[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 23 (Monday, June 12, 2006)]
[Pages 1105-1112]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Anders Fogh 
Rasmussen of Denmark in Camp David, Maryland

June 9, 2006

    President Bush. Good day. Welcome to Camp David. More importantly, 
welcome to Camp David to the Prime Minister and his wife. Mr. Prime 
Minister, we're glad you're here. Welcome.
    The invitation to come to Camp David is an expression of my high 
regard for Prime Minister Rasmussen and our friendship between our two 
countries. You know, I think--I was checking back; I think it's been 
over 2 years since we've had a foreign leader come and visit us here. 
And thanks for bringing such good weather. It's important to have good 
weather today, because the Prime Minister is going to give me a mountain 
biking lesson after this news conference.
    A couple of thoughts, and then he's going to speak, and then we'd be 
glad to answer some questions.
    First, I appreciate the Prime Minister's belief that freedom can 
help change the world and that freedom is universal. We had a really 
important discussion about our desire to help others realize the great 
blessings of liberty, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prime 
Minister Rasmussen has been a strong believer in supporting the Iraqi 
Government's desire to live in democracy. I thank you for your courage; 
I thank you for your country's commitment of troops that are helping 
make a difference.
    We talked about the new Government in Iraq. The Prime Minister has 
met Prime Minister Maliki--I have not, and so it was very useful for me 
to hear from him firsthand about the Prime Minister's determination to 
succeed. I appreciate his understanding of the Prime Minister's desire 
to set priorities, starting with electricity in Baghdad, security in 
Baghdad, and dismantling militia groups that are creating havoc.
    We discussed our common strategies in Iraq. One of the most 
important strategies is to make sure that the police force in Iraq is 
capable of inspiring the population who they're supposed to be 
protecting. And I believe we took a long--we took a big step toward that 
when the Prime Minister selected a new Minister of the Interior and--as 
well as a new Defense Minister.
    And so we spent time on that, and we spent time on Afghanistan as 
well. Prime Minister Rasmussen shared his thoughts with me about 
President Karzai. We both agree

[[Page 1106]]

that he's a patriot, that he's the kind of person that we can back and 
that we will back as this new democracy begins to develop.
    We spent time on Iran. We shared thoughts about how to 
diplomatically solve the problem. And the problem is, the Iranians want 
to have a nuclear weapon, and they shouldn't have one.
    We spent time talking about Darfur, our desire to help the AU forces 
achieve stability in Darfur. I've spoken out on this subject a lot. I 
believe there's genocide taking place, and I believe we have a 
responsibility to work together to bring some security to the poor folks 
that are being harassed and raped and murdered in the far reaches of 
Darfur.
    The Prime Minister and I share values, and he spent time making sure 
that I understood his strong belief that when we fight the war on terror 
and we help new democracies, that we've got to uphold the values that we 
believe in. And he brought up the Guantanamo issue. And I appreciate the 
fact that the Prime Minister is concerned about the decisions that I 
made on--toward Guantanamo. I assured him that we would like to end the 
Guantanamo. We'd like it to be empty. And we're now in the process of 
working with countries to repatriate people.
    But there are some that, if put out on the streets, could create 
grave harm to American citizens and other citizens of the world. And, 
therefore, I believe they ought to be tried in courts here in the United 
States. We will file such court claims once the Supreme Court makes its 
decision as to whether or not--as to the proper venue for these trials. 
And we're waiting on our Supreme Court to act.
    We talked about bilateral relations. I am impressed by the fact that 
the Prime Minister is off to the west coast with a message of new 
technologies and the desire for Denmark to work with some of our venture 
capitalists and businesses to promote energy independence, for example, 
and to come up with technologies that will enable a country like ours to 
become less reliant upon foreign sources of energy.
    All in all, we had a very constructive visit, which will be 
continued over lunch after the bike ride and--presuming he doesn't ride 
me into the ground. [Laughter]
    So, Mr. Prime Minister, welcome. Glad you're here.
    Prime Minister Rasmussen. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Let me 
first of all express my gratitude for inviting me to Camp David. I'm 
very honored to be here. And one could hardly imagine a better venue to 
spend time for work and pleasure with close friends. So thank you very 
much.
    We have had a very productive meeting this morning at this wonderful 
setting. First we talked about Iraq. A few weeks ago, I met with the new 
Iraqi Government, as the President pointed out. It was with a particular 
sense of respect, I heard the views of the first permanent 
democratically elected Government in Iraq. I would say that our efforts 
have not been in vain.
    Democracy is what it is all about. We agree on the very reason for 
being engaged in Iraq--to put an end to oppression and to promote 
freedom, democracy, and human rights. These are the very values we want 
to defend. That also gives us strong obligation to live up to those 
values in every step we take. When unacceptable events happen in Abu 
Ghraib and when allegations are made about horrific events in Haditha, 
it is not only a tragedy for the victims; it is damaging to our own 
efforts and an offense to our very own values. The President has assured 
me that all allegations will be investigated, and if there has been 
wrongdoing, then the responsible will be prosecuted.
    We are committed to remain in Iraq as long as the Iraqi Government 
and the U.N. request our assistance, and as long as we can make a 
positive difference.
    As the President mentioned, we had also a discussion on Iran. I am 
pleased that the United States, under the President's leadership, has 
joined his European allies in presenting a package to the Iranians. It's 
now up to the Iranians to take advantage of this window of opportunity.
    Secondly, we touched upon energy. I strongly share the President's 
view that energy is a major strategic challenge. I think that 
transatlantic cooperation can contribute to ensuring energy security and 
sustainable development. It could, for instance, be instrumental in 
developing new energy technologies.

[[Page 1107]]

    In Denmark, this issue has been a high priority for 30 years. We 
have focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency, and we are among 
the leading countries when it comes to developing technologies in that 
field. It is part of the reason for our strong economy and 
competitiveness. And in Denmark, we have managed to combine economic 
growth with energy efficiency. Over the last 25 years, the Danish 
economy has grown by 50 percent without increasing the use of energy.
    I think it's fair to say that Danish companies are at the edge in 
developing new technologies, and they are already engaged in the United 
States. Some of them are traveling with me to the west coast on Monday.
    Which brings me to my final point on our bilateral economic 
relations. Trade and investment between the United States and Denmark is 
flourishing at impressive growth rates. The United States is now the 
biggest foreign investor in Denmark. Likewise, Danish companies have 
turned their attention towards the United States. Our top five companies 
have created more than 20,000 jobs in the United States, and they have 
engaged in a vast number of subcontractors. I think that the broad range 
of subjects demonstrates the vitality and closeness of our relations.
    Mr. President, the health experts tell us that we need daily 
exercise. So before we even start thinking about lunch, I'm looking 
forward to exploring Camp David in even greater detail on bike. It's 
going to be hard work; I know that. But I will do my very best to keep 
up with you, Mr. President. [Laughter]
    So once again, thank you very much for your hospitality. Meeting 
with you at Camp David has indeed been a great symbol of the close and 
very warm relations between our two countries. Thank you.
    President Bush. I'll take a couple of questions. Deb [Deb Riechmann, 
Associated Press].

Iraq/Abu Musab Al Zarqawi

    Q. Mr. President, after meeting with the Danish Prime Minister last 
month, Maliki said he thought he could stand up the Iraqi security 
forces in about a year-and-a-half. And with Zarqawi's death, do you 
think this is realistic?
    President Bush. I think it is--we'll get a realistic appraisal about 
the capacity for standing up Iraqi troops as this new Government begins 
to function as a government. It wasn't until just a couple of days ago 
that they didn't had a Defense Minister. Now they've got a Defense 
Minister, which will give us time to assess their command and control, 
their capacity to be able to send an order from the top to the bottom of 
their organization--a Defense Ministry that will be independent from 
politics, hopefully.
    Once we make those assessments, then I think I'll be able to give 
the American people a better feel for what ``stand up/stand down'' 
means. And one of the reasons we're coming here--I'm coming here Monday, 
by the way, Mr. Prime Minister, with a lot of my Cabinet members to 
discuss the way forward in Iraq, to analyze the new Government, to look 
carefully at what their blueprint for the future looks like, and to 
figure out how we can help. And of course, I will share our thoughts 
with the Prime Minister, because he's a very important part of our 
coalition.
    Zarqawi's death helps a lot. Zarqawi was bin Laden's main advocate, 
outside of some remote parts of the world. He was the operator. He was 
the person that had made the declaration that it's just a matter of time 
for America and other democracies to leave, so that we could then--so 
that they could then develop safe haven from which to launch further 
attacks. He beheaded people; he was a coldblooded killer; he 
masterminded the bombing of the hotel in Jordan; he masterminded the 
bombing of the U.N. headquarters early on in the liberation of Iraq.
    Removing Zarqawi is a major blow to Al Qaida. It's not going to end 
the war, and it's certainly not going to end the violence. But it's 
going to help a lot.
    One of the goals of Al Qaida was to encourage sectarian violence 
inside that country; it was to pit Sunni against Shi'a, and Shi'a 
against Sunni in order to be able to stop democracy. His whole ambition 
was to stop the advance of democracy in Iraq. And our troops--who 
performed brilliantly, by the way, in bringing this man to justice--did 
the Iraqis and the Americans and anybody else

[[Page 1108]]

who loves freedom a great service by bringing him to justice.

Iraqi Government

    Q. Can I ask you a followup?
    President Bush. Probably not.
    Q. How long will----
    President Bush.  Yes.
    Q. You said you'd have to reassess with the new Government these 
various things. How long do you think that that assessment is going to 
take?
    President Bush. See, part of the issue I deal with is people want to 
know with certainty when certain things are going to happen, and I 
understand that; it's a legitimate question. It's like, when are you 
going to withdraw troops? And the answer is, when conditions on the 
ground----
    Q. I didn't ask that.
    President Bush. No, I know, but I'm--you asked the question; I 
answer them. The answer is, as to when we'll be able to stand up Iraqis 
and stand down, when we'll be able to analyze the situation, depends 
upon how these people react; how they react to pressure; how they react 
to forming their Government. This is a brand new democracy. And the 
problem with the war we have is it requires a certain degree of patience 
in order to succeed. And we have to be patient here, as this new 
democracy begins to flourish and has to deal with people like Zarqawi 
who is trying to stop their advance.
    And so, as soon as possible. I've told the American people I'd like 
to get our troops out as soon as possible. But the definition of ``as 
soon as possible'' is depending upon victory in Iraq. And victory in 
Iraq is a country that can sustain itself, govern itself, and defend 
itself. That's the definition of victory, and we're making progress 
toward that goal.
    Here you go.

Iran

    Q. Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, last week, we saw a major 
change in the policy towards Iran. And although you don't want to talk 
about timetables, the Prime Minister talked about a window of 
opportunity for the Iranians. How do you see that window of opportunity? 
What is the timetable, and what will be the next step in the procedure 
when we talk about Iran?
    President Bush. Thank you. Actually, you saw a shift in tactics but 
not a shift in strategy. I've always felt like we needed to solve this 
problem diplomatically. And I always felt it was essential that when the 
Iranians looked out at the world, they see a common, united group of 
nations saying, ``No nuclear weapon.''
    Part of the change in tactics was to do two things: One, say to the 
Iranians, ``The choice is yours to make,'' see. ``You have said you're 
going to verifiably suspend your program. Now we're going to see whether 
or not you really mean it. And if you do, by the way, the United States 
will come to the table.'' And I said to our friends and partners, ``If 
they choose not to come back--to suspend verifiably, there must be a 
consequence.'' There must be a sense of urgency on our part to send a 
common message to them. And I applaud my Secretary of State for 
effectively delivering that message.
    And so to answer your question, we've given the Iranians a limited 
period of time--weeks, not months--to digest a proposal to move forward. 
And if they choose not to verifiably suspend their program, then there 
will be action taken in the U.N. Security Council.
    Caren [Caren Bohan, Reuters].

Abu Musab Al Zarqawi

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Your initial public comments on the 
death of Zarqawi have been described as more cautious than other 
developments, such as the capture of Saddam Hussein. Are you more 
cautious now? And, if so, why?
    President Bush. Well, let me make sure everybody understands, I'm 
thrilled that Zarqawi was brought to justice. And I am so proud of our 
troops and intelligence officers who brought him to justice. This man 
had a lot of blood on his hands. He killed a lot of people. And it's a 
big deal to have brought him to justice. Having said that, I don't want 
the American people to think that a war is won with the death of one 
person that--we have still more work to do.
    I am confident that Al Qaida will try to regroup and kill other 
people in order to say,

[[Page 1109]]

``Well, we haven't lost our way.'' I believe that. I also know that 
there are criminal elements and irritated people inside of Iraq who will 
try to stop the progress of the Government; they will continue to bomb.
    The problem we have in this war is that all they've got to do is 
kill some innocent people by a car bomb, and it looks like they're 
winning, see. It takes a major event like an election or the death of 
Zarqawi to understand that we're making progress. And so one of the 
things I'm trying to be is realistic with the American people and say, 
there's still going to be tough days ahead because the enemy has got the 
capacity to get on our TV screens with death and destruction. That's 
what they've got the capacity to do.
    In the meantime, however, the political process--remember, a 
government that can sustain itself and govern itself and defend itself. 
Well, the governance aspect, as the Prime Minister will attest, is 
making progress under Prime Minister Maliki. It's a new type of 
government. It's a unity Government that represents the Iraqi people 
under a Constitution which they ratified, which is a remarkable feat, by 
the way, in the Middle East. A government that can defend itself--and 
that is, a government with an army that's well-trained, with a chain of 
command that's responsive to civilian leadership.
    And finally, a government that can sustain itself is one that not 
only has an economic--a bright economic future for its people, but one 
in which the internal security is such that people have confidence in 
their Government. And frankly, that's the area where we need a lot of 
work, which is in the police forces. The Interior Minister was dominated 
by politicians that wanted to seek revenge, as opposed to provide 
blanket security. And as General Casey has said, ``The--training our 
troops--training the police is the mission of our troops for 2006.'' And 
I want to thank the Prime Minister for his great contribution through 
NATO and the police training academies that we're helping to run.
    But we're making progress. But I don't want--I want the people to 
understand that our progress will be viewed as incremental progress. If 
I didn't think we would succeed, I wouldn't stay. And if I didn't think 
it was necessary for peace, I wouldn't have put our troops there in the 
first place. And I told that to the Prime Minister. I said you can count 
on America for standing by this new Government, because we're doing the 
right thing. And people are going to look back at this moment in history 
and say a democracy in Iraq helped change the world for the better and 
helped provide security. It certainly helped address the simmering 
resentment that exists in a part of a region that for too long has been 
ignored, see.
    And some say, I understand, that liberty isn't universal; therefore, 
we shouldn't worry about freeing people of Iraq. I strongly disagree 
with that. Liberty is universal. And not only in our attempts to defend 
ourselves--we also have got to understand that to help win hearts and 
minds, freedom is an avenue that will help do that. We've got to be 
confident in our belief in freedom and confident in our knowledge that 
freedom has the capacity to yield the peace we want.

Abu Ghraib Prison/Situation in Iraq

    Q. Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister, in previous meetings you 
have discussed Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and now Haditha, and possibly 
other crimes have been added to that list.
    Mr. President, how did you try to convince the Prime Minister today 
that that kind of violations of human rights will stop and guilty will 
be prosecuted? And for Mr. Prime Minister, are you today convinced that 
violations of human rights will stop so that these violations are not 
undermining the war for democracy in Iraq? Thank you.
    President Bush. You know, the last time--I think it was in Denmark, 
we talked about Abu Ghraib, if I'm not mistaken. Yes. I told the people 
in Denmark--on your soil--that it was a disgusting event. It soiled our 
soul. It's not what America stands for. I also--I'm not sure I put it 
this way, but I understand humans make mistakes, but there needs to be 
accountability. And since then, those involved with the Abu Ghraib have 
been brought to justice. And that's what happens in transparent 
societies--which, by the way, stood in stark contrast to the society 
that Saddam Hussein ran, where there was no justice; where there was no 
transparency;

[[Page 1110]]

where people weren't given a chance to take their case in front of an 
impartial court. But that's what's happened here in America.
    I'm like the Prime Minister, I understand that these incidents run 
contrary to what we believe; I know that. But I also want to assure--I 
assured the Prime Minister that they'll be dealt with. That's what 
societies like ours do. I can't guarantee success all across the front, 
but I can guarantee there will be justice.
    Prime Minister Rasmussen. I'm very much in line with that. What we 
have seen in Abu Ghraib is not, was not what we are standing for. If the 
allegations concerning Haditha show up to be true, it is definitely not 
what the coalition, what America, what Denmark stands for. On the 
contrary, we are in Iraq to promote freedom, democracy, respect for 
human rights. And, of course, we should comply with these basic 
principles in all our behavior.
    I can give no guarantee, but just like the President, I can give the 
guarantee that in free and open societies, the whole process will be 
transparent. And if there are wrongdoings, the responsible will be 
prosecuted. That's a guarantee you can give in a free and open society 
based on the rule of law.
    The President. Bret [Bret Baier, FOX News].

Abu Musab Al Zarqawi/War on Terror

    Q. Mr. President----
    President Bush. Fine looking shoes you've got on there. [Laughter]
    Q. Thank you, sir. Mr. President, what are your top commanders 
telling you, in the last 48 hours, about the possible impact of 
Zarqawi's death, and how does that affect what you are trying to 
accomplish in these strategy meetings here in Camp David, Monday and 
Tuesday?
    President Bush. First, we had the strategy meetings scheduled before 
Zarqawi's death, interestingly enough. I haven't spoken to our 
commanders yet, except to call General Casey and McChrystal and 
congratulate them, but more importantly, for them to congratulate the 
troops and the intel groups that were working on finding Zarqawi.
    I suspect they will tell you what I just said, answered to Caren, 
and that is that it's a big deal, but it's certainly not the end of 
conflict. We had some--we believed that Al Qaida was stirring up 
violence inside of Baghdad. And one of the things the Prime Minister 
told the Prime Minister and me by phone, that the security of Baghdad is 
a central part of having a strategy that shows the Iraqi people that the 
Government is capable of governing and achieving objectives. And, 
therefore, if Al Qaida was a part of--not the sole source, but a part of 
the violence inside of Baghdad, it helps to get rid of their commander.
    It's also a--General Abizaid, whose job it is to think beyond just 
Iraq--he's the CENTCOM; he's the theater commander--will tell you that 
the upper management of Al Qaida was counting on Zarqawi to help 
implement their vision beyond Iraq.
    See, it's really important for the American people to understand 
that Al Qaida has got an ideology and a strategy to impose that 
ideology. And part of the strategy is to create turmoil in moderate 
Muslim nations. And they want to overthrow moderate Muslim nations. They 
want to have their view of the world. I call it totalitarian, Islamo-
fascism. Whatever you want to call it, it is extreme, and it's real. And 
Zarqawi was the implementer of that strategy, and he can no longer 
implement. And that is helpful in winning the war on terror.
    Iraq is a theater in the war on terror; it's not the war on terror. 
It's a part of the war on terror. And Zarqawi was a general inside of 
Iraq, and he was a part of their strategy outside of Iraq. And I suspect 
General Abizaid--I don't mean to be putting words into one of our top 
commanders, but I would suspect he would say this was a major blow to Al 
Qaida.
    The death of Zarqawi was very important for the people of Iraq. He 
was sowing incredible violence inside of Iraq. He promoted spectacular 
death. And by the way, he talked about human rights abuses, and we 
definitely need to be held to account. But the world needs to hold to 
account terrorists for civil rights abuses too. The killing of innocent 
people to achieve a military objective is the cornerstone of Al Qaida's 
military strategy.

[[Page 1111]]

And this world of ours--it's no question we ought to be concerned about 
what the United States does. But I expect the free world, as well, to 
unite in condemnation of terrorist activities around the world. See, 
there ought to be a universal condemnation. We ought not to excuse that 
kind of behavior.
    And yesterday's action--or a couple of days ago action, expressed 
our disdain for that kind of killing of innocent life. And bringing him 
to justice is a positive thing.
    It's important for the Iraqi people to see progress in the death of 
Zarqawi. There's no question progress toward more stable--it's not going 
to solve all problems. And I'm sure, as I mentioned to you, there's 
going to be some who step up and say, ``We will teach you a lesson, and 
we will continue to send suiciders into neighborhoods just to show that 
we've still got power.'' But they've lost their general. They've lost 
the person that the top management of Al Qaida was counting on. And it's 
a positive development.

Upcoming Meeting on Iraq

    Q. Is there specific goals for Monday and Tuesday?
    President Bush. Specific goals for Monday and Tuesday is to review 
the Iraqi strategy, the Iraqi way forward. In other words, the Prime 
Minister has put forward a strategy as to how to achieve his objectives, 
which coincide with our objectives--a nation that can sustain itself, 
govern itself, and defend itself. And we want to review all aspects of 
that strategy. I felt that Camp David is a good place to do it because 
it can be distracting down in Washington, with phone calls and all those 
kinds of stuff--we can make sure the people involved in senior levels of 
Government stay focused on the task at hand.
    I will be talking to Zal and our commanders just to get assessment. 
One question I'll ask is precisely the question you asked. I want to get 
a feel for their view of the Iraqi Government's plans and how we can 
help Iraq achieve the objectives they want. And then the next day, we're 
going to have the Ambassador from Iraq to the United States up to talk 
with him, as well as have a Cabinet meeting between my government and 
the Maliki Government via secure video. And I think that will be a very 
interesting moment for the Iraqi Government, to see that we're concerned 
and interested about their plans for success. And I think it will be 
interesting for us to be able to get a sense for the type of people that 
the Prime Minister has attracted.
    Ask Anders a question, will you? He's feeling a little defensive. 
[Laughter]

Central Intelligence Agency

    Q. I'm sorry, I have one for you, Mr. President. This week, a report 
from the European Council talked about some CIA flights, illegal CIA 
flights with the prisoners in Europe, and illegal CIA presence also in 
some European countries. Have these flights taken place, and did you 
discuss this in your meeting today?
    President Bush. We haven't discussed it yet. I suspect we will now 
that you brought it up. I would just--I can tell you what I'll tell the 
Prime Minister, is that in cases where we're not able to extradite 
somebody who is dangerous, sometimes renditions take place. It's been a 
part of our Government for quite a period of time--not just my 
Government, but previous administrations have done so in order to 
protect people. And as we do so, we protect the sovereign rights of 
nations that we're involved with.
    Okay, thanks for the press conference. Enjoy yourselves. Get out of 
here. [Laughter] Welcome, glad you all are here.
    Q. Are you guys going to race?
    President Bush. No, we're old--one of us is old. [Laughter] I'm 
taking a lesson.

Note: The President's news conference began at 10:43 a.m. In his 
remarks, he referred to Anne-Mette Rasmussen, wife of Prime Minister 
Rasmussen; Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Minister of the Interior Jawad 
al-Bolani, Defense Minister Abdel Qadir Muhammed Jassim, and former 
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan; 
senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, who was killed in 
Baquba, Iraq, on June 7; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida 
terrorist organization; Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., USA, commanding 
general, Multi-National Force--Iraq; Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, 
USA, commander, Joint Special Operations Command, U.S. Central Command 
Forward, U.S. Special Operations Command; Gen. John P. Abizaid, USA, 
combatant commander, U.S. Central Command; U.S. Ambassador to Iraq

[[Page 1112]]

Zalmay Khalilzad; and Iraq's Ambassador to the U.S. Samir Shakir al-
Sumaydi.