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White House Reacts to Crisis in Liberia, Warns Syria, Iran
Aired July 21, 2003 - 15:04 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush was asked about the worsening conditions in Liberia during a joint news conference with Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
For more on that and other topics, let's turn to our Dana Bash at the White House -- Dana
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy.
Well, President Bush said he was very concerned about the situation on the ground. Particularly, he said he was concerned about the Americans there and their safety. He noted that there are some troops making their way there, if not there already. Marines to help secure the embassy there. But on the question of the question that has been lingering about whether or not the president will OK sending some troops to help for a peacekeeping effort, he said he has not made up that decision.
What the president said was that he is waiting for a group of west African states to come up with the details of exactly what would be asked for and required by the United States. And he also said that he has made it clear that he would be willing to contribute something perhaps for a small duration of time, a small group as part of a U.N. peacekeeping force.
Now, the president made these remarks, as you mentioned, in his ranch at Crawford, Texas. He hosted Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. And this was one in a series of thank-you visits from members of the coalition of the willing, as the president likes to call it, thanking leaders for their help and support in the war on Iraq. And he used the event without prompting to signal and to single out Syria and Iran, issuing a harsh warning to them for harboring terrorists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, Syria and Iran continue to harbor and assist terrorists. This behavior is completely unacceptable, and states that support terror will be held accountable. Supporting and harboring terrorists undermines the prospects for peace in the Middle East and portrays the true interest of the Palestinian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Now, the White House thought it was important for the president to put the spotlight on Syria and Iran today because they wanted to do so in advance of another very important meeting the president will have later this week in Washington, and that is with Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian prime minister. It will be his first visit to the White House, the first of any Palestinian leader since the president has been in office. And what administration officials are saying is that while they are seeing help and support from other neighbors, other Arab states in the region, like Jordan, Egypt and even Saudi Arabia, they are seeing continued efforts by Syria and Iran to help harbor and fund terrorism. It is not helpful to Mahmoud Abbas, and President Bush has pledged to be as helpful as possible. This is one way the administration says they're trying to do that -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, Dana, reporting for us from the White House. Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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Aired July 21, 2003 - 15:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush was asked about the worsening conditions in Liberia during a joint news conference with Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
For more on that and other topics, let's turn to our Dana Bash at the White House -- Dana
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy.
Well, President Bush said he was very concerned about the situation on the ground. Particularly, he said he was concerned about the Americans there and their safety. He noted that there are some troops making their way there, if not there already. Marines to help secure the embassy there. But on the question of the question that has been lingering about whether or not the president will OK sending some troops to help for a peacekeeping effort, he said he has not made up that decision.
What the president said was that he is waiting for a group of west African states to come up with the details of exactly what would be asked for and required by the United States. And he also said that he has made it clear that he would be willing to contribute something perhaps for a small duration of time, a small group as part of a U.N. peacekeeping force.
Now, the president made these remarks, as you mentioned, in his ranch at Crawford, Texas. He hosted Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. And this was one in a series of thank-you visits from members of the coalition of the willing, as the president likes to call it, thanking leaders for their help and support in the war on Iraq. And he used the event without prompting to signal and to single out Syria and Iran, issuing a harsh warning to them for harboring terrorists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, Syria and Iran continue to harbor and assist terrorists. This behavior is completely unacceptable, and states that support terror will be held accountable. Supporting and harboring terrorists undermines the prospects for peace in the Middle East and portrays the true interest of the Palestinian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Now, the White House thought it was important for the president to put the spotlight on Syria and Iran today because they wanted to do so in advance of another very important meeting the president will have later this week in Washington, and that is with Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian prime minister. It will be his first visit to the White House, the first of any Palestinian leader since the president has been in office. And what administration officials are saying is that while they are seeing help and support from other neighbors, other Arab states in the region, like Jordan, Egypt and even Saudi Arabia, they are seeing continued efforts by Syria and Iran to help harbor and fund terrorism. It is not helpful to Mahmoud Abbas, and President Bush has pledged to be as helpful as possible. This is one way the administration says they're trying to do that -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, Dana, reporting for us from the White House. Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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