For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 22, 2003
Remarks by President Bush and Prime Minister Howard of Australia in a Photo Opportunity
Parliament House
Canberra, Australia
10:46 A.M. (Local)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Can't get any better than that. (Laughter.)
Q Mr. Bush -- Mr. Bush, did you discuss the free trade
agreement? And how are you committed to keeping agriculture in the
free trade agreement if it goes ahead?
PRESIDENT BUSH: What I'm committed to is seeing that we can get
this free trade agreement done by the end of December. That's what
John and I talked about in Crawford. I think a free trade agreement
with Australia would be good for America, good for American workers. I
also believe that it would be good for Australia.
PRIME MINISTER HOWARD: Very good.
PRESIDENT BUSH: And the commitment we talked about was to make
sure our negotiators push forward with a deal. Obviously, agriculture
is an important issue, intellectual property is an important issue.
There's a lot of important issues that we've got to work through if --
and I think we can.
PRIME MINISTER HOWARD: Thank you. American?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, Tom.
Q Mr. President, the Defense Secretary has written a memorandum
saying there have been mixed results in the war on terror, that it's
going to be a long, hard slog, and no bold steps have been taken yet.
Do you agree with that characterization?
PRESIDENT BUSH: What I agree with is that the war on terror is
going to be tough work, and it's going to take a while. And we're
making great progress. We're dismantling the al-Qaeda network. They
hide in hills, in caves and, you know, they hide in free societies.
And it takes a while to find them, which is why John Howard and I
talked a lot about sharing intelligence and finding these killers
before they kill again -- people like Hambali, who was routed out of
society. The Australians and the Prime Minister were very helpful, as
was our intelligence service. But the success went to the Thai
authority.
PRIME MINISTER HOWARD: Yes, I met the general that handcuffed
him.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, he's a good fellow. Anyway, we've got work
to do. This is a long war on terror. And removing Saddam Hussein from
power was an important part of winning the war on terror. Ridding
Afghanistan of the Taliban was an important part of winning the war on
terror.
I haven't seen the Secretary's comments, but somebody told me they
thought he said we need to make sure our military's intelligence
services are focused on the war on terror. And I couldn't agree more
with you. That's exactly what we're doing.
Q Mr. President, on the war on terror, and in light of the
Rumsfeld memo, are you inclined now to ask Australia for more
assistance in Iraq? And how long do you intend to hold the two
Australians detained in Guantanamo Bay without charge or trial? And
have you discussed that with the Prime Minister?
PRESIDENT BUSH: I did discuss it with the Prime Minister. There's
a process, ongoing process to deal with these two people that were
picked up off of a battlefield of war. And I think one of the --
somebody in the Australian media when they were in America asked me
about torture, or some -- it's alleged allegations of torture. It's
ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. And we will deal with them in a -- in
a way that conforms to our standards.
John -- the Prime Minister -- I keep calling him John; we're close
friends. The Prime Minister and I have talked about the procedures,
and I assured him these people will be taken care of in a way that
conforms with our rules and regulations.
The first question was -- oh, Iraq. Listen, Australia has made a
tremendous contribution in Iraq. Their troops were fantastic. They
laid it on the line, and every military person I talked to about the
contribution of the Australians was -- had high praise for the skill
and the strength and spirit of the Aussie troops.
In my judgement, Australia has made a significant contribution to
peace and freedom, and the people of Iraq who suffered in the hands of
a brutal tyrant are very thankful for the contributions of the
Australians.
Adam.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, you called
Australia a sheriff. Does that -- does that mean Australia should flex
its military might more in Asia? And, Mr. Howard, how do you see the
job of a sheriff?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, Adam -- can I put it in context?
Q Please.
PRESIDENT BUSH: I was asked the question, is Australia America's
deputy sheriff, that was the question. It was a very careful, clever
question. I don't think you were -- I don't think you asked it, Adam.
And my answer was, no, we're equal. We're equal partners on the war on
terror. We're equal partners working for a world that's more free.
And today in my speech to the Parliament, I will praise Australia's
work in this part of the world. I'll note the fact that Australia led
in East Timor. And Australia's -- Australia is carrying a heavy load,
for which we are grateful. And I appreciate you, Mr. Prime Minister.
I said Mr. Prime Minister -- somebody told me that they made fun of
me for calling -- or they made fun of the Prime Minister, when they
call him the man of steel. I'm going to repeat the words. That's a
high compliment. That means in the face of criticism, he's staying
strong, that he does what he think is right. And the world is better
for the leader -- leaders like Prime Minister John Howard.
PRIME MINISTER HOWARD: You asked me did the President put in
correct and proper Texan -- we were in Crawford. And so the language
of sheriff and deputy, sort of, rolls easily off any tongue,
particularly an American tongue.
Look, our role in the region is -- I've categorized it as that of
Helpem Fren. That is -- for the benefit of the Americans, that is
pidgin English used by the Pacific Islanders. It means helping a
friend. And I see Australia's role in the region as helping friends.
And that's what we're doing in the Solomons. It's what we did in East
Timor. It's what we may have to do again in other parts of that
region. But when necessity arises, we help people. We don't see
ourselves as having any kind of enforcement role, but we're always good
to our allies, particularly the United States, to defend values that
are important to both our societies.
Thank you.
END 9:54 A.M. (Local)
|