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[Page 300-301]
Pages 285-331
Week Ending Friday, March 1, 2002
Notice--Continuation of the National Emergency Relating to Cuba and of
the Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage and
Movement of Vessels
February 26, 2002
On March 1, 1996, by Proclamation 6867, President Clinton declared a
national emergency to address the disturbance or threatened disturbance
of international relations caused by the February 24, 1996, destruction
by the Government of Cuba of two unarmed U.S.-registered civilian
aircraft in international airspace north of Cuba. In July 1996 and on
subsequent occasions, the Government of Cuba stated its intent to
forcefully defend its sovereignty against any U.S.-registered vessels or
aircraft that might enter Cuban territorial waters or airspace while
involved in a flotilla and peaceful protest. Since these events, the
Government of Cuba has not demonstrated that it will refrain from the
future use of reckless and excessive force against U.S. vessels or
aircraft that may engage in memorial activities or peaceful protest
north of Cuba. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing the
national emergency with respect to Cuba and the emergency authority
relating to the regulation of the anchorage and movement of vessels set
out in Proclamation 6867.
This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and
transmitted to the Congress.
George W. Bush
The White House,
February 26, 2002.
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 12:11 p.m., February
27, 2002]
[[Page 301]]
Note: This notice was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on
February 27, and it was published in the Federal Register on February
28.
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Week Ending Friday, March 1, 2002
Message to the Congress on Continuation of the National Emergency With
Respect to Cuba
February 26, 2002
To the Congress of the United States:
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d))
provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless,
prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President
publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice
stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the
anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the
enclosed notice to the Federal Register for publication, which states
that the emergency declared with respect to the Government of Cuba's
destruction of two unarmed U.S.-registered civilian aircraft in
international airspace north of Cuba on February 24, 1996, is to
continue in effect beyond March 1, 2002.
George W. Bush
The White House,
February 26, 2002.
Note: This message was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on
February 27.
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Week Ending Friday, March 1, 2002
Remarks Following a Roundtable Discussion on Welfare Reform and an
Exchange With Reporters in Charlotte, North Carolina
February 27, 2002
The President. We are honored--I am honored to be here. We just had
a great discussion with folks here in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County. I
am very impressed by the welfare-to-work program that has been
instituted. There's obviously a sense of corporate responsibility in
this community that is powerful, that recognizes that the bottom line is
one thing but taking care of their fellow humans is another. The
county--leadership in the county is forward-thinking and aggressive as
to providing resources to help people, help each individual succeed.
They've got a spirit of innovation here in this county that needs to be
heralded because of the successes.
So I'm proud to be here. But I'm most proud of the individuals who
have made a conscious decision to improve their lives and, therefore, in
many cases, improve the lives of their children: Women who have overcome
terrible odds to become successful role models, articulate spokespeople
for themselves, their families, a system that cares about their
successes.
And so I want to thank you all for sharing with me your stories and
your history. Ella, today she works at the Park Hotel. She was down and
out. She made a decision to succeed. She received the help necessary.
And she read us a poem today that was so moving to all of us that we
asked her to share that, if you don't mind.
[At this point, discussion participant Ella Currence recited her poem
entitled ``The Struggle to Independence.'']
Q. Sir----
The President. A couple of quick ones.
Republic of Georgia
Q. Yes, if you don't mind. Do you think there's Al Qaida influence
in Georgia?
The President. I do. So long as there's Al Qaida influence anywhere,
we will help the host countries rout them out and bring them to justice.
Q. What specifically are we doing to help Georgia?
The President. Mainly, equipment and technical advice. Obviously, in
order for us to work closely with governments that have been invaded by
Al Qaida cells, they're going to have to request--request help. And
we've made it very clear that either you're with us or you're against
us, and we've made it very clear that we hope that nations step up and
do their jobs.
Obviously, we've got a presence in the Philippines because there's
an Al Qaida-affiliated group of people there. And we've had some
successes in Yemen, where we're working. We're working around the world.
When this war started, I told the American people that there would
be a variety of fronts
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on the war against terrorism, some of which would be very visible, some
of which we wouldn't see much about. And the American people need to
know that, one, we're maintaining our coalition and the efforts of the
coalition, and two, any time we find terrorist organizations like Al
Qaida, we will do everything we can to bring them to justice.
And so, yes.
Colombia
Q. Mr. President, what about Colombia? What can you do there? You
have some legal constraints as to how far you can go.
The President. Well, we did have legal constraints. We were
providing advice to the Colombian Government as to drug eradication, and
we need to keep it that way. The law is very clear. If the Colombian
Government decides to take military action against the FARC, which
they--it looks like they may decide to do and continue to do, that is
their business to do so. I applaud the efforts of the President, by the
way, to try to bring order to the country. But we are restricted by law,
and I intend to adhere to that law.
National Debt Ceiling
Q. Mr. President, what did you tell the congressional leaders this
morning about the debt limit? And what ceiling are you comfortable with?
The President. Well, we'll leave the size of the debt ceiling to the
Treasury officials. They will make the recommendation. But I told the--
recommended to the Members of the legislation that we not play politics
with the debt ceiling, that we're at war, we've got troops all around
the world, we've got men and women whose lives are at risk. And now is
not the time to be playing politics or using the debt ceiling as an
excuse for some individual's cause.
We need to have a good, sane policy. And I think the Members there
at breakfast agreed with me, that now is an inappropriate time to play
politics with the debt ceiling. It's happened in the past. Both parties
are guilty about playing politics with the debt ceiling. And I urge the
Congress deal with the debt ceiling, deal with it in a professional way,
and move it on.
Yes, Terry [Terry Moran, ABC News].
Gallup Poll in Arab Nations
Q. Mr. President, the Gallup organization has run a poll in Arab
nations showing that there is deep suspicion and resentment of the
United States. What do you make of that? How big a problem? What can you
do about it?
The President. Well, Terry, I saw that, briefly looked at--I haven't
analyzed the sampling and who was asked and all that stuff. But here's
my attitude. If the United States shows strong leadership when it comes
to fighting terrorist organizations, the world will follow. And if we're
determined and resolute at routing out murderers and killers, people who
want to destabilize legitimate governments, the world, regardless of the
nature of their population, the religious nature of their population,
will respect that.
Secondly, there is no question that we must do a better job of
telling the compassionate side of the American story. And I will give
you one example. This kind and great Nation provides 300,000 tons of
food a year to starving North Korean citizens. And yet, the North Korean
citizen has no idea that we provided the food. We don't even know
whether or not the food has gotten to the starving North Korean people.
All we know is, we made a strong commitment, followed through on that
commitment.
My point, Terry, is that it is essential for us to not assume that
the kindness of the country is known. And therefore, we've got to do a
better job of telling the story. And I'll give you one good example of
how we perhaps can do that. Colin Powell went on international MTV, and
the first question he was asked, by a lady from Brazil--and I'll
paraphrase--was basically, ``Why is the nation of America so evil?'' And
it floored him, like it would floor most Americans to think that people
would think of our Nation is evil, when, in fact, defending freedom is
good. We're the largest supplier of help and food and medicine in the
world. But Colin was able, in his classy fashion, to answer the question
and all of a sudden was part of an education process.
So we've got work to do. And people will realize we're peaceful, yet
we're determined
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and patient, and we use our strength for positive reasons.
Last question. I know you're awaiting my speech.
2002 Elections
Q. Mr. President, later today you're going to a fundraiser. As we
move deeper into an election year that's also a year of war against
terrorism, how much support can Republicans count on from their popular
President?
The President. I'm interested in making sure that the Speaker of the
House is Denny Hastert. I've made that very clear. I think my job will
be easier if Denny Hastert is the Speaker. I'd like to see Trent Lott be
the majority leader, and I will work to those ends.
Note: The President spoke at 11:01 a.m. at the Chamber of Commerce. In
his remarks, he referred to President Andres Pastrana of Colombia. He
also referred to FARC, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia. A
tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.
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Week Ending Friday, March 1, 2002
Remarks to the Chamber of Commerce in Charlotte
February 27, 2002
Thank you. Only in America. [Laughter] Frances, thanks. I appreciate
your story; I appreciate your courage; and I appreciate your
introduction. I'm also thankful that Tommy Thompson agreed to leave the
State of Wisconsin to come and help make sure that Health and Human
Services was run in the right spirit, in the right, compassionate
attitude, one in which we fight for Federal funds that are reasonable
and realistic but understand that the true wisdom and strength of the
country is at the local level.
Speaking about the local level, I want to thank the mayor and Parks.
Thank you very much for being here, as well. I appreciate both you all's
leadership. The innovation that takes place in this community is
positive and strong, and that's why we're here, to herald a program that
actually works. Sometimes they sound good on paper. They read good, but
the results are short. And that's not the case in Mecklenburg County
when it comes to putting people to work. So I want to thank you all for
your leadership.
I had the privilege of flying down with Sue Myrick and Robin Hayes
today on the airplane, two really good United States Congressmen from
the State of North Carolina, people who understand that North
Carolinians can best run North Carolina, and not people out of
Washington, DC. So I want to thank you all for coming. And I want to
thank Rodney Carroll, as well, for being here. I want to thank Carroll
Gray and members of the Chamber.
A lot of times I talk about responsibility, ushering in a period of
responsible behavior in America. There is such thing as corporate
responsibility, corporate America not only making sure the balance
sheets are real, that all assets and liabilities are exposed for
shareholder and employee alike. But there's something about saying,
``I'm going to do something in the community in which I live,'' working
hard to take the extra step to employ somebody, to keep them on, to help
them work through their difficulties. This is a community in which
corporate North Carolina or corporate Charlotte has heard that call, and
I want to thank the Chamber for being on the leading edge of encouraging
corporate responsibility.
First, let me tell you that, as I said a while ago, the state of
this Union is very strong. It is clear to me, when I sat in the room
today, that the state of the State of North Carolina is strong and
vibrant, at least in this corner of the State, if not the whole State.
But the state of our Union is strong. We are steady; we're resolved; and
we are a determined nation.
Other Popular 2002 Presidential Documents Documents:
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