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Skriven 2004-11-10 23:33:46 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0411106) for Wed, 2004 Nov 10
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Remarks by President Bush and NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 10, 2004

Remarks by President Bush and NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer
The Oval Office



2:52 P.M. EST

PRESIDENT BUSH: It's my honor to welcome the Secretary General of NATO to
the Oval Office. This is the first meeting I've had since my reelection
with a leader from overseas. I'm proud you're the person, Secretary
General, because, first of all, I've got a very close personal
relationship. I've come to admire his leadership and his fortitude. And
secondly, my nation is committed to a strong and vibrant NATO.

NATO is playing a very constructive role in Afghanistan. Today we had a
chance to revisit one of the great moments of modern history, when millions
of people went to the polls to vote for a President in a country that had
been ruled by the Taliban only three years ago. And we were rejoicing in
the fact that the first voter was a 19-year-old woman. And NATO is playing
a very active role in Afghanistan.

And NATO is playing a role in helping to train Iraqi citizens so that they
can become the people that defend their country against those who are
trying to stop freedom. And I want to thank you for that, Mr. Secretary
General. We talked about the need to make sure NATO is relevant, that NATO
is constructed in a way that is not only effective, but one that continues
to foster free societies and democracy around the world.

And I thank you for your vision and your commitment. Welcome to the Oval
Office.

SECRETARY GENERAL de HOOP SCHEFFER: Thank you very much. Well, thank you
very much, Mr. President. The fact that I am sitting here now in the Oval
Office, as the first foreign visitor, is the best proof, I think, for the
full commitment of the United States of America and this President Bush to
NATO. And that's of the utmost importance, because NATO is the unique
transatlantic forum where everything we have, the big challenges of the
world we are facing in the world today should be discussed. And NATO is the
only organization which can deliver.

We delivered, as the President said, in Afghanistan. Less burkas and more
ballot boxes -- that's what it's all about. We are delivering in Kosovo. We
are delivering by setting up a training implementation mission in Iraq.
There is no second forum, there's no second organization in the world like
NATO, where 26 democracies are defending values: democracy, respect for
human rights, freedom of religion, and all those basic values which are at
the heart of all these 26 societies.

And it gives me pleasure to have the full support -- I knew that already,
of course -- to have the full support of President Bush for this endeavor.
Of course, I think NATO has a very challenging agenda, and I'll make sure
that we can deliver -- NATO can deliver, that we can face all those
challenges successfully.

Thank you so much, and it's a great pleasure to be here in the Oval Office
once again.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Welcome back.

We'll be glad to answer a couple of questions. Scott, why don't you start
it off.

Q Thanks, Mr. President. In June, 2002, you urged the Palestinian people to
replace Yasser Arafat with a leader, in your words, not compromised by
terror. Arafat today is gravely ill. In fact, Palestinians have already
selected his successor. Do you see a new opening for peace here?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I do. There will be an opening for peace when leadership of
the Palestinian people steps forward and says, help us build a democratic
and free society. And when that happens -- and I believe it's going to
happen, because I believe all people desire to live in freedom -- the
United States of America will be more than willing to help build the
institutions necessary for a free society to emerge, so that the
Palestinians can have their own state. The vision is two states, a
Palestinian state and Israel, living side by side in peace. And I think
we've got a chance to do that. And I look forward to being involved in that
process.

Adam.

Q Mr. President, today you met with your Secretary of State. Do you want
him to stick around to lead your efforts to revive the Middle East peace
talks?

THE PRESIDENT: I'm proud of my Secretary of State, he's done a heck of a
good job.

Heidi.

Q Yes, sir. Can elections in Iraq be free and fair without the
participation of Sunnis? And you've also said you'll give the commanders in
Iraq what they need. Does this mean that you're open to substantially
increasing the level of troops?

THE PRESIDENT: That is a loaded question, and I don't blame you for asking
it. The commanders on the ground will have that which they need, and they
have yet to say, we need a substantial number of troops. As a matter of
fact, I met with the commanders on the ground today -- General Casey and he
-- a commander on the ground, General Casey, the commander on the ground.
And he said that things are going well in Fallujah and they're making very
good progress in securing that country.

But I haven't changed -- the job of the Commander-in-Chief is to set the
strategy and to set the direction of policy and say to those who are in
charge of implementing the policy, you'll have that which you need. And I
have said that ever since we've begun operations in Iraq; I said it when we
began operations in Afghanistan. And it's still true. And if the commanders
were to bring forth a request, I would look at it -- I would listen to it
very seriously and implement the request. They have yet to do so.

Q Do you need Sunni participation to make the elections free and fair?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm confident when people realize that there's a
chance to vote on a President, they will participate. People want to be
free. This is tough right now in Iraq because there are people that are
willing to commit violent acts to stop elections. But as I reminded our
citizens prior to the Afghanistan elections, there's a deep desire in every
soul to vote and to be free, and to participate in the presidential
elections -- which is precisely what happened in Afghanistan, in spite of
the doubt of some, and in spite of the violence that took place in
Afghanistan prior to the vote. I believe that a lot of citizens in Iraq
will want to vote for their leaders. And I believe that because I believe
deep in everybody's soul is a desire to be free.

Thank you all.

END 2:59 P.M. EST
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