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Military

26 November 2001

Transcript: Bush Meets with Aid Workers Rescued from Afghanistan

(The President calls their story one of joy and hope) (3250)
President Bush met in the Oval Office November 26 with Heather Mercer
and Dayna Curry -- two American aid workers held captive for three
months in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
Following the meeting, Bush, flanked by the two women and their
families, told reporters in the Rose Garden that he was honored to
welcome the two to the White House "to celebrate a story of joy and a
story of hope. A story of two women who were rescued; a story about
the faith that sustained them and a family that clearly loves them."
The two women, both graduates of Baylor University in Texas, worked
for a private charity. They were arrested by the Taliban on August 5
on charges of attempting to convert Muslim Afghans to Christianity.
They were flown to Pakistan November 15 by the U.S. military, after
being helped to flee by Afghan citizens.
"This is a story of a military that is committed to achieving certain
objectives," said Bush, noting that he had told the Taliban that one
of his objectives was to release the humanitarian aid workers that
were being detained against their will.
"We've achieved that objective," Bush said. "And I want to thank our
military for rescuing these girls. And I want to thank those on the
ground in Afghanistan who helped with their rescue, as well."
Mercer and Curry thanked the nation and the world for their prayers of
support during their ordeal.
At the end of the Rose Garden event, reporters questioned Bush on the
war on terrorism, Iraq and North Korea, human cloning, and the U.S.
economy.
Following is the White House transcript:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
November 26, 2001
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN WELCOMING TO THE WHITE HOUSE THE AID
WORKERS RESCUED FROM AFGHANISTAN
The Rose Garden
10:35 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I'm so honored to welcome two courageous
souls to the Rose Garden to celebrate a story of joy and a story of
hope. A story of two women who were rescued; a story about the faith
that sustained them and a family that clearly loves them.
Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry decided to go to help people who needed
help. Their faith led them to Afghanistan. One woman who knows them
best put it this way: they had a calling to serve the poorest of the
poor, and Afghanistan is where that calling took them.
And Heather and Dayna's faith in God sustained them throughout their
ordeal. It's a wonderful story about prayer, about a faith that can
sustain people in good times and in bad times. Their faith was a
source of hope that kept them from becoming discouraged.
I talked to them right after their release, their freedom, and I
sensed no bitterness in their voice, no fatigue, just joy. It was an
uplifting experience for me to talk to these courageous souls.
Theirs is also a story about people who -- in our country -- who
rallied for them. People prayed all around the country. I was
particularly struck by the fact that Heather's Dad offered to take her
place in prison. I was struck by the fact that a country preacher out
of Central Texas flew to Afghanistan to lend his presence in any way
that would help. I know there are a lot of people right outside of
Crawford that were praying for these girls' release. And when they
were, people all across Baylor University cheered. Something besides
football became more important in their lives -- life, itself.
This is a story of a military that is committed to achieving certain
objectives. In my speech in front of the United States Congress, I
said to the Taliban, that one of the objectives was to release the
humanitarian aid workers that were being detained against their will.
We've achieved that objective. And I want to thank our military for
rescuing these girls. And I want to thank those on the ground in
Afghanistan who helped with their rescue, as well.
So it's a joyous day to welcome two good souls to the Rose Garden.
I'll ask them to say a few comments, and then I'll be glad to answer
some questions, if you have any.
MS. MERCER: Well, again, we just want to express our infinite thanks
to our nation, to our friends and our family who stood with us, day
and night. I mean, really, today is a day of great rejoicing for both
of us, to be back on our homeland, and to celebrate with our nation a
story of victory.
Today is a great honor for us, as well, to be here with our President.
It's probably one of the greatest privileges of my life. And I just
want to also thank our President. During our time in prison, we prayed
almost daily for our nation's government and for the President. And we
were so honored to be a part of a country that has such a man of God
and such a wonderful leader serving our nation.
We are so excited to be back. And, again, we know we're here because
of the prayers of people all over the country, all over the world. And
I think if we had a whole lifetime to say thank you, we wouldn't do it
right, we wouldn't say it appropriately. So thank you to all of you
who have been a part, who have not given up. Everyone from our church
back in Waco, our families, people we've never met all over the
country, to the U.S. military and to all those, the countless people
in the U.S. government who helped us and served us for the last three
and a half months. We're so grateful and it's a great honor to be here
today and celebrate with you.
Thank you.
MS. CURRY: Well, I can't really add much to that. That was perfectly
said. But, again, I'm just so thrilled to be here, so thrilled to be
alive and to be with my family again. I'll never be able to thank
America and the different Christians around the world who prayed for
us, literally, 24/7, around the clock they were praying for us.
Even since getting out, just talking to people who said that they
prayed, that every day they prayed with their children for us -- every
day. And people we didn't know at all. And it's just amazing. And even
getting out, I think I've realized more than ever that we really would
not -- we would not be standing here if people hadn't prayed for us.
It truly was a miracle and I just thank the Lord Jesus Christ for
getting us out and answering all those prayers and taking such
wonderful care of us while we were there.
There wasn't a day we didn't know His presence with us. He gave us
incredible peace while we were there, even though things were all
crazy around us. It was like we just had peace in our hearts and He
gave us joy, even in the midst of a terrible situation.
And even hearing about September 11th, when we found out about it
while we were in prison, our hearts just broke and we just prayed a
lot for the country while we were there. And, anyway, again, it's just
an incredible honor to be standing here, to be alive. I'm just
thankful to all the people that prayed. The American military did an
incredible job of getting us out. I'm just more than ever proud, so
proud to be an American and thankful to have grown up here and live
here.
Thanks a lot.
THE PRESIDENT: Good job.
QUESTION: Mr. President, following up on the talk of the military's
role in rescuing these two ladies. Can you tell us why you have
deployed a thousand Marines, at least a thousand Marines this weekend
on the ground? What their mission is? How many more are coming? And
how much more risky has their mission become with this advancement of
the troops?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first, I'll let the Defense Department explain
the mission. Well, first of all, we know the mission: the mission is
to bring al Qaeda to justice and to make sure Afghanistan no longer
serves as a haven for terrorists. And we've got a military strategy
that we're implementing. I'll let the Secretary of Defense in his
daily briefing go into the operational details as he sees fit.
But this is a dangerous period of time. This is a period of time in
which we're now hunting down the people who are responsible for
bombing America. I said a long time ago, one of our objectives is to
smoke them out and get them running and to bring them to justice.
We're smoking them out, they're running and now we're going to bring
them to justice. I also said we'll use whatever means is necessary to
achieve that objective. And that's exactly what we're going to do.
The American people must understand that we've got a long way to go in
order to achieve our objective in this theater. But we're patient,
we're resolved, and we will stay the course until we achieve our
objective.
Q: Mr. President, what's your reaction, sir, to news that the U.S.
economy has been in a recession since March?
THE PRESIDENT: My reaction that -- since March? Well, I knew that the
economy was not in good shape right after I took office, that's why I
urged that we pass a tax relief plan. I remember the debate clearly
about people saying, well, the economy is strong. But it wasn't. It
was flagging, it was weakening.
And that tax relief plan is going to be part of an economic recovery
package that will make sense for the long term of the country. We've
got low interest rates. We've got reasonable energy prices. We've got
good tax policy in place. We've got the framework for economic
recovery. I hope Congress moves quickly on an economic stimulus
package. The Senate needs to get a bill and get it into conference so
we can resolve differences and I can sign it before Christmas.
But I am obviously aware that our economy is slow. And we will do
everything we can to enhance recovery.
Q: Mr. President, getting back to the earlier question, aside from
September 11th, which cannot be forgotten, the war on terrorism has
been truly relatively American casualty free. And in recent years,
Americans have been generally casualty averse in its military
operations.
Are you concerned that Americans may suddenly start getting back into
that pattern where they're less accepting of American casualties?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, obviously, no President or
Commander in Chief hopes anybody lose his life in the theater. But
it's going to happen. I said this early on as the campaign began,
America must be prepared for loss of life. I believe the American
people understand that we've got a mighty struggle on our hands and
that there will be sacrifice. After all, some people made the greatest
sacrifice possible on September the 11th, and that is those who took
the airplane down. They said the Lord's Prayer on the phone to their
loved ones; the loved ones heard, "let's roll," and they took a plane
down so that it might not kill others, such as people working in the
White House or at the Capitol.
No, I think the American people understand we're in for a long, long
struggle in order to rid the world of terrorism, and that there might
be loss of life. I pray that not be the case. But our brave men and
women who signed up for the military understand the risk inherent with
being in the military.
Q: Mr. President, at Fort Campbell, you said: across the world and
across the years, we will fight the evil ones, and we will win --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q: -- suggesting very strongly that Afghanistan is only the first
step. What would you say about Iraq, as you begin to look at the next
steps in the campaign against global terrorism? What message would you
like to send to them now?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, my message is, is that if you harbor a terrorist,
you're a terrorist. If you feed a terrorist, you're a terrorist. If
you develop weapons of mass destruction that you want to terrorize the
world, you'll be held accountable. And I also have said, as I recall
at the White House, we're going to make sure that we accomplish each
mission that we tackle. First things first.
Now having said that, we, the coalition, has arrested over 300 people.
I can't wait to thank my friend, President Aznar of Spain, for having
arrested eight terrorists in Spain. In other words, there is an
international drag -- international effort to bring people to justice.
And over 300 people that have been involved with al Qaeda have been
brought to justice. Terrorism is terrorism. In this country, we'll
deal with it.
Q: Sir, you mentioned President Aznar of Spain. Spain says that they
don't want to extradite those people unless they can be tried under
our standard court system, and not by a military tribunal. Are you
concerned with the amount of dissent over your decision to establish
military tribunals?
THE PRESIDENT: Not the least bit concerned. I made the right decision.
A President must have the option of using a military tribunal in times
of war. I look forward to explaining to my friend, the President of
Spain, why I made that decision. It makes eminent sense to have the
military tribunal option available. It makes sense for national
security purposes, it makes sense for the protection of potential
jurors. It makes sense for homeland security. It is the right decision
to make, and I will explain that to any leader who asks.
Q: Mr. President, it seems an important line has been crossed with the
attempt to clone a human being by a private laboratory. What's your
reaction to that? Do you think there's any way to put this genie back
in the bottle?
THE PRESIDENT: My reaction, Terry, is that the use of embryos to clone
is wrong. We should not as a society grow life to destroy it. And
that's exactly what's taking place. And I have made that position very
clear. I haven't changed my mind. And this evidence today that they're
trying to achieve that objective, to grow an embryo in order to
extract a stem cell, in order for that embryo to die is bad public
policy. Not only that, it's morally wrong in my opinion.
Q: Mr. President, does the current threat justify the Vice President
remaining in an undisclosed location? And even though he's not --
THE PRESIDENT: I just ate breakfast with him. It's no longer
undisclosed. (Laughter.) And he looks great. I think my -- was swell,
he still looks swell.
Q: How long is this separation going to go on? Do you think that --
THE PRESIDENT: I had breakfast with him. I mean, I shouldn't say that.
Right after I had breakfast, I met with him. I spent the morning with
him. As a matter of fact, he was here to welcome these families into
the White House.
Q: But do you still consider him, even though he's not as visible and
doesn't, in terms of visibility, appear to be playing the same kind of
role we saw before September 11th --
THE PRESIDENT: No, the Vice President is very much engaged in the
administration, and I value his advice. I trust his judgment. I talk
to him every single day. And today I was visiting with him face to
face. As I say, he looks swell.
Stretch.
Q: To follow up on Major's question.
THE PRESIDENT: What was his question?
Q: Whether Iraq could be the next target of the anti-terror campaign.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, okay.
Q: Does Saddam Hussein have to agree to allow weapons inspectors back
into Iraq? Is that an unconditional demand of yours?
THE PRESIDENT: Saddam Hussein agreed to allow inspectors in his
country. And in order to prove to the world he's not developing
weapons of mass destruction, he ought to let the inspectors back in.
Q: And if he doesn't, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes?
Q: And if he does not do that, sir, what will be the consequence? If
he does not do that, what will be the consequences?
THE PRESIDENT: That's up for -- he'll find out.
Q: Sir, what is your thinking right now about taking the war to Iraq?
You suggested that on Wednesday, when you said Afghanistan was just
the beginning.
THE PRESIDENT: I stand by those words. Afghanistan is still just the
beginning. If anybody harbors a terrorist, they're a terrorist. If
they fund a terrorist, they're a terrorist. If they house terrorists,
they're terrorists. I mean, I can't make it any more clearly to other
nations around the world. If they develop weapons of mass destruction
that will be used to terrorize nations, they will be held accountable.
And as for Mr. Saddam Hussein, he needs to let inspectors back in his
country, to show us that he is not developing weapons of mass
destruction.
Q: Mr. President, following up on that thought, when you initially
made -- defined terrorism in your speech before Congress, you did not
include them as weapons of mass destruction. Are you now extending
this to countries like North Korea, other places where we have had
evidence over the years that there's been development of such weapons?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, clearly, in terms of North Korea, we want North
Korea to allow inspectors in, to determine whether or not they are.
We've had that discussion with North Korea. I made it very clear to
North Korea that in order for us to have relations with them, that we
want to know, are they developing weapons of mass destruction? And
they ought to stop proliferating.
So part of the war on terror is to deny terrorist weapons getting -- I
mean, weapons to be used for means of terror getting in the hands of
nations that will use them. And so I'm not quite sure of the --
Q: I'm just asking if you've expanded your definition to countries who
don't just harbor terrorists, but also develop such weapons.
THE PRESIDENT: Have I expanded the definition? I've always had that
definition, as far as I'm concerned.
Yes, ma'am.
Q: Mr. President, you've said a number of times you will go to all
lengths to get members of al Qaeda. There's now news that Pakistan has
air-lifted some of its citizens back to Pakistan. Are you concerned
that they may be taking members of al Qaeda and will not turn them
over?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I'm not. We've had good discussions with Pakistan.
They understand the objective is to bring al Qaeda to justice and
they've indicated they'll help us do so.
All right, thank you all very much.
END 10:53 A.M. EST
(end White House transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)



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