Text 1819, 931 rader
Skriven 2005-11-30 23:33:24 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (051130a) for Wed, 2005 Nov 30
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Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
November 30, 2005

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


  þ Iraq
      þ Reference B
      þ Reference C
  þ Economy
      þ Reference B
  þ Military spending
  þ Budget

11:42 A.M. EST

MR. MCCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everyone -- or, good morning, still, I
guess. It's good to be back in Washington, after all the travel of recent.
Let me just mention a couple of things at the top, and then I'll be glad to
go to your questions.

The President was pleased to address the midshipmen at the Naval Academy
earlier today, and talk to the American people about our strategy for
victory in Iraq. As the President said, this is a time of danger for
America and the world. We remain a nation at war. And the President was
pleased to talk about our clear and comprehensive strategy for victory in
Iraq. It's important for the American people to have a clear understanding
of our strategy, how we see the enemy, how we define victory and how we
achieve it.

And that's why today the President was glad to also release our National
Strategy for Victory in Iraq. We encourage the American people to go to our
website, whitehouse.gov, and read through it. It details our plan for
succeeding in Iraq. It lays out the stakes involved. It talks about the
enemy that we face and it talks about the progress that we're making.

Secondly, I'd like to mention that the President in his remarks at the
event coming up will talk a little bit today about the latest economic news
that came out. The revised third quarter GDP numbers came out today and
showed that our economy grew at 4.3 percent in the third quarter. This is
the latest in a series of clear indicators that shows our economy is
exceeding expectations. Despite the difficult challenges that our economy
has been through, our workers and our economy are showing great resiliency
in the face of those challenges. And the President will talk about that in
his remarks.

As a reminder, we've created more than 4.2 million jobs since May of 2003.
The unemployment rate remains below the averages of the '70s, '80s and
'90s, at 5 percent. And earlier this week you heard other good economic
news on consumer confidence being significantly up and new homes sales
reaching record levels.

And with that, I will be glad to go to your questions.

Q How is the Secretary of State going to explain the cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment of some of our combatants -- enemies, so-called.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, we disagree with the premise of your
question, because we are a nation that --

Q There is an uproar in Europe.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we are nation that is engaged in a global war on
terrorism. And there are many partners in that global war on terrorism. But
as we carry out the war on terrorism, we act in a way that is consistent
with our laws and consistent with our values and consistent with our
international obligations. And the Secretary talked about that in an
interview the other day.

As I understand, they have received a letter from Secretary Straw, from the
United Kingdom -- or Foreign Minister Straw, I should say, from the United
Kingdom -- and they will be responding to that letter in due course.

Q Well, my question is, how is -- are you -- does the threat from this
administration to veto the military spending bill if there is not an
exemption on the ban of such treatment?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that Steve Hadley talked about this at his
recent briefing here in this room, just a couple of weeks ago. And he
talked about the difficult issues that we have to address. And he talked
about how we're working very closely with congressional leaders to address
those issues.

Q I asked a simple question, Scott. Is the President going to veto military
spending if there is no exemption on the ban?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the statement of administration policy that we
put out was that if such a step were taken that would weaken our position
in the global war on terrorism, and the ability of the President to
effectively carry out that war on terrorism, then his advisors would
recommend a veto. I think that is what our statement of administration
policy said.

Q Scott, on the President's speech, he talked a lot of numbers in terms of
Iraqi battalions. As you know, the generals on the ground, when they went
up to Congress said that there was one battle-ready Iraqi battalion. The
President also alluded to that. Do you know if there's been any change --
not battle-ready, but one Iraqi battalion that was capable of fighting on
its own -- do you know if there's been any change in status to that number
--

MR. McCLELLAN: Completely?

Q Completely. Are there more?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think I might want to leave it to our commanders to
talk more about it. But I think the President outlined it very clearly for
the American people, about the progress that is being made by Iraqi
security forces. The Iraqi security forces are more and more taking the
lead in the fight. Iraqi security forces are increasing their capability
and as they grow in capability and experience, then that will help change
our posture on the ground in Iraq, as well, and will allow our troops to
focus more on the training of those forces and focus more on going after
the terrorists.

Q So you don't know if there's been any change in status in the number of
Iraqi civilians who might, on their own --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the Pentagon just briefed yesterday, and they talked
about and they outlined the number of battalions that are taking the lead
in the fight. The President talked about it in his remarks today --

Q -- should be taking the lead in being able to --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- he talked about how some 40 battalions are now taking the
lead in the fight.

And you have to look at all that when you're measuring the progress being
made by the Iraqi security forces. The Iraqi security forces are more and
more stepping up to the plate and taking the fight to the enemy. And I
think to give the American people an accurate picture of the progress
that's being made, you can't just narrow it down and look at it in the
terms that you were bringing up at beginning.

Q Scott, first, a question about money. Will the President seek additional
money for reconstruction, to the tune of $3.9 billion?

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, I talked about this with some of your colleagues a
little bit earlier today. We are working closely with the Department of
Defense to look at what needs will be needed over the course of the coming
months and year. As we've indicated, we will be moving forward on a
supplemental next year, and those are discussions that we're having with
the Department of Defense about what they will need.

The President has made it very clear that our troops are going to have all
the resources they need to complete their mission. And one important
element of completing the mission is the training and equipping of Iraqi
security forces. But at this point, there hasn't been any formal request
made of the White House. So it's too early to, I think, get into those --

Q Are you knocking down that number, is that number --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I'm not saying that; I just think it's too early to get
into those numbers because those are discussions we're having now with the
Department of Defense about what the needs will be.

Q Secondly, about the speech, couldn't people fairly ask why it is that the
President hasn't had a strategy for victory before November 2005?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's inaccurate.

Q Okay. Well, then, what is this document, other than spin --

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me mention --

Q -- in a political document? This looks like something you would put out
--

MR. McCLELLAN: No, it's a --

Q -- in the 2004 campaign. Is that not a fair criticism?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think it's absolutely unfair.

Q Why?

MR. McCLELLAN: And let me tell you why. First of all, this is a strategy
document that the American people can go and look at. They can go to our
website at whitehouse.gov, pull it up, and read through it and see what our
strategy is, and see -- or hear more about the progress that we're making
on the different elements of that strategy. There are three tracks to the
strategy: the security side, the political side, and the economic side. So
we have a comprehensive and clear strategy for achieving victory in Iraq,
and I think that's what the American people want. And then our troops can
return home with the honor that they deserve. The President talked about
that in his remarks.

But we have been pursuing this strategy since early 2003. What this is, is
an unclassified version for the American people and others to go and look
at and see the strategy that we have in place. There have been some that
have tried to suggest that we don't have a plan. I know some congressional
members of Congress have -- Democratic members of Congress have suggested
that, and they are flat-out wrong. And not only that, but they are deeply
irresponsible to make that suggestion, particularly when our commanders
have briefed those congressional leaders on our strategy and the progress
that we're making.

And in terms of your question about -- I think you said a PR document or
something to that effect --

Q Something akin to what you sent out during the 2004 campaign -- we've
seen a lot of these things.

MR. McCLELLAN: The President has made it clear that our highest priority is
winning the war on terrorism. Iraq is central to winning the war on
terrorism. And it's important to keep the American people informed about
our strategy and about the progress that we're making. It's important to
speak to the troops, like he did today at the Naval Academy, and let them
know that they our unwavering commitment and support.

And so the President today released this document so that the American
people can go and see what our strategy is and have a clear understanding
of how we're going about achieving victory on the ground in Iraq.

Q Just one final point on this. Has the President made a determination that
it's important, in addition to dealing with domestic politics, to send a
clear message to the Iraqi government that the U.S. commitment is not
open-ended? Does he think it's high time for that if Iraqi forces are
ultimately going to take more responsibility?

MR. McCLELLAN: He thinks it's important to let the Iraqi people know that
we are firmly committed to completing the mission and helping them build a
-- build an inclusive, democratic state that is able to defend itself from
the threats that it faces. And that's what we are working to do. That's
what it spells out in this document that you have there in front of you.
And we encourage the American people to take a look at it.

Let me go here to Caren.

Q Two questions. First of all, do you have a time frame yet for the Iraq
supplemental? When is that request going to be made? Is it likely to be
before the budget?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I don't. I don't have any time frame put on that at this
point.

Q Okay. My second question is, you've talked about the progress being made
in training the Iraqi forces, but why is the violence not declining?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that the military -- that our military
commanders have talked about the situation on the ground. And I think when
you're in a war, you have to be flexible and be able to adapt to conditions
on the ground. And that's one thing the President emphasized in his remarks
today, that we are adapting and changing to the conditions on the ground,
we are adapting and changing to the enemy that we face. And, in fact, as he
cited -- I think he quoted General Casey -- General Casey said, not only do
we want to adapt and change the enemy, we want to get out in front of them
and stay ahead of the enemy.

And that's what our military is working to do, and our troops are doing a
great job when it comes to that. But it's not only our troops. It's helping
to train and equip the Iraqi security forces so that they can more and more
take the fight to the enemy.

In terms of the situation on the ground, I'm going to leave it to our
commanders who are in the best position -- our commanders on the ground --
to talk about the situation and the violence. Now, the President talked
about the enemy that we face in Iraq, and he said there are really three
different categories to that enemy. He talked about the rejectionists, and
he talked about the regime loyalists, and he talked about the terrorists.
And the terrorists may be the smallest group, but they are the most lethal
group. And they seek to break our will. And they can't break our will. They
will fail. We will prevail in this central front in the war on terrorism.
It is critical that we succeed in Iraq. It is critical to prevailing in the
broader war on terrorism and transforming a dangerous region of the world.
And the President talked about that in his remarks today.

Q Do you consider all --

MR. McCLELLAN: But I'd leave it to, again, our military commanders to talk
about the level of violence. And I think they did that yesterday in the
briefing with Secretary Rumsfeld and General Pace.

Q But could you talk about it in the context of the possibility that there
could be a draw-down of some of the forces? I mean, isn't there a risk that
if you go ahead and do that, that the violence will then --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, remember, the enemies of freedom in Iraq, the
terrorists have every step of the way tried to stop the advance of
democracy in Iraq. Every step of the way they have failed. The Iraqi people
have shown, through their courage and determination, that they are
determined to live freely and determined to build a brighter future and
determined to defeat those who seek to derail the transition to democracy.

There has been great progress made in just two-and-a-half years. When you
think about over the course of history and look at the progress that's been
made in Iraq, that is tremendous -- the progress that they've made on the
political front and the economic front and security front is really
tremendous.

Now, there are difficulties and challenges that remain, and there are going
to be tough days ahead, the President talked about that in his remarks. But
what we're doing is continuing to support the Iraqi people as they take
more and more control of their future in each of those areas. And that's
what they're doing. And they are determined to defeat those who want to
derail that transition to democracy.

They have an election coming up in just a few weeks, and that's why the
President is talking to the American people about the different elements of
our strategy and how we're moving forward to achieve victory in Iraq.

Q Scott, what are your thoughts about those who are saying that it's not
about the advance for democracy, it's about going to many of these
governments or countries that believe in the jihadist reaction and dealing
with them --

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think there are many countries that believe in that.

Q Right, but this is what they're saying, it's not

about --

MR. McCLELLAN: There may be a few.

Q This is what some of the critics are saying, that we would never win
militarily. What are your thoughts about that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that we've talked about it. We're there to
help the Iraqi people build their security forces and be able to defend
themselves, and be able to defeat the enemy in Iraq. And that's exactly
what we are working to do. I'm not sure what your question is.

Q It's going back to the terrorists, I guess. You're saying the terrorists
are the smallest group, but most lethal. Is it really about Iraq, or
dealing with the terrorists and changing the mind set of this jihadist
mentality, instead of --

MR. McCLELLAN: It's about defeating the hateful ideology that they espouse.
We have defeated hateful ideologies over the course of history. And the
President talked about in his remarks -- he talked about the Cold War and
he talked about World War II and how we defeated hateful ideologies before.

We are in a struggle against those who espouse an ideology of repression
and violence and hatred. And they will be defeated. This is about the
broader war on terrorism. This is about spreading freedom and hope in the
broader Middle East to defeat that ideology and lay the foundations of
peace for our children and grandchildren.

Q Okay. Militarily, you are saying that we cannot defeat what you consider
one of the most lethal groups, a small group of terrorists. How can there
be victory with -- how can we --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the terrorists -- and that's what's spelled out in our
document; I would encourage you to go and read it, how we define victory
and how we achieve victory, it spells it out very clearly in the document
-- and --

Q What pillar --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?

Q What pillar deals with this most lethal group, to defeat them for
victory?

MR. McCLELLAN: Go and read the document. I mean, it spells out the
different pillars, or objectives, that we're working to achieve, in terms
of our strategy.

In terms of what you're bringing up, I think you're referring to the fact
that the terrorists have made Iraq a central front in the war on terrorism.
The stakes are high in Iraq. The terrorists know that when we prevail in
Iraq, it'll be a significant blow to their ambitions. It will be a
significant victory for us in the global war on terrorism. And, as the
President pointed out in his remarks, a free Iraq will help inspire others
in the broader Middle East to move forward on freedom and democracy. And
free societies are peaceful societies. That's what's important for everyone
to understand, that we are working to lay the foundations of peace for our
children and grandchildren, and to defeat the ideology of hatred that the
terrorists espouse.

Q But as you defeat the ideology, you're still dealing with a lethal group.
How do you do that militarily?

MR. McCLELLAN: How do we do that militarily? We take the fight to them and
we stay on the offensive. And that's exactly what we're doing. We are
bringing the terrorists to justice and we are working closely, side-by-side
with Iraqi security forces and supporting the Iraqi security forces as they
take more of the lead in the fight with -- inside Iraq.

Q Scott, in the document you all write, "It's not realistic to expect a
fully functioning democracy able to defeat its enemies three years after
Saddam is finally removed from power." Does that mean, then, that the
administration now believes that it was unrealistic in its own expectations
three years ago? Or, did, in fact, you always expect the war to be as
intense as this point, three years later -- almost three years later, as it
is?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it's a time of war and Iraq is the central front in
the global war on terrorism. And you have to be flexible and be able to
adapt. That's what the President was emphasizing in his remarks, that as
conditions have changed, we have adapted. We have a dynamic strategy that
is in place. Our tactics are flexible and we adjust those tactics as
needed. So I think that's one thing that is important to listen to, in
terms of what the President said today in his remarks.

Now, in terms of the progress that's been made in just two-and-a-half
years, I think that there's been real and tremendous progress that has been
made on the ground in Iraq. And it's -- people should not ignore the
progress that's been made. And we understand that people are seeing violent
images on their screen. These are terrorists who are seeking to intimidate
and spread chaos and shake our will. They want us to cut and run. The
President made it very clear that we will never cut and run in the face of
terrorism. We will continue to stay on the offensive and take the fight to
them until we defeat them.

Q But when you say here that it's not realistic, it seems to suggest that
people had unrealistic expectations. And I'm trying to figure out what was
the source of these unrealistic expectations? Was it something --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, look, I think that over the course of history, we're
going to look back and look at the decisions that were made and the steps
that were taken over the course of the time in Iraq. And we'll let history
be the judge of those different aspects. But what's important is when
you're at war, is that it's important to learn from your experiences and be
able to adapt in order to prevail.

Q And then the last question on this is, if it's not realistic to expect
this in three years, when is it realistic to expect this?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you shouldn't have arbitrary timetables when you're
talking about achieving victory when you're engaged in a war. The President
made that very clear. It sends the wrong message to the enemy; it sends the
wrong message to our troops.

The timetable should be based on conditions on the ground. It's a
conditions-based withdrawal that we are pursuing. And that will be based on
the commanders on the ground.

Q But we're not setting an artificial timetable --

MR. McCLELLAN: And as the President said, it takes time and patience as you
move forward on building a lasting democracy. And that's one of the goals
that we're working to achieve, is help the Iraqi people put in place the
institutions for a lasting democracy to emerge. And I think that if you
compare it to the course of history, they have made real progress in a
short amount of time.

Q But when you say, it's not realistic, without setting an artificial
timetable --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the political milestones that are in place, and the
Iraqi people are meeting those political milestones time and time again.
They are meeting those political milestones here in just a couple of weeks
-- December 15th -- the Iraqi people will, again, go back to the polls,
this time to choose a permanent representative government. And that will be
a significant milestone in Iraq's future.

Q You seem to suggest we know what's realistic, and I'm trying to explore
what you think is --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not sure that that's accurate. But I'm glad you're
reading through this. We encourage the American people to read through it.
And I think you have to look at the whole document --

Q -- suggests people who had any expectations of the war being in better
shape today than it is, they're unrealistic. And I'm trying to see what is
realistic.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think it would be wrong to have an expectation that you're
going to have a lasting democracy in place in just two-and-a-half years.
But it is realistic to -- well, I would say that the fact that the Iraqi
people have made this progress in just two -- I'm sorry, able to defeat in
just two-and-a-half years is something that is quite remarkable.

Were you were saying, able to defeat?

Q No, I'm just saying there was -- the phrase says, it's not realistic to
expect a fully functioning democracy able to defeat its enemies in three
years. And I'm just trying to explore, then, what our expectations are. I
think the public is looking for, maybe not necessarily a specific time
table --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the expectations I think --

Q -- but what should we find realistic --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that's spelled out in the document, and people can
go and read through that document. I mean, we can go and sit through and
look through each different aspect of the document. I'll be glad to do
that. It talks about the progress that's being made to meet some of the
benchmarks that are in place for the political process.

Go ahead.

Q Two more Middle East-related questions. I know you've been asked before
about the so-called al Jazzier memo, but Europeans are making quite a big
deal about it. Can you assure them that even if the President did say when
he was elected said he was doing that in jest?

MR. McCLELLAN: Can I assure them what?

Q That if the President really did make those comments, he was doing so in
jest?

MR. McCLELLAN: Make what comments?

Q About allegedly bombing al Jazeera --

MR. McCLELLAN: Any such notion that we would engage in that kind of
activity is just absurd.

Q Well, do you know if the comments were made?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know what comments you're referring to. I haven't
seen any comments quoted.

Q Somebody said that they had a memo, or that they took notes during --

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me just repeat for you, Connie. Any such notion that
America would do something like that is absurd.

Q They bomb them in Afghanistan then -- their office.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry? Whose offices? The terrorist offices.

Q We bombed their office in Afghanistan, and killed their -- some of their
people in --

MR. McCLELLAN: And the military talked about that. What are you suggesting?
I hope you're not suggesting that they're targeting civilians, because
that's just flat-out wrong.

Go ahead.

Q On the al Zarqawi family members who have banded against him, do you know
if the United States is helping them now try to locate and find and capture
their relatives?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not going to get into talking about any intelligence
activities if that's what -- if you're asking questions relating to that.

Go ahead.

Q Did the Iraqi government participate in the drafting of this national
strategy --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think this is an interagency document. I don't know if
people had -- obviously people have conversations with others. But this --
the strategy has been in place since early 2003. This is an unclassified
version of our strategy. It's an interagency document.

Q When you say it's unclassified, you're not referring to -- but you're not
saying it's a declassified version --

MR. McCLELLAN: No.

Q -- it's not as though there's a classified version, this is something you
created for the American people?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there are classified aspects to our strategy. This is
the unclassified version of our strategy that we've been pursuing for some
time now.

Q Okay. And what does the administration and the Iraqi government expect to
happen vis- -vis insurrection violence after the December 15th elections?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that the terrorists are a determined enemy. They are
a lethal and deadly enemy. They are going to continue to try to derail the
transition to democracy. I think that it's best to leave it to our
commanders to talk about the situation on the ground and what they see
going forward. And they've talked about those very issues. They're the ones
who are in the best position to talk about the nature of the enemy that
we're facing and what they see going forward. And so I would leave it to
them.

Q In terms of it being an important part of the political process, however,
the administration is not suggesting to the American people that they
should expect there to be a change on the ground in terms of the situation
there?

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, one thing that the President talked about was the
integrated approach of all three elements of the strategy. We have very
good coordination going on, on the ground in Iraq with the Iraqi government
between our different leaders in Iraq, both civilian and military. And as
we make progress on one, it helps us make progress on the other. And the
President talked about that in his remarks; he talks about it in our
national strategy document, as well.

So it's important to continue to move forward on the political process
because that's a way to help defeat the enemy that we face in Iraq. And the
President talked about how many of the Sunni rejectionists, one element of
the enemy that we face, can be persuaded to come into the political
process. And, in fact, you see more and more that previously were not
participating in the political process. Now they are.

Go ahead.

Q At the beginning of the war, we were told that Iraqi oil would help
offset some of the costs to the American taxpayers, which didn't happen.
But recently the Iraqi government has said that they will be pumping more
oil next year. Could you tell me how much we're -- how much revenues we're
receiving from Iraqi oil right now?

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, it spells it out in the document that we released
today. It talks about where we are in terms of the amount of oil being
produced in Iraq, or where the Iraqi people are in terms of that. They're
in control of that. They have a ministry that's in control of their energy
sector.

Q Does it give an amount?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?

Q Does it give a dollar amount of how much?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I'm not sure that it does that -- how much revenue is
coming in?

Q Yes, I'm wondering how much --

MR. McCLELLAN: It talks about how much is being produced now and --

Q -- money is being paid to the U.S. to help offset our military --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- what the expectations are going forward.

Q Could tell me how much we're getting now? Are we getting any money from
the Iraqi --

MR. McCLELLAN: I didn't bring any of that information with me. I think you
can probably direct that toward our civilian leaders in Iraq. They might be
able to provide you that update. We also provide -- in fact, I know the
Department of Defense and others -- we provide updated reports on a regular
basis, that are available for people to go and look at on websites. So I
can try to help you track down that information.

Q But when you're doing the budget for early next year, you'll have to know
how much money you're getting from Iraq.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we're in the process of doing the budget for next year
right now. But in terms of that, I didn't bring that statistic with me.
I'll be glad to try to help you track down that information.

Go ahead.

Q In the document, you say victory is defined in stages, three stages:
short, medium and long-term. Two questions. First is, does the President
believe we have actually achieved any of these stages -- short-term, steady
progress of fighting terrorists --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, each of those stages is defined in the document.

Q I understand --

MR. McCLELLAN: We're making real progress on all three tracks of the
strategy for victory in Iraq. And --

Q These aren't the tracks of strategy. These are the definitions of short,
medium and long-term victory.

MR. McCLELLAN: Right, and it spells out --

Q Does the President think we have achieved --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- how you define that.

Q Does the President think we have achieved short-term victory in Iraq?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, if you look at what the short-term -- what it says in
the short-term, it says we're -- it says, short-term, Iraq is making steady
progress in fighting terrorists, meeting political milestones, building
democratic institutions, and standing up Iraqi security forces.

Medium-term, Iraq is in the lead defeating terrorists and providing its own
security with a fully constitutional government in place and on its way to
achieving its economic potential. The President believes that we're making
real progress when it comes to achieving victory in Iraq and implementing
our strategy. We are making progress on the political front, we're making
progress on the economic front, and we're making progress on the security
front.

And in terms of more specific information, I think that our commanders on
the ground and our leaders -- civilian leaders within Iraq would be in the
best place to talk -- best position to talk about it in more specific
terms.

Q On this spectrum, are you willing to say that we have achieved short-term
victory, medium-term victory -- any of those?

MR. McCLELLAN: I want to say we've made real progress on all three fronts
of the strategy for victory.

Q And the second question is, how far along the spectrum do we have to get
before U.S. troops can begin to come home? Does it have to be all the way
to longer-term, which is peaceful, united, stable --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President talked about what our goal is for
completing the mission, and he talks about our mission in the document that
you have before you, as well. I would encourage you to go and look at that.
But what we're working to do is help train Iraqi security forces so that
they're in position to be able to defend themselves and put in -- and help
the Iraqi people put in place a lasting democracy with -- lasting
institutions for a democracy to fully emerge. And that's how we're looking
at succeeding in Iraq.

Q But he said today that he would settle for nothing less than complete
victory.

MR. McCLELLAN: That's right.

Q Does that mean that nothing less than complete victory is needed before
U.S. troops can begin --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, absolutely not. In fact, I think he talked about as
conditions change on the ground, and as we make progress on these different
fronts, then our posture will change, as well -- our posture from a
military standpoint and from a civilian standpoint.

Go ahead.

Q Scott, I had a question on budget reconciliation. There's a congressional
debate now whether to cut Medicaid as much as $50 billion and to couple
that with the extension of capital gains and dividend tax cuts that don't
even --

MR. McCLELLAN: Is it cut, or slow the growth?

Q Excuse me, extend the dividends tax cuts and --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I mean in terms of Medicaid.

Q Part of that is actually -- what's being debated is that to do those
savings, cuts would have to extend beyond the affluent, who are trying to
spend down by passing along their assets, and actually would cut benefits
to poor, low-income Medicaid recipients. And I'm just wondering, does the
White House support that, as well as does it support extending tax cuts
that don't expire until 2008?

MR. McCLELLAN: We support Congress moving forward on a deficit reduction
package that helps us meet our highest priorities and keeps us on track to
cut the deficit. Congress is moving forward, and they're working to
identify ways that we can find savings and to look at areas where we can
achieve some offsets to funding that we'll be needing for other important
priorities.

So we appreciate congressional leaders moving forward on this. There are
different ideas that they're talking about. We've made very clear what our
views are when it comes to slowing the growth in some of the programs that
you're mentioning.

And in terms of the tax cuts, I just talked about how our economy is strong
and exceeding expectations. One reason our economy is strong is because we
acted and passed tax cuts and gave the American people more of their own
money to save and spend and invest as they so choose. And our economy is
growing. Jobs are being created. We're seeing more revenue come in to our
federal budget, as well, because of that.

Q But how does not enacting -- how does not extending tax cuts that don't
even expire until 2008, that you've once pointed out, slow the growth of
the economy?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's important to make the tax cuts permanent. The President
believes that helps provide greater certainty so that entrepreneurs and
small businesses and the American people can plan better.

Q Why does it need to be done now?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, there are some -- as you point out, some of
those tax cuts don't actually expire this year. But I just said why it's
important to move forward on those, because you provide people with great
certainty so that they can plan, and so that businesses can grow and hire
people.

Go ahead.

Q On the economy, Scott, you started out with the revised GDP numbers. A
National Journal Survey showed just recently that 43 percent of those
polled think the economy is still in a recession. Do you have any
explanation for why there's --

MR. McCLELLAN: Which poll showed -- what was the question?

Q National Journal. I don't have a question.

MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't seen the poll, but our economy -- if you look at
the facts, the facts show that our economy is strong, and it's growing
stronger. It's exceeding expectations. It has overcome some great
challenges. And we need to continue to pursue pro-growth policies that
we've put in place, and that's exactly what we will continue doing, some of
which Paula was mentioning.

Q Any notion of why more than two out of five would think the economy is
still in a recession?

MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't looked at that poll, Roger. So I couldn't tell you
without looking at the poll and seeing what the question was on that poll,
as well. But I think it's important to talk about what the facts are. And
when the American people look at the facts, I think they recognize them.
And just look at the consumer confidence number that came out earlier this
week, a significant increase in consumer confidence. This is in the
aftermath of all the devastation that took place along the Gulf Coast
region.

Go ahead.

Q Scott, after the speech, Senator Kerry suggested the President was using
the Naval audience as a prop, and has used military audiences like that in
the past for these kinds of speeches. Can you tell us if that's true or
not?

MR. McCLELLAN: Just yesterday the President stood with the Border Patrol
and talked about the importance of moving forward on immigration reform.
Today, he stood with our men and women in uniform at the Naval Academy and
our future leaders of the military to talk to them about the war that we're
engaged in.

No one has more invested in the global war on terrorism and what we're
working to achieve in Iraq than our military and their families. And the
President is the Commander-in-Chief, this is a time of war. And he has been
talking about the war on terrorism regularly for some time now. And it's
important to talk to our troops and let our troops know that they have our
firm support and unwavering commitment to help them complete the mission.

Q But could the President's speech be as effective in a non-military
setting?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President talks to the American people in a lot of
different settings. I guess maybe there's some level of frustration by some
people, some of the critics, at the fact that our military fully
understands the stakes that are involved, and they understand the
importance of succeeding and completing the mission, and winning the war on
terrorism.

Martha, welcome to the White House.

Q Thank you very much.

MR. McCLELLAN: I forgot to publicly say to Terry Moran we wish him well,
after he served for a long time --

Q He's doing very well.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- but we welcome you here, as well.

Q Thank you, thank you very much. Two things the President said today. He
said, "Our goal is to train enough Iraqi security forces so they can carry
the fight" -- but then he later went on to say "when our mission of
defeating the terrorists in Iraq is complete, our troops will return home
to a proud nation." Does that mean U.S. forces will be there until the
terrorists, as you say, are defeated? Or can you eventually turn it all
over, even if the insurgency is continuing?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think this partly goes back to what Craig was asking
--

Q Sorry, I just got here.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- a little while ago. I would look at it in terms of what
was outlined in the speech, and what we say in the document that we put
forward today for the American people.

As the conditions change, and as we make progress on all these different
fronts, then we'll be able to change our posture in Iraq, as well. And as
the Iraqi forces stand up and take more of the lead, then we'll be able to
reduce our troop presence. But it's going to be based on what the
recommendations of the commanders are. It's going to be based on the
conditions on the ground, and we're always going to look to our commanders
to make the decisions about when those troops return home.

In terms of the terrorists, we are going to pursue terrorists wherever they
are. Whether they're in Iraq or elsewhere, we're going to continue to
pursue terrorists and go after them and prevent them from carrying out
their attacks, and do our best to prevent them from carrying out attacks in
the first place.

Q But he specifically said, "when the mission of defeating the terrorists
is complete, then our troops will return home."

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, again, in terms of decisions about troop levels --

Q I'm not talking about a draw-down --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I know. But in terms of decisions about troop levels,
that's going to be based on what our commanders say and based on conditions
on the ground. So, no, I wouldn't look at it in the way that you suggested
in your initial question.

Q Scott, if this document is an articulation of plans, strategy and policy
that have been in place since 2003, why is it only being released now, on
November 30, 2005?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we've been talking to the American people about the
strategy that we have in place, and this pulls it all together in one
document so that the American people can go and look at it and read through
it, and understand where we are in terms of implementing that strategy and
achieving victory in Iraq.

Q But did you see a sudden need to put together a compendium like this for
release publicly?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think it's for the reasons I just stated: The war on
terrorism is our highest priority; Iraq is the central front; and we're
going to continue to talk to the American people about the strategy that we
have in place. We have a very clear strategy in place. I talked to you
earlier about how there have been some Democrats, some critics of this
administration who have tried to suggest that there was no plan -- and I
said that that is deeply irresponsible to suggest that there's no plan in
place, particularly when our commanders have been briefing congressional
leaders on the strategy that we're pursuing.

Q So is it safe to say then that you felt a need to respond to those
accusations and articulate for the American people what the plan was?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, in fact, today -- this coincided with a series of
speeches that the President is giving. The first one is to focus on one
important element of our strategy for victory in Iraq, and that is the
training of Iraqi security forces. This is one in a series that he's going
to be giving leading up to the election. And we felt it was important to
pull all this information together so the American people can go and see
for themselves and read through the details of our strategy, and the
progress that we're making.

Now, in terms of those who have been critics, the President will directly
take on those who make false charges, or who engage in irresponsible
attacks.

Q Thank you.

MR. McCLELLAN: Thank you.

END 12:19 P.M. EST
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