Bush Text

— BUSH: I'd call that wise diplomacy.

It's his choice to make ultimately, not our choice, as to whether he honors the agreement he agreed to. Our objective is to hold him to account.

But he's got different ways forward. And we have made that avenue available for his choice.

And so the meeting today, of course, is to hope for the best and plan for the worst. We're hoping that the North Korea leader continues to make the right choice for his country. But if he should choose not to, we've got a strategy to make sure that the pressure we've initially applied is even greater. That's our plan.

And so he ought to know that if he makes right choices there is a way for him to be able to deal with a listing that our government has placed on him.

In other words, there's a way forward. And this is what you're referring to as the beginning of a process, it's the beginning of an opportunity for him to be in a different position vis-a-vis the United States government on a variety of fronts.

Any discussion about ways forward, however, shouldn't _ should not obscure my strong sentiment about the abductee issue.

The prime minister mentioned how Mrs. Yokota was affected by her visit to the Oval Office.

Well, I was affected by her visit to the Oval Office. It broke my heart to be in the presence of a Japanese mother whose love for her daughter has not diminished over time, and her grief is sincere and real.

I remember her bringing the picture of the child as she remembers her, right there where I go to work every day, and sitting it on the couch next to her.

So I'm deeply affected by her.

She needs to understand that her visit added a human dimension to an issue which is obviously very important to the Japanese people.

And I will never forget her visit. And I will work with my friend and the Japanese government to get this issue resolved in a way that touches the human heart, in a way that has got more than just a, kind of, a diplomatic ring to it, as far as I'm concerned. It's a human issue now, to me. It's a tangible, emotional issue.

And thank you for bringing the question up.

Q: Mr. President, the Democrats have voted for a withdrawal timetable from Iraq, which you have said that you will veto.

What ideas do you have for breaking this logjam going forward? And would you be willing to veto a second bill?

BUSH: Well, first of all, I haven't vetoed the first bill yet. But I'm going to.

And the reason why I'm going to is because the members of Congress have made military decisions on behalf of the military. They're telling our generals what to do. They're withdrawing before we've even finished reinforcing our troops in Baghdad. They're sending, in my judgment, a bad message to the Iraqis and to an enemy and, most importantly, to our military folks.

And so I made it clear I'd veto _ and, by the way, they're adding spending that shouldn't belong in the bill in the first place. Maybe they're important issues, but they ought to be _ these spending bills ought to be _ or spending issues ought to be debated in the normal course of business.

So, I've said this all along; my position has been consistent.

I'm sorry it's come to this. In other words, I'm sorry that we've had this _ you know, the issue evolved the way it has. But nevertheless, it is what it is, and it will be vetoed. And my veto will be sustained.

And then the question is the way forward. And my suggestion is that _ and I invite the leaders of the House and the Senate, both parties to come down, you know, soon after my veto so that we can discuss a way forward.

And if the Congress wants to test my will as to whether or not I'll accept the timetable for withdrawal, I won't accept one. I just don't think it's in the interest of our troops.

I think it _ I'm just envisioning what it would be like to be a young soldier in the middle of Iraq and realizing that politicians have all of a sudden made military determinations. And in my judgment, that would put a kid in harm's way; more so than he or she already is.

I really think it's a mistake for Congress to try to tell generals or military experts how to conduct a war.

And furthermore, the idea of putting, you know, all kinds of extraneous spending on a bill, the bill _ the purpose of which is to fund our troops, is _ I just don't accept that.

So if they want to try again that which I have said was unacceptable, then of course I'll veto it.

But I hope it doesn't come to that. I believe we can work a way forward. And I think we can come to our senses and make sure that we get the money to the troops in a timely fashion.

You know, it's important to have a political debate, but, as I've consistently said, we don't want our troops in between the debate. And Congress needs to get this money to the Pentagon so the Pentagon can get the money to the troops so our readiness will be up to par and people _ training missions will go forward.

You know, I know Congress, no matter what their position is on the war, doesn't want to affect readiness and they don't want to affect the military families. I understand that. But they're going to if they keep, you know, trying to pass legislation that is _ that just doesn't _ that withdraws troops or micromanages the war.

So I'm optimistic we can get a bill, a good bill, and a bill that satisfies all our objectives, and that's to get the money to the troops as quickly as possible.

Q: Well, a question on the wartime comfort women issue.

Mr. Prime Minister, on this issue, did you explain your thoughts to President Bush on this matter? Did you talk about further factual investigations on the matter and any intent to apologize on the issue?

Also a question for Mr. President on the comfort women issue.

From the perspective of human rights and Asian history perceptions, I wonder if you could express your thoughts or views.

ABE: Well, in my meeting with the congressional representatives yesterday I explained my thoughts, and that is I do have deep-hearted sympathies that the people who had to serve as comfort women were placed in extreme hardships and had to suffer that sacrifice, and that I, as prime minister of Japan, express my apologies, and also express my apologies for the fact that they were placed in that sort of circumstance.

Now, the 20th century was a century that human rights were violated in many parts of the world, so we have to make the 21st century a century _ a wonderful century in which no human rights are violated.

ABE: And I, myself, and Japan, wish to make significant contributions to that end. And so I explained these thoughts to the president.

BUSH: On the comfort women issue, it's a regrettable chapter in the history of the world. And I accept the prime minister's apology.

I thought it was a very _ thought his statements, the Kono statement, as well as the statements here in the United States, were very straightforward and from his heart.

And I'm looking forward to working with this man to lead our nations forward. And that's what we spent time discussing today. We had a personal visit on the issue. And he gave his _ he told me what was on his heart about the issue. And I appreciated his candor.

And our jobs are to, obviously, learn lessons from the past _ all of us need to learn lessons from the past _ and lead our nations forward. And that's what the prime minister is doing, in a very capable way.

Listen, we thank you all for coming. Appreciate your time. Have a nice weekend.

Mr. Prime Minister, thank you.