U.S. President George W. Bush met Thursday with visiting Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada for talks on bilateral and international issues. The two leaders discussed bilateral trade and border issues, terrorist threats, North Korea, Iran, and cooperation in Afghanistan and Sudan's troubled Darfur region before jointly addressing reporters at the White House. Bush lavishly praised Harper, saying “I'm impressed with his leadership style. I appreciate the fact that he … tells me what's on his mind. He does so in a real clear fashion.” Harper, a Conservative who campaigned partly on promises to improve relations with Washington, became Canada's prime minister earlier this year. Bush and Harper discussed security concerns over terrorist threats, with both mentioning the arrests of 17 men in Ontario last month accused of plotting attacks in the province. “People ought to … rest assured that Canada is on top of any plots,” Bush said. “We in Canada share the United States' security concerns and objectives,” Harper said. “Recently with events in Toronto, it's been [made clear] to all of us that we face exactly the same kind of security threats and are defending exactly the same kinds of values.” But Harper cautioned that tightening security on the U.S.-Canada border to the point that it affects trade and tourism will harm both countries. “If the fight for security ends up meaning that the United States becomes more closed to its friends, then the terrorists have won,” he said. Bush praised the role in Afghanistan of 2,300 Canadian troops, which have suffered a series of recent combat deaths. “I do want to thank the families of those soldiers who are in Afghanistan for supporting their loved ones. The soldiers are doing fantastic work.”
