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Skriven 2005-06-30 23:33:00 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0506309) for Thu, 2005 Jun 30
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Press Briefing with National Security Advisor Steve Hadley
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 30, 2005

Press Briefing with National Security Advisor Steve Hadley
James S. Brady Briefing Room

Press Briefing
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1:38 P.M. EDT

MR. HADLEY: Hello. Good afternoon. Next week, the President and Mrs. Bush
will depart for Denmark and for the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. This
will the President's first trip to Denmark and his fourth trip to Europe
since his second inauguration.

In Denmark, the President will reaffirm the strength of the U.S.-Denmark
partnership and express America's appreciation for Denmark's commitment in
sacrificing -- supporting our efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on
terror. He will also highlight the common U.S.-Denmark commitment to a
strong transatlantic alliance and the advance of freedom and prosperity
across the globe.

For the G8 summit at Gleneagles, under the U.K.'s presidency, Prime
Minister Blair has chosen to highlight development assistance, especially
for Africa, and climate change. The U.S. leads the world in development and
humanitarian assistance, private sector donations, charitable giving, and
economic development. On the continent of Africa, President Bush has
increased aid overall by more money in less time than any President since
Harry Truman and the Marshall Plan.

The G8 summit provides an opportunity for member nations to recommit to an
Africa based on the tenets developed by the African states, themselves, in
their New Partnership for African Development, or NEPAD. And those are good
governance, rule of law, respect for human rights, educational
opportunities, and access to health care.

Additionally, the G8 will address climate change and development issues.
The President is dedicated to policies that grow economies, aid
development, and improve the environment, and he will have an opportunity
to make that clear at the G8.

Let me now highlight the President's schedule, and then I'd be happy to
take questions.

The President and Mrs. Bush will depart Washington for Copenhagen on
Tuesday, July 5. They will arrive in Copenhagen late in the evening, where
they will greet Her Majesty the Queen Margrethe and His Royal Highness
Prince Henrick.

On Wednesday, July 6th, the President and Mrs. Bush will begin their
morning by having breakfast with Prime Minister and Mrs. Rusmussen. The
President and Prime Minister will meet after breakfast, followed by a joint
press availability. Afterwards, the President and Mrs. Bush will join a
lunch hosted by Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness. And the
President and Mrs. Bush will depart Gleneagles, Scotland Wednesday
afternoon.

They will arrive in Glasgow Airport, and the President and Mrs. Bush will
participate in an arrival ceremony and then proceed to Gleneagles. That
evening the President and Mrs. Bush will join a dinner hosted by Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of
Edinburgh.

On Thursday, July 7th, the President will meet and have breakfast with
Prime Minister Blair of the United Kingdom and then participate in the
first G8 working session. Later that morning, the G8 leaders will meet and
have lunch with leaders from emerging economies. After lunch, the official
G8 summit photograph will be taken, followed by the second working session.
And Thursday evening will include a working dinner.

On Friday, July 8th, the President will participate in the third G8 working
session, followed by a meeting and lunch with G8 and African leaders. And
after lunch, the President will depart for Washington, D.C.

If there's scheduled changes, we'll let you know. I'd be glad to answer any
questions.

Q Steve, has the United States been able to determine whether Iran's new
President was indeed one of the captors of the 52 Americans who were held
for 444 days?

MR. HADLEY: We have seen reports of that. I understand there's some
photographs. We obviously are looking into it. At this point, no
determination has been raised. It obviously raises some questions, and
we're looking into that.

Q Is that something that might not have come up before when he -- this man
has been a public figure. Has he not been -- has the thought that he might
have been one of the captors come up --

MR. HADLEY: I don't know what -- I don't know what the source of the
photographs are. They've obviously come into the public, and we will
obviously take a look at it, see what we can -- determination, but at this
point, no determination has been made.

Q Can I ask how long that would take?

MR. HADLEY: Don't know.

Q Steve, we're getting some information that he may not have played the
type of role that these former hostages are describing, that the idea of a
ringleader or interrogator may be overstating the case. Is that your
understanding of it?

MR. HADLEY: I know there has been that suggestion. Look, the reports have
come up today. We're going to have to take a look into them. Obviously,
they raise some questions. We'll try and -- try and get some answers, but
that's really where we are at this point.

Q Also, just one further point, if I could. Do you have any information
that he may, at some point in his life, have had connections with Hezbollah
and Hamas?

MR. HADLEY: Not that -- not that has come to light that I'm aware of at
this point.

Q Did the administration have any indication, knowing that he was on the
ballot, in your normal intel process, that he might have a past that would
be questionable in a way that's been raised?

MR. HADLEY: We have -- as I say, we're looking into those reports.
Obviously, one of the things you do when you get a report like this is look
back and see what you have in the files and that's the process that's going
on now.

Q But wouldn't the administration have been following his career? He's a
prominent Iranian politician; I know we're watching that country pretty
closely. Isn't this something that you would have taken a hard look at?

MR. HADLEY: Well, look, we obviously have followed his career. He was one
of a number of candidates; he was mayor of Tehran. Those events happened
some time ago. He's now been elected President. He's made his views known.
We're obviously going to have to deal with the Iranian government, of which
he's going to head. One of the most important issues, of course, is the
nuclear issue, and one of the things we will obviously do is make clear
that we think that it is important that the suspension that has been
negotiated be respected by this new government, that this new government
continue in the negotiations with the EU 3 towards a permanent suspension
and permanent cessation of enrichment and reprocessing activities. That's
important to ensure the world that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon
program. That's been our position. It will be important for the new
President to understand that position and we hope that he and his
government will continue those negotiations.

Q But when you talk about potential consequences, would he, if he is
confirmed to have been one of the original hostage takers, then be in
violation of Geneva Conventions or international laws of some kind?

MR. HADLEY: That's one of the things we'll have to take a look at.

Q Was this a surprise to you?

Q Are you now looking for the EU 3 to issue a statement at the summit next
week, just reminding the new leader of Iran of this position, of the firm
position that you have?

MR. HADLEY: Well, there have been -- they may do that, but the point is
there have been some pretty clear statements. It was very useful that
Chancellor Schr der, when he was here, was very firm in his public
statements with the President about what the EU 3 position has been. The
President is obviously going to talk with Prime Minister Blair and
President Chirac. So I think there will be a lot of occasions to reaffirm
that position, which is one that's taken by the EU 3 and, of course, which
we strongly support.

Q What improvements can be made to make sure the aid gets to the needy and
not just to those in power? And will there be additional aid given to the
poor nations of Latin America? If so, how much, and to which countries?

MR. HADLEY: Well, we -- the focus that we have going into Gleneagles has
been very much on Africa. And one of the things the President said today in
his speech is, because of the very concern you raise, the solution is not
just more aid. It is a partnership between developed countries who can
provide assistance and developing countries in Africa who can sit -- who
commit themselves to exactly the kinds of policies that will ensure that
the money is used to advance the cause of their people. And those would be
good governments -- governance, openness to markets, investing in their
people through education and health care and the like. It is those kinds of
policies that will make assistance, trade, private investment, charitable
giving, all those things, convert them from money into progress for the
poor, and that's, of course, what we want to do.

Q The President promised this morning to double overall aid to Africa by
2010. In dollar terms, where would that put us in 2010? And how much of
that represents an additional commitment over and above things he has
proposed already?

MR. HADLEY: Well, of course, the President has done a lot in his first term
with respect to Africa. As he's said, he's tripled development assistance
to Africa. He has, of course, through the Millennium Challenge Account,
through the contribution to the Global Fund for AIDS, the HIV Initiative,
this is an administration and a President who has been committed to Africa
and has already ramped up U.S. contributions substantially in the ways I
described.

He is pleased that other nations are now focusing on Africa, and that Prime
Minister Blair is using the G8 as an opportunity to focus on Africa, and we
hope other countries will step up, as well.

I can give you a sense, if you look at 2004, U.S. bilateral assistance and
assistance through multinational institutions that end up -- that goes to
Africa is about $4.3 billion. And the President's programs -- both a
continuation and an expansion of some of those programs, that he's
announced in the past in this increased commitment to Africa, and the three
additional programs that he talked about today, which will result in
additional funds -- should bring the United States in 2010 to in excess of
$8.6 billion, which would be a doubling, or doubling-plus. And we think
that's important and we hope that other countries will step up at the G8.

Q I want to ask about looking ahead. Next year Russia will have the
presidency at the G8. Is it normal for the leaders to discuss future plans,
and what, in general, can you say about Russia's participation in the G8?
And also, why is there only one bilateral meeting?

MR. HADLEY: The one bilateral meeting is -- it's very traditional when you
go -- when the President goes into a country to have a bilateral meeting
with the head of that -- the government of that country, and that's what
we're doing. The schedule is quite compressed. There's just no other time
for additional bilateral meetings, and that's why he's having one with
Prime Minister Blair.

Let me answer the second part of your question. Basically, the agenda for
the G8 is set by the chair, and it's usually set some months ahead. So,
obviously, the question will be, what does President Putin want to try and
accomplish under his chairmanship. There will be some conversations,
obviously, in that part with others, but basically, that's pretty much the
prerogative of the chair.

Q Do you have any statement to make now on the apparent shooting-down --
Afghani statement of remorse, any precautions that can be taken to make
certain this doesn't happen again?

MR. HADLEY: Well, obviously, it is a sad day for -- any loss of life is a
sad event for the country and for the President. He and the nation mourns
every life. He remains confident that the loss of life was in a good cause
in terms of bringing stability and freedom to Afghanistan so that
Afghanistan does not again become the kind of haven for terrorists that
allowed things like 9/11 to occur. But it's, obviously, a sad day and
something -- and obviously, we have condolences for the families of those
who have fallen.

Q Some of your critics say that this ramp-up is basically because America
is way short of other countries around the world in their giving to Africa.
And on the issues of AIDS and HIV, as far as the treatment, some of your
critics are saying that you have not met your targets. Congress has
mandated by 2005, September 2005, one million persons treated in
sub-Saharan Africa. And I understand the President announced 250,000 have
already been treated. And they're saying some of the problems, because
designer drugs versus generic drugs -- generic drugs are much cheaper,
versus the designer drugs that are preventing more people from being
treated.

MR. HADLEY: My understanding is -- and we can get you more facts -- that we
are ahead of where we wanted to be. We are above target in terms of numbers
treated, pursuant to the President's initiative. And we're on --

Q -- where you want to be?

MR. HADLEY: We are ahead of what our target was. The goal is to treat two
million sufferers by the year -- at the end of 2008. And my understanding
is that in going towards that goal, we're actually ahead of what we
initially projected. So my understanding is that we are on target.

There is an issue of generic drugs. They are obviously used in the
treatment process. There is attention -- because one of the things we want
to do is make sure that the drugs that are used in this process are safe.
So there is an issue about testing, to make sure that the kinds of
standards we would apply to Americans also apply to those people receiving
treatment from the United States.

Q So it's not -- it's not necessarily about a stigma, per se, it's about
the fact that they are -- aren't these the same generic drugs that they use
in the United States that we are taking?

MR. HADLEY: My understanding is that the issue -- there are generic drugs
that are used, and the question is how quickly you get there and whether
they satisfy the requisite testing to ensure they're going to be safe.

Q What does the U.S. plan to do, or can you talk about what the U.S. is
prepared to do on climate change since it opposes the Kyoto Treaty?

MR. HADLEY: Well, the President has talked quite a bit about this issue. As
you know, his view is that climate change is one of a series of related
issues, and he talked a little bit about that in his speech today.

One of the problems in the developing world is that it needs access to
energy. There are some two billion people who do not have access to
reliable energy and the trick is to get them access to reliable energy
sources in a way that also is environmentally sound. And the President
believes that that can be done. So one of the things we need to do is
provide reliable energy sources, policies that will advance the development
and prosperity, and policies, working with governments, that will allow
them to fund and adopt technologies that will provide access to energy, but
in a way that will also help clean up the environment.

So for the President, there are sort of an interrelated set of challenges.
There is pollution, there is climate change, there is development, there is
poverty alleviation. And we need a strategy that allows us to do both,
because we cannot consign large numbers of people in this world to poverty
in the name of environment -- in the environment. And it's not necessary,
because, as the President says, through the kinds of technologies that the
United States is putting a lot of money into developing, we think you can
both help the developing world to develop, alleviate poverty, have access
to reliable energy, and also clean the environment. That's the essence of
the President's approach.

Q And will there be any new steps, or is he just going to reinforce the
policies and programs you just described?

MR. HADLEY: Well, one of the things, of course, we want to do is to try and
expand the pool of countries that are engaging in this effort and are
trying to take advantage of these kinds of technologies. And that will
certainly be an item of discussion at the G8.

Yes, sir. And then you -- sorry.

Q The President called what's going on in Darfur today, genocide. He's used
the word before, but I -- my sense was he was a bit more direct in using it
today. I'm wondering if that's signaling the fact that he's going to try to
use the G8 to rally support for more aggressive action? He'll have three of
the additional Perm Five members there. I'm wondering if there's Security
Council action --

MR. HADLEY: Well, we have been rallying international opinion and concrete
action to solve the problem in Darfur. You know, Bob Zoellick has been
leading it for the Department of State and for the government as a whole.
We have had Security Council resolutions on Darfur. I think the reason you
saw it today is the President is giving a speech on Africa, and he sets out
very clearly what are the elements of our policy, which is a partnership
with right-thinking and right-governing countries, relieving poverty, the
environment, energy, the things you talked about. And one of the things he
talked about was the need for peacemaking and peacekeeping activities,
because violence on the continent is obviously an enemy of the development
we want to see.

So when you talk about the need to bring peace to the continent, obviously
you talk about Darfur. If you're going to talk about Darfur, the President
is going to call it for what it is. The U.S. government's view is that it
has been genocide. That's something that Colin Powell said almost -- almost
a year ago, the President said before, and if you're going to talk about
Darfur, obviously you're going to have to characterize the problem.

We have taken some important steps. We think a key to the solution there is
the AU peacekeeping force, to increase it from about 3,500 to about 7,500.
They're going to need -- the countries contributing to that force are going
to need help. We're doing that through NATO in terms of airlift,
communication support, a lot of other things. So this is an ongoing effort.
I'm sure the President will want to be talking to his G8 colleagues about
it, because it's obviously an important priority for us.

Sir, and then you. I'm sorry, I beg your pardon.

Q We don't have any particular order here.

MR. HADLEY: Shall we go over -- I'm sorry. I promised you. Go ahead. And
then you're next. I beg your pardon.

Q Thank you. I appreciate it. If it turns out -- going back on the Iranian
President -- if it turns out, in fact, that he is one -- was one of the
hostage takers, what would be the larger implications, specifically with
regard to the U.S. support for the EU 3 policy? The President has said that
he will not deal with terrorists. What, in fact, would that mean, the
implications for the U.S. in moving forward?

MR. HADLEY: Well, we need to get the facts. These are allegations that have
come forward. They are allegations at the present time. They raise,
obviously, serious questions, that's among the ones you have raised,
obviously. We need to take a look at those. We need to get the facts. And
then we need to see where we are.

Obviously, though, this man has now been elected by the Iranian people. It
is an election that we think is less than free and fair; we've been very
clear about that. But he will step into that government. The negotiations
between the EU 3 have been with the Iranian government, and we think it is
important that those negotiations consider -- continue. So I think what we
really need to do is get the facts, and then see what -- see what they tell
us.

Q And a second question on the Mexican postage stamps. There are civil
rights groups in this country that are decrying it as racist. Is the U.S.
prepared to denounce -- the fact that these are --

MR. HADLEY: I think Scott McClellan already did at the press briefing this
morning.

Q He did not denounce, he did not denounce.

Q Could you just reiterate what is the U.S. position, because he did not --

MR. HADLEY: Our position is that there's no place for this kind of thing.
It's wholly inappropriate, and we've made it clear.

Q Back to climate change, if we can. Tony Blair wanted to do something
specific with binding limits in it. He clearly is not going to get that
kind of language, and people in London and others who have been reporting
on some of the negotiations are pointing the finger at this administration.
Is America still the odd man out on climate change?

MR. HADLEY: I think what you're going to see is that there's an increasing
awareness that there are interrelated problems here. It's not just climate
change. It is climate change, it is pollution, it is poverty alleviation,
it is energy. These are some interrelated challenges that we face, for
which we have to take action. I think you're going to see the G8 talking in
those terms. Secondly, it is clear that we need more investment in terms of
science, but more investment in terms of technologies that allow us access
to energy in an environmentally responsible way. I think you're going to
see coming out of the G8 a commitment to a plan of action that indicates
and highlights the kinds of technologies and steps that we can take.

Q Can you talk a little bit about the administration's response, and/or the
ongoing nature of the dialogue with Italy, insofar as it is now denying
that it had a heads-up about an alleged rendition of a mullah there and is
seeking the extradition of 13 alleged CIA operatives allegedly involved in
it?

MR. HADLEY: I really can't. This is an action that comes out of the Italian
court system. I understand that they have made some requests of the United
States. Those requests will be handled in the normal legal channels. That's
really all I've got on this, on this point.

MR. JONES: We have time for one more.

Q How do you square the President's call this morning for more spending on
malaria and the other African initiatives with the fact that his '06 budget
request actually proposed cutting spending on the program that funds
bilateral malaria programs? And can you talk a little bit about what the
genesis of these initiatives were? Was this something that was thrown
together simply to respond to the pressure coming from Prime Minister Blair
and the other groups that are calling for you to do more ahead of the G8?

MR. HADLEY: I guess, one of the things I would say is I think probably we
may be responsible for some of this pressure. Because as I say, over four
years, the President has had a very ambitious agenda on Africa and has
called for other countries to do more. You may remember when Prime Minister
Blair was here, the President and the Prime Minister announced an
initiative for basically famine relief, humanitarian assistance focusing on
the Horn of Africa, and calling for other countries in the G8 to join us in
that effort.

So I think the President has been leading on Africa, and as I say, we think
it's -- G8 is an opportunity for others to come on board. We have had a
series of initiatives over four years. It's not surprising that the
President would have some additional ones. Obviously, the G8 summit is a
wonderful way to showcase some of those initiatives. That's in some sense
what the President did with Prime Minister Blair --

Q So why did your budget call --

MR. HADLEY: -- in terms of assistance.

Q -- for cutting money just a couple of months ago?

MR. HADLEY: Well, all I can say is what we have before us now and what the
President has proposed is an initiative which we think is well thought out,
and which is significant. We think it will involve basically $1.2 billion
over five years. You can see more information in terms of the fact sheets.

So what we did and what we've been doing over the last several weeks is
looking at the issue of malaria and seeing if we can put together an
initiative that makes a -- makes sense. And we think it does. It will begin
by looking at three countries as sort of prototypes. The plan is to expand
it to other additional countries over the succeeding years. And the
President has obviously indicated the seriousness by putting it in his
speech and indicating the kinds of resources we're going to put against it.

MR. JONES: Thank you very much.

MR. HADLEY: Thanks a lot.

Q Thank you.
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