02 October 2001
Transcript: Powell, Greek Foreign Minister Press Briefing Oct. 2
(Powell says other nations find evidence against Al Qaida persuasive)
(1290)
After sending to a large number of nations information that makes the
case that the al-Qaida organization led by Usama bin Laden was
responsible for the terrorist attacks on September 11, the United
States has "heard individually from several capitals already that they
found the information very, very interesting, useful and persuasive,"
Secretary of State Colin Powell told journalists during a press
availability with Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou at the
State Department October 2.
Powell said he thanked Papandreou for Greek support after the
September 11 attacks, especially Greek support of U.S. military
forces.
He reiterated that the U.S. campaign against terrorism is directed "in
the first instance" at the al-Qaida organization and Usama bin Laden,
currently headquartered in Afghanistan. "But the struggle is really
against terrorism wherever it is throughout the world, and wherever it
threatens civilized societies," he added.
"We are not fighting Islam or the Arab world; we are fighting
terrorists," Papandreou emphasized.
Following is the State Department transcript:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
October 2, 2001
Remarks By Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell and His Excellency
George Papandreou, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hellenic Republic
After Their Meeting
October 2, 2001
C Street Entrance
Washington, D.C.
SECRETARY POWELL: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It has been my
great pleasure to host for a meeting my Greek colleague, George
Papandreou. We meet on a very regular basis and we have a strong and
cordial relationship, which really reflects the relationship between
America and Greece, and the strength of the relationship that exists
between our two peoples.
I expressed my thanks to George for the support we have received
during this time of crisis, for the condolences that have been
extended to the American people by the Greek people. I thanked him
especially for the support that has been provided to our military
forces, and that is a source of great comfort to us, knowing that we
can count on our Greek friends.
I made the point to the Minister that America has embarked upon this
campaign by pulling together a coalition of like-minded nations who
are coming together to condemn terrorism. We will pursue this campaign
vigorously, with patience. We will use all the elements of national
and international power. We will use financial instruments,
intelligence, law enforcement, military as appropriate, diplomatic and
political isolation. And we are in it for the long haul.
In the first instance, we are interested in the al-Qaida organization
and Usama bin Laden, currently headquartered in Afghanistan. We think
they should be turned over. But the struggle is really against
terrorism wherever it is throughout the world, and wherever it
threatens civilized societies.
I know that Greece has had these sorts of problems in the past, and
that is why we share such common views on what must be done. And so I
thank the Minister and the Greek people for their support, and I thank
George for having taken the time to visit with me this afternoon.
George.
FOREIGN MINISTER PAPANDREOU: Colin, thank you very much. I would like
to thank Secretary Colin Powell for finding the time in these
difficult hours.
First of all, I am here to pay my respects and bring our warmest of
condolences from the Greek people and the Greek Government to the
United States, and not only our sorrow but also our pledge to work
together, not only strongly condemning terrorism, but in every
practical way, to isolate and deal this terrible scourge a blow, so
that it doesn't prevail and that our values of freedom and democracy
do prevail in the world.
I also want to thank Colin because we were able to discuss some of the
regional issues which are high on the agenda in Greece, issues such as
the Balkans and the Middle East and Cyprus and Greek-Turkish
relations, but also our cooperation within NATO and the European
Union.
We again pledge to work very closely with the United States and I
would say that we very much appreciate the systematic and very careful
and thought through work that Secretary Powell is doing in building
this coalition, and the very effective way, so that we can make sure
that this is a -- we will have results, results which have to do not
with fighting civilizations; we are not fighting between
civilizations. We are not fighting Islam or the Arab world; we are
fighting terrorists. And they have no name, they are just terrorists.
And I think this is very important. So thank you very much, Colin, for
this time.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you, George.
We will take a question or two, but let me just conclude by again
thanking the Minister, as I did upstairs, for their support, and also
to once again extend my condolences to those Greeks who lost their
lives, and to their families as well as to the many Greek Americans
who were caught up in this terrible tragedy.
We will have time for one or two questions.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, can you please describe the information that
the US is providing to Greece and other allies about who we feel is
responsible for the September 11 bombings? And can you also say if you
have gotten responses back from any of the embassies as to how people
have accepted this information?
SECRETARY POWELL: As you know, we sent information out last night to a
large number of nations that have the ability to receive the kind of
information we sent, which I think powerfully made the case that the
al-Qaida organization led by Usama bin Laden was responsible for what
happened on the 11th of September. We traced the history of this
organization, its recent activities and events, and events around the
11th, before and after.
I think it is a persuasive case. It was presented in a NATO meeting
this morning by Ambassador Taylor from my Counter Terrorism Office.
And it was very persuasive. And we have heard back not only from Lord
Robertson, the Secretary General of NATO, who immediately came out and
reported that NATO found it persuasive enough to lift the "if" clause
in the Article V invocation, and now NATO is poised to receive
requests from the United States. But we have heard individually from
several capitals already that they found the information very, very
interesting, useful and persuasive.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, did you have the time to discuss with Mr.
Papandreou the Olympic Games issue in Greece for 2004?
SECRETARY POWELL: We discussed the games and I was very reassured by
the Minister about the efforts that are being made by the Greek
Government to make sure that the games go off smoothly, safely and in
the truest Olympic spirit. And, of course, you know, we have games
coming up in Salt Lake City, and I was very pleased to hear about the
level of coordination and cooperation that already exists between the
two organizing committees so that any lessons that are developed in
Salt Lake City will be used in Athens.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, do you foresee any role for Greece in the
near future, given the fact that Greece traditionally has a very good
relationship with the Arab world and the Palestinians?
SECRETARY POWELL: We did discuss the unique relations that Greece has
with a number of nations in the Arab world, and my colleague offered
his good offices to assist us if we needed any additional contacts or
ways of communicating with other nations in the region that we don't
normally have.
Thank you very much.
(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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