Bush Arrives in Europe for Whirlwind Tour
M A D R I D, Spain, June 12, 2001 -- President Bush opened his first officialtrip to Europe today, eager to sell his missile defensesystem, support NATO expansion and assure U.S. allies that despitetrans-Atlantic tensions, they have a "trustworthy friend" inWashington.
Upon landing at Madrid's airport, the president and first ladyLaura Bush were greeted by Foreign Minister Josep Pique and a fewdignitaries, then headed to Zarzuela Palace to meet with King JuanCarlos and Queen Sofia. The palace sits on a game reserve, and deerand wild boar roamed the grounds. After leaving the royal couple, Bush traveled by helicopter toAznar's ranch, Los Quintos de Mora. He dispensed with his jacketand tie to stroll the grounds with Aznar before going inside theranch house for their meeting.
Playing With the Language
Earlier, the president mispronounced the prime minister's nameduring a taped interview with state-run television.
He said helooked forward to meeting Aznar — but the name came out as Anzar.Bush also had mangled grammar, with gender disagreement andemphasis on the wrong syllables.
"I have to practice this very lovely language," Bush told theinterviewer before switching to English. "If I don't practice I amgoing to destroy this language."
Trying to Find a Positive
European leaders have criticized Bush's condemnation of the 1997Kyoto treaty on global warming and expect to raise the issue withhim. The president also faces questions on his proposedmissile-defense plan, trade disputes, peacekeeping troops in theBalkans and expanding NATO's membership.
"I'm used to explaining positions that some people don't agreewith," Bush told a group of European journalists Monday. "Thathas never prevented me from finding a positive. And the positivesin our relationship with NATO and the European Union and individualcountries far outweigh some of the negatives that occur because wedon't agree on every issue."
Bush talks Wednesday with NATO allies in Brussels, Belgium. OnThursday, he'll be in Sweden to attend a summit of U.S. andEuropean Union officials. After a state visit in Poland on Friday,Bush travels to Slovenia to meet with Russian President VladimirPutin.
Even though he's new on the international scene, Bush said, "Ithink the Europeans are going to find that they have got atrustworthy friend in the Bush administration, one that will staysteady and true."
A Tough Sell
In his first meeting with Putin, Bush hopes to bolster his casefor missile defense and convince Russia's president that the 1972Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the United States and formerSoviet Union is "obsolete" and prevents the development ofsystems aimed to make the world safer.
"The Cold War attitude that Russia and the United States willmake the world more peaceful by mutually assured destruction, Ithink ought to be set aside," Bush said.
Threats on the horizon are about biological, chemical andinformation warfare, he said.
"There is a new threat as well," Bush said, "and that is thecapacity of some nations to be able to point a missile at theUnited States or allies, Russia or anywhere else in the Europeancontinent and therefore hold us hostage."
Committed to Peace in the Balkans
On other issues, Bush said he will reassure European leadersthat he remains committed to peacekeeping in the Balkans. "We camein together, we will leave together," he said. He said he'll tell the Europeans that the United States stronglysupports NATO, but does not believe that any nation should haveveto power over the expansion of the alliance. On trade, Bush said he would talk about ways to resolve disputessoon after they arise. "I will reiterate my strong belief thattrade, active trade, is beneficial for the United States economy aswell as our trading partners." Before he left Monday evening, Bush promised new technologicalinitiatives on global warming, working to deflect internationalcriticism from European leaders about his decision in March to pullthe United States out of negotiations to finalize the Kyoto treatyon global warming. In a statement delivered in the Rose Garden, Bush said theglobal warming treaty was "fatally flawed" and that heeding itwould damage the U.S. economy while exempting two of the world'sbiggest polluters, China and India. He urged a united global front to confront climate change,citing a clear link between man-made pollutants and increases inthe Earth's surface temperature. But he stopped short of urgingmandatory restrictions on emissions and renewed his earliercriticism of the treaty. "We do not know how much effect natural fluctuations in climatemay have had on warming. We do not know how much our climate could,or will change in the future. We do not know how fast change willoccur, or even how some of our actions could impact it," Bushsaid.