THE PRESIDENT: Welcome. It's good to see
everybody. Thank you all for coming. We want to
thank you for coming to the White House to celebrate
Eid. It's so nice of you to be here. It reminds
us how much we all have in common, how similar boys and girls are, no
matter what their religion may be. So thanks for being here
today. We're really thrilled you're here.
Eid is a time of joy, after a season of fasting and prayer and
reflection. Each year, the end of Ramadan means celebration
and thanksgiving for millions of Americans. And your joy
during this season enriches the life of our great
country. This year, Eid is celebrated at the same time as
Hanukkah and Advent. So it's a good time for people of these
great faiths, Islam, Judaism and Christianity, to remember how much we
have in common: devotion to family, a commitment to care for those in
need, a belief in God and His justice, and the hope for peace on
earth.
We also share a custom I know all of you are excited about, and
that's giving gifts to children. And after this is over, I
have a little gift for you, from the White House. This
season is meant to be a time of rejoicing, as well as a time of
generosity. I'm proud that our country, during Eid, is
helping the people of Afghanistan. And I'm proud that the
children of America, through America's Fund for Afghan Children, are
giving food and clothes and toys to the children of Afghanistan.
The people of Afghanistan have suffered so much, and we're
committed to helping them in their time of hardship and in their time
of need. These are challenging days for our nation, but
holidays like this one remind us about how much we have to be thankful
for, and that God delights in joy and generosity of men and women and
children. People of every faith are welcome here in the
people's house. People of every background are welcome to
come here to the White House.
I want to thank you all for coming, and I'd like to go read, if you
don't mind, read from a book to you. Is that
okay? How about that. Let's go do that, and then
we'll go back over here. We've got a special gift for you.
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for
coming. We're getting ready to leave. I may
answer a few questions if you have some. Stretch, and then
Ron.
Q Mr. President, have you -- with the
campaign against the Taliban winding down to a very small area of
Afghanistan, will you consider this operation a success if Osama bin
Laden is at large?
THE PRESIDENT: Osama bin Laden is going to be brought to
justice. It may happen tomorrow, it may happen in a month,
it may happen in a year. But he is going to be brought to
justice. He's on the run. He thinks he can hide,
but he can't. We've been at this operation now for about two
and a half months, and we've made incredible progress. And
one of the objectives I've said, in this theater, in all theaters for
that matter, is that we want al Qaeda killers brought to
justice. And we'll bring him to justice.
Q What do you know, sir, about whether he's
still in Afghanistan? And have you spoken to the Pakistani government
about helping you to track him down if, in fact, he has fled across the
border?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the Pakistanis will help us, and
they are helping us look for not only one -- Osama bin Laden, but for
all the al Qaeda murderers and killers. They will be brought
to justice. And it's just a matter of time, as far as I'm
concerned. We've got all kinds of reports that he's in a
cave, that he's not in a cave, that he's escaped, that he hasn't
escaped. And there's all kinds of speculation.
But when the dust clears, we'll find out where he is, and he'll be
brought to justice.
Q Will you order a military tribunal for
him?
THE PRESIDENT: You know, one thing at a time,
Ron. I do have the option of military tribunals, because I
think it's going to be a way to protect national security
matters. But I'll make that judgment when we bring him to
justice.
Q On another matter, sir, have investigators
concluded the anthrax used in the mailings have a domestic
source? Are you looking for --
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we're still looking on
that. We've all got different feelings about
it. I -- and we're gathering as much information. And as
soon as we make definitive conclusions, we'll share it with the
American people.
Q -- what the next steps might be in
fighting terrorism in other countries or regions?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, we're looking. I mean,
any time there is somebody harboring a killer or a terrorist, we will
work with them to bring those people to justice. And one of
the things I won't do, of course, is tell the enemy what our next move
will be. I'm working to build -- to keep our coalition
strong.
Colin Powell and myself and others in the administration are
constantly talking to world leaders to encourage them to cut off money,
or disrupt killer cells that might be hiding in their
countries. We've made great progress. We've
arrested over -- I think it's over 300 now. We're beginning
to shut down financial institutions around the world.
Not every operation needs to be a military operation to be
successful against the terrorist networks. And I'm pleased
to tell you that the coalition is working cooperatively. And
we're sharing a lot of intelligence between nations, and it's having an
effect.
Q So might Iraq be next, probably?
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, no, I'm not going to tell the enemy
what's next. They just need to know that so long as they plan, and
have got plans to murder innocent people, America will be breathing
down their neck.
Q Mr. President, what are you learning about
John Walker's involvement in the Taliban or al Qaeda, and should he
face the death penalty if he's found to be a --
THE PRESIDENT: I'm going to let the appropriate law
enforcement agencies make recommendations to me. He has been
questioned, properly questioned by the U.S. government. I
have yet to see the transcript myself. But we'll make the
decision on what to do with Mr. Walker. He is a U.S.
citizen. Obviously, I've said that U.S. citizens will not go
into military tribunals. And so we'll make the determination
whether or not he stays within the military system or comes into the
civil justice system, the civil system in America.
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