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Skriven 2005-12-08 23:33:20 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0512081) for Thu, 2005 Dec 8
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Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
December 8, 2005

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



1:30 P.M. EST

MR. McCLELLAN: All right, good afternoon. I have a couple things to update
you on -- one that I was just getting updated on after some meetings
earlier today, and then I want to update you on a couple of meetings the
President had.

First of all, we are very pleased that the Senate and the House have
reached a compromise on reauthorization of the Patriot Act. We commend
congressional leaders for coming to this agreement. This bill reauthorizes
every single provision of the Patriot Act, and makes 14 of the 16
provisions permanent. The Patriot Act is critical to winning the war on
terrorism. It helps investigators and authorities dismantle terrorist
cells, disrupt terrorist plots, and capture terrorists before they strike.
Since it was enacted four years ago, the Patriot Act has helped tear down
the walls between law enforcement and intelligence officials, and it has
also allowed investigators to pursue terrorists with the same kind of tools
they already use against white collar and organized crime.

I would also want to point out, in this legislation today, that it includes
some important provisions regarding significant national security
enhancements relating to seaport security, rail security and terror
financing; the creation of a national security division within the
Department of Justice, as was recommended by the Silberman-Robb Commission,
and endorsed by the President; and it includes crucial new tools to combat
the dangerous proliferation of methamphetamine throughout the country,
particularly in rural America. A conference report is expected to be filed
this afternoon. The President urges both houses of Congress to act promptly
to pass this critical piece of legislation.

Secondly, I'd just like to mention the President had a couple of meetings
this morning. First of all, he was pleased to welcome the Chancellor of
Austria to the White House. He is a good friend, and Austria will be
assuming the presidency of the European Union in 2006. The President
appreciated the visit. This was an opportunity to talk about the importance
of transatlantic relations and our commitment to working together to
strengthen those relations. We have a good relationship with Europe, and
the President is very committed to working together on our common agenda of
spreading freedom and extending prosperity.

They had a good discussion about the war on terrorism and the nature of the
enemy that we face, and the war that we're engaged in. The President also
talked about the importance of human rights and the importance of promoting
human rights, particularly in those countries where they are denied and
routinely violated. They talked about the Middle East. The President talked
about the opportunity before us to accomplish the two-state vision that he
has outlined, and the importance of helping the Palestinians put the
institutions in place for democracy to emerge. And then they talked about a
number of other issues. And then they talked about a number of other
issues, from energy to economic issues, to the upcoming Doha Round, the
Balkans, and other related issues.

Then the President met with some congressional leaders. This was some House
Republicans, and this included some of the leadership in the House. This is
one of a number of meetings that we'll be having with Republicans and
Democrats to provide a briefing on the situation in Iraq. This is an
opportunity for them to hear directly from our commanders and our
Ambassador who are on the ground helping to support the Iraqi people as
they move forward on building a free and democratic state.

The President talked about the high stakes that are involved in Iraq and
the importance of winning, and made it clear that we are going to win. He
talked a little bit about our strategy, the nature of the enemy we face,
and our strategy for victory, and how we're going about achieving it. He
talked about the three tracks: the political, security, and economic
tracks. And then we heard -- they heard from Secretary Rumsfeld and General
Pace who were here in the Roosevelt Room. And then Ambassador Khalilzad
started off by talking about the political track. They really focused --
Ambassador Khalilzad and General Casey focused on two tracks: the political
and the security.

And the Ambassador talked about the political progress that's being made,
and talked about how more and more Iraqis are participating in that
political process. We saw those numbers increase from January, where you
had 8 million, to the constitutional referendum, where you had some 10
million participating in the elections. And you see stories in recent days
where more and more Sunnis are coming into the process, and you have more
and more Shiites that maybe previously hadn't participated, participating
as well.

But the Ambassador talked about how the preparations for the elections were
going well. This will be for the election on December 15th, where the
Iraqis will go and choose a permanent representative government. There are
some 300 -- more than 300 political entities that are participating in this
election. You have some 7,000 candidates and some 6,000 polling stations
that will be in place. They did have a discussion with members about some
of the challenges facing -- or surrounding the elections, as well.

General Casey then went on to talk about the security situation, and talked
about the preparations for security around the elections and how those were
going, and talked about some of our military operations, how we're going on
the offensive against terrorists and some al Qaeda leaders, and the
successes that we're achieving there. And they also talked about the
training of Iraqi security forces, some of which you've already heard,
about how more and more are in the lead now, and they're controlling more
territory. And then there was some discussion at the end about the economic
progress and the challenges on the economic front, much of what you heard
yesterday from the President.

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

Q What are the President's thoughts on the aircraft shooting yesterday? And
does he see any difference between a perceived threat and an actual threat?

MR. McCLELLAN: Any difference? I don't know if you have a specific example
you want to highlight, but --

Q Well, this fellow was a perceived threat. He was mentally ill. He was not
an actual threat. He was a perceived threat. I was just wondering what the
President thinks --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we might -- there are certain things you might know
after the --

Q Could you tell me what the President thinks of yesterday's actions?

MR. McCLELLAN: A couple things: there are things that you might know after
the fact. But from what we know, this team of air marshals acted in a way
that was consistent -- I'm sorry, let me back up -- from what we know, the
team of air marshals acted in a way that is consistent with the training
that they have received. The air marshals receive extensive training, some
of the most extensive of any law enforcement agency. And we are very
appreciative for all that our air marshals are doing to protect the
American people. They use that training that they receive to protect people
that fly. And this was an important step that we took after September 11th
to expand the air marshal program.

And now, in any situation like this where you have a law
enforcement-related shooting, there is a standard investigation that goes
on following that shooting. That investigation is ongoing to learn more
about it. And, of course, anytime you have an investigation like that, you
learn lessons, and you apply that to future training and protocols.

Q And does the President think that the air marshals were correct in
ignoring the pleas from the man's wife, perhaps the assumption that at that
point, they couldn't tell whether or not she was telling the truth?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, a couple things. First of all, as I indicated, I mean,
you and I can sit here and talk about these issues, but there's an
investigation looking into all those matters. But the air marshals that
were on this flight appear to have acted consistent with the extensive
training that they have received, and that's important to note. And so we
are appreciative of all that our air marshals do day in and day out in
terms of trying to protect the American people.

Now, no one wants to see a situation like this happen. But, again, if you
go back and look at the facts that we do know at this point, I think you
will see that they followed the training that they have received, but that
investigation will continue to look at those issues.

Q And like some other people have said, does the President believe that in
this case the system worked?

MR. McCLELLAN: That the system worked? Well, again, it appears that they
followed the protocols and did what they were trained to do. They receive
extensive training. And we will look and see what the investigation turns
up, as well.

Q Can I follow on that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead.

Q I just wondered, Scott, why, in the U.S. don't we interview passengers
the way the Israelis do? Is it just because of matters of political
correctness that we stay away from that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you might want to talk to aviation security experts
about some of those issues. But what we did in the aftermath of September
11th was take a number of steps to strengthen aviation security. One step
was the expansion of the air marshal program. And that's an important
effort to help protect Americans. Another step was to strengthen the
cockpit doors. And another step was to put in new technology to detect
explosives or other things that might come through the screening of
passengers. And so, I mean, it's moved out from the curb to the cockpit.
There are a lot of security measures that have been put in place. These are
important measures that are helping to protect the American people from
possible threats that we may face. We know that we face a very determined
enemy that would like to attack us again, and that's why it's so important
that we continue to act on all fronts, not only abroad, but that we act
here at home to defend the homeland. And that's what we're doing.

Q But does the White House have any thoughts on interviewing --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that that's a matter that aviation experts
involved within the administration and outside the administration, those
are all issues for them to look at. And if there are additional
recommendations, then I'm sure they'll bring those forward.

Q Iraqi insurgents are claiming that they have killed the kidnapped U.S.
security consultant; they're blaming President Bush for failing to comply
with their demands. Can you confirm whether he's dead, and has the
President been notified of this?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I don't have any confirmation of that matter.

Q Did the United States do anything to try to rescue this man?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I don't have any confirmation or any additional
information to provide on that matter. Any time there is an American that
is taken hostage, it is a priority for the administration and their safe
return is a priority for the administration.

Q When you described for us the topics that the President and the
Chancellor discussed today, did the Chancellor and the President at any
time talk about the torture issue that has gotten so much attention on
Secretary Rice's trip --

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, yes, and, in fact, the President was the one who
brought it up. As I mentioned at the top, the President talked about human
rights. This is something he always brings up in meetings he has with world
leaders and something that he talks about very often in public. We all have
an obligation to promote human rights and to defend those who are being
denied rights, and to try to encourage the advancement of human rights in
countries, particularly where many people have their rights violated or
routinely denied. And that's what I talked -- and at the end of that
portion of the conversation, the President said, I know there's been some
focus on the detainee issue and I just want to reiterate our position,
which is, we don't torture. We are -- and as I've said on numerous
occasions, we are a country that abides by our laws and our values and our
treaty obligations.

Q And so when Secretary Rice seemed to, at least to a layperson's view,
expand the U.S. policy by saying it extends to any employee who is working
anywhere in the world, which seemed to many people to be a distinction from
just those installations that are in the United States being separate from
those abroad -- did that aspect of it come up?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again -- no, that did not. The President was the one
who brought it up. But then I think the -- they went on to talk about --
more about the war on terrorism and the nature of the enemy we face, and
the Chancellor expressed how he shared our commitment to doing all we can,
lawfully, to protect our citizens. I mean, that's a commitment that all
governments have a responsibility to fulfill. And the President has made it
very clear, and he made it clear in the meeting, too, that we're going to
do everything we can within the law to protect our citizens.

He remembers very well what happened on September 11th -- it's something
that he will never forget. And that's why we are taking all the actions
that we are, from the air marshals to taking the fight to the enemy abroad
so that we don't have to fight them here at home, to moving forward on
provisions like the Patriot Act that provide us important tools to defend
Americans here at home and disrupt plots from happening in the first place.

Q Scott, on Iraq, how big a turnout do you think will be needed to make
this election a success?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not an election predictor, but --

Q You've had 8 million the first time, 10 million the next, will it be more
this time --

MR. McCLELLAN: I've never tried to be an election predictor, but what I
would point out is that in January you had some 8 million people turn out
to vote, which was an historic election at the time, for the transitional
government. Then that government formed, moved forward on drafting a
constitution. In October they came back and the Iraqi citizens came back
and voted on the constitutional referendum, and you had some 10 million
people showing up at the polls. And now you see reports throughout Iraq
that politics is breaking out around the country. I mentioned how there are
numerous political parties; there are thousands of candidates participating
in this election. And what we're there to do is help support them as they
move forward. I think you have a large, very large number of election
monitors that will be in place. I think they're mostly Iraqi, but there
will be international ones, as well, and maybe even some others that will
be there to monitor the elections.

And what's important is that the democratic progress -- process is
continuing to move forward. The Iraqi people have shown time and time again
that they are going to defy the terrorists, and those Saddam loyalists who
want to return to the past -- or those terrorists who want to deny them the
right to live in freedom. The Iraqi people want to live in freedom.

And so it's a good sign that you're seeing all these reports about more and
more people engaging in the political process, and realizing the political
process and democracy is the way forward to a brighter future -- a future
that is built on an inclusive representative government that protects the
rights of all. That's very -- that stands in very stark contrast to the
past.

Q Secondly, have you seen Howard Dean's comments this morning? Do you see
that as a clarification of what he said --

MR. McCLELLAN: As a clarification? What was his clarification, that his
comments that we can't win in Iraq were taken a little out of context?

Q Yes.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think it highlights the problems within the Democratic
Party. You have a lot of disarray and disagreement within the Democratic
Party. You have some that are advocating like he is, to -- that we can't
win and that we should cut and run and retreat. You have some that are
trying to score political points off the situation on the ground or off
media reports. And then you have a few within the Democratic Party, like
Senator Lieberman, who understand the stakes that are involved in Iraq, and
understand the importance of winning and know that we will win. They have
great confidence in our troops, and they know that our troops will succeed.

And what the President is emphasizing is a plan for victory, and a way to
get there. And what others are emphasizing is immediate withdrawal of
troops, or artificial timetables. That's a plan for defeat.

Q Is Senator Lieberman getting a holiday invitation to the ranch by any
chance? (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead.

Q Or to the Pentagon?

Q Scott, two questions -- one, now, as far as the Iraq elections, as you
say, coming next week, and Saddam Hussein is on trial. It seems to me it's
a drama, not a trial, because defendant is laughing, enjoying, having fun,
and he still thinks that he's the President of Iraq. My question is that he
bribed thousands of people, elite or the cream of the -- "top of the cream"
people around the globe, including the Foreign Minister of India, who just
resigned, and he was fired by the Indian government. And why other leaders,
or top leaders around the world have not come out -- who got billions of
dollars from Saddam?

And second, he's a man who brutally murdered his two son-in-laws in front
of his daughters, and killing millions of others in Iraq, my question is
that, where are we going from here? Now he's still in -- he still think
that he's in power, and now we are moving forward with elections and free
Iraq.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- a free and democratic Iraq, an Iraq that is an ally in
the war on terrorism, and an Iraq that will help inspire other reformers in
the broader Middle East, whether it's in Iran or Syria, or elsewhere, and
help us lay the foundations of peace for generations to come. And that's
why it's so important that we succeed in Iraq.

I would like to go a little bit back to what I was talking to Steve about
on some of the comments that have been made, because I think what you're
seeing within the Democratic Party is that to a large extent, there's the
liberal base driving Democrats into some of these positions that they're
taking. Some feel that -- maybe that supported us going into Iraq in the
first place, some feel a need to try to appease that portion of their party
by going out and attacking us. And they're trying to have it both ways.
Then you have some that are being driven to the position that we should cut
and run, that we should retreat in the face of an historic opportunity to
achieve significant gains in the Middle East and achieve lasting peace. And
I think that's what's happening here.

But there's -- reports are coming out saying that they're trying to search
for an alternative or some sort of plan. The President has a very clear
plan. It is a strategy to help us win in Iraq and to help us succeed by
spreading freedom in the broader Middle East and lay the foundations of
peace for a long time to come.

And that's why this is so important to the broader war on terrorism. We see
the letters from Zawahiri to Zarqawi, which talk about how they want to
drive America out of the Middle East -- that's their goal -- so that they
can establish a safe haven in the Middle East from which they can plan
attacks against America, from which they can try to topple moderate
governments in the broader Middle East. And we are fighting the terrorists
there in Iraq so that we don't have to fight them here at home.

And we are going to win. That's the President's message. That's his message
to our troops, that's his message to the enemy. The enemy has said this
will be a significant blow to their ambitions if we let America succeed in
the broader Middle East and we don't drive them out.

Q My second question is --

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me go on to Elaine. Go ahead.

Q Thank you. Scott, on the issue of torture, now that Secretary Rice has
come out and said the United States will not permit cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment by all U.S. personnel, will the President still veto
the McCain amendment?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, on the McCain amendment, that's something that we're
working very closely with Senator McCain and other congressional leaders on
right now. What we emphasized previously is that we face a lot of difficult
issues in this different kind of war that we're engaged in, and what we're
doing is trying to find a good solution. And that's where it is at this
point.

Q A follow-up on a different issue. On the Hurricane Katrina issue, will
the White House turn over documents and communications that Chairman Davis
is asking for?

MR. McCLELLAN: We've been working very closely with Chairman Davis'
committee -- the bipartisan committee that is investigating some of the
matters. We also, as you know, have a lessons-learned review going on at
the White House, and we're moving forward on it. We will continue to work
with the committee and make sure they have the information that they need
to do their job. We've provided a lot of information to the committee
already, we've provided them access to a lot of officials already, and
we'll continue to work with them. And, in fact, we've responded to some
more recent requests that the committee made in a letter just the other day
and reiterated that commitment to work with them to make sure they have
what they need to be able to do their work.

Q But what's the delay? Governor Blanco released 100,000, as you know,
documents related to --

MR. McCLELLAN: What delay are you talking about? As I pointed out, we've
provided substantial information to the committee, and we'll continue to
work with them. We've already provided them some 250,000 pages of documents
from departments and agencies charged with the operational response. We've
provided them access to officials, and we've provided them situational
reports, updates, and assessments addressing issues that they said were
priorities. And we'll continue to work with them to make sure they have the
information they need to do their job.

Remember, we worked with the 9/11 Commission, too. They had information
they wanted, and we made sure they had the information they needed to be
able to complete the important work that they were doing.

Q Is there an issue of executive privilege here when it comes to specific
--

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there's always a separation of powers issue involved.
But I don't know that I'd necessarily agree with the characterization of
our efforts to support the committee's work and work with them to make sure
they have what they need.

Go ahead, Greg.

Q Scott, this is going back a little bit, but we've received some
complaints from soldiers, both former and current, about the Tobyhanna
speech and the Elmendorf, Alaska speech. They cite their own regulations
that say U.S. soldiers cannot participate in partisan political activity.
But when the President attacked Democrats, they are -- they feel like they
were put in the position where they're supporting a democratic cause in
uniform. Does the President feel --

MR. McCLELLAN: Who said that? I think the President was talking as
Commander-in-Chief to our troops and talking to them about the war that
we're engaged in.

Q Well, he was talking about Democrats, as well. "Some Democrats who voted
to authorize use of force are now rewriting the past." He said, "It is
irresponsible Democrats --

MR. McCLELLAN: That's true.

Q -- "claim we misled them."

MR. McCLELLAN: Now, I notice -- now, I notice they're not making those same
claims recently.

Q Well, nevertheless, does the President feel like it's appropriate to
inject the troops into what is, I think, quite clearly a partisan debate?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I disagree. The President is the Commander-in-Chief. No
one has been more involved in this war on terrorism than our troops and
their families. And our troops understand the importance of the mission.
They understand what they're working to achieve in Iraq, and they know that
they're going to win. And they know they have the full support of this
White House and this President. We're going to make sure they have
everything they need to be able to accomplish that mission. And General
Casey and General Pace both today in the meeting talked about how high the
morale was of our troops, and what a great job that they're doing, and how
clearly they understood the stakes involved, and how clearly they
understood the importance of completing the mission.

Go ahead.

Q This President has a lot more difficulty than President Clinton in
getting credit for a good economy. We've had a good economy for months and
yet he's really low in the polls. Has he figured out what's wrong? I mean,
is it his team at Treasury? Is it his message machine? Why --

MR. McCLELLAN: We got a great economic team, first of all. Second of all --

Q That's Scott?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry? I'm sorry? Okay. Our economic team has done a
great job helping the President implement our pro-growth policies that are
leading to strong economic growth and real job creation. We've had 4.5
million jobs created since May of 2003; the unemployment rate below the
averages of the '70s, '80s, and '90s at 5 percent. We saw third quarter
growth at 4.3 percent in the revised figure that came out last week.
Productivity is at a very high level, and that's good for American workers
and helping them hopefully realizing better wages as we move ahead. And --

Q He didn't get any pop in the polls until he went to North Carolina.

MR. McCLELLAN: And what we're most interested in is what people are doing,
not necessarily what people are telling pollsters. What people are doing is
they are acting. They are -- consumer confidence is up. They're spending
more, and all signs are that our economy is very healthy.

Now, there's more to do. There are people that have lost jobs, certainly in
the Gulf Coast region. We've got to do everything we can to support them,
and we are doing that. The House moved forward on some Katrina relief
legislation yesterday. That's an important step. We've provided a lot of
funding to help get them back on their feet and help them get into housing,
and help them get jobs. We're going to continue to do that. There's more
work to do there. But we can continue to act on initiatives that will make
our workers' and families' lives even better. And that's what we're going
to do. That's why we're going to help them address the energy needs by
continuing to act on the initiatives that will address the root causes of
high energy prices. And health care costs -- rising health care costs is an
issue that we are continuing to act on.

Q You took advantage of my question not to really answer it, but to boost
the economy. Is the President --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I said -- we're most interested in what Americans are
doing, not necessarily what's being told to pollsters. We don't get caught
up in the polls. What we will continue to do is talk about the importance
of acting on pro-growth policies and building upon the foundation for
growth that we have in place because of the President's leadership.

Q But why does he have such a hard time convincing the public that times
are good?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think it's important to -- and, look, I'm not going
to try to go and analyze media coverage of everything. I'll let others do
that. But we're going to continue talking to the American people about this
priority that they care most about, along with the war on terrorism. And
it's important for them to hear about these good signs that are in place,
and important to hear about how we're going to continue to act on them.

Go ahead.

Q Italian prosecutors are seeking the extradition from the United States of
22 CIA agents in connection with the kidnapping of a Muslim cleric in
Milan, who was then flown to Egypt where he was allegedly tortured. Have
the President or Secretary Rice or Attorney General Gonzales discussed the
kidnapping charges with the Italian government? And will the United States
honor the extradition request?

MR. McCLELLAN: I imagine there have been discussions through the
appropriate channels, and you might want to check with the Justice
Department or the State Department on what discussions have occurred.

Q So will the --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think we've made our views very clear, and I'm not going
to talk any further about them.

Go ahead.

Q Scott, the President has made a number of speeches in the last couple of
months on Iraq. The poll today in The New York Times --

MR. McCLELLAN: The last couple of years.

Q Well, since September, since the protests in Crawford in August --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well before that, too.

Q -- there have been more focused speeches on Iraq, and you're currently
about to deliver the third of four in a series leading up to the election.
This New York Times poll today says that 68 percent says the President does
not have a clear plan for victory, and 81 percent said the President --
that the Bush administration has not clearly explained how long troops will
have to remain in Iraq. Does that concern you at all, and at what point
would you -- would you expect to see public opinion move in the direction
of --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, a couple of things. One, it doesn't, because we
understand how important it is to succeed in Iraq. And that's why the
President has outlined a clear strategy for winning. The stakes are very
high in Iraq. The terrorists --

Q It doesn't look like the message is getting through.

MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on, you had your question -- the stakes are very high
in Iraq, and the terrorists recognize that Iraq is a central front in the
war on terrorism. And we must recognize that, as well, as the President has
said. And we know that the American people want to see our troops come
home; so do we. But I think most Americans also want to see our troops win,
and that's exactly what they are going to do, with our full support. There
is real progress being made; we're going to continue to talk about it.
There are real challenges still that lie ahead. There are going to be tough
days. The President made that clear in both speeches of the last couple of
weeks, and he's made it clear going back for some time there are going to
be good days and bad days. But what we have to do is be able to adapt and
adjust to the circumstances on the ground and see this through to victory.
And that's exactly what we're going to do. And if others want to focus on
cutting and running and retreating, that's their business. We're focusing
on winning and protecting the American people.

And I'd be interested to see if there are any questions relating to the
importance of winning in Iraq. That's what most Americans want.

Mark, go ahead.

Q Yes, Scott, we're not going to see you tomorrow. Can you preview the
exercise that's taking place at the White House Saturday --

MR. McCLELLAN: You'll see Mr. Duffy tomorrow if you're on the plane, and on
the ground in Minnesota. So maybe we'll have a little bit more for you
tomorrow.

Karen, go ahead. Okay, all right. Thank you.

END 1:59 P.M. EST
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