BRIEFING WITH PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
& PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR

WHITE HOUSE

March 27, 2003

Excerpts

. . .

Q Yes, sir.

First to you, Mr. Prime Minister. Briefly, Secretary Powell said yesterday that the U.N. should have a role in postwar Iraq, but that the United States should have a significant, dominating control of post-Saddam Iraq. How will that kind of talk play in Europe?

And, Mr. President, can you help me understand the timing of this war? You talked yesterday that it will be -- we're far from over. Today you said, it's going slowly, but surely we're working our way to our end goal. Given that the resistance has been as strong as it's been in the south, and that we have what you call the most hardened, most desperate forces still around Baghdad, are we to assume that this is going to last -- could last months and not weeks -- and not days?

THE PRESIDENT: I'll answer that question very quickly and then get to his. However long it takes to win. That's --

Q -- take months?

THE PRESIDENT: However long it takes to achieve our objective. And that's important for you to know, the American people to know, our allies to know, and the Iraqi people to know.

Q It could be months?

THE PRESIDENT: However long it takes. That's the answer to your question and that's what you've got to know. It isn't a matter of timetable, it's a matter of victory. And the Iraqi people have got to know that, see. They've got to know that they will be liberated and Saddam Hussein will be removed, no matter how long it takes.

Go ahead.

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: In relation to the United Nations, there's no doubt at all that the United Nations has got to be closely involved in this process. That's not just right; it's in everyone's interest that it happens. All I'm saying to people is, the focus -- the immediate focus has got to be on the oil-for-food program, because that is thing we need to get sorted out with the United Nations literally in the next few days.

Now, after that is the issue of the post-conflict administration, where, as we said in our Azores statement, it's important there, again, that the U.N. is involved, and that any post-conflict administration in Iraq is endorsed by it.

But there are huge numbers of details to be discussed with our allies as to exactly how that is going to work -- and also, the conflict is not yet over, we are still in the conflict. So we will carry on discussing that with the U.N., with other allies. But I think that is best done in those discussions without trying to do it by discussion through the press conference or through megaphone diplomacy.

But, about the role of the U.N. and the basis of the principles we set out in the Azores Summit, there is simply no difference at all there. But there are a huge amount of details as to exactly how that is to be implemented that have to be a matter of discussion, and also, a matter of a reflection of the reality that we will face when we get to the point of post-conflict.

Q -- of the BBC. For both leaders, if I may. We, all of us, noted quite a shift in emphasis over the last few days from a hope that this could be over very, very quickly, to the military in both countries briefing about months. My question is really, why do you think that shift has taken place? Did we underestimate the scale of Iraqi resistance? Has it been the weather? Has it been poor advice at the beginning of the campaign, or is it a military question?

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Well, you know, in the previous two campaigns in which I've been involved -- Kosovo and Afghanistan -- you reach this particular point where people start asking -- ask us to speculate on exactly how much time it takes to get the job done. The important thing is the job will be done. There is no point in entering into a speculation of how long it takes except to say we have been, I think, just under a week into this conflict. Now, because of the way it's reported, you've got this constant 24-hours-a-day media, it may seem to people that it's a lot longer than just under a week. But actually, it's just under a week. And in just under a week, there is a massive amount that has already been achieved. I mean, after all, coalition forces are within 50 miles of Baghdad, the southern oil fields are secured, the west is protected from external aggression, we've got forces going into the north.

Now, we will carry on until the job is done. But there is absolutely no point, in my view, of trying to set a time limit or speculate on it, because it's not set by time, it's set by the nature of the job. All I would do, though, is point out to you that within those six or seven days, actually an enormous amount has already been achieved.

I think it's also important just to make one other point, which is we have very deliberately wanted to do this in a way that protects the future of the Iraqi people, too. And that's one reason why we went immediately in to secure the oil installations in the south. If we weren't able to do that, then the prospects of the Iraqi people for the future would be blighted. That's why the air campaign has targeted very, very specifically, as precisely as we possibly can, military command and control, the aspects of Saddam's regime, not the civilian population.

So we're doing this in the way that we set it out to achieve our objectives. We will achieve our objectives.

THE PRESIDENT: I have nothing more to add to that.

Randy.

Q Mr. President, you've raised the possibility of holding Iraqis accountable for war crimes. I'm wondering if now if you could describe what war crimes you think they've committed to date. And secondly, sir, should the Iraqis be prepared for U.S. retaliation with nuclear weapons if they were to attack coalition forces with weapons of mass destruction?

THE PRESIDENT: You heard the Prime Minister eloquently talk about the loss of British life. They were murdered, unarmed soldiers executed. I mean, that's a war crime. But, you know, I'm not surprised. This man, Saddam Hussein, has tortured and brutalized his people for a long, long time.

We had reports the other day of a dissident who had his tongue cut out and was tied to the stake in the town square, and he bled to death. That's how Saddam Hussein retains power.

His sons are brutal, brutal people. They're barbaric in nature. So I'm not surprised he's committing crimes against our soldiers. I'm not surprised to hear stories about his thugs killing their own citizens and trying to blame it on coalition forces. I'm not surprised to know that regular army forces are trying to desert, but get blown away by fellow Iraqi citizens. I'm not surprised, because the nature of the man who has run the country for a long period of time.

If he uses weapons of mass destruction, that will just prove our case. And we will deal with it. We've got one objective in mind: That's victory. And we'll achieve victory.

Q -- (inaudible) --

THE PRESIDENT: Well, they've been sent a message in this war, too, in that if you launch a weapon of mass destruction, you'll be tried as a war criminal. And I urge those Iraqi generals who have any doubt of our word to be careful, because we'll keep our word. We're going to keep our word to the Iraqi people and we'll keep our word to those war criminals in Iraq.

Q I'd like to break the rule, because I don't think we know the details of why you're using this word "executed" about the British servicemen. I would like if you could explain that.

But could I ask you both -- you both talked about the history, the justness of the cause that you believe that this war is. Why is it then, that if you go back to that history, if you go back over the last century or, indeed, recent conflicts in your political careers, you have not got the support of people who have been firm allies, like the French, like the Germans, like the Turkish? Why haven't you got their support?

THE PRESIDENT: We've got a huge coalition. As a matter of fact, the coalition that we've assembled today is larger than one assembled in 1991 in terms of the number of nations participating. I'm very pleased with the size of our coalition.

I was down yesterday at CENTCOM and met with many of the generals from the countries represented in our coalition, and they're proud to be side-by-side with our allies. This is a vast coalition that believes in our cause, and I'm proud of their participation.

Q They're not Western allies. Why not?

THE PRESIDENT: We have plenty of Western allies. We've got -- I mean, we can give you the list. Ally after ally after ally has stood with us and continues to stand with us. And we are extremely proud of their participation.

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Can I -- in relation to our soldiers, the reason I used the language I did was because of the circumstances that we know.

And the reason why I think it is important to recognize the strength of our alliance -- yes, there are countries that disagree with what we are doing. I mean, there's no point in hiding it; there's been a division. And you obviously have to take and go and ask those other countries why they're not with us, and they will give you the reasons why they disagree. But I think what is important is to bear in mind two things. First of all, there are an immense number of countries that do agree with us. I mean, I hear people constantly say to me, Europe is against what you're doing. That is not true. There is a part of Europe that is against what we are doing. There are many existing members of the European Union, and virtually all the new members of the European Union, that strongly support what we are doing. So there is a division, but we have many allies.

And the second point I'd make is this, that I understand why people hesitate before committing to conflict and to war. War is a brutal and a bloody business. But we are faced with the situation where Saddam Hussein has been given 12 years to disarm voluntarily of weapons of mass destruction, that the whole of the international community accepts is a threat, and he has not done so. Instead, what we have had is 12 years in which he has remained in power with these weapons intact and brutalized his own people.

Now, we felt we had come to the point where if we wanted to take a stand against what I believe to be the dominant security threat of our time -- which is the combination of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of unstable, repressive states and terrorist groups -- if we wanted to take a stand, then we had to act. And we went through the diplomatic process. We tried to make the diplomatic process work, but we weren't able to do so.

And the other reason why I think it is important that we act, and why, indeed, we have many, many allies, is because people do know that this is a brutal regime. That is not the reason for us initiating this action -- that is in relation to weapons of mass destruction. But it is a reason why, if we do so, as we are doing, we do so in the full knowledge that we are, indeed, going to bring a better future for the Iraqi people.

And if you just want one statistic -- although statistics I'm afraid never have the same emotional appeal as pictures, but we don't see these pictures of what has happened in Iraq in the past -- but just one statistic: Over the past five years, 400,000 Iraqi children under the age of five died of malnutrition and disease, preventively, but died because of the nature of the regime under which they are living. Now, that is why we're acting.

And, yes, there are divisions in the international community. There are many people on our side, there are those that oppose us. But that is for us, I'm afraid --

Q -- why do they --

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Well, I'm afraid, Adam, that is a question to ask to other people, as well as to us. All I can tell you is why we are acting and why we believe our cause to be just. And, yes, at the end of this whole process, we need to go back over it and ask why this has happened. But I simply say to you that if the world walks away from the security threat facing us, and if we back down and take no action against Saddam, think of the signal that would have sent right across the world to every brutal dictator, to every terrorist group.

Now, we believe that we had to act. Others have disagreed. As I say, at some point, we will have to come back and we'll have to discuss how the disagreement arose. But I have no doubt that we're doing the right thing. I have no doubt that our cause is just, and I have no doubt that, were we to walk away from this conflict at this time, we would be doing a huge disservice to future generations.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all.