The President's news conference

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Dec 27, 2004

The President. Right, thank you. If I had to guess, I would guess that Usama bin Laden is in a remote region on the Afghan-Pakistan border. But I don't have to guess at the damage we have done to his organization. Many of his senior operators have been killed or detained. Pakistan GOvernment has been aggressive in pursuit of Al Qaida targets in Waziristan.

And I appreciate the work of President Musharraf. He came the other day, on a Saturday morning, to the White House, and it was an opportunity to thank him once again for some of the bold steps he's taken. And A1 Qaida is dangerous, no question about it. But we've got a good strategy, and it's a strategy that requires cooperation with other nations, and the cooperation has been great when it comes to sharing intelligence and cutting off finances and arresting people or killing people. We'll stay on the hunt.

In terms of the second part of your--oh, the damage. Look, we are a nation of laws and to the extent that people say, "Well, America is no longer a nation of laws," that does hurt our reputation. But I think it's an unfair criticism. As you might remember, our courts have made a ruling. They looked at the jurisdiction, the right of people in Guantanamo to have habeas review, and so we're now complying with the court's decisions. We want to fully vet the court decision, because I believe I have the fight to set up military tribunals. And so the law is working to determine what Presidential powers are available and what's not available. We're reviewing the status of the people in Guantanamo on a regular basis. I think 200 and some-odd have been released. But you've got to understand the dilemma we're in. These are people that got scooped up off a battlefield, attempting to kill U.S. troops. I want to make sure, before they're released, that they don't come back to kill again.

I think it's important to let the world know that we fully understand our obligations in a society that honors rule of law to do that. But I also have an obligation to protect the American people, to make sure we understand the nature of the people that we hold, whether or not there's possible intelligence we can gather from them that we could then use to protect us. So we'll continue to work the issue hard.

Let's see here, yes, Hutch [Ron Hutcheson, Knight Ridder]. Go ahead and yell it out, Hutch.

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld

Q. Going for another new face, huh?

The President. Yes. [Laughter]

Q. I'd like to go back to Secretary Rumsfeld--

The President. It's not a pretty face. [Laughter]

Q. Thank you. [Laughter] You talked about the big picture elements of the Secretary's job, but did you find it offensive that he didn't take the time to personally sign condolence letters to the families of troops killed in Iraq? And if so, why is that an offense that you're willing to overlook?

The President. Listen, I know how--I know Secretary Rumsfeld's heart. I know how much he cares for the troops. He and his wife go out to Walter Reed and Bethesda all the time to provide comfort and solace. I have seen the anguish in his--or heard the anguish in his voice and seen his eyes when we talk about the danger in Iraq and the fact that youngsters are over there in harm's way. And he is--he's a good, decent man. He's a caring fellow. Sometimes, perhaps, his demeanor is rough and gruff, but beneath that rough and gruff, no-nonsense demeanor is a good human being who cares deeply about the military and deeply about the grief that war causes.