[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 22 (Monday, June 6, 2005)]
[Page 918]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With Secretary General Jakob Gijsbert 
``Jaap'' de Hoop Scheffer of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

June 1, 2005

    President Bush. Mr. Secretary General, welcome. Thank you for 
coming.
    It's been my pleasure to work with this good man. The Secretary 
General is a visionary leader of a very important Alliance, and that is 
NATO. America is a proud member of NATO. We view NATO as our link--our 
transatlantic link to Europe. NATO is a place where not only do we work 
to--work on defensive measures to protect our respective people, but 
it's a place where we are proud to strategize as to how to promote 
values of--universal values of democracy and freedom and human rights 
and human dignity.
    Under the Secretary General's leadership, NATO has been active in 
places like Afghanistan and training the troops in NATO. And today we 
discussed the NATO mission in Darfur, to help deal with human suffering 
in that part of the world.
    So, Mr. Secretary General, I am proud to call you friend and proud 
to work with you as the President of a contributing member of NATO. 
Welcome.
    Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer. Mr. President, thank you very 
much, indeed. I can echo the words you said. NATO has always been and 
still is a value-driven organization; it's about values. The same values 
we have defended in the cold war, we are now defending in Afghanistan, 
at the Hindu Kush mountains. We are training the Iraqi security forces 
so that that country can stand on its own feet as soon as possible. We 
are staying the course in Kosovo. We'll have, as the President 
mentioned, support for the African Union in Darfur. We're having an 
antiterrorist operation in the Mediterranean. We'll stay the course--
we'll stay the course. We do that with the 26 NATO Allies--of course 
first and foremost with the United States of America--and we do it with 
our partners as well with important partner countries of NATO, like the 
Ukraine, like our partners in the Balkans.
    So we'll stay the course, and I'm sure that NATO will also, in the 
coming time, will be an important political, military organization. 
Enhancing political dialog within NATO, that's what it's all about--
staying the course militarily and staying the course politically.
    Mr. President, thank you very much.
    President Bush. Welcome. Thank you for coming. I appreciate it.

Note: The President spoke at 2:57 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House.