“It’s a beautiful day” said George Bush as he introduced Prime Minister Gordon Brown to the assembled media in the Rose Garden. He spoke of how he had discussed many issues with the British Prime Minister from the continuing war on terror to the situation in Zimbabwe.
Economy was high on the agenda as were discussions about the environment. With regards the environment the President said he was looking into “developing technologies” to tackle climate change “without wrecking our economy”. President Bush specifically singled out India and China who he said must play a more participative role in any agreement to tackle climate change.
Gordon Brown spoke too of how important there was a “special relationship” between the two countries especially when it came to fighting global terrorism and said the “World owes George Bush a huge debt of gratitude”. He said the bond between the two countries was “stronger than ever” and that “no international partnership has served the world better than the special relationship between our two countries, the United States and the United Kingdom”. With oil rising above $112 per barrel, Brown said that by encouraging oil producers to increase output the price of the important energy resource would be reduced.
Regards the debacle of an election in Zimbabwe, President Bush was critical of the Mugabe regime. “What kind of an election is it when you won’t let the will of the people be known?” he said. “I appreciate those in the region who have spoken out on this issue, I appreciate that some in the region have spoken out against violence” but he said “more leaders in the region need to speak out, and the United Nations and the AU [African Union] must play an active role in resolving the issue in Zimbabwe”
Mr Bush said he “shared frustrations” with regards the situation in Darfur and that UN security forces were slow in arriving. But President Bush has made the decision of not placing US troops on the ground, placing responsibility in the hands of the UN and the AU. Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia were also highlighted in his address as Mr Bush said he had discussed increased efforts to train healthcare workers in those African countries, specifically in attempts to curb malaria, HIV and AIDS. Gordon Brown talked of the “scandal of avoidable deaths” resulting from malaria and said he would join with the US in committing resources to tackle the health problems in Africa.
The focus also turned to Iran and its continuing nuclear policy. Gordon Brown said that Iran continued to “defy the international community” and said that both the US and the UK would seek to increase further sanctions against Iran and “ensure these sanctions are effectively implemented”. He said that he would also discuss these issues with other EU leaders to move the process forward. President Bush linked the issues of Iran and Iraq saying that failure in Iraq would send a message to Iran that the US and its allies were not committed in stopping the developing of nuclear weapons by rogue states. “Failure in Iraq would send a message to our friends that you can’t count on America” he said. But despite having taken longer than he expected President Bush was determined to complete the mission. Success in Iraq would be a “significant blow to al Qaeda and Iran’s ambitions” he said. And he said the fight was “worth it”. He added that “so for as long as I’m the President my measure of success is victory and success...I’ve only got ten more months of the Presidency”. Mr Brown said that there was “no artificial timetable” and asked that we “not forget that Iraq is a democracy” and that there is “economic development” in the country.
The ‘special relationship’ that was mentioned several times throughout the press conference and the British Prime Minister was asked if it would continue after the upcoming Presidential elections. Gordon Brown said he was “Delighted to meet the three presidential candidates” but said he was confident that who ever the new leader was “the relationship between Britain and America will remain strong and steadfast”. He would not commit himself as to who he found more amenable adding, “It is for Americans to decide who their president is going to be”. But for now President Bush insisted that he and Mr Brown had a “great relationship” and that they would continue to fight terrorism which he described as the “fundamental threat facing civilisation in the 21st century and Prime Minister Brown sees the threat, he‘s lived through the threat, so our relationship is very special” [CNN / BBC / Sky News].
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