[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 16 (Monday, April 19, 2004)]
[Pages 610-618]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Tony Blair of the 
United Kingdom

April 16, 2004

    President Bush. Thank you all. Mr. Prime Minister--Tony, as I like 
to call you--Cherie Blair, thanks for coming. It's great to see you. 
Laura and I are pleased to welcome you once again to America and to the 
White House.
    Throughout the last century, the United Kingdom and the United 
States have stood together when liberty was assaulted and free people 
were tested. And now in this century, our nations see clearly the 
dangers of our time, and we share a determination to meet them.
    Since our two countries shared the loss of September the 11th, 2001, 
we've joined in a global manhunt for terrorist killers. We've removed 
the terrorist camps of Afghanistan and the brutal Government that 
sheltered them. We've enforced the demands of the United Nations in Iraq 
and removed a dangerous threat to the region and to the world.
    We've worked together to end the WMD programs of Libya and bring 
that country back into the community of nations. We're engaged in 
difficult and necessary work of helping Iraqis build their own 
democracy, for the sake of our security and to increase the momentum of 
freedom across the greater Middle East.
    The stakes in Iraq are clear. Iraq will either turn back the 
challenges to democracy or return to the camp of tyranny and terror. 
Iraq will either be an example of a region that is weary of poverty and 
oppression or will be a threat to the region and to our own people.
    Our nations face a stark choice as well. Britain and America and our 
allies can either break our word to the people of Iraq, abandon them in 
their hour of need, and consign them to oppression, or we can help them 
defeat the enemies of a free Iraq and build the institutions of liberty. 
The Prime Minister and I have made our choice. Iraq will be free. Iraq 
will be independent. Iraq will be a peaceful nation, and we will not 
waver in the face of fear and intimidation.
    The past few weeks have been hard, and the days ahead will surely 
bring their own challenges. What we're seeing in Iraq is an attempted 
power grab by extremists and terrorists. They will fail. The extremists 
will fail because our coalition will not allow Iraq's future to be 
stolen by a violent few. They will also fail because they are not widely 
supported by the Iraqi people, who have no desire to trade one tyrant 
for another.
    Many Iraqi leaders are showing great personal courage in helping to 
build a free Iraq. And we stand with them, and we appreciate their 
courage. And troops from our countries and other coalition friends are 
showing great personal courage as they help Iraq move toward democracy, 
and we appreciate their sacrifice and courage as well.
    One of the essential commitments we've made to the Iraqi people is 
this: They will control their own country. No citizen of America or 
Britain would want the Government of their nation in hands of others, 
and neither do the Iraqis. And this is why the June 30th date for the 
transfer of sovereignty will be kept. This transfer will demonstrate to 
the Iraqi people that our coalition has no interest in occupation. On 
that date, the Coalition Provisional Authority will cease to exist, but 
coalition forces will remain in Iraq to help the new Government succeed.
    This week, we've seen the outlines of a new Iraqi Government that 
will take the keys of sovereignty. We welcome the proposals presented by 
the U.N. Special Envoy Brahimi. He's identified a way forward to 
establishing an interim Government that is broadly acceptable to the 
Iraqi people. Our coalition partners will continue to work with the U.N. 
to prepare for nationwide elections that will choose a new Government in 
January of 2005. We thank the U.N. and Secretary-General Annan for 
helping Iraqis secure a future of freedom. We're grateful that Mr. 
Brahimi will soon return to Iraq to continue his important work.
    A free Iraq will stand as an example to the Middle East, encouraging 
reform and hope by demonstrating what life in a free society can be 
like. At the same time, we must also work to end longstanding sources of 
bitterness and conflict in the Middle East.
    Our commitment to freedom and peace in that region requires us to 
make every effort to help resolve the conflict between

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Israel and Palestine. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister of Israel 
presented his plan to withdraw from Gaza and some parts of the West 
Bank. I support that plan. It's a good opportunity. It gives the 
Palestinians a chance to create a reformed, just, and free government. 
Palestinian leadership must rise to the challenge. It gives all sides a 
chance to reinvigorate progress on the roadmap. I'm committed to the 
vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace 
and security.
    As I said Wednesday, all final status issues must still be 
negotiated between the parties. I look forward to the day when those 
discussions can begin so the Israeli occupation can be ended and a free 
and independent and peaceful Palestinian state can emerge.
    In Iraq and Afghanistan, in a future Palestinian state, and across 
the greater Middle East, the best hope for lasting stability, security, 
and peace is the advance of human freedom. When men and women live in 
societies that reward their hopes and recognize their dignity, they are 
far less likely to dwell on resentments and turn to violence. This is 
not an easy task. For whole nations to construct free institutions after 
decades of terror and tyranny requires patience and courage and the help 
of friends.
    Yet, this difficult work is also necessary work. In the Middle East, 
as elsewhere, the path to peace is the path of liberty, and all who 
choose that path will have the strong support of the United States and 
the United Kingdom. In all these efforts, the American people know that 
we have no more valuable friend than Prime Minister Tony Blair. As we 
like to say in Crawford, he's a standup kind of guy. He shows backbone 
and courage and strong leadership. I thank him and Cherie for coming. I 
thank the British people for their strength and their unyielding 
commitment to the cause of liberty.
    Mr. Prime Minister.
    Prime Minister Blair. Thank you very much, Mr. President. George and 
Laura, thank you very much for welcoming myself and Cherie back to the 
White House. The many years that--particularly most recently, since 
September the 11th--our two countries have been friends and allies 
standing side by side, and we will continue to do so.
    Let me restate the historic nature of what we're trying to achieve 
in Iraq. It is to take a state that, under Saddam Hussein and his 
family, was a merciless tyranny that brutalized the country over many 
decades, that used chemical weapons against his own people, a state that 
threatened its neighbors in the wider world, that caused two wars with 
over a million casualties, that funded and supported terrorism, a 
country where, already, the remains of 300,000 innocent men, women, and 
children have been found in mass graves in Iraq, a state that under 
Saddam was without human rights, civil liberties, or the rule of law. 
And our task is to take this state and turn it into a democracy, stable 
and prosperous, a symbol of hope to its own people and throughout the 
whole of the Middle East.
    Against us in this task are ranged every variety of reactionary 
forces, sympathizers of Saddam Hussein, outside terrorists, religious 
fanatics. We know the future that they have in mind for the people of 
Iraq, and we reject it utterly, as do the overwhelming majority of the 
Iraqi people.
    It was never going to be easy, and it isn't now. I pay wholehearted 
tribute to the American and British troops and troops from all the 
different coalition countries, and to the civilians, also, from many 
nations. We mourn each loss of life. We salute them and their families 
for their bravery and their sacrifice. And our promise to them, in turn, 
is very clear. It is to succeed, to get the job done, to ensure their 
courage and their sacrifice has not been in vain. And our plan to do 
this is clear, and we shall see it through.
    Our strategy, political and military, is as follows. First, we stand 
firm. We will do what it takes to win this struggle. We will not yield. 
We will not back down in the face of attacks either on us or on 
defenseless civilians. Second, we hold absolutely to the 30th of June 
timetable for the handover of sovereignty to the Iraqis themselves. 
Third, we will redouble our efforts to build the necessary capability of 
the Iraqis, themselves, to take increased responsibility for security 
and law and order. The measures for recruiting, training, and equipping 
Iraqi police and civil defense corps will be intensified. Fourth, we 
will carry forward the plan for reconstruction

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and investment in Iraq so that all parts of Iraq, Sunni, Shi'a and 
Kurdish, know that they have a place and a future in the new Iraq that 
is being created. Fifth, the U.N. will have a central role, as now, in 
developing the program and machinery for political transition to full 
Iraqi democracy. And we will seek a new U.N. Security Council resolution 
to embody the political and security way forward.
    It follows from this that the political and military strategies will 
reinforce each other, as they do now. The purpose of the military action 
is to create the security environment in which the political aims can be 
achieved. And of course there will be resistance. We have resistance now 
by assorted terrorists in Fallujah, by supporters of Muqtada Al Sadr in 
Najaf. We shall deal with both with the right balance of firmness in the 
face of terror and a clear offer to all people in Iraq, including those 
who might be tempted to support lawbreaking.
    The new Iraq will give opportunities to all its citizens, whatever 
their ethnic or religious background, but it will not tolerate or 
compromise with those who want to wreck the future for the law-abiding 
majority in Iraq.
    Alongside this strategy for Iraq, we will seek to broaden the agenda 
for international action and cooperation. The G-8 gives us the chance, 
under the chairmanship of the United States this year and Britain the 
next, to construct such an agenda, to allow us to defeat the security 
threat but also to confront the issues upon which the terrorists prey, 
to tackle the poverty, conflict, religious and ethnic strife which mar 
so much of the world.
    In this regard, we reaffirm again the importance of a solution for 
the Middle East peace process. We welcome the Israeli proposal to 
disengage from the Gaza and parts of the West Bank. We want the Quartet 
to meet as soon as possible to discuss how it can support the 
Palestinian Authority in particular, economically, politically, and in 
respect of security, to respond to that offer. We reaffirm that this is 
part of a process to get us back into the roadmap, which we continue to 
believe offers the only realistic route to the two states, Israel and 
Palestine, living side by side in peace.
    We have, therefore, an agenda for Iraq, for change and for democracy 
in Iraq. We have, also, an agenda to help overcome the problems in our 
world, the problems not just of terrorism but the problems of the 
breeding grounds of terrorism. And I believe that our two countries will 
continue to play a role as allies and friends in securing not just a 
decent future for the people of Iraq but a decent future for people 
everywhere in our world today.
    Thank you.
    President Bush. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you, sir. We will take 
three questions a side, and so why don't you ask one question to each of 
us.
    You can start, Mr. Hunt [Terence Hunt, Associated Press].

Timetable for Planning Action in Iraq

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, did you ask Secretary 
Rumsfeld to draw up war plans against Iraq in November 2001, just as the 
military action was getting underway in Afghanistan? Why couldn't Iraq 
wait?
    And Mr. Prime Minister----
    President Bush. No, I thought--one question apiece, not one question 
or one question apiece.
    You know, I can't remember exact dates that far back. I do know 
this, that at a key meeting at Camp David, the subject of Iraq--this was 
on September the----
    Q. Fifteenth.
    President Bush. Fifteenth. We had been attacked on September the 
11th, obviously. On the 15th, we sat down. I sat down with my national 
security team to discuss the response, and the subject of Iraq came up. 
And I said as plainly as I possibly could, ``We'll focus on Afghanistan. 
That's where we'll focus.'' I explained this to the Prime Minister as 
well in a subsequent meeting. That was about the 20th of September, I 
think, we came and talked about the response we were going to take in 
dealing with the attacks on our country.
    So I don't remember in times of--what was being developed or not 
being developed. But I do know that it was Afghanistan that was on my 
mind. And I didn't really start focusing on Iraq until later on, 
particularly about the time I started going to the United

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Nations with this message--to the United Nations, I said, ``Let's uphold 
the demands of the world, finally, after decades of--after a decade of 
threats to Saddam. You know, `If you don't do this, this will happen.' 
Why don't we finally just say something that we mean?''
    And it was at that point in time, when a President steps up in front 
of the United Nations and you say, ``Either take care of business, or we 
others will,'' you better mean it. And I meant it when I went up in 
front of the United Nations at that point in time.
    Q. I was asking you about November.
    President Bush. I can't remember. I'd have to get back to you about 
a specific moment. But I can tell you, in September, I said, ``Let us 
focus on Afghanistan. Let us make sure that we do this job and do it 
well.''

Level of Violence and the Transition in Iraq

    Q. Prime Minister, the--Prime Minister, the handover of power is 
just, what, 80 days away, and yet the killing is going on, there is 
still kidnaping. Do you accept it was an error not to involve the U.N. 
much more early in the process? And I wonder, Mr. President, if I could 
ask you if that's a mistake that you're prepared to accept as well?
    Prime Minister Blair. First of all, we have been involving the U.N. 
throughout. And actually, the work that Mr. Brahimi has done, we've both 
made it clear that we welcome. And I can tell you from the conversations 
I had with Kofi Annan last night that I think there's a common approach. 
Obviously, we have to discuss the details in particular with the Iraqi 
groups themselves as to how this political transition is to come about.
    But let me just say one thing to you about the violence and the 
killing there. There was always going to be resistance to transition to 
democracy. And in particular, as the date for transition to a sovereign 
Iraqi Government that's going to be broad-based--as that date draws 
near, there's going to be violence. There's going to be violence from 
people who don't want an Iraqi future different from the past, and I 
don't think we should be surprised at this. There will be religious 
fanatics, outside terrorists, former Saddam people who will come 
together, and they will kill innocent civilians. They will try and kill 
coalition troops. They will kill Iraqis. They'll kill anyone who stands 
in their way. And the reason that they're doing this is because they 
don't want a democratic Iraq.
    Now, what is the response of ourselves and, indeed, the whole of the 
world community, regardless of whether you support the war in Iraq or 
not? The response has got to be that we hold firm; we keep to the 
political transition; we keep to the timetable; and we do everything we 
humanly can to build up the capability of the Iraqis to take control of 
their own affairs, because in Iraq there will be all sorts of people--
that vast majority of people out there who aren't terrorists, who don't 
want to kill people, who want to lead an ordinary life, raise their 
family, have a job, have some prosperity, have some freedom, as other 
people in the world do, and they will be sitting there, watching and 
waiting for one thing: Do we have the will and the determination to 
finish the job.
    And what you're hearing from myself and the President of the United 
States is, we will stay there, and we will get the job done, because 
that's what we promised to do. And we will continue until it's finished.

Israeli Disengagement Plan

    President Bush. Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].
    Q. Hosni Mubarak is saying the new U.S. policy on the West Bank 
could escalate violence. How do you respond to his concerns?
    President Bush. I think this is a fantastic opportunity. The fact 
that Ariel Sharon said, ``We're going to withdraw from territory,'' is 
an historic moment. And it creates a chance for the world to come 
together to help develop a Palestinian state based upon a solid 
foundation, a foundation where the institutions are bigger than the 
people, just like our respective Governments are founded.
    It's a chance to provide a framework for international aid that will 
help a Palestinian economy grow. It's a chance for people to come 
together to work on measures that will enable people to live in peace--
security measures. This is an historic moment, and I think people need 
to view it as such and seize the moment and help a Palestinian state

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become a reality, a Palestinian state that can live in peace with its 
neighbors.
    And you know, there's a lot of talk about the final status 
discussions. And that's all and good. The problem is, is that people, by 
doing so, don't pay attention to the moment. And it's a moment we've got 
to seize. The final status discussions will become a lot plainer--and by 
the way, we're not going to prejudge the final status discussions, but 
the answers will become a lot plainer once there is a peaceful state 
that's committed to fighting off terror and a state that's capable of 
providing hope for its people.
    I think it's possible. And the Prime Minister and I have spent a lot 
of time on this subject. And I'm not going to put words in his mouth, 
but he thinks it's possible. And we look forward to working together to 
make it possible. But it's going to require a commitment by the 
Palestinian people to find leadership that is committed to peace and 
hope. And it's going to require a commitment by people in the 
neighborhood to support the emergence of a state.
    This is an historic moment, and I appreciated the Prime Minister of 
Israel coming here to announce it. And we intend to seize the moment and 
to take advantage of an opportunity.
    Prime Minister Blair. I think what's happening here is that despite 
all the reaction--some of which I think it's expected and natural, that 
always rebound around the world when a statement like this is made--
let's just go back and see what the opportunity is here. If there is 
disengagement by Israel from the Gaza and from parts of the West Bank, 
that then gives us the opportunity--and this is where the international 
community has got to play its role--that gives us the opportunity to 
help the Palestinian Authority with the economic, the political, and the 
security measures they take, and they need to take, in order to get to 
the point where the concept of a viable Palestinian state becomes a real 
possibility, not something that's put in a document and talked about or 
discussed in resolutions or speeches but actually is a real, live 
possibility. And I see this not in any shape or form as pushing the 
roadmap to the side. On the contrary, I see it as a way back into the 
roadmap.
    Now, I know there'll be all sorts of issues to do with the final 
status negotiations. And as the President said, no one is prejudging 
those. But you know, let's not look this particular opportunity in the 
eye and then turn away. It is an opportunity for people.
    And what I want to say to, not just to the Palestinians and the 
Israelis but to the international community is, whatever the doubts and 
worries, get involved now, because there is a possibility when that 
disengagement happens, the Palestinian Authority have got to have the 
wherewithal in political, in economic, in security terms to start 
running the land, the territory that will be then under their control, 
and use that as the basis of getting back into a proper roadmap 
negotiation.
    Because we--this is a--we deal with many difficult issues: Cyprus, 
we discussed earlier; Northern Ireland, that I'm dealing with. The one 
advantage that you have in this situation, which is as well to keep in 
mind, even at this difficult moment, is that there is now an agreement 
that there should be two states, an Israeli and a Palestinian state, and 
that Palestinian state should be viable. And I can assure you--and I 
believe this very strongly from the conversations I've had with the 
President--that if the Palestinians are willing to make that effort and 
the international community helps in doing so, then they will find all 
of us, then, ready to engage and ensure that the proper discussion and 
settlement of these issues takes place. We will be ready to step up and 
do that.
    Yes, Mark, sorry.
    Q. Mark Martel, BBC. Mr. Sharon says this agreement by the President 
has ended the dreams of Palestinians. Many Palestinians seem to agree 
with that as well. Why do you two not see it in that light? The Israelis 
see it as a victory for their side.
    Prime Minister Blair. Well, I don't--I haven't come across those 
particular words, and I would like to see the context of that. But I 
don't think that this ends anyone's dream. I think what it does is give 
us at least the possibility of moving it forward.
    What have people been asking for years? They've been asking for the 
Israelis to withdraw from the occupied territories. Now, this is not the 
final end of it. This is not a unilateral attempt to impose a 
settlement. But it

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does at least give the Palestinians, if they're able, then, to seize 
this opportunity, the ability to construct in the Gaza and those parts 
of the West Bank that will be under their control, with the settlements 
removed from there. And remember--I can't remember exactly how many 
people it is--it's maybe 7,000 people that there are in the Gaza part 
of--and those settlements withdrawn.
    Now, forgive me, but I've been dealing with this for almost a 
decade. And it's been very, very difficult ever to get a situation where 
an Israeli Prime Minister is prepared to say, ``We're actually going to 
take these settlements away,'' and make that not conditional on 
something that the Palestinians are doing but say, ``We're just going to 
do that.''
    Now of course, there's a whole string of things that then have to be 
decided. All these issues have to be negotiated. We have to get back 
into the roadmap and get on a proper process towards a resolution of 
those issues.
    But if that disengagement takes place, surely the intelligent thing, 
not just for the Palestinians but for the international community, is to 
be ready to respond. And here's where the Quartet can play a part, the 
other partners in this process. The European Union, for example--we put 
money into reconstruction in the Palestinian Authority. I believe that 
there is a real possibility, if we can get the right political system 
there, of the European Union putting money in to help reconstruct the 
country, to help build the proper security capability.
    These are--these are things, however difficult, that offer 
opportunities. That's all I'm saying, and I think we should seize them.
    President Bush. Let me say one quick thing about this. I haven't 
seen the context in which he said it, either. But I can tell you what he 
told me. He told me he supported a Palestinian state. He thinks it's in 
Israel's interest that there be a Palestinian state. Obviously there's a 
caveat: He wants a peaceful Palestinian state, and he wants somebody who 
will promote peace, not violence, somebody who's willing to join with a 
lot of us to fight off terror.
    He also recognizes that it's important that there be hope in his 
neighborhood. And a peaceful Palestinian state that gets help from the 
world is a state that can help small businesses grow, help an education 
system develop, help a health care system develop that provides basic 
services to its people. I think this is a great opportunity. And you're 
going to have to ask him exactly what--whether that was in context or 
not.
    But the impression I got from having sat with the man right upstairs 
here in the White House was, he views this as a hopeful moment as well 
and made it clear that it's a part of the roadmap process and knows what 
I know, that as we gain confidence in a Palestinian leadership and a 
Palestinian state that's committed itself to peace, further progress 
will be made on territory. And therefore, the final status discussions--
and I repeat, which are not being prejudged by the American Government, 
as stated clearly on Wednesday--will be easier to deal with. And that's 
what's important.
    We'll seize the moment, is what the Prime Minister is saying.
    Let's see--April [April Ryan, American Urban Radio Networks].

2004 Election/Transition in Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, some of your critics are saying that it's a 
political ploy by you to stand firm to this June 30th deadline, 
especially that you don't have an Iraqi organization to transfer power 
over to. What do you say to that? And for--what organization would you 
like to see transferred power over to, both of you, if you could answer 
that?
    President Bush. Well, I appreciate that. I guess, it's a political 
year; everything I'm going to say is being--they're going to say is 
political. What's important is that we honor our word and honor our 
commitments to the Iraqi people. I suspect that if you look deep into 
the soul of the Iraqi people, they'd be saying, ``We don't know if we 
can trust America and Great Britain to be tough and hang in, hang in 
with us.'' And one of the things we've said is, ``We'll transfer 
sovereignty on June the 30th,'' and we're going to.
    If they believe that we'll cut and run--in other words, if times get 
tough, and we'll just say, ``See you later,'' nobody is going to take a 
stand for freedom and liberty. They're afraid of getting killed or 
tortured or maimed. These are--I said the other night

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that a year seems like a long time for Americans and people in Great 
Britain. But a year is not much when you're trying to shed yourself from 
the habits of tyranny and torture. Remember where these people came 
from. They came from a society where if they dared speak their mind, 
it's likely they'd end up in a mass grave or in a torture room. If they 
criticized Saddam Hussein in any way, they would be maimed or killed. 
And that's a hard thing to forget.
    See, it's easy for us to not recognize that fear because, 
fortunately, our societies are such that we don't have to live with it. 
They did. And if they think that we will be leaving because of politics, 
then they won't take a risk toward freedom. We're not leaving because of 
politics, April. We're standing firm on our word because it's right, and 
it's in the long-term interests of our countries that we stand firm, 
because a free Iraq is an historic opportunity to change the world for 
the better.
    There's a lot of talk about the war on terror, and can we win the 
war on terror. Of course we can win the war on terror in the long run. 
We can do a lot of things in the short term to protect ourselves, 
starting with staying on the offensive. But in the long term, it's the 
spread of freedom that will win the war on terror.
    See, the great thing about our two countries is we believe in the 
power of free societies. And we don't say freedom is only--is consigned 
to one group of people or one religion. We believe freedom is universal, 
and free societies are peaceful societies. And freedom will be the cure 
for those who harbor deep resentment and hatred in their heart. And I 
appreciate the Prime Minister understanding that vision as well. It's a 
wonderful feeling to have a strong ally in believing in the power of 
free societies and liberty. And that's why we're going to stay the 
course in Iraq. And that's why when we say something in Iraq, we're 
going to do it, because we want there to be a free society. It's in our 
long-term interests. It's in the interests of our children and our 
grandchildren that Iraq be free.
    Q. Mr. Prime Minister----
    Q. Who is going to----
    President Bush. Hold on for a second. That's going to be decided by 
Mr. Brahimi. That's the recommendation of Brahimi. He's in the process--
you're watching a process unfold, and you won't have to ask that 
question on July the 1st.
    Prime Minister Blair. That's absolutely right. And what will happen 
is that there will be discussions, obviously, that Mr. Brahimi is 
conducting. But the idea will be to have a broad-based Government, and 
then next year to move to a new constitution, and then, finally, to 
democratic elections. And that's the--so who's going to end up governing 
Iraq ultimately? It's going to be the Iraqi people with a proper 
democratic constitution.
    President Bush. One final point on this. Thank you, April, for 
bringing it up. Transitional administrative law that had been written is 
a--this is an historic document. And it's a wonderful opportunity. It is 
for the people of Iraq to say, ``Here's how civilized people must live. 
Here's how you protect minority rights. Here's how you protect the 
rights of religious people. And here's how civilized people should live 
if they're going to provide hope for the future.''
    And there doesn't seem to be much focus on that, what we call the 
TAL these days. And yet, it is a--it is the cornerstone for what is 
going to be a free and hopeful society.
    Go ahead, final question.
    Prime Minister Blair. Adam [Adam Boulton, Sky News].
    Q. If I could just ask you about Iraq again, the fact of the matter 
is that weapons of mass destruction have not been found, that a link 
between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaida has not been proved, and that a year 
on, troop numbers are going up, not coming down. So however determined 
you are to make a better Iraq, isn't the awkward fact for both of you 
that you misled your peoples in taking troops to war and shedding blood 
as a result?
    Prime Minister Blair. First of all, I just remind you that when, in 
November of 2002, we passed the United Nations resolution calling upon 
Saddam to comply fully with the United Nations inspectors, we did that 
on the basis of an understanding that wasn't confined simply to Great 
Britain and America but was right across the hall of the Security 
Council, that Saddam Hussein was a threat.

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And indeed, it would be difficult to conclude otherwise given that his 
was a regime that actually used chemical weapons, weapons of mass 
destruction against their own people.

    And yes, a year on, we have faced some difficult times. We'll face 
difficult times again in the future. But one of the most interesting 
things to me is when I go and I actually talk to other leaders out in 
that region--and some of them have got very difficult politics over this 
issue, as you all know, for very obvious reasons--but I'm struck by how 
much more secure they feel with Saddam Hussein gone. And whatever their 
differences over the conflict, they know how important it is to their 
region and their stability and, actually, their chance of changing their 
own country, that Iraq does become a stable and democratic state.

    And this is one of these situations where--you know, people often 
say to me, ``Well is it--is the world safer, given all the difficulty 
and violence that you have in Iraq?'' And I say to them, ``Well, first 
of all, don't think that violence wasn't happening every day in Iraq 
under Saddam Hussein. It was.'' But secondly, when you take on and you 
deal with these issues, yes, of course, you face difficult times. You're 
bound to have them. But the question is, is the aim and objective you're 
trying to secure one that if you do secure will make the world, indeed, 
safer and better? And that's why--I find now, whatever the differences 
people have over the wisdom of the conflict--and that's a debate that 
will go on, and go on for many, many years, no doubt; the historians can 
all pour over it--but everybody should recognize the common interest 
today in making sure that Iraq achieves the aim that we have set out and 
that everybody of any sense in the international community supports, 
because if----

    Q. [Inaudible]

    Prime Minister Blair. No, because I believe the important thing is 
to make the world more secure as a result of Saddam Hussein going, as a 
result of that threat, then, from Saddam and his regime, the threat that 
they carried out in their own region. I just listed for you two wars in 
which there were over a million casualties, hundreds of thousands of his 
own people killed.

    Now, this is an historic struggle, and we're at a very, very crucial 
moment. And I think, for many, many people in Iraq, I think what the 
President said just a moment ago is absolutely right. Of course they're 
going to be sitting there asking, ``After all the decades of tyranny 
we've had, after all the promises that the international community gave 
us and, frankly, let us down on, are these people going to stay the 
course?''

    And we are, and we want the international community to work with us 
in doing that. We're not setting aside the United Nations or that 
process at all. We're actually trying to work with the U.N. now, because 
everybody understands the importance of fulfilling that objective. And 
you just imagine an Iraq, stable and prosperous and democratic, and 
think of the signal that would send out. Think of the instant rebuttal 
of all that poisonous propaganda about America, about it all being an 
attack on Muslims or it being part of a war of civilization--Iraq, run 
by the Iraqis, the wealth of that country owned by the Iraqis, and a 
symbol of hope and democracy in the Middle East.

    Now, for me this is a cause that any person of good will and good 
heart should be able to support.

    President Bush. Good job, Prime Minister. Thank you, sir. Well done.

Note: The President's news conference began at 11:57 a.m. in the Rose 
Garden at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to former 
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the 
United Nations, and Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Adviser to the Secretary-
General; and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel. Prime Minister Blair 
referred to Muqtada Al Sadr, Iraqi Shiite cleric whose militia engaged 
in an uprising in Iraq in early April. A reporter referred to President 
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

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