UNITED24 - Make a charitable donation in support of Ukraine!

Military

25 September 2001

Transcript: U.S., Japan to Fight Terrorism Together on Many Fronts

(Bush-Koizumi September 25 remarks at White House) (1910)
The United States and Japan are cooperating in the struggle against
terrorism, according to President George Bush and Japan's Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
"The Prime Minister and I had a wide-ranging discussion about ways
that we can cooperate with each other to fight global terrorism," Bush
told reporters September 25 at the White House.
The leaders of the world's largest and second largest economies
"talked about the need to work in a way" to cut off the terrorists'
funding, Bush said.
"The Prime Minister also talked about ways that Japan will share
intelligence," Bush said, noting that the United States and Japan will
"work cooperatively on the diplomatic front."
Bush told reporters that the mission of the worldwide coalition he is
building "is to rout out and destroy international terrorism," and
that "the mission won't alter" even if the duties of the coalition
change.
Bush said Prime Minister Koizumi "understands this requires a
long-term vision, requires a patience amongst both our people."
Prime Minister Koizumi said the Japanese "are ready to stand by the
United States to fight terrorism."
"We must fight terrorism with a determination and a patience," he
said.
Following is the White House transcript of the event:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
September 25, 2001
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BUSH
AND PRIME MINISTER KOIZUMI OF JAPAN
IN PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
The Colonnade
11:45 A.M. EDT
PRESIDENT BUSH: I am really pleased and honored that my personal
friend, and a friend of the United States, has come all the way from
Japan to express his solidarity with the American people and our joint
battle against terrorism.
The Prime Minister and I had a wide-ranging discussion about ways that
we can cooperate with each other to fight global terrorism. Most
notably, we talked about the need to work in a way to cut off their
funding. The Prime Minister also talked about ways that Japan will
share intelligence, that we'll work cooperatively on the diplomatic
front. We had a great discussion.
Not only am I pleased with the great cooperation that we're having
with our friend, the Japanese; I am most pleased that the Saudi
Arabians yesterday cut off relations with the Taliban, and that
President Putin, in a strong statement to the world, talked about the
cooperation that Russia and the United States will have in combatting
global terrorism as well.
The coalition of legitimate governments and freedom-loving people is
strong. People will contribute in different ways to this coalition.
But the mission won't change. The duties of the coalition may alter,
but the mission won't alter. And that is to rout out and destroy
international terrorism.
The Prime Minister understands this requires a long-term vision,
requires a patience amongst both our people. And it also requires a
determination and a strong will. I know he's got a determination and
strong will, and he knows I am determined and willful in this
struggle.
Mr. Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER KOIZUMI: I'm very pleased to say, we are friends. Had a
great talk, friendly. And I convey what I am thinking. We Japanese are
ready to stand by the United States to fight terrorism. We could make
sure of this global objective. We must fight terrorism with a
determination and a patience. Very good meeting. Fantastic meeting.
PRESIDENT BUSH:  I'll take a few questions.
Q: Mr. President, on the domestic front, sir, why not extend
unemployment and health insurance benefits to airline workers? And
what do you think of the proposals to put reservists and military
police on airplanes, and to allow pilots to carry guns?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, we're looking at all options -- this doesn't
require translation, by the way -- we're looking at all options as to
how to enhance airline security. I had a breakfast this morning with
leaders of the Senate and the House. This was one of the topics we
discussed. Secretary of Transportation Mineta is coming over this
afternoon to present me with some of the options. And I look forward
to working with Congress to put some concrete steps in place that will
assure the American public that the government and the airlines are
doing as much as we can to enhance security and safety.
In terms of the labor issues, Elaine Chao is developing a list of
recommendations, a list of options, to make sure that the displaced
worker is given due consideration in the halls of government. That
subject came up as well. There is no consensus yet. There is a desire
to work toward taking care of displaced workers. And both the Congress
and the White House will be presenting options.
Q: Mr. President, you mentioned Saudi Arabia. What does this mean in
terms of isolating the Taliban? And would you now encourage Pakistan
to do the same?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, we've gotten broad cooperation from Pakistan.
We're most pleased with their response. They are a country that has --
going to be, obviously, deeply affected by actions we may or may not
take in that part of the world.
It's very interesting that the Prime Minister shared with me the fact
that his country has provided $40 million in humanitarian assistance
to the Pakistanis, and I want to thank him for that. We, too, are
providing humanitarian assistance for people in that world, as are the
Saudis. And that's an important part of the coalition, to understand
that one of the issues is to make sure that Pakistan is a stable
country, and that whatever consequences may occur as a result of acts
that we may or may not take is one that we do the best we can to
manage.
In terms of --
Q:  Isolation of the Taliban.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Oh, isolating the Taliban? Well, I think most people
in the world understand that I was very serious, and they're serious,
when we say if you harbor a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the
terrorist. That's pretty isolated, it seems like to me.
Q: Mr. President, according to opinion poll, about 90 percent of the
Japanese are concerned that Japan support of the U.S. military action
could trigger terrorist attacks on Japan, itself. Do you have anything
to say to them to, to their concern?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I think this: I think 100 percent of the
Japanese people ought to understand that we're dealing with evil
people who hate freedom and legitimate governments, and that now is
the time for freedom-loving people to come together to fight terrorist
activity. We cannot be -- we cannot fear terrorists. We can't let
terrorism dictate our course of action. And we will not let a
terrorist dictate the course of action in the United States; and I'm
sure the Prime Minister feels the same way about Japan.
No threat, no threat will prevent freedom-loving people from defending
freedom. And make no mistake about it: This is good versus evil. These
are evildoers. They have no justification for their actions. There's
no religious justification, there's no political justification. The
only motivation is evil. And the Prime Minister understands that, and
the Japanese people, I think, understand that as well.
Q: Mr. President, amid signs of increasing turmoil in Afghanistan and
signs that there may be splits within the Taliban regime itself, do
you believe that the people of Afghanistan, themselves, are trying to
liberate themselves from the Taliban rule, and would you support that
as part of your campaign against terrorism?
PRESIDENT BUSH: We have no issue and no anger toward the citizens of
Afghanistan. We have obviously serious problems with the Taliban
government. They're an incredibly repressive government, a government
that has a value system that's hard for many in America, or in Japan,
for that matter, to relate to. Incredibly repressive toward women.
They have made the decision to harbor terrorists. The mission is to
rout terrorists, to find them and bring them to justice. Or, as I
explained to the Prime Minister in Western terms, to smoke them out of
their caves, to get them running so we can get them.
The best way to do that, and one way to do that is to ask for the
cooperation of citizens within Afghanistan who may be tired of having
the Taliban in place, or tired of having Osama bin Laden, people from
foreign soils, in their own land, willing to finance this repressive
government.
I understand the reality of what's taking place inside Afghanistan,
and we're going to have a -- listen, as I've told the Prime Minister,
we're angry, but we've got a clear vision. We're upset, but we know
what we've got to do. And the mission is to bring these particular
terrorists to justice, and at the same time, send a clear signal,
Terry, that says if you harbor a terrorist, if you aid a terrorist, if
you hide terrorists, you're just as guilty as the terrorists.
And this is an administration -- we're not into nation-building, we're
focused on justice. And we're going to get justice. It's going to take
a while, probably. But I'm a patient man. Nothing will diminish my
will and my determination -- nothing.
Q: Mr. President, do you expect any financial support also from Japan,
including --
PRESIDENT BUSH:  Financial proposals?
Q:  Yes.
PRESIDENT BUSH:  You mean, related to our --
Q:  For the entire mission against terrorism.
PRESIDENT BUSH: For our -- well, first of all, the Prime Minister, as
he said, talked about $40 million of aid to Pakistan. That's a very
important contribution. And I repeat the reason why: a stable Pakistan
is very important to a stable world. After all, Pakistan has nuclear
weapons, and we want stability in countries that may have nuclear
weapons. And so that's a very important financial contribution.
Remember, this war will be fought on a variety of fronts. It is not
like wars that we're used to. There's very little that's conventional
about it. It's different. And so, for example, the sharing of
information is vital to find and rout out terrorism. It's vital that
we have a cooperative relationship. It's vital that if we hear
anything that may affect the security of Japan, that we're forthcoming
with that information. And vice-versa.
And so the resources -- again, you -- the tendency is to think in
terms of a conventional war, where people might put money in to
support a military operation. That's not the kind of war we're talking
about now. And so resources will be deployed in different ways --
intelligence-gathering, diplomacy, humanitarian aid, as well as
cutting off resources. And one effective tool in getting these people
is to cut off their money. And yesterday I made an announcement here
about how we intend to do so.
PRIME MINISTER KOIZUMI: I believe there are many ways to cooperate. It
is one way to provide financial assistance, but there are diplomatic
means, there are ways to provide medical assistance, there is
assistance to refugees, there is ways to transport supplies. And I
believe these are all various ways in which we can cooperate.
PRESIDENT BUSH:  Thank you all very much.
12:03 P.M. EDT
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)



NEWSLETTER
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list