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Skriven 2007-06-25 23:31:02 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (070625) for Mon, 2007 Jun 25
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President Bush Welcomes President Ilves of Estonia to the White House
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 25, 2007

President Bush Welcomes President Ilves of Estonia to the White House Oval
Office

˙ /news/releases/2007/06/20070625.wm.v.html ˙˙Presidential Remarks
˙˙Audio


11:49 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BUSH: We'll make statements only today.

Mr. President, welcome. It is a high honor to welcome President Ilves to
the Oval Office. He is the President of a country which has emerged from
some really dark days. And having been in Estonia, I can report to my
fellow citizens that people now see the light of day, and see a better
future because of the form of government that's changed. President Ilves is
a very strong advocate for democracy and the marketplace, and as a result,
his country is thriving and doing well. And so we welcome you.

I thank you very much for your voice, heard very clearly, for those who
suffer under tyrannical societies, and that is, is that freedom is a
precious gift to all and that democracy and societies based upon liberty
are the best way to not only enable people to realize their talents, but to
lay the foundation for peace. And along these lines, Estonia has been a
very strong friend to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. These young
democracies are fighting off extremists.

I briefed the President today about my conversation with the Prime Minister
of Iraq, as well as our conversations with David Petraeus and Ambassador
Crocker. Today, once again, we saw the brutality that extremists can
inflict upon societies when a suicider killed innocent people who were
working toward reconciliation. All the more reason, Mr. President, for us
to remain firm and strong as we stand for this young democracy -- these
young democracies.

The people of Estonia paid a high price. You lost -- I know you lost two
soldiers in Afghanistan recently, and our thoughts and prayers go to the
families and the people of Estonia. We thank you for your sacrifice and
just want you to know that we're committed to working hard to make sure
that we succeed -- and we succeed for the sake of peace for generations to
come.

We talked about a lot of other interesting subjects, as well. Of course,
the President pushed me very hard on visas. I readily concede there's an
inconsistency in our policy where the people of Estonia are treated
differently from other people inside Europe -- even though the people of
Estonia are making great sacrifices for the cause of democracy and liberty
alongside with U.S. forces. And to this end, Mr. President, I will continue
to pursue with Congress a modernization of the visa program. I thank you
for bringing it up and, frankly, I don't blame you for bringing it up.

We also talked about an interesting subject, and one that I can learn a lot
about, and that is the cyber attack that makes us all vulnerable. Estonia
recently went through a wave of cyber attacks. And this President, one,
understands the issue well; two, has got some ideas, including a NATO
center of excellence in Estonia to deal with this issue. And I really want
to thank you for your leadership, and thank you for your clear
understanding of the dangers that that imposes not only on your country,
but mine and others, as well.

But I'm dealing with a man who is a clear thinker, he speaks with moral
authority and moral clarity, and he's a voice for reason and hope around
the world. And we're proud to welcome you here to the Oval Office.

PRESIDENT ILVES: Thank you very much, President Bush. It is great to be
back here, to be in the United States, a strong ally of my country, a
country that has been with Estonians throughout the Cold War, supporting
Estonia's desires for democracy and for independence, and even in the
darkest of times, and since the reestablishment of our independence, has
been with us all along as a very strong partner, strong supporter of our
membership in NATO; a country that, whenever things have been tough for us,
has stood with us. And it's one reason why Estonia is a strong ally of the
United States.

I'm grateful for President Bush's position, which I did push him hard on,
on the visa issue. It is something of concern in Estonia, but I think all
the other new members of NATO, the ones who are -- who have been very good
allies in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and our people don't always understand
why it is that those countries that have been the strongest supporters of
the United States find it often the most difficult to come for vacation.
But that -- I think that is an issue which is more in the hands of
Congress, and we hope that Congress will resolve this.

We did, in fact, suffer a series of attacks on our computer infrastructure.
It is a serious issue if your most important computer systems go down in a
country like mine, where 97 percent of bank transactions are done on the
Internet. When you are a highly interneted country like we are, then these
kinds of attacks can do very serious damage. And I do think it's the wave
of the future -- not that it's a good wave, but it is something that we
have to deal with more and more.

We know that the United States and Israel and Denmark have come under cyber
attack before, and I think that it's an issue that will require much more
attention in the future. And I'm very happy that two countries that are
very vast in terms of information technology can work together on these
issues.

So I think that -- well, for me, it's been -- it's a very good visit. And I
know that President Bush has a busy schedule, but I do hope that when his
term in office is up, that you will come to my ranch -- which is a lot
smaller than yours. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you all for coming.

END 11:55 A.M. EDT
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