[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 20 (Monday, May 22, 2006)]
[Pages 935-939]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister John Howard of 
Australia

May 16, 2006

    President Bush. Thank you all. It's my honor to welcome the Prime 
Minister of Australia here to the East Room for a press briefing. I'm 
going to feed him tonight--before I feed him tonight, I'm going to feed 
him to you. [Laughter]
    We just had a really interesting discussion about a lot of issues. 
First, I admire John Howard's understanding that the war on terror still 
goes on and that we've got to be steadfast and firm if we intend to 
succeed in defeating the terrorists.
    Secondly, I appreciate very much his understanding and discussions 
about the way forward in Iraq. We spent quite a bit of time talking 
about the new Government. I described to him as best as I could my 
feelings about the Prime Minister-designee, who I believe is a firm and 
decisive person that is going to make a difference in that country's 
future.
    I thanked him very much for the commitment of Australian troops. We, 
of course, talked about the Iraqi security forces' capacity to defend 
themselves. I reported to him that we're pleased with the progress being 
made but that the United States will make decisions about our troop 
levels based upon conditions on the ground.
    We talked about Afghanistan. Again, I want to thank the Prime 
Minister for his support there for this fledgling democracy. We talked 
about North Korea. We talked about Iran. We talked about a lot. And 
that's what you'd expect when you're talking to an ally and a friend and 
a good strategic thinker.
    The Prime Minister is capable of not only seeing the problems for 
today; he's capable of looking down the road. And I appreciate his 
advice and his judgment on national security matters, as well as in 
talking about issues like energy and trade. We've got a good 
relationship with Australia, and we intend to keep it that way.
    I always remind my friends who talk to me about countries around the 
world, I say, I can't think of a country more like--a place more like 
Texas than Australia. And that's a

[[Page 936]]

compliment--[laughter]--except for some of these people over here. 
[Laughter] The people of Australia are independent-minded; they're 
smart; they're capable; they're hard-working. And I really enjoy my 
relationship with the Prime Minister.
    So Mr. Prime Minister, welcome. Thanks for coming, and the floor is 
yours.
    Prime Minister Howard. Well, thank you very much, Mr. President. 
Again, can I thank you very warmly for the great hospitality that you 
have extended to me. It was a real privilege to sit around the Cabinet 
table and talk to your Cabinet officers, which followed a very extensive 
discussion between the two of us about all of those issues of which you 
spoke.
    We remain a steadfast ally of the United States in the war against 
terror. I've made that clear on every occasion I've spoken here in the 
United States. The war against terror will go on for a long time; I 
think we have to accept that. Progress is being made. The challenge 
remains very, very strong, and there needs to be a continued commitment. 
And we admire and respect the leadership given by you and by the United 
States in that war, and it's a war that confronts us all. Those who 
imagine that somehow or other you can escape it by rolling yourself into 
a little ball and going over in the corner and hoping that you're not 
going to be noticed are doomed to be very, very uncomfortably 
disappointed.
    We did have an opportunity to talk extensively about some of the 
challenges in our immediate region. And I spoke about the situation in 
East Timor and the Solomon Islands and the importance of the role of 
Indonesia, the symbolism and also the practical consequence of Indonesia 
being the largest Islamic country in the world. And therefore, the 
success and prosperity of moderate Islamic leadership in that country is 
itself a very important factor in the long-term success of the fight 
against terrorism, because the fight against terrorism is not only a 
military and physical one; it is also an intellectual one. And it's a 
question of providing within the Islamic world a successful democratic 
model as an alternative to the fanaticism of those who would obscenely 
invoke the sanction of Islam to justify what they seek to do.
    Can I finally say that of the many ties that bind Australia and the 
United States, as I said on the lawn earlier today, none are more 
important, of course, than the shared values and the beliefs that both 
of our countries have--that the spread of democracy around the world is 
an important goal and an important responsibility. It's been a privilege 
for our two peoples to enjoy democracy in an uninterrupted fashion for 
so long that we tend to take it for granted, and we forget its 
liberating impact on those who taste and experience it for the first 
time. And both of our societies have a responsibility in expanding the 
opportunities for democracy, and that, of course, lies very much at the 
heart of much of what our two societies do.
    Mr. President, thank you very, very much for the honor you've done 
me and the courtesy and friendship that you've extended to me and all of 
the traveling party. We appreciate it very, very deeply, indeed. Thank 
you.
    President Bush. Two questions a side. Terry [Terence Hunt, 
Associated Press].

Terrorist Surveillance Program

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, you've said that the 
Government is not trolling through the lives of innocent Americans, but 
why shouldn't ordinary people feel that their privacy is invaded by the 
NSA compiling a list of their telephone calls?
    President Bush. What I have told the American people is, we'll 
protect them against an Al Qaida attack, and we'll do so within the law. 
I've been very clear about the principles and guidelines of any program 
that has been designed to protect the American people.
    I've also been clear about the fact that we do not listen to 
domestic phone calls without court approval and that this Government 
will continue to guard the privacy of the American people. But if Al 
Qaida is calling into the United States, we want to know, and we want to 
know why.
    For the Australian press friends here, we got accused of not 
connecting dots prior to September the 11th, and we're going to connect 
dots to protect the American people, within the law. The program he's 
asking about is one that has been fully briefed to Members of the United 
States Congress in

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both political parties. They are very aware of what is taking place. The 
American people expect their Government to protect them, within the laws 
of this country, and I'm going to continue to do just that.
    Prime Minister Howard. Australian press. Mr. Curry.

Australian Prime Minister Howard

    Q. Mr. President, your relationship with Mr. Howard is obviously 
very close, personally. And I was wondering, first, could you just 
expand a little on that chemistry? And secondly, sir, do you think you 
would be able to work effectively with a future Australian leader, be it 
either a successor of Mr. Howard from his own party or from their 
opposition?
    President Bush. Well, I suspect he's going to outlast me, so that is 
a moot point--[laughter]--probably a question you ought to ask him. 
Somebody said, ``You and John Howard appear to be so close. Don't you 
have any differences?'' And I said, ``Yes, he doesn't have any hair.'' 
[Laughter]
    Look, ours is a world in which sometimes people tell you something 
and they don't mean it. In order to work together to make difficult 
decisions--decisions of war and peace, decisions of security, decisions 
of trade--you've got to have somebody you talk to that tells you 
straight up what's on their mind. You know, politics sometimes produces 
people that will tell you one thing and don't mean it. It's really hard 
to be making rational decisions if somebody you're talking to just 
doesn't level with you.
    And that's what I like about John Howard. He may not be the 
prettiest person on the block--[laughter]--but when he tells you 
something, you can take it to the bank. He is a reliable partner. And we 
don't agree on 100 percent, of course. But the interesting thing, 
talking to John Howard, is that you can trust the man. And that's what 
is a necessary ingredient to be working together for the common good.
    And I also appreciate a person who is capable of standing by a 
decision. I remember the campaign--as a matter of fact, your campaign 
was right before my campaign--and John Howard stood strong. And I 
remember telling somebody--and the polls didn't look all that good, I 
guess, at one point in time--and I remember saying to somebody, ``This 
man is going to be rewarded at the ballot box because the people of 
Australia want somebody who is consistently strong, not somebody who 
tries to waffle around trying to figure out where to end up for 
political expediency.''
    People may not agree with his position on every issue, but people 
have got to agree with the fact that he's a man of conviction. And 
that's the essence of leadership--courage and conviction. And so we've 
got a relationship that is based upon respect, and I respect him. I've 
seen him in action. I've seen what it means to have him being 
pressured--probably by your newspaper. But I've seen him stand strong, 
and that's what's needed in this world.
    Holland [Steve Holland, Reuters], yes.

Immigration Reform

    Q. Thank you, sir. On immigration, some worry that the U.S. military 
is stretched too thin. How effective can these National Guard troops be 
if they're shuttling in and out of the border area every two or three 
weeks? And how are you going to turn around these House Members who seem 
to be unswayed by your argument on the guest-worker program?
    President Bush. The program to put Guard on the border is one that 
will enable the Border Patrol to do its job better. It's very important 
for the American people to know, it's the Border Patrol that's going to 
be on the frontline of apprehending people trying to sneak into our 
country. And the Guard will be doing a variety of functions, which I 
outlined last night.
    Secondly, the Guard is--the up to 6,000 Guard in the first year of 
operation really is not going to put a strain on our capacity to fight 
and win the war on terror, as well as deal with natural disasters. And, 
of course, we'll be working in conjunction with Governors to make sure 
that that's not the case, that it doesn't put an unnecessary strain on 
other functions of the Guard.
    Thirdly, the Pentagon is briefing today--how the program is going to 
work. There are Guard troops in Arizona and New Mexico and Texas that 
can be used by the Governors

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down there to work with the Border Patrol, that they'll be reimbursed 
for. And there's also training missions that can be used to help 
complement the Border Patrol. We're going to have double the Border 
Patrol agents since 2001, by 2008. And what the Guard is doing, the 
Guard is providing an interim service until those Border Patrol agents 
get stood up.
    I made it clear to the country last night that we're not going to 
militarize our border. Mexico is a friend. But what we are going to do 
is use assets necessary to make sure that we can assure the American 
people that the border is secure.
    Now in order to secure the border, it's important for people up here 
in Washington to understand that there's got to be a temporary-worker 
program. Border security and a temporary-worker program are really 
important because--let me say, a temporary-worker program is really 
important to border security, because we don't want people trying to 
sneak into the country. It seems rational to me, to say, ``If you're 
coming to work, come to work in a legal way, on a temporary basis, so 
you're not trying to sneak across.'' So the temporary-worker program 
goes hand in hand with border security. In order for there to be a--in 
order for us to solve the problem of an immigration system that's not 
working, it's really important for Congress to understand that there 
needs a--that the elements I described all go hand in hand.
    And so I'll continue to work with them. Look, this is a hard issue 
for many people.
    Q. Would you go along with border protection only and a guest-worker 
program--[inaudible].
    President Bush. I said I want a comprehensive bill because I 
understand there needs to be a comprehensive bill in order to make--in 
order for us to achieve the objective.
    And the objective is, on the one hand, protect our borders, and on 
the other hand, never lose sight of the thing that makes America unique, 
which is, we're a land of immigrants and that we--we're not going to 
discriminate against people. Now we don't think there ought to be an 
automatic path to citizenship; that's called amnesty. Amnesty would be 
wrong. Amnesty would say that somebody that stood in line legally is--is 
mistreated, as far as I'm concerned. Amnesty would mean that more people 
would try to come and sneak into our country in the hopes that they 
would be granted automatic citizenship.
    But there ought to be a way for somebody to pay a fine or learn 
English or prove that they've been here for a long time working and be 
able to get in line--not the head of the line but the back of the line--
in order to become a citizen.
    You know, there are some in our country who say, ``Let's just deport 
everybody.'' It's unrealistic. It may sound attractive to some. You 
can't deport people who have been in this country for a long period of 
time--millions of people that have been here.
    And so we've got to be rational about how we move forward. And part 
of my appeal last night was to say to people, let's don't get so 
emotional that we forget who we are. We're a land of immigrants, and 
when we welcome somebody to our country who is here legally, willing to 
work and willing to realize a dream, it helps restore our soul.
    So this is a difficult debate for Members. I'm going to continue 
working with them. Part of my job is to lead, and I did last night. I 
said, here's how we get to where we need to be.

Australia's Wheat Market/Trade

    Q. Mr. President, American wheat growers are angry that hundreds of 
millions of dollars in bribes were paid to Saddam's Iraq to protect 
Australia's wheat market. Do you share their anger, and do you 
sympathize with the push on Capitol Hill to investigate this further in 
America? And Mr. Prime Minister, I'd be interested in your comments on a 
possible Capitol Hill inquiry into this.
    President Bush. My own judgment is, is that the Howard 
administration is pretty capable of investigating what took place, and I 
look forward to seeing the results of the investigation.
    Prime Minister Howard. For my part, you are aware of what the 
Australian Government has done. Australia is the only country in the 
world that has responded to the bulk of findings with a public inquiry 
with the powers of a royal commission. And you are

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aware that the commission has probably completed its public hearings, 
and we're likely to have a report by the 30th of June.
    What the United States Congress does in relation to this is a matter 
for the United States Congress. And, clearly, if it decides to do 
something, then we will respond in the appropriate fashion. But for our 
part, in Australia, we have been open, transparent that we do not 
approve in any way, shape, or form of the payment of bribes, and if a 
finding is to that effect, then the full processes of Australian law 
should be brought to bear. You can't be more transparent than that, and 
I think that is understood in the United States.
    But, obviously, just as we have responsibilities within Australia, 
the legislators of this country, where I'm a guest, have 
responsibilities in this country. And if it discharges those in a 
particular fashion, the way it thinks fit-- well, that's its right, and 
we will respond in what is also the appropriate fashion. I don't think I 
can add anything more to that, and we have been patently transparent and 
open. And let me just repeat again, Australia is the only country in the 
world that has established a public inquiry with the powers of the royal 
commission.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir.

Note: The President's news conference began at 11:43 a.m. in the East 
Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister-
designate Jawad al-Maliki of Iraq.