[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 21 (Monday, May 28, 2007)]
[Pages 671-681]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference

May 24, 2007

    The President. Please be seated. Thank you all. Good morning.
    Today Congress will vote on legislation that provides our troops 
with the funds they need. It makes clear that our Iraqi partners must 
demonstrate progress on security and reconciliation. My administration 
and Members of Congress from both parties have had many meetings to work 
out our differences on this legislation. As a result, we've removed the 
arbitrary timetables for withdrawal and the restrictions on our military 
commanders that some in Congress had supported.
    We were also successful in removing billions of--in unrelated 
domestic spending that many of the Democrats were insisting on. I wanted 
to remove even more. But, still, by voting for this bill, members of 
both parties can show our troops and the Iraqis and the enemy that our 
country will support our service men and women in harm's way.
    As it provides vital funds for our troops, this bill also reflects a 
consensus that the Iraqi Government needs to show real progress in 
return for America's continued support and sacrifice. The Iraqi Study 
Group--the Iraq Study Group recommended that we hold the Iraqi 
Government to the series of benchmarks for improved security, political 
reconciliation, and governance that the Iraqis had set for themselves. I 
agree; so does the Congress. And the bill reflects that recommendation.
    These benchmarks provide both the Iraqi Government and the American 
people with a clear roadmap on the way forward. Meeting these benchmarks 
will be difficult; it's going to be hard work for this young Government. 
After all, the Iraqis are recovering from decades of brutal 
dictatorship. Their democratic Government is just over a year old. And 
as they're making tough decisions about their future, they're under 
relentless attack from extremists and radicals who are trying to bring 
down the young democracy.
    Our new strategy is designed to help Iraq's leaders provide security 
for their people and get control of their capital so they can move 
forward with reconciliation and reconstruction. Our new strategy is 
designed to take advantage of new opportunities to partner with local 
tribes to go after Al Qaida in places like Anbar, which has been the 
home base of Al Qaida in Iraq.
    This summer is going to be a critical time for the new strategy. The 
last of five reinforcement brigades we are sending to Iraq is scheduled 
to arrive in Baghdad by mid-June. As these reinforcements carry out 
their missions, the enemies of a free Iraq, including Al Qaida and 
illegal militias, will continue to bomb and murder in an attempt to stop 
us. We're going to expect heavy fighting in the weeks and months. We can 
expect more American and Iraqi casualties. We must provide our troops 
with the funds and resources they need to prevail.
    Another important issue before Congress is immigration reform. I 
want to thank the bipartisan group of Senators who produced a bill that 
will help us secure our borders and reform our immigration system. For 
decades, the Government failed to stop illegal immigration. My 
administration has stepped up efforts to improve border security, 
doubling the number of Border Patrol agents. We've effectively ended the 
policy of catch-and-release, which allowed some illegal immigrants to be 
released back into society after they were captured. Last year alone, we 
apprehended more than a million people trying to enter this country 
illegally. This is progress, but it's not enough.
    Many Americans are rightly skeptical about immigration reform. I 
strongly believe the bipartisan Senate bill addresses the reasons for 
past failures, while recognizing the legitimate needs of our economy and 
upholding the ideals of our immigrant tradition.
    This bill does not grant amnesty. Amnesty is forgiveness without a 
penalty. Instead, this bill requires workers here illegally to 
acknowledge that they broke the law, pay a fine, pass background checks, 
remain employed, and maintain a clean record. This bill provides the 
best chance to reform our immigration system and help us make certain we 
know who's in our country and where they are.
    Our immigration problems cannot be solved piecemeal. They must be 
all addressed together, and they must be addressed in logical order. So 
this legislation requires that

[[Page 672]]

border security and worker-verification targets are met before other 
provisions of the bill are triggered. For example, the temporary-worker 
program can begin only after these security measures are fully 
implemented. Immigration reform is a complex issue; it's a difficult 
piece of legislation. And those who are looking to find fault with this 
bill will always be able to find something. But if you're serious about 
securing our borders and bringing millions of illegal immigrants in our 
country out of the shadows, this bipartisan bill is the best opportunity 
to move forward. I'm confident, with hard work and good will, Congress 
can pass and I can sign a bill that fixes an immigration system we all 
agree is broken.
    The issues of war and immigration are difficult, but that's no 
excuse in avoiding our responsibility to act. The American people sent 
us to Washington to take on tough problems, and they expect us to 
deliver results.
    And now I'll be glad to answer some of your questions. Hunt [Terence 
Hunt, Associated Press].

Iran/Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Efforts

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. The IAEA says that Iran has 
significantly accelerated its uranium enrichment program. And today 
President Ahmadi-nejad said that he would go ahead--he vowed to go 
ahead. There also is the detention of three Iranian Americans. Where is 
this all headed? And do you think it's time for tough U.N. sanctions 
with real teeth, and are you confident that Russia and China would go 
ahead?
    The President. As you know, we have been discussing this issue a lot 
at these press avails. Iran is constantly on the agenda at a press avail 
like this--or a press conference like this, and the reason why is, is 
because they continue to be defiant as to the demands of the free world. 
The world has spoken and said, no nuclear weapons programs. And yet 
they're constantly ignoring the demands.
    My view is that we need to strengthen our sanction regime. I just 
spoke to Condoleezza Rice, and we will work with our European partners 
to develop further sanctions. And, of course, I will discuss this issue 
with Vladimir Putin as well as President Hu Jintao.
    The first thing that these leaders have got to understand is that an 
Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly destabilizing for the 
world. It's in their interests that we work collaboratively to continue 
to isolate that regime.
    I'm sympathetic for the people of Iran. I'm sorry they live under a 
Government that continues to insist upon a program that the world has 
condemned, because it is denying the good people of Iran economic 
opportunities that they would have. This is a country with a great 
tradition and a great history. There are hard-working people in that 
country that want to benefit from a society that is more open, and yet 
the Government insists upon measures that will lead to further 
isolation. And, therefore, to answer one part of your question, we will 
work with our partners to continue the pressure.
    Secondly, obviously, to the extent that these people are picking up 
innocent Americans, it's unacceptable. And we've made it very clear to 
the Iranian Government that the detention of good, decent American souls 
who are there to be beneficial citizens is not acceptable behavior.
    Toby [Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters].

U.S. Soldiers Missing in Iraq/War on Terror in Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, dozens of American troops have been killed this 
month, and sectarian violence appears to be rising again in Iraq. And 
you yourself just said that you're expecting more casualties in the 
weeks and months ahead. How much longer do you believe you can sustain 
your current policy in Iraq without significant progress on the ground? 
And how confident are you about finding those missing soldiers?
    The President. I'm confident that the military is doing everything 
it can to find the missing soldiers. I talked to General Petraeus about 
this subject and Secretary Gates. And General Petraeus informs him that 
we're using all the intelligence and all the troops we can find--to find 
them. It's a top priority of our people there in Iraq.
    Obviously, the loss of life is--it is devastating to families. I 
fully understand that. But I want to remind you as to why I sent more 
troops in. It was to help stabilize the

[[Page 673]]

capital. You're asking me, ``How much longer?'' We have yet to even get 
all our troops in place. General David Petraeus laid out a plan for the 
Congress. He talked about a strategy all aiming--all aimed at helping 
this Iraqi Government secure its capital so that they can do the--some 
of the political work necessary, the hard work necessary to reconcile.
    And as I explained in my opening remarks, all the troops won't be 
there until mid-June. And one reason you're seeing more fighting is 
because our troops are going into new areas, along with the Iraqis. And 
so General Petraeus has said, ``Why don't you give us until September, 
and let me report back,'' to not only me but to the United States 
Congress, ``about progress?''
    I would like to see us in a different configuration at some point in 
time in Iraq. However, it's going to require taking control of the 
capital. And the best way to do that was to follow the recommendations 
of General Petraeus. As I have constantly made clear, the 
recommendations of Baker-Hamilton appeal to me, and that is to be 
embedded and to train and to guard the territorial integrity of the 
country and to have Special Forces to chase down Al Qaida. But I didn't 
think we could get there unless we increased the troop levels to secure 
the capital. I was fearful that violence would spiral out of control in 
Iraq and that this experience of trying to help this democracy would--
couldn't succeed.
    And so therefore, the decisions I made are all aimed at getting us 
to a different position. And the timing of which will be decided by the 
commanders on the ground, not politicians here in Washington.
    Chen [Ed Chen, Los Angeles Times]. Ed, excuse me. That's Henry [Ed 
Henry, Cable News Network]. Chen. Now you're coming down there--no, 
sorry. Work the print people a little bit, see. I've got the strategy--
print. Ed, sorry.

Trade With China

    Q. Good morning, Mr. President. A lot of lawmakers in Congress are 
saying that China has not done enough to allow its currency to 
appreciate, and they're talking about things like duties. What is your 
view about that, and are you prepared to do more to encourage the 
appreciation of the yuan?
    The President. Thanks, Ed. I spoke to Madam Wu Yi today, as a matter 
of fact, had her into the Oval Office--wanted to thank her for bringing 
her delegation in and also to ask her to pass on a message to Hu Jintao 
that I appreciate his willingness to work in a strategic--with strategic 
dialogs in order to put in place the type of measures that reflect a 
complex relationship--in other words, the ability to discuss issues such 
as beef or intellectual property rights.
    And one of the issues that I emphasized to Madam Wu Yi, as well as 
the delegation, was, was that we're watching very carefully as to 
whether or not they will appreciate their currency. And that's all in 
the context of making it clear to China that we value our relationship, 
but the $233 billion trade deficit must be addressed. And one way to 
address it is through currency evaluations.
    Another way to address it is for them to help convert their economy 
from one of savers to consumers. And that's why Secretary Paulson worked 
very assiduously with this strategic dialog group to encourage openness 
for capital markets; that China must open its capital markets to allow 
for different financial institutions from around the world to go into 
the country. It not only will be beneficial to the United States, but we 
happen to think it will be beneficial to the Chinese economy, for the 
consumers to have different options when it comes to savings and 
purchases.
    And so this is a important dialog, and it's one that I thank the 
Chinese Government for engaging in. And there's been some progress. 
Yesterday they opened new air routes. That's beneficial for U.S. 
airlines. It also happens to be beneficial for China, as far I am 
concerned. It's beneficial for that country to open up its access to 
more travelers, whether they be business or tourists.
    Anyway, this is a complex relationship. And there's a lot of areas 
where we're working together, and there's areas where there's friction. 
And we've just got to work through the friction. One area where I've 
been disappointed is beef. They need to be eating U.S. beef. It's good 
for them. They'll like it. And so we're working hard to get that beef 
market opened up.

[[Page 674]]

    Ed.

War on Terror

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. A new Senate report this morning 
contends that your administration was warned before the war that by 
invading Iraq, you would actually give Iran and Al Qaida a golden 
opportunity to expand their influence, the kind of influence you were 
talking about with Al Qaida yesterday and with Iran this morning. Why 
did you ignore those warnings, sir?
    The President. Ed, going into Iraq, we were warned about a lot of 
things, some of which happened, some of which didn't happen. And, 
obviously, as I made a decision of--as consequential as that, I weighed 
the risks and rewards of any decision. I firmly believe the world is 
better off without Saddam Hussein in power. I know the Iraqis are better 
off without Saddam Hussein in power. I think America is safer without 
Saddam Hussein in power.
    As to Al Qaida in Iraq, Al Qaida is going to fight us wherever we 
are. See, that's their strategy. Their strategy is to drive us out of 
the Middle East. They have made it abundantly clear what they want. They 
want to establish a caliphate. They want to spread their ideology. And 
they want safe haven from which to launch attacks. They're willing to 
kill the innocent to achieve their objectives, and they will fight us. 
And the fundamental question is, will we fight them? I have made the 
decision to do so. I believe that the best way to protect us in this war 
on terror is to fight them.
    And so we're fighting them in Iraq; we're fighting them in 
Afghanistan; we've helped the Philippines fight--Philippine Government 
fight them. We're fighting them. And this notion about how this isn't a 
war on terror, in my view, is naive. It doesn't reflect the true nature 
of the world in which we live.
    You know, the lessons of September the 11th are these: We've got to 
stay on the offense; we've got to bring these people to justice before 
they hurt again; and, at the same time, defeat their ideology with a 
ideology based upon liberty. And that's what you're seeing, and they're 
resisting it.
    I think it ought to be illustrative to the American people that Al 
Qaida is trying to stop new democracies from evolving. And what does--
what should that tell you? That ought to tell you that we're dealing 
with people that have an ideology that is opposite of liberty and will 
take whatever measures are necessary to prevent this young democracy 
from succeeding.

    The danger in this particular theater in the war on terror is that 
if we were to fail, they'd come and get us. And, you know, I look at 
these reports right here in the Oval Office. For people who say that 
we're not under threat, they simply do not know the world. We are under 
threat. And it's in our interest to pursue this enemy.

    Martha [Martha Raddatz, ABC News].

Government of Iraq/U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. You say you want nothing short of 
victory, that leaving Iraq would be catastrophic. You once again 
mentioned Al Qaida. Does that mean that you are willing to leave 
American troops there, no matter what the Iraqi Government does? I know 
this is a question we've asked before, but you can begin it with a yes 
or no.

    The President. We are there at the invitation of the Iraqi 
Government. This is a sovereign nation. Twelve million people went to 
the polls to approve a Constitution. It's their Government's choice. If 
they were to say, ``Leave,'' we would leave.

    Q. [Inaudible]--results would be catastrophic, as you've said over 
and over again?

    The President. I would hope that they would recognize that the 
results would be catastrophic. But this is a sovereign nation, Martha. 
We are there at their request. And hopefully the Iraqi Government would 
be wise enough to recognize that without coalition troops, particularly 
U.S. troops, that they would endanger their very existence. And it's why 
we work very closely with them, to make sure that the realities are such 
that they wouldn't make that request. But if they were to make the 
request, we wouldn't be there.
    David [David Gregory, NBC News].

[[Page 675]]

War on Terror/Threat of Further Terrorist Attacks

    Q. Mr. President, after the mistakes that have been made in this 
war, when you do as you did yesterday, where you raised 2-year-old 
intelligence, talking about the threat posed by Al Qaida, it's met with 
increasing skepticism. The majority in the public, a growing number of 
Republicans appear not to trust you any longer to be able to carry out 
this policy successfully. Can you explain why you believe you're still a 
credible messenger on the war?
    The President. I'm credible because I read the intelligence, David, 
and make it abundantly clear in plain terms that if we let up, we'll be 
attacked. And I firmly believe that.
    Look, this has been a long, difficult experience for the American 
people. I can assure you, Al Qaida, who would like to attack us again, 
have got plenty of patience and persistence. And the question is, will 
we?
    Yes, I talked about intelligence yesterday. I wanted to make sure 
the intelligence I laid out was credible, so we took our time. Somebody 
said, well, he's trying to politicize the thing. If I was trying to 
politicize it, I'd have dropped it out before the 2006 elections. I 
believe I have an obligation to tell the truth to the American people as 
to the nature of the enemy. And it's unpleasant for some. I fully 
recognize that after 9/11, in the calm here at home, relatively 
speaking, caused some to say, well, maybe we're not at war. I know 
that's a comfortable position to be in, but that's not the truth.
    Failure in Iraq will cause generations to suffer, in my judgment. Al 
Qaida will be emboldened. They will say, yes, once again, we've driven 
the great, soft America out of a part of the region. It will cause them 
to be able to recruit more. It will give them safe haven. They are a 
direct threat to the United States.
    And I'm going to keep talking about it. That's my job as the 
President, is to tell people the threats we face and what we're doing 
about it. And what we've done about it is, we've strengthened our 
homeland defenses. We've got new techniques that we use that enable us 
to better determine their motives and their plans and plots. We're 
working with nations around the world to deal with these radicals and 
extremists. But they're dangerous, and I can't put it any more plainly--
they're dangerous. And we will--and I can't put it any more plainly to 
the American people and to them--we will stay on the offense.
    It's better to fight them there than here. And this concept about, 
well, maybe let us kind of just leave them alone, and maybe they'll be 
all right is naive. These people attacked us before we were in Iraq. 
They viciously attacked us before we were in Iraq, and they've been 
attacking ever since. They are a threat to your children, David, and 
whoever is in that Oval Office better understand it and take measures 
necessary to protect the American people.
    Q. So what about--[inaudible].
    The President. Axelrod [Jim Axelrod, CBS News].

U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to ask you about the Petraeus 
report, which, as you say, will be in September and report on progress. 
Doesn't setting up the September date give the enemy exactly what you've 
said you don't want them to have, which is a date to focus on, and 
doesn't it guarantee a bloody August?
    And while I have you, sir, the phrase you just used, ``a different 
configuration in Iraq'' that you'd like to see, is that a plan B?
    The President. Well, see, actually, I would call that a plan 
recommended by Baker-Hamilton, so that would be a plan BH. I've stated--
you didn't like it? [Laughter] Okay.
    I've stated, this is an idea that--I like the concept. The question 
is, could we get there given the violence last fall? And the answer, in 
my judgment, was, no, we would never be able to configure our troops 
that way, in that configuration--place our troops in that configuration 
given the violence inside the capital city.
    David Petraeus felt like that it was important to tell the White 
House and tell the Congress that he would come back with an assessment 
in September. It's his decision to give the assessment, and I respect 
him, and I support him.
    Q. Doesn't it give the terrorists a----

[[Page 676]]

    The President. It does; precisely. It's going to make--it could make 
August a tough month, because you see, what they're going to try to do 
is kill as many innocent people as they can to try to influence the 
debate here at home. Don't you find that interesting? I do--that they 
recognize that the death of innocent people could shake our will, could 
undermine David Petraeus's attempt to create a more stable Government. 
They will do anything they can to prevent success. And the reason why 
is, Al Qaida fully understands that if we retreat, they then are able to 
have another safe haven, in their mind.
    Yesterday, in my speech, I quoted quotes from Usama bin Laden. And 
the reason I did was--is that I want the American people to hear what he 
has to say--not what I say, what he says. And in my judgment, we ought 
to be taking the words of the enemy seriously.
    And so, yes, it could be a bloody--it could be a very difficult 
August. And I fully understand----
    Q. [Inaudible]--fighting the Democrats on that in the Senate about a 
date----
    The President. Yes, David Petraeus, the commander--look, do you want 
politicians making those decisions, or do you want commanders on the 
ground making the decisions? My point is, is that I would trust David 
Petraeus to make an assessment and a recommendation a lot better than 
people in the United States Congress. And that's precisely the 
difference.
    Michael [Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post].

Justice Department/Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales

    Q. Good morning, Mr. President. I'd like to ask you about the 
Justice Department. In the last couple months, we have heard disturbing 
evidence about senior officials of the Justice Department misleading 
Congress. We heard disturbing evidence yesterday that a senior official 
at Justice Department improperly took, by her own admission, political 
considerations into effect in evaluating career employees of the Justice 
Department.
    We've also had evidence from the former Deputy Attorney General of 
the White House strong-arming a sick man into trying to approve an 
illegal spying program. I'm curious, Mr. President, if you are concerned 
about the cumulative picture that's being drawn about your Justice 
Department? And what assurances can you give the American people that 
the Department is delivering impartial justice to the American people?
    The President. Yes, thank you, Michael. There is a--an internal 
investigation taking place at the Justice Department. And this will be 
an exhaustive investigation. And if there's wrongdoing, it will be taken 
care of.
    I thought it was interesting how you started your question, ``over 
the months.'' I think you said, ``over the last months.'' This 
investigation is taking a long time, kind of being drug out. I suspect 
for political question--for political reasons. In other words, as I 
mentioned the other day, it's just grand political theater.
    Attorney General Gonzales has testified. He's produced documents. 
And I would hope the Senate and the Congress would move expeditiously to 
finish their hearings and get on to the business of passing legislation 
that is meaningful for the country. But if there had been wrongdoing, 
that will be addressed, the way we'd hope it would be.
    Q. [Inaudible]--confidence. Are you----
    The President. Yes, I've got confidence in Al Gonzales doing the 
job. Bret [Bret Baier, FOX News].

War on Terror/Progress in Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, are you surprised by reports today from the Iraqis 
that sectarian killings are actually on the rise to pre-troop-surge 
levels? And, if I may, yesterday after your speech, Senator Joe Biden 
said Al Qaida in Iraq is a ``Bush-fulfilling prophecy.'' They weren't 
there before; now they're there. He said U.S. troops should get out of 
the middle of a civil war and fight Al Qaida. Can you respond to that?
    The President. We are fighting Al Qaida in Iraq. A lot of the 
spectaculars you're seeing are caused by Al Qaida. Al Qaida will fight 
us wherever we are. That's what they do. That's what they've said they 
want to do. They have objectives. These are ideologues driven by a 
vision of the world that we must defeat. And you defeat them on the one 
hand

[[Page 677]]

by hunting them down and bringing them to justice, and you defeat them 
on the other hand by offering a different alternative form of 
government.
    The Middle East looked nice and cozy for a while. Everything looked 
fine on the surface, but beneath the surface, there was a lot of 
resentment, there was a lot of frustration, such that 19 kids got on 
airplanes and killed 3,000 Americans. It's in the long-term interest of 
this country to address the root causes of these extremists and radicals 
exploiting people that cause them to kill themselves and kill Americans 
and others.
    I happen to believe one way to do that is to address the forms of 
government under which people live. Democracy is really difficult work, 
but democracy has proven to help change parts of the world from 
cauldrons of frustration to areas of hope. And we will continue to 
pursue this form of policy; it's in our national interest we do so.
    What other aspect of the question?
    Q. [Inaudible]
    The President. Yes, I'm--there's--certainly, there's been an uptick 
in violence. It's a snapshot; it's a moment. And David Petraeus will 
come back with his assessment, after his plan has been fully 
implemented, and give us a report as to what he recommends--what he 
sees, and what he recommends, which is, I think, a lot more credible 
than what Members of Congress recommend. We want our commanders making 
the recommendations, and--along with Ryan Crocker, our Ambassador 
there--I don't want to leave Ryan out.
    And so it's a--you know, to Axelrod's point, it's a--no question 
it's the kind of report that the enemy would like to affect because they 
want us to leave. They want us out of there. And the reason they want us 
to leave is because they have objectives that they want to accomplish. 
Al Qaida--David Petraeus called Al Qaida public enemy number one in 
Iraq. I agree with him. And Al Qaida is public enemy number one in 
America. It seems like to me that if they're public enemy number one 
here, we want to help defeat them in Iraq.
    This is a tough fight, you know? And it's, obviously, it's had an 
effect on the American people. Americans--a lot of Americans want to 
know win--when are you going to win? Victory is--victory will come when 
that country is stable enough to be able to be an ally in the war on 
terror and to govern itself and defend itself.
    One of the things that appealed to me about the Baker-Hamilton is 
that it will provide a--kind of a long-term basis for that likely to 
happen, assuming the Iraqi Government invites us to stay there. I 
believe this is an area where we can find common ground with Democrats 
and Republicans, by the way. I fully recognize there are a group of 
Democrats who say, ``Get out of the deal now. It's just not worth it.''
    One of the areas where I really believe we need more of a national 
discussion, however, is, what would be the consequences of failure in 
Iraq? See, people have got to understand that if that government were to 
fall, the people would tend to divide into kind of sectarian enclaves, 
much more so than today, that would invite Iranian influence and would 
invite Al Qaida influence, much more so than in Iraq today. That would 
then create enormous turmoil--or could end up creating enormous turmoil 
in the Middle East, which would have a direct effect on the security of 
the United States.
    Failure in Iraq affects the security of this country. It's hard for 
some Americans to see that--I fully understand it. I see it clearly. I 
believe this is the great challenge of the beginning of the 21st 
century--not just Iraq, but dealing with this radical, ideological 
movement in a way that secures us in the short term and more likely 
secures us in the long term.
    Jim [Jim Rutenberg, New York Times]. You didn't nod off there, did 
you? [Laughter] A little hot out here in the Rose Garden for you? 
[Laughter]

Usama bin Laden/Threat of Further Terrorist Attacks

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. Yes, well, go ahead and take the tie off. I'm halfway 
done anyway. [Laughter]
    Q. Mr. President, yesterday you discussed Usama bin Laden's plans to 
turn Iraq into a terrorist sanctuary. What do you think your own 
reaction would have been 5 years ago

[[Page 678]]

had you been told that towards the end of your term, he would still be 
at large with that kind of capability, from Iraq, no less, and why--can 
you tell the American people--is he still on the run? Why is he so hard 
to catch?
    The President. I would say that 5 years ago, like I said, we're 
going to pursue him, and we are pursuing him. And he's hiding. He is in 
a remote region of the world. If I knew precisely where he is, we would 
take the appropriate action to bring him to justice. He is attempting to 
establish a base of operations in Iraq. He hasn't established a base in 
operations. My points yesterday were, here was his intentions, but 
thankfully, of the three people I named, all of them no longer are a 
part of his operation.
    My point is, is that--I was making the point, Jim, as I'm sure you 
recognized, that if we leave, they follow us. And my point was, was that 
Usama bin Laden was establishing an external cell there, or trying to. 
And he's been unable to do it--precisely my point. That's why we've got 
to stay engaged. Had he been able to establish an internal cell that had 
safe haven, we would be a lot more in danger today than we are. His 
organization is a risk. We will continue to pursue as hard as we 
possibly can. We will do everything we can to bring him and others to 
justice.
    We have had good success in the chief operating officer position of 
Al Qaida. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi al Rabium--there's a lot of 
names, some of whom I mentioned yesterday, that are no longer a threat 
to the United States. We will continue to work to bring him to justice--
that's exactly what the American people expect us to do--and in the 
meantime, use the tools we put in place to protect this homeland.
    We are under threat. Some may say, well, he's just saying that to 
get people to pay attention to him, or try to scare them into--for some 
reason. I would hope our world hadn't become so cynical that they don't 
take the threats of Al Qaida seriously, because they're real. And it's a 
danger to the American people. It's a danger to your children, Jim. And 
it's really important that we do all we can do to bring them to justice.
    Q. Mr. President, why is he still at large?
    The President. Why is he at large? Because we haven't got him yet, 
Jim. That's why. And he's hiding, and we're looking, and we will 
continue to look until we bring him to justice. We've brought a lot of 
his buddies to justice, but not him. That's why he's still at large. 
He's not out there traipsing around. He's not leading many parades, 
however. He's not out feeding the hungry. He's isolated, trying to kill 
people to achieve his objective.
    Those are his words--his objectives are his words, not mine. He has 
made it clear--he and Zawahiri, their number two, have made it clear 
what they want. And in a war against extremists and radicals like these, 
we ought to be listening carefully to what they say. We ought to take 
their words seriously. There have been moments in history where others 
haven't taken the words of people seriously, and they suffered. So, I'm 
taking them seriously.
    Yes, Jim [Jim Gerstenzang, Los Angeles Times].

Former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, moments ago you said that Al Qaida attacked us 
before we were in Iraq. Since then Iraq has become much less stable; Al 
Qaida has used it as a recruiting tool, apparently with some success. So 
what would you say to those who would argue that what we've done in Iraq 
has simply enhanced Al Qaida and made the situation worse?
    The President. Oh, so, in other words, the option would have been 
just let Saddam Hussein stay there? Your question is, should we not have 
left Saddam Hussein in power? And the answer is, absolutely not. Saddam 
Hussein was an enemy of the United States. He'd attacked his neighbors. 
He was paying Palestinian suicide bombers. He would have been--if he 
were to defy--and by the way, cheating on the U.N. oil for sanctions 
program--Oil-for-Food Programme. No, I don't buy it. I don't buy that 
this world would be a better place with Saddam Hussein in power, and 
particularly if--and I'm sure the Iraqis would agree with that.
    See, that's the kind of attitude--he says, okay, let's let them live 
under a tyrant, and

[[Page 679]]

I just don't agree. I obviously thought he had weapons; he didn't have 
weapons; the world thought he had weapons. It was a surprise to me that 
he didn't have the weapons of mass destruction everybody thought he had, 
but he had the capacity at some point in time to make weapons. It would 
have been a really dangerous world if we had the Iranians trying to 
develop a nuclear weapon, and Saddam Hussein competing for a nuclear 
weapon. You can imagine what the mentality of the Middle East would have 
been like.
    So the heart of your question is, shouldn't you have left Saddam 
Hussein in power? And the answer is, no. And now that we've----
    Q. [Inaudible]
    The President. ----well, that's really the crux of it. And--let me 
finish, please, here. I'm on a roll here. And so now that we have, does 
it make sense to help this young democracy survive? And the answer is, 
yes, for a variety of reasons.
    One, we want to make sure that this enemy that did attack us doesn't 
establish a safe haven from which to attack again. Two, the ultimate 
success in a war against ideologues is to offer a different ideology, 
one based upon liberty--by the way, embraced by 12 million people when 
given the chance. Thirdly, our credibility is at stake in the Middle 
East. There's a lot of Middle Eastern nations wondering whether the 
United States of America is willing to push back against radicals and 
extremists, no matter what their religion base--religious bases may be.
    And so the stakes are high in Iraq. I believe they're absolutely 
necessary for the security of this country. The consequences of failure 
are immense.
    Yes.
    Q. So there was no choice--so there was no choice between the course 
we took and leaving Saddam Hussein in power? Nothing else that might 
have worked?
    The President. Well, we tried other things. As you might remember 
back then, we tried the diplomatic route: 1441 was a unanimous vote in 
the Security Council that said disclose, disarm, or face serious 
consequences. So, the choice was his to make. And he made--he made a 
choice that has subsequently left--subsequently caused him to lose his 
life under a system that he wouldn't have given his own citizens. We 
tried diplomacy. As a matter of fact, not only did I try diplomacy; 
other Presidents tried diplomacy.
    Let's see here. John [John McKinnon, Wall Street Journal].

Legislative Priorities/Immigration Reform

    Q. Thanks, Mr. President. You've said many times that you plan to 
sprint to the finish of your Presidency. At this point in the home 
stretch, what can you say you're still expecting to accomplish? And how 
concerned are you that the immigration bill in particular is going to 
get caught up in electoral politics?
    The President. Yes, thanks. Well, we need to pass additional energy 
legislation. We need to renew No Child Left Behind. Get these trade 
bills out of Congress--the trade bills on Panama and Peru and Colombia, 
hopefully work toward a free trade--further the work we've done on the 
Korean free trade agreement. Hopefully I'll be able to bring back 
successful negotiations on Doha for a congressional vote which will 
require a TPA extension and/or--a TPA extension, there's no ``and/or'' 
to it. Making sure that this progress on balancing the budget continues. 
The deficit is--I know you're following the numbers, John--the deficit 
is reduced more than anticipated as a result of increased tax revenues 
coming in and the fiscal measures that we took. And now we're going to 
have to work with Congress to make sure they don't overspend and make 
sure they don't raise the taxes on the people as well.
    Running up the taxes will hurt this economy, which would hurt the 
revenues to the Treasury. I'm deeply concerned about the Democratic 
budget that is classic tax and spend. I'm looking forward to seeing how 
they intend to keep their promise of balancing this budget in 5 years.
    A big--and of course, fighting this war on terror is a huge issue. I 
obviously would like to find common ground on how to proceed in Iraq, 
with Democrats and Republicans. I recognize there are a handful there or 
some who just say, ``Get out; it's just not worth it; let's just 
leave.'' I strongly disagree with

[[Page 680]]

that attitude. Most Americans do as well. And the vote showed that 
what's possible when we work together, the vote--the pending vote today 
showed what's possible when we work together, when Republicans and 
Democrats work together. There's a good group of Republicans that want 
to work with Democrats. They just don't want to accept something that 
they don't agree with.
    Immigration--this is a tough issue. This is a very emotional, hard 
issue for members of both parties. I've always been a believer that 
comprehensive immigration reform is the best way to secure our border. I 
campaigned on that for President twice. I believed it when I was the 
Governor of Texas. I understand this issue very well. I also understand 
the frustrations of many citizens in that they believe the government 
hasn't done its job of stopping illegal migrants from coming into the 
country.
    And that's why over the past couple of years there's been a 
significant effort to secure the border. There's going to be a doubling 
of the Border Patrol agents; there's going to be fencing and berms and 
different types of equipment to help the Border Patrol do its job in a 
better way. As a matter of fact, I was concerned about it enough to ask 
the National Guard to go down there for a while.
    But, John, I don't see--and so those concerns, by the way, are 
addressed in this bill. The bill essentially says that before any other 
reforms take place, certain benchmarks will be met when it comes to 
securing the border. Last year, during the debate, people said, well, 
let's have security first. That's exactly what the bill does.
    However, I don't see how you can have the border security the 
American people expect unless you have a temporary-worker program, with 
a verifiable work card. People will come here to do work to feed their 
families, and they'll figure out ways to do so. As a result of people 
wanting to come here to do work to feed their families, there is an 
underground industry that has sprung up that I think is essentially 
anti-humanitarian. It is an industry based upon coyotes--those are 
smugglers. Good, hard-working, decent people pay pretty good size money 
to be smuggled into the United States of America.
    There is a document forgery industry in America. There are people 
who are willing to stuff people inside temporary shelter in order for 
them to evade the law. I don't think this is American. I think the whole 
industry that exploits the human being is not in our Nation's interests. 
And the best way to deal with this problem is to say, if you're going to 
come and do jobs Americans aren't doing, here is a opportunity to do so, 
on a temporary basis. I would much rather have people crossing the 
border with a legitimate card, coming to work on a temporary basis, than 
being stuffed in the back of an 18-wheeler. And I would hope most 
Americans feel that as well.
    Secondly, in order for there to be good employer verification--it's 
against the law to hire somebody who is here illegally, but many times 
small businesses or large are presented with documents, and they don't 
know whether they're real or not. And so, therefore, we must have a 
tamper-proof identification card, which is a part of this bill.
    A tough issue, of course, is what do you do with the people already 
here? Anything short of kicking them out, as far as some people are 
concerned, is called amnesty. You can't kick them out. Anybody who 
advocates trying to dig out 12 million people who have been in our 
society for a while is sending a signal to the American people that's 
just not real. It's an impractical solution. Nor do I think they ought 
to be given automatic citizenship; that is amnesty: Okay, you're here 
illegally; therefore you're automatically a citizen.
    And so, therefore, we proposed and worked with the Senate to devise 
a plan that said, if you're here already before a certain date, that 
there are certain hurdles you must cross in order to receive what's 
called a Z visa, in order to be able to work here. You've got to go 
through a background check; you've got to pay a fine at some point in 
time; there's a probationary period. And there's a series of steps that 
people have to go through, and then people get at the back of the line, 
the citizenship line, not the beginning of the citizenship line.
    If you're for the bill, I thank you. If you're against it, you can 
find every reason in the world to be against a comprehensive bill. It's

[[Page 681]]

easy to find something to be against in this bill. All it takes is to 
take one little aspect of it and ignore the comprehensive nature and how 
good it is.
    I knew this was going to be an explosive issue. It's easy to hold up 
somebody who is here and working hard as a political target. I would 
like to get this bill done for a lot of reasons. I'd like to get it done 
because it's the right thing to do. I'd like to get it done because I 
happen to believe the approach that is now being discussed in the Senate 
is an approach that will actually solve the problem. I'd like to get it 
out of politics. I don't think it's good to be, you know, holding people 
up. We've been through immigration debates in this country, and they can 
bring out the worst, sometimes, in people. We're a land of immigrants.
    I was touched yesterday when the kid from the Coast Guard Academy, 
ensign, now ensign talked about his migrant grandfather from Mexico. And 
here's this guy, this man standing up in front of the President of the 
United States and his class, talking about serving America. He wasn't--
you know, his grandfather wasn't born here. I don't know what job he 
did; I suspect it was probably manual labor. I don't know; I didn't ask 
him.
    But I do know he spoke with pride. I do know he represents the best 
about what immigration can mean for America. You know, welcoming people 
here who want to work and realize the American Dream renews our spirit 
and soul. It's been the case throughout generations. And we have an 
opportunity to put a good law in place now--right now. And it's going to 
be hard work. And sure, politics will get involved. But the question is, 
will Members of Congress rise above politics? I will. It's the right 
thing to have a comprehensive bill.
    And so I'm going to continue to reach out to Members of Congress 
from both parties and call upon them to take the lead and show the 
political courage necessary to get the bill to my desk as quickly as 
possible.
    I want to thank you for your interest.

Note: The President's news conference began at 11:01 a.m. in the Rose 
Garden at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to President 
Vladimir Putin of Russia; President Hu Jintao and Vice Premier Wu Yi of 
China; Gen. David Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-National 
Force--Iraq; Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates; James A. Baker III 
and Lee H. Hamilton, cochairs, Iraq Study Group; and Usama bin Laden, 
leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization. Reporters referred to 
former Department of Justice official Monica M. Goodling; former Deputy 
Attorney General James B. Comey; and former Attorney General John 
Ashcroft.