PRESIDENT BUSH: It's my honor to welcome a friend of
mine and a friend of our country, the President of Spain, to the White
House. Jose Maria was on the phone early, right after
September the 11th. He assured me that he would cooperate in
any way possible in our mutual desire to fight terror. And
he has lived up to his word, and for that, I am grateful.
I asked nations to join us in bringing people to justice who are
evil, who don't respect the law. And this President
responded. Recently, Spain has arrested al Qaeda members and
has shared information about those al Qaeda members. And
it's incredibly helpful. And for that, Mr. President, the
American people are very grateful. And in our meetings today
I assured the President that our nation would help Spain in any way
possible to fight terror. And Mr. President, you've got that
assurance.
So it's a great honor -- un honor para mi para decir a mi amigo,
bienvenidos a los Estados Unidos.
PRESIDENT AZNAR: Dear President Bush, may I thank you
for your invitation. It is, indeed, a great honor and
tremendous satisfaction for me to visit the White House.
We have very fond memories of the visit that you made to us in
Spain last June. And we recall your commitment and your
words of support to Spain's fight against terrorism. And,
several months later, we have managed to see this solidarity, this
alliance is a two-way alliance.
Spain supports, has supported, and will support all the United
States' efforts to track down, to eradicate and to eliminate terrorism
wherever it may be worldwide. We intend to maintain and, if
necessary, strengthen our political commitment, our cooperation in the
area of intelligence and security and information-sharing, and, if need
be, to commit military forces to that battle.
Our battle is a battle for the same ideas, for the same freedoms,
for the same society and civilizations, and we will share all those
efforts as long as is necessary to combat --. The only fate
that awaits terrorists is defeat, and the only option for terrorists is
going to be brought to justice.
Thank you.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Tenemos hambre, y por esso, solamente
quatros preguntas. Dos de la prensa de la Estados Unidos,
dos de la prensa de Espana, por favor. Four questions, two
from the American press, two from Spanish press, because we're hungry
-- we've got a big meal. (Laughter.)
Q Yes, sir. Do you support
suspending the payroll tax as a compromise on the stimulus?
PRESIDENT BUSH: The question is do I support providing a
credit on the payroll tax?
Q Correct.
PRESIDENT BUSH: The Domenici idea in the
Senate? Here's what I support. I support the
Senate coming together and getting a bill moving as quickly as
possible, so that we can get it to conference and get the differences
resolved. The Senate must pass a stimulus
package. The American people expect them to do so; I expect
them to do so.
I had a good conversation today with Senator Daschle and Senator
Lott on this very subject, and urged them to get the business done --
get the appropriations bills passed, to get a stimulus package passed,
and then go home and enjoy the Christmas vacation. And I
hope they do so. There are differences, but the differences
aren't that big. Any good package must be stimulative in
effect, and at the same time take care of displaced workers. There's
agreement on that. They just now have got to work out the
details, and I hope they're able to do so.
Q Mr. President, according to The New York
Times, 13 Spanish nationals are being held in the United States in
relation to the attacks on the Twin Towers. Did you speak
about that to President Bush?
PRESIDENT AZNAR: No.
Q Mr. President, how can you assure the
American people safety in the skies, given that your Transportation
Secretary now thinks it may be impossible to meet that initial deadline
for screening baggage?
PRESIDENT BUSH: David, we're doing everything we can to
meet the deadline. And we're doing everything we can to make
sure that the American people feel safe. And one way we're
doing it is to have Guardsmen at the airports over the Christmas
holidays. Another way to do it is to have the planes full of
air marshals. And finally, obviously, we need to expedite
the ability for us to inspect baggage, and we're doing everything we
can to do that.
Q Did you discuss the military tribunals
with regard to extradition --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Military tribunals was the question.
PRESIDENT AZNAR: I said at the beginning of this press
conference that political cooperation between Spain and the United
States is full on this issue. And I just reiterate that, and
also say that cooperation between the United States and Spain, Spain
and the United States, is also full as regards Spain's own terrorism
problem. And I think that is the most important point to
bear in mind.
You asked about the extradition of the al Qaeda members in
Spain. Can I just say that if and when the United States
requests that extradition, we will study the issue. Can I
also say that the United States is free to organize its own
jurisdiction as it sees fit, as a free and democratic
country. Any action taken on the extradition issue will be
taken with full respect of Spanish and United States law.
We are also working on this issue at the European Union level, and
we do hope to reach agreement on that issue in the very near future.