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Ärende: Press Release (0706013) for Fri, 2007 Jun 1
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Roundtable Interview of the President by Foreign Print Media
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 1, 2007

Roundtable Interview of the President by Foreign Print Media Roosevelt Room

˙˙White House News


May 31, 2007

1:20 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: First, I'm really looking forward to the trip. It's a chance
for me to see old friends, make new friends, and talk about an agenda that
is based upon freedom and the obligation, for those of us who benefit from
our free societies, to help less fortunate people.

Obviously, the G8 is going to be the center point of the visit, it will be
where the most focus is. But I take my bilateral visits very seriously.
We're starting in the Czech Republic; I'm looking forward to seeing the
President and the Prime Minister. That's my third trip? Second trip? Second
trip. It's a beautiful city.

Besides my bilateral meetings with the leadership, I am looking forward to
my democracy speech. Vaclav Havel has asked me to come and speak to a
democracy forum. I feel very strongly that the United States must take the
lead in promoting democracy around the world -- even in places where it may
not look like it could -- that it's very hospitable, because I believe,
ultimately, it is hospitable. And so it's going to be an important speech
and I'm working on it.

And then, of course, I go to Germany for the G8. I've been in that
beautiful part of your country before. I'm looking forward to the seaside
resort. Of course, I'm anxious to see the Chancellor. She and I have got a
very strong relationship. I don't know if you know this or not, but we do
visit via secure video on a fairly regular basis. I've had some -- you
know, a lot of meaningful conversations with her, other than by phone.

And then the G8, it's going to be an important meeting, just like all G8s
are. And this year I'll be talking about the need for all of us to work
together to deal with HIV/AIDS and malaria and education. And, of course,
global climate change will be an issue, as well.

And then we'll go on to Poland. I'm looking forward to going back -- for my
third time; twice in Czech Republic, third time in Poland. Of course, part
of the discussions with both countries will be on missile defense. I'll be
glad to answer any questions you have on that. It's just an important issue
for us to discuss and it's an important for me to allay people's fears.

My friend, Vladimir Putin, is making this to be a case where somehow this
is going to jeopardize relations in Europe and it's going to make the world
a more dangerous place -- quite the opposite. The reason one advocates and
works for a missile defense system is to protect free peoples from the
launch of a missile from a hostile regime. Russia is not hostile. Russia is
a friend. We don't agree with Russia all the time, but, nevertheless, I
view them as a friendly nation, not a hostile nation. And I will work with
Vladimir Putin not only at the G8, but when he comes to visit up east here.
But I know that's going to be part of our conversation.

By the way, in the case of the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, and, to a
certain extent, Bulgaria, and definitely Germany, there's a lot of --
obviously, you know, Americans who are very interested in this trip. Polish
Americans are -- there's a lot of them and they really love their country
of origin, their grandfathers' country of origin. And this is an important
trip symbolically, as well, to see their American President in Poland -- or
in Italy, a lot of Italian Americans are very proud of their heritage, as
well.

So the trip, obviously, is the chance to visit on important issues, whether
it be Afghanistan or Iraq, where these countries are supportive, as well as
their common interests in bilateral issues.

I'm looking forward to two things in Italy -- obviously seeing His Holy
Father. Sometimes I'm not poetic enough to describe what it's like to be in
the presence of the Holy Father. It is a moving experience. And I have not
been in the presence of this particular Holy Father. Obviously, three
visits with the last great man, and I'm looking forward to this. I'm
looking forward to hearing him. He's a good thinker and a smart man. I'll
be in a listening mode.

And then Prime Minister Prodi, with whom I've had a long relationship. I
knew him when he was the head of the EU. I can remember, fondly remember
riding my mountain bike as hard as I could as he was jogging along the
beaches in Georgia, needling him on the way by -- a sign of close
friendship. We've got a good relationship. He's having to make difficult
decisions in Afghanistan and I hope my visit will help boost his courage in
doing the right thing in Afghanistan.

And then, of course, Bulgaria; I'm looking forward to that, as well. I've
never been, it's the first time. I'm looking forward to seeing the
leadership there. Bulgaria has made some very difficult decisions, but
necessary decisions. We're proud to be allies. It's going to be -- I love
going to countries that may not expect to see the U.S. President. It's
pretty predictable that the President would go to Germany or Italy --
probably Poland and the Czech Republic, but not necessarily Bulgaria and
Albania. And it's going to be a great honor for me to be in your country.
I'm looking forward to it.

I'm excited about the trip. I gave a speech today -- I don't know if you
suffered through it or not, but it's -- anyway, I was proud to give it, and
I meant what I said. And we've got a darn good record. And I'm going to be
taking that record, on behalf of the American people, to the G8 and hoping
to encourage others to match it.

Teodor. Ted.

Q Teodor. You can call me Ted.

THE PRESIDENT: Call me W. (Laughter.)

Q You just said that Vladimir Putin is your friend.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, he is.

Q Now, given his angry response to missile defense, do you regret choosing
Czech Republic and Poland as possible sites for the missile defense?

THE PRESIDENT: No. The reason this country has been chosen is because it
will make the missile defense system more effective as we provide defenses
for most of our NATO allies.

Secondly, friends can disagree.

Q Did he disappoint you?

THE PRESIDENT: He is a -- he is concerned about the missile defense system.
He thinks it's aimed at him. It's not. It's aimed at rogue regimes that
would use a missile to achieve political objective or to create unrest.
And, therefore, I sent Secretary Gates to see the leadership, the Russian
leadership, to explain our intentions. We've invited the Russians to
participate, totally transparent --

Q They are not happy --

THE PRESIDENT: Let me finish, Ted. We're totally transparent in our
designs. We want them to see our technologies. They're welcome to come.
Angela Merkel was very instrumental in us reaching out to the Russians; she
was deeply concerned about the ramifications of this decision. And so we're
working very carefully. But we think it's the right thing to do.

Secondly, it is -- I repeat, we have nothing to hide. Bob Gates said, you
know, this kind of rhetoric is the kind of rhetoric that relives the Cold
War. But the Cold War is over. We're now into the 21st century, where we
need to deal with the true threats, which are threats of radical extremists
who will kill to advance an ideology and the threats of proliferation. And
there's a lot of work we can do together to deal with these threats. And
that's what I'll continue talking to President Putin about.

Klaus.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. But certainly it's fair to say the relationship
between the West and Russia has become more complicated --

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it has.

Q -- in recent months. What needs to be done to avoid this relationship to
degenerate further into a deep and lasting crisis? And in general, on that
note, you set up the conversation. Is Russia -- a reassertive Russia, a
friend, an ally, or a challenge?

THE PRESIDENT: For the U.S. -- I can't speak for the EU-Russian
relationship; that's recently where there's been some tension, as you noted
-- for the U.S.-Russian relationship, it's a complex relationship where
we've got some areas of agreement and some areas of disagreement. We
believe strongly in democracy. Vladimir Putin will tell me that Russia is a
democracy and that he's advancing democracy.

We have got some questions about that, of course. We believe that actions
taken in Estonia, for example -- in relation to the actions taken in
Estonia were -- it sent a confusing signal to us. We obviously have got a
difficult issue with Kosovo. We believe we ought to advance the Ahtisaari
agreement through the United Nations Security Council.

But disagreement on issues doesn't mean that the relations aren't cordial.
As a matter of fact, I have found that it's easier to disagree on issues
when you have a cordial relationship. It means you can discuss your
differences without hostility, which makes it easier that you can find
common ground. And we have common ground with Russia on matters like Iran.
We've worked closely with Russia in the U.N. Security Council to send a
clear signal to the Iranians that their attempts at a nuclear weapon will
be met with resistance, unified resistance.

The issue of proliferation is one where there's good cooperation between
the United States and Russia. It's in the world's interest that the United
States and Russia and other nations work together to stop proliferators
from being able to get a hold of materials that could end up harming
innocent people.

We've worked with Russia on North Korea. As you know, we spoke with one
voice to the leadership in North Korea, that Russia and China and the
United States and South Korea and Japan strongly oppose their desire to
have a weapons program. And hopefully we can make progress.

In other words, one shouldn't be surprised that there are differences. And
the fundamental question in world diplomacy is, how do you deal with the
differences? Do you deal with them that ends up, hopefully, creating more
opportunities for cooperation, or do you deal with them in such a way as it
creates -- it widens gulfs and creates more antagonisms?

And my relationship with Russia is firm. I tell people what I believe based
upon certain principles. But it's going to be in such a way that treats
people with respect. I've noticed that Angela Merkel has also had to deal
with Vladimir Putin, and has done so in a very respectful, but firm way.
And I admire the way she's handled her diplomacy. She has proven herself to
be a very strong leader. And for that, I'm grateful and I hope the German
people are, as well.

Marcin.

Q Mr. President, your administration, you just said, offers a lot to Russia
to gain acceptance, Russia's acceptance to idea building, (inaudible)
missile shield. And at the same time, so far, it doesn't seem that you
offer much to Poland, which is supposed to host the interceptor site. How
would you convince people in Poland, who are, frankly, not that much afraid
of uranium threat, but they're listening to the threats from Russia very
carefully?

THE PRESIDENT: First of all, Poland and the U.S. are in NATO, and an attack
on one is an attack on all. We can't offer any better security agreement
than that. And we mean it. If you're an ally of the United States and NATO,
and you feel threatened by an outside force, we'll help you. I don't
believe that there would be -- I would certainly hope that Poland won't be
threatened again by an outside force. I can understand why people in Poland
could be nervous about that. After all, it's been a terrible part of your
history.

But as an ally in NATO, I can't make a stronger statement than to say we
stand with you, and in this case, this ally actually means it, and so do
NATO allies. You know, I'm sure there's probably some skepticism from some
older folks, or those who study history, where Poland had been given
assurances and those assurances didn't come through. Well, in this case,
they will.

I don't view Poland as being under any military threat. I would hope the
Polish people don't, either. Obviously, there are differences you have with
Russia over meat, and I'm very aware of that. It's an EU matter, it's a
matter that Angela Merkel is working hard, as the head of the EU at this
point in time, to address that problem.

The best way to compensate Poland for our friendship is to have good,
strong bilateral relations. As you know, we've worked hard on different
agreements that would help create jobs. It's really the best thing that a
relationship can do is yield tangible benefits for people, besides peace
and security. And job creation and decent-paying jobs benefit society as a
whole. And there's jobs as a result of our airplane deal, there's capital
investment, there is more transparency in our relationship. And we'll keep
it that way. I'm sure I'll be discussing that with the President.

Yes, Maurizio.

Q Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: How are you?

Q Very good. Thank you for having us back here.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q Your first meeting with Benedict XVI, what are the values that you
believe you share with this Pope? And besides this, on foreign policy, what
common ground you may have with the Catholic Church on issues like Cuba, or
China, or Lebanon?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Thank you. The common values are respect for human
life, human --and dignity. I think His Holy Father will be pleased to know
that much of our foreign policy is based on the admonition "to whom much is
given, much is required." I look forward to sharing with him our sincere
desire to help alleviate poverty and hunger and disease.

I will remind him -- in the Rose Garden yesterday, I talked about spending
$30 billion on our battle against HIV/AIDS, particularly on the continent
of Africa. Our initiative is, thus far, a $15 billion initiative over five
years, that's helped provide antiretroviral drugs for about 1,100,000
people in a three-year period, up from 50,000. Many of those folks who are
helping to carry out that initiative are people from Catholic Charities, or
Catholic congregations here in the United States, and I will tell him how
proud I am of our Catholic citizens who have volunteered, in many cases, to
help relieve suffering around the world.

I will also talk to him about our malaria initiative where we believe we
will have gotten help to folks, particularly on the continent of Africa, in
the form of nets and insecticides and medicines, to about 30 million
people. I will remind him that this commitment is real and sincere.

I believe he believes -- look, I don't want to put words in his mouth -- I
hope he believes in the universality of freedom, because I certainly do. In
other words, freedom is not just a Western ideal. It's just not the ideal
that some people -- it's universal in application. I will remind him of my
firm belief that freedom is not only universal, but history has proven
democracies tend not to war with each other, and that the best way to yield
the peace, something I long for, is to help people become free.

I hope to get him talking. He's a sound thinker. I've read one of his
works, and I'm looking forward to hearing this good, decent, honorable man
share some thoughts with me. And I go in open-minded, and I'm willing to
listen.

Just in terms of other issues, I will -- if he cares to talk about Cuba,
I'd love to talk about Cuba. I believe Cuba ought to be free. And I believe
that when there is a transition to new leadership, the world ought to work
for freedom, not stability, that the leading edge of our agenda ought to be
to say to whomever takes over that government, we expect there to be
elections and free press, free prisoners.

You mentioned Lebanon, I will confirm our strong support for the Siniora
government. I'm impressed by his courage. And I will explain to him that
one of the reasons why we felt like it was important to go through with the
Hariri trial for the U.N. was to enhance the Siniora government, and it's
to make it clear that there's been foreign interference in that country,
and we expect that foreign interference to stop.

The other issue is China. I will tell him that there, too, we've got good
relations, and I intend to keep them that way. Part of having good
relations with a country is being in a position to talk about religious
freedoms. I would remind him that I have been to church in China, and
actually found it to be a spiritual experience. It wasn't, like, fake; it
was real. But I will assure him that I will continue to make the case for
the Catholic Church inside of China.

One of the things I don't know if he knows I know, but there has been an
attempt to get a good interface between the Chinese government and the
Catholic Church so that eventually the prescribed leadership, Catholic
leadership would be able to have an active role in China. So far, the
Chinese government has resisted this, but I have been in -- received
several entreaties from our Catholic cardinals here on behalf of His Holy
Father to reach out to the Chinese, and I have. And if he cares, I will be
glad to summarize those contacts with him.

Petar.

Q Mr. President, concerning the shield, the anti-missile shield, I know
Bulgaria is one of the newest members of NATO. But as I know, the shield
will not cover the southeastern part of NATO, including Bulgaria. And there
are American military facilities in this country, which makes some people
nervous there. Are you planning to change the situation?

THE PRESIDENT: The missile defense that we're talking about is primarily
for the longer-term missile. That's where the debate is. And you're right,
that won't cover all of NATO. As I said in my opening comments, it will
cover most of NATO.

Bulgaria will be covered by NATO missile defenses for intermediate-range
missiles, and I will be glad to make that case. It's important for our NATO
-- when I'm in Bulgaria, it's important for our NATO allies not to feel
like defenses apply to some, but not everybody. And as you know, we're in
discussions about access bases, which also, I would hope, would provide a
sense of security.

The first goal, of course, is to work with everybody in your neighborhood
to try to convince them to be peaceful in the first place, so that the
defenses aren't needed. But we've got to make sure if they ever are needed,
that they're effective. And as you know, I'm deeply concerned about Iran
having a nuclear weapon that could fly toward Europe, or, for that matter,
toward any other allies. And we don't want to ever have ourselves in a
position where the world could become blackmailed.

And, therefore, one way to deal with this issue is through a missile
defense system. However, such a weapon, in this particular scenario, would
not affect Bulgaria. It would be a much smaller one, for which we have
different technologies, NATO technologies available.

One more round? All right, Ted. Is it, "Ted?"

Q Yes, you can call me, "Ted." (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: You already told me that once. I forgot.

Q Mr. President, for better or worse, you undoubtedly changed modern
history of this vote. I mean, are you happy with your decisions? Are you
comfortable with your decisions? Are you listening to criticism around the
world?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, there's a little bit of criticism out there, evidently.
Yes, Ted, I hear what people say, and I'm very comfortable with my
decisions, absolutely. Our country came under attack, and I vowed to the
American people I would do all in my power to protect it, and it's still
under threat. And the best way to protect America is to stay on the offense
and bring people to justice before they hurt us. And we don't do that alone
-- we work with allies and friends, and we share intelligence, we help cut
off money, we disrupt, jointly --

Q Don't you --

THE PRESIDENT: Let me finish, Ted. I also knew that we had to deal with
threats before they came to hurt us, whether it be in Afghanistan and Iraq,
I made the right decisions. And now the fundamental question is, will the
world help these young democracies develop? And I believe it's in all our
interests that these democracies survive. And I'm looking forward to
thanking our host countries when I travel for their commitments -- in some
cases, Iraq and Afghanistan; in some cases only Afghanistan. Either case,
they're very important.

If democracies can't help other democracies, then I worry about stability
and peace in the long run. And so, no, I believe the decisions I made were
the right decisions.

Q You don't feel abandoned?

THE PRESIDENT: What?

Q Abandoned. You don't feel abandoned?

THE PRESIDENT: No, no, not at all. Matter of fact, I was amazed by -- he
asked, do I feel abandoned. Quite the contrary. I feel that we're in this
long-term struggle with a lot of strong allies -- a lot. There's a lot of
people in Iraq that committed resources and manpower and effort. A lot of
people in Afghanistan -- all the NATO countries have got manpower there,
plus a lot of other countries. No, quite the contrary. I feel these
alliances are significant. And, you know, you've got to work at them. I
constantly remind people there's a threat. And the stakes in the world --
but, no. Thank you for asking.

Klaus-Dieter. My roommate in college was Rob Dieter. He was from Florida,
though. (Laughter.) You're Klaus-Dieter. Okay.

Q Mr. President, in the run-up to the G8 meeting, our energy -- our climate
change turnout will be a divisive issue, at least to the German press.

THE PRESIDENT: Really? You mean you want it to be divisive.

Q No, not at all.

THE PRESIDENT: Are you going to go in open-minded?

Q Yes, I'm always open-minded.

THE PRESIDENT: That's good. Is that the case --

Q Always. (Laughter.)

Q Let's say assuming it was true -- you were (inaudible) this morning. Does
it help to bridge the gap between the U.S. position and the European
position, which includes firm mandatory caps on greenhouse gases? And is
there any prospect for a firm consensus at Heiligendamm? Or have you
basically preempted Heiligendamm?

THE PRESIDENT: No, look, first of all, your opening question was, the
German press is looking for conflict, is that what you said? I don't want
to misquote you. (Laughter.) I think, look, if people want to try to figure
out a way to be divisive, they will try to create divisions. I don't view
it that way. I view this as an effort by concerned nations to reach common
accord to actually solve the problem.

And the initiative I laid out today said we'll take the world's largest
emitters of greenhouse gases and come up with an international goal. In
other words, there needs to be a post-Kyoto framework. And I suggested,
here's one way to deal with the post-Kyoto world. First thing that the
Chancellor wanted to know is, did I agree there ought to be a post-Kyoto
framework? That's the threshold question, because if it's no, then we can
end the conversation. If it's yes, then what are your suggestions?

And so today I said I believe there ought to be a post-Kyoto framework. And
I believe Angela will be pleased with that because she is -- this was
something she was working toward.

Secondly, I believe there ought to be an international goal. How we arrive
at that goal is -- I set out a process where greenhouse gas emitters,
including developing nations, ought to be at the table. As you know full
well, that one could have a very strict regime on greenhouse gases, but if
nothing were done with countries like India or China, all would be for
naught. So I thought it made sense to include a variety of nations that are
actually producing greenhouse gases, including Russia and China and India
and the United States and the EU and others.

Thirdly, I said that each nation needs to come up with an interim goal and
develop the methodology to achieve that goal. In other words, there's a
commitment in our country -- now, I said this in the Rose Garden, next to
the Chancellor and Jos Barroso, that each country has got to develop a plan
that suits its own economy and suits its own political environment. If you
want the U.S. to be an active participant, that's the best way to do it, as
well. A lot of people don't particularly want our environmental policy
written by somebody else. They think we ought to be writing our own
environmental policy, in this case, to achieve international goals. And
that's my pledge. I'm looking forward to it.

And I also bring a very good record, because the truth of the matter is,
technology is going to enable us to meet two objectives -- or three
objectives, in the U.S. case: one, energy independent; two, economic
vitality and growth -- and as an active trading partner with the United
States, you would want us to be economically strong, you don't want your
trading partner to be weak, there would be nothing to trade with; and,
finally, a strong steward of the environment, and technology is going to
lead us there. And I look forward to explaining some of the technological
breakthroughs that we have achieved and will achieve.

You probably don't know this but we're up to about, I think, 6 billion
gallons of corn ethanol now being used in our cars. Over the next years, 50
percent of every automobile in the United States will be flex-fuel. In
other words, you can either use ethanol or gasoline, your choice. There's
significant market penetration for ethanol in the Midwest. But we're
spending billions of dollars -- or millions of dollars, hundreds of
millions of dollars, on coming up with the ability to break down different
forms of feedstocks to produce ethanol. That's called cellulosic ethanol,
like switchgrasses or wood chips. Wouldn't it be remarkable when we have a
breakthrough to develop fuel to run our automobiles from wood chips? You
got a lot of wood in Germany. I'd be glad to share that technology with
you.

And so we're addressing greenhouse gases and tailpipe emissions to the
point where I said to the United States, we'll have a mandatory fuel
standard that will reduce our gasoline consumption by 20 percent over 10
years. It's a remarkable initiative. No President has ever said that. I
happen to believe that there's going to be some significant battery
technology breakthroughs, as well, and I look forward to sharing that with
our partners. Matter of fact, the Japanese are spending a lot of money on
battery technologies, and it's very conceivable one day we'll be having
hybrid plug-in battery-driven vehicles with a regular-sized automobile. You
can do it with a golf cart now, but on a lot of our freeways, it would be
dangerous. (Laughter.) Yours, too.

The fundamental question facing America is, how fast can we develop
zero-emission coal-fired electricity plants? And we're spending a lot of
money there, and we look forward to sharing technologies with our allies
and friends and people who need help.

And so we've got a very strong agenda that I'm looking forward to sharing
in the G8. And one of the things I'm going to do is encourage others to
step up to the research and development arena. They ought to be spending as
much as we are. They ought to be investing. And then we ought to be willing
to share that technology with developing countries.

And, finally, if you're really interested in solving greenhouse gases and
making sure your economy grows, you ought to be for civilian nuclear power,
Klaus.

Q I'm open. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: There you go. You're my man. And we're spending -- we're
advancing an interesting initiative with Russia, Japan, France, Great
Britain on coming up with new technologies on fast-burner reactors in order
to be able to deal with the waste issue.

Anyway, there's a lot to talk about. And so I'm looking forward to it. It's
an important subject, just like feeding the hungry is important; just like
solving HIV/AIDS on the continent of Africa is important; just like dealing
with malaria is important; just like poor children, particularly women,
girls, getting an education is important. These are all important
initiatives, and I can't wait to discuss them there.

Marcin.

Q Yes, last time you were in Eastern Europe, last year in Estonia and
Latvia, you promised changes in visa regime for your close allies. Now many
months --

THE PRESIDENT: I promised I would work on it.

Q Many months went by.

THE PRESIDENT: Marcin, make sure you quote me correctly.

Q Okay.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, let me talk about it. It affects the Czech Republic, it
affects Poland, and it affects Bulgaria.

I fully understand the frustrations of countries and people of countries
who have supported friendship with the United States. And they look at
neighbors in the EU or NATO and say, wait a minute, we're treated
differently. I understand that.

This is an issue that your leaders have spoken very candidly with me. And I
told them I didn't -- I thought it was unfair that the German citizen be
given a type of visa and not the Polish citizen. And we're working closely
with Congress to change long-standing law. And I said I would -- first of
all, we set up a way forward, a road map to visa changes. And I said I
would work with our Congress to come up with a fair law that treated people
fairly, and we are. We have yet to pass the law, but we are working with
Congress.

There is, as you may or may not know, a healthy immigration debate taking
place in the United States. I'm a big proponent of what we call
comprehensive immigration reform, as I am a proponent of visa reform, visa
waiver reform.

I can't give you a firm prediction as to exactly when this will emerge from
Congress, but we're working hard to see if we can't get it done.

Maurizio.

Q Mr. President, you said that you hope that your arrival will boost Mr.
Prodi's energy on Afghanistan.

THE PRESIDENT: No, let me rephrase that. Can I restate that?

Q Of course.

THE PRESIDENT: I don't want to boost his energy. I do want to sit down and
talk to him about how important the Italian commitment is to Afghanistan
and its future, is really what I meant to say.

Q And that was what my question was about. What would you like Italy to do
in Afghanistan, and more in general, in the war on terror? How do you see
Italy as a global partner on this issue? And also if you can spend a few
words on the protesters that will receive you in Rome. They are very angry.

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yes? I'm going to meet some protesters in Rome again?
(Laughter.)

Q They declared a "no Bush day."

THE PRESIDENT: First of all, when you go to free societies, you tend to see
protesters. Freedom of speech, that's what we're talking about. It's what
happens when you travel. I presume there's going to be a few in Germany,
just like there were -- listen, when world leaders get together, or a
leader shows up that people pay attention to, people get on TV by
protesting. They've got different causes, and they want to express
themselves. And I welcome going to a society where people are free to
speak. That's actually a healthy thing. It's a sign of a robust society. We
had a few, one time, in Genoa, if you remember.

Q Who doesn't remember?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Anyway, that's what happens when world leaders get
together. Now the other --

Q And the other question was about Afghanistan, Italy's role in
Afghanistan.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it's a very important role. First of all, commitment to
Afghanistan, itself, helps. Basically it says to the Afghan people, we want
to help you; we know you're struggling. And it encourages people. The idea
of saying we're a robust, free society, and we want to stand with you as
you try to develop your own society in your own image is important to the
psychology of the country.

Secondly, Italy is making significant contribution -- police training,
judicial training. It's an important commitment. And in the war on terror,
the idea of sharing intelligence when we find it, it's in both our
interests. If we know somebody is plotting and planning in Italy, we'll
share that information, and vice versa. And that's really what matters, is
the ability to talk to each other in such a way that if we have information
that is beneficial for one or the other, we're comfortable enough of
sharing that information so we can protect ourselves.

Make no mistake about it, the enemy wants to strike again. We work a lot
trying to find out where. This enemy is dangerous. These are ideologues who
have got ambitions. And it's very important that we all take them
seriously. The temptation is to say, well, maybe they're not that dangerous
anymore. I'm telling you, they're dangerous, and they need the full
commitment of free nations, the commitment to work together, the commitment
to watch their finances, the commitment to understand what they're thinking
and what they're doing. And they're moving. And they'll kill you like that
in order to achieve their objectives, make no mistake about it. And the
temptation is to say, oh, no, it's just a couple of guys that aren't that
dangerous. They're dangerous, and I will remind our friends. Italy has been
a strong partner in a lot of areas, and I appreciate it.

Petar.

Q Back to Russia. You know that sometimes you spoke about the energy and
energy security. Sometimes energy is used as a political tool, especially
if there is a sense of -- in Eastern Europe that Russia is using its oil
and gas as a political tool. Do you have any leverage on Russia and the
Kremlin in this field of energy security?

And if you allow, a second, more personal question.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, go ahead.

Q Just 18 months from now your second term expires. And very crucial events
happened during both your terms, and crucial decisions were taken here in
this building. What world and what future for this great country do you
envision in the next, say, 10 to 25 years from now?

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks. I do have -- I don't know, 19 months?

Q Eighteen.

THE PRESIDENT: Who's counting? (Laughter.) I'm going to sprint -- first
thing you've got to know about me is I'm going to sprint to the finish.
I've got a lot to do. And I'm going to work as hard as I can to get it
done. You've heard me talk about a lot of issues. We've got an engagement
in Iraq and Afghanistan; on HIV/AIDS and feeding the hungry; and dealing
with proliferation; and working on the environment. There's a lot to do, a
lot of big issues. A lot to do here at home, too -- keep taxes low; I'm a
tax cutter. I believe people ought to have more money in their pocket,
that's how you grow your economies. We're talking about health care; a big
education reform, and immigration reform.

There's a lot to do, and I don't have that much time to think beyond my
presidency. I'm occupied with the moment. That's the way -- I'll put a lot
of energy into the final 18 months, and give it my all. That's all you can
do in life is give it your best. That's what I'm going to do. I owe that to
the American people. I believe we're going to get a lot done, too.

My concern for America is that we never become an isolationist nation or a
protectionist nation. We've had those tendencies in the past. I'm not
suggesting that's where we are, but I am worried that that might happen at
some point in time. It's easy to say, well, the competition is too tough,
let's just not trade, or, it's too difficult to fight the terrorists, or,
it's too difficult to help advance democracy, let's just kind of retreat. I
think it would be a huge mistake for America. I would hope that 15 years
from now America still works with other nations to advance liberty.

I remind people about my Japanese friend, Prime Minister Koizumi, now Prime
Minister Abe, Shinzo Abe, a good guy. Isn't it interesting that the U.S.
President sits at the table with the Japanese Prime Minister to talk about
peace, and my father fought them, and they were the sworn enemy? And now
we're working together on peace. Same thing can happen if the United States
stays engaged and helps societies become free societies. Liberty has got an
amazing way of transforming enemies into friends. Same in Germany, in many
ways. We're allies. Angela Merkel and I are very close. I would hope the
United States would never lose site of that capacity.

And the other question?

Q About Russia, political --

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, the energy, yes. Here's the thing: You've got your
worries about supplies of energy, and so do I, where we get our energy
from. And, therefore, our strategy is to diversify. If you're interested in
reducing dependence on crude oil, then what you do is develop different
ways to power your automobiles. And so we're using corn to power our
automobiles. That way we don't have to use gasoline, and therefore use
crude oil, as a feedstock.

My goal is to make us nearly totally independent from foreign sources of
oil. And that ought to be the goal of a nation that worries from
sole-source supplier, that you ought to figure out different ways to do it.
How do you do it? Well, you can do it through nuclear technology, for
example; as opposed to using natural gas to power your electricity, use
nuclear technology. Hopefully, we can come with clean coal technologies so
that you can burn coal.

We need to do it in the United States. We've got about 250 years of coal
supply. Coal is a particular problem when it comes to pollution, we know
that. We spent about $2 billion -- $2 billion on your FutureGen plant,
clean coal technologies. We believe that we'll be able to develop a
coal-fired plant that has zero emissions. And when that technology comes to
fruition, if you can get yourself some coal, you've got your ability to
diversify away from sole-source supplier of energy.

And that's what technology is going to yield. I truly believe over the next
10 to 20 years you're going to see some amazing technological
breakthroughs. And I believe and hope that those technological
breakthroughs will make a lot of the discussions we're having here at the
beginning of the 21st century moot, relative to energy security and
environmental quality. I believe some of the discussions I have had with
you about battery technologies will be real. I don't know if you know this,
we're spending over a billion dollars on hydrogen technologies. We believe
that cars will be powered by hydrogen, which will obviously relieve
pressure on crude oil dependence. The emissions of hydrogen-driven
automobiles is going to be driblets of water, which will be good for the
environment.

And, you know, I would hope that mankind doesn't lose faith in the capacity
of technology to transform the way we live in positive ways. Here in
America, what's interesting is to watch some of the investment flows of
private capital. We're a system based upon private capital. And so I talked
about, in my speech today, about public capital investment, public tax
dollars going into research and development, over $12 billion over the
years that I've been President.

But there's enormous sums of money going into the private markets, as well,
because people see economic opportunity can be derived by new energy
technologies. And it's that synergy to be derived from public participation
and public policy, the declaration of a mandatory fuel standard coupled
with private sector investments that could yield breakthroughs.

And it's also healthy that there be competition. I like the idea that the
Japanese are pushing hard for battery technologies. I want our people
pushing hard for battery technologies. Competition is healthy. It yields
better product for consumers. It makes us all work more efficiently and
wiser in the end.

And so I'm an optimistic guy. I think when you look back 10 or 20 years
from now, you'll be amazed at what happens. And I'm excited to be a part of
it. I've got 18 more months to be a part of it here in this capacity. And
it's going to be an exciting 18 months.

Anyway, thank you for your time. Looking forward to seeing you over there.
Yes, enjoyed it. Good visit.

END 2:08 P.M. EDT
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