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CNN Live Saturday
Bush Completes NATO Summit Trip
Aired November 23, 2002 - 17:21 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush will be home in just about three hours from now after his five-day NATO Summit trip. It was interesting to watch his tour through the latest nations asked to join NATO. Although the former communist countries have just been invited into NATO, their troops have actually been training with NATO troops for some time now and they could be a potent force in the U.S. war on terror. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A rock concert in Lithuania to celebrate the country's admission into NATO. President Bush on the final leg of his Eastern European tour to new NATO countries draws friendly but smaller than expected crowds.
Seven former communist nations joined the North Atlantic Alliance at this week's summit in Prague. President Bush eager to enlist them in his war on terror met with the leaders of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia on Saturday, referring to the Baltic nations as small but big in hearts and character.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must be willing to stand in the face of evil to have the courage to always face danger. The people of the Baltic States have shown these qualities to the world.
MALVEAUX: A warm welcome for President Bush in Romania, the largest and most populous of the seven new NATO members, and a staunch ally in America's war on terror and in its efforts to disarm Iraq. Since the ouster of Romania's brutal dictator Nicolae Ceausescu over a decade ago, the Romanian government has been aggressively pro- American.
Romania sent its own troops into Afghanistan in the U.S. led war on terror and has agreed to allow U.S. access to its military bases and air space should there be a confrontation with Iraq. In exchange, Romania hopes to establish an independent relationship with the United States, protected from any economic or political instability from its neighbors, Russia and Ukraine.
BUSH: The promises of our alliance are sacred and we will keep our pledges to all the nations that join us. Should any danger threaten Romania, should any nation threaten Romania, the United States of America and NATO will be by your side. MALVEAUX (on camera): President Bush returns to the United States after making his case that with the fall of Nazism, communism, and brutal regimes, that Eastern Europe must now join the United States to confront the threat of global terrorism.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Bucharest, Romania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 23, 2002 - 17:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush will be home in just about three hours from now after his five-day NATO Summit trip. It was interesting to watch his tour through the latest nations asked to join NATO. Although the former communist countries have just been invited into NATO, their troops have actually been training with NATO troops for some time now and they could be a potent force in the U.S. war on terror. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A rock concert in Lithuania to celebrate the country's admission into NATO. President Bush on the final leg of his Eastern European tour to new NATO countries draws friendly but smaller than expected crowds.
Seven former communist nations joined the North Atlantic Alliance at this week's summit in Prague. President Bush eager to enlist them in his war on terror met with the leaders of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia on Saturday, referring to the Baltic nations as small but big in hearts and character.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must be willing to stand in the face of evil to have the courage to always face danger. The people of the Baltic States have shown these qualities to the world.
MALVEAUX: A warm welcome for President Bush in Romania, the largest and most populous of the seven new NATO members, and a staunch ally in America's war on terror and in its efforts to disarm Iraq. Since the ouster of Romania's brutal dictator Nicolae Ceausescu over a decade ago, the Romanian government has been aggressively pro- American.
Romania sent its own troops into Afghanistan in the U.S. led war on terror and has agreed to allow U.S. access to its military bases and air space should there be a confrontation with Iraq. In exchange, Romania hopes to establish an independent relationship with the United States, protected from any economic or political instability from its neighbors, Russia and Ukraine.
BUSH: The promises of our alliance are sacred and we will keep our pledges to all the nations that join us. Should any danger threaten Romania, should any nation threaten Romania, the United States of America and NATO will be by your side. MALVEAUX (on camera): President Bush returns to the United States after making his case that with the fall of Nazism, communism, and brutal regimes, that Eastern Europe must now join the United States to confront the threat of global terrorism.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Bucharest, Romania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
