Text 4527, 121 rader
Skriven 2007-05-07 23:31:20 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (070507) for Mon, 2007 May 7
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President Bush Welcomes Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the White House
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary May 7, 2007

President Bush Welcomes Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the White House
South Lawn

˙ /news/releases/2007/05/20070507.wm.v.html ˙˙Presidential Remarks
˙˙Audio

˙˙˙˙˙ Welcoming Queen Elizabeth II

11:07 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BUSH: Good morning. Laura and I are honored to welcome back to
the White House Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and His Royal Highness
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. (Applause.)

The United Kingdom has written many of the greatest chapters in the history
of human freedom. Nearly 800 years ago, the Magna Carta placed the
authority of the government under the rule of law. Eighty years later, the
first representative assembly of the English people met to debate public
policies. Over the centuries, parliaments in Britain established principles
that guide all modern democracies. And thinkers from Britain, like Locke
and Smith and Burke showed the world that freedom was the natural right of
every man, woman and child on Earth.

As liberty expanded in the British Isles, British explorers helped spread
liberty to many lands, including our own. In May of 1607, a group of
pioneers arrived on the shores of the James River, and founded the first
permanent English settlement in North America. The settlers at Jamestown
planted the seeds of freedom and democracy on American soil. And from those
seeds sprung a nation that will always be proud to trace its roots back to
our friends across the Atlantic.

Our two nations hold fundamental values in common. We honor our traditions
and our shared history. We recognize that the strongest societies respect
the rights and dignity of the individual. We understand and accept the
burdens of global leadership. And we have built our special relationship on
the surest foundations -- our deep and abiding love of liberty.

Today our two nations are defending liberty against tyranny and terror.
We're resisting those who murder the innocent to advance a hateful
ideology, whether they kill in New York or London, or Kabul or Baghdad.

American and British forces are staying on the offense against the
extremists and terrorists. We're supporting young democracies. Our work has
been hard. The fruits of our work have been difficult for many to see. Yet
our work remains the surest path to peace, and it reflects the values
cherished by Americans and by Britons, and by the vast majority of people
across the broader Middle East.

Your Majesty, I appreciate your leadership during these times of danger and
decision. You've spoken out against extremism and terror. You've encouraged
religious tolerance and reconciliation. You've honored those returning from
battle, and comforted the families of the fallen.

The American people are proud to welcome Your Majesty back to the United
States, a nation you've come to know very well. After all, you've dined
with ten U.S. Presidents. You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial
in 17 -- in 1976. (Laughter.) She gave me a look that only a mother could
give a child. (Laughter.)

You have helped commemorate both the 350th and 400th anniversaries of the
Jamestown settlement.

Your Majesty, the United States receives with honor the sovereign of the
United Kingdom. We welcome back to the White House a good person, a strong
leader for a great ally. (Applause.)

HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II: Mr. President, thank you for your warm
words. This is my fifth visit to the United States. And I believe it is
important to remind ourselves of the purpose of these occasions, which
gives meaning to the ceremonial symbolism and the circumstance.

A state visit provides us with a brief opportunity to step back from our
current preoccupations to reflect on the very essence of our relationship.
It gives us the chance to look back at how the stories of our two countries
have been inextricably woven together. It is the moment to take stock of
our present friendship, rightly taking pleasure from its strengths, while
never taking these for granted. And it is the time to look forward, jointly
renewing our commitment to a more prosperous, safer and freer world.

Last week, I had the pleasure of sharing with you an extraordinary
anniversary in our common history. It was a privilege to join the
commemoration of the Jamestown landing by that small group of British
citizens all those years ago. My two days in Virginia gave me a new insight
into those events, which helped to shape this country's development and to
lay the foundations of this great nation based on shared principles of
equality, democracy and the rule of law.

And now in Washington, we have a further opportunity to acknowledge the
present strengths of our relationship. I shall enjoy not only renewing old
acquaintances and making new ones, but also recognizing the breadth and
depth of the friendship we have shared for so long. We can celebrate the
close and enduring associations which thrive between the United States and
the United Kingdom at every level, be it government or corporate,
institutional or personal.

This visit also gives us a window on the future, both the future of the
United States and the future cooperation between our countries. I
particularly look forward in the next two days to seeing at firsthand
something of how the cutting edge of science and technology can take us to
the next phases of discovery and exploration in human endeavor.

Mr. President, thank you for inviting Prince Philip and me to visit your
country, to share in the commemoration of the Jamestown anniversary, and to
have this opportunity to underline the extent of our friendship -- past,
present and future. It is indeed a pleasure for us to be here in Washington
again, and to be welcomed back to the White House. (Applause.)

END 11:15 A.M. EDT

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