REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BUSH
AND CHANCELLOR SCHROEDER OF GERMANY
IN PRESS AVAILABILITY

WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

May 23, 2002

Excerpts

...

Q: ... And quickly to you, sir, do you think there should be regime change in Iraq?

...

CHANCELLOR SCHROEDER: Saddam Hussein is a dictator, there can be no doubt, nothing else. And he does act without looking after his people whatsoever. We're agreed when it comes to that. And we're also agreed to the fact that it is up to the international community of states to go in and exercise a lot of political pressure in the most -- possible way. The United Nations have decided to do so, as well. We need to pressurize him so that international arms inspectors can get into the country to find out what weapons of mass destruction can be found in his hands. I mean, there is no difference there between President Bush and myself when it comes to the assessment of this situation.

We then obviously also talked about the question as to what should happen in the future, what could happen in the future. I have taken notice of the fact that His Excellency, the President, does think about all possible alternatives. But despite what people occasionally present here in rumors, there are no concrete military plans of attack on Iraq. And that is why, for me, there is no reason whatsoever to speculate about when and if and how. I think such speculation should be forbidden. That, certainly, is not the right thing for a Chancellor. And I am in this position.

We will be called upon to take our decision if and when, after consultations -- and we've been assured that such consultations are going to be happening -- and then we'll take a decision. And before that, I think we should not speculate about serious questions like this one.

...

Q: Mr. President, the Chancellor just said that your government does not seem to be very specific right now when it comes to plans to attack Iraq. Is that true, sir? And could you, nevertheless, try to explain to the German people what your goals are when it comes to Iraq? And secondly, by German standards, Germany has already shouldered a huge burden in military terms of the fight against terrorism. Are you satisfied with that, or do you want Germany to do more?

PRESIDENT BUSH: First, what the Chancellor told you is true.

CHANCELLOR SCHROEDER: Of course it is. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT BUSH: I'm surprised anybody would doubt your word, Chancellor. (Laughter.)

Look, I mean, he knows my position, and the world knows my position about Saddam Hussein. He's a dangerous man. He's a dictator who gassed his own people. He's had a history of incredible human rights violations. And he is a -- it's dangerous to think of a scenario in which a country like Iraq would team up with an al Qaeda-type organization, particularly if and when they have the capacity, had the capacity, or when they have the capacity to deliver weapons of mass destruction via ballistic missile. And that's a threat. It's a threat to Germany, it's a threat to America, it's a threat to civilization itself. And we've got to deal with it. We can play like it's not there, we can hope it goes away. But that's not going to work. That's not going to make us safer.

And I told the Chancellor that I have no war plans on my desk, which is the truth, and that we've got to use all means at our disposal to deal with Saddam Hussein. And I appreciate the German Chancellor's understanding of the threats of weapons of mass destruction. And they're real.

Now, I know some would play like they're not real. I'm telling you, they're real. And if you love freedom, it's a threat to freedom. And so we're going to deal with it, and we'll deal with it in a respectful way. The Chancellor said that I promised consultations. I will say it again: I promise consultations with our close friend and ally. We will exert a unified diplomatic pressure. We will share intelligence. We love freedom, and so does the Chancellor, and we cannot allow these weapons to be in a position that will affect history.

Listen, history has called us to action. I don't want to be in a position where we look back, and say, why didn't they lead, where were they when it came to our basic freedoms? And we are going to lead.

...