President Bush, PM Berlusconi Discuss Iraq and War on Terrorism
Remarks by the President and Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi in Press Availability
Prairie Chapel Ranch
Crawford, Texas
11:13 A.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for coming. I'm honored to host my friend, the
Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi. It's such an honor for us
to welcome -- I say "us," Laura welcomes him, as well as I, to our
ranch.
We welcome the Prime Minister as a good friend, and he represents a
country which is a strong ally to America. Welcome.
THE PRIME MINISTER: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank him for being such a gracious host
during our trips overseas, and we're really pleased to return the
hospitality.
Last year, on America's Memorial Day, Prime Minister Berlusconi
visited an American military cemetery in Italy to honor our service
members who gave their lives defending freedom in Europe. His actions
touched me, personally. He understands the history and the values that
our two countries share. The people of the United States and Italy love
freedom. And we know that freedom must be defended.
We also understand that defending freedom requires cost and
sacrifice. And the United States is grateful for Italy's willingness to
bear the burdens with us. Italy and America stood together through
nearly a half a century of Cold War. Over the past decade, we have
stood together against oppression and hatred in the Balkans. And in the
months since September the 11th, 2001, Italy and America have stood
side-by-side against tyranny and global terror.
The war on terror continues. We will see it through to victory.
Global terrorist networks are a threat to America, to Italy, and to all
peaceful nations. And we are disrupting and destroying those networks.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a threat to
America, to Italy and to all peaceful nations.
We will persevere until that threat is removed. Radicalism and
ideologies of hatred are a threat to America, to Italy and to all
peaceful nations. And we are determined to spread liberty and progress
and hope. My country is especially grateful to the Italian troops and
police who are serving with skill and courage in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Our efforts to work for freedom and stability in these countries and
throughout the entire region are an integral part of the war on terror.
And we will make both our nations safer and advance the peace of the
world.
The Prime Minister and I are both encouraged by signs of progress
toward a great goal in the Middle East. Two states, Palestine and
Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security. Both Prime Minister
Abbas and Prime Minister Sharon are showing leadership and courage. Now
it is time for governments across the Middle East to support the
efforts of these two men by fighting terror in all its forms. This
includes the governments of Syria and Iran. Their behavior is -- today,
Syria and Iran continue to harbor and assist terrorists. This behavior
is completely unacceptable and states that support terror will be held
accountable.
Supporting and harboring terrorists undermines the prospects for
peace in the Middle East, and betrays the true interests of the
Palestinian people. Terrorism is the greatest obstacle to the
emergence of a Palestinian state. And all leaders who seek this goal
have an obligation to back up their words in real actions against
terror. And leaders who are interested in a peaceful solution in the
Middle East must support the efforts of Prime Minister Abbas to build a
democratic Palestine and ease the hardships faced by the Palestinian
people.
The Prime Minister and I are in complete agreement that Europe and
America are both more secure and more effective when we act together.
I'm pleased that Prime Minister Berlusconi is now serving as the
President of the European Union. And I'm confident that under his
leadership of the EU, Europe and America will continue to meet the
great challenges before us.
Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your leadership, your wise
counsel and your friendship, and welcome to Crawford, Texas.
PRIME MINISTER BERLUSCONI: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for
hosting me and thank you for inviting me here to visit a country which
I love very much, to talk about our common concerns, that is freedom,
democracy and justice and development.
Thank you very much for welcoming me in your home, making me feel
as a member of your family. Please let me say so, this is again a
chance for me to talk to you and tell you about the gratitude I have,
the gratitude I, personally, have, my country has for you, for a
country which allowed us to enjoy our freedom and our welfare and
well-being and to enjoy all of this.
This morning I attended one of your meetings, work meetings and I
was strongly impressed by the burden of responsibilities that you take
on yourself, and on your country. And I really thought that it was
extremely important for the citizens in the West to know with what
attention and care, and with what spirit of sacrifice and generosity
the United States and its President follow the developments all over
the world, which might bring about danger and threat and hurt, any
country in the world.
He already mentioned the topics we discussed in our meeting, and
already said that we have a common vision on all of these issues, with
no exception. I'll go back to Italy and Europe with a belief, which I
already had, but which was strengthened by my visit here.
My belief is that we really need to support and develop the culture
of union and cohesion, and certainly not nurture the culture of
division. Selfishness, narcissism and division shall never win. We
need to revive the huge strength of cohesion. And this has to be a
vital force, able to plan and build something. And this is the message
which I'm going to bring back to my European allies as President of the
European Union.
Once again, thank you, Mr. President, for the friendship of your
people to my country and for your personal friendship and esteem.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir. Before the Prime Minister and I take
a tour of the ranch, we'll answer a couple of questions.
Q Mr. President, a mortar shell has hit the U.S. embassy in
Liberia. The U.S. has sent a contingent of Marines there to protect its
interests. What about the civilians being killed? There were some
civilians dragged in front of the embassy this morning. Sir, my
question is, can the U.S. stand by and watch the violence spiral out of
control, and what about sending U.S. peacekeepers?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you're right, we just sent a group of troops
in to protect our interests, and we're concerned about our people in
Liberia. We'll continue to monitor the situation very closely. We're
working with the United Nations to affect policy necessary to get the
cease fire back in place. We are working with ECOWAS to determine when
they will be prepared to move in the peacekeeper troops that I have
said we'll be willing to help move in to Liberia. We're monitoring the
situation very carefully.
You call on somebody.
THE PRIME MINISTER: Prego.
Q The question, if possible, could be answered by both of you --
that is, the situation in Iraq. Did you discuss the possibility of
having Italian troops taking over and replacing the -- taking over the
peacekeeping operations and taking over from the U.S. military? And did
you talk about reconstruction of Iraq? And did you also mention the
possibility that countries which did not participate in the coalition
can have the same role and same share in the reconstruction of Iraq?
THE PRESIDENT: No, we didn't talk about Italy replacing the United
States as peacekeepers. Yes, we did discuss how to broaden the
coalition to bring more security to Iraq.
It's very important for our citizens of both countries to
understand that this extension of hostility is really a part of the war
to liberate Iraq. There are people in Iraq who hate the thought of
freedom. There are Saddam apologists who want to try to stay in power
through terrorist activity. And I explained to the Prime Minister,
we're patient, we're strong, we're resolute and we will see this matter
through.
And, obviously, the more help we can get, the more we appreciate
it. And we are continuing to work with other nations to ask their help
advice. But we appreciate the leadership of the Prime Minister.
Secondly, the answer to your question about reconstruction efforts,
the answer is, who can do the best job for the Iraqi people? The
reconstruction effort shouldn't be viewed as a political exercise. It
shouldn't be viewed as an international grab bag. It shouldn't be
viewed as a special opportunity.
The answer to your question is, how best to improve the lives of
the Iraqi people, how best to quickly establish electricity and clean
water and hospitals and schools, all the things necessary for a free
society to develop. And so if that can be -- if that question can be
answered positively by somebody who didn't necessarily agree with the
decision, that's fine. We're interested -- mostly interested in the
Iraqi people.
Adam.
Q Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Do you want to answer that, sir?
PRIME MINISTER BERLUSCONI: No, no, I completely share what the
President just said.
THE PRESIDENT: Then why don't you ask the Prime Minister a question
so he can answer a question.
Q Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Adam.
Q New evidence suggests North Korea may have built a second, secret
site to process plutonium. How concerned are you? Are you going to let
this stand? Also, are you still hopeful of making progress in talks
through the Chinese?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I appreciate you bringing up the latter,
because I do believe we can solve this issue diplomatically by
encouraging the neighborhood -- the Chinese, the South Koreans and the
Japanese to join us with a single voice that says to Mr. Kim Chong-il,
a decision to develop a nuclear arsenal is one that will alienate you
from the rest of the world.
The desire by the North Koreans to convince the world that they're
in the process of developing a nuclear arsenal is nothing new. We've
known that for a while. And, therefore, we must continue to work with
the neighborhood to convince Kim Chong-il that his decision is an
unwise decision. And we will do just that.
Q Would you accept a new United Nation resolution about Iraq? You
know that some countries are asking.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we're in close consultation with the U.N. We
believe that 1483 empowers countries to make a proper decision to get
involved in Iraq. Let me talk about the U.N. in relations to Iraq in
general. Mr. deMello is doing a very fine job. He is working very
closely with Bremer. They've got a fine relationship. And that bodes
well for future discussions. Fourteen eighty-three is a very strong
resolution and a very adequate resolution.
But we're constantly in touch with U.N. officials. And Kofi Annan
was in my office the other day, discussing a lot of different issues.
And one of the issues was Iraq. The more people involved in Iraq, the
better off we will be. And that's exactly what our intention is, to
encourage people to participate in the -- making Iraq more secure and
more free. A free Iraq is a crucial part of winning the war on terror.
And now I'm going to go see to it that the Prime Minister is well
fed. We're going to feed him some chicken.
Thank you, sir. I appreciate it very much. Thank you, all.