President Meets with Amir of Qatar
Remarks by the President and the Amir of Qatar in Photo Opportunity
The Oval Office
11:56 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: It's my honor to welcome the Amir of Qatar to the
Oval Office. The Amir has shown great leadership. He has led his
country to join in a vast coalition to make the world more peaceful, to
make the world more free.
Mr. Amir, you made some promises to America and you kept your
promises. We're honored to call you friend. We appreciate your
steadfast support.
The Amir also has served as a strong example of what is possible in
his part of the world. He is a reformer. He's promoted a new
constitution, which allows women to vote. He's promoted women into his
cabinet. He is a strong leader. He believes strongly in education, an
educated populous is one more likely to realize their dreams.
So, Your Highness, it's such an honor to have you here and I
welcome you, and I want to thank you for your friendship.
THE AMIR: Thank you. I would like to thank the President very
much for his gracious invitation for me to come and meet with him here
at the White House. We in Qatar are very keen to have a very unique
and strong and distinct relationship with the United States, a
relationship that it is transparent.
Our military relationship is very good, we are very committed with
the United States regarding every agreement that we have signed to
fulfill our part.
We are also so grateful for the United States, because it is
helping Qatar in the areas of education and economics and economic
development. And in Qatar we welcome all American corporations who are
willing to come and invest in Qatar.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Sir. Kyle.
Q Mr. President, there are reports this morning that Iran may
be pursuing or accelerating its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Is this of
a concern to you, particularly as you are also trying to deal with a
similar situation in North Korea?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I've always expressed my concerns, that of
the Iranians may be developing a nuclear program -- I have done so
publicly, I have done so privately. As you may recall, I expressed
those concerns to Vladimir Putin, when I went to Russia. And as I
understand, the IAEA is coming out with a report in June and we'll wait
and see what it says.
But one of the things we must do is work together to stop the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It is a major issue that
faces the world and it's an issue in which the United States will still
lead.
Stretch -- you're not Stretch.
Q Mr. President, I know you support our women in the military,
but sometimes female prisoners of war are treated worse than males. Is
it time to review the Clinton era rule change that puts women into
combat situations?
THE PRESIDENT: I will take guidance from the United States
military, our commanders will make those decisions. I will tell you
this, when I was on the USS Abraham Lincoln, I met two women pilots
-- I would have just have been happy to have one of those pilots me on
that carrier as the guy, as Loose flew me on the carrier.
But in terms of whether or not, you know, the configuration of our
force and who ought to be fighting where, that's going to be up to the
generals. That's how we run our -- that's how we run our business
here in the White House. We set the strategy and we rely upon our
military to make the judgments necessary to achieve the strategy.
Q Mr. President, can you live with a scaled-back tax cut on
dividends the Senate is talking about now?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, the question is will the
Congress respond in a bold enough way to help people who are looking
for work find a job. That's the fundamental question Congress ought to
ask.
Q What do you think of this compromise --
THE PRESIDENT: And I continually remind people that I want
something strong enough so people can work. And I will continue
reminding Congress that they have a responsibility to listen to the
voices of those who are unemployed. I certainly have heard those
voices, and you'll see me next week continuing to take that message out
to the country.
Holland, and the last question.
Q Secretary Powell is going to the Middle East this weekend.
Are you seeing any progress at all on the road map? The violence seems
to be going --
THE PRESIDENT: That was supposed to be a dramatic announcement for
my speech tomorrow at the University of South Carolina: I hereby send
Secretary Powell to the Middle East -- it doesn't sound like it's
that dramatic anymore. (Laughter.) You've jumped the gun on me.
Q Sorry, sir. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: That's all right, it's your job. That's your job.
Q Have you seen any --
THE PRESIDENT: Of course we're going to make progress. Yes, we'll
make progress; absolutely. And the reason why we'll make progress is
that the Palestinian Authority has now got a leader in the Prime
Minister who has renounced violence. And he said he wants to work with
us to make the area more secure. He understands what we know, that a
peace process will proceed if and when there is a concerted effort to
fight violence.
So one of the things I'll be talking to His Highness about
-- who, by the way, is very active in this process -- is how do
we work with the Arab world to encourage the Arab world to assume its
responsibilities of stopping the funding of terror and to working with
the Palestinian Authority to encourage the habits of democracy and
freedom with the Palestinian Authority.
So I'm very optimistic. That's why I'm sending Secretary Powell
there -- a secret which is no longer a secret. (Laughter.)