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30 May 2003

Bush Discusses Iraq, Future U.S.-French Cooperation

(French TV3 interview) (1380)
In a May 29 interview with French TV3 at the White House, President
Bush said the development of democracy in Iraq is "going to take a
while," but that the United States "will be patient."
"As we bring security to the neighborhoods," he said, "you'll see a
good, democratic government emerge."
Bush denied harboring any anger at French President Jacques Chirac
because of disagreement over the Iraq campaign. "I'm not mad," he
said. "I'm disappointed, and the American people are disappointed. But
now is the time to move forward." He said there are "a lot of issues
that we can work together on" and specifically mentioned efforts to
combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Bush dismissed criticism that the United States has yet to find
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, citing the recent discovery of
mobile biological laboratories, "the very same laboratories that were
banned by the resolutions of the United Nations."
He said that on his upcoming trip to the Middle East he will remind
Arab leaders of their "responsibility to the process" of peace. "[I]f
they're interested in the achievement of peace, that they must cut off
funding, for example, or work to cut off the financing of money to
terrorist groups that would like to destroy the process."
Asked about Iran, Bush welcomed the opportunity to reiterate American
concerns about al Qaeda terrorists "inside of Iran."
"To the extent that they have got al Qaeda in their country, we expect
them to detain them and eventually hand them over to their countries
of origin," he said. "Our main focus right now is to find al Qaeda
wherever they exist and bring them to justice. ... And we expect
others to join us."
Bush complimented the French for their help in fighting al Qaeda. "The
French intelligence service have been very good to work with," he
said. "And for that I'm grateful."
Following is the White House transcript of the interview:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE 
Office of the Press Secretary 
May 29, 2003
INTERVIEW OF THE PRESIDENT BY TV3, FRANCE
The Library
2:43 P.M. EDT
QUESTION: Mr. President, are you going to forgive the French attitude
on Iraq? What are you going to tell President Chirac when you're going
to see him face to face?
THE PRESIDENT: Sure.
Q: Are you still mad at him? Are you going to take sanctions against
France?
THE PRESIDENT: No, no. No sanctions -- I'm not mad. I mean, I'm
disappointed, and the American people are disappointed. But now is the
time to move forward. And there's a lot of issues that we can work
together on. I know that Jacques Chirac feels strongly about Africa,
and so do I. And, therefore, we can work together, for example, on the
AIDS pandemic in Africa. I laid out a big initiative here for the
American people, and the Congress passed a $15-billion, five-year plan
to work on HIV/AIDS in Africa. And there would be an opportunity, for
example, for America and the French to work together to solve some big
problems.
And I'm going to remind him, just like I'm going to remind a lot of
people, that we can do a heck of a lot more together than we can
arguing with each other. And I can understand why some didn't agree
with our policy in Iraq, but it's now time to move forward.
Q: Considering the road map, peace in Middle East, you are going to
meet most of the protagonists next week, how do you plan concretely to
succeed where your predecessors failed?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Well, first of all, I appreciate the understanding
of Jacques Chirac and the administration about me leaving a little
early from Evian to go to the Middle East, where I will first meet
with our Arab friends, some of the leaders in the neighborhood, and
remind them they have a responsibility to the process. In other words,
if they're interested in the achievement of peace, that they must cut
off funding, for example, or work to cut off the financing of money to
terrorist groups that would like to destroy the process.
Secondly, I believe that the Palestinian Authority -- the new Prime
Minister is firmly committed to the defeat of terror and the
advancement of a state and the institutions necessary to make a state
viable. And so I'm very encouraged by his emergence.
And, thirdly, I believe Israel recognizes it's in their self-interest
to support the notion of two states living side-by-side in peace. I'm
the first President to have ever proposed that. I did so at the United
Nations, and I take that vision into the Middle East knowing that the
process is going to be difficult. But I believe that people now see
the necessity of achieving that end result.
Q: Mr. President, what do you answer to the American press that are
trying to say that you have not released yet the proof of the
existence of arms of massive destructions in Iraq? What do you answer
to them?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, they must not be paying attention, is what I
answer, because we've discovered mobile biological laboratories, the
very same laboratories that Colin Powell talked about at the United
Nations, the very same laboratories that were banned by the
resolutions of the United Nations.
Q: The situation in Iraq is far from being stabilized. We have seen
some American soldiers killed. Do you fear the rise of Muslim
fundamentalism in this region against the occidental world, against
United States? And do you fear at the same time the risk of creation
of an Islamic republic backed by neighboring Iran?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don't fear that. I think the Iraqi people want to
run their own state. They don't need to have an Iranian-backed regime.
I think the Iraqi people are plenty capable of managing their own
affairs.
Secondly, I fully recognize that democracy didn't flourish overnight.
But I didn't expect it to. This is a country which has been ravished
by a brutal dictator who murdered and tortured to stay in power. And
it wasn't all that long ago that they were liberated from Saddam
Hussein. So it's going to take a while.
And, therefore, I've told Jerry Bremer that our government, my
government, will be patient, as he makes progress toward improving the
lives of the Iraqi people. And I say "he," it's not only Jerry Bremer
and the United States, there's a lot of people that are involved with
the reconstruction of Iraq. And as life returns back to normal, and as
we get a hold of the situation -- particularly in Baghdad -- of the
killers and people that are wreaking havoc -- in other words, as we
bring security to the neighborhoods -- you'll see a good, democratic
government emerge.
Q: Is Iran a preoccupation for you? The ayatollahs with al Qaeda,
which might be in that country attacking the United States?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we are concerned -- we are concerned that there's
al Qaeda inside of Iran and have made our concerns very clearly. And
this will give me a chance to do so again. To the extent that they
have got al Qaeda in their country, we expect them to detain them and
eventually hand them over to their countries of origin. There's no
preoccupation. Our main focus right now is to find al Qaeda wherever
they exist and bring them to justice. And we will do that. We'll
continue to do that. And we expect others to join us.
And I want to compliment the French for joining in this fight against
al Qaeda. The French intelligence service have been very good to work
with, and we've shared intelligence which has made France more secure
and America more secure. And for that I'm grateful.
Q: Mr. President, I want to thank you very much, and I definitely wish
you all the best and great success for the future.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir. Thanks for coming.
END 2:48 P.M. EDT
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)