[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 20 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[Pages 844-846]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen 
of Denmark and an Exchange With Reporters

May 20, 2005

    President Bush. The Prime Minister and I will be glad to answer two 
questions per side.
    First, Mr. Prime Minister, welcome back. It is so wonderful to see 
you. He's a good friend of mine. Denmark is a good friend of America. I 
appreciate your contributions to transatlantic ties. The Prime Minister 
has made very constructive and helpful comments to make sure that the 
transatlantic ties between the United States and Europe are strong. And 
I want to thank you for your leadership role.
    I also appreciate your clear understanding about the historic times 
in which we live, times in which more and more people are

[[Page 845]]

becoming free. I appreciate your strong support for those who desire to 
live in a democracy in Iraq. I thank you for your contributions to a new 
democracy called Afghanistan. I thank you for your very constructive 
work in helping the Palestinians develop a democratic state that can 
live side by side with Israel in peace.
    So welcome back. It's good to see you, sir.
    Prime Minister Rasmussen. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I'm 
delighted to be back in Washington. It's my fourth visit as Prime 
Minister, which underlines that the United States and Denmark are close 
friends and allies. We share the same fundamental values. We are allied 
in our efforts to promote freedom and democracy worldwide.
    And I'm happy to say, in addition to this, that I appreciate very 
much your straightforward style. I consider you a friend, and I know 
that with you, I'll always have a very frank discussion and exchange of 
views. So I'm happy to be back.
    President Bush. Fortunately, he's not that good a friend that I 
would go running with him. [Laughter] He's one of the best runners in 
the world, amongst the world leaders. He's a good one.
    Deb [Deb Riechmann, Associated Press].

Stem Cell Research

    Q. Mr. President, on stem cells, specifically, would you veto 
legislation that loosened the requirement on Federal funding for stem 
cell research? And secondly----
    President Bush. Deb----
    Q. ----what is your reaction to the news about the South Koreans on 
embryonic----
    President Bush. I'm--first, I'm very concerned about cloning. I 
worry about a world in which cloning becomes acceptable. Secondly, I 
made my position very clear on embryonic stem cells. I'm a strong 
supporter of adult stem cell research, of course. But I made it very 
clear to the Congress that the use of Federal money, taxpayers' money to 
promote science which destroys life in order to save life is--I'm 
against that. And therefore, if the bill does that, I will veto it.

Investigations of Prisoner Abuse

    Q. Mr. President, how do you react to the continuing reports about 
mistreatment of prisoners held by American military around the world, 
and also the perception abroad that the ones that are paying for it are 
low-ranking soldiers but that nobody higher up is taking any 
responsibility?
    President Bush. I think the world ought to be--pay attention to the 
contrast between a society which was run by a brutal tyrant in which 
there was no transparency and a society in which the whole world watches 
a Government find the facts, lay the facts out for the citizens to see, 
and that punishment, when appropriate, be delivered.
    If I'm not mistaken, I think about over 20 percent of the people 
thus far that have been held to account as a result of the Abu Ghraib 
issue have been officers. There have been over, I think, nine 
investigations, eight or nine investigations by independent 
investigators that have made the reports very public. I'm comfortable 
that we're getting to the bottom of the situation, and I know we're 
doing so in a transparent way. Obviously, ours is a country that 
respects human rights and human dignity, and if those rights and dignity 
have been denied, we will hold people to account.
    Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

Motivation of Terrorists

    Q. Sir, are you worried that the publication of the Saddam photo, 
along with the Newsweek story, will further inflame tensions and inspire 
the Iraq insurgency and anti-Americanism in the Middle East?
    President Bush. I think the Iraq insurgency is inspired by their 
desire to stop the march of freedom. Remember, these are ideologs of--
that murder innocent people in order to spread their dark vision of 
hate. And therefore, when light begins to show up in the form of 
democracy, it frightens them. There is no future for these haters in a 
free world. And so they're inspired by the fact that they see democracy 
emerging in Iraq. That's what causes them to want to kill. They're 
frightened by the fact--and inspired the wrong way, by the way--by the 
fact that Afghanistan is free. They're seeing the people in Lebanon 
demand free and fair elections. And their ideology cannot survive in a 
democratic society. See, the only way they

[[Page 846]]

can survive is to--is to try to shake our will by killing innocent life.
    And that's why our strategy in Iraq is to train the Iraqis so that 
they, themselves, can fight off these terrorists. Listen, 8\1/2\ million 
people went to the polls, in spite of the fact that the--people had been 
killed and there was incredible intimidation. And they defied the 
bombers. These people want to be free, and the killers don't want them 
to be free. And so our strategy is to help the Iraqis realize the dream 
of a free society. And when the Iraqi troops are properly trained--and 
we're headed in that direction--of course it will take less of a 
coalition effort to help this new democracy get started.
    Yes, Steve.
    Q. What about the Saddam photo? Does that have any----
    President Bush. Well, you asked me whether or not that would inspire 
people. You know, I don't think a photo inspires murderers. I think 
they're inspired by an ideology that is so barbaric and backwards that 
it's hard for many in the Western world to comprehend how they think. 
But I would just remind people, if you want to know how ideologically 
grim their vision of the world is, just remember the Taliban. They said, 
``If you don't agree with our religious views, you'll be prosecuted. If 
you're a woman who seeks freedom, you'll be beaten.'' So these people 
are motivated by a vision of the world that is backward and barbaric.

Timetable for Troop Withdrawal From Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, while the Danish people might support the war and 
appreciate the progress in Iraq, they're also curious when our soldiers 
will come back home. Can you elaborate on that?
    President Bush. Well, I appreciate that question a lot, and of 
course I get asked that in our own country a lot. And my answer is, it 
makes no sense to set a timetable. And the reason why is, is because it 
will allow an enemy to adjust.
    On the other hand, as I tell our folks, is that we would like to get 
our troops out as quickly as possible. And the definition of that will 
be how soon our commanders on the ground think that the Iraqis are able 
to take the fight to the enemy.
    I just got off of a video--which I'm looking to briefing the Prime 
Minister on--with General Casey, who is our general on the ground; he's 
the commander of the coalition forces. And he was describing to us the 
Iraqi training and the quality of training. And some units are in really 
good shape, and other units need additional work. But one of the things 
that's important to understand is the Iraqi Government understands that 
as civilian governments change, there needs to be stability in the 
military and a chain of command that links top to bottom. And General 
Casey knows we're making progress toward establishing that chain of 
command.
    My answer to the Danish people is, as soon as we can possibly get it 
done. We've got to complete the mission. A free Iraq in the midst of the 
Middle East is going to be a powerful--a powerful agent for peace.
    Listen, thank you all for coming.
    Q. One more?
    President Bush. We don't want to break precedent. Was that you, Mark 
[Mark Knoller, CBS Radio], who asked that?
    Q. It was.
    President Bush. No. [Laughter] You know better than that.

Note: The President spoke at 10:48 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to former President Saddam Hussein of 
Iraq; and Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., USA, commanding general, Multi-
National Force--Iraq. A tape was not available for verification of the 
content of these remarks.