30 July 2007
The PM and President Bush have promised to continue to work closely together, agreeing that the relationship between the UK and US is the strongest bilateral affiliation for both countries.
Read the transcript
President Bush:
Welcome. Frankly it is good to have you here. So everybody is wondering whether or not the Prime Minister and I were able to find common ground, to get along, to have a meaningful discussion. And the answer is: absolutely. You know he probably wasn’t sure what to expect from me and I kind of had a sense of the kind of person I would be dealing with. I would describe Gordon Brown as a principled man who really wants to get something done. In my discussions with him last night, we spent about two hours over dinner and just alone, dismissed the rest of the delegations to the bowling alley I think. And as Josh Bolton said it is the Ryder Cup of bowling - I think the trophy was left to Great Britain if I am not mistaken. But we had a really casual and good discussion and we would be glad to share, I would be glad to share some of the insights here.
But the notion of America and Britain sharing values is very important and we have an obligation, it seems to me, to work for freedom and justice around the world and I have found a person who shares that vision and who understands the call, after all re-writing the initial chapters of what I believe is a great ideological struggle between those of us who do believe in freedom and justice, in human rights and human dignity, and cold-blooded killers who will kill innocent people to achieve their objectives.
And one of the great callings that we have here in the beginning of the 21st century is to protect our own people. And so we spent a fair amount of time making sure that our systems are properly in line so as we can share information to protect our citizens from this kind of brutal group of people who really would like to see us dropping from parts of the world so they can impose their ideology. And I do congratulate the Prime Minister for his steady and quick response in the face of a significant threat to the homeland. You proved your worthiness as a leader and I thank you for that.
We also recognise that if you are involved with an ideological struggle and you defeat that one ideology with a more hopeful ideology, and that is why it is very important to defend and stand with these young democracies in Afghanistan, in Iraq. I appreciate very much the British commitment in Afghanistan and Iraq. I appreciate the bravery of the soldiers. Obviously I mourn the loss of any life. I think it is very important for us to make it clear to those who are in harm’s way that these missions will be driven not by local politics but by conditions on the ground. Because success in Afghanistan and Iraq will be an integral part of defeating an enemy and in helping people realise the great blessings of liberty as the alternative to an ideology of darkness that spreads its murder to achieve its objectives.
We talked about the tyranny of poverty, the tyranny of lack of education and I appreciate the Prime Minister’s strong commitment to press forward on working together, dealing with disease, whether it is HIV-Aids or malaria. He has got a strong commitment to helping people realise the blessings of education. I thank you very much for that vision.
He also understands what I know that if we are really interested in eradicating poverty it is important for us to be successful in the Doha round. Gordon Brown brought some interesting suggestions on the way forward. He is optimistic that we can conclude the Doha round, as am I, and I want to thank you for strategising as to how to get that done in a way that is beneficial for all of us.
We talked about the Holy Land, we talked about Darfur. We had a good discussion as to how to keep this world engaged in the atrocities, I have called it a genocide, taking place in Darfur and I want to thank you for your leadership on that issue.
And so we had a good relaxed meaningful discussion over dinner and then picked it up at breakfast. And I am pleased you are here and I am pleased to report that this relationship will be a constructive strategic relationship for the good of our peoples. Welcome.
Prime Minister:
Thank you very much. Well can I say Mr President it is a great honour for me to come within a few weeks of becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom here to Camp David, to have been invited by you to have the discussions that we have just concluded, and to be able to affirm and to celebrate the historic partnership of shared purpose between our two countries. And I believe it is this, a partnership that is founded on more than common interests and more than just a common history, it is a partnership founded and driven forward by our shared values. What Winston Churchill, who was the first British Prime Minister to visit Camp David, called the joint inheritance of liberty, a belief in opportunity for all, a belief in the dignity of every human being.
And I have told President Bush that it is in Britain’s national interest that with all our energies we work together to address all the great challenges that we face altogether - nuclear proliferation, climate change, global poverty and prosperity, the Middle East process which we have discussed, and most immediately international terrorism. Terrorism is not a cause, it is a crime and it is a crime against humanity and there should be no safe haven and no hiding place for those who practise terrorist violence or preach terrorist extremism.
Ladies and Gentlemen, in Iraq we have duties to discharge and responsibilities to keep. In support of the democratically elected government, and in support of the explicit will of the international community expressed most recently through UN Resolution 1723, our aim, like the United States, is step by step to move control to the Iraqi authorities, to the Iraqi government and to its security forces as progress is made. And we have moved from combat to overwatch in 3 of the 4 provinces for which we, the British, have security responsibility. We intend to move to overwatch in the fourth province and that decision will be made on the military advice of our commanders on the ground. Whatever happens we will make a full statement to Parliament when it returns. Our aim, as is the aim of the United States Government, is threefold: security for the Iraqi people; political reconciliation; and that the Iraqis have a stake in the future. And I can say also that I have proposed to the Iraqi government the offer of new finance that for Basra and the surrounding areas where we have responsibility that we invite the Iraqis to set up, with our support, a Basra Economic Development Agency so that there are jobs, businesses, the chance of prosperity and economic hope.
I strongly support President Bush’s initiative, a bold initiative, to make early progress in the Middle East peace process.
Afghanistan is the frontline against terrorism and as we have done twice in the last year where there are more forces needed to back up the coalition and NATO effort they have been provided by the United Kingdom.
On Iran we are in agreement that sanctions are working and the next stage we are ready to move towards is to toughen the sanctions with a further UN resolution.
Darfur is the greatest humanitarian disaster the world faces today and I have agreed with the President that we step up our pressure to end the violence that has displaced 2 million people, made 4 million hungry and reliant on food aid, and murdered 200,000 people. We are agreed on expediting the UN Resolution for a joint UN-African Union peace force, we are agreed on encouragement for early peace talks, a call to cease violence on the ground, an end to aerial bombing of civilians and support for economic development if this happens and further sanctions if this does not happen.
Across developing countries 30,000 children die needlessly every day and we support the President’s path-breaking initiatives on HIV-Aids and on malaria, and we are agreed to support a new partnership that brings together public and private sectors, faith groups and civil society, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
In a world trade agreement lies the difference between progress to a more open global trading economy and a retreat into protectionism. In recent days I have been able to talk to Chancellor Merkel, President Barroso, Prime Minister Socrates, President Lula, President Mbeki and Prime Minister Singh, as well as the Trade Negotiator Pascal Lamy, and the President and I are at one in seeking an early conclusion to a trade agreement. We agreed that contact between leaders will be stepped up so that we are ready to quickly finalise an agreement in the near future.
We also agreed on the importance of the issue of climate change which needs to be tackled in the context of sustainable development and in the context of energy security. We support the framework of meetings over the coming months to address this issue and move forward the agenda agreed at this year’s G8 in Germany.
Mr President, we have had full and frank discussions, we have had the capacity and the ability to meet yesterday evening for 2 hours to discuss person-to-person some of the great issues of our time. You were kind enough also to arrange talks this morning where we continued the discussion on the issues that I have just talked about, and I am very grateful to you for your hospitality and for the chance for our two countries with our great shared histories to continue to work together on these great issues.
I think we are agreed that all challenges can best be met when together the United Kingdom and the United States work in a partnership that I believe will strengthen in the years to come and I thank you both for your invitation and for the chance to talk about these great issues.
Question:
Thank you Mr President. Your own Military Commander suggests that in Iraq the Iraqi forces are not nearly ready to take over security for their own country and that US troops will need to stay in the region for many months, if not years. Are you prepared to pass on the fate of the war to the next President? And Mr Prime Minister, if I may, what do you see as the biggest mistakes in the management of the war and what do you propose to do to correct them?
President Bush:
David Petraeus, the General on the ground, will be bringing his recommendations back to the Congress on or about September 15, and I think it is going to be very important for all of us to wait for him to report, and the reason that it is important is that I believe that the decisions on the way forward on Iraq must be made with a military recommendation as an integral part of it, and therefore I don’t want to pre-judge what David is going to say. I have said this is going to take a long time in Iraq, just like the ideological struggle is going to take a long time. And so I look forward to David’s report and then we will respond accordingly. There has been some notable progress, the Anvar Province being such a place where there is bottom-up reconciliation with people rejecting this Al Qaeda vision of the world and there is a better way forward. There are still set-backs obviously, you get these suiciders that are trying to foment sectarian violence. But then I would ask you and the Congress to wait to do what I am doing, which is to wait for David to come back and make his report. I think you will find it will be considered and based upon the evidence there on the ground.
Prime Minister:
You asked about the difficulties we have faced and what has happened over the last period of time. I think the difficulties include getting political reconciliation within Iraq itself, moving forward the reconstruction and the time it has taken to do so. But I think the one thing that I am pleased about is that Iraq is now building up its own security forces, it is now building up its own military and it is now building up its own police. So we have got to a situation where there are perhaps 300,000 people who are in the Iraq security and policing forces. In Basra and in the four provinces that we are dealing with security forces have built up over the last few years now to around 30,000 people. It is in that context where we can then achieve what we want to do, which is to pass security over to the Iraqi people themselves, to pass it over to the elected Iraqi government and of course to local provincial control. And one of the encouraging things that has happened over the last few months, indeed the last year and more, is that we have been able to pass the control of three of the four provinces for which we have got responsibility back to Iraqi hands. And of course the issue in Basra, which is the largest province, is the point at which we can do what we want to do, which is to have local people and local army and local police in charge of the security there. So that is the challenge that we face over this next period of time, that Iraq itself becomes more responsible for its own security, that we are able to pass control of the province both to elected politicians and to the security services, and we are able to combine that with the people of Iraq themselves having a stake in the future. So yes there have been problems, but yes also when you look at the four provinces for which we have got responsibility we can see that we are able to move control back to the Iraqi people in three, and there is a chance of being able to do that in the fourth as a result of a build-up of the security forces.
Question:
Mr President you trusted Tony Blair not, in your phrase, to cut and run from Iraq. After your talks do you believe you can trust Gordon Brown in the same way? And Prime Minister, you talked of Afghanistan being in the frontline in the struggle against terror, not Iraq, do you believe that British troops in Iraq are part of the struggle against terrorism, or as many people now believe making that harder, not easier, to win?
Prime Minister:
Well perhaps I should deal with the first and then pass on to you President. In Iraq you are dealing with Sunni-Shia violence, you are dealing with the involvement of Iran, but you are certainly dealing with a large number of Al Qaeda terrorists. And I think I described Afghanistan as the first line in the battle against the Taliban, and of course the Taliban in Afghanistan is what we are dealing with in the provinces for which we have got responsibility, and doing so with some success. There is no doubt therefore that Al Qaeda is operating in Iraq, there is no doubt that we have had to take very strong measures against them, and there is no doubt that the Iraqi security forces have got to be strong enough to be able to withstand not just the violence that there has been between the Sunni and Shia population and the Sunni insurgency, but also Al Qaeda itself. So one of the tests that the military commanders will have on the ground in the provinces for which we have got direct responsibility now, and before we move from combat to overwatch, is whether we are strong enough, and they are strong enough, to enable them to stand up against that threat.
President Bush:
There is no doubt in my mind that Gordon Brown understands that failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the security of our own countries, that failure in Iraq would embolden extremist movements throughout the Middle East, that failure in Iraq would basically say to you know people sitting on the fence around the region that Al Qaeda is powerful enough to drive great countries like Great Britain and America out of Iraq before the mission is done. He understands that violence could spill out across the region, that a country like Iran would become emboldened. So there is no doubt in my mind that he understands the stakes of the struggle and there is no doubt in my mind that he will keep me abreast of his military commander’s recommendations based upon conditions on the ground. As he accurately noted, the Brits have been involved in four of the provinces, transfer has taken place in three of the four. Why? Because progress was made, the results-oriented world, and the results were such that Great Britain was able to transfer responsibility. That is what we want to do, we want to be in a position where we can achieve results on the ground so that we can be in a different posture. The problem was last Fall we weren’t going to be able to transfer, because conditions on the ground were getting out of control, and so I made the decision to send more troops in, understanding the consequences of failure if we did not do so. And as I have said I think if we don’t send troops it is more likely we will fail and the consequences of failure would be disaster for Great Britain and the United States, something this Prime Minister understands. But the idea of somehow achieving results and therefore this is a changing of attitude just simply doesn’t, I just don’t agree with that. I find him resolved and firm and understanding about the stakes in this series of [inaudible] struggles in this war against extremists and radicals. And the challenge for Gordon and me is to write a chapter, the first chapter in this struggle that will lead to success, and that is exactly what we are determined to do.
… Burke, today is your birthday, how old are you, how old are you?
Question:
38.
President Bush:
Here you are, an amazing country, Gordon, a guy who is under 40 years old asking me and you questions. It is a beautiful sight.
Question:
40 is the new 30 Mr President.
President Bush:
A beautiful sight.
Prime Minister:
Six of my Cabinet are under 40.
President Bush:
Are they? You must be feeling damned old then …
Question:
Mr President, the Prime Minister has referred to terrorism as "a crime" and he has referred to it in part as a law enforcement issue. So for you I am wondering does that underscore any sort of philosophical difference when your 2004 campaign took issue with somewhat similar descriptions from John Kerry? And Mr Prime Minister I have heard a lot about how your approach to the United States will be the same as that of your predecessor, but how will it differ?
President Bush:
People who kill innocent men, women and children to achieve political objectives are evil, that is what I think. I don’t think there is any need to negotiate with them, I don’t think there is any need to hope that they will change. They are killers and we had better be clear eyed when we are dealing with them. And this Prime Minister, right at the beginning of his office, got a taste of what it means to be in a world where these people would come and attempt to kill innocent civilians of his country. He handled it well but we are dealing with a variety of methodologies to deal with them, one is intelligence, one is law enforcement and one is military. We have got to use all our assets at disposal to find them and bring them to justice before they hurt our people again. In the long run the way to defeat these people is through a competing ideology, and what is interesting about this struggle, and this is why I was paying very careful attention to when Gordon was speaking is that he understands it is an ideological struggle, and he does. As he said to me, it is akin to the Cold War, and it is except the difference this time is that we have an enemy using asymmetrical warfare to try to affect our vision, to try to shake our will. They will kill innocent women and children, so it gets on the TV screens so we say it is not worth it. You know let’s just back off. The death they cause makes it, you know maybe we just ought to let them have their way, and that is the great danger facing the world in which we live. And he gets it. I think he will answer his own question. Have I talked too long …
Question:
How has your approach differed from that of the President, Sir. And also while we are on the subject …
President Bush:
Wait a minute, it doesn’t work that way. Mr birthday boy is taking latitude here.
Question:
Do you have the same philosophy as the President on terrorism Sir?
Prime Minister:
Absolutely.
President Bush:
What do you expect the answer to be?
Prime Minister:
Absolutely, and let me just stress that we are in a generational long battle against terrorism, against al Qaeda-inspired terrorism, and this is a battle for which we can get no quarter, it is a battle that has got to be fought in military, diplomatic, intelligence, security, policing and ideological terms. And while we have to face groups of terrorists operating in Britain, and other countries around the world have seen perhaps in 17 countries terrorist attacks over the last few years, when we in Britain have faced 15 of our own since September 2001, and of course when America itself faced in September 2001 and showed such bravery, resilience and courage in standing up against terrorism then, we know we are in a common struggle and we know we have to work together and we know we have got to use all these to deal with it. So we are at one in fighting the battle against terrorism and that struggle is one that we will fight with determination and with resilience and right across the world.
You asked about the new government in the United Kingdom. What I would say is this. Every generation faces new challenges and the challenges that we face in 2007 are not the same as the challenges that we faced as a government when Tony Blair started in 1997. Then the challenges in Britain were about stability, about employment, about public services, then the challenges around the world were not seen at that point as the challenges against international terrorism. Today in 2007 we see the challenges are radically different from what they were 10 years ago. We have the climate change challenge we have just been discussing, which wasn’t one that was seen in exactly the same way a few years ago, and that will lead to the work that we have got to do together, and involving China and India in particular to deal with the energy issues, and including issues of energy security that we face. We have the challenge of security and terrorism, we have the challenge that we now know in Africa, Darfur, the challenge that we have got to meet immediately to make sure that famine does not afflict millions of people in that part of Africa. And of course we have the challenge that we can see now where there are opportunities as well as difficulties in the Middle East peace process, and that of course is the challenge that Secretary of State Rice - I am glad she is here today and has joined our discussions - is going on only today to the Middle East to take up.
So the challenges are different, we will deal with them by being a government of opportunity and security for all, but the challenges of course are new as we face the next decade and these are challenges that we will face and I believe America will face with exactly the same resilience, courage and professionalism.
Question:
Mr Brown, the new formulation for what we used to call the special relationship is Britain’s single most important bilateral relationship. I wonder if I could ask you what precisely that means, whether it works the other way for the United States in terms of their bilateral relationships, and also Mr President what you think has actually changed with the arrival of Gordon Brown instead of Tony Blair?
President Bush:
Besides toothpaste. To be honest I will start, look I think any time you share values the way we share values it makes it easy to have strategic conversations, it makes it easy to be able to have common ground on which to deal with these problems, he just listed off a lot of problems. I happen to … these great opportunities to begin to put conditions in place, so that the world looks fundamentally different 50 years from now. But I would say that the relationship between Great Britain and America is our most important bilateral relationship for a lot of reasons: trade; Great Britain has been attacked, we have been attacked; it has caused us to lash up our intelligence services like never before; we have common interests throughout the world. But it is an important relationship primarily because we think the same, we believe in freedom and justice as fundamentals of life. Because there is no doubt in my mind that freedom is universal, that freedom is a gift to each man, woman and child on the face of the earth, and with freedom comes peace and there is no doubt in my mind that those of us who live under free societies have an obligation to work together to promote it. And the man I listen to shares that same sense of morality and that same sense of obligation, not to free others but to create the conditions so others can realise the blessings of freedom. We can’t impose freedom but we can eliminate roadblocks to freedom and to allow free societies to develop. And it is really hard work and there are a lot of cynics saying how dare they, how dare they impose US or great British values, and what I found was a man who understands that these aren’t great British and US values, these are universal values. And so what was your question?
Question:
Inaudible.
President Bush:
How has it changed? As a Scotsman, not the dour Scotsman that you described him, or the awkward Scotsman, he is actually a humorous Scotsman, the guy that we actually were able to relax and to share some thoughts. You know I was very interested in his family life. He is a man who has suffered unspeakable tragedy and instead of that weakening his soul it strengthened his soul. I was impressed and I am confident that we will be able to keep our relationship strong, healthy, vibrant and that there will be constant communications as we deal with these problems. As I say he is a problem solver and that is what we need as partners, we have got a lot of problems we are dealing with and we can reach solutions. He is a glass half-full man, not a glass half-empty guy you know. Some of these world leaders say oh the problems are so significant let us retreat, let us not take them on, they are too tough. That is not Gordon Brown. His attitude is I see a problem, let us work together to solve it, and for that I am grateful.
Prime Minister:
What President Bush has said is both very compassionate and reflects the conversation we had about a whole series of issues that we can deal with together. I think your understanding, if I may say so, Scotland was enhanced by the fact that you went to Scotland, you told me, at the age of 14 and had to sit through a very long Presbyterian church service in which you didn’t understand a word of what the Minister was actually saying. So I think you came to a better understanding of the Scottish contribution to the United Kingdom from that.
You asked about the single most important bilateral relationship for Britain, and I think President Bush has answered that, that that is the view of the United States as well. Call it the special relationship, call it, as Churchill did, the joint inheritance, call it as when we meet as a form of homecoming, as President Reagan did, then you see the strength of this relationship. As I have said, it is not just built on the shared problems that we have to deal with together, or on the shared history, but it is built, as President Bush has just said, on shared values and these are values that he rightly says are universal, they are the belief in the dignity of the individual, the freedom and liberty that we can bring to the world and a belief that everyone - everyone - should have the chance of opportunity. And I do see this relationship strengthening in the years to come because it is the values that we believe in that I think will have most impact as we try to solve the problems that we face right across the world. And in a sense the battle that we are facing with international terrorism is a battle between our values, which stress the dignity of every individual, and those who would maim and murder, irrespective of faith, indifferent to human life, often simply for propaganda effect and of course with devastating effects both on the communities that they claim to represent and the whole world. So I want to stress the values that we hold in common, not in an abstract way but in a very positive and concrete way because I think the more we debate these issues about how the world would be organised to face international terrorism, the more we come back to the values that unite decent hard working people right across the world, whatever their faith, whatever their country, whatever their continent. And it has been a privilege to be able to have these discussions with the President about how we can deal with all these challenges by applying not just our values, but applying the strength that comes from the strong relationship that exists between our two countries.
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