[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 9 (Monday, March 10, 2008)]
[Pages 311-316]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Anders Fogh 
Rasmussen of Denmark in Crawford, Texas

March 1, 2008

    President Bush. Welcome. Thanks for coming. A couple opening 
statements, and we'll answer two questions apiece.
    Mr. Prime Minister, we're really thrilled you're here. Laura and I 
love having you and Anne-Mette with us. Pretty good guests when you can 
have a meaningful mountain bike ride at sunset and then at sunrise, and 
the man not even break into a sweat. You're in incredible condition, and 
I really have enjoyed my time with you--my time when we talked and my 
time when we rode. I also appreciate the fact that you're a good 
personal friend and a strong leader.
    I want to share with you some of the things we talked about. First 
of all, we talked about the war on terror and the ideological struggle 
of the 21st century. I appreciate your clear vision of the threats we 
all face--and the opportunities that, by working together, we can help 
young democracies survive and help people realize the blessings of free 
societies.
    I do want to thank you very much for the strong support of the NATO 
mission in Afghanistan. I know brave Danish soldiers have lost their 
lives. Our deepest sympathies go for their--to their loved ones. It is 
painful when anybody loses a life in any time, but--much less in combat. 
But it's very important for the people of Denmark, like it is for the 
people of the United States, to understand that, one, we're denying 
extremist groups safe haven, the very same groups that attacked and 
killed thousands of innocent people. We're helping young girls go to 
school. We're helping infrastructure develop. We're helping people find 
health care. We're helping a hopeful society begin to emerge. And we 
spent a lot of time talking about that.
    I also appreciate very much the Danish contributions to help the 
people of Iraq. I strongly believe on the policy of return on success. 
We're returning some of our troops based upon success. That's precisely 
what the Danish Government did, because they were successful in their 
mission. And I congratulate you, Mr. Prime Minister, for having a 
vision.
    I also was able to share with you my sense of what's happening in 
Iraq. We're watching a young democracy grow, much to the amazement a lot 
of critics, a lot of people who said, ``Well, it's impossible for this 
to happen in the rocky soils of Iraq.'' And it's happening today. And 
there's still more work to be done.
    We're looking forward to our summit in Bucharest. We talked about 
what we intend to do and how to work to have a comprehensive, strategic 
plan available for Iraq--I mean, for Afghanistan, so our allies can take 
this plan home, can explain to the people why it's important. We also 
talked about the need to make sure that there's more civilian-military 
cooperation, that tangible evidence of a free society begins to become 
more evident to people and to grassroots in Afghanistan.

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    We talked about the spirit of NATO's open door policy. And we 
jointly welcome new nations in the alliance, so long as they meet the 
standards for membership.
    We also talked about other global challenges. We talked about Iran, 
about how Iran must verifiably suspend its uranium enrichment program 
and come clean about its nuclear intentions and past actions. I also 
want Iran to stop supporting terror.
    We also talked about Africa. I briefed the Prime Minister on our 
trip to Africa, talked about our mutual desire to help the folks 
suffering in Darfur. We talked about what happened in Kenya, and we're 
most grateful to the leaders there to help reconcile what could have 
been a very difficult situation.
    Finally, we talked about climate change--more than once. We talked 
about climate change as I showed him my ranch and about how we're 
conservationists here in Crawford. And then we talked about the need for 
us to develop alternative technologies. And I really do welcome 
Denmark's leadership for the 2009 U.N. climate change meeting. And I 
appreciate very much you taking the lead in this issue.
    And--look, it was a great visit. And I'm now looking forward to 
giving the man a hamburger--[laughter]--after answering a couple of 
questions. But, welcome, sir.
    Prime Minister Rasmussen. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Let me 
first of all express my gratitude for your invitation to visit your 
ranch in Crawford. My wife and I are very pleased to be here. We have 
had a rewarding stay and a challenging stay, I must say. [Laughter] You 
made me work very hard out there on the terrific mountain bike trails on 
your wonderful ranch. And I can't imagine a better place to spend time 
talking and enjoying time with good friends. And I can't imagine a 
better symbol of the close and strong ties between the United States and 
Denmark.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir.
    Prime Minister Rasmussen. Mr. President, freedom, democracy, and 
human rights are the core values that unite us. Freedom and dignity of 
the individual are universal values. It is values that people living 
under oppression and brutal regimes strive for. We have an obligation to 
stand by these people in their struggle for liberty and democracy. This 
is our common challenge. And you, Mr. President, and the United States 
have, above anyone else, advanced this vision of liberty and democracy 
around the world. Allow me to pay tribute to you for this.
    The President. Thank you, sir.
    Prime Minister Rasmussen. And it is no easy task. There are 
obstacles and opponents. But I do share your vision. Freedom is 
universal. And in the struggle between democracy and dictatorship, no 
one can be neutral. It is as simple as that.
    That is why we are in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. That is why 
we removed the brutal dictator in Iraq. That is why your leadership in 
the Middle East is crucial. That is why we work for development and 
against extremism in Africa. That is why we have joined forces in the 
Balkans, stabilized and recognized Kosovo, and work for Balkan countries 
to be fully integrated in Europe.
    The United States and Europe are key partners in this endeavor. 
Through NATO and the European Union, we reach out to aspiring countries 
like Ukraine and Georgia. We support their efforts to reform and develop 
links with Europe and across the Atlantic. And we will send a strong 
signal of support from our upcoming NATO summit in Bucharest.
    Mr. President, as you mentioned, in 2009 Denmark will host the 
Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. And it will take place 
in the land of windmills. We need a comprehensive global agreement, and 
American leadership is needed to reach that goal. And American 
leadership is crucial in order to motivate major economies like India 
and China to contribute.
    Climate is a huge international challenge. Many countries are 
suffering from adverse weather conditions. We need to protect our globe. 
We need to reduce CO<INF>2</INF> emissions through green technology. We 
need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, and we need to break our 
addiction to oil, not only to counter climate change but also to reduce 
our dependency on unstable and sometimes even undemocratic regimes. And 
I see the United States and Europe as key partners in the struggle to 
fight climate change and ensure energy security.

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    Mr. President, together we have handled the challenges of the past. 
Now let us together meet the challenges and threats of the future. We 
owe that to future generations.
    Thank you.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir.
    Deb [Deb Riechmann, Associated Press].

Iraq/Iran

    Q. Mr. President----
    President Bush. Yes, Deb.
    Q. I'd like to ask you about Iraq. General Petraeus and Gates are 
talking about a pause in troop reductions once we get to the pre-surge 
levels in July. Will that be it, or is it possible that there will be 
additional drawdowns before you leave office?
    And also, does the Iraqi Government's decision to host Ahmadi-nejad 
in Baghdad undermine your efforts to isolate Tehran?
    President Bush. To the latter, I--look, I mean, he's a neighbor. And 
the message needs to be, quit sending in sophisticated equipment that's 
killing our citizens, and that the message will be that we're 
negotiating a long-term security agreement with the United States 
precisely because we want enough breathing space for our democracy to 
develop.
    My message is for him, stop exporting terror, and that the 
international community is serious about continuing to isolate Iran 
until they come clean about their nuclear weapons ambitions. And that's 
why there will be action in the United Nations here early next week as 
we work collaboratively to continue to send a clear message.
    In terms of troop levels, there is going to be enormous speculation, 
again, about what decision I will make. I can only tell you, Deb, that 
it's going to be based upon the recommendations of Secretary Gates, 
General Petraeus, the Joint Chiefs. My sole criterion is, whatever we 
do, it ought to be in the context of success.
    If we fail in Iraq, the consequences for world peace will be 
enormous, the consequences for the security of the United States will be 
enormous. And therefore, my question is, what does it take to succeed? 
And we're not going to let politics drive my decision--again. If I 
worried about polls and focus groups, I wouldn't have sent more troops 
in. I sent more troops in because the situation was unacceptable. And 
now we're succeeding. And so therefore, Ryan Crocker--the Ambassador--
and General Petraeus will be coming back, and they'll report to the 
country, and they'll report to me. And the decisions--you'll see them 
evolve.
    Q. Can I ask just one followup?
    President Bush. Maybe. [Laughter]

U.S. Troop Levels in Iraq/Iraqi Provincial Elections

    Q. Are you worried about reducing U.S. troop presence before the 
elections in October?
    President Bush. Deb, see, that's what I said. I just--politics isn't 
going to play into it.
    Q. You mean the Iraqi politics?
    President Bush. Oh, you mean the Iraqi--I thought you meant our----
    Q. No, no.
    President Bush. I didn't listen.
    Q. I'm sorry. [Laughter]
    President Bush. I apologize.
    Q. I believe there's Provincial elections coming up in----
    President Bush. There are.
    Q. Okay. Which----
    President Bush. The 1st of October 2008--that's very observant.
    Q. Would you be worried about----
    President Bush. And I was not being observant. And it must be 
because I'm just so relaxed on the ranch, I didn't even bother to listen 
to your question. [Laughter]
    Q. Would you be concerned about doing it before then?
    President Bush. I think our generals ought to be concerned about 
making sure there's enough of a presence so that the Provincial 
elections can be carried off in such a way that democracy advances. But 
that--I'll wait and hear what they have to say. But, yes, I mean, that 
ought to be a factor in their recommendation to me. I apologize.
    Do you want to call on somebody?
    Prime Minister Rasmussen. Yup.

Progress in Iraq

    Q. Thank you. Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, the war in Iraq--if 
we could stay on that subject for just a minute--I mean,

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it's been going on for almost 5 years. Is there anything you would have 
done differently, Mr. President, if you had known back then in 2003 what 
you know today?
    President Bush. That's an interesting question. One thing I wouldn't 
do differently is leave Saddam Hussein in power. It was the right 
decision then; it's the right decision today; and it will be viewed as 
the right decision when history is finally written.
    You know, I--look, I mean, there's going to be ample time to second-
guess decisions, and I'll let the historians do that. A war is 
constantly changing, and what appears to have been an easy decision 
today might have been a lot difficult when you take it--put it in 
historical context. And so my focus, sir, is moving forward and making 
sure this progress that we're watching continues.
    And there's been some ups and downs, obviously. I mean, the great 
moments were, of course, the writing of a modern Constitution for the 
Middle East and votes for a President and a Parliament. And then 2006 
came along, and an enemy was able to stir up unbelievable sectarian 
hatred and violence. And so I had a choice to make, you know, accept it 
and allow for failure, or do something about it. And obviously, I chose 
the latter, which was--I wouldn't call that exactly a popular decision. 
But if you follow popularity as your guide, then you sacrifice principle 
and vision.
    And so--look, this is a--this will be an important chapter of my 
Presidency, and they'll be analyzing these decisions for a long time. 
And I just got to tell you, I've got great faith in the capacity of 
democracy to be transformative, not only for the people of Iraq but for 
the region. And that's why we're discussing with the Iraqis a long-term 
security agreement, to have a--have the kind of effect that will enable 
people to be confident to make hard decisions when it comes to 
reconciliation and political progress.
    But the historians, I'm sure, will find ample--well, there's some 
short-term historians already trying to find some ample opportunity to 
figure out what went right or what went wrong, what we could have done 
differently. But there's no such thing as accurate short-term history, 
as far as I'm concerned. There needs to be time for people to be able to 
see and put things in proper perspective.
    Michael [Michael Emanuel, FOX News].

Afghanistan

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you for bringing us to the 
great weather.
    The President. Yes, back to Texas, man. The guy cut his teeth in 
Texas. [Laughter]
    Q. Mr. President, you've had an opportunity to meet with multiple 
leaders this week to talk about the war in Afghanistan. As you head into 
the NATO summit next month, what do you anticipate, in terms of, do you 
think some of the allies may be able to contribute more in terms of 
trainers and Provincial Reconstruction Teams?
    And Mr. Prime Minister, we've heard the President and other U.S. 
officials praise Denmark's contribution to Afghanistan. I'm wondering 
what you think can be done to encourage some other NATO allies to 
perhaps step up and contribute more.
    President Bush. As you know, my administration has made it 
abundantly clear, we expect people to carry their--to carry a heavy 
burden if they're going to be in Iraq--Afghanistan. In other words, 
Secretary Gates made--said, look, if we're going to fight as an 
alliance, let's fight as an alliance.
    Having said that, I understand there's certain political constraints 
on certain countries. And so we ought to be--I am going to go to 
Bucharest with the notion that we're thankful for the contributions 
being made and encourage people to contribute more. The United States is 
putting in 3,200 additional marines. We are trying to help Canada 
realize her goal of 1,000 additional fighters in the southern part of 
the country, as is Anders working toward that.
    You know, the key in Bucharest is for people to--from around the 
world to understand, one, how important the mission is to the successes 
that are being achieved. Remember last year about this time, it was, the 
Taliban was going on the offensive; the Taliban was going to be doing 
this; the Taliban was going to be doing that. Well, the Taliban had a 
bad year when it came to military operations. And are they still 
dangerous? Yes, they're dangerous. They're still capable of convincing 
young kids to go in and blow

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people up with suicide vests. That's dangerous. Are they overwhelming 
the Government? No. Do they have a presence in the country? Yes. Do we 
have the capacity to go after them? Absolutely. Do we need more 
capacity? Yes, we do, and that's the mission, and that's what we'll work 
on.
    The other thing, as Anders mentioned and I mentioned, was that this 
is an opportunity to keep an open door policy for NATO, presuming that 
countries meet certain criterion and meet the obligations to which they 
signed up.
    Prime Minister Rasmussen. Thank you very much. We have to make sure 
that our mission in Afghanistan will be a success. A lot is at stake for 
the Afghan people, for international security, and for NATO. Therefore, 
we need more troops in Afghanistan. This is the reason why Denmark 
decided to increase our number of troops, equivalent to 50 percent, last 
autumn.
    I feel confident that we can convince partners to contribute with 
more troops than today. And I think the best way to encourage partners 
to contribute to a higher degree is to show the good example. Denmark is 
a small country, but per capita, Denmark is among the biggest 
contributors in Afghanistan. And we work together with the British in 
the southern Helmand Province, really a hot spot. And so I think the 
good example is a very important thing.
    And finally, I think we should be better to tell the positive 
stories about Afghanistan because, actually, there is a lot of 
progress--democracy, construction of infrastructure, roads, the health 
system is in a better condition, not least education. Girls and women 
have now access to the educational system. We should be better to tell 
this positive story, and thereby encourage the international community 
to step up its efforts.
    President Bush. Final question, Anders; I'm getting hungry. 
[Laughter]
    Prime Minister Rasmussen. Yes. We have a Danish gentleman over here.
    President Bush. Yes.

2008 Presidential Election/Environment

    Q. Mr. Prime Minister, you talked about climate. Did these talks 
make you believe that a bridge can be made so that there will be an 
agreement at the U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009?
    And Mr. President, based on what we have heard the two Democratic 
leading contenders for your job state about foreign policy, what parts 
of your foreign policy do you see threatened by----
    President Bush. Yes. You know, that's a very clever attempt--I'm 
going to let him answer the climate change thing--but it's a very clever 
attempt by you to drag me into the middle of the 2008 campaign, similar 
to what these two fine folks--three fine folks have been doing. So 
therefore, we'll let it sort out. But I will tell you this: The issue in 
America is going to be, who will keep taxes low, and who will be tough 
in protecting America. And our candidate for President is going to win 
because he will have convinced the American people to this truth.
    Nice try. [Laughter]
    Prime Minister Rasmussen. Thank you. Our talks about climate change 
have really been encouraging. Actually--excuse me, Mr. President--I 
think the American President is really a convinced environmentalist. And 
the President has assured me that the United States will take leadership 
in our endeavors to achieve a comprehensive global deal in Copenhagen in 
2009.
    And I have commended the President for his initiative to gather the 
15 or 17 major economies in the world, because we have to take on board 
all the major emitters of greenhouse gases. And I consider the American 
initiative a very valuable input in our preparations for the Global 
Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. So based on our talks today, 
I'm a bit more optimistic than I was before.
    President Bush. I know when he says committed environmentalist, it 
doesn't conform to stereotype. All I ask people is to look at the 
record.
    Thank you all very much for coming. We're thrilled you're here at 
the ranch. Good to see some of you again. Welcome.

2008 Presidential Election

    Q. Did you vote in the Texas primary?
    The President. I did, and I'm not telling you who. [Laughter] Thank 
you.

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Note: The President's news conference began at 12 noon at the Bush 
Ranch. In his remarks, he referred to Anne-Mette Rasmussen, wife of 
Prime Minister Rasmussen; President Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad of Iran; and 
Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--
Iraq.