[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 43 (Monday, October 27, 2003)]
[Pages 1454-1456]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters Following Discussions With Prime Minister John 
Howard of Australia in Canberra, Australia

October 23, 2003

    President Bush. Can't get any better than that. [Laughter]

Australia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

    Q. Mr. Bush, did you discuss the free trade agreement? And how are 
you committed to keeping agriculture in the free trade agreement if it 
goes ahead?
    President Bush. What I'm committed to is seeing that we can get this 
free trade agreement done by the end of December. That's what John and I 
talked about in Crawford. I think a free trade agreement with Australia 
would be good for America, good for American workers. I also believe 
that it would be good for Australia.
    Prime Minister Howard. Very good.
    President Bush. And the commitment we talked about was to make sure 
our negotiators push forward with a deal. Obviously, agriculture is an 
important issue; intellectual property is an important issue. There's a 
lot of important issues that we've got to work through if--and I think 
we can.
    Prime Minister Howard. Thank you. American?
    President Bush. Yes, Tom.

War on Terror

    Q. Mr. President, the Defense Secretary has written a memorandum 
saying there have been mixed results in the war on terror, that it's 
going to be a long, hard slog, and no bold steps have been taken yet. Do 
you agree with that characterization?
    President Bush. What I agree with is that the war on terror is going 
to be tough work, and it's going to take a while. And we're making great 
progress. We're dismantling the Al Qaida network. They hide in hills, in 
caves, and you know, they hide in free societies. And it takes a while 
to find them, which is

[[Page 1455]]

why John Howard and I talked a lot about sharing intelligence and 
finding these killers before they kill again, people like Hambali, who 
was routed out of society. The Australians and the Prime Minister were 
very helpful, as was our intelligence service. But the success went to 
the Thai authority.
    Prime Minister Howard. Yes, I met the general that handcuffed him.
    President Bush. Yes, he's a good fellow. Anyway, we've got work to 
do. This is a long war on terror. And removing Saddam Hussein from power 
was an important part of winning the war on terror. Ridding Afghanistan 
of the Taliban was an important part of winning the war on terror.
    I haven't seen the Secretary's comments, but somebody told me they 
thought he said we need to make sure our military's intelligence 
services are focused on the war on terror. And I couldn't agree more 
with you. That's exactly what we're doing.

Australian Detainees in Guantanamo Bay/Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, on the war on terror, and in light of the Rumsfeld 
memo, are you inclined now to ask Australia for more assistance in Iraq? 
And how long do you intend to hold the two Australians detained in 
Guantanamo Bay without charge or trial? And have you discussed that with 
the Prime Minister?
    President Bush. I did discuss it with the Prime Minister. There's a 
process, ongoing process to deal with these two people that were picked 
up off of a battlefield of war. And I think one of the--somebody in the 
Australian media, when they were in America, asked me about torture or 
some--it's alleged allegations of torture. It's ridiculous, utterly 
ridiculous. And we will deal with them in a--in a way that conforms to 
our standards.
    John--the Prime Minister--I keep calling him John; we're close 
friends. The Prime Minister and I have talked about the procedures, and 
I assured him these people will be taken care of in a way that conforms 
with our rules and regulations.
    The first question was--oh, Iraq. Listen, Australia has made a 
tremendous contribution in Iraq. Their troops were fantastic. They laid 
it on the line, and every military person I talked to about the 
contribution of the Australians was--had high praise for the skill and 
the strength and spirit of the Aussie troops.
    In my judgment, Australia has made a significant contribution to 
peace and freedom, and the people of Iraq who suffered in the hands of a 
brutal tyrant are very thankful for the contributions of the 
Australians.
    Adam.

Australia-U.S. Relations

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, you called Australia a 
``sheriff.'' Does that mean Australia should flex its military might 
more in Asia? And Mr. Howard, how do you see the job of a sheriff?
    President Bush. Yes, Adam--can I put it in context?
    Q. Please.
    President Bush. I was asked the question, is Australia America's 
deputy sheriff; that was the question. It was a very careful, clever 
question. I don't think you were--I don't think you asked it, Adam. And 
my answer was, ``No, we're equal. We're equal partners on the war on 
terror. We're equal partners working for a world that's more free.''
    And today in my speech to the Parliament, I will praise Australia's 
work in this part of the world. I'll note the fact that Australia led in 
East Timor. And Australia's--Australia is carrying a heavy load, for 
which we are grateful. And I appreciate you, Mr. Prime Minister.
    I said Mr. Prime Minister--somebody told me that they made fun of me 
for calling--or they made fun of the Prime Minister, when they call him 
``the man of steel.'' I'm going to repeat the words. That's a high 
compliment. That means in the face of criticism, he's staying strong, 
that he does what he think is right. And the world is better for the 
leader--leaders like Prime Minister John Howard.
    Prime Minister Howard. You asked me, did the President put in 
correct and proper Texan--we were in Crawford. And so the language of 
sheriff and deputy sort of rolls easily off any tongue, particularly an 
American tongue.

[[Page 1456]]

    Look, our role in the region is--I've categorized it as that of 
helpem fren. That is--for the benefit of the Americans, that is pidgin 
English used by the Pacific Islanders. It means helping a friend. And I 
see Australia's role in the region as helping friends. And that's what 
we're doing in the Solomons. It's what we did in East Timor. It's what 
we may have to do again in other parts of that region. But when 
necessity arises, we help people. We don't see ourselves as having any 
kind of enforcement role, but we're always good to our allies, 
particularly the United States, to defend values that are important to 
both our societies.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:46 a.m. at the Australian Parliament 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin (known 
as Hambali), Al Qaida's chief operational planner in Southeast Asia; and 
former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. A reporter referred to 
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.