[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 46 (Monday, November 20, 2006)]
[Pages 2062-2065]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister John Howard of 
Australia and an Exchange With Reporters in Hanoi, Vietnam

November 17, 2006

    President Bush. I just had an enjoyable lunch with my friend John 
Howard. We talked about a variety of subjects. I talked to John about 
Iraq. I appreciate the Australian contributions to helping this young 
democracy succeed. There's a lot of questions, I know, in the press 
around the world about our troop posture and about the attitudes of our 
Government. I assured John that we will get the job done. We will 
continue to help this Maliki Government meet the aspirations of the 
Iraqi people.
    And that--I'm sure there's some questions by the Australian press 
about what the elections mean. The elections mean that the American 
people want to know whether or not we have a plan for success, and 
that--and I assured John that any repositioning of troops, if that's 
what we choose to do, will be done in close consultation with John and

[[Page 2063]]

his Government. But I also assured him that we're not leaving until this 
job is done, until Iraq can govern, sustain, and defend itself.
    We talked about the climate. John has got some very strong ideas 
about the use of technologies to enable countries like our own and the 
rest of the world to be able to grow and, at the same time, protect the 
environment. And I appreciated his views. And I share those views. I 
assured him that we will continue to spend research dollars to develop 
technologies such as clean coal technologies, something that Australia 
is interested in, or the use of ethanol, for example, to power our 
automobiles, or money spent to develop hydrogen fuel cells, all aimed at 
changing our energy habits and, at the same time, protecting the 
environment.
    We talked about the neighborhood that Australia is in. I always 
admire John's strategic vision of the world. I really appreciate the 
chance to have lunch with you.
    Prime Minister Howard. Well, thank you very much, George. We did 
cover all of those subjects, and we spent a lot of time, naturally, 
talking about Iraq. Our views are very similar. It's not easy, but we 
hold to the view, and I've said it back in Australia, and I'd repeat it 
here today, that the idea of the coalition leaving in circumstances 
where the Iraqi people were not soon to be able to look after themselves 
and to enjoy the democracy they want would be a catastrophic defeat for 
our cause, not only in the Middle East, but it would embolden terrorists 
in that region. And it would embolden terrorism in countries like 
Indonesia.
    Our discussions about climate change were very valuable. Our 
thinking is similar. We don't believe that Kyoto is the answer. Both our 
countries are committed to dealing with the growth of greenhouse gasses. 
We can have debate about the severity of the problem, but there's really 
no debate about the desirability of responding to it, provided we do it 
in a way that maintains economic growth in our societies and the world.
    And we certainly have a similarity of commitment to doing things in 
the area of technology. And I indicated to the President that Australia 
is looking very seriously at the place of nuclear power in our own 
response. And the Australian media will be aware of the upcoming 
Switkowski report that is going to deal with the whole question of 
nuclear power in the overall equation.

    President Bush. We'll answer a couple of questions. Jennifer 
[Jennifer Loven, Associated Press].

Vietnam-U.S. Relations

    Q. Thank you, sir. What does it mean to you personally and what do 
you think it means to other Americans who experienced some of the 
turbulence of the Vietnam war that you're here now, talking cooperation 
and peace with a former enemy?

    President Bush. You know, Laura and I were talking about--we were 
talking about how amazing it is we're here in Vietnam. And one of the 
most poignant moments of the drive in was passing the lake where John 
McCain got pulled out of the lake. And he's a friend of ours; he 
suffered a lot as a result of his imprisonment, and yet we passed the 
place where he was, literally, saved, in one way, by the people pulling 
him out.

    I guess my first reaction is, history has a long march to it and 
that societies change and relationships can constantly be altered to the 
good. And I'm looking forward to my meetings with the President and the 
Prime Minister here shortly. I found it really interesting, for example, 
that the Prime Minister's children were educated in the United States. 
The Prime Minister of Vietnam who, as I understand it, was part of the 
Viet Cong, sends his children to our country to get educated, and one of 
his children ended up marrying a Vietnamese American. And it shows how 
hopeful the world can be and how people can reconcile and move beyond 
past difficulties for the common good.

    Vietnam is an exciting place. It's a place with an enormous future, 
and they obviously have got to work through difficulties like religious 
freedom, for example, but nevertheless, there's certainly a new 
hopefulness to this country. And so I'm--thought a lot about what it was 
like, what my impressions of Vietnam were growing up, and here I am in 
this country today, and I guess my answer is, it's very hopeful.

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Democracy Efforts in Iraq

    Q. Are there lessons here for the debate over Iraq?
    President Bush. I think one thing--yes, I mean, one lesson is, is 
that we tend to want there to be instant success in the world, and the 
task in Iraq is going to take awhile. But I would make it beyond just 
Iraq. I think the great struggle we're going to have is between radicals 
and extremists versus people who want to live in peace, and that Iraq is 
a part of the struggle. And it's just going to take a long period of 
time to--for the ideology that is hopeful, and that is an ideology of 
freedom, to overcome an ideology of hate. Yet, the world that we live in 
today is one where they want things to happen immediately.
    And it's hard work in Iraq. That's why I'm so proud to have a 
partner like John Howard who understands it's difficult to get the job 
done. We'll succeed unless we quit. The Maliki Government is going to 
make it unless the coalition leaves before they have a chance to make 
it. And that's why I assured the Prime Minister we'll get the job done.
    Do you want to ask somebody?

Australia-U.S. Cooperation on Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, did the Prime Minister raise any new ideas on Iraq 
during your talks? Can you tell us what they are, and will you be taking 
them up?
    President Bush. The Prime Minister's main concern was that we 
consult closely together. And I assured him that's going to be the case. 
That's the way it has been throughout this war on terror. We value 
Australia's commitments; I value John Howard's advice. And when our 
deliberations are complete--and as you may or may not know, we've got a 
lot of people looking at different tactical adjustments--once I make up 
my mind what those will be, I'll share it with him right off the bat.
    Let's see here--yes, Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq

    Q. You mentioned troop postures in Iraq. There's a report that you 
may want to send 30,000 additional troops to Iraq. Is that something----
    President Bush. Where was that report?

    Q. In the Guardian newspaper.

    President Bush. Guardian newspaper? Well, I don't read that paper 
often. But I--look, I'm going to listen to our commanders, Steve. Ours 
is a condition-based strategy, and Pete Pace is conducting a thorough 
study--he's the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. John Abizaid has got some 
ideas, and the Baker-Hamilton Commission is looking. I want to hear from 
Democrats on Capitol Hill what their views may be. I want to hear from 
my fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill. And then I'll make up my mind. So 
I'm not aware of the Guardian article.

North Korea

    Q. Are you getting sufficient cooperation from South Korea on North 
Korea? And will this be something you talk to them about tomorrow?

    President Bush. Oh, absolutely. I'll remind----
    Q. ----they're not following through on the sanctions as hard as 
they could have.

    President Bush. I'll, of course, talk to the South Korean President 
about implementing the United Nations Security Council resolution. I'll 
talk to Vladimir Putin, Hu Jintao, and Prime Minister Abe as well. I'm 
meeting with all our partners in the six-party talks.
    The APEC is an important summit; it's an important opportunity to 
talk about the importance of free trade. But it's also important to give 
us a chance to talk about other issues--and a key issue that John and I, 
by the way, talked about--is going to be North Korea. We have a chance 
to solve this issue peacefully and diplomatically. It's important for 
the world to see that the Security Council resolutions which were passed 
are implemented. So part of my discussions will be how we fully 
implement those sanctions that the world has asked for, but also it's a 
chance to set the conditions right so that the six-party talks will 
succeed. North Korea, as you know, has decided to come back to the 
table, and it gives us a chance to solve this problem peacefully.

[[Page 2065]]

Military Tribunals

    Q. Mr. President, did you discuss the issue of David Hicks at all 
with the Prime Minister? And when do you think he might come to trial?

    President Bush. Yes, we did. The Prime Minister brought it up. He 
was pleased that I was able to sign the military tribunal bill--in other 
words, a way forward for somebody like Hicks to be able to get a day in 
court. And he was asking me, do I have a timetable in mind as to when 
Hicks's trial will be coming forth? I told him I didn't, although we 
hope that Hicks is one of the early people that will have a day in 
court.

    Interestingly enough, as I understand, Hicks has lawyers that may be 
trying to appeal certain aspects of the law we passed. If that's the 
case, he's having his day in court in an interesting way. But I believe 
Hicks deserves a trial and is going to get it.

    Thank you all very much.

    Prime Minister Howard. Thank you.

    Q. One more, do you feel generous, one more?

    President Bush. No, I'm not generous. It's also hot out here, 
Gregory [David Gregory, NBC News]. We're in the sun; you're not. 
[Laughter]

    Q. I don't see you sweat.

    President Bush. That's the problem; you might see me sweat.

Note: The President spoke at 1:17 p.m. at the Sheraton Hanoi. In his 
remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq; President 
Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam; Gen. 
John P. Abizaid, USA, combatant commander, U.S. Central Command; 
President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea; President Vladimir Putin of 
Russia; President Hu Jintao of China; Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of 
Japan; and Australian citizen David M. Hicks, a detainee at the U.S. 
Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.