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Bush Says Terrorists Will Face Justice
Friday, November 22, 2002
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

Q: Sir, has the U.S. asked you to participate or contribute to any military action in Iraq if it becomes necessary, and what is your view on that?



PRESIDENT PUTIN: I'm very pleased to see the mood the President of the United States is in. It is what we need. Let me assure you that we will work together and our work will be effective.

Now there is something I would like to draw your attention to. And we ultimately discussed this matter with our U.S. colleagues. We should not give a chance to anyone who is either engaged in terror, or who is supporting terror.



WASHINGTON -- AFIS
Al-Nashiri is a killer who has been brought to justice, President Bush said today.

Americans and all freedom-loving people "are one person safer as a result of us finding this guy," Bush said in St. Petersburg, Russia, after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to press reports, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is the suspected mastermind behind the bombing of the USS Cole that killed 17 sailors during a stop in Yemen in October 2000. U.S. officials said he was arrested earlier this month. He is considered one of the highest-ranking al Qaeda leaders captured to date. Al-Nashiri's capture sends the message that the United States and its partners are "making progress on the war against terrorists," Bush said. "We're going to hunt them down one at a time; that it doesn't matter where they hide. As we work with our friends, we will find them and bring them to justice."

Bush stopped in Russia after attending the NATO summit in Prague, Czech Republic, where the alliance invited seven new members into its fold: Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Bush said the mood of the NATO countries is that "Russia is our friend; we've got a lot of interests together; we must continue our cooperation in the war on terror; and the expansion of NATO should be welcomed by the Russian people."
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Related Story:
* President Bush, President Putin Discuss NATO, Iraq
Catherine Palace -- St. Petersburg, Russia
Friday, November 22, 2002

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