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Bush, Robertson Talk NATO Summit, Expansion, Transformation
Monday, October 21, 2002
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

“The stated policy of the United States is regime change because, for 11 years, Saddam Hussein has ignored the United Nations and the free world. For 11 years, he has -- he said, look, you passed all these resolutions; I could care less what you passed. And that's why the stated policy of our government, the previous administration and this administration, is regime change -- because we don't believe he is going to change. However, if he were to meet all the conditions of the United Nations, the conditions that I've described very clearly in terms that everybody can understand, that in itself will signal the regime has changed.”

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
President Bush and NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson met today to discuss next month's NATO summit, which Robertson said will be the most important in the alliance's history.

"NATO is an incredibly important part of U.S. foreign policy," Bush said following their meeting in the Oval Office. "I appreciate the alliance." Bush said he and Robertson talked about NATO expansion and a brief the secretary-general will receive in a few weeks on U.S. views.

Robertson said Bush has shown "his and his administration's commitment to NATO and to the strength of this trans-Atlantic alliance that has bound together these democratic and freedom-loving states over all of the years."

The NATO summit in Prague, Czech Republic, "will be a transformation summit where the alliance must transform itself to deal with the threats and the challenges of the 21st century," Robertson said. It will include new members, "a robust enlargement," new capabilities to deal with terrorism and other "challenges and nightmares that we may face ahead in the future."
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Related Story:
* President Discusses Foreign Policy Matters with NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson
The White House
Monday, October 21, 2002

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