President Bush, King reaffirm 'united front' against terrorism

BUSH: It's great to see you. I look forward to our discussions. Jordan is a strong friend of America. And right after September 11, one of the early messages I received was from His Majesty, expressing the condolences of the Jordanian people as well as his own personal condolences.

I'm so pleased with the cooperation we have in fighting terror. I have assured His Majesty that our war is against evil, not against Islam. There are thousands of Muslims who proudly call themselves Americans, and they know what I know, that the Muslim faith is based upon peace and love and compassion, the exact opposite of the teachings of the Al Qaeda organisation, which is based upon evil and hate and destruction.

And finally, Your Majesty, as a welcoming gift, it is my honor to present you with a pen. This is not an ordinary pen since it's the pen I used to sign the free trade agreement with Jordan this morning.

At long last, we have, together, accomplished one of your main objectives in terms of economic cooperation, which is a free trade agreement.

I'm proud of the actions of our leadership in the House and the Senate from both political parties that recognize the importance of trade with Jordan.

And so, Your Majesty, it's now officially the law and here's the pen that signed it.

KING ABDULLAH: Thank you very much, sir. We are grateful.

BUSH:

Welcome back to the Oval Office.

KING ABDULLAH: Thank you.

Sir, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for seeing us today. Obviously, I wished our meeting was under better circumstances, but obviously, we're here to give our full unequivocal support to you and to the people of America, and we will stand by you in these very difficult times.

And we are proud of our friendship. We are proud of the relations we've had with your country over many, many years, as far as His Late Majesty King Hussein. And it's in difficult times like this that true friends must stand with each other. And we'll be by your side, and we'll be there to support you. And I'm here to see what we can do to help.

BUSH: Thank you, sir.

We'll take a few questions.

QUESTION: What's your reaction to the Saudis' announcement that the US can use air bases? And also, do you feel that the military deployment is adequate? Do you feel comfortable...

BUSH: Well, first, we will not be discussing any of our military plans. It is very important for the American people to know that any public discussion of military or intelligence matters could jeopardise any mission that we may be thinking about.

Secondly, I am most pleased with the cooperation we're getting in the Middle East. Clearly, the cooperation with our friends the Jordanians is strong and powerful and we're united.

But the Saudis as well –– not only are they helping stabilise Pakistan, which is a very important part of our diplomatic efforts, they are also cooperating with us in terms of any military planning we might be doing. I'm really pleased. I had very good discussions. I know the King is as well with our Saudi Arabian friends.

QUESTION: Mr President, if I may to both of you, first, Your Highness. How difficult is it for Middle Eastern nations to unite against someone who claims to be speaking and acting on behalf of Islam?

And, Mr. President, what's your reaction to the word today that the Taleban says it has now located Osama Ben Laden and has delivered an invitation to him to leave the country?

BUSH: Well, first of all –– I'll answer first and then Your Majesty. First, there is no negotiation with the Taleban. They heard what I said, and now they can act.

And it's not just Ben Laden that we expect to see and brought to justice, it's everybody associated with his organisation that's in Afghanistan and, not only those directly associated with Ben Laden, any terrorist that is housed and fed in Afghanistan needs to be handed over. And finally, we expect there to be complete destruction of terrorist camps. That's what I told them. That's what I mean. And we expect them to not only hear what I say, but to do something about it.

And I want to tell His Majesty what I said the other day, and then he can respond to your question.

The Al Qaeda people don't represent Islam as far as America is concerned. They represent evil. They're evil people. And that's not the Muslim faith that I know and understand, nor is it the Muslim faith of millions of Americans who are proud and devout Muslims.

KING ABDULLAH: Well, sir, as the president so well put it, what these people stand for is completely against all the principles that Arab Muslims believe in. And so, on those principles alone, I think it'll be very, very easy for people to stand together.

As the president said, this is a fight against evil. And the majority of Arabs and Muslims will band together with our colleagues all over the world to be able to put an end to this horrible scourge of international terrorism, and you'll see a united front.

STAFF: Thank you all very much.

BUSH: Thanks. A good job. Good luck to you.

The Washington Post.