The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: Dan Quayle

  • Mr Major’s Joint Doorstep Interview with Vice-President Quayle – 11 February 1992

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s joint doorstep interview with US Vice-President Quayle, held outside 10 Downing Street on Tuesday 11th February 1992.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    We have had the opportunity over the last hour or so to range over a number of matters of some importance to both of us. We have spent some time discussing the present circumstances in the Uruguay Round and the absolutely imperative importance of making sure that the Round is completed and completed successfully and as speedily as possible. That has been a substantive part of our discussion.

    We have also taken the opportunity to look at the present situation in NATO and the prospects for European defence and also the difficulties that exist in the Soviet Union, both the economic difficulties and of course our concern about the proper control of nuclear weapons both strategic and substrategic.

    There have been a number of other bilateral matters but that has been the substance of our discussions over the last hour or so. I will invite the Vice-President to say a few words and then we might take a question or two from you.

    May I just say in conclusion that it is a great pleasure to have the Vice-President here again and I look forward to continuing our discussions over dinner in a few moments.

    VICE-PRESIDENT QUAYLE:

    Thank you very much, Prime Minister. It is a pleasure to be back and let me again congratulate you on a tremendous UN Summit – I think it was very well done.

    The Prime Minister has talked about a number of the issues that we talked about. Let me just mention a couple:

    NATO – There will continue to be an American presence in Europe. We want to have a presence. It is not just in Europe’s interest, it is in America’s interest and when I travel around the country the American people understand the importance of maintaining a presence in Europe and that it is in our interest.

    As far as the GATT negotiations are concerned, we must conclude those. There is no linkage between NATO and the troop strength and the successful conclusion of the GATT negotiations. It is imperative that we get on with it. Let us not replace the Cold War with a trade war. The Prime Minister has been very energetic in trying to bring this to a successful conclusion as has President George Bush and we will be working with our other friends and allies to try to accomplish this.

    QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

    QUESTION (Adam Boulton, Sky News):

    I wonder if I could ask both of you about the recession and when you see an end to it given that it threatens both your re-election prospects and also given the Bank of England’s Quarterly Survey saying that the expected recovery is proving elusive in Britain and that no recovery in the level of activity has yet occurred.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think it would be a good deal more elusive if some of the policies that some people propound were actually put into place. I think that is certainly true but the recovery was always going to be jagged and irregular; I think that is what we are seeing.

    There are signs in the United Kingdom that some areas are going to come out of recession a good deal earlier than others; precisely when that will be one can never be certain but that the basics are in place for a recovery I think now is generally accepted and by “the basics” I mean that inflation is now clearly under control – nobody believes that that is going to get out of control – the exchange rate is stable and I think companies have liquidated a good deal of their debt, as have individuals, and now find themselves in a better position both to reinvest and to spend as soon as they have the confidence factor there that will encourage them to do so.

    The most critical point of all about the recession, of course, is that as we come out of the recession we come out of it in a way that is sustainable to ensure that we get steady and sustainable growth in the years ahead. It is going to be a very competitive decade for this country and for other countries and that stable and steady growth without inflation is going to be a priceless commodity for us and for other countries, so I think that is the United Kingdom position.

    VICE-PRESIDENT QUAYLE:

    The best medicine for recovery in the United States is for the Congress to pass the President’s jobs package; he has submitted it to the Congress; he has set a deadline for March 20. I hope that the Congress responds. The sooner the Congress responds to the President’s jobs package and passes it, the sooner the recovery is going to kick in.

    QUESTION:

    Vice-President, on the question of Haitian refugees or Haitian would-be migrants into the United States and the comparisons that have been made with the position of Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong, have you reached a shared understanding of similarities or differences on that?

    VICE-PRESIDENT QUAYLE:

    We have a shared understanding of similarities and differences. We have a well-known policy and we know each other’s concerns and policy on these matters.

    QUESTION (Adam Boulton, Sky News):

    Mr. Quayle, you have said that you want to keep an American presence in NATO here but how sure are you that the American people want to do that?

    VICE-PRESIDENT QUAYLE:

    I am convinced that the American people do because they know it is in their interest. We went home after World War I and you saw what happened. The American people know what it takes to have peace. We feel that our presence here is a strong force for peace and therefore there is no presidential candidate that I know on either side that is articulating that we are going to not have a presence in NATO. There is a difference of commitment and I can assure you that if President Bush is re-elected, which I think he will be, that there will be a strong presence in NATO and there should be no question about our commitment short-term and long-term.

    This idea of isolationism being alive and well in America is just simply not the case. Yes, we have some on the left and we have some on the right and unfortunately those on the left and right when they make isolationist statements they get over-reported here in the United Kingdom and elsewhere but I can assure you that there is not this isolationist sentiment that is perceived over here. It is in America’s interest to be in Europe and I think it is in Europe’s interest to have America here.

  • Mr Major’s Joint Doorstep Interview with Vice-President Quayle – 31 January 1991

    Below is Mr Major’s joint press statement with United States Vice-President Dan Quayle, held in London on Thursday 31st January 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Thank you all very much for waiting. I am sorry we have kept you waiting so long. The Vice-President and I have been able to talk for a little over an hour, predominantly about the Gulf of course, but also about other matters,

    I think we are both pretty satisfied with the way things are going so far. A fortnight into the conflict, I think there is absolutely no doubt about the remarkable extent of cooperation between the United States. the British and indeed the other allies and we are all extremely pleased about that. And there was particular pleasure I think over here at the President’s State of the Union Address and his very generous words about the activities of the RAF and we were all very pleased to hear that.

    The Vice-President has had a successful day here I think and has visited Lakenheath and elsewhere and I might invite him to say something about his trip.

    MR QUAYLE:

    Thank you very much Mr Prime Minister. Let me once again just reaffirm the positive, strong cooperation that we have had between the United States and the United Kingdom. It was reaffirmed again today at Lakenheath where I visited with the spouses of a number of the troops from the United States and the United Kingdom that are deployed in the Persian Gulf.

    I enjoyed the conversation with the Prime Minister immensely, we value and respect his judgment and opinions on world affairs. We do have and continue the special relationship with the United Kingdom and I am delighted to be back once again to pay my respects to an outstanding and remarkable Prime Minister.

    QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, can you indicate for how long you can resist being provoked into a wider scale land war?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think we will have to see what happens out there. I think as you know in Khafji the Saudis are now examining the houses one by one, there is a house search going on to find out whether any Iraqis are there. There was an incursion, as you know, into Khafji by the Iraqis, it may well be that they will do the same thing again and that there will be other incursions of that sort, but we will deal with those as they arise. But the general strategy of the campaign has been pretty clear, it is pretty clear what we propose to do in future and we will stick to that.

    QUESTION:

    Vice-President, now that the difficult stage of the conflict has been entered with mounting ground casualties, how worried are you that American public opinion will stay behind supporting the war if casualties do mount, as they appear to be?

    MR QUAYLE:

    There is strong and overwhelming support for President George Bush and our policy in the Persian Gulf. The American people, perhaps contrary to international public opinion, have a great deal of patience. They support this President, they support the policy in the Persian Gulf, they support the allied effort to get Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. We are in no hurry to engage in a ground campaign. The air campaign is going quite well and you can judge by the results that we have been successful, we have a strategy that the Prime Minister understands and knows quite well and that strategy is now being deployed, and I might say that that strategy is working.

    QUESTION:

    Can I ask you both what lessons you have drawn from the Iraqi incursion into Khafji about the fighting spirit of their soldiers and what it would mean for a land campaign?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think the first thing to say is they have clearly lost at Khafji, have they not? There was an incursion there, the Saudi, Qatari and the American troops there have driven them out. The Iraqi losses have been quite heavy and they are no longer there. So whatever one may learn about the Iraqis, one has learned a little more and that is that the Iraqis will be beaten and that I think is the lesson we were sure was there for them and it has certainly been reinforced by what has happened at Khafji over the last 36 hours or so. And I suspect if there any more incursions the same lesson will be learned again.

    MR QUAYLE:

    I would just reaffirm the fact and that is that we have been successful. Perhaps Saddam Hussein would like to commence the ground war because he has been so unsuccessful in getting any of his air assets deployed, about the only place that they are deployed right now is in Iran. They are certainly unable to have any access to the airways, we have air supremacy, that is a fact and it is a very important military fact.

    QUESTION (JOHN DRAPER, ITN):

    Can you explain what would be the role of the B52s due to be deployed in Great Britain?

    MR QUAYLE:

    I am not going to get into the actual military operations, but we are very appreciative of the continued cooperation of the United Kingdom on this and everything else, but I am not going to get into its role and mission and things of that sort.

    QUESTION:

    Perhaps Mr Major might?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    The B52s will be used as the Commanders wish them to be used and that is true of all the other aircraft in the conflict.

    QUESTION:

    Will they be armed with nuclear weapons?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    No they are not going to be armed with nuclear weapons.

    QUESTION (CNN):

    Mr Vice President, earlier today you were quoted as saying either we will continue to have Saddam or we will achieve peace. Does that mean to achieve peace Mr Saddam has to be ousted?

    MR QUAYLE:

    Has to be ousted from Kuwait, absolutely, and he is going to be ousted from Kuwait.

    QUESTION:

    From power though, will he have to be ousted from power?

    MR QUAYLE:

    I did not say ousted from power I said that he will be ousted from Kuwait, and he will be ousted from Kuwait, that is the objective and we will achieve that objective.