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CNN Live Saturday

Refueling and Morale Booster in Alaska

Aired February 16, 2002 - 22:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush will be arriving in Tokyo in about four hours, the first stop on his trip to Eastern Asia. Just a few hours ago, he touched down briefly in Alaska, a refueling stop and a morale booster for troops there.

CNN senior White House correspondent John King is traveling with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president stopped on his way to Asia to deliver a pep talk to U.S. military personnel here at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. As they thanked them for their role in the war on terrorism, Mr. Bush also thanked a key U.S. ally. And in doing so, for the first time in five months, used the word "crusade" to describe the fight. Mr. Bush had stopped using that terms after complaints from Muslim nations that it suggested the war against terrorism had religious overtones.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to tell you something. We got no better friends than Canada. They stand with us in this incredibly important crusade to defend freedom."

KING: Looking ahead to his trip, Mr. Bush said one goal of his stops in Japan, South Korea, and China is convincing those countries to join him in confronting nations he says are trying to build and perhaps even export weapons of mass destruction. It is a critical point on this trip, because North Korea is one of three nations Mr. Bush says are part of a "axis of evil." The others are Iran and Iraq.

BUSH: We expect there to be transparency. People have got something to hide, make us nervous, particularly those who have gassed their own citizens in the past for example. And so, we expect them, and so do other freedom-loving countries, to change their behavior. But if they do not, the United States will do what it takes to defend our freedom. Make no mistake about it.

KING: The president's tough talk about North Korea has raised concerns in the south. President Kim Dae Jung stakes his legacy on the so-called sunshine policy of engaging the north. But Mr. Bush says he is not to blame, that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, has repeatedly refused U.S. invitations to sit down for negotiations. And while in Beijing for a U.S.-China summit, Mr. Bush also promises to bring up the issues of religious and other political freedoms. He says wherever he goes, he will stress the values that Mr. Bush says were the true targets of the September 11 attacks.

John King, CNN, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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