27 January 2004
White House Announces Libyan Cooperation in Elimination of WMD Programs
White House Report, Jan. 27: Libya, Poland, David Kay/Iraq, Cheney
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan announced that an American plane carrying components of Libya's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs arrived in the United States January 27.
The shipment, he said, is now "at a secure facility in Tennessee."
"While these shipments are only the beginning of the elimination of Libya's weapons, these shipments, as well as the close cooperation on the ground in Libya, reflect real progress in Libya meeting its commitments," McClellan said.
The Libyan government announced December 19, 2003, that it would voluntarily give up its WMD programs. A team of American and British experts is currently assisting the Libyan government in the elimination of its WMD programs.
"Colonel Qadhafi made a courageous decision to give up his weapons, and through this transparent process, the world can see that Colonel Qadhafi is keeping his commitment", McClellan said.
BUSH WELCOMES POLAND'S PRESIDENT BACK TO WHITE HOUSE
President Bush "was very pleased" to welcome Poland's President Aleksander Kwasniewski back to the White House, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters at his midday briefing.
"President Kwasniewski is a great ally, a close friend, and the president very much appreciates his strong leadership," McClellan said.
Following talks in the Oval Office, the two leaders had luncheon together in the Old Family Dining Room at the White House.
"Poland has shown great strength, and they are now playing a major role in helping to build security and democracy in Iraq," McClellan said. "And we are grateful to the Polish people and the brave Polish soldiers serving alongside their American allies in the field."
Under President Kwasniewski's leadership, the press secretary continued, "Poland has become a secure, sovereign, democratic nation embracing the path to prosperity, helping its neighbors, and playing a major role in Europe and on the world stage like never before.
"We are committed to developing a new level of relations between Poland and the United States. We are working together on a broad range of issues, from Europe and the transatlantic alliance to the greater Middle East to the Ukraine to Russia to counterproliferation," he said.
The two leaders agreed on several concrete initiatives, McClellan told reporters, including an initiative "to strengthen Poland's capacity to respond to global threats" and to strengthen the defense cooperation between the two countries "with new military assistance to continue to modernize the Polish armed forces."
Bush "is grateful for courageous friends like President Kwasniewski, who can join us in tackling common challenges," McClellan said.
WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS IRAQ WAR
The White House January 27 said the war in Iraq was justified because Saddam Hussein was a growing threat to the world.
"Saddam Hussein was a dangerous gathering threat, and the world is better and safer because of the actions we took. Iraq is better because of the actions we took," White House Press Secretary McClellan told reporters.
He noted that David Kay, the former head of the Iraq Survey Group, had "laid out the weapons programs in his progress report to Congress, so the intention and capability were there."
"[W]e had a regime there with WMD that used them on their neighbors and citizens, and failed to account for their weapons programs," McClellan said.
"Many intelligence agencies around the world believed that Iraq had WMD programs and the Iraq Survey Group is continuing their work," he said. "We need to let them continue their work and not get into a prejudged outcome with what they will learn as they complete their work."
"September 11 taught us that we must confront gathering threats before it is too late. Saddam Hussein was a murderous and brutal dictator and the world is better off that he has been moved from power", McClellan said.
BUSH MEETS WITH CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS
President Bush met the afternoon of January 27 at the White House with Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate to discuss the upcoming session of Congress.
"We've got a lot of common interests this year, interests of continuing to fight and win the war against terror. We need to protect our homeland. We need to put policies in place that help people find work. We'll work together on the health needs of our fellow citizens. We've got to be wise with the people's money. I look forward to constructive conversation today and working together constructively throughout the year. This is an election year, it's a year where people say 'nothing can get done.' We need to prove them wrong. We need to continue to do the people's business in a sound way," Bush told them.
CHENEY ENDS EUROPEAN TRIP BY VISITING U.S. TROOPS IN ITALY, MEETING WITH POPE
The United States remains on the offensive against terrorism, breaking up terrorist cells, disrupting plots and tracking al Qaeda around the world, Vice President Dick Cheney told U.S. troops in speeches at the Aviano Air Base and Caserma Ederle Army Base in Italy January 27.
Cheney said the United States is determined to confront the regimes that support terrorism and could supply them with weapons.
"That's why we went into Afghanistan, and took down the regime, and shut down the al Qaeda camps," said Cheney.
"In Iraq, where a dictator cultivated ties to terror and sought to arm himself with deadly weapons, America led a mission to make the world safer, and liberate the Iraqi people," he said.
"Saddam Hussein defied the demands of the civilized world and he has experienced the consequences," added Cheney.
Cheney told the troops that "important work" continues in Iraq and Afghanistan and that the United States is helping those countries to establish free and stable societies.
"Freedom still has enemies in those countries, and these enemies are using the tactics of terror against our coalition forces and against innocent civilians," said Cheney. "They hope to intimidate us, but they won't succeed," he said. "We will confront and defeat them at the heart and the center of their power, so we do not have to face them on the streets of our own cities."
Earlier in the day, Cheney met at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II.
"I am pleased to welcome you and your family to the Vatican and to receive the cordial greetings which you bring from President Bush," the Pope told Cheney, according to a Vatican press release.
"The American people have always cherished the fundamental values of freedom, justice and equality," the release said.
"In a world marked by conflict, injustice and division, the human family needs to foster these values in its search for unity, peace and respect for the dignity of all. I encourage you and your fellow-citizens to work, at home and abroad, for the growth of international cooperation and solidarity in the service of that peace which is the deepest aspiration of all men and women," said the Pope.
While a strong critic of the war in Iraq, John Paul has called for greater involvement of the international community to help Iraqis.
The U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, James Nicholson, called the pope's remarks on Iraq, "very forward looking," according to the Associated Press.
Cheney was on the final day of his five-day trip to Europe, where he attended the World Economic Forum, met with government leaders and delivered two foreign policy addresses, one in Switzerland, the other in Rome.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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