Bush Seeks International Assistance in Iraq
Monday, July 21, 2003
CRAWFORD, Texas — With U.S. casualties becoming a near daily occurrence in Iraq (search) and criticism mounting, President Bush said Monday that he wants other nations to play a greater role in the country's peacekeeping and reconstruction.
"Obviously, the more help we can get, the more we appreciate it. And we are continuing to work with other nations to ask their help and advice," Bush said from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he was meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (search). "A free Iraq is a crucial part of winning the war on terror."
Berlusconi and Bush see eye to eye on the situation in Iraq, and Bush thanked the premier for enduring criticism from its neighbors to support the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Bush said the two leaders discussed how to broaden the coalition in Iraq, but did not address the issue of Italy taking over a peacekeeping role from the U.S. troops on the ground.
India and Russia say they may contribute troops if the United Nations (search) gives the U.S. and Great Britain a less dominant role in post-war Iraq.
Berlusconi arrived at the ranch by helicopter on Sunday, where he was greeted by the president and first lady and taken to the house in the president's pickup truck. A trip to Bush's ranch is often seen as a reward for foreign leaders who have supported the president's policies.
"We welcome the prime minister as a good friend, and he represents a country that is a strong ally," Bush said. "Defending freedom requires cost and sacrifice. The United States is grateful for Italy's willingness to bear the burdens with us."
Italy was a strong supporter of war in Iraq. The only lack of agreement between Bush and Berlusconi on Iraq appears to be their view of weapons of mass destruction. Berlusconi has stated publicly that he believes Saddam Hussein did such an effective job of destroying the weapons of mass destruction they will never be found.
The president says he's confident the weapons will be found.
Back at the ranch, Berlusconi, the current president of the 15-nation European Union (search), spoke of the importance of healing the rift between the United States and many European nations that the war caused.
"We really need to support and develop a culture of union and cohesion and certainly not nurture the culture of division," he said. "Selfishness, narcissism and division shall never win."
Bush said he believed that a united Europe and United States would make it easier to fight terror. He pointed to Iran and Syria as two nations that continue to harbor terrorists, and said states that aid terror will be made responsible for their actions.
"This behavior is completely unacceptable," Bush said from the Texas ranch. "States that continue to harbor terrorists will be held completely accountable."
Bush said that terrorism is the root cause of instability and the failure to find peace in the Middle East.
"Terrorism is the greatest obstacle to a Palestinian state," Bush said. "All leaders who seek this goal have an obligation to back up their words and real actions against terror.
Leaders in both Syria and Iran say they're backing groups that are fighting for a Palestinian state -- and deny they are terrorist organizations.
During a joint press conference, Bush also announced the arrival of 41 Marines to the West African nation of Liberia, where an on-again, off-again 14-year civil war was on again Monday in the capital of Monrovia. There, mortar fire hit the U.S. Embassy Monday, killing 60 people who had gathered outside the consulate seeking refuge.
Bush said that the United States would work with the United Nations to help restore a cease-fire, but that no decision has yet been made on the composition of any American peacekeeping force.
"We're concerned about our people," Bush said. "We continue to monitor the situation very closely."
Bush also addressed the increasingly difficult situation in North Korea, which announced earlier this month that it has completed reprocessing 8,000 reactor fuel rods, used to make weapons-grade plutonium. North Korea already has one or two nuclear weapons already and could make another five or six by the end of the year.
Bush said he wants to resolve the problem with North Korea's nuclear proliferation diplomatically, encouraging the neighborhood -- particularly China, South Korea and Japan -- to pressure North Korea to drop its nuclear ambitions.
"I believe we can solve this issue diplomatically by encouraging the neighborhood ... to tell Kim Jong Il that a decision to develop a nuclear arsenal is one that will alienate you from the rest of the world," he said.
The New York Times suggested this weekend that North Korea has a second nuclear reprocessing facility capable of producing more plutonium. The White House would not confirm that report, but said North Korea appears intent on building up its arsenal.
South Korea dismissed the report, saying it would be difficult to build such a facility without being detected by U.S. spy satellites.
Fox News' Mike Tobin and the Associated Press contributed to this report. |
