Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents

Monday, December 22, 2008 Volume 44—Number 50 Pages 1519–1576

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Addresses and Remarks Executive Orders See also Meetings With Foreign Leaders Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay—1567 Afghanistan, military personnel at Bagram Air Base—1531 Interviews With the News Media American auto industry—1568 Exchange with reporters in Baghdad, Iraq— American Enterprise Institute and a question- 1520 and-answer session—1547 Interviews Hanukkah menorah, lighting—1537 Steve Scully of C–SPAN—1560 Iraq Military personnel at Camp Victory in White House press pool—1525 Baghdad—1523 News conference with President Karzai of Strategic framework agreement and status Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan, of forces agreement, signing ceremony in December 15—1534 Baghdad—1520 Meetings With Foreign Leaders Pennsylvania, U.S. Army War College in Carlisle—1542 Afghanistan, President Karzai—1534 President George W. Bush and First Lady El Salvador, President Saca—1538 Laura Bush, unveiling official portraits— Iraq 1570 Prime Minister Maliki—1520 Radio address—1519 President Talabani—1520 U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, reception Palestinian Authority, President Abbas—1571 honoring—1546 Proclamations Communications to Congress To Take Certain Actions Under the African Kosovo and Azerbaijan, letter extending Growth and Opportunity Act and the Generalized System of Preferences benefits—1573 Generalized System of Preferences—1572 U.S. combat-equipped Armed Forces, letter Wright Brothers Day—1542 reporting on deployments around the Supplementary Materials world—1540 Acts approved by the President—1576 Communications to Federal Agencies Checklist of White House press releases— Unexpected Urgent Humanitarian Needs 1575 Related to the Democratic Republic of Digest of other White House Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, announcements—1574 memorandum—1568 Nominations submitted to the Senate—1575

WEEKLY COMPILATION OF Distribution is made only by the Superintendent of Docu- ments, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents will be furnished by mail to domestic subscribers for $80.00 per year Published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Reg- ($137.00 for mailing first class) and to foreign subscribers for ister, National Archives and Records Administration, Washing- $93.75 per year, payable to the Superintendent of Documents, ton, DC 20408, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Docu- Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The ments contains statements, messages, and other Presidential charge for a single copy is $3.00 ($3.75 for foreign mailing). materials released by the White House during the preceding The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is also week. available on the Internet on the GPO Access service at http:// The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is pub- www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/index.html. lished pursuant to the authority contained in the Federal Reg- There are no restrictions on the republication of material ister Act (49 Stat. 500, as amended; 44 U.S.C. Ch. 15), under appearing in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Docu- regulations prescribed by the Administrative Committee of the ments. Federal Register, approved by the President (37 FR 23607; 1 CFR Part 10).

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The President’s Radio Address Taken together, our efforts to reduce de- mand, cut supply, and help people break the December 13, 2008 chains of addiction are yielding measurable Good morning. This week, our country re- results. Over the past 7 years, marijuana use ceived good news in the fight against illegal by young people has dropped by 25 percent. drugs. New data show that illicit drug use Methamphetamine use by young people is amongst young people continues to decline, down by 50 percent. And the use of cocaine, and that we are making good progress in our hallucinogens, steroids, and alcohol by Amer- efforts to help thousands of Americans renew ica’s youth are all on the decline. Overall, their health and hope. illegal drug use by Americans is down by 25 Substance abuse is a serious challenge for percent, meaning we have helped approxi- our Nation. Addiction breaks hearts, destroys mately 900,000 young people stay clean. families, and keeps our citizens from ful- These statistics reflect successful govern- filling their God-given potential. The drug ment policies. They also represent the cour- trade also enriches our enemies and brings age and compassion of Americans who are crime and violence to our streets. So in 2002, determined to help their fellow citizens win I committed our Nation to an ambitious their struggle against drugs. On Thursday, I effort to cut drug use by limiting demand, met with some of these people at the White reducing supply, and helping addicts get House, and I am inspired by their stories. treatment. I was especially interested in a young man Over the past 6 years, we’ve made great named Josh. At age 19, Josh had never strides toward these goals. Parents, teachers, touched drugs or alcohol. He had a prom- mentors, and counselors have done fantastic ising life and career ahead of him. Yet after work to educate children about the dangers a car accident left him injured and unable of drug abuse. Law enforcement officers to work, Josh started abusing alcohol and co- have risked their lives to cut the supply of caine. He put his marriage and career in drugs on city streets. And with help from our jeopardy. Eight different treatment programs international partners, we’re pursuing drug failed to turn his life around, but the inter- dealers around the world and interdicting vention of his grandmother, the support of supply before it reaches our shores. This his wife, and the loving influence of God did. year, the Coast Guard took possession of Today, this young man is free of drugs. He’s more than 360,000 pounds of South Amer- a caring husband and father. And Josh Ham- ican cocaine—an alltime record. ilton of the Texas Rangers is one of the best To help Americans break the chains of ad- players in Major League Baseball. More im- diction, we’ve built strong partnerships with portantly, he and his wife Katie make time faith-based and community groups. These to share their blessings. Through their min- groups open minds and change hearts in a istry, they’re helping other Americans avoid way no government bureaucracy can, so my the suffering their family endured. administration has supported their life- Josh Hamilton shows that the devastation changing work. Through our Access to Re- of drug addiction can happen to anyone, but covery program, addicts receive vouchers that with faith and determination, anyone can they can redeem at treatment centers of their turn a life around. So today I ask every Amer- choice, including faith-based centers. So far, ican with a drug or alcohol problem to seek this program has helped more than 260,000 treatment, because your life is precious to addicts along the path toward clean lives. the people who love you. Our Nation needs 1519

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your contributions, and there is a more hope- that I had a chance to come back to Iraq ful future ahead. I ask all Americans to reach before my Presidency ends. out to your neighbors in need and do your President Talabani. You are welcome. part to help our Nation win the fight against President Bush. Thank you. illegal drugs. President Talabani. They want a picture Thank you for listening. with you, Mr. President. President Bush. Oh, absolutely. NOTE: The address was recorded at 6:55 a.m. on December 12 in the Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on December NOTE: The President spoke at 6:01 p.m. at the 13. The transcript was made available by the Of- Salam Palace. In his remarks, he referred to Vice fice of the Press Secretary on December 12 but Presidents Tariq al-Hashimi and Adil Abd Al- was embargoed for release until the broadcast. Mahdi of Iraq. The President also referred to The Office of the Press Secretary also released SFA, the strategic framework agreement; and a Spanish language transcript of this address. SOFA, the status of forces agreement.

Remarks Following a Meeting With Remarks at a Signing Ceremony for President Jalal Talabani of Iraq in the Strategic Framework Agreement Baghdad, Iraq and the Status of Forces Agreement December 14, 2008 and an Exchange With Reporters in Baghdad President Talabani. Today we have the December 14, 2008 pleasure and honor of receiving our great friend for Iraqi people, President George W. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq. Bush, who helped us to liberate our country In the name of God the Merciful and Com- and to reach this day, which we have democ- passionate. I would like to welcome the racy, human rights, and prosperity gradually President of the United States, President in our country. Thanks to him and to his cou- George W. Bush. I would like to welcome rageous leadership that we are here now in you here as a guest of Iraq. You have stood this building. by Iraq and the Iraqi people for a very long So we are very glad really to have him with time, starting with the—getting rid of the us, and we discussed with him all our prob- dictatorship, to fight—helping the Iraqis to lems very frankly and friendly. And we hope fight terrorism. that we will continue friendship with him, Your visit today to Iraq, Mr. President, even he’ll be back in Texas. comes after the signing of the agreement be- President Bush. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. tween the two countries, which represents President. Thank you and the Vice Presidents the solid foundation and draws a roadmap for greeting me. I’ve known these men for that will govern and guide the relationship a long time, and I have come to admire them between the two states. for their courage and for their determination I believe that Iraq, we have performed and to succeed. I am also here to herald the pas- have done great work in a cooperative and sage of the SFA/SOFA as a reminder of our integrated way in fighting terror. We have friendship and as a way forward to help the succeeded in Iraq, and we hope that efforts Iraqi people realize the blessings of a free also around the world will succeed in defeat- society. ing terrorism. And the work hasn’t been easy, but it has Today, Iraq is moving forward in every been necessary for American security, Iraqi field. Through the new Iraqi political system, hope, and world peace. And so, Mr. Presi- we are working very hard through this, as dent, thank you for your friendship, and well as developing the Iraqi economy, and thank you for your hospitality. I’m looking reconstruction of Iraq. We are doing all of forward to meeting all the folks who are in- this in order for Iraq to restore its rightful volved in the political process—leading this place among nations and among the world, political process. And I am just so grateful and away from the previous reckless policies

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that focused on wars with the previous re- home, as the war in Iraq approaches a suc- gime. cessful end. The various political institutions have The strategic framework agreement for- taken a very strong leadership positions, and malizes a relationship, as it says in the agree- the agreement was ratified, was approved by ment—formalizes a relationship of friendship our political system, our Parliament, and var- and cooperation between our two countries’ ious institutions of the Iraqi Government. economic, diplomatic, cultural, and security They have approved and ratified the SOFA fields. Under this agreement, we will work agreement and the withdrawal of American together to bring greater stability to Iraq and forces. We believe that these efforts cul- the region, as well as promote trade and in- minated the height of real understanding and vestment between our nations. We will work cooperation and friendship between Iraq and to strengthen democratic institutions. the United States. Now remains the part of I’m sure you can remember what life was implementing such an agreement. Now we 2 years ago. When we were working together are in the process of forming the proper com- during that period such an agreement mittees that will carry out all elements of the seemed unimaginable. Chaos and violence various two agreements that were signed, and were consuming Iraq. The terrorists were I’m referring to the various fields, military, seizing new ground, and the Iraqi people scientific, educational, commerce, as well as were beginning to divide the Iraqi people economic fields. along sectarian lines. But you were deter- mined, and I was determined, to do some- President Bush, you have played a very thing differently, not to allow Iraq to fall into supportive role in achieving and concluding civil war. this agreement. And prior to the actual date And our plan is working. You notice I say of starting to implement this agreement, Jan- ‘‘our plan.’’ Today, violence is down dramati- uary 1st, ’09, we already start working cally. Al Qaida is driven from its safe havens. through the United Nations Security Coun- Sunnis, Shi’a, and Kurds are sitting together cil. We are in the process of drafting a resolu- at the same table to part—to peacefully chart tion that will make it very clear that Iraq no a—the future of this country. There is hope longer represents a threat to world peace and in the eyes of Iraqis’ young. This is a future security. And also a resolution that will set of what we’ve been fighting for: a strong and the basis for the protection of Iraqi financial capable democratic Iraq that will be a force capabilities and bring Iraq back to its rightful of freedom and a force for peace in the heart place among world communities. of the Middle East; a country that will serve Once again, I would like to take this oppor- as a source for stability in a volatile region; tunity to welcome you, Mr. President. Once a country that will deny a safe haven to Al again, I wish you a very joyful stay here in Qaida. As a result of these successes, Mr. Baghdad and a safe trip back home. Prime Minister, the American people are President Bush. Mr. Prime Minister, safer. thank you for your kind invitation and your We’re also signing a security agreement. hospitality. I also want to thank the Presi- The agreement provides American troops dency Council for their hospitality as well. and Defense Department officials with au- And I’m looking forward to some food. thorizations and protections to continue sup- [Laughter] porting Iraq’s democracy once the U.N. man- I am also looking forward to signing the date expires at the end of this year. This joint statement here affirming two landmark agreement respects the sovereignty and the agreements that solidify Iraq’s democratic authority of Iraq’s democracy. The agree- gains, that recognize Iraq’s sovereignty, and ment lays out a framework for the withdrawal that puts the relations between our two coun- of American forces in Iraq, a withdrawal that tries on a solid footing today and a solid foot- is possible because of the success of the ing tomorrow. They cement a strategic part- surge. nership between our two countries, and they These agreements result from careful con- pave the way for American forces to return sultations with the Prime Minister and the

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officials of Iraq, as well as our diplomats and U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq/Status our military commanders. They represent a of Forces Agreement shared vision on the way forward in Iraq. Q. A question, Mr. Prime Minister and The American people have sacrificed a others, you all talked about the various gains great deal to reach this moment. The battle that will come as a result of signing this in Iraq has required a great amount of time agreement. But just quickly, I have one ques- and resources. Thousands of our finest citi- tion about the withdrawal of American zens have given their lives to make our coun- forces. Is this going to be an accelerated try safer and to bring us to this new day. process that will happen quickly and perhaps prematurely? We also praise the thousands of the coali- President Bush. First of all, we’re here tion forces that came and the sacrifices that at the request of the Iraqi Government, an those countries have made. And the Iraqi elected government. There are certain people have sacrificed a lot. They’ve suffered benchmarks that will be met, such as troops car bombings and suicide attacks and IEDs, out of the cities by June of ’09. And then and desperate efforts by terrorists to destroy there’s a benchmark at the end of the agree- a young democracy. Hundreds of thousands ment. of Iraqis have stepped forward to defend this As to the pace of meeting those agree- democracy, and many have paid a dear price. ments, that will depend of course upon the With these agreements, Mr. Prime Min- Iraqi Government, the recommendations of ister, we’re honoring the sacrifices that I just the Iraqi military, and the close coordination described in the best possible way, by build- between General Odierno and our military. ing a freer and safer and more hopeful world. Look, these are very important agree- By signing these agreements we’re showing ments, and the Government of Iraq worked the people of Iraq the United States of Amer- very hard to get them through the Par- ica keeps its word. And we are showing the liament. You want—okay. people of the Middle East that America Jennifer [Jennifer Loven, Associated stands firmly for liberty and justice and Press]. peace. And we are leaving the next President Audience Disruption/Strategic with a stable foundation for the future and Framework Agreement/Status of Forces an approach that can enjoy broad bipartisan Agreement support at home. Q. Sir, a man just threw his shoes at There is still more work to be done. The you—— war is not over, but with the conclusion of President Bush. The what? these agreements and the courage of the Q. Sir, a man just threw his shoes at you, Iraqi people and the Iraqi troops and Amer- and it appears that there are terrible roadside ican troops and civilian personnel, it is deci- bombings—— sively on its way to being won. President Bush. So what if a guy threw Shukran jazeelan. a shoe at me? Q. But you are also here to talk about [At this point, Iraqi journalist Muntadar al- progress and to mark progress with an agree- Zaidi shouted in Arabic and threw his shoes ment like this. And the kind of security gains at President Bush.] you talked about. Do you consider this a vic- tory lap? President Bush. All I can report is that President Bush. Right. No, I consider it it was a size 10. [Laughter] Yes. Okay, every- a important step in—on the road toward an body calm down for a minute. First of all, Iraq that can sustain itself, govern itself, and thank you for apologizing on behalf of the defend itself. Iraqi people. It doesn’t bother me. And if But let me talk about the guy throwing you want some—if you want the facts, it’s the shoe. It is one way to grab—gain atten- a size 10 shoe. [Laughter] Thank you for your tion. It’s like going to a political rally and concerns; do not worry about it. having people yell at you. It’s like driving

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down the street and have people not ges- I would rather be with the men and turing with all five fingers. It’s a way for peo- women of the United States military than ple to draw, you know, attention; I don’t with anybody else. know what the guy’s cause is. But one thing So as you can see I decided to fly over, is for certain: He caused you to ask me a and in the spirit of the season we renamed question about it. I didn’t feel the least bit Air Force One to ‘‘Rudolph One.’’ threatened by it. These journalists here were Thanks for coming. I bring greetings from very apologetic; they were—said, ‘‘This a proud and grateful nation; Merry Christmas doesn’t represent the Iraqi people.’’ But to you, happy holidays. Congratulations on that’s what happens in free societies, where your inspiring accomplishments here in Iraq. people try to draw attention to themselves. And above all, thank you very much for vol- And so I guess he was effective, because he unteering to defend our country in a time caused you to say something about it. of danger. Now, in terms of the agreements, this is This is a time of year to give thanks for a major achievement. Is it the end? Abso- our many blessings. And the greatest blessing lutely not. There is more work to be done. we have is freedom and the fact that we’ve And all this basically says is we made good progress, and we’ll continue to work together got a United States military to defend that to achieve peace. That’s what we want: free- freedom. dom and peace. And so, no, I’m honored to So, General, thank you very much for your be back here. It’s my fourth visit to Iraq leadership. I’m proud to be with you again. and—as a sitting President, and I have been I appreciate the leadership of General Austin looking forward to this visit. It’s very kind as well. Ambassador Crocker and Christine of you, Mr. Prime Minister, to have invited are with us today. I had the pleasure of meet- me here. ing Sergeant—Command Sergeant Major Lawrence Wilson, Command Sergeant Major Joe Allen, Major General Hammond—— NOTE: The President spoke at 8:03 p.m. at the Prime Minister’s Palace. In his remarks, he re- Audience members. Hooah! ferred to Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, USA, The President. Put it together for Ham- commanding general, Multi-National Force— mond. [Laughter] Iraq; and President-elect Barack Obama. Prime Audience members. Hooah! Minister Maliki and a reporter spoke in Arabic, The President. Command Sergeant and their remarks were translated by an inter- Major Gioia—— preter. The Office of the Press Secretary also re- leased a Spanish language transcript of these re- Audience members. Hooah! marks. The President. There you go. Major Gen- eral Oates; have you ever heard of—how about, have you ever heard of a guy named Remarks to Military Personnel at Redmore? Camp Victory in Baghdad Audience members. Hooah! December 14, 2008 The President. There you go. Thanks for coming out. I am thrilled to be here with Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! the diplomats and Embassy personnel that U.S.A.! are so critical to our success. The President. There you go. Thank you I want to thank the Iraqi citizens who are for coming out to say hello. General, thank here with us today. I appreciate your cour- you for the introduction; I am honored to age. I know there are members of the coali- be at Camp Victory. tion who are here with us. There have been Audience members. Hooah! a lot of troops from around the world who The President. Laura and I have been have come to help this young democracy sur- having a lot of Christmas parties at the White vive and thrive. And so I want to thank the House, so I thought it would be kind of neat citizens of those country and the troops who to change the scenery. have served here before us.

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This is my fourth trip to Iraq, and you’ve would have meant failure, and failure is never probably heard I’m heading into retire- an option. ment—[laughter]—so it’s going to be my last So instead of pulling troops out, we sent trip as the President. But thanks to you, the more troops in—called the surge. And be- Iraq we stand in tonight is dramatically freer, cause of you and because of your courage, dramatically safer, and dramatically better the surge is one of the greatest successes in than the Iraq we found 8 years ago. the history of the United States military. And as a result of the sacrifices of our Terrorists who once held safe havens troops, America is safer, and America is more across the country are being driven out of secure. their strongholds. The political process that I want to take you back to what life was was once stalled is moving forward. Iraqi citi- like 8 years ago here in Iraq. Iraq had a zens once afraid to leave their homes are record of supporting terror, a record of de- going back to school and shopping in markets veloping and using weapons of mass destruc- and leading a more normal life. And Amer- tion, was routinely firing at American military ican troops are returning home because of personnel, systematically violating United success. Nations resolutions. Life for the Iraqi people The dramatic turnaround you led in Iraq was a nightmare, with Saddam Hussein tor- culminated in two agreements completed last turing and murdering anyone who did not month, which the Prime Minister and I af- support his repressive rule. Iraq was a sworn firmed in a ceremony earlier today. enemy of the United States at the heart of These agreements formalize the ties be- the Middle East; the region was a serious tween our two democracies in areas ranging threat to us. from security and diplomacy to culture and After the attacks of September the 11th, trade. These agreements show the way for- 2001, America concluded we could not tol- ward toward a historic day, when American erate a regime like this in a pivotal region forces withdraw from a democratic and suc- of the world. I gave Saddam Hussein a cessful Iraq, and the war in this land is won. chance to peacefully resolve the question as There’s more hard work to do before we to whether or not he had weapons of mass reach that day. But if there is any—but if destruction. You might remember, I went to there is no doubt—but there is no doubt in the United Nations, where the—that body my mind, there’s just no doubt that we’re said, ‘‘Disarm, disclose, or face serious con- going to reach that day. I am confident be- sequence.’’ It was his choice to make, and cause our cause is just and freedom is uni- he made the wrong choice. And so the versal. I’m confident because the Iraqi peo- United States military, with a vast coalition ple are showing unshakable determination removed this man from power, and the world and courage. is better off for it. And above all, I am confident because I Audience members. Hooah! U.S.A.! know the character and the strength of those U.S.A.! U.S.A.! who wear the uniform of the United States The President. I doubt in his worst night- military. mares, he ever would have dreamt that we’d Over the past 5 years, you have shown the be standing in one of his palaces. world some unmistakable truths. You have Thanks to you, 25 million Iraqis are free. shown that when America is tested, we rise Thanks to you, Iraq is no longer sponsoring to meet the test. You have shown that the terror, it is fighting terror. It’s making Amer- desire for freedom is more powerful than the ican people safer as a result. intimidation of terrorists. You have shown The enemies of freedom in Iraq are deter- that there is no task too difficult for the mined, and this fight has been tough. Two United States military. years ago, the situation had grown dire; the And so I have a message for you and all political process was frozen, and sectarian vi- who serve our country: I want to thank you olence was spiraling out of control. Some of for making the noble choice to serve and to you were here then. Many said the mission protect your fellow Americans. Sometimes it was hopeless; many called for retreat. Retreat can be hard to tell when history is being

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made, particularly if you’re in the middle of The President. Thanks for coming by to the action. What you’re doing in Iraq is as let me say hello. Thanks for serving the important and courageous and selfless as United States of America. They ask me what what American troops did in places like Nor- I’m going to miss as the President. I’ll tell mandy and Iwo Jima and Korea. Your gen- you what I’m going to miss: being the Com- eration is every bit as great as any that came mander in Chief of such a fabulous group before it. And the work you do every day of folks. May God bless you, and God bless will shape history for generations to come. America. I guess what I’m telling you is, your grand- children some day are going to say, ‘‘Thank NOTE: The President spoke at 10:10 p.m. at Al God you showed up and served.’’ Faw Palace. In his remarks, he referred to Lt. America now has a strong friend and a Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force—Iraq, who intro- partner in the fight against extremism in the duced the President; Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, USA, heart of the Middle East, and that is historic. commander, Multi-National Corps—Iraq; Chris- People across this troubled region of the tine Barnes, wife of U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan world now have an example for a more hope- C. Crocker; Command Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Wil- ful path, a model of liberty that can prevail son, USA, Multi-National Force—Iraq; Com- over tyranny and terror. Killers who wanted mand Sgt. Maj. Joseph R. Allen, USA, Multi-Na- to take the lives of Americans back home tional Corps—Iraq; Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, have been brought to justice before they USA, commander, Multi-National Division— reached our shores. Baghdad and 4th Infantry Division; Command Because of you all who worked to protect Sgt. Maj. John Gioia, USA, Multi-National Divi- sion—Baghdad and 4th Infantry Division; Com- this Nation—and all who work to protect the mand Sgt. Maj. James W. Redmore, USA, Multi- Nation, America has done something many National Division—Center; Maj. Gen. Michael said was impossible: We have gone 7 years Oates, USA, commander, Multi-National Divi- without a terrorist attack. sion—Center; and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki We think of those who have laid down of Iraq. their lives for freedom here in Iraq. Their children are growing up without a mom or a dad. But all the—of our children are grow- Interview With Members of the ing up with something else: the promise of White House Press Pool a safer America and a better world. And that December 14, 2008 is the lasting memorial of all who have sac- rificed here in Iraq. And thanks to you, that Audience Disruption at the Signing memorial will be achieved, and their sacrifice Ceremony With Prime Minister Nuri al- will not be in vain. Maliki of Iraq We think of your comrades who have been Q. Quick ducking there, sir. wounded. And this Nation pledges that we The President. I was worried about you. will give them all the care and all the support I thought you were going to have a heart they need to recover. attack. We think of all your families back home. Q. I thought I was too. [Laughter] I’m with I know many of you have a sweetheart who you on that. misses you, or a daughter who longs for her The President. Okay, my opening state- dad, or a mom who worries about you day ment: I didn’t know what the guy said, but and night. For many of you, it won’t be your I saw his sole. [Laughter] You were more first holiday away, and that certainly doesn’t concerned than I was. I was watching your make it easier. So I’m going to give you an faces. order: When you get out of here, call home Q. I saw something black and round go or e-mail home; you tell your families you by my face. love them; and you tell the Commander in Q. Just to see that—— Chief came by to thank them for their sac- The President. ——his first—other than rifice along with yours. shoes. [Laughter] Audience members. Hooah! Q. ——to duck. [Laughter]

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The President. I’m pretty good at duck- U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq/ ing, as most of you will know—— Progress in Iraq Q. You were quick. Q. Well, how do you—how well do you Q. ——ducking—— think Iraq will transition from U.S. forces The President. I’m talking about ducking moving out of cities, pulling out, taking your questions. [Laughter] over—— Q. So you weren’t a lame duck. [Groans] The President. Well, obviously, I think it’s going to be that the gains we have made are The President. That bad? You know, I— strong enough to accept the movement of look, I mean it was just a bizarre moment, troops into—out of cities into bases by June but I’ve had other bizarre moments in the of this year. But more importantly, that’s Presidency. I remember when Hu Jintao was what General Odierno thinks is possible. here. Remember we had the big event? He’s Q. ——at this point about when you look speaking, and all of a sudden I hear this at Iraq, and you still have over 140,000 noise; had no earthly idea what was taking troops. What are the challenges you see? place, but it was the Falun Gong woman The President. I think the challenges— screaming at the top of her lungs. It was kind many of the challenges are political. In other of an odd moment. words, the first big challenge is to have Pro- Questions? We’re going to Afghanistan vincial elections that enable people to vote now, in case you hadn’t been told. You prob- and feel a part of the system, followed by ably thought we were going home, but, no. national elections. That’s a challenge. This is Then we’re going to go to—never mind. a challenge, however, that the Iraqis have [Laughter] met before. And obviously, you know, like Q. Well, not to belabor the point too the SOFA debate, it was a challenge to get much, on this man, but I have a serious ques- SOFA through the—and SFA through the Council of Representatives because of the tion about it. Obviously, he’s expressing a politics. But nevertheless, they came to- vein of anger that exists in Iraq, and—— gether. The President. How do you know? I Young democracies, when they debate big mean, how do we know what he’s expressing? issues, sometimes can be strained. For exam- Who—— ple, there’s a big debate going on between Q. We had a translator who said he shout- the central Government and the Provincial ed about the widows and orphans. governments. But we went through the same The President. I don’t know. I’ve heard debates ourselves. And as the society ma- all kinds of stories. I heard he was rep- tures, they’re going to be able to handle these debates in better fashion. So one of the im- resenting a Baathist TV station. I don’t know portant things was the success of the SFA/ the facts, but let’s find out the facts. All I’m SOFA. telling you, it was a bizarre moment. I remember the headlines: falling apart; Q. I wanted to ask something broader. may not make; confident it will happen; not The President. I don’t think you can take confident it will happen. I mean, there was one guy throwing shoes and say this rep- a lot of different opinions about whether or resents a broad movement in Iraq. You can not this would eventually happen. And one try to do that if you want to. I don’t think reason why is because many of the people it would be accurate. from the outside covering the debate on the inside were perplexed by the politics that was Q. Well, then, separately from him—— going on. But this is a democratic society. The President. That’s exactly what he So I think the political process will be a chal- wanted you to do. Like, I answered on your lenge. question, what he wanted you to do was to pay attention to him. And sure enough, you Progress in Iraq did. Now, look, I’m not suggesting you can’t Q. Sir, you got your first look at a part avoid it. But it—— of Baghdad that wasn’t the green zone and

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wasn’t a military base. What did you think one that was unilateral in nature proposed of it? by people who didn’t think we ought to be The President. You know, Mark [Mark in Iraq in the first place. Knoller, CBS Radio], look, I can’t look at a Secondly, I agreed to the terms of the stretch of road and draw a conclusion. I can SOFA because General Petraeus and Gen- only really react to what the people who have eral Odierno said that these terms are rea- been here for a period of time tell me. And sonable terms, and that is, we’ll be moving I mean, the statistics tell you one thing. Obvi- troops out of cities into bases, close by to ously, when you look at the violence chart, help if need be. Just because a troop is on it’s down. But what’s more important from a base doesn’t mean that that troop won’t my perspective is: Can a government meet be available to help the Iraqi forces. So the needs of its people? Can they get beyond they’ve come to the considered judgment differences and come together and meet the that in the cities, the Iraqis are capable of needs of its people? As well as: Are the Iraqi providing security. forces becoming more capable of providing There is a plan in place that has been exe- more security? Is command and control cuted—successfully executed—that now the structure better? Are the training missions Iraqis can assume and continue to fulfill. better? Are they able to move from point A That’s a lot different than it was 18 months to point B in a way that is—enable them to ago, when the plan was on paper and hadn’t have successful missions? When there’s ac- been executed yet. And so there’s been a tionable intelligence, can they move? model for success. And when you couple that with a political process that is relatively new compared to Presidential Transition/Iraq Policy/ older democracies and the need to provide Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA)/ basic services for its people, one of the things Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that struck me was not the road, but was the Q. Is that what you meant by a bipartisan amount of electricity there was inside Bagh- foundation now looking ahead to the next dad. It looked like a pretty well-lit city. Presidency? The other thing that struck me was, there The President. I meant by a bipartisan was a lot of activity on the ground. Now, you foundation that the debates on whether or got to remember, my frame of reference is not it was the right thing or not are past; different from you all, you who have been the need to make sure that we continue the there. I saw a lot of kids playing soccer; I successes can be a bipartisan—can be bipar- saw a lot of activity, a lot of street activity tisan and should be bipartisan. on the route we took. And General Odierno President-elect Obama has now got a sea- said a while ago that wouldn’t have been the soned general in Baghdad with a SFA/SOFA case. agreed to by the United States and Iraq, and by the way, has been kept abreast upon elec- U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq tion about what the SOFA—or the SFA/ Q. You’ve always urged patience in with- SOFA means. drawing troops, coming out; you move slowly And one of the challenges for the Iraqis on that based on conditions on the ground. is going to be—for the U.S. is to get up to Now you’re talking about within 6 months, our committees and get working on the SFA, that we’ll be drawing combat brigades from which we’re going to do. Part of my mission the city. here was to remind the Iraqi Government The President. Cities, right. that there is still a lot of work to be done Q. Do you think that the Iraqis are ready on SFA/SOFA; our embassy agrees with that to step up to that now? Do you think that as well. And that—but I also told them that there are flaws or there—not flaws, but po- I—that our transition is going to be a seam- tential conflicts—— less transition, and that—I’m never going to The President. First of all, I strongly ob- put words into President-elect Obama’s jected to a politics timetable. The debate mouth, but by the decisions he made with over the timetable of withdrawal was a—was Secretary Gates, for example, I believe he

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understands the strategic importance of Iraq. War on Terror in Afghanistan And now he’s got a framework from which Q. I think so. That’s what you said. And to make decisions. I trust you with that. Can you tell me what— National Economy/American Auto define the mission of the troops going in Industry there in January and those who Secretary Gates wants in by the summer, the addi- Q. Mr. President, Iraq is obviously a big tional—— concern for Americans, but the economy The President. The mission we had be- seems to be even more of a concern. The fore, which is help this young democracy de- automakers are in dire straits. How soon do velop the institutions so it can survive on its you think your administration will be coming own; to not repeat the mistakes of the 1980s, out with its plan for emergency aid? And are which is achieve an objective and leave, and you leaning towards dipping into TARP to deny a safe haven for Al Qaida. help—— Martha [Martha Raddatz, ABC News] The President. No question that the asked me the question about the conditions economy is number one on people’s mind, in Afghanistan. No question, the violence is and it should be. We’re in a recession. These up. But one reason why the violence is up are serious economic times. People are con- is that we’re now putting troops into places cerned about their jobs; people are con- where there hadn’t been troops; begin to cerned about their value of their 401(k)s. press these guys in places where they hadn’t This is a very difficult period. been pressed. We took note that there was a majority Just like the surge. You might remember, in the House and the Senate that voted for violence went up when we went into Iraq a package for the autos that would have with more troops. And so the objective is to caused them to begin to show how they’re provide enough security so that a political going to be viable. In other words, I have system can develop that will be a—provide made this statement that given the status of a stable platform for economic viability, and the financial system, an abrupt bankruptcy get a good education and good health. for the autos could be devastating for the Now the degree of difficulty in Afghani- economy. And therefore, we’ve tried to work stan is high. This is a significantly larger with Congress to accomplish the objective of country than Iraq and significantly poorer. not cratering the economy as well as making The infrastructure is difficult. But neverthe- sure good money doesn’t go after bad. less, the mission is essential; and that is, we So we’re now in the process of working cannot achieve our objective of removing Al through with the stakeholders a way forward, Qaida safe havens by kicking out Taliban and and we’re not quite ready to announce that saying, ‘‘Okay, now let’s leave.’’ yet. And so I recognize we needed more Q. Do you have any timetable, though, troops. You know, President-elect Obama is that you’re looking at? going to be making decisions on troops, and The President. Obviously, we’re—this we’ve been calling upon our NATO allies to will not be a long process because of the eco- put in more troops. One of the things that nomic—the fragility of the autos. when—was barely noticed was the quiet Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) surge in Afghanistan. We had kind of level platform of troops; then we moved in quite Q. And, sir, are you leaning towards using a few number and so did our NATO allies. the TARP money? And now there’s going to be—ramp up some The President. I signaled that that’s a pos- more. sibility. Press Secretary Dana Perino. You guys have 8 minutes left. You’re going to Afghani- Pakistan/War on Terror in Afghanistan stan. You might want to ask—— Q. In Pakistan, I know that there are plans Q. ——talk about it. being worked up that combine—that you The President. Is that where we’re going? have to look at Pakistan and Afghanistan as

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the problem. Can you talk a little bit about some, but in certain Provinces we have not that? held. So now more troops will go in, and as The President. Obviously, if Pakistan is they start to move, you’ll see violence tick a place from which people feel comfortable up because they’re clearing new areas. PRTs, attacking infrastructure, citizens, troops, then which were very successful in Iraq, are now it’s still going—it’s going to make it difficult being increased in Afghanistan. That’s part to succeed in Afghanistan. That’s why we’re of the build part. And training up Afghanis working with the Pakistan Government to to be a part of the hold is going to take a keep the pressure on the extremists. And the while. But nevertheless, there’s optimism more that we can get Pakistan and Afghani- there because the Afghan fighters are good stan to cooperate, the easier it will be to en- fighters; they’re proud to be in the military, force that part of the border region. and we’re headed toward 135,000. Q. What’s your assessment of how Paki- stan is doing on that front? Are they—— The President. Well, first of all, the first Pakistan/War on Terror question is, is there a determination—— Q. You said there were two elements to Pakistan’s work though. You said one was [At this point, there was a slight disturbance aboard Air Force One.] whether Zardari was determined; you said he was. What was the—— The President. ——the other shoe just The President. That’s the press—find dropped. [Laughter] Look, I’m going to be them and get them, press them hard, and thinking of shoe jokes for a long time. then win the hearts and minds of the locals [Laughter] through economic development. Q. [Inaudible] The President. Are you? Q. Yes. Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in The President. I haven’t heard any good Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Regions ones yet. Q. Sir, was that made more difficult by President Zardari is determined; he’s said the use of UAVs? Are you and Hamid Karzai so publicly, and he’s said so to me privately. on the same page on that? He looked at me in the eye and said, ‘‘You The President. Well, as you know—you don’t need to talk to me about extremist vio- know very well that when it comes to certain lence; after all, my wife got killed by extrem- matters, the U.S. Government doesn’t dis- ists.’’ Like a lot of other situations in which cuss operations. you’re trying to deal with extremists who get embedded in the population, there are two aspects: one is to pressure them and to bring Support for President Hamid Karzai of them to justice; and simultaneously, try to Afghanistan/Free Elections win the hearts and minds of the local folks, Q. Sir, Afghanistan is made up of a lot which is what is happening Iraq. of different ethnic groups. See, in Iraq, just remember, we did a clear, The President. Yes. semi-build, and no hold. And it’s the same Q. A lot of them do not support Hamid concept in Afghanistan: clear, build, and Karzai. Is he the right person to lead the hold; and it required 30,000 more troops to country through the next—— get that done, plus the training mission in The President. Well, that will be deter- Iraq to get enough troops to hold. Obviously, mined by the Afghanistan people. That’s the our commanders believe that the hold part great thing about elections. He got 55 per- is good enough for us to be able to move cent. You know, some of us would have loved our troops. You understand the reason I to have 55 percent. [Laughter] And 51.5, not moved troops out of cities into bases is to bad. enhance the credibility of the Government. Well, in Afghanistan, the same principle So the way you resolve a question like that applies. We have cleared and we have built is to have open and transparent elections. I

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believe strongly in the election process be- for there to ever be a Palestinian state, any cause it is the best way to determine for cer- Palestinian leader is going to have to have tain what people think. You know, a con- strong backing from the neighboring states, troversial decision of mine was to press for- which was one of the reasons why Camp ward with the elections in the Palestinian ter- David fell apart under my predecessor. In ritories. I was told, ‘‘Well, the wrong side may other words, the other reason why is because win.’’ My attitude is, the best way to deter- the interlocutor on the Palestinian side just mine what the people think is to let them was—failed the Palestinian people. Not vote. President—this was not President Clinton’s And Hamas didn’t win because they said fault. we promise you violence; Hamas said we’d Ms. Perino. Going to take one more. win because we promise you better services. So my answer to the losers of the election End of Presidential Term/North Korea is, if they have credibility at providing better Q. Just—in fact, it’s sort of a wrap-up services, why don’t you figure out how you question—— can do a better job and respond to the peo- The President. I’m going to go take a nap. ple? That’s what elections do. Anybody—[laughter]. So the election process in Afghanistan will Q. If there is one thing you wish—— once again provide people an opportunity to The President. Steven Lee [Steven Lee say, ‘‘We’re tired of this, or we appreciate Myers, The New York Times], you want to that.’’ And it’s the good public servant who take a nap? listens to what the people say. Q. No, I’m all right. Q. He doesn’t need sleep. Middle East The President. You look a little—[laugh- Q. Mr. President, if there was one—I’m ter]. Mind if I call you Jimmy Lee? sorry, go ahead. Q. Steven Lee. Q. You mentioned the Middle East. Is The President. Stevie Lee, I mean. there any more to do in your remaining 37 Q. Stevie. [Laughter] days on that? Q. If there is anything, when you look at The President. Ed [Ed Chen, Bloomberg this last month or so you have left, that you News], we’ve—Condi is working a U.N. Se- wish you could accomplish, in the foreign curity Council that affirms the Annapolis policy arena, or anything you want to say? process. The question would be, will Presi- If you had a single thing that you want to dent Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert want accomplish, what would it be? to lay out a specific state? And that’s to be The President. Last month? Well, it’s to determined. But there is a way forward now. solidify the frameworks that will enable prob- The big sea change in the Middle East on lems to be solved. this issue is that by far the majority of people Take, for example, the North Korean issue. recognize that the only way to peace is two It is much easier to solve a problem dip- states. And in 2001, that was not the case. lomatically when there is more than one In 2001, most of the Israeli political class be- voice speaking to the leader of North Korea. lieved that ‘‘greater Israel’’ was the only way And a success of this administration is to put to have security. And the Palestinian Author- a framework in place that has China, the ity was run by a person who could not deliver United States, and South Korea and Russia peace and was not trustworthy. So now and Japan all at the table, all saying the same you’ve got a Palestinian President who recog- thing. In this case, the message is, we need nizes Israel’s right to exist, and a Israeli polit- to have a verifiable process in place to deter- ical class that says, ‘‘If we want security, if mine whether or not you’re fulfilling your ob- we want peace, we’ve got to work for a Pales- ligations. tinian state.’’ So the framework is there. Secondly, in the old process it used to be, And the other point—the other significant we will give you what you ask for and hope change was that Annapolis brought many in that you respond. Now it is, here’s what you the Arab world to the table. And in order must do if you want our help. We’ve reversed

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the process. And it’s not just the United been saying, ‘‘You must come and visit us States speaking. So right now what you’re before you leave.’’ And of course, I never watching is that the leader of North Korea committed until however long it was ago, 48 is trying to test the process. First he said hours ago. something Japan, and now he’s saying some- So, okay, I’m going to go take a nap. thing about so-and-so. And so the objective is to keep our partners firm on the under- NOTE: The interview began at 11:39 p.m. aboard standing that the six-party process is the best Air Force One en route to Afghanistan. In his way to solve the North Korean issue. remarks, the President referred to President Hu So he’ll test—and this isn’t the first time Jintao of China; Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, he’s tested. He signed an agreement in Sep- USA, commanding general, Multi-National tember of 2005. Everybody said, ‘‘Great, Corps—Iraq; Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, com- looks like we’re on our way to having the mander, U.S. Central Command; President Asif problem solved.’’ And then he tested and Ali Zardari of Pakistan; former Prime Minister and changed his mind and did this, that, and the Opposition Leader Benazir Bhutto, who was killed other. And the key is to be firm and patient in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on De- cember 27, 2007; Secretary of State Condoleezza with a structure that will enable the next Rice; President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of President or the next President after that to the Palestinian Authority; Prime Minister Ehud be able to solve the problem diplomatically. Olmert of Israel; and Chairman Kim Jong Il of So there’s one area right there that we’re North Korea. The transcript was released by the working on. Obviously, the Security Council Office of the Press Secretary on December 15. resolution on dealing with the Annapolis A tape was not available for verification of the process. We got the SOFA—SFA/SOFA content of this interview. done on Iraq. Q. You got India done. The President. Well, India was done, but Remarks to Military Personnel at she said the last month. Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan End of Presidential Term/Afghanistan December 15, 2008 Q. Anything on Iraq, sir, in the last month? The President. Thank you all very much. Q. Afghanistan? Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for The President. Well, I think I should trav- coming out to greet me at a kind of a strange el to Afghanistan in the last month of my hour. [Laughter] General, I appreciate your Presidency, although it’s not exactly the last accommodating what I’m calling ‘‘Rudolph month. So what’s the date? One.’’ [Laughter] After all, it is the holiday Ms. Perino. The 14th. season. You might have heard, we made a The President. Fourteen. Seventeen plus little refueling stop in Baghdad earlier today. 17—37 days. And now I’m proud to be back in Afghani- Q. Why is it you want to be in Afghanistan? stan. You might call it as—a early-morning The President. I want to be in Afghani- wake-up call. Or in some of your cases, I stan to say thank you to President Karzai, might have shut—cut your evening off. We to let the people of Afghanistan know that won’t go there. [Laughter] In either case, I the United States has stood with them and am proud to be with brave souls serving the will stand with them. See, it’s—if you notice, United States of America. Steven Lee asked a good question—bipar- And my dear wife sends her very best re- tisan foundation. These nations need to know gards. So, on behalf of Laura and everybody that the United States has been with them, else back home, Merry Christmas and a is with them, and will be with them. So the happy holidays. Congratulations on your tre- trip is a way to, say thanks to leaders that mendous accomplishments. And above all, I have been working with for a long period thank you for volunteering to defend the of time. United States of America. By the way, both leaders in my last con- You know, they often say, ‘‘What are you versations, or the last couple of them, have going to miss?’’ I’ll miss the airplane, of

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course. [Laughter] But I’m mainly going to planned the attacks of September the 11th, miss being the Commander in Chief of such 2001. an outstanding group of men and women. After that date, America gave the Taliban I appreciate Sergeant Major Vince a choice: You can turn over the leaders of Camacho for his service. I want to thank Am- Al Qaida, or you can share in their fate. And bassador Bill Wood; the commanding general when they refused, our just demands were of U.S. Forces, Afghanistan, General David enforced by the United States military. And McKiernan; Brigadier General Mike thanks to you, the Taliban has gone from Holmes, commanding general, 45th [455th] * power, the Al Qaida training camps are Expeditionary Wing; soldiers of the 101st closed, and 25 million Iraqis are free. And Airborne, the Screaming Eagles. the American people, your loved ones, are I told the General that I had the honor more secure. of going to Fort Campbell the other day. And Removing the Taliban was a landmark I saw a lot of your comrades, and I saw a achievement, but our work did not end there. lot of your families. And they have a message See, we could have replaced one group of for you: Air Assault! thugs with another strongman. But all that I thank the airmen of the 455th Air Expe- would have done is invited the same prob- ditionary Wing. I kind of like your motto: lems that brought us the Al Qaida safe havens ‘‘Start right, finish strong.’’ and the attacks on America in the first place. Audience members. Hooah! Those were the mistakes of the 1980s and The President. Yes, that sounds pretty 1990s, and we were not going to repeat them good for a guy with 36 days left. [Laughter] again in the 21st century. The soldiers of the 3d Brigade Combat So America set an ambitious goal to help Team; 1st Infantry Division, the Big Red Afghanistan’s young democracy grow and One; soldiers of the 1st Maneuver Enhance- thrive and emerge as an alternative to the ment Brigade, Task Force Warrior; I want ideology of hate and extremism and terror. to thank all the troops from our coalition This is a difficult and long effort. It’s not easy partners. to do this. It would have been so much sim- I appreciate your countries for supporting pler to say we got rid of one bunch and here’s this noble cause. I want to thank all the civil- another one. But that’s not what we believe ians, the diplomats, the Embassy personnel is right. We want to lay the foundation of who are critical to our success. I thank all peace for generations to come. We want to the other brave Americans here today, in- do the hard work now so our children and cluding members of the United States Navy, our grandchildren can grow up in a peaceful the United States Marine combat personnel, world. FBI agents—— So we rallied good allies to our side, in- Audience members. Whoo! cluding every member of NATO. We’ve de- The President. And last but not least— veloped civilian experts in the form of [civil- [laughter]. They may sound small, but they’re ian] * reconstruction teams. And together plenty tough. And last but not least, the 101st with the determined people of Afghanistan, Army Band. You probably played some high we are making hopeful gains. notes to keep the folks awake. [Laughter] Thanks to you, girls are back in school Afghanistan is a dramatically different across Afghanistan. Does that matter? I think country than it was 8 years ago. When I took it does—I think it does. Thanks to you, boys office in 2001, the Taliban was brutally re- are playing soccer again and flying kites and pressing the Afghan people. Girls were de- learning to be Boy Scouts. Thanks to you, nied access to school. People who did not access to health care is up dramatically. submit to the regime’s radical beliefs were Thanks to you, Afghanistan’s economy has beaten in the public or executed in soccer more than doubled in size. And thanks to stadiums. Al Qaida had freedom rein to oper- you, the Afghan people are preparing to go ate the country—in the country. And it was here in Afghanistan that the terrorists * White House correction.

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to the polls next year for another round of What you’re doing in Afghanistan is an— free elections. Thanks to you, Afghanistan is important, it is courageous, and it is self- has a democratic Government that is no less. It’s akin to what American troops did longer an enemy of America; it is a friend in places like Normandy and Iwo Jima and of America. Korea. Your generation is every bit as great The enemies of freedom in Afghanistan as any that has come before. And the work are determined, no question about it, and the you do every day is shaping history for gen- fight has been tough; I don’t need to tell you. erations to come. This is a large country. It has a long way— Because of you, America now has a strong it’s a long way away from a modern economy friend and partner in the fight against extre- with a viable infrastructure. It’s hard to get mism in a pivotal part of the world. Because around Afghanistan. Yet we have a strategic of you, people across the broader east—Mid- interest, and I believe a moral interest in a dle East now have an example of a more prosperous and peaceful democratic Afghan- hopeful path—a model of liberty that can istan. And no matter how long it takes, we prevail over tyranny and terror. Because of will help the people of Afghanistan succeed. you, killers who wanted to take the lives of As a sign of our commitment, we’ve in- Americans back home have been brought to creased American troop levels in Afghani- justice before they reached our shores. And stan. Our NATO allies have done the same, because of you and all who work to protect our Nation, America has done something and so have the Afghan people. The Afghan many said was impossible: We have gone Army and police have grown. I call it a quiet more than 7 years without a terrorist attack surge. It’s a surge that hadn’t gotten much on our homeland. attention. But it has an unmistakable mes- This time of year is especially a time when sage: The Taliban has gone from power, and we thank the Almighty for our freedoms. And it’s not coming back. Al Qaida terrorists have we think of those who laid down their lives lost their safe haven in Afghanistan, and to protect those freedoms. Back home their they’re not going to get it back. Afghanistan children are growing up without a mom or will be a successful society and a hopeful so- a dad. But all of our children are growing ciety and a free society. And Afghanistan will up with something else; the promise of a never again be a safe haven for terrorists to safer America, the promise of a better world, attack the United States of America. and the more likelihood for peace. In recent months, the violence has in- This is a lasting memorial—all who have creased in some parts of Afghanistan. This sacrificed here in Afghanistan. And thanks to is partly because we’re going into new areas you, that memorial will be achieved, and the where the terrorists have never been chal- sacrifice of your comrades will not have been lenged before. And if the enemy are fighting in vain. We think of the comrades who have back, they don’t like it when we show up. been wounded. And our Nation pledges that But ultimately, they will be no match for the we will give them all the care and all the Afghan people or her coalition partners. And support they need to recover. they’re certainly no match for the men and And finally, we think of your families back women of the United States military. home. You’ve got a loved one wondering I am confident we will succeed in Afghani- what you’re doing, how you’re doing; I want stan because our cause is just, our coalition you to do me a favor: When you get back and Afghan partners are determined. And I to wherever you’re getting back to, call them, am confident because I believe freedom is e-mail them, or write them. Tell them you a gift of an Almighty to every man, woman, love them, and tell them the Commander in and child on the face of the Earth. Above Chief thanks them for their sacrifice, thanks all, I know the strength and character of you them for loving you like they do, and thanks all. As I conclude this final trip, I have a mes- for—thank them for standing with you as you sage to you and to all who serve our country: serve the noble cause of peace. Thank you for making the noble choice to I am proud to be with you. I thank you serve and protect your fellow Americans. from the bottom of my heart. May God bless

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you, and may God continue to bless the was a group of killers that were hiding here United States of America. and training here and plotting here to kill citizens in my country. NOTE: The President spoke at 5:38 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to Command Sgt. Maj. Vin- Right after the attacks, I made it abun- cent Camacho, USA, 101st Airborne Division (Air dantly clear that we would bring people to Assault). justice for our own security; and made it abundantly clear that if a group of people harbored a terrorist, they were equally as The President’s News Conference guilty as a terrorist. And we gave the Taliban With President Hamid Karzai of an opportunity to respond; they didn’t. And Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan American troops proudly liberated the peo- December 15, 2008 ple of Afghanistan. That’s what life was like. Now we could have replaced one power [At this point, President Karzai spoke in person with another. That would have been, Dari, and no translation was provided.] I guess, the easy route, and then just left it President Karzai. Most welcome, Mr. behind, say we’ve done our duty and we’ve President. Most welcome. upheld the doctrine, and said, ‘‘Okay, we’re President Bush. Thank you, sir. Thanks, now going to take this group, replace them Mr. President; it’s good to be with a dear with this group’’—and just got out of the way. friend. You and I have spent a lot of time But that’s not—that, one, didn’t learn the les- together, and we have done a lot of work sons of the eighties and the nineties. And together, all aiming to give the people of Af- secondly, the interest is to build a flourishing ghanistan a better life. And I’m proud to be democracy as an alternative to an hateful ide- with you. ology. And it’s not easy work. Afghanistan is I hope you understand why it is important a huge country. The road system is not nearly for me to get back to Washington, and that as well developed as a lot of other countries. is because my wife expects for me to be back You’re just beginning to develop your re- in Washington. [Laughter] We have a holiday source base in a way that I hope benefits reception at the White House, and so I’m the people of Afghanistan; after all, it’s their going to have to hustle back; after all, I did resources. sneak out of town under the dark of night. It’s difficult because extremists refuse to And now I’m going to go back home having accept the beauty of democracy. They’ve got visited this important country. So thanks for a different vision, and so therefore, they’re having me. And she sends her best. As you willing to kill innocent people to achieve well know, that Laura’s—one of her great their objectives. passions is to stand with the courageous There has been a lot of progress since women in Afghanistan. And I can assure you, 2001—after all, girls are back in school. I Mr. President, that after our time in Wash- happen to believe that’s important. As the ington, we both look forward to continuing father of twin girls, I couldn’t imagine living to stay in touch and to continuing to stay en- in a society where my little girls couldn’t have gaged with the people of Afghanistan. So a chance to realize their God-given potential. Laura sends her deep respect and great af- President Karzai. Yes. fection for the people of Afghanistan. President Bush. You’ve got boys flying You know, I was thinking when I—right kites again in Afghanistan. You’ve got health before we landed, how much Afghanistan has clinics up all across the country. The Presi- changed since I have been the President. dent was telling me of a health clinic in the And sometimes it’s hard when you’re in the remote northeast region of Afghanistan, a midst of a difficult situation, it’s hard to get place where it had been unimaginable. perspective. In 2001, the Taliban were bru- The economy has more than doubled in tally repressing the people of this country. size. It needs to double in size again, and I remember the images of women being then double in size again, no question. But stoned, or people being executed in the soc- it has doubled in size. Security forces are cer stadium because of their beliefs. There growing stronger. You’ve got good people in

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Afghanistan who are—you know, want to terrorists, about the diplomat—using diplo- work to provide security so that a political matic ways or using military? process can grow behind it. President Bush. Yes. Thank you. First, I Now there’s been good progress made, but am of a different political party than Presi- there are a lot of tough challenges. One of dent-elect Obama. But I want him to suc- the great, interesting things that I’ll be ceed. I want him to do well. And to this end watching—since I believe so strongly in de- we have worked hard to help the transition. mocracy—are the upcoming elections. And Secondly, I think it is interesting that he I’ve talked to General McKiernan, he said— has picked Secretary Gates, the Secretary of who’s told me that—about the strategy, along Defense under—the last couple of years with Ambassador Wood, about the strategy under my administration, who will be the to help the Afghan folks—the military, and Secretary of Defense under his administra- political leaders—get the elections up and tion. And I think that should send a clear running. And it’s going to be an exciting time signal to the people of Afghanistan that the for the people of Afghanistan, to go to the transition will be a smooth transition. polls and be able to express their opinion. I expect you’ll see more U.S. troops here And I’m sure the press corps, the Afghanistan as quickly as possible in parts of the country press corps, is looking forward to covering that are being challenged by the Taliban. I the elections. It’ll give you something to do remember when President Karzai and Presi- in a very important part of your country’s his- dent Musharraf and I had the famous dinner tory. at the White House. And it—you know, the I told the President that you can count on discussions really are the same today as they the United States; just like you’ve been able were then, and that is that extremists and to count on this administration, you’ll be able terrorists and people who use car bombs and to count on the next administration as well. suicide bombers to achieve political objec- It’s in our interest that Afghanistan’s democ- tives are a threat to all of us. And that there racy flourish. It’s in America’s interest that needs to be a comprehensive strategy in we forever deny safe haven for people who helping the Pakistan Government deal with still want to kill our citizens. those who bring great harm on their citizens And so, Mr. President, I come bringing and bring harm on the citizens of Afghani- the greetings of the country. It has been a privilege to work with you over these years. stan. I have come to admire you, I appreciate your So to answer your question, I think it’s a— service, and I wish you and the people of we need to have a collaborative strategy. We Afghanistan all the very best. need to work together in a constructive way. President Karzai. Most welcome, Mr. And we are making progress along those President; it’s our pleasure and honor. Most lines. You know, I was with President Zardari welcome. in—I think it was in New York. And I had never met him before, and I was reminding Presidential Transition/President-Elect him that I’m, you know, a person who says Obama’s Foreign Policy that we will defend our country and defend Q. My question is from His Excellency, our people. The most important job for the the President of the United States. First, if President of the United States is defend our President-elect Obama brings any change in people from attack. the war against terrorism in Afghanistan or He said, ‘‘You don’t have to talk to me any change in the strategy to—towards Af- about extremists attacking people, extremists ghanistan or in the policies. Being from the killed my wife.’’ And so we’re—there’s a lot Republicans, will your party support his of consultations going on with the Presi- plannings? dent—I think you’re going to be meeting And second, regarding he said he was in with President Zardari soon. Pakistan and the terrorists in Pakistan, what’s President Karzai. Yes. your message to Obama that how he should President Bush. And that’s good, and I deal with Pakistani Government regarding appreciate that.

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Olivier [Olivier Knox, Agence France- proved governance and service delivery by Presse]. the Government, we also work on enabling Afghanistan to eventually stand on its own War on Terror in Afghanistan/Troop feet. The Afghan people don’t want to be Levels in Afghanistan a burden on the international community for- Q. Thank you, gentlemen. I have one ever. And we are grateful already that the question for the two of you. Canada has an- international community is helping us in nounced it’s pulling out in 2011; South Korea blood and their taxpayers’ money. is already gone. In that context are you con- We are grateful to Canada. We are grateful cerned about the level of international sup- to all other countries, as partners for building port for the war here, and are the 20,000 Afghanistan, for fighting terrorists who are additional U.S. troops enough to bring this the enemies of all of us. So we are happy conflict to a close? in any form of assistance other countries give President Bush. Well, first of all, as you us and will be grateful for it. know, I’ve always relied upon our military One—pick up one more question, Mr. commanders to make the recommendations President? You’d like to continue? necessary to achieve the objectives we’ve set President Bush. All those who want an- forth. We have added troops during—twice other question, raise your hand. [Laughter] during my Presidency—obviously, in the ini- I guess so, Mr. President. tial move in and then we added troops to [A reporter began to ask a question in Dari.] that. I’ve announced we’re going to send in more troops. And then, of course, the Obama President Bush. Hold on a second. administration will be analyzing the situation, and it sounds like that they intend to expedite Progress in Afghanistan/War on Terror in the—sending more troops in. Afghanistan So—and why do we do that? Because this The reporter continued his question, and no is what our generals suggest we do. To an- [ translation was provided. swer your—this is just going to be a long ] struggle, first of all. This doesn’t end tomor- President Bush. I respectfully disagree row. Ideological struggles take time. As a civil with you. The Taliban was brutalizing the society whose firm political institutions begin people of Afghanistan. And they’re not in to develop, extremism begins to wither; it power. And I just cited the progress that is gets marginalized, and then it withers away. undeniable. And so it’s going to take time. I can’t tell Now, is there more work to be done? You you the troop levels we’ll need; all I know bet. I never said the Taliban was eliminated; is our generals said, this is what we need now. I said they were removed from power. And And they—I listened to them, and I’m con- I said girls are going back to school, and boys fident President-elect Obama will listen to are flying kites, and health clinics are open- the commanders as well. ing, and the number of university students President Karzai. We’re already very is dramatically expanding, and the number grateful to all those countries, nations who of schools around the country is growing, and have come to help Afghanistan, and who have there’s a ring road built. Yes, there’s no ques- already helped Afghanistan. Canada is among tion there’s a Taliban that wants to fight back. the countries that’s the frontrunner in assist- Why? Because they want to regain power. ance to Afghanistan. Their plans to withdraw They can’t stand the thought of a free society. their troops by 2011 or ’12 is not in contradic- And they’re lethal, and they are tough. No tion to the understanding that we have with question about it, no question about it. them. They will continue to assist us in var- So therefore, is the suggestion because ious other forms in Afghanistan. they’re tough that we just withdraw, that it’s What is important here is that while we too hard work? Not as far as I’m concerned. are continuing to fight terrorism and to bring I think it’s necessary work. And it’s in the institutional strength and stability to Afghani- interest of the United States that we not stan, with an improved economy and im- allow Afghanistan to become a safe haven

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again for Al Qaida. Al Qaida is greatly weak- President Bush. Yes, you better hurry up, ened since 2001. As a matter of fact, they in my case. [Laughter] at one point declared the most central front Thank you, sir. Thank you, all. in the war on terror in Iraq, where they’re President Karzai. Most welcome, most doing very poorly. welcome. Take care. Thanks very much. And they’re not doing so well here either. Thank you. Now, they can hide in remote regions. They can hide, but we will stay on the hunt, and NOTE: The President’s news conference began at 7:53 a.m. at the Presidential Palace. In his re- we will keep the pressure on them, because marks, he referred to Gen. David D. McKiernan, it’s in the people—the peaceful people of Af- USA, commander, NATO International Security ghanistan’s interest, just like it’s in the inter- Assistance Force, Afghanistan; former President est of this country. Pervez Musharraf and President Asif Ali Zardari And so, is there still difficult days ahead? of Pakistan; and former Prime Minister and Oppo- Absolutely. But are the conditions a lot better sition Leader Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, who was today in Afghanistan than they were in 2001? killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Unquestionably, undoubtedly, they’re better. on December 27, 2007. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language tran- [President Karzai spoke in Dari, and no script of this press conference. translation was provided.] President Karzai. Mr. President. Remarks on Lighting the Hanukkah President Bush. Steven Lee [Steven Lee Menorah Myers, New York Times]. December 15, 2008

Troop Levels in Afghanistan Please be seated. Welcome to the White House. You may have heard I’ve had a pretty Q. Thank you, Mr. President. If I could eventful weekend. [Laughter] ask President Karzai first. We just came from So I slipped out Saturday night to Andrews Iraq, where they’ve signed an agreement out- Air Force Base, boarded Air Force One, and lining a security arrangement, and it includes landed in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sunday after- a withdrawal of American forces within 3 noon. It was an unbelievable experience— years. I wonder if you envisioned a similar it really was—to stand next to the President kind of arrangement where—would you like of a democracy and hold my hand over my to see a scheduled withdrawal or a timetable heart as they played the national anthem in of withdrawal for the foreign forces who are front of one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces. in Afghanistan? Thank you. I then had—[applause]. And then I had the President Karzai. Well, sir, Afghanistan honor to thank our brave troops who have is in a cooperative arrangement with the helped make the transformation in Iraq pos- United States and the rest of the inter- sible. national community. The decision in Afghan- This morning we landed in Afghanistan. istan is to continue our cooperation with the I spoke to American forces serving coura- international community until we have de- geously to make sure that Afghanistan never feated terrorism and extremism and the becomes a safe haven from which the killers threat that emanates from them to us, to our could launch attacks on the homeland. neighbors, and to the rest of the world. And And then I met with President Karzai, who Afghanistan will not allow the international is determined to help the young democracy community to leave it before we are fully on survive. And so he said, ‘‘Why don’t you hang our feet, before we are strong enough to de- around for a while?’’ And I said, ‘‘Well, you fend our country, before we are powerful don’t understand. [Laughter] I need to get enough to have a good economy, and before back to the White House for an important we have taken from President Bush and the event.’’ [Laughter] The Hanukkah reception next administration billions and billions of is always one of the most special events of more dollars—[laughter]—no way that they the season. Laura and I are pleased to be can let you go. with so many friends. And we are honored

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to gather with leaders of the Jewish commu- President’s courageous decision to recognize nity to celebrate our final Hanukkah here in the new State of Israel gave him an immortal the White House. place in Jewish history. Those words filled I want to thank our Attorney General for the President’s eyes with uncharacteristic joining us. General, I appreciate you and tears. And later, Ben-Gurion would say he Susan joining us. I am proud to be here with rarely had seen somebody so moved. one of America’s great United States Sen- And so tonight I’m deeply moved to wel- ators, Joe Lieberman—[applause]—his come the grandsons of these two great greatness made possible by his wife Hadas- men—Clifton Truman Daniel and Yariv Ben- sah, I might add. [Laughter] And one of the Eliezer—to light the Truman menorah to- young leaders of the United States Congress, gether. Eric Cantor, and his wife Diana. And we’re Laura and I wish all the people of Jewish proud to be here with Kol Zimra as well, faith a happy Hanukkah and many joyous Ha- who will perform later. nukkahs in the years ahead. Thank you. The story of Hanukkah recalls the miracu- lous victory of a small band of patriots against NOTE: The President spoke at 5:30 p.m. in the tyranny and the oil that burned for eight Grand Foyer at the White House. In his remarks, nights. Through centuries of exile and perse- he referred to President Jalal Talabani of Iraq; President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan; Susan cution, Jews have lit the menorah. Each year, Mukasey, wife of Attorney General Michael B. they behold its glow with faith in the power Mukasey; and entertainers Kol Zimra. The Office of God and love for His greatest gift, free- of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish lan- dom. guage transcript of these remarks. This Hanukkah we celebrate another mi- raculous victory, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. When Presi- Remarks Following a Meeting With dent Harry Truman led the world in recog- President Elias Antonio Saca nizing Israel in May of 1948, many wondered Gonzalez of El Salvador whether the small nation could possibly sur- December 16, 2008 vive. Yet from the first days of independence, the people of Israel defied dire predictions. President Bush. Mr. President, With determination and hard work, they benvenido de nuevo. I am honored to have turned a rocky desert into fertile soil. They you back. I appreciate your friendship, and built a thriving democracy, a strong economy, I appreciate your strong leadership for the and one of the mightiest military forces on people of our close ally, El Salvador. Earth. Like the Maccabees, Israel has de- We’ve had a very good discussion. First, fended itself bravely against enemies seeking I want to thank you for your support of free- its destruction. And today, Israel is a light dom in Iraq. You and—have been steadfast unto the nations and one of America’s closest in recognizing that freedom is the way to help friends. build lasting peace. This evening we have the great privilege I appreciate very much the fact that your of celebrating Israel’s 60th anniversary and country is a vibrant democracy. You’ve been Hanukkah in a very special way. Thanks to steadfast in your support for your—the right the generosity of the Truman Library, we are of your people to express themselves in a free fortunate to light the menorah presented to society, and I applaud you for that strength. President Truman in 1951 as a symbol of I want to thank you very much for invest- friendship by Israel’s first Prime Minister, ing in your people. You’re a—we’ve got a David Ben-Gurion. partnership through the Millennium Chal- A decade after President Truman received lenge Corporation. And part of your commit- this gift, he visited Prime Minister Ben- ment was honest government and the invest- Gurion for one of the last times. As they part- ment in the health and education of your ed, Ben-Gurion told the President that as a people. And you’ve honored that agreement. foreigner he could not judge President Tru- I thank you very much for understanding that man’s place in American history, but the the benefits of trade are good for your people

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and our people as well. And you’re a very With regards to the Millennium account, strong advocate of CAFTA, which is working we have been very successful. We’re working very well. very fast. We’re going to build a highway, And finally, you’ve been very strong when a 300-kilometer-long highway in the north- it comes to helping interdict the flow of ern part of the country. And at the same drugs. I explained to the President that since time, we’re going to develop the rural areas 2001, drug use in the United States amongst along that highway. And all this has been teenagers has declined by 25 percent. And done hand in hand with the United States. the reason I said that is because in order to I wish you the best of luck in your new affect the flow of drugs there must be a com- life. I was just in Dallas recently, because prehensive approach. First of all, we got to— I went to promote the TPS for our people. we in the United States must reduce de- And everybody knew there that President mand. But it also requires a strong coopera- Bush was going to move to Dallas. [Laughter] tive spirit to interdict supply. And you have been very strong in that. You are leaving on January 20th. And I And so I thank you. It’s been a pleasure leave on the 1st of June. to work with you. You may have heard that President Bush. Si. [Laughter] I’m about to retire. And as I head toward President Saca. So I hope that I can go the great State of Texas, I will have very fond and visit you and talk to you—— memories of our time together, and the President Bush. Por cierto—por cierto. strength of our friendship and of your leader- President Saca. Lo damos por cierto. ship. President Bush. Si. So welcome. President Saca. Okay. President Bush has President Saca. Muchas gracias. been a strong advocate of freedom. And I President Bush. Si. think that the United States has much to President Saca. Thank you so much. I thank President Bush, especially the fact that also thank President Bush. I think that we the U.S. has not been attacked again by the have got a very fruitful relationship and one terrorist groups. This is something quite in- that is very concerned for our people. I think tangible, because you cannot touch it, you that El Salvador is a good example of a coun- cannot feel it, until that, unfortunately, some- try that moved from war to peace. And we’ve thing like that would happen again. always had the contribution of the United States in all of the stages of this peace. You can always count with the support of I always tell President Bush that free trade El Salvador on these issues, Mr. President, was so important, as well as the immigration and the United States in general, the new issue for our people. And all these issues have President, because the historical relationship been worked out, especially regarding co- between the United States of America and operation with regards to the combat against El Salvador is a relationship of shared values, drugs. I have confirmed President Bush that and we will continue to share in this friend- El Salvador is going to renew the FOL that ship strongly, as it is now. we have at the Pacific coast. And that has Thank you so much. allowed us to capture a lot of drug traffickers President Bush Thank you, sir. and seize a lot of drugs also for the Pacific coast. NOTE: The President spoke at 10:07 a.m. in the So a mid-income country like El Salvador Oval Office at the White House. President Saca knows perfectly well that the path towards referred to President-elect Barack Obama; FOL, prosperity is effort and hard work and free- the U.S. Military Forward Operating Location in dom. And this is something that Salvadorans Comalapa, El Salvador; ILEA, the Department practice on a daily basis. We have worked of Homeland Security’s International Law En- forcement Acadamies; and TPS, temporary pro- hand in hand with ILEA. And ILEA is the tected immigration status. President Saca spoke place where our judges and our prosecutors in Spanish, and his remarks were translated by are being trained, and it is something that an interpreter. The Office of the Press Secretary we’re doing together with the United States also released a Spanish language transcript of of America. these remarks.

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Letter to Congressional Leaders on al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Reporting on the Deployments of The total number of U.S. forces in Afghani- United States Combat-Equipped stan is approximately 31,000, of which ap- Armed Forces Around the World proximately 13,000 are assigned to the Inter- national Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in December 16, 2008 Afghanistan. The U.N. Security Council au- Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Mr. thorized ISAF in U.N. Security Council Res- President:) olution 1386 of December 20, 2001, and has I am providing this supplemental consoli- reaffirmed its authorization since that time, dated report, prepared by my Administration most recently for a 12-month period from and consistent with the War Powers Resolu- October 13, 2008, in U.N. Security Council tion (Public Law 93–148), as part of my ef- Resolution 1833 of September 22, 2008. The forts to keep the Congress informed about mission of ISAF under NATO command is deployments of U.S. combat-equipped to assist the Government of Afghanistan in Armed Forces around the world. This sup- creating a safe and secure environment that plemental report covers operations in sup- allows for continued reconstruction and the port of the war on terror and in Kosovo. exercise and extension of Afghan authority. Currently, more than 40 nations contribute THE WAR ON TERROR to ISAF, including all 26 NATO Allies. Since September 24, 2001, I have re- The United States continues to detain sev- ported, consistent with Public Law 107–40 eral hundred al-Qaida and Taliban fighters and the War Powers Resolution, on the com- who are believed to pose a continuing threat bat operations in Afghanistan against al- to the United States and its interests. The Qaida terrorists and their Taliban supporters, combat-equipped and combat-support forces which began on October 7, 2001, and the deployed to Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, deployment of various combat-equipped and Cuba, in the U.S. Southern Command area combat-support forces to a number of loca- of operations since January 2002 continue to tions in the Central, Pacific, European, conduct secure detention operations for the Southern, and Africa Command areas of op- enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay. eration in support of those operations and The U.N. Security Council authorized a of other operations in our war on terror. Multinational Force (MNF) in Iraq under I will direct additional measures as nec- unified command in U.N. Security Council essary in the exercise of the right of the Resolution 1511 of October 16, 2003, and United States to self-defense and to protect reaffirmed its authorization in U.N. Security U.S. citizens and interests. Such measures Council Resolution 1546 of June 8, 2004, may include short-notice deployments of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1637 of special operations and other forces for sen- November 8, 2005, U.N. Security Council sitive operations in various locations through- Resolution 1723 of November 28, 2006, and out the world. It is not possible to know at U.N. Security Council Resolution 1790 of this time the precise scope or the duration December 18, 2007, set to expire on Decem- of the deployment of U.S. Armed Forces ber 31, 2008. Under Resolutions 1546, 1637, necessary to counter the terrorist threat to 1723, and 1790, the mission of the MNF is the United States. to contribute to security and stability in Iraq. United States Armed Forces, with the as- These contributions have included, but have sistance of numerous coalition partners, con- not been limited to, assisting in building the tinue to conduct the U.S. campaign to pursue capability of the Iraqi security forces, sup- al-Qaida terrorists and to eliminate support porting the development of Iraq’s political to al-Qaida. These operations have been suc- institutions, improving local governance, en- cessful in seriously degrading al-Qaida’s hancing ministerial capacity, and providing training capabilities. United States Armed critical humanitarian and reconstruction as- Forces, with the assistance of numerous coa- sistance to the Iraqis. The U.S. contribution lition partners, ended the Taliban regime and to the MNF fluctuates over time depending are actively pursuing and engaging remnant on the conditions in theater as determined

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by the commanders on the ground; the cur- KFOR’s total strength of approximately rent U.S. contribution to the MNF is ap- 15,500 personnel. proximately 152,035 U.S. military personnel. The U.S. participating forces in KFOR In furtherance of our efforts against terror- have been assigned to the eastern region of ists who pose a continuing and imminent Kosovo but also have operated in other areas threat to the United States, its friends and of the country based on mission require- allies, and our forces abroad, the United ments. For U.S. KFOR forces, as for KFOR States continues to work with friends and al- generally, helping to maintain a safe and se- lies in areas around the globe. These efforts cure environment remains the principal mili- include the deployment of U.S. combat- tary task. The KFOR operates under NATO equipped and combat-support forces to assist command and control and rules of engage- in enhancing the counterterrorism capabili- ment. The KFOR currently coordinates with ties of our friends and allies. United States and supports UNMIK within means and ca- combat-equipped and combat-support forces pabilities and has provided similar assurances continue to be located in the Horn of Africa of cooperation to EULEX. The KFOR pro- region. vides a security presence in towns, villages, In addition, the United States continues and the country-side; and organizes check- to conduct maritime interception operations points and patrols in key areas to provide se- on the high seas in the areas of responsibility curity, to protect all elements of the popu- of all of the geographic combatant com- lation living in Kosovo, and to help instill a manders. These maritime operations have feeling of confidence in all ethnic commu- the responsibility to stop the movement, nities throughout Kosovo. arming, or financing of international terror- NATO continues periodically to conduct ists. a formal review of KFOR’s mission. These reviews provide a basis for assessing current NATO-LED KOSOVO FORCE (KFOR) force levels, future requirements, force struc- As noted in previous reports regarding ture, force reductions, and the eventual with- U.S. contributions in support of peace- drawal of KFOR. NATO adopted the Joint keeping efforts in Kosovo, the U.N. Security Operations Area plan to regionalize and ra- Council authorized Member States to estab- tionalize its force structure in the Balkans. lish KFOR in U.N. Security Council Resolu- The UNMIK international police and tion 1244 of June 10, 1999. Kosovo Police Service (KPS) have primary The original mission of KFOR was to mon- responsibility for public safety and policing itor, to verify, and, when necessary, to en- throughout Kosovo. The UNMIK inter- force compliance with the Military Technical national police and KPS also have assumed Agreement between NATO and Serbia (for- responsibility for guarding some patrimonial merly the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), sites and operating border crossings. The while maintaining a safe and secure environ- KFOR supports these police forces when re- ment. Today, KFOR deters renewed hos- quested and augments security in particularly tilities and, with local authorities and inter- sensitive areas or in response to particular national police, contributes to the mainte- threats as events on the ground dictate. nance of a safe and secure environment that I have directed the participation of U.S. facilitates the work of the United Nations In- Armed Forces in all of these operations pur- terim Administrative Mission in Kosovo suant to my constitutional authority to con- (UNMIK), the European Union (EU)-led duct the foreign relations of the United International Civilian Office, and the evolv- States and as Commander in Chief and Chief ing EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX). Executive. Officials of my Administration and Currently, 25 NATO nations contribute to I communicate regularly with the leadership KFOR. Eight non-NATO countries also par- and other Members of Congress with regard ticipate by providing military and other sup- to these deployments, and we will continue port personnel to KFOR. The U.S. contribu- to do so. tion to KFOR is about 1,500 U.S. military Sincerely, personnel, or approximately 9 percent of George W. Bush

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NOTE: Identical letters were sent to Nancy Pelosi, do hereby proclaim December 17, 2008, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Wright Brothers Day. Robert C. Byrd, President pro tempore of the In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set Senate. my hand this sixteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and Proclamation 8329—Wright of the Independence of the United States of Brothers Day, 2008 America the two hundred and thirty-third. December 16, 2008 George W. Bush By the President of the United States [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, of America 8:45 a.m., December 18, 2008] A Proclamation NOTE: This proclamation was released by the Of- fice of the Press Secretary on December 17, and Our history is rich with pioneers and it was published in the Federal Register on De- innovators who used their God-given talents cember 19. to improve our Nation and the world. On Wright Brothers Day, we commemorate two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, who Remarks at the United States Army took great risks and ushered in a new era War College in Carlisle, of travel and discovery. Pennsylvania With intrepid spirits and a passion for in- December 17, 2008 novation, Orville and Wilbur Wright became the first to experience the thrill of manned, Thank you very much. Please be seated. powered flight. On December 17, 1903, Thank you for the warm welcome. I’m sorry Orville Wright flew for 12 seconds over the I’m late. [Laughter] But I am honored to be North Carolina sand dunes in the presence back at the Army War College. A few weeks of only five people. In the span of one life- ago, you celebrated this college’s 107th birth- time, our Nation has seen aviation progress day. I was interested to learn that the school from the first tentative takeoff at Kitty Hawk was originally located across the street from to an age of supersonic flight and space ex- the White House. Apparently after a few ploration. years on Pennsylvania Avenue, it was time On this Wright Brothers Day, we recog- to pack up your bags. [Laughter] Laura and nize all those who have taken great risks and I know the feeling. [Laughter] contributed to our country’s legacy of explo- General Williams, thank you for your lead- ration and discovery. This year, we also cele- ership. Sergeant Major Powell, thank you for brate the centennial of the world’s first pas- greeting me. senger flight. By remaining dedicated to ex- I’m traveling today with the Secretary of tending the frontiers of knowledge, we can Veterans Affairs, Jim Peake. I assume he got ensure that the United States will continue a seat. [Laughter] Peake, how are you—fi- to lead the world in science, innovation, and nally, yes! [Laughter] He actually was a 1988 technology, and build a better future for gen- graduate of the U.S. Army War College. He erations to come. claimed he was the president of the class. The Congress, by a joint resolution ap- [Laughter] But he also modestly informed proved December 17, 1963, as amended (77 me that the reason why is because he was Stat. 402; 36 U.S.C. 143), has designated De- the oldest member of the class. [Laughter] cember 17 of each year as ‘‘Wright Brothers Anyway, Mr. Secretary, thanks for your serv- Day’’ and has authorized and requested the ice. President to issue annually a proclamation in- Students, faculty, and staff, it’s good to be viting the people of the United States to ob- with you. serve that day with appropriate ceremonies Over the past century, this important insti- and activities. tution has become one of our Nation’s most Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, revered places. It really has been. After all, President of the United States of America, the graduates of this college are legendary—

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and perhaps I’m looking at legends—Dwight Pentagon, and a fourth vanished from the Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, George Patton skies above Pennsylvania. By nightfall, the to Norm Schwarzkopf, Tommy Franks, and sun had set on a very different world. With a man who I visited with recently, Ray rumors of more attacks swirling, Americans Odierno. I want to thank you for continuing went to bed wondering what the future this college’s noble tradition of military schol- would bring. arship. I thank you for volunteering to serve On that night, virtually no one would have our Nation during a time of war. I appreciate predicted that more than 7 years would pass the officers from our partner nations who are without another terrorist attack on our soil. studying here and who are strengthening It’s not a matter of luck. It is a tribute to their countries’ friendship with the United the dedicated men and women who work day States. and night to defend our great land. It’s the I know many of you have served overseas result of tough decisions that we began mak- in the war on terror. This weekend I was ing immediately after September the 11th. honored to make one final trip to the You see, in those uncertain first weeks, frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan. During there was no obvious precedent to follow. We my trip, I had the opportunity to spend time faced a choice among many different courses with men and women in uniform, and I’ve of action. On one end of the spectrum, we got to tell you, there is nothing better, to could have responded with a purely defen- be the Commander in Chief and stand in sive strategy, hunkering down behind our front of brave souls who bring such dignity borders and retreating from the world stage. to the United States of America. On the other end of the spectrum, we could They say, ‘‘What are you going to miss?’’ have sought revenge through instant retalia- I’m going to miss a lot of things, like no traffic tion, attacking nations that support terror jams on the way from Harrisburg. [Laughter] with no broader strategy to address the root But I’m most going to miss being the Com- cause of the problem. mander in Chief. It is amazing to serve with I rejected both these extremes in favor of people who are willing to stand up and step a deliberate and comprehensive approach, forward to address the great challenge to one where we used all elements of our na- freedom and democracy of our time. We tional power to keep America safe at home, have been called to action, and many have the understanding we needed to take the agreed to serve. fight to the enemy abroad, and the idea of You know, the threat alert—emerged long promoting liberty as the alternative to terror. before September the 11th. Throughout the Last week, I spoke at West Point about 1980s and 1990s, the followers of a hateful transforming our military to wage this war. and twisted ideology grew in strength and And today I’m going to talk to you about the number. In lands where repression and de- strategy we pursued to keep our country safe, spair reigned, these extremists found willing the results we’ve achieved, and the institu- recruits for their murderous vision. They un- tions we leave behind for future Presidents leashed an unprecedented campaign of ter- to carry on this struggle. ror against the United States, attacking the After September the 11th, we fundamen- World Trade Center in 1993, bombing two tally reshaped our strategy for protecting the of our Embassies in Africa in 1998, striking American people around three core prin- the USS Cole in 2000. ciples. First, we recognized that our home- For many years, our Nation viewed these land security and intelligence capabilities attacks as isolated incidents, and we re- were inadequate. So we launched the largest sponded with limited measures. That reorganization of the Federal Government changed on September the 11th, 2001. On since the beginning of the cold war with one that morning, Americans woke to news of a overriding purpose, and that was to prevent plane crashing into the North Tower of the new attacks. World Trade Center. Within the span of 90 Secondly, we recognized that even with minutes, a second plane struck the South the best defenses, we could not afford to wait Tower, a third one pierced the rings of the for the terrorists to attack again. So we

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launched a global campaign to take the fight fuel tanks at JFK Airport, a plot to blow up to the terrorists abroad, to dismantle their airliners bound for the east coast, a scheme networks, to dry up their financing, and find to attack a shopping mall in the Chicago area, their leaders and bring them to justice. We and a plan to destroy the tallest skyscraper sent a clear message that America will make in Los Angeles. We’ll never know how many no distinction between the terrorists and lives have been saved. But this is for certain: those who harbor them. Since 9/11, there’s not been another terrorist Immediately after September the 11th, we attack on American soil. gave the Taliban in Afghanistan two options: And this is certain as well: Around the surrender the leaders of Al Qaida, or you can world, we’re driving the terrorists from their share in their fate. When the regime leaders safe havens. We are choking off their financ- made their choice, we made ours. We re- ing. We are severely disrupting their oper- moved the Taliban from power, we shut ations. Together with our allies, we killed or down the terrorist training camps, and we captured hundreds of Al Qaida leaders and liberated more than 25 million Afghans. operatives, including the architect of the Sep- After 9/11, we also reexamined the danger tember the 11th attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mo- posed by Iraq, a country that combined sup- hammed. And thanks to the success of the port for terror, the development and use of surge, the courage of our troops, and the de- weapons of mass destruction, aggression termination of the Iraqi people, we have de- against its neighbors, routine attacks on livered a devastating blow to Al Qaida in the American forces, systemic violations of U.N. land Usama bin Laden once called the cen- resolutions. We concluded that the world tral battleground in the war on terror. could not tolerate such a destabilizing and In the broader struggle between freedom dangerous force in the heart of the Middle and terror, people around the world have East. I offered Saddam Hussein a final made their choice clear. In Afghanistan, 8 chance to resolve the issue peacefully. It was his choice to make. And when he refused, million men and women went to the polls we acted with a coalition of nations to protect to elect a President for the first time in their our people and liberate 25 million Iraqis. history. In Iraq, 12 million people defied the Thirdly, we recognized that the war on ter- terrorists and elected a representative gov- ror is more than a battle of arms. It is an ernment. You know, one of the things I’ll ideological struggle for hearts and minds. never forget are the ink-stained fingers of And to prevail, we must counter the terror- people who had a chance to vote their con- ists’ hateful ideology with a more hopeful al- science. In countries from Liberia and Leb- ternative based on liberty and justice. So anon to Georgia and Ukraine, citizens have after removing the threatening regimes in Af- taken to the streets to cast off the chains of ghanistan and Iraq, we refused to take the tyranny and demand their God-given right easy course of trading one strongman for an- for freedom. And around the world, more other. Instead, we stayed to help young de- people live in liberty than at any other time mocracies emerge as beacons for hope for in human history. people across the Middle East. We increased This is a hopeful beginning. Yet it is only our support for democratic reformers and a beginning. Like the struggle against com- dissidents around the world. We expanded munism during the cold war, the struggle our efforts to combat the conditions of de- against terror will be a generational conflict, spair and hopelessness that give rise to rage one that will continue long beyond my Presi- and radicalism. dency. As my administration leaves office While there’s room for honest and healthy next month, we will leave behind the institu- debate about the decisions I’ve made—and tions and tools our country needs to prevail there’s plenty of debate—there can be no de- in the long struggle ahead. bate about the results in keeping America We’ll leave behind a vastly upgraded net- safe. work of homeland defenses. Federal, State, Here at home we prevented numerous ter- and local law enforcement officers are work- rorist attacks, including an attempt to bomb ing together more closely than ever before.

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The number of Border Patrol agents has dou- We will leave behind a strong coalition of bled since 2001. Our airports and seaports more than 90 nations—composing almost have bolstered screening procedures. Major half the world—who have committed to com- cities have installed early-warning systems for bating terror and sharing intelligence and detecting biological and radiological attacks. keeping our citizens safe. This coalition in- And to better coordinate a comprehensive cludes Saudi Arabia, the nation that pro- strategy for keeping our people safe, we have duced 15 of the 9/11 hijackers and now a new Cabinet-level Department of Home- serves as a staunch ally in the war on terror. land Security. This coalition includes Pakistan, a country We’ll leave behind a revamped intel- that was a supporter of the Taliban before ligence community that has new tools for September the 11th and today is a strong staying one step ahead of our enemies. partner of the United States. This coalition Under the new Director of National Intel- includes two of America’s newest and most ligence, Federal agencies are collecting and courageous friends, the free nations of Af- sharing information more effectively than ghanistan and Iraq. This coalition includes ever before. At the new National Counterter- members of the new Proliferation Security rorism Center, representatives from 16 dif- Initiative and the new Global Initiative to ferent Federal agencies are working side by Combat Nuclear Terrorism, who are working side to track any new threat. The FBI— to prevent the spread of weapons of mass agents and analysts have shifted their focus destruction. from investigating terrorist attacks after they We will leave behind new programs to happen to gathering intelligence to prevent help change the conditions of suffering and hopelessness that give rise to extremism and them from happening in the first place. The terror. In Afghanistan and Iraq, new Provin- Treasury Department—there are new pro- cial Reconstruction Teams are helping re- grams to shut down financing for terrorism. build war-torn communities and revive local The CIA—human intelligence capabilities economies and restore basic government have improved. More operations officers services. On the continent of Africa, millions have deployed overseas to penetrate the ter- are receiving lifesaving treatment, thanks to rorist organizations. There’s a program to in- America’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. terrogate key terrorist leaders. At the NSA, And around the world, countries that govern there are expanded efforts to monitor ter- wisely and open up their economy and invest rorist communications around the world. We in the health and education of their people need to quickly figure out who the terrorists are receiving strong support through Millen- are talking to and what they’re saying in order nium Challenge grants. to protect the homeland. And finally, we leave behind an unprece- We will leave behind new technologies and dented commitment to extending the reach resources for our military to keep the pres- of liberty and democracy. Key organizations sure on the enemy. Our forces are more mo- devoted to supporting freedom enjoy strong- bile and more agile and better positioned er government support than ever before. Of- now to deploy to trouble spots around the ficial U.S. policy now requires our diplomats world. On the battlefield, they have access to seek out and support dissidents and demo- to real-time intelligence that would have cratic reformers in unfree nations. And it is been unimaginable just a couple of years ago. now the stated policy of the United States With weapons like the Predator drone in our to seek the end of tyranny in all nations, for arsenal, our troops can conduct precision all time. strikes on terrorists in hard-to-reach areas Until that day comes, the United States while sparing innocent life. At institutions will not rest in our fight against oppression like the Army War College, our men and and terror. As President, I’ve had no higher women in uniform are studying new counter- responsibility than waging this struggle for insurgency and counterterrorism strategies, the security and liberty of our people. After because we’re going to depend on you. Long 9/11, I vowed that I would never forget the after I’m gone, Presidents will count on you. wounds from that day, and I’m not. That day

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defined my Presidency, and that day changed Ambassador, thank you for coming; thank the course of history. And while we cannot you for working with our Government. know the path ahead, we can be confident And I’m so proud of Laura. She could have in the destination: a world where the Amer- come in and said, ‘‘Oh, why did you drag ican people are safe and children around the me into this?’’ [Laughter] But instead chose world grow up with hope and peace. to use her position to take on some important We can be confident because freedom is causes. And the advancement of women’s universal. I strongly believe there’s an Al- rights in Afghanistan or freedom in Burma mighty, and a gift of that Almighty to every are noble causes that are essential to the man, woman, and child on the face of the peace of the world. And so I thank you for Earth is freedom. We can be confident be- your leadership on this. cause we’re blessed with men and women I just came back from Afghanistan, Ambas- who willingly put the welfare of their nation sador, and I told the people there that the before themselves. As long as we have de- United States will not forget them; that it’s fenders of such character and courage, our essential that the people in Afghanistan real- Nation will always be in good hands, and the ize that even though the Presidents have future will always be bright. changed, our commitment to Afghanistan re- So I thank you for inviting me today. I mains very strong at the governmental level, thank you for having given me the honor of as well as in the private sector. And I am a lifetime to serve as your Commander in confident that the Afghan Women’s Council Chief. God bless. sends that same signal that you can take a risk for peace and freedom; that your courage NOTE: The President spoke at 12:58 p.m. In his won’t be really isolated in the face of thugs remarks, he referred to Maj. Gen. Robert M. Wil- who can’t stand the idea of women having liams, USA, commandant, U.S. Army War Col- freedom. lege, who introduced the President; and Com- And so I take great heart in knowing that mand Sgt. Maj. Jose M. Powell, USA, U.S. Army the Afghan Women’s Council will survive be- War College; Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA yond our time. Having said that, I can assure (Ret.), former commander, and Gen. Tommy R. you that Laura is going to be involved, and Franks, USA (Ret.), former commander, U.S. so will I if she lets me. [Laughter] Central Command; Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Anyway, I’m off to give a little talk here, USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force—Iraq; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al but I did want to come by and thank you Qaida terrorist organization; and President Hamid all very much. I thank you for representing Karzai of Afghanistan. The Office of the Press the best of America, and I thank you for rec- Secretary also released a Spanish language tran- ognizing that sometimes hard things require script of these remarks. a lot of effort. It is really hard to go from tyranny to freedom. But it’s going to happen. It is inevitable, because freedom is universal. Remarks at a Reception Honoring And so I’m glad to come by, and thanks the United States-Afghan Women’s for letting me butt in. Council

December 18, 2008 NOTE: The President spoke at 10:15 a.m. in the Yellow Oval Room at the White House. In his Well, thank you for inviting me. [Laugh- remarks, he referred to John J. ‘‘Jack’’ DeGioia, ter] A couple of things: One, Jack, thanks president, Georgetown University; and Afghani- very much for lending the prestige of stan’s Ambassador to the U.S. Said Tayeb Jawad. Georgetown to advance a noble cause that The transcript released by the Office of the Press I agree is in our Nation’s national security Secretary also included remarks by the First Lady, interests and our moral interests, and that Ambassador Jawad, and Mr. DeGioia. A tape was is the empowerment of women in Afghani- not available for verification of the content of stan. these remarks.

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Remarks to the American Enterprise hope is, is that after this crisis passes—and Institute and a Question-and-Answer it will—that people continue to write about Session and articulate a public policy of low taxes. December 18, 2008 My health care policy also was all aimed at empowering individuals to make decisions Christopher DeMuth. Mr. President, for themselves and an attempt to establish what’s on your mind this morning? a marketplace for individual policy by chang- The President. First, thanking you for ing the Tax Code or health savings accounts. being the leader that you’ve been, and thank- I’ve been a firm believer in markets. That ing AEI for generating good thought. People may sound contradictory to some of the poli- in the public arena need to have support for cies that I have been making recently, which philosophy, and that’s what you provide. So I’d be glad to discuss with you. [Laughter] I appreciate all your hard work. But I strongly believe in the principle that I thought I’d share some thoughts about markets really do represent the—a free soci- the Presidency; you could call it ‘‘reflections ety. I mean, after all, people produce goods on a—by a guy who’s headed out of town.’’ and services based upon the demand of the [Laughter] And then I’d be glad to answer individual. questions—and foreign policy, if you want to. I can remember going to China when my First, I have found that—and by the way, dad was the envoy there, and everybody had every President is going to conduct their own the same clothes on. It was like there was way of doing business there in the White no demand. And then having gone back at House. So mine is just mine. I have found the Olympics and saw a society in which the that in order to have good decisionmaking marketplace is beginning to function, it’s just and a White House that functions well, that a vastly different society. And I happen to the President needs to articulate a set of prin- believe it’s a society that—societies based ciples from which he will not defer. In other upon the marketplace will be not only more words, a set of principles that are inviolate, free but more hopeful. such as the universality of freedom. That’s I have found that a President should take part of my foreign policy. A cornerstone of on tough problems. The temptation in poli- my foreign policy is my firm belief that free- tics sometimes is just kick them down the dom is universal. And freedom applies to road; like, it’s too hard to do, so let’s just Methodists and Muslims, men and women. let somebody else do it. One such problem I’ve just come from an Afghan Women’s was immigration reform. And in this case I Council that Laura was hosting. I believe that chose to put the spotlight directly on the Afghan women have a right to be free just issue by giving an Oval Office address. Obvi- like women in America have a right to be ously, we weren’t successful about getting free. comprehensive immigration reform. Never- I believe in the collective wisdom of the theless, I feel good about having tried. American people. In other words, I believe Part of the Presidency is the willingness we ought to trust individuals to be making to say, no matter how tough the issue may decisions for their families. And it’s always look, if it requires solution, go after it. And a tension between government—who can we did. And I do believe there will be a blue- spend the money better, government or the print for a way forward. In other words, we individual? And that’s been the basis of my must change the system. It’s not working. tax-cut policy. Obviously, there needs to be more border The tax cuts, of course, have been, you enforcement—and we’re doing that—but know, obscured—the benefits of the tax cuts people need to be treated with dignity, and have been obscured by the recent economic there needs to be a way forward for people crisis, no question about it. But when they who are lawful citizens. And there needs to finally take a look back at whether or not be a temporary-worker program, for exam- tax cuts were effective or not, it’s hard to ple, so that our employers who are relying argue against 52 uninterrupted months of job upon people who are doing jobs Americans growth as a result of tax policy. And so my weren’t doing aren’t criminalized.

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Anyway, the job of the President is to tack- with a genuinely hard, difficult question in- le these problems. And finally, the job of the volving the President as constitutional offi- President is to look over the horizon. And cer. When you were a candidate in 2000, you that’s—sometimes that gets you in conflict said that you thought that you would veto with the legislative branch. The legislative legislation that you thought was unconstitu- branch tends to have a shorter term horizon tional. In office you’ve done what all of your than the executive branch. And so Chris predecessors—recent predecessors have mentioned Social Security; it’s an example of done, which is to sign legislation and leave a President looking beyond the moment and the constitutional questions to the courts. recognizing that this system is going to be It was pretty clear, at least to me, that you bust unless we change it. had real constitutional reservations about And I worked to lay out solutions. Rather McCain-Feingold. But you signed it, your than just call attention to the issue, I actually Justice Department argued for it, rather than used my State of the Union Address a couple against it, in the Supreme Court and won. of times to talk about how we can look at And I’m wondering if, looking back, what you changing the benefit structure, based upon think of the old practice, which is for the wealth, as a way forward. President to stick to his own views on the And I also talked about something that was Constitution, rather than leaving the Su- quite controversial, and that’s personal sav- preme Court as the sole decider. ings accounts. And of course, any time you The President. Well, there’s been a big go from a defined benefit plan to a defined debate about war powers inherent in the contribution plan, and you’re the person who Constitution. And I made some decisions gets to define the benefits, you’re not likely during this war based upon what I thought to want to give up that ability. Nevertheless, was my constitutional power. And so there’s there too is an issue where the—it didn’t suc- an example of—as opposed to a piece of leg- ceed. But nevertheless, I used the Presi- islation, there’s an example of me not allow- dency, the executive branch, the concept of ing—you know, initially having the courts de- the Presidency, to lay out a way forward. And fine what the power is. And that’s—this has so I appreciate you giving me a chance to been a long-time debate, constitutional de- come by and just share thoughts. bate, is what are the war powers of a Presi- One final thought on the Presidency is, the dent? Presidency—the institution of the Presidency And as you know, I have been aggressive is more important than the individual. And at pursuing the enemy within the bounds of that’s what really makes our country great. the Constitution. And some of the decisions The Presidents will come and go with their I have made are being adjudicated in the strengths and weaknesses, but the ship of Court. And so I’ll dodge the one on legisla- state sails on because of the institution being tion, but I won’t when it comes to taking greater than the person. a constitutional view of the office of the Pres- And so the job of the President is to not idency. only make decisions—you campaign for of- fice, and you lay out what you’re going to Working With Congress do—but a lot of times decisions come that Mr. DeMuth. On legislation and dealings you didn’t expect. You got to be hoping for with the Congress, tell me, which is harder the best and planning for the worst in your for a Republican President, a Democratic Presidency. But it’s also to bring stability to Congress or a Republican Congress? [Laugh- the institution itself. ter] And so there are some reflections for you. The President. Sometimes they’re both I’d be glad to answer some of the questions. equally difficult. [Laughter] A Republican Congress was easier in some ways because Presidential Powers we were able to work with the leadership Mr. DeMuth. I have a batch here for you. to—on the timing of votes, for example, or And I’d like to start with a few questions judicial nominees. In some ways it was more about the institution of the Presidency, and difficult because when you worked with the

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Congress, there was a ability at times to forgo ative to ask for accountability, and it’s com- Republican principles, and it put the Presi- passionate to insist that inner-city children dent in a awkward position. be able to read at the fourth grade level. And For example, budgeting; without the line- yet, oftentimes the system was so process- item veto, the President is in an awkward oriented that the school districts would say, position when it comes to budgeting. So we how old are you, and if you’re 10, you’re sup- sit down the leadership and say, here’s the posed to be here; and 11, here; 12, here— top line. We agreed to the top line. That’s without wondering whether or not the child what the budgets did in the top line—with can read or write and add and subtract. So the top line. And yet, the slices of the pie the basic principle inherent in No Child Left were, in the recent past, really earmarks. And Behind, the philosophy of it, remained very so without the line-item veto, it made it very much intact in the bill, and it’s working. difficult for me to bring budgets discipline. And the Medicare bill—a quite controver- They could have—people said, well, just veto sial bill—was one where Republicans wrote the whole budget. And my answer to that the bill, and there was some compromising is, we, in good faith, negotiated the size of inherent in the bill. Nevertheless, the two the pie. And so some Republican principles broad principles remained intact: one, if were violated when it came to earmarks, for you’re going to make a promise, reform the example. program so it’s effective. So, like, for exam- It’s easier to veto bills when you’re going ple, we paid thousands of dollars for surgery against the—when the Democrats are in but not a dime for the prescription drugs that power, because, after all, it’s Republicans could prevent the surgery from being needed who crafted the bills coming in. And so both in the first place. And we put market-ori- are difficult, and both are necessary, and ented principles in the bill. You probably re- both have been interesting. [Laughter] member the debate where the—you know, there was a big debate about how much No Child Left Behind Act/Medicare would this cost. And the CBO came up with Mr. DeMuth. Presidents have to make a number, and I think it’s now 40 percent compromises to get legislation that they real- less than what was anticipated because of ly want. You made several compromises in market principles. Nevertheless, the bill winning your first big legislative victory, the wasn’t as strong on market principles as I No Child Left Behind program. Were there would have liked to have seen it. compromises that you made in obtaining that And so, yes, you’re, obviously, making legislation, in legislation or execution, that compromises all the time with Congress. The you regret as you look back on it? key is to compromise without compromising The President. I’m pleased with the principle. You can compromise points, but progress in No Child Left Behind. The phi- don’t sell out the principle that is inherent losophy of No Child Left Behind was that in the bill. in return for money, you must measure. That, of course, created some issues. Some Repub- licans and conservatives said, ‘‘What business National Economy is it of the Federal Government to insist upon Mr. DeMuth. You’ll be surprised that I accountability?’’ After all, there shouldn’t be have several questions about the auto bailout. much of a role for the Federal Government. [Laughter] Let me put it in the context of And people on the other side said, ‘‘We don’t this discussion. Isn’t the Detroit bailout an want to be measured.’’ example of interest groups thinking they can I believe it is a Republican and conserv- get a better deal from the executive branch ative principle that we ought to ask for re- than from the Congress? sults. And if you’re going to spend money, The President. That’s an interesting way then it makes sense to say, ‘‘Are we achieving of putting it. First, let me take a step back. results?’’ I haven’t made up my mind yet, so you’re Secondly, as you know, I campaigned on assuming something is going to happen. compassionate conservatism. It’s conserv- [Laughter] This is a difficult time for a free

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market person. Under ordinary circum- American Auto Industry stances, failed entities—failing entities Mr. DeMuth. The President-elect should be allowed to fail. said—— I have concluded these are not ordinary The President. Oh, you said Congress and circumstances, for a lot of reasons. Our finan- the executive branch. cial system is interwoven domestically, inter- Mr. DeMuth. Yes, yes. nationally. And we got to the point where, The President. Well, just remember a if a major institution were to fail, there is majority of Congress voted for a plan that great likelihood that there would be a ripple we thought was a good plan. It didn’t get effect throughout the world, and the average the requisite votes in the Senate in order to person would be really hurt. move it on, but there was a majority vote And what makes this issue difficult to ex- if you add up the House and the Senate. So plain is—to the average guy is, why should the Congress, in one way, expressed its will I be using my money because of excesses on for a way forward with some—with a plan, Wall Street? And I understand that frustra- or a strategy for viability. tion. I completely understand why people are Mr. DeMuth. But there must be some nervous about it. I was in the Roosevelt question in your mind whether the two polit- Room, and Chairman Bernanke and Sec- ical branches are better at bankruptcy re- retary Paulson, after a month of every week- structuring than a bankruptcy court. I mean, end where they’re calling, saying, we got to we do have a law. do this for AIG, or this for Fannie and The President. Absolutely. Freddie, came in and said, the financial mar- Mr. DeMuth. Do you think when every- kets are completely frozen, and if we don’t body stops—— do something about it, it is conceivable we The President. I think under normal cir- will see a depression greater than the Great cumstances, no question, the bankruptcy Depression. court is the best way to sort through credit And so I analyzed that and decided I didn’t and debt and restructuring, no question. want to be the President during a depression These aren’t normal circumstances; that’s the greater than the Great Depression, or the problem. This is—it’s a hard issue for polit- beginning of a depression greater than the ical people, because people never know how Great Depression. So we moved, and moved bad it could have been. And so the decisions hard. The autos, obviously, are very fragile, you make are easy to—for people to say, and I’ve laid out a couple of principles. One, ‘‘Why did he do that? Why is he wasting our I am worried about a disorderly bankruptcy money on this?’’ Or, ‘‘Why is he doing that?’’ and what it would do to the psychology and Because without a catastrophe, the reasoning the markets. They’re beginning to thaw, but doesn’t—it just doesn’t really make it down there’s still a lot of uncertainty. to the grassroots. I’m also worried about putting good People look at, ‘‘My money being used be- money after bad; that means, whether or not cause Wall Street got excessive.’’ And I make these autos will become viable in the future. the case that I didn’t want to do this. It’s And frankly, there’s one other consideration, the last thing I wanted to do. Nevertheless, and that is, I feel an obligation to my suc- I felt compelled to do it, because it would cessor. I’ve thought about what it would be make life worse for you. We lost 533,000 jobs like for me to become President during this last month. What would another million jobs period. I have an—I believe that good policy lost do to the economy? What would that is not to dump him a major catastrophe in do to the psychology in markets? What would his first day of office. So those are some of that do—how would that affect the working the considerations that we’re weighing. people? And so as you can tell, we’re all in, What was the question on autos? [Laugh- in this administration. And if need be, we’ll ter] be in for more.

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National Economy That’s why I am a big believer in free Mr. DeMuth. It may be bad form to recall trade, for example. Trade opens markets; campaign rhetoric during a transition, but I trade gives—and fair trade, I might add— remember President-elect Obama during the and trade gives people an opportunity to risk campaign blaming the crisis on Bush deregu- and have their products sold in environments lation. Do you have any opinion on that as- other than the domestic environment. sessment of the causes? The danger is, of course, that people who The President. I’m looking forward to the believe the government can manage the true history of this financial crisis being writ- economy better than the private sector will ten. No question, part of the crisis came use this decision as an excuse to keep Gov- about because of excesses in lending in the ernment involved. And that’s why AEI is housing market. My administration early on going to be important long after my Presi- expressed concern about implicit govern- dency, to be talking about the merits of mar- ment guarantees and the mortgage industry kets and the merits of free enterprise. in Fannie and Freddie, and that we were I hosted this international conference, and concerned about excesses in lending and what was interesting out of the international concerned about Freddie and Fannie having conference was that people said we should too much capacity to lend because of the im- defend the marketplace and defend trade. plicit guarantee. And so we called for a regu- One of the great fears I have is—a couple lator. of things—one, that the United States could But this will all be sorted out when they become isolationist. We have done so in the finally analyze what went right or what went past, and it’s kind of a—could be a fatigue wrong. When you’re the President, you can about helping liberate people, or helping think about what went right and what went people advance, or helping people on HIV/ wrong; you can analyze it. But when you’re AIDS on the continent of Africa—you know, getting phone calls from the Secretary of the ‘‘We’re tired of doing this; can’t other people Treasury saying, we got to do something on do it?’’ That could lead to isolationism. I’m AIG, otherwise there could be an inter- very worried about that. The world needs national collapse, that’s where your mind is. America’s involvement. We’re a compas- And that’s where my mind—it turns out this sionate, decent, strong nation. isn’t one of the Presidencies where you ride And I’m worried about protectionism. Pro- off into the sunset, you know, kind of— tectionism tends to be the twin of isola- [laughter]—waving goodbye. tionism. And I’m worried about protec- tionism because I—if you study the eco- President’s Advice to Elected Officials nomic past, protectionism is what caused the Mr. DeMuth. Do you have—on Fannie Great Depression to be a greater depres- and Freddie, do you have any advice for our sion—Smoot-Hawley Tariff. If you’re inter- new President, such as that they be abol- ested in development and helping poor na- ished? [Laughter] tions become less poor, then you ought to The President. No, my advice for all be an advocate for trade. It’s one thing to elected officials after this crisis passes is to give out grants, but the amount of wealth remember that markets and free enterprise generated by trade overwhelms the amount is what made the country great, and that of money that the world gives out in grants. these measures were temporary measures. And so anyway, keep going. They’re not an excuse for the Government to be running automobile companies, if that’s Government Bureaucracy the decision I make, or for the Government Mr. DeMuth. Keep going. I have a ques- to be always involved in mortgages; that there tion or two about inside the executive branch. is a proper role for Government, which is The President. Okay. oversight; and that the role of Government Mr. DeMuth. Presidents also have to con- really is to create an environment in which tend with the fourth branch of Government; risk takers feel comfortable taking risk and that is the bureaucracy, the permanent Gov- where capital moves as freely as possible. ernment.

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The President. Oh, I thought you were But my Chiefs of Staff, Andy Card and going to say the press. [Laughter] Symbiotic Josh Bolten, are—have been—are unusual relationship with the press, I want you to people because they have not said, everybody know. must go to me before you go see the Presi- Mr. DeMuth. That’s right, it’s the bu- dent. In other words, they’re not junior reaucracy and the press. The bureaucracy prime ministers. They are facilitators who can outmaneuver the White House. And do- understand that this system suits me best, mestic and foreign policy agencies have, you and therefore, aren’t jealous about the time may have noticed, opposed your policies and that I allocate to somebody who they haven’t undermined them on occasion. And I wonder necessarily blessed in the White House, in if you have any advice for future Presidents the Oval Office. And so it’s worked pretty about how to contend with that very difficult good. problem. The President. Make sure information gets into the Oval Office on a timely basis President’s Staff so that when you find bureaucracies delaying Mr. DeMuth. That’s fascinating. Let me policy, then you do something about it. It’s pursue one point that you made. Ronald not inevitable that—the best bureaucratic Reagan was once asked if it was true that move, if people disagree with policy, is just his Secretary of State and Secretary of De- to delay and hope the President isn’t paying fense were arguing openly in front of him. attention. And he said, ‘‘All the time.’’ Have you en- And so therefore, the structure of the of- couraged people to argue to move the hard fice is going to be important, and I’ve tried questions in the Oval Office? to keep a relatively flat organizational chart The President. Oh, absolutely. Abso- so that key players can come into the office lutely. Creating tension is good for decision- on a regular basis. I did so for two reasons. making, so long as it doesn’t become destruc- I like to hear different points of view, and tive. And I see Leon there; we’ve had some I want people to feel comfortable coming and serious debates inside the White House on saying, ‘‘Here’s what I think,’’ or, ‘‘Here’s this stem cell. And they were open, and they delay taking place’’—‘‘Do you understand were—all opinions were welcomed. And that you said this and then nothing has hap- there was a variety of opinions. pened, Mr. President?’’ Sometimes issues are easy to resolve, And the other thing is, is that a lot of the where the national security adviser and the job is to build a sense of teamwork, a sense domestic policy adviser could come in and of team. Listen, these people in the White House work incredibly long hours. And if say, ‘‘We’ve discussed the issue internally, they don’t see the President, it creates anxi- Mr. President, and we all agree.’’ But in mat- eties. And so people walk in, and they tell ters of war, for example, there’s difference me what’s on their mind. They go home and of opinions; the surge, for example. There say, ‘‘You know, I told him—you know, I saw was a lot of different opinions on the surge. the President.’’ [Laughter] They didn’t say And that’s the way it should be. People say, whether I listened or not. [Laughter] ‘‘Well, do you ever hear any other voices And so one way to deal with the bureauc- other than, like, a few people?’’ Of course racy is to be well informed. And the best I do. And I have enjoyed listening to the de- way to be well informed is to make sure you bates among people I work with. And I also have an organization that enables informa- like the idea of people being able to walk tion to get in the Oval Office in a timely fash- into the Oval Office and said, ‘‘Have you ion. And therefore, you’re going to need to thought of this?’’ Or, ‘‘The debate is headed have a Chief of Staff—at least this is the way this way; I’d like you to consider this.’’ I thought it should be done; I’m not telling And sometimes that can be disruptive, ob- anybody else how to do it. You scholars can viously, but the President has got to have a— figure out whether it’s right or wrong, how be grounded enough and have enough judg- it’s worked relative to other Presidents. ment to know how to manage the advisers.

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Bioethics/Stem Cell Research embryonic stem cells. And so science has ad- Mr. DeMuth. You mentioned stem cell re- vanced, and at the same time, we were able search. to stake a claim for the culture of life. It was The President. Yes. a very emotional issue. And that’s what hap- Mr. DeMuth. Some people forget that be- pens when you confront controversial topics. fore 9/11, that was one of the big issues of And I believe the President should have your first months in office. a core set of beliefs and stand on those be- The President. It was. liefs. Mr. DeMuth. It was the subject of your first national address on television. Health Care System/Prescription Drugs The President. It was. Mr. DeMuth. Thank you. The U.S. is one Mr. DeMuth. And I wonder if looking of the—it’s the only advanced society that back, you think—what you think you’re most doesn’t have comprehensive price controls important legacy is in the area of bioethics? on pharmaceutical drugs. We have the high- And what you think your most important ac- est-priced drugs, and we have the highest complishments were? If there was more that rate of innovation in lifesaving new drugs. could have been done? We’re moving, clearly, toward increased The President. Well, I told the American price controls at the administrative level and people I believe in a culture of life. I believe in Congress. Pharmaceutical companies are a healthy society is one that protects the most cutting back on their R&D investments. Do vulnerable among us. And clearly, the most you think this trend is inevitable? Do you vulnerable among us are those who aren’t think that your Medicare Part D reforms will born yet. Obviously, abortion is a very con- make that problem worse, or by introducing troversial subject, and it’s one that creates market mechanisms, help be the solution? a lot of emotions. The President. The whole medical debate I try to diffuse the emotions by saying, is headed toward whether or not the Govern- look, good people disagree on the issue; I ment ought to be setting the price of medi- understand that. But throughout my Presi- cine. I believe that we ought to resist that dency, I have tried to help advance the cul- and cause markets to flourish. And we don’t ture of life. And one of the really classic ten- have a real functioning market in health care sions between the culture of life is that with right now. I’m going to get to the drugs in science. And it’s—Leon Kass instructed me a minute but—generically, to use a drug term throughout this process that tensions existed that the problem is, is that you’ve got many for a long time, and will continue to exist. people’s policies being paid by somebody And the fundamental question with stem else, and there’s—so therefore, there’s no cells is, do you destroy life to save life? And market. People don’t say, well, how much is it’s a difficult issue for a lot of people. I came this costing, or what’s the quality of health down on the side that there are other oppor- care with this person or this hospital? tunities available to save lives other than the So the consumer—there’s no con- destruction of life. And secondly, I was con- sumerism. There’s no demand for better cerned about using taxpayers’ money to— price. And so part of the policies I described that would end up destroying life. There’s early were to, like, do health savings accounts a lot of people in our country that don’t want or changing the Tax Codes, all aiming at put- their money spent on—for that purpose. ting the patient in the midst of the market, I developed a policy, which I thought getting that person to demand better quality sounded rational. And that is, there have at better price. been some stem cells lines already devel- In terms of drugs, I am concerned about oped, embryonic stem cell lines developed Government pricing drugs to the point where prior to this decision; therefore, we should drug manufacturers don’t have enough cap- go forward with research on them. But from ital to keep reinvesting in new discoveries. that point forward, no destruction of life with One of the great things about our medicine Federal money. Since then, adult skin cells is we’re the best in the world. And all policy have been used to develop the equivalent of ought to be aimed at keeping us the best

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in the world. There are policies in place that the danger, of course, will be that we—in- allow manufacturers to amortize the cost of stead of having rational regulation that’s bal- their R&D, and then generics become avail- anced, we’ll over-regulate. And if we do, then able. And it seems like to me that we can it’s going to make it harder for the ownership do a better job of making people aware of society, because it’s going to make it harder generic drugs. for free enterprise to flourish. But the idea And part of Medicare Part D does just of owning small businesses has been a inte- that. It shows seniors what options are avail- gral part of our country’s past and should be able, and they get to choose a variety of plans. in the future. I remember the debates on Medicare. Peo- The key there is the tax policy. Will we ple said, well—and kind of inherent in the price small businesses out of the capacity to debate was this sense of—that, well, maybe retain capital and grow? So most small busi- seniors don’t know how to choose things. You nesses pay individual income taxes because know, they’re used to the Government plan, they’re subchapter S or limited partnerships. and therefore, isn’t it a—too much of an im- And so when you hear people say, tax the position to provide people with all different rich—when they start raising that upper options? And when we were selling the bracket, they’re also taxing a lot of small-busi- Medicare reform, I can remember going to ness owners. And policy ought to be asking senior centers, and there would be seniors the question, how do we encourage small looking at 10 different plans to choose from. business ownership growth, not how do we And people were competing for their busi- penalize it? ness. And these plans would go out and find So over-regulating the overall economy the generics, to make them available. will make it harder for the ownership society, And so I—the marketplace is a much bet- and I just hope that doesn’t happen. I don’t ter allocator of resources than the Govern- think it will. I understand the concerns; I ment trying to allocate resources. And sec- ondly, the American people need to know, share the concerns, and there’s going to be if somebody needs financial help, if some- a lot of people like AEI speaking out against body is poor and destitute, they’ll get help keeping the Government at the helm of the in our system. And there’s a lot of help for economy. And good tax policy and good regu- people who are destitute. latory policy beyond that will help small busi- nesses grow. That’s an integral part of the National Economy ownership. Mr. DeMuth. A related question is the Same with housing. The key on housing ownership society, a major theme of yours. is, obviously, the interest rates: How much Will it survive the financial crisis? Will we does it cost to buy a house? And people are recover our bearings? Are the initiatives you going to own homes. And the housing market put forward in the name of greater ownership will lead this recovery when it starts. And going to—are they going to come back it’s going to take a while though. I’m not an after—— economist, but it’ll take a while. And there The President. Oh, absolutely. Abso- are some encouraging signs—not many, but lutely. I mean, you know, the danger, of some. Evidently the amount of mortgage ap- course, is that Government stays so involved plications rose, which is a good sign. I don’t that markets don’t really develop. Just some know whether that’s working off unsold thoughts on this: I am—the markets some- homes yet, but it’s a good sign. times create excesses. We’re living through And by the way, there’s a lot of talk about the consequences of the excess. stimulus. And I’d like to remind our fellow I quipped in Texas that Wall Street got citizens, there is a stimulus package taking drunk, and we got a hangover. And that’s place right now, and that is the reduction what happened. There wasn’t much trans- of gasoline prices. And the reduction of gaso- parency. There was so much liquidity that line prices from July to now on an amortized people felt like they needed to invent prod- basis—if you take the reduction here, and uct to get in front of the money train. And you amortize it over a year, it’s about $2,000

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a family, which is an effective stimulus pack- some plants are beginning to expand on their age. current footprint. I am not pleased about how slow we’re Energy moving overall though. I think we ought to really get after nuclear power, I mean, if we Mr. DeMuth. Let me ask you two ques- really want to solve our dependency upon tions, if I may, about energy policy. The first foreign energy. is, are you satisfied with the progress in re- cent years in reviving nuclear energy? The What’s going to happen is, by the way, the second is about ethanol. The question says, technologies will help change our habits. For ‘‘Ethanol subsidies are popular with politi- example, there’s going to be battery tech- cians of both parties’’—— nologies in automobiles that will enable peo- ple to drive the first 40 miles on electricity. The President. Like me. And everybody is going to—oh, that’s great, Mr. DeMuth. ——‘‘but not with ordinary hybrid plug-in batteries. The question will folk outside the State of Iowa.’’ [Laughter] be, where do we get the electricity? And it’s Does this have something to do with the tim- very important to pursue nuclear energy. ing of the first presidential primary? Secondly, I’m a big supporter—I presume The President. Sounds like some of my I’m one of those guys you were talking about friends in Texas asking that question. on ethanol—pandering to the corn—actually, [Laughter] I think it’s important—I felt it was important Mr. DeMuth. You can talk about nuclear to begin a diversification of our energy power. sources. And whether or not the ethanol mar- The President. Yes. [Laughter] The coun- ket will stay viable, I don’t know, but it has try needs to overcome its fear about nuclear certainly become a relatively significant part power if we want to have ample electricity of our mix right now. And I laid out a manda- so we can grow and be good stewards of the tory goal that we ought to head toward, be- environment. cause I’d rather have our farmers growing Part of the problem with nuclear power our energy than rely upon certain parts of was that the regulatory scheme was such that the world that don’t like us. people would risk a lot of capital and then have to seek permission for final approval late in the process, and would find themselves Presidential Transition/Defense tied up in a court of law. And so they had Spending/U.S. Armed Forces enormous capital spent, earning no money, Mr. DeMuth. You mentioned the word waiting for permission to build the plant. And stimulus. And as you know, your successor therefore, capital chose not to go into the is thinking about a big new stimulus program nuclear industry. emphasizing public works, I believe. An issue In terms of safety, the engineering has that has interested a lot of people at AEI changed dramatically from the past. And I recently is this: While we’re looking for pub- think people who are objective on this issue lic expenditures to help stimulate the econ- would tell you that nuclear power plants are omy, we’re also at a point where defense ex- very safe. penditures are I think something like 3.4 or In terms of regulatory relief, as a result 3.5 percent of GDP—very, very constrained. of the last energy bill I signed—I think it’s A lot of weapons systems that a lot of people the last energy bill—we began to streamline like to buy from us are being closed down, the process, and as well was we provided even after we’ve only produced fewer of the some insurance incentives for people to start weapons than had been anticipated. building. I’m satisfied that we’re beginning One of the things we’re pursuing is that to change the environment. I’m satisfied that a very effective stimulus program would be more Americans understand why we ought a significant increase in defense expendi- to be using nuclear power. I am pleased that tures. Have these ideas been kicking around there are, I think, like, 13 permits that have the White House, the Pentagon? This is just been on application. And I am pleased that think-tankery so far. I wonder if——

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The President. No, that’s good. I’m glad By the way, people say, ‘‘What are you you’re doing it. No, no, we’re not going to going to miss?’’ I know I’m not—I’m asking tell President-elect Obama how to run his myself questions. [Laughter] But I’m going administration, nor will I spend a lot of time to miss being the Commander in Chief of second-guessing him. I believe once the our military. My view of America is, obvi- President gets off the stage, you get off the ously, different from everybody else’s, but I stage and let the next man do the job. get to look at these troops, and I marvel at Matter of fact, I worked hard to make this their courage. And I marvel at the fact that transition a smooth transition. I want him to these folks have volunteered in a time of war. succeed. And I know you do as well. And And the Commander in Chief—at least so we really haven’t been trying to help him I’ve tried to say to our troops: Thank you. fashion an economic policy. It’s his job when Thank you for your courage; thank your fami- he gets sworn in. lies. You do that by visiting the wounded and And I fully understand, however, your con- meeting with the families of the fallen. I’ve cerns about the defense budgeting. There been reading a lot about Abraham Lincoln will be a lot of debate about systems, what’s recently. I just finished James McPherson’s relevant and what’s not relevant. One of the book, and, once again, he talks about how successes of this administration—and Sec- Lincoln would visit with the enlisted folks retary Rumsfeld gets a lot of credit for having as well as the generals, visit with the widows started a major transformation of our mili- as well as the moms, visit with the wounded. tary, so that the weapons systems we build And it’s going to be very important for the are relevant to the war that we’re going to country as we head down the future to recog- be fighting in the 21st century—or, hope- nize that this all-volunteer force is—needs fully, not fighting, but be prepared to fight. to be sustained by commitment as well as— I’m sure you follow this, Chris. We’ve by monetary commitment as well as psycho- changed our basing around the world so that logical commitment. We got to be with these our forces no longer are configured based kids. upon cold war problems, but based upon the ability to keep morale high and move quickly. War on Terror Our soldiers are carrying unbelievably new technologies, using Predators to use over- Mr. DeMuth. Another book that you fa- the-wall intelligence to be able to have better mously read was Eliot Cohen’s ‘‘Supreme battlefield awareness. They’re well equipped. Command.’’ And he later went to work for In terms of the big systems, those will be you. choices that are always in conflict. I can re- The President. Yes, he did. member campaigning in 2000, and they said, Mr. DeMuth. Do you think he got it right ‘‘Name a weapons system you’ll get rid of.’’ in that book? I said, the Arrow. [Laughter] I think it was The President. I can’t even remember the the Arrow system; not the bow and arrow, book. [Laughter] I remember reading it, but but it was a big, huge cannon. And it turns give me a synopsis. [Laughter] out, the cannon had parts made in 42 States. Mr. DeMuth. That—— Needless to say, it was hard to put the cannon The President. You can’t remember it ei- on the shelf. I didn’t think we needed a huge ther. [Laughter] cannon that required enormous ships and Mr. DeMuth. No. [Laughter] trucks to move around in a—what turns out The President. Just teasing. Did he work to be a battle that requires special operators for you at AEI? Is that why you’re—— to move in the dark of night, on real-time Mr. DeMuth. He was on our council of intelligence, in a quick way. academic advisers. So there will be a lot of debate about The President. Yes, okay. I did read it. weapons systems, no question about it. And Mr. DeMuth. The essential point is that a lot of communities around the country rely in history, in wartime, Presidents do well not upon defense spending and the jobs that ac- leaving the war to the military, but being the crue as a result of defense spending. supreme commander themselves.

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The President. Oh, that’s right, yes. Well, thinking on the evolution of the Kremlin dur- you’re going to have to rely upon the military ing your Presidency? a lot. There’s four basic constituencies for The President. First of all, there’s com- a President during war; one is the American mon ground between Russia and the United people. And this has been a difficult assign- States. And one area of common concern is ment, to convince the people that what hap- the issue of proliferation. And there’s a lot pens in Iraq matters to our own security at of cooperation taking place to work construc- home; that what happens in Afghanistan mat- tively with Russia to make sure that raw ma- ters to the security; and that—the first task terials don’t get in the hands of rogue re- was to remove the regimes that threatened gimes or terrorist groups. peace and threatened our security. And the Secondly, we found common ground on next task is to not replace one strongman Iran, believe it or not. People don’t think we with another, but encourage a democracy to have, but I know we have. And that is that grow, because we’re in an ideological strug- the Russians are just as worried about Iran gle. And it’s the ideology of liberty that de- developing a nuclear weapon and the capac- feats the ideology of hate every time. ity to deliver it as we are. A second constituency was the enemy. And And I’ve told this story publicly, that Vladi- they got to know we’re going to go after them mir and I were talking—I think it was, like, all times, all places—unrelenting pressure on ’06 maybe—and he went to the leader in Iran them. and said, ‘‘You know, George Bush thinks you Third, in the case of Iraq, were the Iraqi should have civilian nuclear power and so do people; they wanted to know whether or not I, but we don’t believe you should have the America was going to keep its word, because right to make that uranium, to enrich it, be- if not, they’re going to find a local militia cause you’ve violated IAEA treaties, and that could keep their families safe. therefore, we don’t believe you’re trust- And the fourth is the military. And the worthy. And therefore, why don’t you just military must know that the mission is just, take—we’ll deliver the fuel, and we’ll pick the goals are clear, and the President will up the fuel, and you can have your nuclear not be making decisions with their lives power. And if you continue to insist on en- based upon an opinion poll. And, anyway. riching, it must mean you want something other than nuclear power—civilian nuclear Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia power like you’ve claimed.’’ Mr. DeMuth. Thank you. You said that Obviously, we have big differences over you’d entertain a question or two about for- Georgia. And I saw Vladimir at the Olympics eign policy. right as the troops moved into Georgia. And The President. Sure. I was—I expressed my concerns, and he ex- Mr. DeMuth. Let me ask you another one. pressed his. I would say that our relationship You caught a lot of flak for saying that you’d is still friendly, although I haven’t seen him looked into Vladimir Putin’s soul and seen much because there’s a new President. And a friend. I really haven’t had that much of a chance The President. I looked in his eyes and to get to know President Medvedev. saw his soul. I will tell you that—my only point is there’s Mr. DeMuth. In his eyes and saw his soul. common interests, and there’s going to be The President. Right. a lot of tensions. And the President has got Mr. DeMuth. Thank you. He—— to be in a position where he can deal with The President. Sometimes Presidents get those tensions in a way that doesn’t send misquoted. [Laughter] chilling signals with other allies.

Russia-U.S. Relations President-Elect Barack Obama Mr. DeMuth. That was in I think 2001. Mr. DeMuth. I have a few general ques- And the Putin of 2004 was very different, tions. At some point—maybe it’s already hap- and in 2008 is different still. What’s your pened—you’ll sit down with President-elect

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Obama, and give him a little candid Presi- want the border enforced, and I understand dent-to-President advice, lessons learned. that. But if a group of people think that a Would you be willing to share any of that political party is against them, it doesn’t mat- advice with the rest of us? ter what else you stand for. And the tone, The President. No. [Laughter] He came in my judgment, at times got to be ‘‘anti.’’ in the Oval Office. We had a very good dis- At one point in our history we had too many cussion. I was impressed by the questions he Jewish people and too many Italians. I don’t asked. And I told him I wouldn’t reveal them, know if you remember that. And it was— so that if he ever asked for my advice again, I’m just confident people were saying, ‘‘I he would feel comfortable doing it knowing can’t believe this is the America that I came that it wouldn’t be out there for public con- to live in where I’m ‘‘anti’’—people are sumption. ‘‘anti’’-me.’’ I’ll tell you this though; I will say this— And so we’re going to have to work, like, the guy loves his family a lot. And we spent with the Latino vote to say, we care about some time talking about what it meant to you, we hear you, and we share your values: be—for me to be a dad with two daughters faith and family, small businesses, military in the White House. And he’s a dad who will vets or, you know, disproportionate—more have two daughters in the White House. And Latinos serve as a percentage of their—of his family is a top priority for him. population in the military than any other group, if I’m not mistaken. Presidential Advice for Conservatives So we’ll come back, absolutely. And I’ll be Mr. DeMuth. I have another advice-like out there, the old sage, sitting around, you question. Political conservatives believe that know—[laughter]—‘‘if only you did it this they’re in for a period in the wilderness. way.’’ [Laughter] What advice do you have for political con- servatives in the years ahead? President’s Post-Presidency Agenda The President. Look at history. I think Mr. DeMuth. I have a couple of old sage you’re old enough to remember 1964. Nine- questions for you. teen sixty-four was a wipeout for conserv- The President. Sure, an old sage at 62, atives and Republicans. In my State of Texas, but—— the legislature was 149 Democrats and 1 Re- Mr. DeMuth. Well—— publican. [Laughter] And there were no Re- The President. ——headed to retire- publicans in the State senate. I think there ment. [Laughter] was one elected Congressman—Bruce Alger Mr. DeMuth. Immigration is a subject out of Dallas—and John Tower wasn’t up for that you’ve—you thought a lot about—— election. I don’t know if there were any elect- The President. I have. ed Republicans at the courthouse. And yet Mr. DeMuth. ——before you came to the in 1966, Republicans and conservatives re- White House, had very strong views on. Is bounded; one of whom got elected that year, this one of the issues that you might stay in- it was George H.W. Bush, by the way, out volved in in your post-White House—— of Houston. The President. I’m going to stay involved And my point is, is that things go in cycles in the freedom initiative, that’s for certain. in politics. Now, what—in order to win, it’s I am concerned that our country becomes important to recruit good candidates who isolationist; I really am. I—you know, there stand on principle. Most Americans believe is a debate that basically says, well, maybe what we believe: that Government ought to certain people shouldn’t be free. It’s like if be limited and wise; that taxes ought to be you ever heard—people say, ‘‘Bush is impos- low; that we ought to encourage entrepre- ing his view.’’ Well, if you ever hear some- neurship and small businesses; and that we body say that, they must not understand the ought to have a strong national defense. universality of freedom. Freedom is not mine And I’m a little concerned about the tone to give. I happen to believe it’s a gift of an of the immigration debate, labeling our party Almighty to everybody. And therefore, the as ‘‘anti’’-people. It’s one thing to say they role of the United States is to help people

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be free. And that—you know, sometimes, ob- The Presidency/Texas Sport Teams viously, you never want to use—I mean, you Mr. DeMuth. I have two more questions only use your military reluctantly. along these same lines. But I’m not talking about just freedom The President. Okay. from tyranny. I’m talking about freedom Mr. DeMuth. These are very serious ques- from disease. You know, an enemy that we tions, and I’ll ask them both. The first is, what face, and will face for the next decades, can will you miss the least? [Laughter] And the only recruit when they find hopeless people. second is, when you’re back in the Lone Star Think about their recruiting posters: ‘‘Hey, State, which sports teams are you going to join us; you get to be a suicide bomber.’’ You be paying the most attention to? have to be pretty hopeless to fall prey to that The President. All Texas teams, of course. evil. You know, I have been—first of all, some And so therefore, it’s in our national inter- will probably say, ‘‘Oh, the press.’’ Well, ests to help free people from poverty and that’s not true. I’ve had a good relationship disease. with the White House press. I don’t like And so I’ll be involved with the freedom some of the things they say. Of course, they movement. I’m particularly involved right don’t like some of the things I say. But we’ve now with the malaria and HIV/AIDS initia- had a good relationship with the press. And tive, PEPFAR. I will be involved with free the press and the Presidency is a very impor- trade. As I told you, I’m worried about pro- tant relationship, and it requires a lot of work tectionism. I am very disappointed that the to get along. But I recognize they need me Colombia free trade agreement and the Pan- for news, and I need them for outlets. And ama free trade agreement and the South so it’s been a good relationship in some ways. Korea free trade agreement did not get a vote I don’t—as I say, I don’t like everything they prior to the election. write, so therefore, ignore that part that I An initiative that I believe is a very impor- don’t like. [Laughter] tant initiative is the faith-based and commu- I’ll miss the petty name-calling—I mean, nity-based initiative. The fundamental prin- I won’t miss it. I have been disappointed at ciple behind that initiative is, if your program times about the politics of personal destruc- works, we should help you, if it meets a soci- tion. It’s not the first time it’s ever happened etal need. For example, if you’re a drug ad- in our history, but I was—I came with the dict, and, you know, you believe you need idea of changing the tone in Washington, and a higher power to help heal your heart so frankly, didn’t do a very good job of it. You you get off drugs, and the program that know, war brings out a lot of heated rhetoric you’re going to works, I have no problem giv- and a lot of emotion; I fully understand that. ing a voucher to that person so they can re- I know that’s the case. But surely we can deem it at a program that works. do a better job in Washington of treating And so there will be a lot of things I’m each other with respect. I don’t want to be going to do out of Southern Methodist Uni- a self-serving fellow, but I have never used versity. I will—this will not compete with my position as President to personally deni- AEI. It’s going to be a policy center; it will grate somebody. be complementary—[laughter]—to AEI. And so that’s something—I’m not going to Mr. DeMuth. We’ve talked to them. miss it at all. I’m disappointed in how—the The President. And we’ll be living in words that came out of people’s mouth, and Texas. Laura is going to be—listen, my wife I’m very disappointed of how the process has has been a fabulous First Lady, she really treated some of my friends. I’m disappointed has. She has used her position to be able to in the judicial process, for example, where articulate some important causes. She her- our nominees just got held out there forever. alds teachers; she promotes literacy; she be- Never had a chance to get a hearing, and lieves strongly in freedom in Burma; and she yet all kinds of stuff were occasionally floated is very much involved in the Afghan women. on them about their reputations. It’s going And she will continue doing—using her posi- to be hard to attract good people to the polit- tion as ex-First Lady to do that. ical process if people show up and feel like

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that their integrity or decency will be, you Interview With Steve Scully of know, challenged at every turn. There’s noth- C–SPAN ing wrong with challenging policy. There is December 18, 2008 something wrong with tearing people down for the—trying to help somebody else gain The Presidency politically. Mr. Scully. Mr. President, as we speak And I won’t miss—I’ll miss a lot. As I told to you in the Oval Office, you’re really one you, I’ll miss being the Commander in Chief. of only two individuals that can view the I’ll miss the people I’ve worked with in the Presidency through your dad’s eyes and your White House. We have a—I tell people, own. What has surprised you about this job? some days happy, some days not so happy— The President. Well, first of all, being the every day is joyous. And that’s a true state- son of the President is much harder than ment. I’m working with some awesome peo- being the President. I agonized for my dad. ple, and I love them dearly and will miss see- When they would say things about him that ing them every morning. But since I’ll be I didn’t think were fair, I agonized, because an e-mailer again, I’m sure I’ll be able to— I love him so much. And I sometimes didn’t [laughter]—stay in touch. react so well. I mean I would get angry at whoever said it and, you know; anyway, I was Mr. DeMuth. President Bush, I—permit frustrated. me to thank you for coming over here and The President is a much different role, and for these very deep reflections. I’d also like therefore, I mean, I understand it comes with to impose my thanks and that of my col- the job when people say things about you. leagues to you for your great service to Amer- And so we’ve got kind of a role reversal. My ica—— dad agonizes when he reads stuff about me. The President. Thank you. So I found that being President is actually Mr. DeMuth. ——and for your steadiness easier than being the son of the President of purpose and your tremendous optimism in many ways. and idealism and serenity of mind, which has been just astonishing to behold. 2004 Presidential Election The President. Thank you, sir. Mr. Scully. You took the job with a Flor- ida recount, a shortened transition period, Mr. DeMuth. And I know that these will and as you reflect on that time 8 years ago, not be your last words, and I know that we were you in any way at a disadvantage in tak- all look forward to welcoming you back to ing over this office? AEI as Citizen Bush early and often. The President. That’s an interesting ques- The President. Thank you, sir. Thanks for tion. I do think it—the Florida recount set letting me come by. God bless. kind of an ugly mood amongst some in the electorate. In other words, the election was—in their minds, was in doubt. That NOTE: The President spoke at 10:44 a.m. at the made it harder to come as a—to unify the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel. In his remarks, he country after the election. referred to Christopher DeMuth, president, In terms of the transition, we had—I had American Enterprise Insititute; Leon Kass, a lot of experienced people that were ready former Chairman, President’s Council on Bio- to hit the ground. And they did a remarkable ethics; former Secretary of State George P. Shultz; job of getting us ready to assume office when former Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rums- we did. feld; President Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad of Iran; President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia; and Presidents Meeting former Rep. Bruce Alger of Texas. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish lan- Mr. Scully. You announced yesterday that guage transcript of these remarks. A portion of the former Presidents will meet with the in- these remarks could not be verified because the coming President—— tape was incomplete. The President. Right.

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Mr. Scully. ——here at White House. tion of Presidential warnings as they leave Has that ever happened before? the White House. The President. I don’t think so. And this The President. Interesting. I haven’t real- is an idea that President-elect Obama sug- ly viewed the farewell address in terms of gested here in the Oval Office when he came Presidential warnings, but I can—it makes to visit me. And I’m going to follow up on sense to say, ‘‘I’ve learned this, and I wish it. I’ll be the host, and I’m looking forward my successor all the best, and America needs to it. It’s going to be an interesting lunch. to be on the lookout.’’ Mr. Scully. What will you talk about? One option for me is to talk about isola- The President. I don’t know. I’m sure he’s tionism and protectionism, and that it’s very going to ask us all questions, I would guess; if not, we’ll just share war stories. important for us to resist those ‘‘isms.’’ The world needs our presence. The people dying President’s Farewell Address of AIDS on the continent of Africa need a Mr. Scully. Will you deliver a farewell ad- robust response by the United States to save dress in this office? lives. We need voices calling upon coalition The President. Yes, I’m thinking about it. members to stay in the fight against the ter- I’m thinking about it. A lot of Presidents rorists. And protectionism is rearing its ugly have, and I’m giving it serious thought. I head; witness the fact that we had trouble don’t want it to be, you know, kind of a real getting good free trade agreements through emotional goodbye. If I give it, it’s going to the Congress with Panama and Colombia and be trying to leave behind some lessons South Korea. learned. And so maybe that’s what I’ll warn about Mr. Scully. Well, let me share with you as well. Thank you for giving me some ideas. what two former Presidents have said. The President. Good. Use of Former Presidents Mr. Scully. First, Dwight Eisenhower in 1961 said, ‘‘Crises will continue; [we’ll face Mr. Scully. How should we use former them]. In meeting them, whether foreign or Presidents? How do you want to be used, domestic, great or small, there is a recurring in what capacity, as you leave this office? temptation to feel that some spectacular [or] The President. Yes. It’s an interesting costly action could become the miraculous question. One thing I don’t want to do is stay solution to all current difficulties.’’ on the stage. The spotlight needs to shift to The President. Right. President-elect Obama, and it needs to stay Mr. Scully. And then he talked about the on President-elect Obama, because he’s the industrial military complex. President. And therefore, I won’t try to get The President. Right. That was an inter- it to shift to me. And I’ll be very respectful esting observation. And obviously, each fare- of him during his Presidency. well address is going to be tailored to the I think each President is going to have to circumstances under which the President chart his own way. I’m going to build a policy had to make decisions. And I suspect if I do one—and I really institute at Southern Methodist to talk about, haven’t figured it out yet, but I have talked for example, the ‘‘isms’’—isolationism and to a speechwriter about, should I decide to protectionism, and the need to resist them— do it, what would we say? And one thing, or the transformative power of freedom. of course, is going to be we have to be vigilant President-elect Obama, I am confident, and can’t let our guard down, because a ter- will call upon Presidents to take on a mission. rorist threat still exists. I will be happy to do it, particularly if I agree Mr. Scully. Ronald Reagan had said, ‘‘Are with the mission. For example, I asked Dad we doing a good enough job teaching our and President Clinton to help on the children what America is and what she rep- tsunamis. But, you know, each role will be resents in the long history of the world?’’ In defined according to the comfort level of the his statement of saying there’s a great tradi- ex-President.

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George W. Bush Presidential Library which would hurt the average guy in the Mr. Scully. Are there some things that street. And what’s hard about this one is, a you want in your library? hard-working taxpayer is making his mort- The President. Well, I do want to have gage, wonders why the President is using his a policy center. You mean in terms of how money to save firms that got a little over— it’s going to function? got a little excessive in their desire to make Mr. Scully. [Inaudible]—and the facility, money. And I understand that complaint. and how it’s going to work. And my answer, of course, is, is that if I The President. There will be the classic thought they could fail without causing the library, you know, rotating exhibitions to average guy real economic hardship, I’d have keep it relevant so people will be interested let them. in it. And of course, there will be archives. Anyway, so it has been a—it’s been an in- They tell me that we moved 25,000 boxes teresting Presidency from that perspective. full of files and memos, and I think they said, American Auto Industry like, 30 million e-mails—or 300 million e- mails. I mean, a huge number of e-mails; Mr. Scully. One issue that continues to none of which are mine, by the way, since be in the news—the auto industry. I haven’t been e-mailing. The President. Yes. And there will be a policy center. And this Mr. Scully. Are you looking for conces- is a place of debate, discussion, a place to sions from the unions in order to try to figure herald freedom, a place to continue some of out how this is all going to come together? the initiatives that we’ve started, like the ma- The President. Yes, you see, there’s two laria initiative on the continent of Africa, or principles that’s driving me on this. One is, PEPFAR. And Laura is going to be wanting a disorderly bankruptcy could be very desta- to be involved with women’s movements bilizing for what is now a fragile financial around the world, the freedom movement in market. In other words, I am concerned Burma. And that—the policy center and the about a shock to the system. I’m also con- museum are going to take a lot of time. cerned about putting good money after bad. And therefore, it’s going to be very important President’s Second Term that whatever we do, that there be a plan Mr. Scully. You’ve had a tough couple of that the autos—that would be management years. Most second Presidents have had as well as dealers as well as labor—show how tough second terms. Why is that? they could be viable for the future. The President. Well, in my case, I was You know, this is just a very difficult eco- a wartime President, and war is very exhaust- nomic time for the country. And I am con- ing. War is hard for a country. And, you cerned about people’s 401(k)s declining. I’m know, I made the decision that we were concerned about joblessness. But I made the going to win. And there has been some crit- decision that my team and myself will not ical moments where I guess I could have let the economy go down. taken the popular way out and retreated, like in 2006, but instead went with 30,000 more Federal Government troops, because I felt strongly that defeat in Mr. Scully. When you took office, did you Iraq would be terrible for the security of the expect to have the biggest expansion of the country, it would be terrible for the morale Federal Government under your watch? of the military, and it would be really hard The President. I knew the mandatory for me, the Commander in Chief, to face a spending—that would be Social Security and mother who lost a son in combat. Medicare—were going to rise substantially The other part of my Presidency that’s because baby boomers like me were getting been hard is we’ve had, you know, huge eco- ready to retire. I didn’t realize we’d be in nomic turmoil recently. And, you know, I’m war and—because, you know, the attacks of just so sorry it’s happening. But it is hap- September the 11th came out of nowhere. pening, and therefore, I have made the deci- But once we were in war, I darn sure was sion not to let there be a massive collapse, going to make our troops—make sure our

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troops had what they need to succeed. And weighs in a lot. But yes, we got a great sys- most of the growth in nonentitlement spend- tem. ing came on the military and homeland side. And you bet I was going to fund the troops, U.S. Supreme Court and you bet we’re going to make sure the homeland is protected. Mr. Scully. How often, if at all, do you talk to the Supreme Court Justices? Presidential Vetoes The President. Rarely. Rarely. You know, Mr. Scully. Bill Clinton and Ronald Laura and I hosted a dinner for the Justices Reagan in their 8 years used the veto pen and their spouses and—but, yes, I may see three or four or five times as often as you them socially or, you know, at some of these have. banquets that you go to where the comedian The President. Yes. makes fun of the President, then the Presi- Mr. Scully. You’ve used it about a dozen dent makes fun of himself, and everybody times. has a jolly time, except the President. But, The President. Right. yes, the Justices will be at some of these din- Mr. Scully. Why? ners, and I’ll just chitchat with them, but The President. Well, primarily because I never talk policy, of course, with them. was working with people in my own party. In other words, for the first 4 years of my Media Coverage of the President Presidency—see, up to ’06, we ran the Con- gress, except in the beginning. And so there- Mr. Scully. Media—another institution fore, I would sit down with colleagues—not here. ‘‘colleagues,’’ but party members and friends, The President. Yes. and we’d work out our issues. And we got Mr. Scully. A lot of cable talk shows, a a lot done that I was satisfied with. Toward lot of radio programs talking about you. First the end I had to veto because I didn’t agree of all, do you watch the programs? with what Congress was doing. The President. No. And one area where it was very difficult Mr. Scully. And have the media treated for me was on the budget. See, you sit here you fairly? in the Oval Office, and we’d agree with the— The President. You know, it’s hard to tell. I’d agree with the Speaker and the leader I mean, I will tell you, my relationship with of the Senate on the size of the pie—‘‘Here’s the media is—with the individuals in the what we need to spend, and here’s this much media has been very good. And that’s all I for military and this much for education, this can expect. Of course, I read what’s written, much for health.’’ We all agreed to that. The and I, a lot of times, don’t like what’s written. problem was the slices of the pie got to be Then I realize they may not like what I’m a problem because of earmarks. But I didn’t saying. But I have no complaints. In other have the line-item veto. And therefore, once words, I’m not one of these guys who’ll say, you agree to the size of the pie, you’re pretty ‘‘Oh, man, everybody misunderstood me be- well stuck with what’s in the pie until the President gets the line-item veto. cause of the media.’’ I’m a little disappointed at some of the platforms that encouraged Government’s Checks-and-Balance harsh rhetoric. System Mr. Scully. Such as? Mr. Scully. In terms of the institutions, The President. ‘‘Bush is a liar.’’ And do you think that the checks and balance there’s a—it seems like to me that there’s work between this end of Pennsylvania Ave- such competition for air space that some peo- nue and the other end? ple feel like if they can yell louder, with The President. Oh, absolutely, yes. I harsher rhetoric, then they’ll get noticed. mean—and there’s constant back and forth And the tone hasn’t been good in Wash- between the executive branch and the legis- ington, and I’ve been disappointed in that, lative branch, and of course the judiciary and I bear some of the blame for that.

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Bipartisan Government I have been comforted. I pray for a lot Mr. Scully. Well, in fact, you said, on De- of things. I mean, I pray for my—I pray for cember 14, 2000: ‘‘I’m optimistic that we can strength, and I pray for comfort; I pray for change the tone in Washington. I believe friends; I pray for my family’s safety. My rela- things happen for a reason, and I hope the tionship with the Almighty is a very personal long wait of the last 5 weeks will heighten relationship, as is yours. a desire to move beyond the bitterness and the partisanship.’’ The Presidency The President. Yes, yes. That was a hope- Mr. Scully. You are 8 years older. Do you ful person saying that. And, you know, there think this job has aged you? were some—— The President. I don’t know, what do you Mr. Scully. Are you less hopeful? think? I mean, I think I’m wiser, and that The President. Am I less hopeful now? I’ve seen a lot more. I know I’m more knowl- Well, it didn’t work out the way I was hoping edgeable. My principles haven’t changed. it to—hoping it would. In other words, the But you tell me, has it aged me? I can’t— tone didn’t—it changed some initially. Re- I’m not one of these guys that kind of, you member, we got No Child Left Behind done; know—— we got some—we worked together on PEPFAR. I mean, there were some bipar- tisan accomplishments. But the rhetoric got President’s Health very tough. I mean, this is a—some people Mr. Scully. You’re biking on weekends. here in this town use the politics of personal The President. Biking pretty good. destruction to advance their agenda. I don’t Mr. Scully. You’re physically fit. want to sound self-serving, but I haven’t, and The President. Yes, I’m physically fit. I don’t think a President should. Mr. Scully. Would you say you’re among But no, I was hoping for a better tone, the healthiest Presidents to serve in this job? and it didn’t happen. The President. Would I say that? I would President-Elect Barack Obama think so; I don’t know. Mr. Scully. So what would you tell Presi- Mr. Scully. So how do you do it? dent-elect Obama? He’ll have a Democrat The President. I just work out and stay— in the House and the Senate, like you did I’m a disciplined person. I work out every in 2001, and he’s talked about trying to unite day, except for one day, and I make sure my the country again. scheduler knows this. Early on in the Presi- The President. I wish him all the best. dency I said, ‘‘I want time to work out, be- I mean, I really do. I hope he succeeds. He cause I think it’s—I know part of being a— may be in a position—maybe he won’t have doing this job is to be a disciplined person.’’ to deal with quite as contentious as issues Like, I start meetings on time; I end them as I did, or maybe he will, who knows. He on time. came in with a strong vote, and he’s got good I have got a routine that obviously varies majorities in the House and Senate, and depending on the moment, but a routine maybe he’ll get some things done. that’s pretty well set. You know, I get here early in the morning and meet with the Chief President’s Faith of Staff and the National Security Adviser, Mr. Scully. You’ve talked about your then meet with the intelligence people. And faith. In those quiet moments of prayer, do pretty much that way throughout my Presi- you want to share what you’re thinking about, dency. And the reason why is, is that I think what you’re praying for? it’s important for a President to be predict- The President. Probably not, but I can able among the people with whom he works, tell you the effects of prayer have made this so that there’s not a—there’s not a sloppiness a very—my life is joyous, believe it or not; in the organization. some days happy, some days not happy— And anybody can find time to exercise if every day joyous. they put their mind to it.

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Importance of Discipline And it’s a good lesson for any President. Mr. Scully. What made you disciplined, And the lesson is, pay attention to your mili- though? What in your life created the sched- tary and work with your military and show ule that you now carry out? your military that you care for them. And The President. You know, it’s an inter- you go to a hospital and see these wounded esting question. I don’t really know. I was kids and word gets out all across the—you undisciplined at times. I may have always know, all across the system, where—and I’ve been slightly disciplined. But, you know, I met with a lot of the families of the fallen, used to drink too much, which is a sign of which is my duty, but I think the troops ap- being undisciplined. And it took discipline preciate that, that the President cares enough to quit, and maybe a little help from a higher about their comrades’ families that he would authority. But I wasn’t a knee-walking drunk, meet with them. And, yes, it’s an interesting but I was—you know, I was drinking, and experience to do that. The comforter in chief alcohol was beginning to compete for my af- is the person who usually gets comforted. fections. And so I quit. One night I had too much to drink in Colorado Springs, Colo- President Abraham Lincoln rado, and haven’t had a drink since. Mr. Scully. You have had a number of So that’s discipline as well. I don’t know events here as we begin to commemorate the where it comes from; maybe my mom and 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s bi- dad. I haven’t sat around and tried to figure centennial. it out; I can just tell you it’s true. The President. Yes. President’s Reading Habits Mr. Scully. His picture is here, obviously, Mr. Scully. How much time do you spend his bust in this office. That’s one example reading? about the Lincoln Presidency. But what else The President. A lot. Yes, I’m a avid read- in the 17 or 18 books that you’ve read on er. I don’t really watch a lot of TV, in all Lincoln do you take away from what he due respect. Of course, if I did, I’d be watch- meant for this office and the country? ing you. But I read a lot. I read a lot on The President. Well, he spoke with moral airplanes; I read a lot upstairs at the White clarity on certain truths. And one basic truth House; I read on the exercise bicycle. was, all men are created equal under God; Mr. Scully. What do you take away from 1864, he could have easily have said, well, books? I mean, how do you translate what maybe not all of us are created equal. But you read into how you make decisions or how Lincoln spoke with certainty. And I think you go about your business? Presidents need to do that, need to speak The President. Well, sometimes books moral truth, have a set of principles that are are just to escape, like mysteries, and it’s just inviolate. a chance to get your mind off the moment. Self-pity is a horrible trait, and I’m con- Sometimes I read books to—a lot of history fident all Presidents have been—have books, and I can take lessons away from the thought about saying, ‘‘Oh, why me? Why books, like Abraham Lincoln. I just finished do I have to carry this burden?’’ And first a James McPherson book on Abraham Lin- of all, I don’t believe it is a burden to be coln and his relationship with his generals, President. I don’t believe there’s—it’s not a which is an interesting topic for a Com- burden to deal with problems. But Lincoln mander in Chief. One of the lessons of Abra- keeps things in perspective. If you think you ham Lincoln that all Presidents ought to un- got a lousy time, think about what Abraham derstand, particularly at times of war, is that Lincoln went through. I mean, it was a tough the President must pay attention to the time for Lincoln: 600,000 people died; he lost troops. And Lincoln went out of his way to his son upstairs—Willie died in the White be with the sergeants and the enlisted per- House; his wife was not happy. And yet, he sonnel as well as the generals. And he—you was a man who stuck to principles and stayed know, he visited the wounded a lot, and he strong and died not having any earthly idea visited with widows a lot. of where his standing would be in history.

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President’s Staff equal—if we’re Hindu, Jew, Muslim; it Mr. Scully. There have been a couple of doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter. The kiss-and-tell books about your own Presi- greatness about America is you can choose dency. and worship the way you want to worship. The President. Yes. Mr. Scully. My question is, whether it’s Resolute Desk Scott McClellan or Paul O’Neill or others, Mr. Scully. And this desk? does that affect the way a President deals The President. Called the Resolute. I en- with his Cabinet, his staff, and does that tertain people here quite a bit. Recently, worry you? youngsters have come in and said, ‘‘Hey, The President. It’s interesting you said where’s the hidden drawer?’’ I said, ‘‘What that. That’s a very interesting question, be- are you talking about?’’ Well, it turns out the cause I had staff members walk up to me Resolute is famous in ‘‘National Treasure,’’ and say, ‘‘How can you trust me?’’ And the which I have not seen yet. But it’s even more answer is, I just do. I just do. Trust is a very famous because Presidents have used it. Roo- important part of the White House. And the sevelt put the door on there. Out the door examples you just cited are very rare, very John-John Kennedy poked his head in the rare. Every President is going to have to deal most famous Oval Office photo. And Presi- with that. And it’s essential that the President dent Reagan put the bottom there to lift it assure the people—and when these books up. come out, assure the people here that, ‘‘I The desk was given to us by Queen Vic- trust you a lot.’’ And I think my words calmed toria. The wood is from a ship called the Res- some of the folks I work with down; that they olute, HMS Resolute, that we rescued in the didn’t feel alienated. Arctic. That’s a fascinating question. First person And here’s the thing that the desk reminds who’s asked me that. me of on a regular basis: That the institution The Oval Office of the Presidency is more important than the President; that the office is more important Mr. Scully. In our remaining minute, let than the individual. And that’s important, be- me ask you about this office. cause whoever is in here will have strengths The President. Sure. and weaknesses. And so we will come and Mr. Scully. The picture behind you—— go, but because of the institution of stability, The President. That’s called, ‘‘A Charge the ship of state will sail on. And the job To Keep.’’ It’s based upon a Methodist hymn is to make tough calls, and I’ve had to make called ‘‘A Charge To Keep I Have,’’ that was some. But the job is also to honor the office. sung when I was first inaugurated Governor of Texas. And my friend O’Neil, Joe I. O’Neil, from Midland, Texas, said, ‘‘I got a President’s Last Day in Office painting based upon that hymn; would you Mr. Scully. So finally, you will leave this like to use it?’’ And I looked at it and said, office the morning of January 20th. absolutely. It’s by W.H.D. Koerner. The President. That’s right. The thing about O’Neil that’s important Q. What will you be thinking? is he introduced me and Laura in his back- The President. I’ll be wishing—you know, yard. He and Jan had a little barbeque out that’s an interesting question. First of all, I’ll there, and there was two other guests, me be wishing President-elect Obama all the and Laura. And about 3 months later, we best—genuinely be wishing him all the best. were married. And I will have said our final farewells. It The importance of that painting is that it’s turns out that the farewell party for the Presi- obviously a religious painting. And I tell peo- dent stretches over about 45 days, it seems ple the President should never promote a re- like. I mean, everything is a ‘‘last’’—last this, ligion. But the President always ought to jeal- last Christmas turkey pardon, last this—not ously guard and defend the right for anybody Christmas turkey, Thanksgiving turkey par- to worship or not worship; that we’re all don, I mean——

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Presidential Transition tablished pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 5382, are set Mr. Scully. Is it too long? Is the transition forth on Schedule 4 attached hereto and too long? made a part hereof. The President. No, no, no. Actually, I Sec. 3. Certain Executive, Legislative, and think it’s going to be good for me. I’m kind Judicial Salaries. The rates of basic pay or of an emotional guy anyway. I would hate salaries for the following offices and positions to have the next to last and last day of the are set forth on the schedules attached here- Presidency be one giant hug-fest. But we will to and made a part hereof: have packed up, and we will have said good- (a) The Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. bye to the folks that we have lived with for 5312–5318) at Schedule 5; 8 years. And it will be emotional in that sense. But I anticipate with great interest (b) The Vice President (3 U.S.C. 104) and watching an historic moment: The swearing the Congress (2 U.S.C. 31) at Schedule 6; in of the 44th President, who happens to be and an African American male. And that’s a big (c) Justices and judges (28 U.S.C. 5, 44(d), deal for America. And I will have a front row 135, 252, and 461(a), section 140 of Public seat. Law 97–92, and section 305 of Division D Mr. Scully. Mr. President, thank you for of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, your time. 2008), at Schedule 7. The President. Yes, sir. Sec. 4. Uniformed Services. The rates of NOTE: The interview was taped at 12:52 p.m. in monthly basic pay (37 U.S.C. 203(a)) for Oval Office at the White House for later broad- members of the uniformed services, as ad- cast. In his remarks, the President referred to justed under 37 U.S.C. 1009, and section 601 former Press Secretary Scott McClellan; and of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Au- former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O’Neill. thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110–417, October 14, 2008), and the Executive Order 13483— rate of monthly cadet or midshipman pay (37 Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay U.S.C. 203(c)) are set forth on Schedule 8 December 18, 2008 attached hereto and made a part hereof. Sec. 5. Locality-Based Comparability Pay- By the authority vested in me as President ments. (a) Pursuant to section 5304 of title by the Constitution and the laws of the 5, United States Code, and section 142 of United States of America, including the laws the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assist- cited herein, it is hereby ordered as follows: ance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, Section 1. Statutory Pay Systems. The 2009 (Public Law 110–329, September 30, rates of basic pay or salaries of the statutory 2008), locality-based comparability payments pay systems (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 5302(1)), shall be paid in accordance with Schedule as adjusted under 5 U.S.C. 5303(a), are set 9 attached hereto and made a part hereof. forth on the schedules attached hereto and (b) The Director of the Office of Per- made a part hereof: sonnel Management shall take such actions (a) The General Schedule (5 U.S.C. as may be necessary to implement these pay- 5332(a)) at Schedule 1; (b) The Foreign Service Schedule (22 ments and to publish appropriate notice of U.S.C. 3963) at Schedule 2; and such payments in the Federal Register. (c) The schedules for the Veterans Health Sec. 6. Administrative Law Judges. The Administration of the Department of Vet- rates of basic pay for administrative law erans Affairs (38 U.S.C. 7306, 7404; section judges, as adjusted under 5 U.S.C. 301(a) of Public Law 102–40) at Schedule 5372(b)(4), are set forth on Schedule 10 at- 3. tached hereto and made a part hereof. Sec. 2. Senior Executive Service. The Sec. 7. Effective Dates. Schedule 8 is ef- ranges of rates of basic pay for senior execu- fective January 1, 2009. The other schedules tives in the Senior Executive Service, as es- contained herein are effective on the first day

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of the first applicable pay period beginning (2) The functions of the President in rela- on or after January 1, 2009. tion to this memorandum under section 2(d) Sec. 8. Prior Order Superseded. Executive of the Act, and of establishing terms and con- Order 13454 of January 4, 2008, is super- ditions under section 2(c)(1) of the Act, are seded. assigned to you, and you may further assign such functions to your subordinates, con- George W. Bush sistent with applicable law. The White House, You are authorized and directed to publish December 18, 2008. this memorandum in the Federal Register.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, George W. Bush 8:45 a.m., December 22, 2008]

NOTE: This Executive order and its annexes will Remarks on the American Auto be published in the Federal Register on Decem- Industry ber 23. December 19, 2008 Memorandum on Unexpected Good morning. For years, America’s auto- Urgent Humanitarian Needs Related makers have faced serious challenges: bur- to the Democratic Republic of densome costs, a shrinking share of the mar- Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda ket, and declining profits. In recent months, December 18, 2008 the global financial crisis has made these challenges even more severe. Now some U.S. Presidential Determination No. 2009–9 auto executives say that their companies are nearing collapse, and that the only way they Memorandum for the Secretary of State can buy time to restructure is with help from Subject: Unexpected Urgent Humanitarian the Federal Government. Needs Related to the Democratic Republic This is a difficult situation that involves of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda fundamental questions about the proper role By the authority vested in me by the Con- of Government. On the one hand, Govern- stitution and the laws of the United States, ment has a responsibility not to undermine including sections 2 and 4(a)(1) of the Migra- the private enterprise system. On the other tion and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (the hand, Government has a responsibility to ‘‘Act’’), as amended, (22 U.S.C. 2601 and safeguard the broader health and stability of 2603) and section 301 of title 3, United States our economy. Code: Addressing the challenges in the auto in- (1) I hereby determine, pursuant to sec- dustry requires us to balance these two re- tion 2(c)(1) of the Act, that it is important sponsibilities. If we were to allow the free to the national interest to furnish assistance market to take its course now, it would al- under the Act in an amount not to exceed most certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy $6 million from the United States Emer- and liquidation for the automakers. Under gency Refugee and Migration Assistance ordinary economic circumstances, I would Fund, for the purpose of meeting unex- say this is the price that failed companies pected and urgent refugee and migration must pay, and I would not favor intervening needs related to humanitarian needs of Con- to prevent the automakers from going out golese refugees and internally displaced, in- of business. cluding by contributions to international, But these are not ordinary circumstances. governmental, and nongovernmental organi- In the midst of a financial crisis and a reces- zations and payment of administrative ex- sion, allowing the U.S. auto industry to col- penses of the Bureau of Population, Refu- lapse is not a responsible course of action. gees, and Migration of the Department of The question is how we can best give it a State; and chance to succeed. Some argue the wisest

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pass—wisest path is to allow the auto compa- branch to step in. The American people want nies to reorganize through Chapter 11 provi- the auto companies to succeed, and so do sions of our bankruptcy laws and provide I. So today I’m announcing that the Federal Federal loans to keep them operating while Government will grant loans to auto compa- they try to restructure under the supervision nies under conditions similar to those Con- of a bankruptcy court. But given the current gress considered last week. state of the auto industry and the economy, These loans will provide help in two ways. Chapter 11 is unlikely to work for American First, they will give automakers 3 months to automakers at this time. put in place plans to restructure into viable American consumers understand why: If companies, which we believe they are capa- you hear that a car company is suddenly ble of doing. Second, if restructuring cannot going into bankruptcy, you worry that parts be accomplished outside of bankruptcy, the and servicing will not be available, and you loans will provide time for companies to question the value of your warranty. And make the legal and financial preparations with consumers hesitant to buy new cars necessary for an orderly Chapter 11 process from struggling automakers, it would be that offers a better prospect of long-term suc- more difficult for auto companies to recover. cess and gives consumers confidence that Additionally, the financial cross—crisis they can continue to buy American cars. brought the auto companies to the brink of Because Congress failed to make funds bankruptcy much faster than they could have available for these loans, the plan I am an- anticipated. And they have not made the nouncing today will be drawn from the finan- legal and financial preparations necessary to cial rescue package Congress approved ear- carry out an orderly bankruptcy proceeding lier this fall. The terms of the loans will re- that could lead to a successful restructuring. quire auto companies to demonstrate how The convergence of these factors means they would become viable. They must pay there is too great a risk that bankruptcy now would lead to a disorderly liquidation of back all their loans to the Government and American auto companies. My economic ad- show that their firms can earn a profit and visers believe that such a collapse would deal achieve a positive net worth. This restruc- an unacceptably painful blow to hard-work- turing will require meaningful concessions ing Americans far beyond the auto industry. from all involved in the auto industry—man- It would worsen a weak job market and exac- agement, labor unions, creditors, bond- erbate the financial crisis. It could send our holders, dealers, and suppliers. suffering economy into a deeper and longer In particular, automakers must meet con- recession, and it would leave the next Presi- ditions that experts agree are necessary for dent to confront the demise of a major Amer- long-term viability, including putting their ican industry in his first days of office. retirement plans on a sustainable footing, A more responsible option is to give the persuading bondholders to convert their debt auto companies an incentive to restructure into capital the companies need to address outside of bankruptcy and a brief window in immediate financial shortfalls, and making which to do it. And that is why my adminis- their compensation competitive with foreign tration worked with Congress on a bill to pro- automakers who have major operations in the vide automakers with loans to stave off bank- United States. If a company fails to come ruptcy while they develop plans for viability. up with a viable plan by March 31st, it will This legislation earned bipartisan support be required to repay its Federal loans. from majorities in both Houses of Congress. The automakers and unions must under- Unfortunately, despite extensive debate stand what is at stake and make hard deci- and agreement that we should prevent dis- sions necessary to reform. These conditions orderly bankruptcies in the American auto send a clear message to everyone involved industry, Congress was unable to get a bill in the future of American automakers: The to my desk before adjourning this year. time to make the hard decisions to become This means the only way to avoid a collapse viable is now, or the only option will be bank- of the U.S. auto industry is for the executive ruptcy.

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The actions I’m announcing today rep- Buren, Tyler, Polk, Fillmore, Pierce, and Bu- resent a step that we wish were not nec- chanan. But by the time Healy got to Presi- essary. But given the situation, it is the most dent Buchanan, the Civil War had broken effective and responsible way to address this out, and an angry Congress held the former challenge facing our Nation. By giving the President to blame. And so when Healy pre- auto companies a chance to restructure, we sented his bill for Buchanan’s portrait, the will shield the American people from a harsh lawmakers refused to pay. Things are bad economic blow at a vulnerable time. And we when even Congress refuses to spend money. will give American workers an opportunity [Laughter] to show the world once again they can meet I want to thank the artists. Sasha, you had challenges with ingenuity and determination it easy; it does not take much to make Laura and bounce back from tough times and look beautiful. [Laughter] Anderson had a emerge stronger than before. bigger challenge. [Laughter] And therefore, Thank you. I needed to find a person who would do the NOTE: The President spoke at 9:01 a.m. in the painting that would be a good and forgiving Roosevelt Room at the White House. In his re- friend. And so I want to thank my buddy— marks, he referred to President-elect Barack my college classmate Bob Anderson for Obama. The Office of the Press Secretary also painting this portrait. It actually looks like released a Spanish language transcript of these re- me, which is a good sign. [Laughter] You did marks. a fabulous job. This is not the first time that Bob has Remarks on the Unveiling of the painted me. He had a warm-up; he did my Official Portraits of President portrait for the Yale Club. Recently, I asked him what was different this time around. He George W. Bush and First Lady said, well, this time around he had to use Laura Bush a lot more gray. [Laughter] I also understood December 19, 2008 Bob didn’t have any difficulty depicting my eyes or my hands, but he had a lot of trouble Secretary Clough, thank you for the intro- duction. Thanks for coming. I suspected with my mouth. And I told him, ‘‘That makes there would be a good-size crowd once the two of us.’’ [Laughter] word got out about my hanging. [Laughter] A former Washington resident once said: It’s a tremendous honor to have my por- ‘‘Whenever you hear about somebody being trait added to this gallery’s Presidential col- done in oil in this town, you can’t be sure lection. This is one of only two institutions whether that means painting or boiling.’’ with portraits of every President, starting [Laughter] That was a wise observation from with our first, George Washington. That a good and decent man; one who has offered means this exhibit now has an interesting me a lot of wisdom and advice throughout symmetry. It starts with George W. and ends my life. And I am proud to have my portrait with George W. [Laughter] in the same room as President 41, George I want to thank the Vice President and H.W. Bush. Chief Justice for joining us. I thank members It’s a humbling experience to be included of Smithsonian Institute’s Board of Regents. here among so many extraordinary leaders. I, too, appreciate Marty Sullivan being here. One of the great things about this collection I want to thank members of my Cabinet, ad- is that visitors can examine the faces of the ministration, and friends. men who have shaped our Nation’s history I am grateful to all the people who made and study how history has shaped them. In this painting possible. We really appreciate each of their images, we’re reminded of the your generosity. I thank the donors for com- incredible joys and responsibilities that come ing today. They remind me of an interesting with the Presidency. Yet in these two cen- story about this collection. In 1857, the artist turies of history, we’re also reminded that George Healy was commissioned by Con- this office and the enduring ideals it rep- gress to paint Presidents John Q. Adams, Van resents are greater than any person.

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Being the temporary custodian of the of- you’ve had with Israel, but also the fine fice has been a privilege of a lifetime. Over progress that’s being made on the West the past 8 years, I have been inspired by the Bank, which is a credit to your leadership character and courage of our Nation, espe- and the leadership of the Prime Minister. cially the men and women of our Armed So welcome, sir, and thank you for coming. Forces. I have been moved by the compas- President Abbas. Thank you very much, sion of our citizens, from those who mentor Mr. President. And thank you for finding the a child to those who save lives around the time to meet with us during these days. world. Most of all, I’ve been uplifted by the There is no doubt that we will always remem- many Americans who have sent their prayers. ber the efforts that you have undertook to And so, with deep gratitude, I offer my promote the peace process. You were the own: For all of you in this room, for the suc- first sitting President who accepted as a pol- cess of our next President and those who fol- icy the establishment of two states—a state low, and for God’s continued blessings on our of Israel and a state of Palestine—living next wonderful Nation. to each other in peace and security. And this Thank you. policy has became a reality in every corner NOTE: The President spoke at 10:15 a.m. at the around the world. National Portrait Gallery. In his remarks, he re- And we also remember very fondly, Mr. ferred to Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution President, the great efforts that you have un- G. Wayne Clough; Martin E. Sullivan, Director, dertook to convene the Annapolis conference National Portrait Gallery; and painter Aleksander after so many years of absent peace process ‘‘Sasha’’ Titovets. The transcript released by the accords. This conference was attended by Office of the Press Secretary also included re- representatives from more than 50 countries marks by the First Lady. from around the world and made it a reality that the roadmap would be the way to go. Remarks Prior to a Meeting With Also the Annapolis conference talked President Mahmoud Abbas of the about and promoted the bilateral direct ne- Palestinian Authority gotiations between the Israelis and the Pal- estinians over the fundamental and basic December 19, 2008 issues. These basic issues, as we all know, President Bush. I’m thinking about the they include Jerusalem, settlements, borders, first time I met you—I think it was in Jor- refugees, water, security, as well as prisoners. dan—and I can’t help but reflect on how far And of course, you pushed very hard for the the process has come to bring peace to the two sides to carry out their commitments Holy Land. based on phase one of the roadmap and to You have done a lot of important and hard carry out their responsibilities. And you were work in helping the region understand the clear about both Palestinian commitments as importance of two states living side by side well as Israeli commitments. in peace. No question, this is a hard chal- On the basis of your efforts and the con- lenge, but nevertheless, people must recog- vening of the Annapolis conference, two nize that we have made a good deal of other conferences took place—the Paris and progress. And a lot of it has to do with your the Berlin conferences. And during the Paris leadership, and I thank you. conference, there was an agreement in order I was pleased to note that the U.N. Secu- to support financially, in a very generous way, rity Council passed a resolution which con- the Palestinian Authority. After that, we have firms that bilateral negotiation—the bilateral seen on the grounds that the West Bank was negotiation process is irreversible, is—and much calmer, and there was performance on it’s a path to a Palestinian state and a path security throughout that part of Palestine. to peace in the Middle East. And we also appreciate the efforts that were And I’ve been looking forward to this visit. given to us in the area of security, which I’m looking forward to getting a briefing on helped our own security apparatus to carry not only the negotiations, the discussions out their responsibilities.

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Also developments took place on issues in Proclamation 8330—To Take the West Bank, such as progress on security, Certain Actions Under the African as well as the economic situation, as well as Growth and Opportunity Act and the the social conditions. Generalized System of Preferences There is no doubt that we exerted efforts December 19, 2008 also to promote the peace process under your leadership during the last year; and together By the President of the United States we put the fundamental, basic things needed of America for the peace process. There is no doubt that A Proclamation we will continue these efforts and the peace negotiations. But everything will be based on 1. Section 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act of the foundation, and that foundation was laid 1974, as amended (the ‘‘1974 Act’’) (19 U.S.C. 2466a(a)(1)), as added by section by you during your time in office. Because 111(a) of the African Growth and Oppor- we are committed to the peace process—and tunity Act (title I of Public Law 106–200) this is not a slogan or a rhetorical commit- (AGOA), authorizes the President to des- ment: We are practically committed to the ignate a country listed in section 107 of the peace process. And we are confident all these AGOA (19 U.S.C. 3706) as a beneficiary sub- efforts will be transferred to the new admin- Saharan African country if the President de- istration that will continue to do its part re- termines that the country meets the eligi- garding the peace process. bility requirements set forth in section 104 Some might say that all these efforts per- of the AGOA (19 U.S.C. 3703) and the eligi- haps went in vain. I happen to disagree. I bility criteria set forth in section 502 of the believe that they have cemented the real 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2462). principles that carried out the peace process 2. Section 104 of the AGOA authorizes the and the negotiations forward. And here I President to designate a country listed in sec- have also to mention the Arab League peace tion 107 of the AGOA as an eligible sub- initiative to promote peace, which is actually Saharan African country if the President de- published today in a number of newspapers, termines that the country meets certain eligi- including American newspapers today. And bility requirements. the purpose of this also coincides to cement 3. Section 112(c) of the AGOA (19 U.S.C. your vision of two states as well as the prin- 3721(c)), as added by section 6002(a) of the ciple of land for peace. Africa Investment Incentive Act of 2006 (di- We are here today, Mr. President, in order vision D, title VI of Public Law 109–432), to express our appreciation for your efforts. provides special rules for certain apparel arti- And we know very well that we would not cles imported from lesser developed bene- have been able to go that far in our work ficiary sub-Saharan African countries. without your support and the promotion of 4. In Proclamation 8157 of June 28, 2007, the peace process. I designated the Islamic Republic of Mauri- tania (Mauritania) as an eligible sub-Saharan I also would like to take the opportunity African country and a beneficiary sub-Saha- to thank members of your own administra- ran African country pursuant to section 104 tion: Secretary Rice, as well as Mr. Hadley, of the AGOA and section 506A(a)(1) of the those people who worked with us tirelessly. 1974 Act and provided that it would be con- Thank you very much. sidered a lesser developed beneficiary sub- President Bush. Thank you, sir. Shukran Saharan African country for purposes of sec- jazeelan. tion 112(c) of the AGOA. 5. Section 506A(a)(3) of the 1974 Act (19 NOTE: The President spoke at 1:28 p.m. in the U.S.C. 2466a(a)(3)) authorizes the President Oval Office at the White House. In his remarks, to terminate the designation of a country as he referred to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country for Israel. President Abbas spoke in Arabic, and his purposes of section 506A if he determines remarks were translated by an interpreter. that the country is not making continual

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progress in meeting the requirements de- Saharan African country, general note 16(a) scribed in section 506A(a)(1) of the 1974 Act. to the HTS is modified by deleting ‘‘Islamic 6. Pursuant to section 506A(a)(3) of the Republic of Mauritania’’ from the list of ben- 1974 Act, I have determined that Mauritania eficiary sub-Saharan African countries. is not making continual progress in meeting (3) Kosovo is designated as a beneficiary the requirements described in section developing country for purposes of the GSP 506A(a)(1) of the 1974 Act. Accordingly, I program. have decided to terminate the designation of (4) In order to reflect this designation in Mauritania as a beneficiary sub-Saharan Afri- the HTS, general note 4(a) to the HTS is can country for purposes of section 506A of modified by adding in alphabetical order the 1974 Act, effective on January 1, 2009. ‘‘Kosovo,’’ effective with respect to articles 7. Pursuant to sections 501 and 502(a) of entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2461, 2462(a)), the consumption, on or after February 1, 2009. President is authorized to designate coun- (5) Azerbaijan is designated as a bene- tries as beneficiary developing countries for ficiary developing country for purposes of the purposes of the Generalized System of Pref- GSP program. erences (GSP) program. (6) In order to reflect this designation in 8. Pursuant to section 502(a)(1) of the the HTS, general note 4(a) to the HTS is 1974 Act, and having considered the factors modified by adding in alphabetical order set forth in sections 501 and 502(c) (19 ‘‘Azerbaijan,’’ effective with respect to arti- U.S.C. 2462(c)), I have determined that the cles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse Republic of Kosovo (Kosovo) should be des- for consumption, on or after February 1, ignated as a beneficiary developing country 2009. for purposes of the GSP program. (7) Any provisions of previous proclama- 9. Pursuant to section 502 of the 1974 Act, tions and Executive Orders that are incon- and having considered the factors set forth sistent with the actions taken in this procla- in sections 501 and 502(c), I have determined mation are superseded to the extent of such that the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan) inconsistency. should be designated as a beneficiary devel- In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set oping country for purposes of the GSP pro- my hand this nineteenth day of December, gram. in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, 10. Section 604 of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. and of the Independence of the United 2483), as amended, authorizes the President States of America the two hundred and thir- to embody in the Harmonized Tariff Sched- ty-third. ule of the United States (HTS) the substance George W. Bush of relevant provisions of that Act, or other acts affecting import treatment, and of ac- [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, tions taken thereunder. 11:15 a.m., December 22, 2008] Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, NOTE: This proclamation will be published in the President of the United States of America, Federal Register on December 23. acting under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including but not limited to section Letter to Congressional Leaders 104 of the AGOA (19 U.S.C. 3703), and title Extending Generalized System of V and section 604 of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. Preferences Benefits to Kosovo and 2461–67, 2483), do proclaim that: Azerbaijan (1) The designation of Mauritania as a ben- December 19, 2008 eficiary sub-Saharan African country for pur- poses of section 506A of the 1974 Act is ter- Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Mr. minated, effective on January 1, 2009. President:) (2) In order to reflect in the HTS that be- In accordance with section 502(f)(1)(A) of ginning on January 1, 2009, Mauritania shall the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the no longer be designated as a beneficiary sub- ‘‘1974 Act’’), I am notifying the Congress of

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my intent to add the Republic of Kosovo The President declared an emergency in (Kosovo) and the Republic of Azerbaijan New Hampshire and ordered Federal aid to (Azerbaijan) to the list of beneficiary devel- supplement State and local response efforts oping countries under the Generalized Sys- in the area struck by a severe winter storm tem of Preferences (GSP) program. beginning on December 11 and continuing. In Proclamation 8272 of June 30, 2008, I designated Serbia as a beneficiary devel- December 14 oping country for purposes of the GSP pro- In the afternoon, at Salam Palace, the gram. On February 17, 2008, Kosovo de- President met with President Jalal Talabani clared its independence from Serbia. Pursu- and Vice Presidents Adil Abd Al-Mahdi and ant to section 502 of the 1974 Act, and having Tariq al-Hashimi of Iraq. considered the factors set forth in sections In the evening, the President traveled to 501 and 502(c) of the 1974 Act, and in light the Prime Minister’s palace, where he met of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, I with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq. have determined that Kosovo should be des- Later, he participated in an interview with ignated as a separate GSP beneficiary devel- ABC News. He then traveled to Camp Vic- oping country. tory. In addition, having considered the factors Later in the evening, the President trav- set forth in sections 501 and 502(c) of the eled to Bagram Air Force Base, Afghanistan, 1974 Act, I have determined that Azerbaijan arriving the following morning. should be designated as a beneficiary devel- oping country for purposes of the GSP pro- December 15 gram. In the morning, the President traveled to Sincerely, the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghani- George W. Bush stan. Later, President Hamid Karzai of Af- ghanistan awarded him the Ghazi Amir NOTE: Identical letters were sent to Nancy Pelosi, Amanullah Khan Insignia. He then returned Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to Bagram Air Force Base, where he met Richard B. Cheney, President of the Senate. with U.S. Special Forces personnel. Later in the morning, the President re- turned to Washington, DC, arriving in the afternoon. While en route aboard Air Force Digest of Other One, he had an intelligence briefing. White House Announcements The President declared an emergency in Maine and ordered Federal aid to supple- ment State and local response efforts in the The following list includes the President’s public area struck by a severe winter storm begin- schedule and other items of general interest an- ning on December 11 and continuing. nounced by the Office of the Press Secretary and not included elsewhere in this issue. December 16 In the morning, the President had an intel- December 13 ligence briefing. In the morning, the President had an intel- The White House announced that the ligence briefing. President will welcome President Mahmoud In the evening, the President traveled to Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian Au- Baghdad, Iraq, arriving the following after- thority to the White House on December 19. noon. The President declared an emergency in December 17 Massachusetts and ordered Federal aid to In the morning, the President had an intel- supplement Commonwealth and local re- ligence briefing. Later, he traveled to Car- sponse efforts in the area struck by a severe lisle, PA, arriving in the afternoon. winter storm beginning on December 11 and Later in the afternoon, at the U.S. Army continuing. War College, the President met with Army

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War College students. He then returned to Statement by the Press Secretary on disaster Washington, DC. assistance to New Hampshire

December 18 Released December 14 In the morning, the President had an intel- Transcript of a press gaggle by Press Sec- ligence briefing. Later, he met with Special retary Dana Perino, National Security Ad- Envoy to Sudan Richard S. Williamson to dis- viser Stephen J. Hadley, and Deputy Na- cuss the situation in Darfur and the status tional Security Adviser for Iraq and Afghani- of the proposed North-South peace agree- stan Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, USA ment. The President declared an emergency in Released December 15 New York and ordered Federal aid to supple- ment State and local response efforts in the Statement by the Press Secretary on disaster area struck by a severe winter storm begin- assistance to Maine ning on December 11 and continuing. Fact sheet: Diversifying Our Energy Supply December 19 and Confronting Climate Change In the morning, the President had an intel- Released December 16 ligence briefing. In the afternoon, in the Grand Foyer, the Transcript of a press briefing by Press Sec- President participated in a photo opportunity retary Dana Perino with recipients of the 2007 Presidential Early Statement by the Press Secretary: Visit by Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to Washington

Released December 17 Nominations Fact sheet: President Bush Has Kept Amer- Submitted to the Senate ica Safe

Released December 18 NOTE: No nominations were submitted to the Senate during the period covered by this issue. Transcript of a press briefing by Press Sec- retary Dana Perino Statement by the Press Secretary on disaster assistance to New York Checklist of White House Press Releases Released December 19 Transcript of a press briefing by Press Sec- The following list contains releases of the Office retary Dana Perino and Deputy Chief of of the Press Secretary that are neither printed as Staff for Policy Joel Kaplan items nor covered by entries in the Digest of Statement by the Press Secretary announcing Other White House Announcements. that the President signed H.R. 6859 and S.J. Res. 46 Released December 13 Fact sheet: Financing Assistance To Facili- Statement by the Press Secretary on disaster tate the Restructuring of Auto Manufacturers assistance to Massachusetts to Attain Financial Viability

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Acts Approved Boulevard in Albany, Georgia, as the ‘‘Dr. by the President Walter Carl Gordon, Jr. Post Office Build- ing’’

Approved December 19 S.J. Res. 46 / Public Law 110–455 Ensuring that the compensation and other H.R. 6859 / Public Law 110–454 emoluments attached to the office of Sec- To designate the facility of the United States retary of State are those which were in effect Postal Service located at 1501 South Slappey on January 1, 2007

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