For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 16, 2003
Roundtable Interview of the President with Asian Print Journalists
The Roosevelt Room
October 14, 2003
9:40 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: I'll make an opening statement, we'll go around,
and see how many times we can make it around.
First, I'm really looking forward to this trip. It is a long trip,
and it is an important trip. It is a chance for me to say thanks to a
lot of nations for cooperating with America, for being friends with
America, for working with America to achieve common objectives. It's a
chance to strengthen alliances, long-standing alliances. Alliances are
important, an important part of our foreign policy. Together we can
accomplish a lot of important objectives -- no more important objective
than continuing to fight terror.
It's going to be an important part of my discussions with each
leader, to renew our efforts to find those who would kill innocent
people and bring them to justice, disrupt cells, cut off financing,
prevent the catastrophes that have taken place, that have taken
innocent life from happening again. That's really our call. And I go
with a strong determination to continue to work with the leaders and to
fight terror. And it's very important for them to look at me and
listen to me, because my determination is just as strong today as it
was on September the 12th, 2001.
Secondly, I'm looking forward to talking about economic matters. I
will tell our friends that things are looking up for the U.S. economy,
but that there's more work to be done. And one of the key components
of economic growth in America and job creation here, as well as job
creation with our friends, is a trade policy that opens markets and at
the same time recognizes that what we call a level playing field is
prevalent; that trade must be free and it must, at the same time, be a
fair policy, that people on both sides of any trade equation ought to
be treated fairly.
I'll bring up the WTO, of course, it's a missed opportunity. I'll
talk about free trade agreements with friends. We've just completed
one with Singapore. There will be other trade agreements that we'll
discuss. But a key component of -- a key part of this trip is going to
be the discussion about mutually beneficial economic policy.
And, finally, an important part of the trip is for me to talk about
the values of freedom and democracy, and to herald the moderate Islamic
movements in certain countries, as their being a very important part of
a hopeful society; that those movements are willing to participate in
the democratic traditions of their respective countries. And one of
the things that we stand for in this country is democracy, and I will
remind people about those values. It's those shared values with some
of our friends that have caused us to take very decisive action in the
world, not only for world security, but for freedom. It's an important
shared value, and I look forward to speaking to the legislative bodies,
the parliaments, and express my deep appreciation, as well as our
mutual shared goals of freedom and peace and opportunity.
So, listen, thanks for coming. I'll be glad to answer some
questions. We'll start with Paul John.
Q Looking at the alliance between Australia and the United
States, Mr. President, how important is Australia to America as an
ally? And, given the war on terrorism, do you think that this
alliance, that this relationship is likely to become more important in
the future?
THE PRESIDENT: I would put -- I would say that the alliance
between America and Australia is a critical alliance. And the reason I
say so is that Australia has got a keen understanding of the
relationship between good, strong, decisive action and security, and a
relationship between freedom and peace.
And it's a very important connection and very important mutual
understanding that helps us -- "us" being all of us -- take the action
necessary to make the world more peaceful. So I call it a critical
alliance.
I found that John Howard was a visionary person, who was able to
see kind of beyond the immediate noise inherent in a democracy, and
could see the future and realize that sometimes difficult decisions
will yield short-term issues, but long-term success. And I appreciate
that vision. And it says to me that many in Australia share that, as
well. He's got good standing with the people. And, therefore, when I
go to Australia I'll be speaking to a country which does understand the
consequences of sacrificing for something greater than themselves.
And, yes, the alliance in this relationship is going to be critical
in the future because the war on terror goes on. See, John Howard
understands that. And it's important to have friends and allies who
understand that the war on terror is a long-term issue that requires
decisive action and close cooperation. And so I go to Australia with a
great deal of gratitude and respect. I look forward to speaking at the
Parliament; I look forward, of course, having -- breaking bread with my
friend. He's a good guy, he's a very strong leader.
Q Of course, we've just commemorated the 12-month anniversary
of the Bali bombing.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q How concerned are you about terrorism in Southeast Asia,
about the links that have been established there? And what role do you
think that Australia should be playing in this? To what extent do you
see a leadership role for Australia in combating regional terrorism?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, there's no question that Southeast Asia has
seen its share of violence from terrorist activities. That's why one
of the key agenda items on my trip is to discuss terror, and to remind
people that we're dealing with cold-blooded killers, people who just
take innocent life in order to create and instill a sense of fear.
They want people to be afraid and they want governments to take
action.
The great thing about the Australians is they're not afraid.
Howard knows that -- Prime Minister Howard knows that one of the
tactics of the terrorists is to create the conditions so that people
say, well, let's withdraw and let them have their way. And, therefore,
the relationship in Southeast Asia is an important relationship
because, starting first and foremost, with the strength of John Howard
and the Australian people. The Australians know firsthand what it
means to be attacked without impunity or without care. And I remind
our people in our country that, yes, September the 11th was devastating
here, but there have been other victims, including the victims in
Bali.
And John has played a very important role. And there's a lot of
things that we must continue to do together and that's part of the
purpose of my trip. First of all, we've got to identify who these
people are, which requires good, smart intelligence gathering, and the
Australians are good at that. Secondly, it means that we've got to
work to cut off funding. When we find cells in respective countries
that are utilizing the international finance system to move money,
we've got to collectively cut off money. John Howard knows that. And
then we've got to have the capacity to move, and work with other
governments to bring these killers to justice. And the Australians are
very good at that, as well.
And so there's a major role to be played in this war on terror. It
starts with the mentality, though, Paul John, it starts with a
recognition about what is possible and what is needed. And the Prime
Minister has shown that, as has the Parliament. And that's one of the
key things I'm going to talk about when I go to Australia.
Yes, sir. Rikard.
Q Yes. Indonesia is a moderate country, but the campaign
against terrorism has invited much controversy between a small minority
of militant groups and the more dominant militant groups -- moderate
groups.
THE PRESIDENT: Moderate groups, yes.
Q The problem is that the militants have big opportunities to
voice its interest, ideology and values, harming the process of
(inaudible) and democratization in Indonesia. So what should be done?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it's very important for Indonesia to
understand that -- first of all, to herald the nature of its moderate
Islamic population, to make it clear to the world that, by far, the
vast majority of the Muslims in that country value democracy and want
to have a peaceful life. At the same time, it's very important not to
allow a few killers to define Indonesia. And, therefore, there needs
to be a focused, concerted effort to bring people to justice.
Now, one of the things I will thank the people from Thailand for,
is we brought Hambali to justice. He's the guy that masterminded the
Bali bombing. And by the way, Paul John, I was over in -- gosh, I
can't even remember where it was, it was recently, where I met a mother
and dad whose -- oh, this was in Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, when I
was there to help this fellow running for governor, and a mom and dad
came up to me, and said, we lost a twin daughter in the Bali bombing.
This bombing struck a lot. It really hurt Australia. It hurts your
own country.
And my point is, I'm going to continue to talk with Madam Megawati
about this, that it is -- we cannot allow Indonesia to be defined by
the hatred of a few. And that it's very important that we combine
efforts, not just the United States with Indonesia, but all assets to
help Ms. Megawatti bring the rest of the cells to justice, and prevent
this from happening. It's unfortunate that a country have an attack.
It should be viewed as an opportunity for people of goodwill to come
together and prevent this from happening.
There is a -- Indonesia is a very important country. It's
important because of its strategic location, it's important because of
the nature of its population. It's important that this country
succeed, and we look forward to working with Indonesia.
Q Last September, in the U.N. General Assembly, President
Megawati stated that terrorism issues cannot be solved without removing
their roots in the Middle East conflict. As long as countries -- great
countries maintain injustice -- unjust and a one-sided policy toward
Middle East, the conflict will continue and the campaign against
terrorism will suffer.
THE PRESIDENT: First of all -- I'll be glad to talk about my
Middle East policy, I have with Ms. Megawatti. And I made it very
clear to her that the road map to peace still exists. The problem is
we need people who are willing to uphold their responsibilities. I
gave a speech here in the Rose Garden on June 24, 2002, which laid out
a vision for a Palestinian state, living side-by-side with Israel. But
I also said that the Palestinians must do everything in their power to
fight off terror, to prevent the few that want to kill to stop the
peace process from going forward from doing so.
And we had an opportunity to move the process forward when Mr. Abu
Mazen stepped up, and was willing to say publicly and clearly that the
Palestinians wanted to dismantle the terrorist groups that were
destroying innocent life. And that provided a hopeful moment. It
allowed me to continue to articulate the policy that all parties are
responsible. Israel is responsible for helping a peaceful Palestinian
country emerge and create the conditions necessary for a peace to move
forward. The Arab nations are responsible to not support these
terrorist groups.
And, unfortunately, the Prime Minister, who I stood by, next to in
Aqaba, Jordan, no longer is in power because he was shoved aside by the
old guard, which has failed the Palestinian people. This old guard has
been in power for quite a period of time, and life is worse, not
better. And therefore I will continue to remind Prime Minister
Megawatti that we do have a vision for two states, living side-by-side
in peace.
I was the first President, American President ever to articulate
that vision. But in order to do so, there are certain prerequisites.
And one of the prerequisites is there be a universal condemnation and
fighting of terror. And that applies not only to the Middle East, that
applies elsewhere, because Indonesia, unfortunately, has seen -- as has
America and Australia and Thailand and the Philippines -- a few people,
a few killers -- they don't have an ideology, except for one:
destruction to create fear. They've hijacked a great religion. They
kill innocent life in the name of a great religion, in order to have
their way, in order to create conditions of fear.
And that we must fight them -- we must fight them. There's no
negotiations with these people. There's no, we'll sit down at a peace
table. You cannot deal with these killers that way. So I will
continue to explain and articulate our Middle East policy, but at the
same time make it very clear that there's only one way to deal with the
few who want to destroy the hopes of the many, and that is to bring
them to justice.
And we are. We're making good progress. The world has
significantly changed. If you think about what cooperation was like
prior to September the 11th, 2001, compared to today, it's a different
world. And so part of my trip is to continue to emphasize the mutual
need, in order to enhance democracy and to support those peaceful
people that live within Indonesia, or in any other country, to support
them, to support their hopes and aspirations, by defeating those who
would like to -- who run absolutely contrary to what moderate, peaceful
people believe.
Roger.
Q Roger.
THE PRESIDENT: I'm just trying to be international in my flavor.
(Laughter.)
Q Mr. President, are you concerned at the way American jobs are
being sucked away to Asia, particularly China, but also Malaysia,
Indonesia, Thailand? Are you going to be speaking to your APEC
colleagues to try to help you do something about this?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm going to say that where there is trade
imbalances, countries need to be mindful that we expect there to be
fair trade. And I fully understand a competitive world is one that I
think is positive, so long as the competition is fair. And we'll talk
about currency with the Chinese and with my friend, Prime Minister
Koizumi. I will remind them that this nation has a strong dollar
policy, and we expect the markets to reflect the true value of
currency. That the way that currencies ought to be valued is based
upon economic activity, fiscal policy, monetary policy of the
respective governments, the potential for growth, the potential for
long-term viability of the economies. That's how our respective
currencies ought to be valued.
Yes, we'll bring that up. And I am -- my main focus here in
America is there to be significant job creation. It looks like we're
getting some positive results. Part of making sure that the job
creation -- momentum of the job creation is viable is to make sure --
is to talk to our trading partners about fair trade. And there are
some trade imbalances that I will be discussing.
Q Singapore supported you in the war in Iraq and in general,
and you've signed a free trade agreement with Singapore recently.
THE PRESIDENT: I did.
Q But in the past, there have been tiffs over social and
political issues. How do you characterize U.S.-Singapore relations
now?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I would say they're very positive. I mean,
I've had -- first of all, we do free trade agreements with countries
with whom we'd like to trade. I guess that's fairly logical. And
these are countries we respect. And we respect Singapore people, we
respect the government, and we respect the fact that they want to trade
with us. And the cooperation in the war on terror has been excellent
with Singapore.
As you know, one of the interesting opportunities is to create a
new -- the use of technology to better have a handle on what's leaving
ports, what's in containers, what's on ships, and have basically a port
inspection process prior to a cargo leaving a particular port of exit.
And Singapore has been in the lead on this, helping to establish kind
of a virtual customs inspection process, so we're able to better track
that which is being shipped and have a better handle about that which
is coming into our respective countries. It makes eminent sense that
we have full transparency from the point a cargo ship leaves until when
it arrives in our ports. Singapore has been in the lead on this, and
for that, I appreciate Prime Minister Goh's leadership.
On a personal basis, he has got a very good handle about -- and a
good feel for the neighborhood. And I value his advice. He is, as we
say here in America, plugged-in to the political currents, and is a
very savvy man. And I really have enjoyed my relationship with him.
I'm looking forward to going to Singapore.
Q Do you -- I'm sorry.
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.
Q I was going to say --
THE PRESIDENT: This is a follow up on a follow up. (Laughter.)
Q You stressed the war on terror --
THE PRESIDENT: Our press corps does the same thing -- if we don't
stay with, they -- (laughter.) I'm used to it. I'm well trained by
them. (Laughter.)
Q You stressed dealing with moderate Muslims in Indonesia and
other places, but there seems to have been a rising tide of
anti-American sentiment in parts of Southeast Asia. Are you going to
try and stem it?
THE PRESIDENT: Sure, that's part of the purpose, is to make sure
that the people who are suspicious of our country understand our
motives are pure. We believe in freedom for all people. We believe in
peace. We don't believe a few killers ought to determine the fate and
the future of a lot of people. We believe in education. We believe in
health. One of the things about this nation is that we're strong
militarily, but we're also very compassionate. We're helping lead the
fight against international AIDS. Part of the trip is to say as
clearly as possible, is that this country is a -- is full of decent and
caring people, who care about the future of the people in these
nations.
On the other hand, people have just got to understand that we've
got to fight those who are willing to kill. As you can tell from my
language, terrorists who take innocent life must be treated as
cold-blooded killers, because that's what they are.
And we will continue to work with our friends who understand that,
to bring people to justice, so we don't go to funerals and lay wreaths,
so we don't commemorate anniversaries of the brutal slaughter of
innocent people in the name of a religion or in the name of -- with any
attempt to instill fear. That's all they're trying to do. They want
us to crumple and go away, so they can then spread their false
ideology, based upon hate. And America's ideology is based upon
compassion and decency and justice. And I look forward to making that
case.
Pichai.
Q Mr. President, you mentioned progress against terror. I just
want your assessment. Has the threat of the network in Southeast Asia
diminished as a result of the policies so far?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it has. When Hambali is gone, thanks to the
Thai officials, a major operator in the war on terror -- one of Khalid
Shaykh Muhammad's close buddies, the organizer of the attack that
killed a lot of people -- he has been brought to justice. And that is
a major blow for the al Qaeda affiliated networks.
There's more to do. This is a -- let me just remind everybody
that, at least from our perspective, from the perspective of the
government of the United States, the war on terror is going to last a
while. I don't know how long it is, but it's -- it is very important
that free nations understand that this is a long-term effort, and that
we just can't relent and can't yield.
And I knew one of the hardest tasks I would have is explaining that
this is a different kind of war to our own people. Wars -- we used to
think about flotillas and bombing runs and whatever. And for the war
on terror, although there has been some traditional battle moments,
military moments -- like parts of the battle for Baghdad, which is a
part of the war on terror -- most of the war on terror will be fought
by the use of intelligence, highly trained teams that have got the
capacity to move quickly, and the willingness and will of collective
governments to stay on the hunt. And, in -- we're making good
progress. But there's more to do.
Q All right. Could I just have a question on trade?
THE PRESIDENT: Sure.
Q The WTO failed --
THE PRESIDENT: Wait, wait, wait. The meetings in Cancun did not
go well, but I wouldn't condemn the WTO round to failure yet.
Q Okay, but there's -- there's a theory --
THE PRESIDENT: Sometimes I have a bad habit of correcting the
interlocutors. (Laughter.) Because sometimes they're not always
correct. (Laughter.)
Q So what's the future, then? You feel that there's still an
opportunity --
THE PRESIDENT: I do. I do feel we can get the Doha round up and
running. Now, the meetings were disbanded in Cancun. The sense I get
is a lot of countries feel this was a missed opportunity, and that our
ambassador, Zoellick, believes there is a framework to get the process
restarted and moved forward, that there was substantial progress made,
and that we're interested in getting the process up and running again.
In other words, the United States has not quit on the process, is the
best way to say it. And I look forward to talking to the Prime
Minister about a free-trade agreement. As you know discussions are
going on -- with a bilateral free-trade --
Q That's right, yes.
THE PRESIDENT: -- with Thailand. And we'll continue our
discussions.
Q Any announcement expected in --
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know the problem is if I were to make the
announcement now to you, in order to help you with your editors, it
would take away kind of the -- yes, it would take away the excitement.
I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. (Laughter.)
Yes, Mercedes.
Q Thank you, sir. There is this 30-year-old, low-intensity war
in Mindanao. And the United States, through your administration, has
now a role in the peace process. Would you like to address that?
THE PRESIDENT: Have not had a role? Or have had a role?
Q They have a role now.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, a role in the peace --
Q Right.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's right. I made a statement when
President Arroyo was here, urging the parties to come together and that
we would -- as a matter of fact, there was some progress. I'm not
exactly sure where we are in the discussions, but shortly after her
visit, the parties came to the table, which is a very positive
development.
Let me speak to a broader issue, if you don't mind, in the
Philippines. First of all, I respect President Arroyo. I respect her
will. I respect her desire to deal with the Abu Sayyaf, for example.
She's been very strong, and there's been progress made in dealing with
the leaders of this group. There is still more to be done.
She knows, for example, very well that when U.S. citizens -- or any
citizen, for that matter -- gets kidnapped, killed, it defines the
Philippines in a negative way. It doesn't really talk to the true
character and the nature of the Philippines. The Philippines are
loving, decent, kind people. And her country -- these terrorists,
again, want to create a different atmosphere, a different environment.
And Gloria Arroyo knows that, and that's why she's been very strong.
And that's why we've been in -- got a very cooperative relationship. A
training mission and now a comprehensive security review is ongoing,
which I will discuss with President Arroyo.
So in the larger context, the President's strategy of dealing
firmly with those who would kill, kidnap, maim, is a very good
strategy, one that we support strongly, and are willing to cooperate to
the extent that she asks for help.
In terms of bringing long-simmering disputes to peaceful
conclusion, my judgment is the stronger a leader acts against terror,
the more likely those people are going to be willing to want to sit
down and conclude -- make arrangements, make accord. And I believe
that's one of the reasons why President Arroyo has been able to make
some progress on long-simmering disputes.
Q I have a question that relates to the Philippines and the
WTO.
THE PRESIDENT: Sure.
Q In Cancun, the Philippines left the U.S. to join the G-21
countries.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q It appears that it displeased your administration.
THE PRESIDENT: It displeased us? Well, I'm not -- do I look
displeased? I'm a friendly guy.
Q Well, does that -- does that put into a risk --
THE PRESIDENT: No, not at all.
Q -- the bilateral and trade agreement?
THE PRESIDENT: No, it doesn't. Not at all. I mean, it's very
important for me to explain to the leaders that we are interested in
moving the process forward, that WTO negotiations are complicated and
complex matters, that we believe that it is in the Philippines'
interest, in Thailand's interest or any other country's interest that
the Doha round succeed, that we want to work through the difficult
issues.
And I think a lot of countries, Mercedes, now believe that this was
a missed opportunity, that it was an opportunity to make progress. And
the fact that it didn't, that we didn't make progress may actually
serve as an impetus to get people back together. Let's don't miss this
opportunity again. Let's move on. So the purpose of my trip is to say
that we want Doha to succeed.
I'm also saying as clearly as possible, that we will negotiate
bilateral agreements with countries. Our strategy is to have a -- is
to have free trade worldwide, free trade regionally through the Free
Trade of the Americas, and free trade on a bilateral basis. And when
Congress gave me what's called trade promotion authority, I then had
the capacity to negotiate -- our people to negotiate free-trade
agreements, and then bring that to Congress in an up-or-down vote,
which makes it more likely nations will want to negotiate with us.
Singapore was one of the first, and Chile, were two countries that
said, okay, fine, now the President's got it. We can negotiate a
treaty. We know it won't be amended on the floor of the Congress, and
therefore, we can negotiate in good faith. And the President will
submit it for up-or-down votes.
This has given me the opportunity to be -- to move forward on trade
on a bilateral basis. And so we've got a two -- a three-pronged
strategy when it comes to trade. And we do hope that the WTO goes
forward. But that won't prevent us from doing -- negotiating
bilaterally with nations.
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. One in English?
Q Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. My Japanese is a little limited. (Laughter.)
Q If you speak -- if you speak Japanese?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don't speak Japanese. (Laughter.) Some
accuse me of not speaking English. (Laughter.)
Q So before you come visit to Japan, we Japanese would like to
hear your views on a couple things. First of all, your evaluation
about Japan's contribution to reconstruction of Iraq.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, well, I talked to my friend, Prime Minister
Koizumi. And he is my friend, let me emphasize that. We've got a
great relationship. And he told me that he would try to work with the
leaders to come up with a reconstruction package for Iraq, and I
believe he will. And I look forward to talking to him about it. And
he's a fellow, when he says something -- at least to me -- he means
it. And that's why I'm optimistic that Japan will be an active
participant in the reconstruction of Iraq.
They certainly were an active participant in the reconstruction of
Afghanistan. And for that we are grateful. Japan played a key role in
the early stages of the post -- postwar in Afghanistan environment,
loya jirga got started, but also Japan took a lead in terms of the
reconstruction effort.
Q One about North Korea.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q Well, how do you place the -- North Korea's abduction of
Japanese people in the six-party --
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the key notion on the six-party framework is
to make sure that the stated objective of the five countries involved
with the six-party, with North Korea in the six-party discussions is
achieved. The key objective, the most important objective is for there
to be a Korean Peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons. That's the
primary focus of our discussions, and we're making progress, because
now there are five nations other than the United States -- or four
nations other than the United States sitting down the North Koreans,
making the very same point.
And I will talk to the Prime Minister about how to -- you know,
what we need to do to keep the process alive and strong and to keep the
coalition of the peaceful united so that we have one message and one
voice.
In terms of the relationship between North Korea and Japan, that is
for Prime Minister Koizumi to manage. Obviously, if you have
abductees, it is a very serious issue. And it speaks to the nature of
the North Korean government, and hence, another reason for us to work
for a nuclear weapons-free Korean Peninsula.
Q Given the recent depreciation of the dollar vis-a-vis the
yen, what do you think of the dollar's devaluation?
THE PRESIDENT: I think I'm for a strong policy. We have a strong
dollar policy in this administration. Currencies ought to be valued
based upon the respective strengths of the economies, based upon the
policies of the governments. We have had a very pro-growth policy in
this administration. I've worked with Congress to enact historic tax
relief in order to give our people more of their own money back and let
them spend it and drive demand for goods and service. And it's
beginning to pay off. The economy is improving. And markets ought to
be evaluating our respective currencies.
Q So what is your view on Japan's --
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's my view, that markets ought to be
determining respective to currencies.
Q Well. Come back to the North Koreans --
THE PRESIDENT: Sure. This is the multiple -- (laughter.)
Q I'm sorry.
THE PRESIDENT: No, you're doing a fine job, Toshio, that's good..
Short questions, short answers. (Laughter.)
Q I appreciate it.
THE PRESIDENT: You're setting a new standard for the follow up.
Keep that in mind. (Laughter.)
Q Do you think the North Koreans nuclear problem should be
brought to the U.N. Security Council?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I think --
Q If "yes," why, when?
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that. That's part my discussions with
Prime Minister Koizumi. First things first is that we've got to make
sure our strategy of the five of us moves forward. I'm looking forward
to discussing this with Mr. Hu Jintao. He has been a important part of
these discussions, and I will visit the strategy with -- about the
mutual desire to move forward with Prime Minister Koizumi.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Mercedes.
Q Anything on the designation of the Philippines as a major
NATO --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, we'll be discussing that. Short question,
short answers.
Q Yes, you mentioned democracy, a take on Burma. How do you
see things going there now in recent developments?
THE PRESIDENT: It's pleased about Burma. I think the fact that
Burma continues to -- that there is an historic figure in Burma that
needs to be treated with respect and the wishes of the people need to
be honored. And we will continue to speak out, and I will talk to the
Prime Minister about that, as I have in the past.
He is concerned, as you know, about narcotics, and the flow of
narcotics. I believe free societies and the ability to control
narcotics and terrorism go hand-in-hand. We will continue to press for
freedom in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi is a great figure. She is a heroic
woman. And this country honors her, and we'll continue to press for
her freedom. I did so at the United Nations, I will continue to do so
on a bilateral basis.
Q How does it feel to be the most powerful man in the world?
THE PRESIDENT: Humbling.
Q Humbling?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. And it also means there's tremendous
responsibilities with that. Very interesting question; the fundamental
question is, what you do with power? And I believe it's very important
for the President to work with others to lead for a more peaceful and
free world. And part of that use of power now -- we must use our power
to fight terror.
And, at the same time, we must use our power and wealth to help
improve the lives of those who suffer. It's humbling to think about
that. It is also an awesome responsibility which I take seriously.
And part of the trip, I hope you can get from the tenor of these
discussions, part of the trip is to say very clearly to our friends and
allies, we want to work together to achieve common objectives. I'm
very serious about it.
Q Yes. Can I just ask, Indonesia is one of the victims of
terrorist attack, but, however --
THE PRESIDENT: Which the innocent is? Yes, always.
Q Indonesia also victimized by (inaudible) from several
countries --
THE PRESIDENT: The?
Q Victimized, yes.
THE PRESIDENT: In other words, people come from other countries to
your country to create terrorist acts?
Q Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. That's why it's important that we cooperate
closely to watch these terrorists, to track terrorists, to make sure we
know who's coming in and out of our countries, to share intelligence,
to get inside these networks as best we can, to use all means available
to understand them, to watch their movements. And when they move,
bring them to justice, arrest them, get them off the streets.
And you're right, countries are -- if a country is viewed as a safe
haven, terrorists will tend to flock to that country. And that's why
the strong action of governments sends a clear sign: not welcome
here. And that's why arrests and strong action are necessary to
prevent people from feeling comfortable about migration.
And that's why the decisions by Prime Minister Megawatti to arrest
people is a very important signal to people. And I continue to talk to
her and work with her on this. I appreciate very much the efforts made
by the Indonesian government to bring terrorists to justice.
Q How confident can we be that we will see an Australia/America
FTA, and with the negotiations finalized by the end of this year,
which is the deadline you said you wanted? And, secondly, does the
United States actually see Australia as its deputy sheriff in Southeast
Asia?
THE PRESIDENT: No. We don't see it as a deputy sheriff, we see it
as a sheriff. (Laughter.) There's a difference. I see, you're
playing off the Crawford visit to the ranch, the sheriff thing.
(Laughter.) Anyway, no, equal partners and friends and allies. There's
nothing deputy about this relationship.
I'm optimistic on free trade agreement, and I'll talk to John about
that. We did set a deadline. Deadlines are important, sometimes you
get things done, and we'll work toward that deadline. And part of our
discussions will be the free trade agreement. It's in our nation's
interest to do so. We've got some heavy lift in certain areas that
we're just going to have to work through them. And I know our
negotiators and our people are talking in the spirit of trying to
complete the agreement.
Okay, looking forward to it. Anybody gets to go with us?
Q Thank you, Mr. President.
END 10:25 A.M. EDT
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