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Skriven 2006-03-20 23:33:18 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0603201) for Mon, 2006 Mar 20
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President Welcomes NATO Secretary General to the White House
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 20, 2006

President Welcomes NATO Secretary General to the White House
The Oval Office

President's Remarks view

˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Global Diplomacy

10:16 A.M. EST

PRESIDENT BUSH: Fine-looking crowd we've attracted here, fine-looking
crowd.

Mr. Secretary General, thanks for coming. We've just had a wide-ranging
discussion on a variety of issues, which is what you'd expect when allies
and friends come together. We discussed Iraq, and I want to thank NATO for
its involvement in helping train Iraqi security forces so they can end up
protecting the Iraqi people from the -- from those who want to kill
innocent life in order to affect the outcome of that democracy.

I want to thank you very much for your strong involvement in Afghanistan. A
NATO presence in Afghanistan is really important. I learned that firsthand
when I went to Afghanistan and talked to President Karzai and his
government. They were very supportive of the mission -- and thankful for
the mission. NATO was effective, and that's one of the things that really
important for our citizens to understand, that our relationship with NATO
is an important part of helping us to win the war on terror.

We also talked about Darfur and the Sudan. I'd called the Secretary General
earlier this year. I talked to him about a strategy that would enable NATO
to take the lead in Darfur. However, some things have to happen prior to
that happening, and the first thing is that the African Union must request
from the United Nations a U.N. mission to convert the AU mission to a U.N.
mission, at which point that's done, the -- NATO can move in with United
States help within -- inside of NATO -- to make it clear to the Sudanese
government that we're intent upon providing security for the people there,
and intent upon helping work toward a lasting peace agreement.

And so I appreciate your understanding of that. The first time I made the
phone call to the Secretary General he fully understood the challenge,
fully understood the need, and it was great to work with a friend in peace
to devise a strategy on how to move forward.

So thanks for coming. Looking forward to the meeting later on this year,
big NATO summit. And I'm convinced that, like the last summit we had,
you'll lead that meeting with the efficiency and professionalism that
you're known for.

SECRETARY GENERAL DE HOOP SCHEFFER: Thank you very much, Mr. President. Let
me echo what the President has been saying about NATO delivering, about
NATO making the difference. In Afghanistan the fight against terror is an
extremely important element there. NATO indeed assists in the African Union
in Darfur, and I'm quite sure, as I've told the President, that when the
U.N. comes, the NATO allies will be ready to do more in enabling the United
Nations force in Darfur.

NATO assisted after Hurricane Katrina. NATO had a major humanitarian
operation in Pakistan. NATO is in the Balkans. All 26 NATO allies
participate in one way or the other in the training mission in Iraq. Now I
want to see NATO-trained Iraqi officers taking their responsibility in
fighting the terrorists in their own country.

In other words, NATO is delivering. And in the run-up to the NATO summit in
Riga at the end of the year, as the President mentioned, we'll make sure --
NATO will make sure that this will be an important event.

In NATO's outreach, as he mentioned -- the Middle East, North Africa,
Israel, Jordan, the nations of the Gulf -- NATO's contacts with other
nations who share our values -- we have Australia, Japan, South Korea -- in
other words, we'll see to it that the military agenda of NATO and the
political agenda of NATO will be very seriously addressed in Riga. And I'm
very glad for the support, the permanent support, and the friendship of our
most important ally, the United States, and its leader, President Bush.

Thank you very much.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you. Yes, good. Thank you.

END 10:20 A.M. EST

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