31 January 2003
Read a transcript of the press conference in full
President Bush
It is my honour to welcome Tony Blair back to the White House. We have just had a wide-ranging discussion on a lot of issues. I appreciate my friend’s commitment to peace and security, I appreciate his vision, I appreciate his willingness to lead, most importantly I appreciate his understanding that after 11 September 2001, the world changed, that we face a common enemy, terrorists willing to kill innocent lives, that we now recognise that threats which gather in remote regions of the world must be dealt with before others lose their lives. Tony Blair is a friend, he is a friend of the American people, he is a friend of mine, I trust his judgement and I appreciate his wisdom. Welcome.
Prime Minister
First of all can I say how delighted I am to be back in the White House and to see President Bush, and as he has just described to you, we had an excellent discussion covering all the key issues of the day, and I would like to praise his leadership in the world since 11 September particularly, on what I think are the two key issues that face our world today, which are issues of international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, and I think both of those issues come together because they threaten the peace, and the order, and the stability of the world. And what is essential is that in every respect, in every way that we can, we mobilise international support in the international community in order to make sure that these twin threats that the world faces are dealt with. And I have no doubt at all that we can deal with them, but we should realise those two threats - terrorism, weapons of mass destruction - are not different, they are linked, and dealing with both of them is essential for the future peace and security and prosperity of the world.
Question and Answer Session
Question
Prime Minister, did you ask President Bush to secure a second UN resolution and to give the inspectors more time? And President Bush, the UN inspectors say Saddam is not complying, you say Saddam is not complying, why a matter of weeks, why hold up on the decision?
President Bush
First of all you violated the two question rule, as usual. You have a bad habit of this. I will start. Saddam Hussein is not disarming, he is a danger to the world, he must disarm, and that is why I have constantly said, and the Prime Minister has constantly said, this issue will come to a head in a matter of weeks, not months.
Prime Minister
The whole point about the present situation is that when President Bush made his speech to the United Nations, when we went down the United Nations route, we passed Resolution 1441. And I think it really repays re-reading that, because we said very clearly that Saddam had, what we said what was a final opportunity to disarm and that he had to co-operate fully in every respect with the UN weapons inspectors. As Dr Blix said in his report to the Security Council earlier this week, he is not doing that. And therefore what is important is that the international community comes together again and makes it absolutely clear that this is unacceptable. And the reason why I believe that it will do that is precisely because in the original Resolution 1441 we made it clear that failure to disarm would lead to serious consequences. So this is a test for the international community, it is not just a test for the United States or for Britain, it is a test for the international community too. And the judgement has to be at the present time that Saddam Hussein is not co-operating with the inspectors and therefore is in breach of the UN resolution, and that is why time is running out.
Question
A question for the President, if I may. What is the status, in your view, of any second resolution? Is it something that you think it is worth spending time and energy trying to assemble, and if so, why?
President Bush
First, let me reiterate what I just said. This is a matter of weeks, not months. Any attempt to drag the process on for months will be resisted by the United States, and as I understand the Prime Minister, I am loathe to put words into his mouth, but he has also said weeks, not months. Secondly, I want to remind you, I was the guy that went to the United Nations in the first place. I said why don’t we come together as a world to resolve this issue, once and for all. Why don’t the United Nations stand up as a body and show the world that it has got the capacity to keep the peace. So first of all, in answer to one part of your question, this just needs to be resolved quickly. Should the United Nations decide to pass a second resolution, it would be welcomed if it is yet another signal that we are intent upon disarming Saddam Hussein. But 1441 gives us the authority to move without any second resolution, and Saddam Hussein must understand that if he does not disarm for the sake of peace, we along with others will go and disarm Saddam Hussein.
Question
Mr President, is Secretary Powell going to provide the undeniable proof of Iraq’s guilt that so many critics are calling for?
President Bush
In all due modesty, I thought I did a pretty good job myself of making it clear that he is not disarming and why he should disarm. Secretary Powell will make a strong case about the danger of an armed Saddam Hussein. We will make it clear that Saddam Hussein is fooling the world, or trying to fool the world. He will make it clear that Saddam is a menace to peace in his own neighbourhood, and he will also talk about Al-Qaeda links, links that really do portend a danger for America, and for Great Britain, and anybody else who loves freedom. As the Prime Minister says, the war on terror is not confined to just a shadowy terrorist network, the war on terror includes people who are willing to train, and to equip organisations such as Al-Qaeda. You see, the strategic view of America changed after 11 September. We must deal with threats before they hurt the American people again. And as I have said repeatedly, Saddam Hussein would like nothing more than to use a terrorist network to attack and to kill and leave no fingerprints behind. Colin Powell will continue making that case to the American people and the world at the United Nations.
Question
One question for you both. Do you believe that there is a link between Saddam Hussein, a direct link, and the men who attacked on 11 September?
President Bush
Make that plain.
Prime Minister
I think that answers your question. The one thing I would say, however, is that I have got absolutely no doubt at all that unless we deal with both of these threats, they will come together in a deadly form. Because what do we know after 11 September? We know that these terrorist networks would use any means that they can to cause maximum death and destruction. And we know also that they will do whatever they can to acquire the most deadly weaponry they can, and that is why it is important to deal with these issues together.
Question
Mr President, Prime Minister. The arms inspectors made their report on Monday this week. You have both made clear that it is a question of weeks, not months, and here we are at the end of the week and the Iraqis are suddenly inviting the arms inspectors back to Baghdad for further consultations. Could I ask both of you what you make of that.
President Bush
Let’s see if I can be polite. Saddam Hussein has had 12 years to learn how to deceive, and I would view this as more deception on his part. He expects to be able to convince 108 inspectors that he is open-minded. The only way that he can show that he is truly a peaceful man is to not negotiate with inspectors, is to not string the inspectors along, but to disarm in front of inspectors. We know what a disarmed regime looks like, we now what it means to disarm. There are no negotiations. The idea of calling inspectors in to negotiate is a charade. If he is going to disarm, he must start disarming. That is the only thing he needs to talk to the inspectors about is here, I am disarming.
Prime Minister
That is absolutely right. If you look back at the history of this. For 12 years he has played these games, and that is why it is so important to realise what the UN inspectors were put back in to do. The UN inspectors - and this is the crucial point, because it is on this basis that the whole issue of the UN authority rests. The UN inspectors did not go back into Iraq to play a game of hide and seek with Saddam, they did not go back in as a detective agency, they went back in under an authority that said that they had to co-operate fully in every respect, the interview of witnesses, not just access to sites, honest, transparent declarations of the material they had. They are not doing that. Now why are they calling back the inspectors? I think it is fairly obvious, it is because as the pressure grows they want to play the same games as they have been playing all the way through. That is why it is important we hold to the path that we have set out. They have to disarm, they have to co-operate with the inspectors. They are not doing it. If they don’t do it through the UN route then they will have to be disarmed by force.
Question
Mr President, an account of the White House after 9/11 says that you ordered invasion plans for Iraq 6 days after 11 September - Bob Woodward’s account. Isn’t it the case that you have always intended war on Iraq and that international diplomacy is a charade in this case?
President Bush
Prior to 11 September we were discussing smart sanctions, we were trying to fashion a sanction regime that would make it more likely to be able to contain somebody like Saddam Hussein. After 11 September the doctrine of containment just doesn’t hold any water as far as I am concerned. I told you the strategic vision of our country shifted dramatically, and it shifted dramatically because we now recognise that oceans no longer protect us, that we are vulnerable to attack, and the worst form of attack could come from somebody acquiring weapons of mass destruction and using them on the American people. Or the worst kind of attack could come when somebody uses weapons of mass destruction on our friends in Great Britain. Recently Tony Blair’s government routed out a poison plot. It should say to the people of Great Britain there is a present danger that weapons of mass destruction are a danger to people who love freedom. I want to congratulate you on your fabulous job of using your intelligence and your law enforcement to protect the people of Great Britain. Today Italy rounded up yet another cell of people who are willing to use weapons of mass destruction on those of us who love freedom. And so quite the contrary, my vision shifted dramatically after 11 September because I now realise the stakes, I realise the world has changed, and my most important obligation is to protect the American people from further harm, and I will do that.
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