[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 16 (Monday, April 25, 2005)]
[Pages 627-630]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation

April 18, 2005

    Q. Thank you for your time, Mr. President.
    The President. My honor, thank you.

U.S. Support for Lebanese Freedom

    Q. Recently there isn't a day that passes by without you mentioning 
Lebanon. Why now, this country that was under occupation for almost 30 
years, became so important for the United States?
    The President. Well, there's a movement toward freedom around the 
world. And the Lebanese people have made it clear that they want to be 
free of Syrian influence; they want there to be free elections. And the 
United States of America stands squarely with the people of Lebanon.

Syrian Withdrawal From Lebanon

    Q. Are you concerned, Mr. President, that your calls for freedom in 
Lebanon, for free elections, and for the Syrians to be out of Lebanon 
could be seen as interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs?
    The President. No, I don't think so. I think people will see that 
the United States is consistent in working with the people so that they 
can have a free voice, and so they get to decide the Government. The 
people of Lebanon will decide who is in their Government, not the United 
States. But the United States can join with the rest of the world, like 
we've done, and say to Syria, ``Get out--not only get out with your 
military forces, but get out with your intelligence services too. Get 
completely out of Lebanon, so Lebanon can be free and the people can be 
free.''
    Q. Do you have any doubts that Syria will be out by end of April?
    The President. I am pleased that they're beginning to get out. And 
we expect them to be completely out, and I mean not only the troops but 
the people that have had--that have been embedded in parts of 
Government, some of the intelligence services that have been embedded in 
Government and others. They need to get completely out of Lebanon so the 
people of Lebanon can decide the fate of the country, not another 
Government, not agents of another Government, but the people.
    And Lebanon is a great country, and Lebanon has had a fantastic 
history. It's also had some difficult days. But I think there is a 
better day ahead for the people of Lebanon, and I think people, no 
matter what their politics may be, really want Lebanon to succeed.

Lebanese Freedom

    Q. Mr. President, I'm sure you saw the pictures of the 
demonstrations in Lebanon. Beirut was packed with maybe a million people 
in the street, calling for freedom and democracy in Lebanon. What was 
your--what did you feel when you saw it?
    The President. Well, I wasn't surprised, because I think everybody 
wants to be free. I think people long to be free, and I think people are 
tired of living under a Government which, in essence, was a foreign 
occupation.
    The other thing is, in our great country, there's a lot of Lebanese 
Americans that love Lebanon. And everywhere I go in my country, people 
are saying, ``Now, listen, as the President, you must work there to be a 
free Lebanon.'' And so I'm not surprised. If the spirit of those 
Lebanese Americans is strong here, imagine what the spirit will be of 
their relatives and friends in Beirut. People live in a free society 
here, and not one there, but there will be one soon.

Hezbollah/Implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559

    Q. You worked closely with the French on resolution 1559. And this 
resolution calls Hezbollah to disarm. How will the United States ensure 
this happens?
    The President. Well, first things first, and that is to make sure 
that there are free elections. Secondly, listen, we put Hezbollah on

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the terrorist list for a reason; they've killed Americans in the past. 
And we will continue to work with the international community to keep 
the pressure on this group of people. And we'll work with the 
international community to fully implement 1559.
    But ultimately, the people of Lebanon are going to decide the fate 
of the country. And you can't have a free country if a group of people 
are like an armed militia. In other words, there needs to be police 
organized by the state, a military organized by the state. But citizens 
groups that are armed, trying to impose their will on a free society is 
just not the definition of a free society.
    Q. But Mr. President, what if Lebanon is not capable of implementing 
this element of the resolution 1559?
    The President. Well, the international community is going to have to 
work to help them achieve that capability. Listen, not every free 
society is capable of internal security right off the bat. And there's 
ways for the international community to come together to reassure the 
people that there will be help to secure the country.

Freedom in the Middle East

    Q. I'm sure, Mr. President, you heard what I want to say maybe 
thousands of times, and maybe from Presidents and Kings that come and 
see you here in the White House--some people think that it's not in the 
best interest of America to have democratic Arab countries----
    The President. Right.
    Q. ----because democracy and free elections may help anti-American 
groups, radical groups to come to power. What do you respond to that?
    The President. I respond to them and say, ``Well, I guess they don't 
really understand me, and they don't understand my view of freedom, 
because I think freedom is embedded in everybody's soul.'' I do believe 
there is an Almighty God, and I believe that freedom is that Almighty 
God's gift to each man and woman in this world. I believe that a true 
free society, one that self-governs, one that listens to the people, 
will be a peaceful society, not an angry society but a peaceful society.
    And the reason I believe that is because I believe, for example, 
most mothers want to raise their children in a peaceful world, and they 
want their little children to be able to go to school and to grow up in 
peace. And if that's the ultimate feeling of the people, the Government, 
if it's a true democracy, will reflect that.

Support for the Lebanese Economy

    Q. Well, Mr. President, I'm sure you know that Lebanon is also 
facing severe economic problems.
    The President. Yes.
    Q. Would the U.S. be willing to rally the world community to help 
Lebanon's economy?
    The President. Of course. The United States as well as European 
finance ministers would want to work closely with international 
organizations, like the IMF or the World Bank, to help this country get 
back on its feet after occupation, help this new democracy succeed. Yes, 
there will be plenty of help.
    The Lebanese people are going to have to, though, however, have 
elections. In my judgment, they ought to be as scheduled. And the 
elections need to be free and fair, without interference. There will be 
monitors, hopefully, international monitors, to make sure they're free 
and fair. The people of that good country ought to feel comfortable 
about going out and voting and expressing their opinion. And when a 
democracy is up and running, I believe the international community will 
want to help this new democracy.

Syria-U.S. Relations

    Q. Mr. President, we all know that Syrian-American relations are at 
their lowest now. Is there a roadmap for Syria to improve its 
relationship with the United States?
    The President. Well, Syria has heard from us before. We have made it 
very clear that--what we expect, in order to be able to have relations 
with us. First on the agenda, right now, there's two things immediately 
that come to mind. One is to stop supporting Ba'athists in Iraq, stop 
those people in Syria who are funneling money and helping smuggle people 
and arms into Iraq. They've heard that message directly from me. And 
secondly,

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of course, is to completely withdraw from Lebanon. Syria must shut down 
Hezbollah offices. Hezbollah not only is trying to destabilize the peace 
process between Israel and the Palestinians, but Hezbollah, as you know, 
is a dangerous organization.
    Q. But those offices are in Lebanon; they're not in Syria.
    The President. Well, they're in Syria too. And Syria has got to do 
its part about making sure that Hezbollah doesn't receive support from 
Syria.
    Q. What if the diplomatic effort and the sanctions fail in changing 
Syrian attitudes? Is there another option?
    The President. Well, I think the Government will feel the 
international pressure. We're just beginning. And obviously, diplomacy 
is the first course of action. And we hope--I think diplomacy will work.

Israel-Syria Relations

    Q. Mr. President, for the last four or five decades, Israel was seen 
as a country trying hard to be accepted by its Arab neighbors and 
signing peace agreements with them. Nowadays we hear someone like 
President Bashir of Syria complaining that all Syria's attempts to 
relaunch peace talks with Israel were not taken seriously. Are you doing 
something to intervene and maybe to put the two parties together?
    The President. Well, first of all, Syria and Israel have got current 
obligations. Syria has got a current obligation to get out of Lebanon. 
And again I'll repeat this, because I want it very clear what I mean by, 
``Get out of Lebanon.'' I mean not only troops but intelligence services 
as well. And we expect that to happen. Syria has also got to stop 
inciting or providing--allowing people in their country to incite 
violence against Iraqi citizens and our coalition troops.
    Israel has got obligations under the current roadmap to help the 
Palestinians. Israel is getting ready to withdraw from Gaza, and we 
expect the Government of Israel--and want to work with the Government of 
Israel and the Palestinian Authority to make this withdraw successful. 
And so there's a lot of obligations that these two countries have right 
now in order to affect world peace.

Late Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri

    Q. I want to go back to Lebanon and ask you, Mr. President, what do 
you recall from your last meeting with the late Lebanese Prime Minister 
Rafiq Hariri?
    The President. Yes. I remember I met members--I remember their 
family love. I remember how proud he was of his boys. And then Laura and 
I met Mrs. Hariri in France when we were there. I was there visiting 
President Chirac, and he hosted a dinner for me and my delegation, and 
Mrs. Chirac kindly hosted a dinner for Laura, and Mrs. Hariri was one of 
the guests. I remember how striking she was, very lovely lady. I know 
her heart is broken at the loss of her husband.
    Prime Minister Hariri was here to talk to me about Lebanese affairs. 
He clearly loved the country and loved the people of Lebanon. And I know 
he'll be sorely missed.

Message to Lebanese People

    Q. Mr. President, is there anything else you would like to convey to 
the Lebanese people?
    The President. I will. United States believes in freedom, and we 
appreciate courage. We appreciate the courage of those who are willing 
to stand up and say, ``We want to be free. We want to be a democracy. We 
want to help establish a Government that responds to the people.'' And 
you'll have our help.
    Q. Thank you so much, Mr. President. We greatly appreciate it.
    The President. Thank you.

Note: The interview was taped at 3:56 p.m. in the Map Room at the White 
House for later broadcast, and the transcript was released by the Office 
of the Press Secretary on April 19. In his remarks, the President 
referred to Nazek Hariri, widow of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri of 
Lebanon, who was assassinated on February 14 in Beirut; and President 
Jacques Chirac of France and his wife, Bernadette. The interviewer 
referred to President Bashir al-Asad of Syria. A tape was not available 
for verification of the content of this interview.

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