[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 8 (Monday, February 27, 2006)]
[Pages 324-328]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With Indian Journalists

February 22, 2006

    The President. Quick statement. I'll be glad to answer questions. I 
am really looking forward to my trip. It's the first trip to India for 
me and my wife. We had a great dinner here with the Prime Minister. I 
found him to be a very decent, honorable person with whom we established 
warm relations. And he--I just can't tell you how--what a kind person he 
was and, at the same time, represented his great country's interests 
very well.
    I do want to make something clear in the speech I gave today. I said 
that--as to the Kashmir interest--issue, America supports a solution 
that is acceptable to all sides. As you might recall in my remarks, I 
said, ``to both sides.'' I would like the record to be so that the world 
hears me say, ``all sides.'' I fully understand that the deal has to be 
acceptable to the Indians, Paks, as well as the citizens of Kashmir.

    Okay?

India-U.S. Relations

    Q. Yes. Mr. President, how and why has India come front and center 
to U.S. strategic thinking now after being on the margins for so many 
years?

    The President. Well, as you know, there was a history, particularly 
during the cold war, that made it difficult for our countries to 
establish a close relationship. However, things change in the world. And 
as the post-cold war thaw developed, as--attitudes began to shift.

    Secondly, the Indian economy, as a result of more transparency and 
openness and trade, began to change. And as the Indian economy changed, 
it changed the commercial relationship between the United States and 
India.

    Thirdly, there are some common threats that make it in our interests 
to work together--namely terrorism. As I said in my speech today, the 
United States has been attacked, but India certainly understands what it 
means to have suffering as a result of terrorist activities. And so 
there's common interests that have helped to change the relationship. 
And I intend to seize those interests, as does the Prime Minister, in 
order to foster what we've called a strategic relationship.

    And in my speech today, I made it clear to the American people that 
this relationship is in our interests, and I described the various ways 
it was in our interests. I think the evolution of the relationship goes 
to show that the world is--changes, and it's never static. And so thank 
you for the question.

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United Nations Security Council Membership

    Q. Mr. President, if India's credentials are so good, why isn't the 
U.S. backing its candidacy for the U.N. Security Council?
    The President. Well, let me make one other point, if you don't mind, 
that I should have made in my speech today, and that is that there are a 
lot of Indian Americans who made a tremendous contribution to our 
country as well. And there are a lot of--over the last--as the high-tech 
boom helped transform our society, a lot of the brain power behind that 
boom have been Indian Americans, as well as Indians educated here in 
America. And so the American people, as well, have begun to get kind of 
a different perspective on the great contributions that India can not 
only make to our own country but can make to the world.
    Our position on the United Nations Security Council has been very 
clear. First, we support a U.N. Security Council reform, but we think it 
ought to happen after other institutions within the United Nations 
become reformed. What I was always worried about is that we would focus 
on the U.N. Security Council and nothing else would happen. And so we 
have--we have said to all parties concerned--I fully understand the 
Indian position just like other nations--that ``we will take your case 
under consideration, but first things first.''
    And a classic case of the reform I'm talking about is the Human 
Rights Commission. It needed to be reformed. And what I was, again, 
worried about is that we'd miss opportunity while focusing on the U.N. 
Security Council.

Civilian Nuclear Power Program in India

    Q. Mr. President, when do you intend to take the U.S.-India nuclear 
deal before the Congress and before the Nuclear Supplies Group, which is 
part of the U.S. obligation?
    The President. Yes, it is. As we speak, Nick Burns of the State 
Department is discussing this vital issue with Indian counterparts. We 
are working through what has been--as I said in the speech, a difficult 
issue for the Indian Government as well for the American Government. To 
change the past, the ways of the past can be difficult at times.
    I appreciate the Prime Minister's courage last July of laying out a 
way forward, which I support. And so first things first is to go to 
India and hopefully reach an agreement on separation and then bring that 
agreement back and start selling it to the Congress. It's--but we can't 
bring anything back until we've agreed to the agreement. And that's 
what's happening now. There's a spirit of goodwill and cooperation.
    It's in our country's interest, by the way, to encourage India--and 
aid India in its development of a civilian nuclear power program. The 
American people are beginning to see high prices of energy, but so are 
the Indian people. And the reason why is, is that there's growing 
economies--ours, India's, China's--which is adding to global demand for 
energy. And demand is outstripping supply, and then what happens, you 
see price.
    And one way to help deal with price here at home and/or with India 
is to develop alternative ways to power homes and businesses as well as 
automobiles. I was sincere in my speech today when I said that we're 
dedicated to research and development to come up with alternative ways 
to use automobiles and want to share that technologies with other 
nations, particularly a nation like India, which has got huge potential 
and vast room for growth.
    And it's in our mutual interests--I also made it clear that it's in 
our interests that the Indian economy prosper. And it's a very simple 
reason why. One, a prosperous country is one that is--particularly one 
that has shown its capacity to deal with a multi-ethnic and multi-
religious society--it will give India more opportunity to lead, 
particularly in parts of the world where people need to see how 
democracy can work and function in a proper way.
    And secondly, the American people have got to understand a 
prosperous India is advantageous to our own industries. I mean, we want 
people buying American products. Indians want Americans buying Indian 
products, and that exchange of trade in a free and fair way is 
beneficial for workers and consumers.
    And I said an amazing statistic today--at least I thought it was--
300 million middle-class citizens in India. That's larger than the

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population of the United States. And so we shouldn't fear relations with 
India--matter of fact, we ought to welcome them and work on ways to 
strengthen them. That's really what the purpose of the trip is.
    Q. Do you consider India to be a responsible nuclear nation?
    The President. I do, particularly when they signed the IAEA 
safeguards, and they have a separation between their military and their 
civilian nuclear parts of their Government.

Iran

    Q. Mr. President, would the United States have a problem if India 
continued to source oil and gas from Iran?
    The President. I think people are going to have to buy their energy 
where they can get it. On the other hand, I do want to make it clear to 
the Indian people and the Indian Government that an Iran with a nuclear 
weapon will destabilize the world and that those of us who are for peace 
and stability must work in concert. So there's a difference between 
energy supply and working closely to achieve a very important objective.
    And we will discuss this issue carefully with the Prime Minister. 
There is a consensus in the world, and that consensus is that an Iranian 
Government that has declared its--has said that Israel shouldn't exist, 
for example, and if it were to have a nuclear weapon, would be a danger 
to all of us. And I will continue to make that point with the Prime 
Minister.

A.Q. Khan

    Q. Why has the U.S. not questioned A.Q. Khan, whose activities 
intersect proliferation and terrorism?
    The President. Well, we were the nation that exposed the conspiracy 
to deal with--more than the conspiracy, the activities; let me rephrase 
that--we were the nation that exposed the activities of sharing 
technologies, sensitive technologies, nuclear weapons-related 
technologies. And we, of course, want to know as much about the A.Q. 
Khan network as possible. But had it not been for U.S. intelligence, 
coupled with British intelligence, this network never would have been 
exposed. And the light of day helps understand proliferation.

Civilian Nuclear Power Program in India

    Q. Mr. President, why does India have to jump through the hoops to 
get a civilian nuclear agreement when its energy requirements are 
similar to China, another big, growing economy?
    The President. There are the nuclear supplier group and the IAEA--in 
other words, the world has signed on to this. We think it's in India's 
interest to do so, as it pertains to its civilian nuclear power 
industry. It will give confidence to people. It will make it easier for 
the United States to work with India. This will be a confidence-building 
measure that we don't believe is an unrealistic request. And we do 
realize there will be separation between the military side and the 
civilian side. What we're working on is the civilian side.

Spread of Democracy

    Q. Is the U.S. more comfortable dealing with dictators and monarchs?
    The President. Do what now? Do I feel comfortable doing what?
    Q. Dealing with dictators and monarchs?
    The President. Do I feel comfortable dealing with them?
    Q. No, the U.S.
    The President. The U.S. feel comfortable with dealing with 
dictators?
    Q. And monarchs.
    The President. And monarchs? Well, I mean, I've got a great 
relationship with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain. 
[Laughter] She's a lovely lady and a great figure in a country that's an 
important ally. And of course, that monarchy is very supportive of a 
free and open and democratic system.
    You must take the words that I said in my second Inaugural Address 
very seriously, in that we must end tyranny in the 21st century. It's a 
goal that all of us can work on. India has got a unique role to play. I 
mean, when you really think about troubled spots, these are countries 
many times that are having difficulty dealing with what it means to 
honor minority rights and welcoming different religions within, kind of, 
a social and civil fabric.

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    And India has done a magnificent job of showing the world how 
democracy can work. And it's--India is--I'm confident the country will 
play a constructive role and can do so in a much better way--many 
times--than the United States can. I mean, after all, there are 150 
[million] * Muslims living within the Indian democracy. We got a lot of 
Muslims in the United States, as well, which shows the world that it's--
you're capable of honoring--worshiping God as you see fit, and you can 
do so in a free way and, at the same time, be a productive citizen of a 
state.*
    * White House correction.
    And India can help a lot. I was very impressed by its contribution 
to a new democracy in the neighborhood, and that's Afghanistan. India 
has provided $565 million of cash, recently pledged an additional $50 
million to build the Afghan National Assembly building. And that's 
responsible--a responsible nation does that. And it's a--it goes to 
show--at least says to me that India understands that a democracy in our 
neighborhood will help yield peace, because if you study the history of 
the world, regions that had been in turmoil are now peaceful as a result 
of the evolution of democracy.
    And one of the points I made in my address to the Asia Society is 
that there are--there's more democracies now in the region, which will 
make it easier for a current Prime Minister, future Prime Minister of 
India to help achieve the vision that we all want, which is a peaceful 
world.

India-U.S. Relations

    Q. Mr. President, in this era of free-flow capital, why would--why 
are there so many restrictions about inflow of talent--human capital to 
the United States, who probably add wealth and knowledge----
    The President. I appreciate that question. I am--you're talking 
about visa restrictions for highly educated citizens. I am for lifting 
those. I think we ought to raise the level of those who are either 
educated here and stay here and/or come meeting high--with high skill 
levels. It's in our interest. I've always been a proponent of that.
    And likewise, I would hope that India would lift its investment 
caps. In other words--and part of the trip is to kind of work on ways to 
continue to develop this strategic relationship in a constructive way. 
It's a--you know, I said something interesting--at least I thought it 
was interesting--in the speech. I said, for a period of time, if you're 
a friend of Pakistan, you couldn't deal with India, and if you're a 
friend of India, you couldn't deal with Pakistan. And we have tried to 
change the relationships so that people recognize it's in their interest 
that the United States is a friend of Pakistan's, and people in Pakistan 
recognize it's in their interest that the United States is a friend of 
India's, to help, if need be, reduce tensions.
    Right now the level of tensions are, relatively speaking, down. I 
can remember when I first came into office. You might remember there was 
a series of incidents that got everybody quite nervous, and we had 
shuttle diplomacy--Colin Powell. And it seems to me that there is a 
renewed commitment to resolving problems. I thought it was very 
interesting that trade between the two countries has doubled, that 
there's, you know, new transportation hubs. That's all very positive in 
terms of resolving issues.
    You asked me about the relationship, how it's evolved, and I 
mentioned to you that as time passes sometimes and circumstances change, 
relationships are able to develop a new dynamic. I would hope that time 
and circumstantial change is enabling India and Pakistan to develop a 
new dynamic. It appears to be that way.
    Final question.

President's Upcoming Visit to India

    Q. Between a cricket match and a Bollywood movie, what would a----
    The President. Cricket match and a----
    Q. You like watching?
    The President. What was the second?
    Q. It's between a Bollywood movie and a cricket match.
    The President. I'm a cricket match person. [Laughter] I appreciate 
it. As I understand it, I may have a little chance to learn something 
about cricket. It's a great pastime. [Laughter]
    Q. But Mr. President, you're going to India, but you're not visiting 
the Taj Mahal.

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    The President. I know. It means I'm going to have to----
    Q. Have you broken a promise to the First Lady?
    The President. No, it means I'm going to have to come back. It's a--
I am disappointed with that. People who have seen the Taj Mahal say that 
it's--pictures don't do it justice. It's one of the great magnificent 
sites of the world. And look, if I were the scheduler, perhaps I'd be 
doing things differently. But you want me doing one thing. I'll be the 
President; we've got the scheduler being the scheduler. I'm going to 
miss a lot of the really interesting parts of your great country; I know 
that. I would hope that I would be invited back sometime after this 
trip.
    Q. You could be in trouble with the ``Desperate Housewife.''
    The President. Yes. Well, she's certainly the star of the family. 
She's really looking forward to going with me.

India

    Q. Mr. President, what is your earliest memory of India?
    Press Secretary Scott McClellan. We've got to go to the next one.
    Q. What is your earliest memory of India and Indians?
    The President. My best memory?
    Q. Earliest.
    The President. At least memory?
    Press Secretary McClellan. Earliest.
    The President. Earliest. [Laughter]
    Q. Earliest.
    The President. Gandhi. It's my first memory, as I think about 
India--you know, a person who was so spiritual that he captured the 
imagination of the entire world. He's proof positive that--throughout 
history there have been individuals that have had the capacity to shape 
thought and to influence and--beyond border. And he did that.
    Q. You watched the movie?
    The President. I watched that too. But that's--but my memory was 
earlier than that.
    Thank you.
    Q. Thank you very much.
    The President. Enjoyed it.

Note: The interview was taped at 1:49 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, the President referred to Prime Minister 
Manmohan Singh of India; A.Q. Khan, former head of Pakistan's nuclear 
weapons program; and former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. The 
transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on February 
23. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this 
interview.