For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 30, 2003
Remarks by President Bush and President Uribe of Colombia in Photo Opportunity
The Oval Office
PRESIDENT BUSH: It's my honor to welcome to the Oval Office a
friend and courageous person, the President of Colombia. He is
determined to fight terror. He is determined to fight the flow of
narcotics to America. We appreciate his determination; we appreciate
his strength.
And so it's my honor to welcome you, Mr. President. Before I ask
you to speak, and before we answer two questions a side, I do want to
say that today we issued the road map. The road map is the beginning
of a long process to achieve peace in the Middle East. In order for
there to be a peace in the Middle East, it is important for all parties
to assume the necessary responsibilities to achieve the conditions so
that peace can happen. That starts with fighting off terror, to
prevent killers from disrupting that which most citizens want in the
Middle East, and that is a peaceful, hopeful world.
I strongly condemn the killings that take place in the Middle East
-- in the last couple of days. I applaud the words of Abu Mazen, the
new Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, who renounced that
terror. I look forward to spending time and energies to move the
process forward.
And finally, Mr. President, you're here on a day in which our
country has achieved another notable success in the war against
terror. The Pakistan authorities have detained Waleed ba Attash. He's
a killer. He was one of the top al Qaeda operatives. And he was right
below Khalid Sheik Mohammed on the organizational chart of al Qaeda.
He is one less person that people who love freedom have to worry
about.
I want to thank our friends in Pakistan. I want to thank the
Agency, the CIA, for working hard to continue to win the war against
terror. And make no mistake about it, Mr. President, we will win the
war against terror.
Thank you for your courageous fight in the war against terror, and
welcome to the Oval Office.
PRESIDENT URIBE: Thank you, Mr. President, for your warm welcome.
This is very important for my country. Colombia has suffered terrorism
for a long time. Thus, Colombia understands the need to fight
terrorism in our country and in other -- in any other country. And
your government, your people, your country, they are our best allies
for us to succeed in our fight.
Thank you again, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.
We'll have one -- we'll alternate questions between the American
side and the Colombian side. Tom.
Q Mr. President, even as the new Palestinian cabinet was sworn
in, there was a terror attack and the suicide bomber was linked to Mr.
Abbas' own party. How much confidence do you have that the new Prime
Minister can control, can reign in these people?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, for certain, in order for there to be peace,
we must all join together to fight off terror. Abu Mazen has publicly
declared that he will fight terror. He understands that in order for
the Palestinian lives to improve terror must be battled.
Listen, he's a man I can work with. And I look forward to working
with him, and will work with him, for the sake of peace, and for the
sake of security.
Do you want to call on one of your reporters?
PRESIDENT URIBE: Half of my cabinet are made of women.
PRESIDENT BUSH: No, I'm very impressed by that. (Laughter.) Not
only that, but they're very smart women.
Q -- Mr. President.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.
Q Mr. President, people in Colombia, we want to know how
difficult is to sign a bilateral trade agreement with Colombia. Is
that going to be done?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, we've got a lot of work to do. The
President and I look forward to discussing trade. One thing that is
for certain is we've started down the road on a free trade agreement
through the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, which I'm absolutely
confident will boost the capacity of the Colombian economy to grow.
And so we'll work -- we'll talk about all aspects of trade,
including the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, which, in my
judgment, is the most hopeful trade agreement there is. We've got all
kinds of different opportunities to work together, whether it be in
trade or counter-narcotics, or fighting terror. And we will stand as a
strong friend and supporter of the Colombian people as they take on
difficult tasks.
Steve.
Q Sir, previous Middle East peace initiatives haven't been all
that successful. What's different about this time?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, just because history has proven to be
unsuccessful doesn't mean that we're not going to try, for starters.
I'm an optimist. I believe now that we have a interlocutor from the
Palestinian Authority that has spoken clearly about the need to fight
terror, that we have a good opportunity to advance the peace process.
And I will seize the opportunity.
Secondly, the war on Iraq has made it absolutely clear that those
who harbor terrorists, fund terrorists, or harbor weapons of mass
destruction will be held to account. That, in itself, helps create the
conditions to move peace forward.
And, by the way, in order for peace to occur, all parties must
assume their responsibilities. That includes the Arab nations which
surround Israel and the potential Palestinian state. They must cut off
funding to terrorists. They must create the conditions necessary for
peace. Israel is going to have to make some sacrifices in order to
move the peace process forward. But no sacrifice should be made that
will allow and encourage terror to continue and reign.
Q Mr. Bush, more than 500 terrorists from the FARC have handed
themselves -- . We're wondering if the United States government would
be willing at some point to help reinsert into society these terrorists
that have now handed themselves --
PRESIDENT BUSH: To help in what fashion? I didn't get your
question.
Q -- to reinsert to the civil society --
PRESIDENT BUSH: To bring what to the civil society? I'm sorry.
Q To reinsert themselves, to go back to civil --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Oh, to help them go back into civil society?
Q Yes.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, some terrorists are just plain cold-blooded
killers. They're hard to retrain, somebody who is a killer. And we
-- it's going to be -- the President is going to have to make that
decision, what's best for his country. All I know is the man is
absolutely committed to fighting terror. For that, I appreciate it.
He has got a straightforward, strong vision about what has to happen to
people who are willing to kill innocent people. And that is, they must
be dealt with severely.
And it's interesting, we share the same strategy. When al Qaeda
came and killed Americans, there's only one way to deal with them.
That was to hunt them down, find them and bring them to justice. And
as I mentioned, today we found one of the al Qaeda leaders. It was a
major, significant find, his detention. And the war goes on. It takes
a while. We must be patient and strong and diligent and focused.
And the President of Colombia is diligent, strong and focused. He
knows what he must do to make Colombia, a great nation, more safe and
more secure against people who, in my opinion, are nothing but
terrorists.
PRESIDENT URIBE: Regarding this point, we have only one
determination, to defeat terrorists in Colombia. When you look at the
people in the terror organizations, you find the ringleaders, you find
professional killers, and you find young people mistakenly led by
professional killers. Therefore, we have the obligation to defeat
terrorists, and the duty, the obligation to give those young people the
opportunity to come to live under our Constitution again.
We are telling them, you have the opportunity to follow the
ringleaders of the terror organizations, or you have the opportunity to
come to live in our community with the respect of our Constitution.
For those who make, who choose this option, we are ready to give them a
new opportunity.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.
Q -- (inaudible.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Never can tell what's going to kick in -- the
urge. (Laughter.)
END 5:33 P.M. EDT
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