Text 1095, 856 rader
Skriven 2005-06-13 23:33:38 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0506133) for Mon, 2005 Jun 13
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Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 13, 2005

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

Press Briefing
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  þ President's phone with President Talibani
  þ Ambassador Tobias briefing
  þ Iraq
      þ Reference B
      þ Reference C
  þ Guantanamo Bay
      þ Reference B
  þ MCA
      þ Reference B
  þ Lebanon
  þ Bolton nomination
  þ Energy bill
  þ Interrogation techniques
  þ Fundraising
  þ CAFTA
  þ Ethiopia
  þ Highway bill

12:29 P.M. EDT

MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. I'd like to begin with a readout from a
world leader call that the President had just a short time ago.

The President had a good conversation with President Talibani of Iraq. The
President thanked President Talibani for his strong and courageous
leadership for the Iraqi people. The two leaders discussed the
constitution, the drafting of the constitution in Iraq. They underscored
the importance of the constitutional process and meeting the August 15th
deadline that was set out in the transitional administrative law. They also
talked about importance of being inclusive of all of Iraq's communities.
They talked about the security situation and the progress being made to
train the Iraqi security forces.

And the President also congratulated President Talibani and the Kurdish
people on the formation of a unified regional government. They noted how
this demonstrates the importance of reconciliation to the rest of Iraq. And
that's the readout from the call.

One other thing I'd like to mention, make an announcement about -- today at
2:30 p.m. there will be a State Department briefing by Ambassador Tobias,
who is overseeing the President's emergency plan for AIDS relief. You heard
the President talk a short time ago with the African leaders about the
progress we're making to implement his emergency relief plan. This was an
unprecedented effort that had never been undertaken before. And as the
President said earlier, we have been working closely with our African
partners and we have now delivered life-saving treatment to more than
200,000 people in the sub-Saharan Africa, and that we are on track to meet
our five-year goal of providing treatment for nearly 2 million African
adults and children. So I think that will be an important briefing to give
you the specifics of the progress that we're making on that front.

And with that, I am glad to go to your questions.

Q Scott, you said that they talked -- the President, in his discussion with
Talibani, talked about the security situation. Did they express any
concerns about the rising level of civilian casualties and the deaths of
American troops?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that President Talibani -- actually, some of the
numbers have been coming down, but, I mean, there still are difficulties
that remain. The terrorists and the regime elements are doing everything
they can to try to derail the transition to democracy, but they cannot.
They will be defeated. And it's important that we continue moving forward
on our strategy to train and equip Iraqi security forces so that our troops
can eventually return home with the honor that they deserve.

Just to keep in perspective here, this is still less than a year since we
transferred sovereignty to Iraq. In that time period, Iraq has made
important strides on the political front. More than eight-and-a-half
million Iraqis showed up at the polls and said, we want a democratic and
peaceful future. They elected their interim government; their interim
government is now in place, moving forward on drafting a constitution,
working to meet the deadline that was set out; they're working to reach out
to others to participate in that constitutional process and we welcome
that, we urge them to continue to do that.

And it's important that they continue to move forward on the political
front because that helps improve the security front, as well.

Q What's the expectation? The President has talked, like, at some points
where he's warned that the casualties are going to rise, there's going to
be more violence. What's the expectation now, going forward?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's the desperation you see from terrorists and see
from regime elements who know that a free and peaceful Iraq is going to
deal them a significant blow, and deal a significant blow to their
ambitions. They recognize how high the stakes are in Iraq. We recognize how
high the stakes are in Iraq. A free and peaceful Iraq will help bring
powerful change to a dangerous region in the world. It will help make
America safer. That's why we must continue working closely to train Iraqi
security forces, so that they can defend themselves from external, as well
as internal threats.

Q Do you think that things are going to continue to get worse, not better?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you have to be prepared for changing circumstances on
the ground. That's one of the lessons I think we've learned in previous
wars, is that commanders need to have the flexibility to adapt to changing
circumstances on the ground.

In terms of assessments, I think that's best left to the coalition forces
to give you assessments of what the latest is on the ground. I think as I
indicated, that President Talibani seemed to indicate that some of the
number of attacks had come down recently. But we still have men and women
who are in harm's way who are serving and making the ultimate sacrifice. We
are forever grateful for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in
defense of freedom. They made that sacrifice to build a more peaceful and
secure world for generations to come. We are seeing that the Middle East is
in a period of transformation, when freedom is on the advance. And we want
to do all we can to support those efforts, and one part of supporting those
efforts is supporting the Iraqi people as they move forward to build all
the democratic institutions that they need to have a sustained democracy.

Q How does the President feel about the growing calls from members of his
own party about withdrawing from Guantanamo, about setting a date certain
for bringing troops home from Iraq, the growing sense of uneasiness that's
been expressed?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President has talked about how timetables send the
wrong message. A free Iraq is an important part of winning the war on
terrorism and transforming a dangerous region of the world. The President
believes it is vital that we complete our mission, and that means training
Iraqi security forces. Then our troops can return home with the honor they
have deserved. Our troops understand the importance of the mission and they
understand the importance of completing that mission. We are grateful for
their families who are making tremendous sacrifices, as well. But
completing that mission is vital to the long-term peace and security of the
world.

Q What about the closing of Guantanamo?

MR. McCLELLAN: And in terms of Guantanamo, I think we have to step back and
keep in mind who is at Guantanamo Bay. We are a nation at war. The
President, last week, talked about the Patriot Act and the important tools
that provided, and he talked about how the terrorists are very patient;
they want us to grow complacent. The further we get away from September
11th, it's easy to kind of forget about the impact that has had on the
world. The President will never forget. We remain a nation at war. The
individuals who are at Guantanamo Bay are dangerous terrorists who seek to
do harm to the American people. And the President is committed to doing
everything he can to keep America safe and protect the American people.

Now, in that context, the President believes that we should always be
looking at our options of how best to protect the American people, and that
means how to deal with detainees, as well. We have a clear strategy moving
forward, but we should never limit our options when it comes to protecting
the American people and winning the war on terrorism. And that's where it
stands.

Q So you're not ruling out the possibility that Guantanamo could be closed?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think the President addressed the question last week and
said we're always looking at all alternatives for how best to protect the
American people. And nothing has changed since that time period.

Q Can I just -- I just want to follow up on one point that's related to
this. When the Vice President comes out and says, let's not forget that
these are bad people, and when you reiterate the point that they are --
were swept up on the battlefield and believed to have been somehow involved
in terrorist acts, doesn't it sort of miss the point that there's a large
question that has to be asked here, which is, what do you do with these
people? We know, based on accounts of people who are involved in this, that
there's only so much intelligence value that they are providing. And
there's a big question going forward about what do you do with detainees
when you're in the middle of a war that doesn't end, when they have no
legal rights and they're in this sort of black hole.

So instead of just saying that they're bad people, does the President worry
that he's got to say something, he's got to deal with this in a way that
tells the world and the American people that, you know, we do have some
plan here?

MR. McCLELLAN: You bring up some good points. I don't think it's just
saying that they are bad people. I mean, they are dangerous people. What we
don't want is for these people to be released only to return to the
battlefield, where they can carry out attacks again against Americans, or
innocent civilians. There have been -- and Secretary Rumsfeld talked about
this recently -- at least a dozen or so individuals that were released from
Guantanamo Bay, and they have since been caught and picked up on the
battlefield seeking to kidnap or kill Americans.

And you bring up a very good question, too, when you say what do you do
about these individuals. We are a nation at war; these are enemy combatants
and these are people that are dangerous. They have been involved in plots
to attack America, or they otherwise seek to do harm to the American
people. And so that's something we're always looking at. We're always
looking at our options. And we're not ever going to limit our options. We
released a number of individuals to their countries of origin, which is
something we would prefer to do. We don't want to hold these individuals
any longer than is necessary. We've released them to their country of
origin when those countries have provided assurances that they're going to
look after them, or when we felt that they no longer posed a risk to us, or
that we had -- and that we had gotten all the intelligence value out of
them to help disrupt and prevent attacks from happening in the first place.

But the individuals that are there, they're there for a reason. They are
enemy combatants; they are dangerous individuals. And we have to keep that
in mind when we're talking about this.

Q One follow-up on this. What are the criteria that would be used to come
up with a different location? Would one of them be that, fair or unfair,
Guantanamo Bay is being -- is now consistent with something that's
undermining America's credibility, undermining America's claim to be ruled
by law and to uphold the rule of law?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, a couple things. One, I wouldn't even venture to
speculate about "what ifs" or anything of that nature. The President has
said that we always keep all our options open and we always look at all
alternatives. That's what he said; it's nothing more than that at this
point.

In terms of I think you're talking about allegations of abuse and that
nature, the Pentagon recently had a briefing with Secretary Rumsfeld and
General Myers, and I think they really put this is a good context. They
talked about how there have been 370-some criminal investigations into
charges of misconduct involving detainees. We've had 68,000-some detainees
in detention since September 11th. You have some 525,000 men and women who
are serving in our military or who have served in our military in Iraq or
Afghanistan or at Guantanamo Bay.

So when you boil it down, I think they said there is a hundred
substantiated charges of allegations of abuse and a little more than a
hundred people that have been held to account. You're talking about less
than 1 percent that have been found to have committed illegal acts against
detainees, as Secretary Rumsfeld recently pointed out.

The point I'm making is that our military, our men and women in uniform
adhere to the highest standards. And that includes when it comes to
treating detainees humanely. Our military expects high standards to be met
and our military does not tolerate or condone it when individuals do not
meet those standards, as our actions to hold people accountable
demonstrate.

Q The U.S. Senate is expected to pass a resolution apologizing for failing
to pass anti-lynching legislation historically. Will the President also
issue an apology?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the President has talked about our own past,
our own dark and terrible past. The President is strongly committed to
moving beyond the past, as he has done through his actions to enforce our
civil rights laws and make sure everybody's civil rights are protected.

This was a terrible, dark chapter in our own nation's history, and scores
of African Americans and their families were brutalized and suffered great
injustices. The President earlier today was visiting with five leaders from
African countries who were recently elected. And the President was talking
about how democracy is not easy, how it takes time. And he said, your own
ancestors were enslaved in America, a country that was supposed to be the
land of the free. And he said, you know, we have acknowledged that and we
are working to move beyond the dark part of our history, our own history.
He talked about how we have learned our lesson.

So that's where the President has been focused.

Q But he's not choosing to issue his own apology, formally, to the --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that the Senate has taken a step that they
feel they need to take, given their own past inaction on what were great
injustices.

Q Some of the African leaders complained of the disbursal of money from the
Millennium Challenge Account is too slow. Why are there these delays?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, actually, the President and the leaders had a good
discussion about that. I think that today was really an opportunity to
celebrate democracy in Africa and the progress that is being made in
countries like the ones who were here today, from Mozambique to Niger to
the others. And the President had a very good visit with them. First and
foremost, these leaders were grateful for the President's strong
leadership.

When it comes to supporting the continent of Africa and the people on the
continent of Africa, this President has provided strong leadership to not
only provide expanded trade and opportunity inside of Africa, but to also
move forward on alleviating hunger through the recent announcement of some
$674 million that will go to an emergency, right now in the Horn of Africa,
to the debt relief agreement that was reached by the G8 finance ministers
last week, where a hundred percent of the debt will be canceled for the
highly indebted poor countries.

And we've moved forward on the Millennium Challenge Account and the
emergency relief plan for AIDS, as I mentioned earlier. The President
talked about that in his remarks. But these people are very grateful, these
leaders were very grateful for the Millennium Challenge Account. And the
President said -- and he said in his remarks, too --

Q Why has so little been paid out?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- he said we're going to be working to speed up
authorization of these funds so that those who are meeting the criteria
outlining that -- the criteria that is based on good governance, a
commitment to democracy, a commitment to economic reform, a commitment to
rule of law and transparency, a commitment to fighting corruption -- that
those who are meeting that will be eligible to receive those funds. And he
said, you know, this is a relatively new program, Madagascar is the one
country that was the first one to become eligible for that funding. But
they had a good discussion about it and they're appreciative that we are
making that additional commitment of aid, but also focusing it on something
in return -- results -- to move forward on democratic and political and
economic reform, which will lead to long-term prosperity and democracy in
Africa.

Q Going back to Guantanamo for a moment. By your remarks saying all options
are open, and by the President's remarks, the door on Guantanamo still
seems to be slightly ajar. And, yet, the Vice President and the Defense
Secretary have, for all intents and purposes, slammed the door, saying
there are no plans to close Guantanamo. Are they correct? Do we assume --

MR. McCLELLAN: They were saying "at present." We are all saying the same
thing.

Q "At present," I mean, do you want to extend that at all --

MR. McCLELLAN: What I said just a second ago was that we should never limit
our options. That's the President's view when it comes to protecting the
American people and when it comes to dealing with these detainees -- that's
part of the war on terrorism. This is part of the war on terrorism. These
are dangerous individuals that were picked up on the battlefield. They are
at Guantanamo for a reason and we're always going to keep our options open
for how to deal with those detainees.

Q And can we determine that --

MR. McCLELLAN: This war is ongoing.

Q Right. Can we determine that what you're saying, that Guantanamo will
continue to be a detention center for the foreseeable future?

MR. McCLELLAN: You heard from the Vice President and the Secretary of
Defense; you've heard from the President and we're all saying the same
thing.

Q Is the administration satisfied by the outcome of the elections in
Lebanon and that they are free and fair?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the elections are ongoing at this point. There's
another set of elections to go still in Lebanon. I think that, generally
speaking, people feel that the elections are being conducted well. There
are observers there, but this is a process that is ongoing. I think most
people are looking at this and would say that the people of Lebanon are
casting votes for change. But in terms of the actual individuals that are
being elected, that's up to the people of Lebanon to decide.

What we want to make sure is that there are free and fair elections and
that there is no outside interference or intimidation going on inside
Lebanon. That means Syria needs to stop meddling inside Lebanon. We have
real concerns about Syria's continued intelligence presence inside Lebanon,
and I think we sent a clear message last week and I think the rest of the
international community shares those concerns. And we appreciate that
Secretary General Annan has committed to sending the verification teams
back to Lebanon, and we believe those verification teams should remain
there through the elections and through the formation of the cabinet to
make sure that we're moving forward on Resolution 1559, which spelled out
very clearly what Syria needs to do, which is get out of Lebanon and stop
meddling inside Lebanon's -- when it comes to Lebanon's internal affairs.

Q So in terms of the juxtaposition of the idea that the elections are being
conducted well, but the administration has concerns that there's ongoing
intelligence presence in Lebanon, you're saying that the intelligence
presence isn't apparently --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm talking about the election process. I think that if you
look at it, there are large numbers of people turning out to vote. And so
the process, I think most people there that are observing it are saying
it's being conducted well. I mean, it's still ongoing at this point. But in
terms of the individuals, that's up for the people of Lebanon to decide.

Q Scott, when some of the visiting African Presidents expressed their
frustration at the Millennium Challenge Account and the bureaucracy and the
red tape, one, was the President surprised? And, two, what was his
reaction, in terms of directing any actions to correct the situation?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think -- well, the Secretary of State was right
there, and the Department of State oversees the -- the President and the
Secretary of State have had discussions about this, so that we can continue
working to speed up that process. And the Secretary of State is committed
to doing that, working to do that. You do have bureaucracies that you have
to go through when you have initiatives like this. The President -- and I
wouldn't describe their comments as necessarily frustration. I think they
were greatly appreciative of the President's leadership in establishing the
Millennium Challenge Account. I was sitting there in the meeting, and they
were grateful for the steps that we are taking.

The President was the one, I think, who up front told them, we need to do a
better job of speeding up this process and getting those funds distributed
and authorized so that they can continue helping to make a difference in
Africa. The President -- and you heard in his remarks -- made it very clear
that we are going to continue to provide significant help to Africa. And
that's a commitment that he has shown since the beginning of this
administration.

Q Scott, back on Iraq, is the President satisfied that Talibani is doing
everything he can to include the Sunni minority in drafting the
constitution?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, they had a discussion about the drafting of the
constitution, and both expressed the importance of being inclusive. And we
appreciate his efforts to reach out and be inclusive to all sectors within
Iraq.

Q Did Talibani give any concrete reassurances that he was going to improve
and try to --

MR. McCLELLAN: They're working trough that right now in Iraq, and we
continue to encourage them to be inclusive in that process. They have made
a commitment to do so, and that process is ongoing right now. It's for the
Iraqis to decide; it's for the Iraqis to work through this and reach
agreements.

Q Scott, last week, Pakistan's foreign minister was in Washington, he met
with -- the White House, also met with the President and National Security
Advisor. The same day, son and father were arrested for terrorism and also
they met with Osama bin Laden and (inaudible) in Pakistan. My question is
that if the issue of Osama bin Laden and nuclear and F16s or terrorism are
still (inaudible) in the U.S. and in Pakistan came up --

MR. McCLELLAN: There are three or four things you're connecting there. I'm
trying to follow the line of questioning. What's the question?

Q If the issue of this father and son -- because they met with Osama bin
Laden --

MR. McCLELLAN: You're talking about the individuals in the California area?

Q Right. And also how many more like them are in the U.S. today that we are
living under fear as far as terrorism is concerned? If this issue came up
during the meeting with --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we've made significant progress to go after and bring
to justice those who seek to do harm to America. And we've made significant
progress when it comes to disrupting plots here at home. We appreciate the
work of our law enforcement and intelligence community and the work they're
doing here at home to protect the American people.

This investigation that you're bringing up is ongoing. I would leave it to
the proper authorities to discuss. But we are going to continue to pursue
those who come here seeking to do harm to the American people.

Q Scott, on the Bolton vote, what is your assessment? When will it occur?
Do you expect it to pass? And do you think this controversy has hurt or
helped his effectiveness in the U.N.?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, U.N. reform is something that the President is
strongly committed to, and it's something that John Bolton is strongly
committed to. That's why we are encouraging the Senate to move forward
quickly so that he can get in place and get about doing the important work
of reform at the United Nations. The Secretary General has come out with a
reform agenda. We believe that it's important to move forward on the broad
reform effort at the United Nations, to make sure that the United Nations
is accountable and it's effective and that it's achieving real results.
There is much that we can do to make the United Nations work better. And
both the President and John Bolton are committed to making sure that the
United Nations is an effective multilateral organization.

In terms of the timing, I think those are questions to direct to the
Senate. We just continue to urge the Senate to move forward quickly.
Unfortunately, you have Democrats still playing stall tactics with this
nomination. They have decided to engage in politics. That is unfortunate.
The American people I think want to see reform at the United Nations and
that's why we need to get John Bolton confirmed, so that he can get about
working on those important efforts.

Go ahead, Mark.

Q Does he have the votes?

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me go ahead. He has -- I think it's clear that he has
majority support.

Go ahead.

Q The Senate energy bill is on the floor this week. There's talk that even
Republicans might join in some sort of limits on greenhouse gases. What is
the White House stance on that? And is it opposed to limits on greenhouse
gases, even if it's in the form of a cap and trade system, which the
President has favored in other areas?

MR. McCLELLAN: A couple of things. One -- and not to say that it's you, but
I know some colleagues of you [sic] have suggested that, well, we're not
making that much progress in the Congress. I would point out that we are
making progress on a very important issue -- that is comprehensive energy
legislation. The President has long called for a comprehensive energy plan
that will help reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy. So we're
pleased that the Senate is moving forward on that legislation.

In terms of our views on climate change, I think we've made our views very
clear, not only by what we've said, but what we've done. The President
talked about how this is a serious long-term challenge, and we must take
steps now to address it. That's why we are taking steps to address it. And
in terms of --

Q -- greenhouse gases?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we're working to reduce greenhouse gas intensity. We
are on track to reduce the growth in greenhouse gas intensity by 18
percent, come 2012. And that's something we're already doing. We're not
waiting on legislation, we're already working to address it.

We're also putting billions into research so that we can better understand
the science of climate change and investing in new technologies to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. And we're working on international partnerships.
The market-to-methane initiative is one that will help reduce a greenhouse
gas emission, while also providing us cleaner burning electricity.

Q What about the proposals that have -- that some are -- they're planning
to attach to the Senate bill?

MR. McCLELLAN: We're going to continue working with members of Congress to
get a comprehensive energy plan passed. We are hopeful that we can get it
done and get it done before the August recess.

In terms of the President's views on climate change, we're going to
continue pushing forward on the initiatives that he is working on.

Q -- is he ready to veto? Is there a veto threat?

MR. McCLELLAN: Look, there's a legislative process. It's ongoing at this
point. We're going to continue working closely with Congress.

Go ahead, Les.

Q What is the President's --

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, let me go to Ken. He was being patient. He had his
hand up before you. Go ahead.

Q Very good.

MR. McCLELLAN: "Very good," I don't know. (Laughter.)

Q On the interrogation techniques described in the Time Magazine article
acceptable because of the high-value nature of the detainees questioned?

MR. McCLELLAN: This is -- this individual that you do reference, Mr.
Kahtani, is a dangerous terrorist. He is what is considered a high-value
detainee, someone who was trained to resist interrogation techniques. He is
someone who followed the al Qaeda training manual when it came to providing
false information and misleading interrogators. He is also someone that we
believe was intent on participating in the September 11th highjackings that
led to the deaths of 3,000 innocent civilians. That was the day we were
attacked and we went to war. He is someone who has provided us valuable
intelligence when it comes to disrupting plots or better understanding al
Qaeda so that we can prevent attacks from happening in the first place.

In terms of interrogation techniques, I think that, if you'll recall, we
had a briefing just about a year ago with the White House Counsel and the
Pentagon Counsel, as well as his Deputy, and the Deputy Chief of the Army
for Intelligence. And I think in that briefing they pointed out -- and they
discussed some of these very issues -- and they pointed out how all
interrogation techniques, actually authorized, have been carefully vetted,
are lawful and do not constitute torture. The President made it very clear
through his February -- I think it was a February 2002 directive, that the
military is to treat all detainees humanely and to the extent appropriate
and consistent with military necessity in a manner consistent with the
principles of Geneva.

Q Specifically in this case, we know what the practices were. They don't
seem to be -- the Pentagon doesn't seem to be questioning it. Those
techniques are acceptable in this case --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, they had a briefing on this last year, and I just
referenced that. You ought to go and look and at that. If you have specific
questions about specific techniques, I think that's best directed to the
Department of Defense. I would just say, though, Ken, this is not "24."

Q Scott, what is the President's thinking about propriety of the --

MR. McCLELLAN: I was calling on Mark.

Q But you --

MR. McCLELLAN: I said I'd come back to you. Mark -- I mean, Peter. Sorry,
radio guys, I get them --

Q When are you coming back to me?

MR. McCLELLAN: In just a second. I'm coming this way.

Q Thank you, Scott.

MR. McCLELLAN: He was waiting patiently.

Q So was I.

Q Going back to one of your --

MR. McCLELLAN: Didn't mean to confuse you two.

Q Going back to one of your earlier responses, you said that timetables
send the wrong message. In light of the fact that Congressman Jones and
others are talking about some sort of a legislative action on this -- in
this regard of the timetables, what message are you concerned that that
sends?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President has talked about it. The message that it
sends to terrorists and others -- all you have to do is wait and we'll
leave -- and the message it sends to the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people,
remember, if you go back in the past, they thought previously that we were
going to come in there and remove the regime and it didn't happen. And many
were slaughtered by that brutal, oppressive regime.

So it's really -- it's what the President has talked about, that it would
send the wrong message to the terrorists and it would send the wrong
message to the Iraqi people. They have shown they're committed to democracy
and freedom, and we're going to stand with them to complete the mission,
which is to train the Iraqi forces to be able to provide for their security
and to support the Iraqi people as they move forward putting the
institutions in place for a sustainable democracy.

Q So are you, in effect, asking Jones and others to forget about this --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm stating what our views are. I haven't seen exactly what
he said or what he's proposing, but I'm stating what our views are.

Richard, go ahead.

Q Scott, earlier this month the President did a fundraiser for Senator
Talent. Tomorrow he does a fundraiser for Senator Santorum. How heavy a
schedule do you expect the President to get involved in, in fundraising
over the 2005-2006 --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think it's a little bit early to get too far into it, but
these are two senators that we have worked very closely with and the
President strongly supports. They are two individuals who share the
President's agenda for building a freer and more peaceful world, and to
expanding freedom here in our own society.

Q Do you expect there to be --

MR. McCLELLAN: I just think it's way too early to start getting too far
into the 2006 elections. But he strongly supports those two senators and
wants to see them reelected; he wants to do what he can to help.

Q On the lynching issue, you said it was a terrible, dark chapter in our
nation's history. And if I'm correct, the same quote was used as it related
to slavery. Scott, when will the administration stop saying it's terribly
dark and, you know, in our nation's history and finally acknowledge that,
yes, there needs to be an apology for the atrocities of lynching or --
and/or slavery?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, April, if you'll recall back in 2003, the President
visited the continent of Africa and he went to Gor e Island in Senegal and
he called slavery "one of the greatest crimes in history." The President
talked about how Americans throughout history have "clearly saw the sin and
called it by name." And so the President has spoken out about this dark,
terrible past in our own nation's history. He does it frequently when he
talks about supporting freedom abroad and supporting the advance of
democracy abroad. It was a terrible part of our past, and there are great
injustices to scores of African Americans and their families.

That's why it's important today that we move forward in a way that protects
and enforces the civil rights of all Americans, and that's what this
administration is working to fulfill.

Q Charles Rangel --

MR. McCLELLAN: We're about to speak.

Q -- let me finish, Charles Rangel --

MR. McCLELLAN: The President is about to speak.

Q Wait a minute, Charles Rangel and invited guests was out there at
stakeout and said that the races need to come together on certain issues.
An acknowledgment of these atrocities would help to heal the racial divide.
The President is talking about, you know, acceptance of people.

MR. McCLELLAN: The President has expressed his views, I've expressed his
views here at this podium.

Go ahead.

Q Scott, what is the President's thinking about the propriety of the
Republican Party accepting $5,000 from a pornographer, the example that
sets the moral climate of this nation? And I have a follow up.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think you need to direct those questions to the committee,
itself.

Q Among the Evangelical Protestant leaders who so helped the President win
reelection, the Reverend Don Wildman, of The American Family Association
said, "The Republicans need to go public with an explanation. Just doing
nothing is the worst thing they can do." And my question: Do you think that
tomorrow night, none of the TV cameras at all will focus on Mary Cary who
was arrested in Tacoma last month for publicly touching herself in a sexual
manner --

MR. McCLELLAN: Les, you've asked this question before and --

Q No, no, no, no, this is a new question. It's newly worded --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that those are questions to direct to the event
sponsors --

Q But do you agree with him, Scott?

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, in back.

Q Could we go back to the press availability with Prime Minister Blair last
week? In response to a question, the President said, about the Downing
Street memo, "My conversation with the Prime Minister was, how could we do
this peacefully." And then later on he says, "And so we worked hard to see
if we could figure out how to do this peacefully."

"How to do this" -- that refers to regime change or just to weapons
inspections?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, regime change was the policy of the previous
administration -- remember, that goes back to the previous administration.

Q But the policy of previous administration was --

MR. McCLELLAN: I addressed the threat posed by Iraq.

Q Right, which was not to do it using military force at that time. The
decision by this administration was to use military force. So when talking
about this --

MR. McCLELLAN: Not at that time.

Q But when talking about this, and this response, is the President
referring to regime change or referring to inspections of weapons --

MR. McCLELLAN: The threat posed by the regime in Iraq.

Q So regime change.

Q What, with the defeat of CAFTA -- what kind of a signal did that send to
--

MR. McCLELLAN: What kind of signal did --

Q With the defeat of CAFTA send to the developing world, particularly about
the administration strategy of using trade as a way to improve --

MR. McCLELLAN: It would send a bad signal to young emerging democracies in
our own hemisphere. The President has talked about how this has important
strategic implications. You have a number of young democracies that are
working to move forward and build lasting prosperity and putting in place
lasting democratic institutions. And we should do what we can to support
them. It's not only that -- I mean, it's also the trade issue. When you
have 80 percent of goods coming in from those countries duty free, our
farmers and producers and businesses should be able to have that same level
playing field so that it can help create jobs and opportunity here at home.
But this does have strategic implications. It is an important vote. The
President believes very strongly that we need to pass the free trade
agreement, and it's part of our efforts not only -- not only -- let me back
up, too, to one other issue here.

When some people talk about immigration and immigration reform and the
concerns about people coming to this country illegally, well, let's
remember a lot of the reason people are coming to America illegally is
because they are able to make a better wage here in America then their at
home, so that they can support their families back home. This will help
provide greater economic opportunity and prosperity for people in those
countries, and it will help address that situation at home by improving
their quality of life.

Q But wouldn't it also undercut the -- your approach to Africa --

MR. McCLELLAN: Would it what?

Q Your approach to Africa, which is based also on trade expense and trade
attempts --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry --

Q Wouldn't it undercut that strategy with respect to Africa --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we're working closely with members of Congress.
Ambassador Portman is leading our efforts, as well. And we are pushing to
get this thing passed.

Q There was a demonstration in front of the White House for the couple of
two days, regarding the election of Ethiopia. Is there anybody who is
counseling them and -- (inaudible) -- keep the country's strategy
(inaudible) on terrorism -- are they going to get some sort of exemption
from being denounced, especially --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, the country's --

Q Yes, especially to create a strategy partner, fighting against terrorism,
to the U.S.? And --

MR. McCLELLAN: I didn't understand the part about the terrorism.

Q Okay. There was election has been had in Ethiopia and students have been
jailed. This woman (inaudible) suffering. And (inaudible) -- and there was
also protest in front of the White House for a couple of days. My question
is, is there anybody who is counseling them? And the terrorism question is,
if a country is a strategy partner with the U.S., are they going to be
exempted from being denounced?

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me make a couple of points on Ethiopia. We talked about
-- this President had a conversation with Secretary General Annan last
week, where Ethiopia was discussed as well. He had just returned from
Africa. Secretary Rice has been in touch with the Prime Minister there, as
well -- that was just recently -- to urge a peaceful, democratic resolution
to the situation in Ethiopia.

We are deeply concerned about the election related violence that continued
last week. You have up to 36 people that have been reported killed, and
others arrested. And we are deeply concerned about that situation. We are
encouraged by the signing of the joint declaration and expect each party,
after signing the declaration, to abide by the letter and spirit of the
agreement without adding conditions that were not part of that agreement.
The parties have agreed to abide by the ruling of the electoral commission,
the Carter Center has been very involved with that, as well. And that's
what we want to continue to urge them to do. Violence is unacceptable; the
threat of violence is unacceptable and we continue to make that clear.

Let me go to Paula and then I think the President has got some remarks.

Q Scott, the highway bill negotiators are talking about splitting the
differences in funding levels. This would amount to about $5 billion more
than the White House wants. Is there any willingness on the part of the
administration to --

MR. McCLELLAN: We've been continuing to work closely with members of
Congress. We believe very strongly that it should be at that $284 million
level, or $239.9 million*, I believe, is what it actually is.

This is an important piece of legislation. We want to get it passed. It's
important that we meet our transportation needs. This legislation at that
level would be some 35 times* what the previous legislation authorized for
the six-year period prior -- prior period. This is not only about meeting
our transportation needs -- and we believe we can do it at that level --
but it's also about keeping us on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009.
So we believe very strongly that we ought to stick the level that was
agreed to and we're continuing to work with members of Congress; we hope we
can resolve this and get legislation passed soon.

Thanks.

*"$284 billion level, or $283.9 billion"
**". . . would be a 35% increase over what the previous legislation
authorized"
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