Addresses and Remarks Federal budget negotiations-1334 Tallahassee, FL, Representative Bill Grant Fact Sheets Commercial space launch policy—1325 White House press corps-1315, 1319, 1335 Czechoslovakia-U.S. trade relations-1333 Statements Other Than Presidential Commercial space launch policy-1325 Persian Gulf crisis, Arab League statement- Soviet Union, Presidential mission-1335 Acts approved by the President-1340 Checklist of White House press releases-1339 WEEKLY COMPILATION OF Published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Register, The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is pub- tions prescribed by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Distribution is made only by the Superintendent of Docu- ments, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents will be furnished There are no restrictions on the republication of material ap- Week Ending Friday, September 7, 1990 Exchange With Reporters Aboard Air Force One on the Persian Gulf Crisis August 10, 1990 Q. What's your reaction to Saddam Hussein's declaration of war against the United States The President. It's not unexpected. He is so isolated in the world, so much backed into a corner by world opinion, which is almost 100 percent against him, that he has to find some mechanism to rally support. And it won't work. His problem is in the Arab world and the Moslem world as well as it is in the rest of the world, so it's a rather frantic ploy to try to gather some support. But it's going to be ineffective; it will not work. Q. Mr. President, are you hearing anything out of the Arab summit that encourages you? The President. Haven't got any reports yet from the Arab summit, one way or another. Q. Mr. President, are you confident there are enough American troops already in Saudi Arabia to be able to withstand any sort of an assault? Basically, do you think American troops can-would be able to win? The President. To be able to withstand an assault on Saudi Arabia? Well, I think Q. Immediately, if it happens now. The President. Well, there's no evidence as of right now that Saddam Hussein would be foolish enough to cross that border. But we have implemented the air power out there, air forces. Saudi has strong air power. Some of the Kuwaiti air force is there in Saudi Arabia. Other elements will be there. We have a carrier there. So, I think that our fighting men that are on the ground there will be safe. But I don't want to heighten concern because I've seen-they have not presented me with any evidence that the troops that have already been moved forward are being reinforced, or that they are preparing to move across the Saudi border. Q. [Inaudible]-obviously now leaving the United States to go over there. Can you please give us more of an idea of the size of the force you're sending and how long you're going to need to ask the American people to keep them there? The President. No. They haven't even gotten there yet, so I can't estimate how long it will be. I might say, since you mention the American people and asking them how long they should be supported, I am very pleased with the strong support for what we've done from the American people-indeed, from around the world. I think it's been very gratifying and I think it means that people understand that this aggression cannot go unchallenged. So, in terms of the numbers, I'd prefer not to go into that. I never believe that it's good to pinpoint numbers of forces. And that's, of course, the way [Secretary of Defense] Dick Cheney and General Powell [Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff] conducted themselves. So, I can't give you any help on that right now, and I'm not going to even give you any estimates on it right now. But it will be a substantial force, and others will be coming in with more forces, too. Q. The numbers of ground troops that we obviously see leaving along with their equipment suggest some preparation for extensive capabilities on the ground. Can you enlighten us is that your plan? They would suggest that you're preparing for something other than The President. Listen, I'd love to see the economic sanctions be so successful that the forces could be withdrawn. And I think they will be successful. But I just can't-my problem is, I just can't estimate the time right now, how long it will take. But there will be substantial force. There will be enough force so that Americans are protected from unwarranted attack, and it won't be just U.S. forces and Saudi forces. The President. Well, I view that as a prime responsibility. But you're right, there have been very disturbing reports of violence against the citizens of several countries. And there was a report of a British airline stewardess having been violated and humiliated by Iraq soldiers. There are scattered reports, but I will say that it's not just against Americans. But I think all countries are concerned about the safety of their citizens, and part of any planning has to be about how to protect citizens. Now, we all know the difficulties of that if somebody. does violence like has already taken place, as a matter of fact. So, it worries me because I do view it as a prime responsibility. But I would say I'm not going to go beyond that and I'm not going to invite further harassment by elevating the value of any citizen. Q. [Inaudible] The President. We're not helpless, no. But as we've seen with hostage situationsand I don't think this is one-sometimes it's very difficult. Q. Mr. President, how do you read Saddam's-[inaudible]—is this just rhetoric? The President. Yes, rhetorical, because he's backed into a corner. He's been isolated by the rest of the world. Nobody supports him. And so, he's trying to rally Arab support generally. The problem he's got is that most of the Arab countries violently disapprove of what he's done. But he doesn't have many options, so he's resorting to radical rhetoric trying to mobilize opinion. But his problem is everybody sees through this. Everybody around the world will see through this rhetoric. The President. No. No, I think it's going well, and my talks with Arab leaders have been very supportive. It's the right thing that you have an Arab meeting of this kind. I salute [Egyptian] President Mubarak for having stayed with the idea. The more such meetings, the better. Maybe, just maybeand I'm not too optimistic-somebody can talk some sense into this man who has been thoroughly censured by the rest of the world. Q. You say that Saddam-[inaudible]— rhetoric, but is there no danger to that kind of rhetoric The President. No, I don't see any danger. Q. [Inaudible]-holy places being turned. over to foreigners? The President. I think it's so extreme that people that are in Saudi Arabia, loyal to the King-they're not going to rise up when a cornered radical tries to mobilize support when he has none. I mean, people see this so clearly that I wouldn't worry about that. Q. Mr. President, speaking of the safety of Americans, what about the safety of Americans outside of Iraq and Kuwait? What are you being told about the possibility of terrorist attacks as a result The President. Well, you always worry about that. As you know, I've worried about that for a long time, long before this incident. And, indeed, Americans are still being held against their will, probably in Lebanon, and this will continue to concern me, wherever they are-whether it's in the Middle East or elsewhere. So, I do worry about extremists taking extreme action. Q. Do you have reason to believe that it's more likely? The President. No specific reason on this case, and no intelligence that has me alarmed. But I continue to worry about it. And we, of course, take the proper warning procedures in our various embassies. But all you can do is make clear to people that there are these dangers. Q. What's your best assessment The President. The best assessment is that I'm very encouraged by the worldwide support for sanctions in the United Nations. I am very encouraged by King Fahd's determination to stand up against this reckless action taken by Saddam Hussein. I am pleased the way the Alliance-our allies are coming through, and I am determined that the economic sanctions that are already beginning to bite against Iraq can be tightened up even more. So, at this juncture, I've got a lot to be grateful for. I'm very pleased with the way our defense forces on short notice answered the call to mobilization that I put out, and the way-the professional manner in which they moved these forces without incident. And so, there's a lot of good things out there. The troubling thing is we're up against a man who is known for his brutality and irra |