Dutch PM in talks with Bush, comments from both

Описание: (16 Mar 2004) SHOTLIST
1. Wide shot of US President George W. Bush and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende in Oval Office
2. Journalists
3. SOUNDBITE (English) George W. Bush, US President:
"I think terrorists will kill innocent life in order to try to get the world to cower. I think these are cold-blooded killers. I mean, they''ll kill innocent people to try to shake our will. That''s what they want to do. And they''ll never shake the will of the United States. We understand the stakes. And we will work with our friends to bring justice to the terrorists. They have not only killed in Spain, they''ve killed in the United States, they''ve killed in Turkey, they''ve killed in Saudi Arabia. They kill wherever they can. And it''s essential that the free world remain strong and resolute and determined."
4. Journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) George W. Bush, US President:
"I would ask them to think about the Iraqi citizens who don''t want people to withdraw, because they want to be free. And I would remind the Dutch citizens that al-Qaida has an interest in Iraq for a reason, and that interest is they realise this is a front in the war on terror and they fear the spread of freedom and democracy in places like the greater Middle East. They can''t stand the thought of free societies springing up in the Middle East, because they understand a free society is against their very wishes. And so it''s essential that we remain side-by-side with the Iraqi people as they begin the process of self-government. And we''re making good progress."
6. Journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Peter Balkenende, Netherlands Prime Minister:
"And it is important that the world society, international community, stands shoulder-to-shoulder and shows its solidarity to fight against these terrible attacks. And we share that same view and we will work together."
8. Journalists
9. Wide shot of Bush and Balkenede

STORYLINE

US President George W. Bush on Tuesday said the United States and its allies must remain "strong and resolute and determined" in battling terrorism.

Bush made the comment after Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar''s conservatives suffered a shock election defeat, becoming the first government that backed Washington in Iraq to be voted from office.

The defeat came in the wake of the terrorist bombings in Madrid that killed more than 200 people.

Most Spaniards opposed Aznar''s support of the Iraq war and many believed he made Spain a target for terrorists by his pro-US policies.

Speaking in the Oval Office after meeting Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, another ally in the Iraq war, Bush vowed that terrorists would "never shake the will of the United States" because it "understands the stakes".

The president told reporters terrorists were "cold blooded killers" who were trying to shake the will of the international community.

He urged US allies to remain strong and determined in the campaign against terror.

When told by a reporter that many people in the Netherlands wanted to withdraw the nation''s troops from Iraq, Bush said he''d ask the Dutch people "to think about the Iraqi citizens who don''t want people to withdraw, because they they want people to be free".

But in the end, he acknowledged, it was up to the Dutch government to decide whether to keep troops in Iraq.

For his part, the prime minister said it was important that the international community stood "shoulder to shoulder and shows its solidarity to fight against" terrorism.

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