28 September 2001
Transcript: Bush-Abdullah White House Photo Op, Sept 28
(US-Jordanian Friendship Reaffirmed) (1440)
President Bush began his meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah in
Washington September 28 by thanking the monarch for Jordan's
condolences and support immediately following the September 11
terrorist attacks.
"Jordan is a strong, strong friend of America," Bush said. He assured
King Abdullah that America's fight against terror is "against evil,
not against Islam." Bush said he is "pleased with the cooperation
we're getting in the Middle East."
"What these people [terrorists] stand for is completely against all
the principles that Arabs and Muslims believe in," Abdullah said. "And
you'll see a united front."
Bush underscored the importance of the Jordan Free Trade Agreement,
which he signed into law September 28.
"We have together accomplished one of your main objectives in terms of
economic cooperation, which is a free trade agreement," Bush said to
the king.
The agreement will phase out nearly all duties on goods traded between
the United States and Jordan over 10 years and commit both countries
to open markets in the services sector.
Following is the transcript of Bush's and Abdullah's comments to
reporters September 28:
(begin transcript)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Your Majesty, welcome back.
KING ABDULLAH: Thank you.
PRESIDENT BUSH: It's great to see you. I look forward to our
discussions. Jordan is a strong, strong friend of America. And right
after September 11th, one of the early messages I received was from
His Majesty, expressing the condolences of the Jordanian people, as
well as his own personal condolences.
I'm so pleased with our cooperative -- the cooperation we have in
fighting terror. I have assured His Majesty that our war is against
evil, not against Islam. There are thousands of Muslims who proudly
call themselves Americans, and they know what I know -- that the
Muslim faith is based upon peace and love and compassion. The exact
opposite of the teachings of the al Qaeda organization, which is based
upon evil and hate and destruction.
And finally, as a welcoming gift, it is my honor to present you with a
pen. This is no ordinary pen, since it's the pen I used to sign the
Free Trade Agreement with Jordan this morning. At long last, we have,
together, accomplished one of your main objectives in terms of
economic cooperation, which is the Free Trade Agreement.
I'm proud of the actions of our leadership in the House and the Senate
from both political parties that recognize the importance of trade
with Jordan. And so, Your Majesty, it's now officially the law, and
here's the pen that signed it.
KING ABDULLAH: Thank you very much, sir. Very grateful.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Welcome back to the Oval Office.
KING ABDULLAH: Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you
for seeing us today. Obviously, I wish our meeting was under better
circumstances, but obviously, we're here to give our full, unequivocal
support to you and to the people of America. And we will stand by you
in these very difficult times. And we're proud of our friendship;
we're proud of the relations we've had with your country over many,
many years, as far back as his late Majesty King Hussein.
And it's in difficult times like this that true friends must stand
with each other, and we'll be by your side and we'll be there to
support you. And I'm here to see what we can do to help.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir.
We'll take a few questions.
Q: Mr. President --
PRESIDENT BUSH: You're after the retirement lady. (Laughter.)
MS. CHARLES: I'm now the retirement lady, I feel very old. (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, once you leave the White House we view it as
retirement. But go ahead. (Laughter.)
MS. CHARLES: What's your reaction to the Saudis' announcement that we
can -- that the U.S. can use air bases? And also, do you feel the
military deployment is adequate, do you feel comfortable with where it
is?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, first, we will not be discussing any of the --
our military plans. It is very important for the American people to
know that any public discussion of military or intelligence matters
could jeopardize any mission that we may be thinking about.
Secondly, that I am most pleased with the cooperation we're getting in
the Middle East. Clearly, the cooperation with our friend, the
Jordanians, is strong and powerful, and we're united. But the Saudis,
as well. Not only are they helping stabilize Pakistan, which is a very
important part of our diplomatic efforts, they are also cooperating
with us in terms of any military planning we might be doing. And I'm
really pleased.
I had very good discussions -- I know the King has, as well -- with
our Saudi Arabian friends.
Ron.
Q: Mr. President, thank you. Have you had any chance to study the long
and difficult conflict that the Russians had in Afghanistan? And if
so, what, if anything, did you learn that might be helpful in the
conflict you have coming ahead?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, one of the things we will do is enforce the
doctrine, part of the doctrine that says, if you harbor a terrorist,
you're just as guilty as a terrorist. And in my speech to the nation I
laid out the conditions that we expect the current government of
Afghanistan to follow.
I am fully aware of the difficulties the Russians had in Afghanistan.
Our intelligence people and our State Department people are also fully
aware. It is very hard to fight a conventional war -- a guerrilla war
with conventional forces. And we understand that. That's why I have
explained to the American people that the new war on terror is going
to be a different war. It will be fought on a variety of fronts. It
will be fought on a financial front; it will require the best of
intelligence and the sharing of intelligence. There may or may not be
a conventional component to it.
I said loud and clear, sometimes people will be able to see what we do
on the television screens. Other times the American people won't be
able to see what we're doing. But make no mistake about it; we're in
hot pursuit. We're going to enforce the doctrine. We're going to be
diligent and patient and determined to bring people to justice and to
rout out terrorist activity around the world.
And so there have been lessons learned in the past, and our government
is very aware of those lessons.
Jim.
Q: Mr. President, if I may, for Your Highness -- how difficult is it
for Middle Eastern nations to unite against someone who claims to be
speaking and acting on behalf of Islam?
And, Mr. President, what's your reaction to word today that the
Taliban says it has now located Osama bin Laden and has delivered an
invitation to him to leave the country?
PRESIDENT BUSH: First of all -- I'll answer first, and then Your
Majesty. First, there is no negotiations with the Taliban. They heard
what I said. And now they can act. And it's not just Mr. bin Laden
that we expect to see and brought to justice; it's everybody
associated with his organization that's in Afghanistan. And not only
those directly associated with Mr. bin Laden, any terrorist that is
housed and fed in Afghanistan needs to be handed over. And finally, we
expect there to be complete destruction of terrorist camps.
That's what I told them; that's what I mean. And we expect them -- we
expect them to not only hear what I say, but to do something about it.
And I want to tell His Majesty what I said the other day -- and then
he can respond to your question. The al Qaeda people don't represent
Islam, as far as America is concerned. They represent evil. They're
evil people. And that's not the Muslim faith that I know and
understand, nor is it the Muslim faith of millions of Americans who
are proud and devout Muslims.
KING ABDULLAH: Well, sir, as the President so well put it, what these
people stand for is completely against all the principles that Arab
Muslims believe in. And so, on those principles alone, I think it will
be very, very easy for people to stand together. As the President
said, this is a fight against evil, and the majority of Arabs and
Muslims will ban together with our colleagues all over the world to be
able to put an end to this horrible scourge of international
terrorism. And you'll see a united front.
MR. JOHNDROE: Thank you all very much.
(End transcript)
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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