Remarks welcoming general Tommy R. Franks and an exchange with reporters in Crawford, Texas

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Dec 31, 2001

Operation Enduring Freedom

Q. Mr. President, is there a timetable in your mind for withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan? Or as long as bin Laden is still on the run, do you imagine them being there indefinitely?

The President. I imagine us being there for quite a long period of time. But my timetable is going to be set by Tommy Franks. Tommy is in charge of the military operations; he's in charge of the military. I'll let Tommy speak for himself, but I will tell you this: We won't be making political decisions about what to do with our military.

I gave Tommy a mission; it was a well-defined mission. And Tommy is in charge of getting that mission done, and when Tommy says, "Mission complete, Mr. President," that's when we start moving troops out. But until he says that, I am--I will make the case to the American people that we're doing the right thing.

Q. What's your definition of the mission being complete in Afghanistan, sir?

The President. In Afghanistan? Well, Taliban gone, the country secure, the country stable; that--you know, Al Qaida cells rounded up, Taliban fighters brought to justice; the over 6,000 troops, prisoners being held--prisoners of war being held by our allies interrogated, finger-printed--I mean, there's a lot to do. And the American people just must understand, when I said that we need to be patient, that I meant it. And we're going to be there for a while. And I don't know the exact moment when we leave, David, but it's not until this mission is complete.

The world must know that this administration will not blink in the face of danger and will not tire when it comes to completing the missions that we said we would do. The world will learn that when the United States is harmed, we will follow through. The world will see that when we put a coalition together that says, "Join us," I mean it. And when I ask others to participate, I mean it. And in order to lead the coalition, we must show that we will complete the mission. And part of that mission is, as Tommy will tell you, is to make sure that Afghanistan is a stable country.

And he's got a lot to say on that if you want him to talk about it. Okay, bring the man to the mike.

Q. General Franks, could you talk about how you took evasive action when you were fired upon the other day? There was a report yesterday that your helicopter was fired upon.

Q. You should get right to that, sir, after you do the first question. [Laughter]

General Franks. Let me take that-let me take your question first. As we look around, today we have more than 50 nations involved in this coalition effort in and around Afghanistan, providing support and so forth. We have 26 nations represented at our headquarters down in Tampa, Florida. We have 16 nations represented on the ground or in the air or at sea around Afghanistan.

And it's interesting that over the past 10 days, the numbers I've just described have grown, rather than shrinking. I think the view is that Afghanistan is a part of a global effort against terrorism, that we'll stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to do what the President has said. We will do away with the Taliban, and that has been done. We now have a legitimate interim government in Kabul.