05 December 2001

Bush, Norway's Prime Minister Discuss Middle East, Afghanistan

Washington - President Bush and Norway's Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik discussed the Middle East situation and Afghanistan as they sat down for talks in the Oval Office December 5.

Both leaders agreed that Palestine Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat must act now to arrest and bring to justice those who use terror as a weapon to derail peace.

Arafat "must show leadership. Now is his time. And other nations around the world that are interested in peace must encourage Mr. Arafat, must insist that Mr. Arafat use everything in his power to prevent further terrorist attacks in Israel," Bush said.

Norway's prime minister said earlier in the day he had spoken by phone with Arafat and with Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and had urged them both to halt the violence.

"I urged Arafat to do his utmost to stop the terror, to arrest the people behind the terror. It's time for him now to show leadership. I also urged Prime Minister Sharon to avoid further escalation of violence, because I am afraid that this will bring us into a terrible situation, which can end up in a war," Bondevik said.

"Now they have stopped the bombing of Palestinian targets for the last 26 hours. I hope that this cease-fire will continue, and that there will be a possibility after some time to again establish contacts between the parties in the Middle East. Because the alternative is so bad, to all of us."

On Afghanistan, Bush and Bondevik both agreed that progress has been made at the talks in Bonn among Afghan groups on the formation of an interim government for that country.

Bush said "Our government is pleased with the progress being made," and said it also is pleased that the interim government being formed will include women. "That's a major change for that part of the world and a positive change," he said.

Bondevik said he welcomed the positive outcome of the meeting in Bonn, which, he said, "will pave the way for a political solution for Afghanistan, hopefully also for the women in the country, and also for reconstructions assistance and humanitarian aid."

Norway will play a key role as the chair of the Afghanistan support group from the first of January, next year, Bondevik added.

Both Bush and Bondevik noted the death of three U.S. soldiers killed December 5 in Afghanistan when a satellite-guided U.S. bomb missed its target near Kandahar.

"I want the families to know that they died for a noble and just cause; that the fight against terror is noble and it's just," the President said.

Norway's Prime Minister said he too wanted to express his sympathy and solidarity with the American people.

"We stand firmly by you in fighting terrorism," he said, noting that Norway has offered contributions to the military operations in Afghanistan.

To mark the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Bush announced that the U.S. national anthem will be played at the White House on December 11 at 8:46 a.m., Washington time, the exact time the first hijacked commercial airliner struck the World Trade Center.

Bush encouraged other nations to conduct similar ceremonies to send a clear signal to the terrorists that the United States and its friends and allies will not forget what took place on September 11.

Asked by a reporter to defend his decision to establish military tribunals to try suspected terrorists, the President said the United States will not forgo the rule of law, but said that if for national security reasons it is necessary, he will use such a tribunal to try suspects.

"If we capture an al Qaeda representative, if we capture a murderer, and in order to convict that murderer it would require us giving means of how we knew he was guilty that would jeopardize the security of the United States, he'll be tried in a military tribunal," the President said.

"My job is to protect the United States people from further attack. And that's exactly what I'm going to do and, at the same time, bring al Qaeda to justice."