[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 21 (Monday, May 28, 2007)]
[Pages 661-665]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With Secretary General Jakob Gijsbert 
``Jaap'' de Hoop Scheffer of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 
Crawford, Texas

May 21, 2007

    President Bush. Thank you all for coming. Mr. Secretary General, 
thanks very much for joining us. Laura and I are really happy to have 
you here at our place in Crawford. And thank you very much for bringing 
Jeannine with you. We had a lovely dinner last night, and that's what 
you'd expect when friends get together.
    I appreciate your leadership. The Secretary General of NATO has been 
a strong advocate of fighting terror, spreading freedom, helping the 
oppressed, and modernizing this important alliance. I can't thank you 
enough for being steadfast and strong.
    We spent a lot of time talking about Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a 
vital mission for the United States; it's a vital mission for our allies 
in Europe because what happens in Afghanistan matters to the security of 
our countries. We appreciate the fact that in Afghanistan, you'll find 
NATO's largest deployment, thousands of miles from Europe. And success 
in that country is vital. I thank you for setting that important goal 
for the world to rally around. The NATO mission in Afghanistan includes 
more than 15,000 U.S. troops, 21,000 troops from 36 other nations, 
including all our allies. That wouldn't be happening without your 
leadership. Together with more than 100,000 Afghan security forces, 
we're working to support Afghanistan's elected Government.
    The Secretary General is also focused on ensuring that NATO 
commanders have the forces they need to defeat the extremists and 
murderers who are trying to stop the advance of that country. I pledged 
to the Secretary General, we'll work with our NATO allies to convince 
them that they must share more of the burden and must all share the 
risks in meeting our goal.
    We also appreciate the fact that Afghanistan requires more than 
military action. We support a long-term, comprehensive strategy to help 
strengthen Afghanistan's democratic institutions and help create the 
economic opportunity that will help this young democracy survive and 
thrive.
    The Secretary General is also determined to help transform NATO from 
a cold war institution into an alliance that can continue to be 
effective, and that means an alliance which will meet the security 
threats of the 21st century. And so we talked about the need to have 
more special operations forces and strategic airlift capabilities.
    I appreciate his leadership in recognizing that in order for NATO to 
be effective, it has to transform itself into an organization that 
actually meets the threats that free nations face. We talked about 
enlargement. We're looking forward to going to the 2008 NATO summit in 
Bucharest to talk about enlargement. And we--I pledged to the Secretary 
General that I'll work with nations that are interested in becoming a 
part of NATO over the next year to make sure they meet the requirements 
necessary for a country to be accepted into NATO.
    We talked about missile defense. NATO allies and other nations 
recognize the threat we face from ballistic missiles launched by a rogue 
state. I appreciate the fact that the

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Secretary General agrees that U.S. missile defense plans complement NATO 
efforts to keep all nations safe from attack. And of course, I will 
continue to reach out to Russia. I sent Secretary Gates to Russia 
recently to have a full and transparent conversation with President 
Putin and his Cabinet to make sure that the Russians understand that 
this missile shield is not directed at them but, in fact, directed at 
other nations that could conceivably affect the peace of Europe. I 
appreciate the fact that the NATO-Russian Council is a integral part of 
the Secretary General's plans to make sure that Russia fully understands 
that--our intentions.
    And so, Mr. Secretary General, thanks for coming. It's been a good 
trip. We're glad you're here, and the podium is yours.
    Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer. Thank you very much, Mr. 
President.
    Let me start by, on behalf of Jeannine, thank you and Mrs. Laura 
Bush most warmly for the wonderful hospitality we have enjoyed and are 
enjoying on this beautiful ranch. It is really great of you to have us 
here. We had good conversations a moment ago, about which I'll make a 
few remarks, but I should start with the atmosphere and the ambiance at 
the Crawford Ranch. That's beautiful. Thank you ever so much for that, 
on behalf of the two of us.
    Mr. President, you mentioned already a number of subjects, and if we 
look at those from a NATO perspective, it is very clear that NATO's 
operations and missions are of primary importance. And among those 
operations, of course, Afghanistan. If we discuss Afghanistan--I should 
start by saying that we, the international community--NATO forces, U.S. 
forces--are there to help rebuild and develop that nation. That nation 
deserves to be developed and to be rebuilt.
    But we are there for other reason as well. Afghanistan is still one 
of the frontlines in our fight against terrorism. And my--it is my 
strong conviction that that frontline should not become a faultline. And 
that is why it's so important that all 26 NATO allies are committed to 
Afghanistan and that the whole international community, for the longer 
term, stays committed to that nation.
    And I know it's tough from time to time. And I know and you know 
that at any price, NATO forces and coalition forces will try to avoid 
civilian casualties. We'll do that, and we'll look very seriously into 
that--the military commanders, us, we as politicians, as leaders. But 
let me tell you one thing: We are not in the same moral category as our 
opponents, as the Taliban in Afghanistan. We don't behead people. We 
don't burn schools. We don't kill teachers. We don't plant roadside 
bombs. We don't send in suicide bombers. And if we talk about innocent 
Afghan civilians--yes, dramatically, the result of our military actions 
could be that civilians, innocent civilians are killed, but look at the 
number of Afghan civilians killed by the Taliban and by our opposing 
forces. In brief, we are not in the same moral category there, and 
that's, I think, a very important mission.
    I do hope, and the President said it already, that NATO as a whole 
alliance will stay committed to Afghanistan. It is important for that 
operation to succeed. And if you visit the country, if you go there, you 
see a lot of reconstruction and development going on. On the other hand, 
we'll be tough--NATO, I said, will be tough where there's a need to be 
tough, our most important operation.
    The second remark--the President mentioned this already--we 
discussed missile defense, very important subjects giving 
vulnerabilities. We had the U.S. discussion on the so-called third site 
in Europe. I think it will be now up to NATO--and I'll try to lead NATO 
into that direction--but apart from the third site and the U.S. plans, 
there will be a NATO system which complements, which will be bolted in 
the U.S. system so that everybody and everything will be covered for the 
long-range threats, the medium-range threats, and the short-range 
threats--an important element, I think.
    We discussed, of course, Kosovo. While I think it's of great 
importance that NATO allies--but it's now in the Security Council and 
the U.S. Presidency this month--that there's full support for the 
Ahtisaari proposals. And I would like to see, as NATO Secretary 
General--we have 16,000 NATO forces in Kosovo to create an element--an 
environment, I should say, of stability and security--that we see a 
Security Council resolution so that the Ahtisaari proposals can be 
brought

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into effect. So a resolution is important; the Ahtisaari proposals are 
good proposals.
    We discussed, of course, also next year's NATO summit prospects for 
NATO enlargement. The nations who--knocking on NATO's door need 
encouragement, but they also need to perform further reforms so that we 
can have a successful summit in the spring of next year.
    So, in brief, a great number of subjects we discussed in this 
informal atmosphere. Once again, thank you very much, Mr. President, for 
having us here. Thank you for the good conversations we had. You can 
rest assured that as Secretary General of NATO, I'll make the alliance 
work--in the sense that all 26 NATO allies will participate in NATO's 
operations and missions--and will show the solidarity on which this 
alliance is built.
    Thank you so much.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir.
    We'll take two questions a side. In that there's only one questioner 
on the other side, it will be two questions and one question. Feller 
[Ben Feller, Associated Press].

War on Terror in Afghanistan/Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. The Senate is considering a vote of no 
confidence in your Attorney General, and some Republican Senators have 
joined Democrats in calling for his resignation. Is it your intention to 
keep Alberto Gonzales as your Attorney General for the rest of your 
administration, regardless of what the Senate does?
    And, Mr. Secretary General, if I may, you mentioned the deaths of 
civilians in Afghanistan. Is it your concern that those deaths are 
eroding the ability of NATO forces to do their work?
    President Bush. Let me comment on that real quick. The Taliban likes 
to surround themselves with innocent civilians. That's their--part of 
their modus operandi. They don't mind using human shields because they 
devalue human life. That's why they're willing to kill innocent people 
to achieve political objectives.
    And obviously, to the extent that the United States is working with 
our NATO allies in combat, we care deeply about protecting innocent 
life. And to those who--Afghans who have lost innocent civilians, we 
grieve with you. To the Afghan families that have been affected by the 
Taliban using them as shields, we have great sympathy. We do not have 
sympathy, however, for the tactics of the Taliban.
    Now, you asked about Alberto Gonzales. He has got my confidence. He 
has done nothing wrong. There's been enormous amount of attention on 
him--that there's been no wrongdoing on his part. He has testified in 
front of Congress. And I, frankly, view what's taking place in 
Washington today as pure political theater. And it is this kind of 
political theater that has caused the American people to lose confidence 
in how Washington operates.
    I stand by Al Gonzales, and I would hope that people would be more 
sober in how they address these important issues. And they ought to get 
the job done of passing legislation, as opposed to figuring out how to 
be actors on the political theater stage.
    Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer. Let me add that--I'll stress 
again, like the President did--of course every innocent civilian 
fatality, death is one too many. But in a conflict, it is from time to 
time unavoidable--dramatically, but unavoidable. NATO and ISAF forces 
still have the support of the large majority of the Afghan people.
    I had a long telephone conversation with President Karzai a few days 
ago on this subject. We'll avoid it. Our military commanders are doing 
everything they can. NATO, ISAF forces, and coalition forces are doing 
everything they can. But the President talked about Taliban tactics; we 
are in a different moral category. We'll be there; we'll try to, as 
quickly as possible, bring in, also, finance to see that these people 
can build up their lives again; and we'll do everything we can to avoid 
civilian casualties.
    But I think if you talk about and ask me about the hearts and minds 
in Afghanistan, we still have very much the hearts and minds of the 
Afghan people, because they do see that their nation, their own nation 
has no future under Taliban rule. And I only have to refer to the kinds 
and type of Afghanistan we saw--you and I saw--under Taliban rule, a 
regime with the most gross human rights violations the world has seen.

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    Thank you.
    President Bush. Do you want to call upon the one European person 
here?
    Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer. I could call upon the one 
European person here. [Laughter] Mr.--[inaudible].
    President Bush. Thank you for coming. Brave of you.
    Q. Thank you very much.
    President Bush. It's the pioneering spirit that made America great. 
[Laughter]

Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer's Visit to the Bush Ranch

    Q. I've just got one question. Mr. de Hoop Scheffer, how gezellig 
was it yesterday?
    Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer. It was very gezellig. I'll try 
to translate ``gezellig'' in American.
    President Bush. [Inaudible]--that doesn't make it in my vocabulary.
    Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer. Very friendly, cozy atmosphere. 
We had a very, very nice move around the ranch with Mrs. Bush and the 
President, my wife and I. We had a splendid dinner in the house here at 
the ranch. This morning, I can tell you that the President and I had a 
mountain bike ride together. We had our conversations. So you can speak 
about a very nice weekend, and we had good talks on top of this. So what 
can one wish more? It was very gezellig.
    President Bush. Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

President's Decisionmaking/War on Terror

    Q. Mr. President, Jimmy Carter unleashed some fairly harsh criticism 
of you over the weekend. Were you surprised by this, and do you take 
much stock in what he said?
    President Bush. Steve, you know, I get criticized a lot from 
different quarters, and that's just part of what happens when you're 
President. And I will continue to make decisions that I think are 
necessary to protect the American people from harm. I will continue to 
make decisions based upon certain principles, one of which is my strong 
belief in the universality of freedom.
    We're at war with an enemy that is relentless and determined, and 
it's essential that the decisions I make protect the American people as 
best as we can. And it turns out, my Presidency is such that we talk 
about how--with strong allies--how to defend ourselves. I firmly believe 
that in order to protect America--we must go on the offense against 
radicals, extremists, murderers in order to protect not only ourselves 
but our allies.
    And I also realize that we're involved in an ideological struggle, 
that these murderers, these radicals, these extremists have got a point 
of view. If you want to find out what their point of view is about, look 
what happened in Afghanistan under the brutal relationship of the 
Taliban and Al Qaida. On the one hand, if you're a woman and spoke out 
or a woman and tried to advance, you were suppressed, in brutal fashion 
sometimes. And in the meantime, an enemy that hates America plotted and 
planned.
    And so, look, I understand some people are--may not agree with the 
decisions I made. But what the American people need to know, I'm making 
them based upon what's best for this country.
    And, anyway, thank you all for coming. It's--what was the word?
    Q. Gezellig.
    President Bush. Gezellig?
    Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer. Gezellig.
    Q. [Inaudible]
    President Bush. Yes. You talk about some good gezellig. [Laughter].
    Thank you all.
    Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer. Thank you.

Note: The President's news conference began at 11:22 a.m. at the Bush 
Ranch. In his remarks, he referred to Jeannine de Hoop Scheffer-van 
Oorschot, wife of Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer; and Secretary of 
Defense Robert M. Gates. Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer referred to 
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan.

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