Chong-il doing what 
he hopefully will say he'll do, which is to get rid of his nuclear 
weapons programs.
    The APEC summit was positive. I mean, one of the things that's very 
important--the two things that came out of that, although evidently 
didn't get equal emphasis, but they were equally emphasized by all 
parties, was, one, the need to get the Doha Round of trade going again. 
This was really one of the first official meetings of a group of 
countries after

[[Page 1448]]

the Cancun talks broke down. And there was a positive statement coming 
out of the meeting, kind of universal agreement that Cancun was a missed 
opportunity. Hopefully the missed opportunity will be--will serve as a 
catalyst. I think people now have taken a step back and said, ``Well, we 
did miss an opportunity,'' and hopefully this will enable the talks--
kind of not start at ground zero but have a running start as a result of 
the missed opportunity.
    And it's interesting, in the room there is something like 60 percent 
of all the world trade--was affected--was countries in that room, and 
therefore it was a, I think, a very positive and strong statement.
    The other thing was the clear understanding of the countries of the 
need to fight terror. That's important for the United States, that 
people continue to recognize that the war on terror goes on. I've always 
felt that there's a tendency for people to kind of seek a comfort zone 
and hope that the war on terror is over. And I view it as a 
responsibility of the United States to remind people of our mutual 
obligations to deal with the terrorists.
    That notion of responsible behavior by countries was finally 
accepted. This was not a--didn't require a lot of push. People 
understood. President Megawati understands that when terrorists bomb 
Bali, it affects economies. It not only--there's a serious economic 
consequence, same thing we felt on September the 11th, to our economy.
    That was a very positive development. Bilateral discussion with all 
the leaders--in those bilateral discussions, we talked about this war on 
terror. Gloria Arroyo, with Abu Sayyaf, President Megawati just hours 
ago, we talked about the continued need for us to work together.
    I think the other notable--when you step back and take a look at 
what our work with these Asian countries has been, they understand the 
Iraq issue well. South Korea was very forthcoming. Japan is forthcoming. 
Hu Jintao made it clear that he--that a peaceful Iraq was in the world 
interest. Those are all positive developments in kind of the aftermath 
of the military operation. And I think it speaks to our--the nature of 
our relationship with these countries right now.
    Obviously we haven't been to Australia, but Australia is a key 
component in a peaceful Asia-Pacific region and a key partner in the war 
on terror. So I'm looking forward to seeing John Howard. He and I have 
got a great relationship. He is a--as I said in Crawford, he's a man of 
steel. He's a standup guy.
    Q. A sheriff?
    The President. He's a sheriff. See, that's a good lesson. You should 
never answer the question you're asked. [Laughter] Actually, I answered 
it for a reason. Of all the people in the world who understand Texas, 
it's probably Australians.
    Q. Patsy [Patricia Wilson, Reuters].
    The President. Yes, Patsy. Anyway, it's going to be a good visit 
down there. We had some good discussions there at APEC, but this will be 
a chance to further our discussions and assure the Australian people 
that the American people are really grateful for the support and mutual 
efforts to make the world secure.
    I had a good visit with the religious leaders today. It was an 
important visit. There were three Muslims, a Christian, and a Hindu. A 
couple of observations from the meeting: One, there was kind of a sense 
that Americans believe that Muslims are terrorists. And one of the 
reasons I wanted to have this meeting was because I wanted to make it 
very clear that I didn't feel that way and Americans don't feel that 
way. And I made it--assured them that Americans know that these 
terrorists are hiding behind Islam in order to create fear and chaos and 
death.
    Secondly, there was a--they did bring up the Middle East. I 
explained to them what our policy was, that in order for there to be a 
Palestinian state--and I reminded them I was the first President to have 
articulated that--that there needs to be a concerted effort to fight off 
the terrorists who are trying to prevent the establishment of a state. I 
didn't really have time to go in further than that, about the whole 
Aqaba accords and the progress we were making, until the Prime Minister, 
who had avowed--who vowed to fight terror with us, was eased out.
    Let's see, what else did they discuss? Iraq, of course. I assured 
them that we would do

[[Page 1449]]

our job, and then the Iraqis will run themselves, and that our job means 
to provide enough security so that the Iraqi citizens are able to write 
a constitution and hold elections, at which point the United States and 
the coalition forces will move on. And I think they were pleased to hear 
it. I don't want to put words in their mouth, but I think that relieved 
them to know that we have confidence in the Iraqi people's abilities to 
be a peaceful, free society.
    National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. You listened.
    The President. Well, they did a lot of talking.
    National Security Adviser Rice. They had a lot to say.
    The President. They had some prepared texts. There was a good 
exchange. I'm glad I did it. They were, I think, appreciative of the 
fact I took time to listen to them and dispel some notions and to--my 
own personal views about religion and the views of our country. I 
reminded them, we've got a lot of Muslims living in the United States, 
and they make an important contribution to our country, and they're 
welcome in the United States. And we're a pluralistic, free society; 
people can worship the way they want to worship. And it works well in 
America.
    All in all, it's been a very positive experience.

Indonesia Meeting With Religious Leaders

    Q. Was it confrontational at all?
    The President. Not at all, polite.
    Q. You said that there were some texts. Did they come out with the 
line about--what did they tell you? How direct were they? They said some 
things going into the meeting that the United States policy is tilted 
against Muslims. What did they----
    The President. They said the United States policy is tilted toward 
Israel, and I said our policy is tilted toward peace and that--and then 
I went through the notion of a Palestinian state and the need for us to 
fight off terror in order for a state to develop.
    There wasn't a lot of debate. There were five people there that 
felt--that all needed to say something. So I gave them all a time to 
speak, and I listened and would occasionally interject some thoughts 
about what they had said. But they were direct. One fellow felt that the 
war on Iraq was--I guess the best way to put it was maybe just--I can't 
remember his exact words, but it was like we just decided to act. And I 
reminded him that the world had spoken before, that there was a--the 
United States had passed--I didn't get into all the resolutions, but I 
made it clear that a process had gone on way before I made the decision 
to use military force, that the world had spoken before about Saddam 
Hussein.
    I also made the point very clearly that there was a lot of human 
suffering; a lot of Muslims suffered in Iraq. And I did bring up the 
mass graves and the torture rooms and the rape rooms and the death at 
the hands of Saddam Hussein. My point to them was, was that we ended a 
lot of suffering, prevented a lot of suffering.

Lieutenant General Boykin

    Q. Is your job made tougher in convincing them that Americans don't 
have a war on--don't dislike Islam when you have General Boykin saying 
that Muslims all----
    The President. Yes, that came up. Boykin came up. I said he didn't 
reflect my opinion. Look, it just doesn't reflect what the Government 
thinks. And I think they were pleased to hear that.

Indonesia Meeting With Religious Leaders

    Q. Something in your answer to your Terry's question was 
interesting. You articulated the fact that you're the President--first 
President to advocate a Palestinian state. And obviously in trying to 
reassure Muslims----
    The President. Not that good a question. Go ahead.
    Q. ----not only in America but around the world, potential terrorist 
hotbeds--to reassure people who are interested in this subject of that 
point. It's not something we have heard you saying a lot lately. Is 
there a reason----
    The President. About a Palestinian state?
    Q. Right, that you were the first President to advocate it.

[[Page 1450]]

    The President. I say it quite a bit. I mean, I really do. First of 
all, in America, most people know that. In Indonesia, maybe they didn't 
pay attention to it. But anyway, I explained it. It was not a--I don't 
view that as--I wouldn't read anything into that, I had to say that in 
Indonesia, but not saying it in every press conference I give.
    Q. Can I ask you about some of the leaders you've met with here?
    The President. Well, anyway----
    Q. I guess what I'm getting at is, it's a good thing to have out 
there, I guess. We don't hear it a lot.
    The President. Yes, I don't know. There's a lot of things that 
there's misconceptions. Evidently it's a misconceptions that Americans 
believe that Muslims are terrorists. And there was a--that's probably 
one of the best things that came out of the meeting, for me, was to have 
heard that concern, and for me being able to assure people and remind 
them about the nature of our society, that--and that Islam's a peaceful 
religion. The basic tenets of Islam is peace and respect and tolerance. 
And that's what they wanted to make the point to me, that we are--that's 
the way we are.
    Interesting, their elections came up. This is the first direct 
Presidential election. It's going to be interesting--an interesting 
exercise in democracy. And they wanted to talk about that. And as you 
know--maybe you don't know--our USAID money is helping with the 
elections. They were appreciative of that. The education money came up. 
They wanted to make sure that this wasn't America's education system. I 
said, ``It's not. It's money available for the Indonesian Government to 
help basic education develop.'' So those were a couple of misconceptions 
that it was important for me to help alter.

Democratic Candidates and Foreign Policy

    Q. Can I ask a question--I know that you say campaigning--there will 
be time enough for campaigning. In just months, Democrats, at least, 
will be fighting in some very highly contested--what do you say to those 
who are criticizing your policy? Where does the line end where they've 
got to be very careful to not undermine American foreign policy?
    The President. I don't know. You know, I'm not paying that much 
attention to it. Maybe you are. I'm not. You know, one of these days, 
they'll have a candidate, and then it will all sort out, kind of come in 
focus. Primarily--I don't know what they're saying, so it's hard for me 
to answer that.
    Q. Democrats who are criticizing your policy now, some of them 
fairly severely, about the war, does that hurt when you go to meet with 
these foreign leaders? Does that have any resonance?
    The President. You know, I can't--I don't know, because they have 
never brought it up. Nobody has ever said, ``Your foreign policy is 
being challenged in Democrat primaries, and therefore you're less 
credible.'' I mean, it really hasn't come up. I think most people who 
understand America know that the field will eventually be whittled down 
to one opponent, and then we'll campaign.

Decisionmaking and Leadership

    Q. You seem, on these trips in particular, to bond with some of 
these leaders who have taken on very difficult problems at home, sort of 
stuck their neck out, whether it's President Arroyo or--you had some of 
those comments about the King of Jordan when he came. And I was just 
wondering, do you relate to that at all, particularly in having to take 
on the war on terrorism and kind of not, as you say, wanting to be too 
comfortable and pretend that it's over?
    The President. You know, that's an interesting question. First of 
all, I like people. And I spend time trying to--I think about the other 
person and how the other person might think and relate to the other 
person's problems. I do have good relations with these leaders on an 
individual basis, for a variety of reasons. I mean, Gloria Arroyo, who 
is taking a tough stand against Abu Sayyaf, there is a common bond there 
because she has made some tough decisions. But these leaders--for 
example, Aznar of Spain or Blair of Britain, these guys stood up, stood 
strong and were--did what they thought was right. That's my approach.
    I remember when we had the discussion down in Crawford, one of 
reporters, fellow reporters, said, ``I hear you don't pay attention to 
the press.'' I said, ``Not really.'' And

[[Page 1451]]

he said, ``Why?'' And I said, ``Well, because sometimes your opinion 
matters to me and sometimes it doesn't, but I've got a job, and I'm 
willing to lead.'' And the fellow said, ``Well, how do you know what the 
people think?'' And I said, ``Well''--I reminded the fellow that people 
don't make up their mind based upon what they write, and secondly, my 
job is to lead. My job is to do what I think is the right thing and 
lead.
    And I think those world leaders appreciate that, and I appreciate 
that when I see that they make those tough decisions. There is a common 
bond that's established when you're in the decisionmaking process and 
you're not trying to chase popular will, which is fickle and moves 
around. You stay focused on the objectives you set for a country. That's 
a very good question. It may be an area where we do establish in common.
    And I've reminded them at times that, just do what you think is 
right, stand your ground in the face of public criticism, and the 
people--when things turn out the way--for the good, people will judge 
you correctly.
    Dana, how are you?
    Q. I'm well, thank you.
    The President. Are you surviving this trip?
    Q. I wish we just got a little more time in Bali.
    The President. Yes, that and Hawaii. Look, I've heard all the 
people----
    Q. She spent her honeymoon in Bali.
    The President. You'll be thankful when we get back. You'll be 
grumpy--very grumpy, starting tomorrow, when we get airborne. But you'll 
be thankful when we all land home.

Reform of the Palestinian Authority

    Q. Mr. President, I was wondering, the last time we sat around this 
table was coming from Aqaba.
    The President. Middle East, that's right.
    Q. And you were talking about how positive you felt about Prime 
Minister Abbas and the fact that you thought that things would be able 
to move forward.
    The President. And they did move forward, for a while.
    Q. I wonder if you could reflect on how you felt since--during the 
fact that the man you put confidence in and hope in is gone.
    The President. I was disappointed that Arafat shoved him out of the 
way. I just--it was an unfortunate decision, because it stopped good 
progress toward a Palestinian state. And when the Palestinian Authority 
comes up with a leader who is willing to genuinely fight and dismantle 
terrorist organizations, the process will pick up where it left off and 
move forward.
    Q. Are you confident of that?
    The President. I hope it does. I think eventually it will. You've 
got to be patient in foreign policy sometimes.
    Q. Is there anything more the United States can do on that, or is 
the roadmap--once they get on track on the roadmap, then things will 
come back and move forward again?
    The President. The roadmap is still there. And we just need 
leadership willing to stand up and say, ``We're going to prevent the few 
from letting the process move forward.'' And that's what they're doing. 
There are a few people there that don't want a Palestinian state. 
They've got different ambitions. And we've just got to fight them off.
    Q. Do you think the public support of the U.S. for Abbas sort of got 
Arafat to dig in his heels?
    The President. I don't know. I really don't. I can't speculate as to 
why the decision was made. This was an unfortunate decision, because it 
delayed the development of a Palestinian state.

Prime Minister Mahathir's Remarks at the Organization of the Islamic 
Conference Summit

    Q. What did you tell Prime Minister Mahathir? Apparently he's saying 
you didn't fuss at him.
    The President. No, I walked up and said, the--I said, ``I want to 
inform you that you're going to read the newspapers''--Condi had briefed 
the press about me saying that the comments were reprehensible. I said, 
``You're going to see--I'm here to inform you that you're going to see 
that I thought your comments were reprehensible.'' I said, ``They're 
divisive and unnecessary.'' I didn't

[[Page 1452]]

yell at him. I just told him--confirmed exactly what was in the 
newspaper.
    Q. How did he respond?
    Q. Yes, what did he say?
    The President. ``I was misquoted'' or something. I can't remember 
exactly what he said, but I just had--that was it. You know the way I 
felt.
    Q. He said he was misquoted?
    The President. Well, he said he was----
    Q. Taken out of context?
    The President. Yes, context, whatever he said to you all.
    Press Secretary Scott McClellan. He said that in the paper.
    The President. Not misquoted. It's hard to misquote what he said.
    Q. The issue were his comments. Obviously he's on his way out, but 
the response, apparently, at the Islamic conference, was a round of 
applause. What do you make of that?
    The President. It's just unfortunate, again. I mean, it's one of 
these situations where in order to achieve peace and freedom, you can't 
pit groups against each other. And there's a tendency to blame Jewish 
people. And that's not the policy--that's not how I think, and that's 
not the policy of the United States Government. I wasn't there, so I 
don't--pitting groups against each other will never achieve a common 
objective. It does quite the opposite. He knew how I felt. There's no 
question about that. I don't know, what did he say?
    Q. [Inaudible]--he was asking Muslims to have more understanding, at 
one part----
    The President. Evidently, in his speech, he said that we need more 
education, a terrorist ban, which is good. That was positive.

Madrid Donors' Conference

    Q. I know you hate two questions, but I can just--just two quick 
ones. You talked about your meeting with Hu, and that was positive. Is 
there anything that he offered to you that he can--any pressure he can 
apply on North Korea? And the second one is a brief one. Are you happy 
with the progress or the contributions with the Madrid donors' 
conference coming up?
    The President. Donors' conference? Yes. I think we're making good 
progress. And the question on Hu was?

North Korea

    Q. Is there anything that he can--any pressure that he can apply on 
North Korea? Did he say he would be able to do anything or----
    The President. He is a--China is a major presence in the 
neighborhood. And the fact that they're willing to take the same message 
to the North Koreans that the United States is taking to the North 
Koreans, along with three other nations, is a powerful statement to Kim 
Chong-il that it's in his national interest that he abandon his nuclear 
weapons ambitions and that--he has been saying--as I said in the press 
conference, I think--one of your questions--he's been saying, ``I want a 
security guarantee.'' And what we have now said is that in return for 
dismantling the programs, we're all willing to sign some kind of 
document, not a treaty but a piece of paper that says we won't attack 
you. We'll see what happens.
    Q. How does that--a lot of people were saying we can't make it look 
like we're giving in to blackmail from North Korea.
    The President. What's changed is we've now got five countries 
involved. And the neighborhood is now speaking. What happened before was 
the bilateral relations with the United States. And now he's got his big 
neighbor to the--right on his border, he's got a neighbor to the south, 
he's got Japan, he's got another neighbor, Russia, all saying the same 
thing. It's a different dynamic, is what I'm--that's where the policy 
has changed.
    Q. This security guarantee, what should it say?
    The President. That's what we'll determine. We haven't worked out 
the words, but the point is, is that North Korea must hear that in 
return for the dismantling of their program--in a verifiable way, by the 
way; I mean, we're going to want to know--that now five nations are 
willing to say something about his security.
    Q. Everybody is behind that?
    The President. Yes.

[[Page 1453]]

Iran

    Q. Can I ask you one on Iran?
    The President. On Iran? Yes.
    Q. It seems like last night there was some maybe cautious optimism 
that this is a good first step. If they comply with the three criteria 
that you've laid out, would they be then allowed to have a civilian 
nuclear energy program, or would that----
    The President. Well, it depends on--first things first, and that is, 
let us have, in a verifiable way, their agreement that was made with the 
IAEA. The IAEA must be allowed in, and we'll discuss it then. Our 
relations with Iran--that will help relations with Iran, obviously, if 
they do abandon a nuclear weapons program. It will also help if they--we 
end up doing a--reaching an agreement on the Al Qaida that they hold.
    Q. What are the cross-strings there?
    The President. You've got to have patience in foreign policy.
    Q. Are you at all suspicious of the European motives?
    The President. Am I suspicious? No, not in this case. No, I'm not. I 
believe, in this case, they generally are concerned about Iran 
developing a nuclear weapon. They understand the consequences. I 
appreciate it very much. We spent a lot of time talking to the 
European--our European counterparts, who are influential, more so than 
we are, in Iran. You know, we've got a sanctions policy with Iran; they 
don't. And there's influence. This is an effective approach. I've been 
saying all along that not every policy issue needs to be dealt with by 
force. There are ways to achieve common objectives, and this is a common 
objective.
    And the European Union--and we're speaking directly to Silvio 
Berlusconi about it, who is the head of the EU. We've also obviously 
spoke to the three--the leaders of the countries who went into Iran. And 
they made a decision collectively in Europe that it's not in their 
interest or the world interest that Iran have a nuclear weapon. And we 
came to that conclusion, they've come to that conclusion, and working 
together is an effective way. It's the same approach--kind of approach 
we're taking in North Korea as well, a collective voice trying to 
convince a leader to change behavior.

Legislative Agenda

    Q. [Inaudible]--Republicans in Congress didn't follow your wishes on 
the phone----
    The President. I thought they did in the House. There's two bodies.

North Korea

    Q. Do you regret saying that you loathe Kim Chong-il? Some people 
think that it helped them sort of--it made them sort of harden their 
position----
    The President. Any leader who starves his--made him do what?
    Q. It just made him----
    The President. Made Kim Chong-il--surely it didn't make Kim Chong-il 
renege on the last agreement, did it? Because I wasn't there, you know 
what I'm saying?
    Q. Right, but they've been much more vocal about their nuclear 
ambitions.
    The President. No, they've been--remember, they lobbed a rocket 
over----
    Q. Japan.
    The President. Remember the rocket over Japan? Keep it in 
perspective. Anybody who starves his people is--I just can't respect 
anybody that would really let his people starve and shrink in size as a 
result of malnutrition. It's a sad, sad situation for the North Korean 
people. That's one people--I've assured the--our partners in this effort 
that we deeply care about the plight of the North Korean people. It's 
just unconscionable that that many people are starving in the 21st 
century. We provide--we're a generous nation. We provided food. We're 
not so sure the food is getting to the people, is one of the issues that 
we face. I feel strongly about failed leadership dashing the hopes of 
the people, in this case creating incredible starvation.
    Q. Thank you.
    The President. You're welcome.

Note: The interview was taped at 3:10 p.m. aboard Air Force One en route 
to Canberra, Australia. In his remarks, the President referred to 
President Hu Jintao of China; Chairman Kim Chong-il of North Korea; 
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; President Roh Moo-hyun of 
South Korea; President Vladimir Putin of Russia; President Megawati 
Sukarnoputri of Indonesia; President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the 
Philippines; Prime Minister John Howard of

[[Page 1454]]

Australia; former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Chairman 
Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority; former President Saddam 
Hussein of Iraq; Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, USA, Deputy Under Secretary 
of Defense for Intelligence; President Jose Maria Aznar of Spain; Prime 
Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; Prime Minister Mahathir bin 
Mohammed of Malaysia; and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy. A 
reporter referred to King Abdullah II of Jordan. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of this interview.