[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 23 (Monday, June 16, 2008)]
[Pages 802-805]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Interview With Natasa Briski of Slovenia's POP TV

June 6, 2008

    Ms. Briski. First of all, I would like to thank you very much for 
this opportunity and for your time, Mr. President. Thank you very much.

    The President. You're welcome.

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President's Visit to Slovenia

    Ms. Briski. Your first--7 years ago--and what just might be your 
very last trip to Europe as President include both--includes both times 
a stop in Slovenia. Excellent choice, I might add. [Laughter]
    The President. I don't blame you for saying it. First of all, my 
first trip was consequential because that's where I first met Vladimir 
Putin. This trip is consequential because, of course, we're going to 
have an EU-U.S. summit. And my impressions of Slovenia--I've told this 
to a lot of people--is first of all, it's a beautiful country.
    Ms. Briski. It is.
    The President. Probably somewhat undiscovered in America, but my 
fellow citizens ought to go and explore Slovenia cause it's, I think, 
not only--it's got--I mean, you can ski; you can play golf.
    Ms. Briski. It's a lot of opportunities for mountain biking.
    The President. You can fish, mountain biking. So it's beautiful. And 
plus, the people are incredibly friendly.

EU-U.S. Summit

    Ms. Briski. You are coming for the U.S.-EU summit.
    The President. Right.
    Ms. Briski. To--no dramatic announcements expected. But it will be 
the last summit for you.
    The President. Yes.
    Ms. Briski. What outcome would you like to see?
    The President. Well, you know, look, the important thing about these 
summits is that it reaffirms our mutual values of human rights and human 
liberty, of our desire to work together on some key issues. And the 
United States and Europe has had its differences on certain issues, 
and--but we've always had the same common values. And it's important for 
me to signal to the Europeans, as well as my fellow citizens, that this 
relationship is an important relationship. And I'm confident the next 
President will see it as an important relationship as well. But we'll 
discuss a lot of important issues there too.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Europe-U.S. Relations

    Ms. Briski. You're also coming to celebrate the 60th anniversary of 
Marshall plan and Berlin Airlift, the historic role U.S. had after World 
War II in supporting Europe. And, you know, Europe has changed a lot 
recently: Western Balkans, two new states; Kosovo high on a priority 
list for Slovenia's Presidency. I would like to hear, what do you think 
are the most memorable events, Europe-wise, that your administration 
helped to achieve in the past 7 years?
    The President. Well, one, of course, is the expansion of NATO. And 
it's a--I'll never forget going to Romania right after nations--some 
nations were admitted into NATO and talking about Article 5--an attack 
on one is an attack on all. And a lot of countries had come from a 
different style of government and a different type of security 
arrangements to one in which free nations were bound together. And so 
the expansion of NATO and the offering of--sending a positive signal to 
Georgia and Ukraine recently has been an incredibly positive 
accomplishment.
    I think working together in Afghanistan is a--is going to be an 
historic achievement; helping a young democracy recover from a society 
in which women, for example, were treated as unbelievably second-class 
citizens. I mean, it was just a barbaric regime.
    Hopefully, in terms of trade, that we'll fight off protectionism and 
keep trade open. I know there's some trade disputes going on, but that 
shouldn't prevent us from being active in terms of perpetuating free and 
fair trade. And so one of the things, of course, we'll be discussing is 
the Doha round of the WTO.

Iran/U.S. Foreign Aid

    Ms. Briski. That's true. And it probably--Iran might be also high on 
the agenda at the summit?
    The President. Yes, Iran--kind of the common threats will be on the 
agenda. For me--as you know, I'm a big believer in freedom. Interesting 
that Europe is now whole, free, and at peace, and there's a reason why. 
And we got to, in my judgment, extend that same concept to the Middle 
East, from which a lot of violence comes. And obviously, one

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of the problems that we face is preventing Iran from developing the 
know-how as to how to make a nuclear weapon.
    And so we'll be discussing that kind of joint efforts, multilateral 
efforts. But, you know, I also want to emphasize that--but the United 
States--and I personally feel very strongly about helping people realize 
the blessings of life by freeing them from HIV/AIDS or malaria or 
hunger. And I'm very proud of our Nation's accomplishments in terms of 
those agenda items. And I'm looking forward to working with our European 
colleagues to see if we can't make it even more robust.

Visa Waiver Program

    Ms. Briski. Next question would be on visa waiver.
    The President. Yes. [Laughter]
    Ms. Briski. It's an issue. I know. It's an issue in Europe.
    The President. It is an issue. It is an issue.
    Ms. Briski. And you know that currently, United States enforces two 
different systems for travelers from----
    The President. Yes.
    Ms. Briski. ----European countries. Plus, you just announced new, 
stricter rules for countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program. I 
wanted to hear your opinion on that, and maybe your answer to those in 
Europe who say that America is not as welcoming a place that it used to 
be.
    The President. Yes. No, look, I'm concerned about that impression, 
because we are a welcoming place. We want our friends to come. We want 
investment to be open.
    You know, first of all, I can understand why many of our friends in 
Europe who aren't treated like other nations within the EU are treated 
on visas are concerned. They say, ``Wait a minute. We're very supportive 
of the United States. We like the United States. And yet we're treated 
differently when it comes to visas.'' And this is a hangover from the 
old visa system, which I have been assiduously working to change. And we 
are making good progress. As a matter of fact, there--I think there's 
going to be quite a few nations that were--will get visa waiver.
    As to whether or not we've made it harder for visa waiver countries 
to come to the United States, actually not. We've made it easier. In 
other words, you file your paperwork online before you come to the 
United States, which should actually facilitate travel, we hope. But, 
look, I am concerned that people say, ``Well, America no longer wants us 
to come,'' when it's the exact opposite of my personal point of view and 
the view of my Government.

America's Image Abroad

    Ms. Briski. Sure. And I have to ask you this: Public surveys taken 
globally indicate kind of anti-Americanism, and----
    The President. Yes.
    Ms. Briski. ----Europe is no exception in that. Do you believe that 
the American brand needs a makeover?
    The President. No. I mean, we stand for liberty and human rights and 
freedom. Look, I've had to make some tough decisions that some people 
didn't like. But the truth of the matter is, when you really look at--
like, for example, our relations in the Far East, we got great relations 
with Japan, China, and Korea--South Korea. Or India, for example--we got 
new relations with India that no administration has ever pushed--South 
America and Central America.
    My attitude is this--this is what I tell people. First of all, you 
can't make decisions based upon opinion polls. Secondly, that a lot of 
people like America. They may not sometimes necessarily like the 
President, but they like America. They like what America stands for. 
Otherwise, why would so many people wanting to be--come here, for 
example, which we welcome. And so I don't--I hear just stuff like that, 
and I just--I dismiss it as kind of like what happens when there's, kind 
of, gossip and rumors and--because the truth of the matter is, America, 
just like many nations in Europe, stands for what's right, which is 
decency and freedom of speech and freedom to worship. And I'm very proud 
of my country, obviously.

2008 Presidential Election

    Ms. Briski. Okay. And on American Presidency, actually on elections, 
international policies are the aspects where the President's work--
that--where the Commander in

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Chief has an opportunity to change the history's course.
    The President. Yes.
    Ms. Briski. And that is why people around the world follow the 
American elections very, very closely. It's been very interesting so 
far.
    The President. Yes, it has.
    Ms. Briski. The Democrats--Democratic candidates have not been very 
easy on you.
    The President. Of course not. They got me--look, if you're--that's 
what happens. I mean, they say, ``We want change.'' Of course--and I 
tell people, every time I ran for politics I said, ``We want change,'' 
unless, of course, I was the incumbent, in which case I was not for 
change; I was for myself. But what you'll see is a lot of rhetoric, and 
I understand that. It's--and, you know, I'm in an unusual position 
because for the past 14 years, I've been an active candidate myself, and 
now I'm kind of getting to be a senior--kind of senior status. And I'll 
help my party, and of course, I'm for John McCain. But there will be a 
lot of debate, and it will be interesting to watch these candidates.
    Ms. Briski. Sure. So your message to the 44th President of the 
United States would be?
    The President. Stand on principle. Stay strong, promote freedom, 
defend America, and work with our friends and allies to achieve common 
objectives.
    Ms. Briski. Mr. President, thank you very much for this interview. I 
hope you will have a safe flight to Europe. And as you referred to 
Slovenia 2 years ago, on our Prime Minister's visit to the White House, 
as an ``interesting slice of heaven,'' I hope you will have a heavenly 
stay.
    The President. I'll bet I do.
    Ms. Briski. Thank you very much.
    The President. Thank you so much. Good to see you.

Note: The interview was taped at 10:15 a.m. in the Map Room at the White 
House for later broadcast. In his remarks, the President referred to 
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia, in his former capacity as the 
President of Russia; and Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. 
Natasa Briski referred to Prime Minister Janez Jansa of Slovenia. The 
transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on June 8.