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LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Obama & Hollande News Conference. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired November 24, 2015 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[12:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the president of the French Republic.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He wants a much more vigorous campaign against ISIS from President Obama. The question is whether or not he will get it.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Jim -

ACOSTA: We'll hear that here in just a few minutes, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Let's jump in. Watch the two as they take their podiums.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: Please be seated. President Hollande, it has been an honor to welcome to the White House before in happier times than this. But, as Americans, we stand by our friends in good times and in bad, no matter what.

So on behalf of the American people, I want to once again express our deepest condolences to you and all of the people of France for the heinous attacks that took place in Paris.

We are here today to declare that the United States and France stand united in total solidarity to deliver justice to these terrorists and those who sent them and to defend our nations.

In that spirit, with heavy but strong hearts, I welcome you here today.

Francois, with your understanding, my statement today will be a little longer than usual. I have been traveling and this is an important moment for our nations and for the world.

This barbaric terrorist group, ISIL or Daesh, and its murderous ideology poses a serious threat to all of us. It cannot be tolerated. It must be destroyed. And we must do it together. This is the unity of purpose that brings us here today.

On your visit here last year, you said that the French love America. Well, we love the French. Sometimes, we Americans are too shy to say so but we're not feeling shy today.

We Americans love France because we dedicate ourselves to the same ideals, that all people deserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

France is our oldest ally. You helped us win our independence. We helped liberate France from fascism. We owe our freedom to each other.

We love France for your spirit and your culture and your joie de vivre. Since the attacks, Americans have recalled their own visits to Paris, visiting the Eiffel Tower or walking along the Seine. We know these places. They're part of our memories, woven into the fabric of our lives and our culture.

I am very grateful to the French people for the hospitality they have always shown me and when they welcomed Michelle and our daughters on their first visit to the City of Light.

By my bed in the residence is a picture of me and Michelle in Luxembourg Gardens, kissing.

(LAUGHTER)

Those are the memories we have of Paris, as early on I had no gray hair.

So when tragedy struck that evening, our hearts broke, too. In that stadium and the concert hall, in those restaurants and cafes, we see our own. In the face of the French people, we see ourselves. And that's why so many Americans have embraced the blue, white and red and that's why Americans had candlelight vigils, have joined together to sing "La Marseillaise."

We've never forgotten how the French people stood with us after 9/11 and today we stand with you. Nous sommes tous Francais.

It's been noted that the terrorists did not direct their attacks against the French government or military; rather, they focused their violence on the very spirit of France and, by extension, on all liberal democracies. This was an attack on our free and open societies, where people come together to celebrate and sing and compete.

And targeting venues where people come together from around the world, killing citizens of nearly 20 countries, including America, this was an attack on the very idea that people of different races and religions and backgrounds can live together in peace.

In short, this was not only a strike against one of the world's great cities, it was an attack against the world itself. It's the same madness that has slaughtered the innocent from Nigeria to the Sinai, from Lebanon to Iraq. It is a scourge that threatens all of us.

[12:05:06] And that's why, for more than a year, the United States, France and our coalition of some 65 nation have been united in one mission: to destroy these ISIL terrorists and defeat their vile ideology.

Today, President Hollande and I reviewed our coalition's progress. More than 8,000 airstrikes, combined with local partners on the ground, have pushed ISIL back from territory in both Iraq and Syria.

Today, President Hollande and I agree that our nations must do even more together. U.S. assistance has supported recent French strikes in Syria and we're going to keep stepping up that coordination.

And as we saw with the attack in Mali, the terrorist threat goes beyond ISIL. This week I'll sign legislation to sustain our support, including airlift and intelligence to allies like France as we work together to root out terrorist networks in Africa.

We'll do even more to prevent attacks at home. Building on our recent intelligence agreement, the united states will continue to quickly share threat information with France.

And in the wake of Paris and with the threats in Belgium, there is also a growing recognition among European nations that they need to ramp up additional efforts to prevent the flow of foreign terrorist fighters.

As part of that, I am calling on the European Union to finally implement the agreement that has been long in the works that would require airlines to share passenger information so we can do more to stop foreign terrorist fighters from entering our countries undetected.

And I am prepared to send teams of our experts to work on this with our European partners to make sure we're redoubling our efforts together.

Regarding the broader crisis in Syria, President Hollande and I agree that the Russia's strikes against the moderate opposition only bolster the Assad regime, whose brutality has helped to fuel the rise of ISIL. We agree that Russia could play a more constructive role if it were to shift the focus of its strike to defeating ISIL.

And likewise, President Hollande and I agree that the best way to bring peace to Syria is through the principles reaffirmed in Vienna, which require active Russian support for a cease-fire and a political transition away from Assad to a democratically elected government that can unite the Syrian people against terrorists.

Finally, Francois and I understand that one of our greatest weapons in the fight against ISIL is the strength and resilience of our people. And here I want to speak directly to the American people.

What happened in Paris is truly horrific. I understand that people worry that something similar could happen here. I want you to know that we will continue to do everything in our power to defend our nation.

Since 9/11, we have taken extraordinary measures to strengthen our homeland security. Our counterterrorism, homeland security and law enforcement professionals, federal, state, and local, they are tireless. They have prevented attacks and they have saved lives. They are working every hour, every day, for our security.

They did so before Paris. They do so now and they will not stop. They are the best in the world. But it's not just our security professionals who will defeat ISIL and other terrorist groups. As Americans, we all have a role to play in how we respond to threats.

Groups like ISIL cannot defeat us on the battlefield, so they try to terrorize us at home, against soft targets, against civilians, against innocent people. Even as we are vigilant, we cannot and we will not succumb to fear nor can we allow fear to divide us, for that's how terrorists win. We cannot give them the victory of changing how we go about living our lives.

[12:09:48] The good news is Americans are resilient. We mourned the lives lost at Fort Hood, the Boston Marathon, in Chattanooga but we did not waver. Our communities have come together. We've gone to ball games and we've gone to concerts and we've gone shopping and men and women who want to serve our country continue to go to military recruiting offices.

We are vigilant, we take precautions, but we go about our business. To those who want to harm us, our actions have shown that we have too much resolve and too much character. Americans will not be terrorized.

I say all this because another part of being vigilant, another part of defeating terrorists like ISIL is upholding the rights and freedoms that define our two great republics. And that includes freedom of religion. That includes equality before the law.

There have been times in our history, in moments of fear, when we have failed to uphold our highest ideals and it has been to our lasting regret. We must uphold our ideals now.

Each of us, all of us, must show that America is strengthened by people of every faith and every background.

Related to this, I want to note that under President Hollande, France intends to welcome 30,000 additional Syrian refugees over the next two years.

Here in the United States, refugees coming to America go through up to two years of intense security checks, including biometric screening. Nobody who sets foot in America goes through more screening than refugees. And we're prepared to share these tools with France and our European partners.

As Francois said, our humanitarian duty to help desperate refugees and our duty to security, those duties go hand in hand.

On the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, there are words we know so well.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free."

That's the spirit that makes us Americans. That's the spirit that binds us to France. That's the spirit we need today. In closing, I want to salute the people of Paris for showing the world how to stay strong in the face of terrorism. Even as they grieve, Parisians have begun returning to their cafes, riding the Metro, going to stadiums to cheer for their teams. Crowds have gathered in the Place de la Republique, including a mother, who brought her children.

She said, "To let them see that we should not be afraid."

As one Parisian said, "Paris will always be Paris."

And next week, I will be joining President Hollande and world leaders in Paris for the global climate conference.

What a powerful rebuke to the terrorists it will be when the world stands as one and shows that we will not be deterred from building a better future for our children.

So, President Hollande, my fellow Americans, let's remember we face greater threats to our way of life before. Fascism, communism, a First World War, a Second, a long Cold War, each and every time, we prevailed.

We have prevailed because our way of life is stronger, because we stay united because, even as we are relentless in the face of evil, we draw on what's best in ourselves and in the character of our countries. It will be no different this time.

Make no mistake: we will win and groups like ISIL will lose. And standing with allies like France, we will continue to show the world the best of American leadership.

Viva la France and God bless the United States of America.

Mr. President?

[12:14:55] PRESIDENT FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, FRANCE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me, first and foremost, to thank the President of the United States, Barack Obama, for the solidarity he has shown immediately as we found out about the terror attacks. He was the first one to call me. It was very late in France, 2:00 a.m., when Barack called. The president of the United States, I'm glad he expresses solidarity toward France, his emotion, his compassion against these horrors (ph).

And on that night, he meant to tell me that United States stood by France, that the help that could be provided to France would have no limit and that we had a duty, a joint (ph) duty, to pull our forces together and fight terrorism.

I do not forget either all of the messages that the American people sent to the French people over the past few days. The French colors, the French flags, all of them in many gatherings. These candles in places that represent France here in the United States.

The (inaudible), our national anthem, sung in official ceremonies. It is true that 9/11, we all felt American. But after the 13th of November, Americans felt French. Our two people together merged as one, sharing the same emotions and also the same willingness to fight for freedom and defend for all (ph) values.

We are not too similar peoples. We each have our histories. We have our own culture, our own background. But we share the same trust, the same faith and freedom. It is France that came under attack on the 13th of November. France, for what it is, the country which we consider unique in the world because France (inaudible) the world.

France came under attack for what it represents, for what it stands for, for its culture, our way of living, as well as our values, our principles, but by targeting France, the terrorists, the cowardly murders who are targeting the world in these restaurants (ph), in these cafes, as well as the Bataclan, that concert venue, there were men and women, most of them young, who came from 20 countries at least, and they shared the same passion for life, and that's the reason why they were murdered.

My thoughts are with the friends and family of the young American student Nohemi Gonzalez, who came as well to share a moment of culture and joy. My thoughts also go to this American band that was playing at the Bataclan. All cultures on that occasion were together to bring the same enthusiasm and they were hit by terrorists.

We are facing the terror group which organized itself on (ph) the territory. They have some substantial resources. They are thriving on smuggling, (inaudible), drugs, human beings. And since the beginning of the year, they hit many countries -- Denmark, Tunisia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Turkey, Egypt, as well as Russia, by taking down the Russian plane.

[12:19:36] So together with President Obama, today, we wanted on the occasion of that meeting first of all to share, share our determination, relentless determination, to fight terrorism everywhere and anywhere. We also meant to tell the world that we will not allow those who want to destroy what we have built, we will not allow them to do it, to destroy what we -- generation after generation. They will not be able to damage the world. And against Daesh, we need a joint response, an implacable joint response.

France and the United States stand together to bring that joint response. Militarily, it is about destroying Daesh no matter where they are. It is about taking out their financing, hunting down their leaders, dismantling their networks and taking back the land they currently control.

We, therefore, decided, President Obama and myself, to scale up our strikes both in Syria and Iraq to broaden their scope, to strengthen our intelligence sharing regarding the targets we might aim at.

The priority is to take back key locations in the hands of Daesh in Syria. It is also a matter of urgency to close the border between Turkey and Syria and prevent terrorists from crossing the border and coming to Europe or other places and undertake such terrible attacks.

We also took the decision to work together with our partners of the coalition in Iraq and to support all of those who are fighting Daesh on the ground. The aim is to make sure that these forces can be supported, helped by all the countries that are willing to act militarily to destroy Daesh.

The resolution of the Security Council that was voted unanimously Friday, after being introduced by France and supported by the United States, this resolution provided us with a clear basis to act. This is what France is currently doing.

Our aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, is currently in the east of the Mediterranean and allows us to enjoy more capability. Yesterday was the sixth time after the terror attacks in Paris we struck Raqqa.

In addition, we have been provided interim assistance into Iraqi fighters in the region of Ramadi and in Mosul, within the framework of the coalition.

Now diplomatically, both President Obama and myself have strengthened our cooperation as early as the night after the attacks. And I would like to commend what everything -- what it -- everything that is being done so that intelligence and information available can be used to tackle terrorists and to follow their movements so that we prevent from doing them -- from doing what they want to do because beyond Syria and Iraq, what they want is somehow to spread fear everywhere so that we doubt, so that we make decisions which are exactly contrary to what we want in terms of freedom and rights.

But we will not give in. That being said, we have to defend ourselves and use intelligence. Diplomatically, we are working on a credible political transition in Syria within the framework of the Vienna process and I commend the work done by Ministers Fabius and Kerry to agree a timeline that will enable a cease-fire -- of course, as quickly as possible -- and to open up the process that will lead to Bashar al-Assad's departure because we cannot imagine the Syrians getting together, gathering around the leader who is responsible for some the most of 300,000 deaths in a few years.

So a complement of unity is required but that must lead to Assad's departure. The Syrian crisis is directly relevant to Europe, first of all, given the terrorist threat but also because there are millions of refugees fleeing the regime's bombs and Daesh's atrocities.

If we were to bomb them, we would betray what we are. This is the reason why I reject identifying migration and terrorism. At the same time, we must control the borders.

[12:25:09] Today, people are risking their lives to flee when they travel actually (ph) between Turkey and Greece. Turkey, therefore, plays an important role, and it is together with Turkey that we must find solutions so that the refugees so they can stay close to their country of origin, and we need to make sure that the required controls, the checks, are implemented at the borders.

On Thursday I will be traveling to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin, and I will tell him that France can work together with Russia, if Russia concentrates its military action on Daesh against ISIL, and if Russia fully commits to the political position in Syria. This is what we want to do. We want to gather all countries, all those who are willing to find and implement a political solution in Syria. We do not want to exclude anyone, but we want to make sure that this political solution can eradicate terrorism.

Lastly, next week, that is on Monday, we will be hosting in Paris the climate conference. I certainly could not imagine that this conference would be taking place against such a background. At the same time, I think there cannot be a better symbol for response but to hold a conference in Paris where the attacks took place, where we took the right measures in terms of security, protections, as well as in defending our values.

There is no greater symbol than holding this conference on climate in Paris, with some 150 heads of state and government.

Never before did France host so many leaders of the international community. They are coming to sort out the climate challenge and, again, to work and to find the right agreements so that we can limit greenhouse gas emissions and make sure that our children and our grandchildren live better, or simply can live.

But they are also coming to express their support to freedom, to the fight against extremism, that radical Islam, which is becoming dangerous. Yes, all of them are coming no matter their background, no matter their religion, their convictions, to express the same principles, the same values, with the same words, life. Yes, simply life.

And the reason why -- I'm so pleased that President Obama will allow us to succeed. I commend his recent statements over the past few weeks and months, but I also commend the commitment he's made in the name of the United States, as well as in the name of the world. It was very important that one of the most powerful countries in the world, if not the most powerful, and therefore with the highest level of emissions, could also be there to face the future like we have been facing history.

What we will be doing early next week in Paris means that we can continue to live, as well as protect our lives and (inaudible) that of all children. France and the United States, given their history, and the values, the founding values of both our nations. Given our (inaudible), we both have that duty to act as a matter of urgency, urgency against terrorism and against Daesh. And at the same time, to prepare for the future. Against that background, even though it is a very dire one, I am pleased to be with Barack Obama to send across that message to the entire world.

Thank you.