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Skriven 2005-12-12 23:33:16 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0512122) for Mon, 2005 Dec 12
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Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 12, 2005

Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan
Aboard Wire Van 1/Press Van 1
En Route Park Hyatt Philadelphia



10:52 A.M. EST

MR. McCLELLAN: All right, good morning, everybody. Welcome to the first
mobile gaggle of the administration. Let me first start off by going over
the President's day. The President, this morning, called President-elect
Zelaya of Honduras. It was a congratulatory call. They talked -- it was a
little bit under 10 minutes. The President called to extend his
congratulations, and said he looked forward to working with the
President-elect. Both leaders talked about the importance of the
U.S.-Honduras -- Honduran relationship, and expressed their commitment to
work to strengthen the relationship. They also talked about the importance
of moving forward on the Central American Free Trade Agreement and
implementing it. And the two leaders also said they looked forward to
seeing each other soon, sometime after the President-elect is inaugurated
in January.

And then following that, the President had his usual intelligence briefing
this morning. He received an update on the assassination of Mr. Tueni, the
member of parliament in Lebanon who was killed in a car bombing. And I'll
come back to that in a minute. Then he participated in the first of three
interviews he's doing today with Brian Williams. That's for the Nightly
News tonight, and then tomorrow for the Today Show -- I think they'll be
showing some segments of that. He did that in the Oval Office.

Then we departed, and the President, on the plane, participated in an
additional interview with Brian Williams. That's why I was unable to come
back and talk to you all. And then here, shortly, the President looks
forward to going to the World Affairs Council. I should say it's a World
Affairs Council sponsored event at the Hyatt. And I think you all have a
preview of the remarks.

Let me just kind of mention a couple of things about it. This is the third
in the four that the President is doing ahead of the election. The next one
will be on Wednesday, as you're aware. Today he's focusing on our efforts
to help the Iraqi people build a lasting democracy. And I think one thing
that he'll do is talk about how it's important to keep in mind our own
history. And he'll talk about how our own democratic experiment was
challenging and difficult, and it took time to build. But we were able to
learn from experience and adapt and adjust to circumstances.

And then he'll focus on how over the last two-and-a-half years in Iraq it's
been a difficult period, but it's also been a hopeful period, and a period
of great achievement. There's been a lot of remarkable progress on the
political front, and that's what he's going to be talking about today.
He'll talk about how the Iraqi people have met the four major milestones
for the transition to democracy, the fourth being this week with the
elections for a constitutional government. And he'll talk about how the
Iraqi people have proved the skeptics and pessimists wrong at every stage
of the political process, and those who question the universal appeal of
liberty.

He'll also talk about the challenges ahead after the election. There will
be four key challenges that he'll talk about, following the elections, from
security, to forming an inclusive government, to encouraging
reconciliation, to establishing democracy in a tough neighborhood. And
he'll expand on that in his remarks. And, obviously, he'll talk about the
stakes involved in Iraq and the importance of a free Iraq to the broader
Middle East.

And then we return back this afternoon -- oh, I'm sorry, before we depart
the event, he'll participate in his third segment with Brian Williams. Then
we'll head back to Washington, and he's got some policy time this
afternoon, and then he's got the Diplomatic Corps reception over at the
State Department this evening.

And I think that's really all I have to begin with.

Q What is the fourth speech going to be about this week?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he'll continue to talk about -- I mean, all these have
some common themes to them, that center around our strategy for victory in
Iraq that he'll -- that will be the day before the election, so, obviously,
he'll be talking about the important milestone that will be coming this
week. But I'll try to preview a little bit more tomorrow. It's still in the
works right now.

Q Do you know who was behind the Beirut bombing?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, not at this point. We strongly condemn the assassination
of Mr. Tueni. We extend our condolences to his family and the family of the
others that were killed in this savage attack. I think that his murder is
another act of terrorism aimed at trying to subjugate Lebanon to Syrian
domination. He was a Lebanese patriot, a member of parliament and an editor
of one of the leading newspapers. And he was a strong and well-known
opponent of Syria, someone who was pro-democracy and pro-sovereignty for
Lebanon.

And, remember, he was assassinated one day after he had returned to
Lebanon. He had left because he was concerned that -- concerned about his
situation there. It's clear -- this savage attack is clearly intended to
intimidate those in Lebanon who would courageously and openly speak their
minds. It's also a violent and direct assault on freedom of press in
Lebanon. The attack is a reminder that all of us in the international
community must continue to insist on enforcing the Security Council
resolutions aimed at ending Syria's interference in Lebanon once and for
all.

But I think it's premature to know exactly who is responsible for the
attacks. But it's clear what it was intended to do.

Anything else?

Q I'm sorry, just one more thing. Is he doing more of these Brian
Williams-like interviews; is he doing ones with other networks this --

MR. McCLELLAN: He does have a couple of others set for later this week. And
I'll update you on those as we get closer to them.

Q Do you expect violence during the election?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, a couple things. And, one, I think -- as I said, the
President will talk about the security situation within his remarks, and
the challenges that remain. We have always anticipated that there would be
an up-tick in violence heading into the elections. We've seen some suicide
bombings recently aimed at innocent Iraqis.

But each step of the way the Iraqi people have defied the terrorists and
those Saddam loyalists who want to return to the past. They cannot win --
all they can do is seek to spread fear and chaos. And the Iraqi people are
determined to build a future based on freedom.

And I think you've seen some of the -- some of the latest surveys that have
come out, and it shows the optimism of the Iraqi people, and the confidence
that they place in the elections and the confidence that they place in
their future. And it's important that all of us, not only in the coalition,
but the entire international community and the Arab world, stand behind the
Iraqi people during this time of transition to a peaceful and democratic
future, because the Iraqi people have shown through their courage and
determination that they want a freedom of future [sic]. And the President
will talk a little bit about that aspect in his remarks, too, and talk
about the importance of all of us standing behind the Iraqi people.

And as I mentioned at the beginning, there are still going to be challenges
that remain after the election. And one of the most significant challenges
is still the security situation. The terrorists and Saddam loyalists will
continue to try to carry out attacks against the Iraqi people after the
elections, because they recognize the stakes involved -- a free Iraq will
be a devastating blow to their ambitions. A free Iraq will help inspire
reformers throughout the Middle East, and it will make America more secure.
And that's why it's so important that we succeed, and that's why we have a
plan to win in Iraq.

Q Scott, is the President pleased with how these four speeches are going so
far? Does he feel as though they're accomplishing the goal he set out, I
guess to better educate the American people about what's going on?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, they are important speeches, and they are speeches that
are helping to inform the American people about the progress that's being
made on the ground in Iraq, the stakes involved in Iraq, and the challenges
that remain. This is an opportunity for the American people to get a clear
understanding of the strategy that we have in place to succeed, and how
that strategy is a dynamic one -- it's based on adapting and adjusting to
the circumstances on the ground. And that's important when you're in a
situation like you are in Iraq.

Q Right. But does he feel as though these speeches, in particular, have
been better able to communicate what has been difficult to communicate in
the past?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, these speeches -- remember, these speeches are being
given in the lead up to a historic milestone for the Iraqi people this
week. It's an important time period for the Iraqi people. There are still
difficult challenges that remain, and it's important that the President
keep the American people informed about the progress being made and the
challenges ahead. And that's what they were designed to do. And so in that
sense, yes. But, I mean, he's not going to -- I mean, he has been talking
about it before, and he'll continue talking about it after the elections.
This is -- Iraq is critical to our efforts to win the war on terrorism and
spread freedom throughout the broader Middle East.

Thank you.

END 11:04 A.M. EST

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