[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 7 (Monday, February 21, 2005)]
[Pages 260-262]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With ARD-German Television

February 18, 2005

Agenda for the President's Upcoming Visit to Europe

    Q. Mr. President, your visit to Europe is an important gesture. Now 
what many people wonder is, beyond the style, what substance you're 
going to add to the--invigorating the transatlantic relationship? 
Schroeder has just proposed a NATO reform, to have a forum to discuss 
policy. What do you think about things like that?
    The President. Well, I--look, I mean, first of all, I think NATO is 
vital, and I look forward to reminding him that the U.S. position is 
that NATO is a vital institution, and that--but so is the EU. And we 
look forward to working with the EU.
    In terms of--and I think it's a legitimate question for people to 
say, ``Look, it's fine to have nice words, but it's, what can we do 
together? What can we do together to make the world a better place?'' We 
can continue to fight disease and hunger, which we will. The United 
States is actively involved on the continent of Africa on HIV/AIDS and 
wants to work with our European friends through the Global Fund to do 
so. We can work on trade matters, a benefit to the citizens of the U.S. 
and to Europe that there be active trade. And equally importantly, we 
can work to spread freedom and peace.
    And so I'm going to talk about Middle Eastern peace, my vision about 
two states living side by side in peace, Israel and Palestine. I'm going 
to talk about Iran. I'll talk about Syria. I'll talk about Lebanon. I 
mean, there's a lot of things--concrete things--that we need to be 
working on so that we can say when it's all said and done, the world is 
more peaceful for our children.

Iran and Syria

    Q. You mentioned Iran and Syria, two real hot spots, two conflicts 
in the making. Now, 70 percent of all Germans are convinced, according 
to a latest poll, that you are already planning a military action 
against Iran. Now, what do you say to disperse these fears? You know 
that Blair, Schroeder, and Bush [sic] would like you to play a more 
active role in the diplomatic----
    The President. No, I know--listen, we're playing--look, first of 
all, I hear all these rumors about military attacks, and it's just not 
the truth. We want diplomacy to work. And I believe diplomacy can work 
so long as the Iranians don't divide Europe and the United States. And 
the common goal is for them not to have a nuclear weapon. It's in the 
interests of the German people and the American people and all people 
for the Iranians not to develop that nuclear weapon.
    And so I want to applaud and will applaud Gerhard and the other 
leaders for sending a clear message to Iran. The Iranians need to know--
they know what they need to do. And so what they're trying to do is kind 
of wiggle out. They're trying to say, ``Well, we won't do anything, 
because America is not involved.'' But America is involved. We're in 
close consultation with our friends. We're on the board of the IAEA. And 
we will continue to work with friends and allies to make it clear.
    The other thing Iran's got to do--two other things they've got to 
do, is stop exporting terror through Hezbollah, which could be a 
devastating blow to the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian 
people, and they ought to open up their country to more democracy and 
freedom, just like we do in the United States and Germany, give

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their people a chance to express themselves in a free way.
    Q. Now, some people are reminded, when you say you have no plans for 
military actions, they're reminded of the pre-Iraq crisis, when you 
said, ``No war plans on my desk,'' and then one month later, there was. 
What's different this time?
    The President. Well, it's totally different. The Iraqi situation was 
one where many good people tried diplomacy to solve the problem. 
Remember, the whole world thought the man had weapons of mass 
destruction. The United Nations thought he had weapons of mass 
destruction. And that's why--one of the reasons why they passed 16 
resolutions. I mean, this was an issue where diplomacy had been 
exhausted.
    And I went to the United Nations and said, ``Let's, one more time, 
hold the man to account.'' And the United Nations said, ``Disclose, 
disarm, or face serious consequences.'' That's what the world body said. 
The United Nations Security Council voted 15 to nothing for that 
resolution.
    The Iranian issue hasn't even been to the United Nations yet. In 
other words, there's a lot more diplomacy to be done. And the people of 
Germany have just got--I know the rumors, and I've heard all the gossip 
and the false stories about this, that--the people have got to know that 
we will try diplomacy for all means.

Iraq

    Q. Are you happy with the way things are going in Iraq? They just 
had elections, but they seemed to not support the moderate Allawi but 
more the Shiites. And in that situation, what are you going to ask the 
Germans to do on top of what they're already doing in the training?
    The President. Well, you know, look, I think Gerhard is comfortable 
in the training mission. But I'm going to wait for him to tell me if 
he's interested in participating. If so, the German Government would be 
welcome. Germany is really good at certain things, like we're good at 
things. And Germany is good at training and ministerial--developing 
ministries and humanitarian aid and the PRT in Afghanistan, for example, 
is a great German contribution. And what friends do is they say, ``Are 
you comfortable? If you're interested in helping this fledgling 
democracy get to be a more mature democracy, where's your comfort 
level?'' And so I'm looking forward to talking to him about that.
    You mentioned the Shi'as. Allawi is a Shi'a himself. My attitude is 
this: A Government that has been voted on by the people is going to be, 
by its very nature, a reasonable Government. In other words, it's a--
governments tend to reflect the will of the people, and the people of 
Iraq want to live in peace. The mothers and dads want to raise their 
children in a peaceful environment.
    I am heartened by the political posturing going on. I think it is 
healthy to see the different factions of Government begin to emerge, all 
of whom are saying--this is an important point--all of whom are saying, 
``There needs to be a unified Iraq, respect for minority rights.'' And 
there's a nationalist feeling there. I mean, some are saying, ``Are you 
worried about Iranian influence?'' Well, if the Iranian Government tries 
to destabilize an elected government, I am. But to the extent that the 
Iraqi people love Iraq before they love Iran, I take comfort. And Iraq 
is a proud nation, and they care deeply about their national heritage 
and tradition and future.

Germany and the U.N. Security Council

    Q. One word about Germany's aspirations for a permanent seat in the 
Security Council?
    The President. Yes, right. [Laughter]
    Q. You knew I'd ask that.
    The President. No, you should ask it. And Gerhard--I'm very aware of 
that. And we'll look forward to working--look, I haven't taken a 
position on reform yet. And I want to see how this--the different models 
of reform come forward. But Germany is a great nation, and Germany is--
Europe is vital for the future of the United States, and Germany is 
vital for the future of Europe. And I'm open for suggestions.
    Q. Thank you very much.
    The President. Thanks for coming.
    Q. We should do this every month.
    The President. I'd like to.

Note: The interview was taped at 10:48 a.m. in the Map Room at the White 
House for later broadcast. In his remarks, the President referred

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to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany; former President Saddam 
Hussein of Iraq; and Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi Interim 
Government. He also referred to Provincial Reconstruction Teams, a 
component of NATO's International Security Assistance Force operating in 
Afghanistan. The interviewer referred to Prime Minister Tony Blair of 
the United Kingdom. A tape was not available for verification of the 
content of this interview.