[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 30 (Monday, July 28, 2003)]
[Pages 950-953]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of
Italy in Crawford, Texas
July 21, 2003
President Bush. Thank you for coming. I'm honored to host my friend
the Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi. It's such an honor for
us to welcome--I say ``us''; Laura welcomes him as well as I to our
ranch. We welcome the Prime Minister as a good friend, and he represents
a country which is a strong ally to America. Welcome.
Prime Minister Berlusconi. Thank you.
President Bush. I want to thank him for being such a gracious host
during our trips overseas, and we're really pleased to return the
hospitality.
Last year, on America's Memorial Day, Prime Minister Berlusconi
visited a American military cemetery in Italy to honor our service
members who gave their lives defending freedom in Europe. His actions
touched me personally. He understands the history and the values that
our two countries share. The people of the United States and Italy love
freedom, and we know that freedom must be defended.
We also understand that defending freedom requires costs and
sacrifice. And the United States is grateful for Italy's willingness to
bear the burdens with us. Italy and America stood together through
nearly a half a century of cold war. Over the past decade, we have stood
together against oppression and hatred in the Balkans. And in the months
since September the 11th, 2001, Italy and America have stood side by
side against tyranny and global terror.
The war on terror continues. We will see it through to victory.
Global terrorist networks are a threat to America, to Italy, and to all
peaceful nations. And we are disrupting and destroying those networks.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a threat to America,
to Italy, and to all peaceful nations. We will persevere until that
threat is removed. Radicalism and ideologies of hatred are a threat to
America, to Italy, and to all peaceful nations. And we are determined to
spread liberty and progress and hope.
My country is especially grateful to the Italian troops and police
who are serving with skill and courage in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our
efforts to work for freedom and stability in these countries and
throughout the entire region are an integral part of the war on terror.
And we will make both our nations safer and advance the peace of the
world.
The Prime Minister and I are both encouraged by signs of progress
toward a great goal in the Middle East: two states, Palestine and
Israel, living side by side in peace and security. Both Prime Minister
Abbas and Prime Minister Sharon are showing leadership and courage. Now
it is time for governments across the Middle East to support the efforts
of these two men by fighting terror in all its forms. This includes the
Governments of Syria and Iran. This behavior is--today, Syria and Iran
continue to harbor and assist terrorists. This behavior is completely
unacceptable, and states that support terror will be held accountable.
Supporting and harboring terrorists undermines the prospects for
peace in the Middle East and betrays the true interests of the
Palestinian people. Terrorism is the greatest obstacle to the emergence
of a Palestinian state, and all leaders who seek this goal have an
obligation to back up their words in real actions against terror. And
leaders who are interested in a peaceful solution in the Middle East
must support the efforts of Prime Minister Abbas to build a democratic
Palestine and ease the hardships faced by the Palestinian people.
The Prime Minister and I are in complete agreement that Europe and
America are both more secure and more effective when
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we act together. I'm pleased that Prime Minister Berlusconi is now
serving as the President of the European Union. And I'm confident that
under his leadership of the EU, Europe and America will continue to meet
the great challenges before us.
Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your leadership, your wise
counsel, and your friendship, and welcome to Crawford, Texas.
Prime Minister Berlusconi. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for
hosting me, and thank you for inviting me here to visit a country which
I love very much, to talk about our common concerns: that is, freedom,
democracy, and justice and development.
Thank you very much for welcoming me in your home, making me feel as
a member of your family. Please let me say so, this is again a chance
for me to talk to you and tell you about the gratitude I have, the
gratitude I personally have, my country has for you, for a country which
allowed us to enjoy our freedom and our welfare and well-being and to
enjoy all of this.
This morning I attended one of your meetings, work meetings, and I
was strongly impressed by the burden of responsibilities that you take
on yourself and on your country. And I really thought that it was
extremely important for the citizens in the West to know with what
attention and care and with what spirit of sacrifice and generosity the
United States and its President follow the developments all over the
world which might bring about danger and threat and hurt any country in
the world.
He already mentioned the subjects we discussed in our meeting and
already said that we have a common vision on all of these issues, with
no exception. I'll go back to Italy and Europe with a belief which I
already had but which was strengthened by my visit here. My belief is
that we really need to support and develop the culture of union and
cohesion and certainly not nurture the culture of division. Selfishness,
narcissism, and division shall never win. We need to revive the huge
strength of cohesion. And this has to be a vital force, able to plan and
build something. And this is the message which I'm going to bring back
to my European allies as President of the European Union.
Once again, thank you, Mr. President, for the friendship of your
people to my country and for your personal friendship and esteem.
President Bush. Thank you, sir. Before the Prime Minister and I take
a tour of the ranch, we'll answer a couple of questions.
Deb, AP [Deb Reichman Kepler, Associated Press].
Liberia
Q. Mr. President, a mortar shell has hit the U.S. Embassy in
Liberia. The U.S. has sent a contingent of Marines there to protect its
interests. What about the civilians being killed? There were some
civilians dragged in front of the Embassy this morning. Sir, my question
is, can the U.S. stand by and watch the violence spiral out of control,
and what about sending U.S. peacekeepers?
President Bush. Well, you're right, we just sent a group of troops
in to protect our interests, and we're concerned about our people in
Liberia. We'll continue to monitor the situation very closely. We're
working with the United Nations to effect policy necessary to get the
cease-fire back in place. We are working with ECOWAS to determine when
they will be prepared to move in the peacekeeper troops that I have said
we'd be willing to help move into Liberia. We're monitoring the
situation very carefully.
You call on somebody.
Prime Minister Berlusconi. [Inaudible]
President Bush. No, you get to call on somebody.
Prime Minister Berlusconi. Si, si. Prego.
Iraq
Q. The question, if possible, could be answered by both of you--that
is, the situation in Iraq. Did you discuss the possibility of having
Italian troops taking over and replacing the--taking over the
peacekeeping operations and taking over from the U.S. military? And did
you talk about reconstruction of Iraq? And did you also mention the
possibility that countries which did not participate in the coalition
can have the same role and the same share in the reconstruction of Iraq?
President Bush. No, we didn't talk about Italy replacing the United
States as peacekeepers. Yes, we did discuss how to broaden the coalition
to bring more security to Iraq.
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It's very important for our citizens of both countries to understand
that this extension of hostility is really a part of the war to liberate
Iraq. There are people in Iraq who hate the thought of freedom. There
are Saddam apologists who want to try to stay in power through terrorist
activity. And I explained to the Prime Minister: We're patient; we're
strong; we're resolute; and we will see this matter through. And
obviously, the more help we can get, the more we appreciate it. And we
are continuing to work with other nations to ask their help and advice.
And we appreciate the leadership of the Prime Minister.
Secondly, the answer to your question about reconstruction efforts,
the answer is, who can do the best job for the Iraqi people? The
reconstruction effort shouldn't be viewed as a political exercise. It
shouldn't be viewed as an international grab bag. It shouldn't be viewed
as a special opportunity.
The answer to your question is, how best to improve the lives of the
Iraqi people, how best to quickly establish electricity and clean water
and hospitals and schools, all the things necessary for a free society
to develop. And so if that can be--if that question can be answered
positively by somebody who didn't necessarily agree with the decision,
that's fine. We're interested--mostly interested in the Iraqi people.
Okay, Adam [Adam Entous, Reuters].
Q. Thank you, Mr. President.
Prime Minister Berlusconi. I share----
President Bush. You want to answer that? Sure.
Prime Minister Berlusconi. No, no, I completely share what the
President just said.
President Bush. Then why don't you ask the Prime Minister a question
so he can answer a question.
Q. Mr. President.
President Bush. Yes, Adam.
North Korea
Q. New evidence suggests North Korea may have built a second, secret
site to process plutonium. How concerned are you? Are you going to let
this stand? Also, are you still hopeful of making progress in talks
through the Chinese?
President Bush. Well, I appreciate you bringing up the latter,
because I do believe we can solve this issue diplomatically by
encouraging the neighborhood--the Chinese, the South Koreans, and the
Japanese to join us with a single voice that says to Mr. Kim Chong-il,
``A decision to develop a nuclear arsenal is one that will alienate you
from the rest of the world.''
The desire by the North Koreans to convince the world that they're
in the process of developing a nuclear arsenal is nothing new. We've
known that for a while. And therefore, we must continue to work with the
neighborhood to convince Kim Chong-il that his decision is an unwise
decision. And we will do just that.
Iraq
Q. Under what condition would you accept a new United Nation
resolution about Iraq? You know that some countries are asking.
President Bush. Well, we're in close consultation with the U.N. We
believe that 1483 empowers countries to make a proper decision to get
involved in Iraq. Let me talk about the U.N. in relations to Iraq in
general. Mr. de Mello is doing a very fine job. He is working very
closely with Bremer. They've got a fine relationship, and that bodes
well for future discussions. Fourteen eighty-three is a very strong
resolution and a very adequate resolution.
But we're constantly in touch with U.N. officials. And Kofi Annan
was in my office the other day, discussing a lot of different issues,
and one of the issues was Iraq. The more people involved in Iraq, the
better off we will be. And that's exactly what our intention is, to
encourage people to participate in the--making Iraq more secure and more
free. A free Iraq is a crucial part of winning the war on terror.
And now I'm going to go see to it that the Prime Minister is well
fed. We're going to feed him some chicken.
Thank you, sir. I appreciate it very much. Thank you all.
Note: The President's news conference began at 11:13 a.m. at the Bush
Ranch. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu
Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority; Prime
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Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel; former President Saddam Hussein of
Iraq; Chairman Kim Chong-il of North Korea; Secretary-General Kofi Annan
and Special Representative for Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello of the United
Nations; and L. Paul Bremer III, Presidential Envoy to Iraq. Prime
Minister Berlusconi spoke in Italian, and some reporters asked their
questions in Italian, and their remarks were translated by an
interpreter.