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Skriven 2005-01-13 23:33:16 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0501137) for Thu, 2005 Jan 13
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Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 13, 2005

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

Press Briefing
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  þ President's Schedule
  þ Indonesia Relations
      þ Reference B
  þ War on terror
      þ Reference B
  þ U.S. interrogation measures
  þ American morale relating to Iraq
  þ Iraq Election monitoring
  þ Travel to Florida
  þ President's inauguration preparation

1:28 P.M. EST

MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everybody. The President was pleased to go
over to the Pentagon and receive an update on our tsunami relief efforts by
the military, as well as to participate in a briefing on the global -- in
the -- on the global war on terrorism.

The President had an update from Admiral Fargo, who is the Commander of the
United States Pacific Command, as well as Marine Corps Lieutenant General
Blackman, who is overseeing the military's relief efforts in the Indian
Ocean region. And you heard the President talk about this earlier, but our
military immediately went into action after the tsunamis hit the region, to
make sure we were getting immediate aid to those who were suffering and
doing all we could to save lives.

The United States, as the President said earlier today, is grateful for our
men and women in uniform who are getting help to those in need and showing
the true compassion of America. And the President also heard about the
strong coordination that is going on between our military, the USAID,
international relief organizations and the governments of the affected
countries. And following that, he received his -- he participated in the
briefing on the global war on terrorism. And you heard directly from the
President on both those issues.

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

Q Did he get an update on the search for Osama bin Laden?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not going to get into the discussion of the meeting. It
was a classified briefing, and I'll leave it there, where the President
left it earlier.

Q Have you gotten a clarification yet from Indonesia on their statement
that foreign troops should leave?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the military is probably the best place to
direct those questions. I think they may be providing an update later
today, as well. But our focus right now is on continuing to work very
closely with the Indonesian government and others in the -- and other
affected countries to continue providing relief to those who need it in the
region, as well as to help with recovery efforts, as well as rehabilitation
efforts that are underway to get basic services up and going again. And we
stay in close contact with those governments. I think there's good
cooperation going on.

I would -- keep in mind that our military is -- the support that they are
providing is really focused on the immediate relief efforts, and some of
the initial rehabilitation efforts going on, as well. So they deployed
assets and logistical support to the region immediately in the aftermath.
Within days they had relief flowing to the region.

And we'll continue to discuss these issues with the respective governments
about the aid that's going on. But we want to continue working closely with
the Indonesian government to get help to those who need it, particularly in
the hardest hit areas of Indonesia, the Aceh province, for instance. But
our military, again, is primarily there for the immediate relief efforts
and some of the initial rehabilitation efforts. There will be a time when
they can -- when they will no longer need to have so many assets in the
region. And so I think they can update you on that.

Q In the war on terror, did anything come up with that in the context of
the inauguration, anything about any threat or anything --

MR. McCLELLAN: That wasn't the purpose of the meeting.

Q So Scott, is there nothing you can tell us over and above what the
President said, which really wasn't a whole lot, except there needs to be
--

MR. McCLELLAN: We'll continue to talk about what we're working to do to win
the -- what we're working to achieve. And we'll continue talking about our
-- the progress we're making to win the war on terrorism. We have talked
about that often. And that requires a coordinated effort with other
countries, as well as within our government, to not only stay on the
offensive from a military standpoint and bring those to justice who seek to
do us harm, but also to help advance freedom and democracy in the broader
Middle East. But --

Q Can you just, sort of, give us an update, because we haven't heard from
you much before? What are you looking to achieve --

MR. McCLELLAN: But in terms of -- in terms of this discussion, no, it was a
classified discussion. So there's not much else I can get into at this
point.

Q What are you looking to achieve in the near term, here, besides the
spread of freedom and democracy, in terms of strategy in the war on terror?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I just talked to you about what our strategy is. Our
strategy is to go after and bring to justice those who seek to do us harm.
Taking the fight to the enemy is at the top of our strategy to win the war
on terrorism. Right along there with it is working to advance and support
freedom in parts of the world that have not known freedom. And that's what
we'll continue to do. We're achieving significant results in terms of
dismantling the al Qaeda network. We've made great progress there. We're
seeing historic -- an historic and hopeful moment in the broader Middle
East with elections taking place in Afghanistan, with elections coming up
in Iraq, and with an election of a new Palestinian President in the Middle
East.

Q Right, but other than Iraq, where is the enemy now? Where are you
concentrating your efforts?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's a multi-front effort, John. There are a number of ways
we're going after the enemy, from cracking down on terrorist financing to
working with other nations to share intelligence and act on that
intelligence. We're also working from a military standpoint to go after
those who seek to do us harm, whether it's in Afghanistan or Iraq or
elsewhere.

Q But -- it's all kind of ephemeral now. I mean, you could point to
Afghanistan before and say, here's where the terrorists are; you could
point to Indonesia and say, here's where Jemma Islamiya is. But, as I say,
it's kind of ephemeral. We don't really -- where is the enemy these days?

MR. McCLELLAN: John, I'll give you an update. The enemy is the ideology of
hatred and oppression that people espouse. That's what we're up against.
We're working to defeat an ideology of hatred and oppression. And you do
that by going after the terrorists, who have no regard for rule of law, no
regard for innocent civilians, and all they seek to do is spread chaos and
fear and intimidation.

You also do it by working to provide hope and freedom to those who have
only seen tyranny and oppression. And that's what we're going to continue
working to do in a global effort. There are many nations involved around
the world in the global war on terrorism, and we have many partners, and
we're going to continue to build upon those relationships. We've worked to
build those relationships over the last few years. We've provided you a
significant amount of information in terms of how we're working to win the
war on terrorism.

One other effort that is very important to this, because the nexus between
weapons of mass destruction and terrorists is the most dangerous threat of
our times -- that's why the President initiated the proliferation security
initiative, with a number of countries who are working to stop the spread
of weapons of mass destruction. That was a significant initiative. We've
also been able to dismantle the networks like the A.Q. Khan network, and
that was an important achievement in the global war on terrorism and making
the world a safer and better place.

So there are a number of things that we've already provided to you all on
the war on terrorism, and I'll be happy to get you more information on all
that.

Q Scott?

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Terry.

Q Scott, why did the White House block or muscle Congress out of adding
legal protections for foreign prisoners in U.S. custody, protections
against extreme interrogation measures?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I disagree with your characterization, first of all. I
think that there were people on both sides of the aisle and in both the
Senate and House that supported the view that we took, and it was a view
that we stated publicly. And, of course, we are going to state privately
what we state publicly.

We did not view the provision as necessary because there are already laws
on the book to address these issues. There is a provision included in the
Defense Authorization Act to address some of these issues. There are --
there is the Convention Against Torture. There is the -- there are criminal
statutes against torture in the United States. And our policy is to comply
with our laws and our treaty obligations. That's the policy of the United
States.

Q If we could get down to brass tacks here, the purpose of this proposed
law was to make sure that CIA interrogators have to abide by the same
standards as Defense Department interrogators. And the White House didn't
want that. Is that because you want CIA interrogators to be able to get
rougher and tougher?

MR. McCLELLAN: We want everybody throughout the government to comply with
the policy of the United States, which is to follow our laws and our treaty
obligations. The President has made it very clear that we don't condone
torture, and nor -- and he would never authorize the use of torture. He's
made that very clear.

I just pointed to the Convention Against Torture. It addresses the
treatment of detainees and the use of torture. I pointed to our criminal
statutes. We have criminal statutes on the book that address these issues.
There is also language in the Defense Authorization Act that addressed
these issues, as well. And so we didn't view it as necessary.

Q I'm trying to get -- he doesn't condone torture. The question is, what
does the President condone? And in your letter to Congress in October, the
one you're referencing here, you said --

MR. McCLELLAN: That we released to you all publicly in October.

Q I recall that. Yes, indeed, it was publicly released. And I confess, I
missed this line, so I'd ask you to explain it now. "The administration
also opposes section 1014 of S2845 which provides legal protections to
foreign prisoners to which they are not now entitled." What legal
protections does the President believe foreign prisoners in U.S. country --
in U.S. custody shouldn't have?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President has made very clear what our policy is, and he
expects the policy to be followed. The policy is to comply with our laws
and with our treaty obligations. The criminal statutes of the United States
specifically talk about -- you bring up an issue about people outside the
United States -- the criminal statute of the United States specifically
says that -- or imposes criminal penalties on "whoever outside the United
States commits or attempts to commit torture." So there are already laws on
the book that address this issue.

That's why I said that their provision -- or the provision in this
legislation is something that we viewed as not necessary because it's
already addressed in international treaties, in our laws, and in the
Defense Authorization Act.

Q What legal protections shouldn't those prisoners have in the President's
view?

MR. McCLELLAN: I just made very clear what our view is when it comes to the
treatment of detainees.

Q What didn't he want --

MR. McCLELLAN: There are laws and treaty obligations that we expect them to
abide by. And if you follow up the very next sentence in that letter, it
says that Section 1095, which is actually Section 1091 -- that should have
said Section 1091 --

Q That's why I couldn't find it.

MR. McCLELLAN: There you go, the legal mind -- of the proposed National
Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2005 already addresses this
issue. Now, let me tell you about Section 1091, while we're talking about
this issue. Section 1091 says that it is the policy -- this is Part B --
"It is the policy of the United States to ensure that all personnel of the
United States government understand their obligations in both wartime and
peacetime to comply with the legal prohibitions against torture, cruel,
inhumane, or degrading treatment of detainees in the custody of the United
States."

Helen, go ahead.

Q The question of prisons seemed to emphasize that the Pentagon -- that we
have the will to stay in Iraq and continue, wherever we are, and so forth.
Does he have any feeling that this will is waning?

MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely not. And I think if you look at the Iraqi people,
you're seeing just the opposite. I saw an article today in one of the
papers talking about some of the election workers in Iraq -- these are
Iraqi citizens who believe very strongly in democracy, and they recognize
the fact that the terrorists and Saddam loyalists who want to turn back to
the past want to try to derail what they're [sic] helping the Iraqi people
to realize, which is a better future. In survey after survey, the Iraqi
people say, we want to choose our leaders, we want a democratic and
peaceful future for the Iraqi people.

Q Whose survey?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll be glad to point you to some of those. I didn't bring
them with me, but I'll be glad to point you to some of those. They've been
--

Q It sounded like he was a little wary --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, those surveys have been publicized publicly, so
they're available for people to see. And I think the President, in his
remarks earlier today, was talking about the importance of winning the
global war on terrorism and how high the stakes are. The stakes are high in
the global war on terrorism. Like I said, this is a battle of --

Q There's no concern that there's a waning of interest in pursuing this?

MR. McCLELLAN: This is a battle of ideologies; the ideology of freedom and
hope and opportunity versus the ideology of hatred and oppression and
tyranny. And we will win this war on terrorism through the leadership that
the President is taking.

Q Could I just get a clarification on the foreign prisoners issue?

MR. McCLELLAN: Sure.

Q What the language said was that the legislation the administration
opposed was -- would have provided legal protections to which they are not
now entitled. What was it in the proposed legislation that went beyond
existing law?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I just told you what -- the fact that the laws already
cover the issues and we didn't view the provision as necessary.

Q Right, they were clearly proposing something --

MR. McCLELLAN: And we are in -- we're talking about the global war on
terrorism. We are in a different kind of war. We are seeing that we face
new, dangerous threats, and there are people who do not abide by the rule
of law or follow the rule of law. They are people who have no regard for
the rule of law; they have no regard for innocent civilians, as I talked
about, and they are not parties to any of the international treaties. And
we're talking about unlawful enemy combatants who seek to do harm to the
civilized world and the people of the civilized world, because they espouse
an ideology of hatred and oppression.

Q Was Congress trying to treat them like they were uniformed people who
were entitled to congregate with other prisoners, and entitled to
commissary privileges? What is it?

MR. McCLELLAN: That may well be. I can't read the mind of people who
proposed this provision. But I can tell you that we already have laws on
the books to cover the treatment of detainees and to cover --

Q Yes, but the point is, the letter from Condi was saying, look, we're
opposed to this because you are going beyond existing law in some way that
we think is inappropriate. And what I'm asking you is, what were they doing
that goes beyond all of the laws you've talked about that say, you cannot
torture people? What was Congress trying to add to this that goes beyond
those laws?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, I think that you can talk to specific members
about what they were trying to do. What we're trying to do is make sure
that the policies of the United States are followed, and the policies of
the United States are the same as the laws that are on the books.

Q Scott, your guy wrote the letter. Why can't you just tell us what it is
that Josh Bolton saw in the legislation that went beyond where you --

MR. McCLELLAN: Suzanne. I'll come back to you if I can, John. Suzanne.

Q The point you're making simply is that it's redundant? That's the only
argument you're making --

MR. McCLELLAN: It's not necessary because of the reason I stated. You have
the Convention Against Torture; you have the criminal statutes on the books
in the United States; and you have the provision in the Defense
Authorization Act to address these issues. Now, we have an obligation to do
everything we can to protect the American people and we do so in a way that
is consistent with our laws and our treaty obligations. That's the policy
of the President of the United States. And he's made very clear what his
view is when it comes to torture. We do not condone the use of torture,
period; and he would never authorize torture. And he's made that very clear
publicly.

Q On Indonesia, Boucher said earlier today that our Ambassador talked to
the Vice President of Indonesia and he said that there was no limit, in
terms of the time, that the U.S. military would be on the ground, it was
simply a three-month period they thought the reconstruction effort would
take. Is that the administration's understanding?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you can check with the military in terms of the latest
update there. But, like I said, we were seeking further clarification. I've
not received that update from the embassy, but the State Department is a
good place to get that. We were over at the Pentagon earlier so I haven't
had a chance to receive an update on that.

Q And do you believe that the window of opportunity for goodwill between
the United States and Indonesia is closing?

MR. McCLELLAN: The opportunity?

Q The opportunity --

MR. McCLELLAN: No.

Q The window of opportunity to express goodwill, to improve relations
between the United States and Indonesia; do you believe because of the
Indonesian government's stand, that that, in fact, is diminishing --

MR. McCLELLAN: We have, I think, good relations with the government of
Indonesia. And we are going to continue to do everything we can to help all
the people in the affected region in all the countries as they rebuild
their communities and rebuild their lives and reconstruct their regions. We
will be there to help them for the long haul in whatever way we can.

Now, there are many governments in the region that are -- that take a
number of steps on their own. And so we look to them to see what exact
assistance they need, and we coordinate very closely with them on these
efforts. We're coordinating very closely with Indonesia. You just
referenced a conversation with the embassy and the government of Indonesia.
And we'll continue to do that. We hope that we can continue working
together in a very coordinated way to provide the people of the region the
help that they need. And we'll continue to show the compassion of America
as we do.

Q And when the government asks the United States military to leave, then
that would be the point in which --

MR. McCLELLAN: See, I don't know that I'd look at it that way, because we
work very closely and cooperatively on these efforts, and we'll continue to
consult with them. Obviously, our military has a specific role they're
working to fulfill. They can update you on the status of their efforts, as
well as the timing of how long they think that they will be in the region
for -- specifically for these relief efforts.

Go ahead, April.

Q Scott, back on the war on terrorism, thought was to remove Saddam, and
the fighting in Iraq would cease. What is the thought about Osama bin Laden
as it relates to that kind of situation? Is there a concern that if you
remove him, if you capture him, or if he's killed, the fighting would be
worse or will -- the terrorism here could be worse?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we are going to continue to pursue all those who are
responsible for attacks on the United States of America and all those who
seek to do us harm. We will bring -- we are committed to bringing him to
justice. And we will continue to pursue him. But the war on terrorism is a
broad and comprehensive effort. It is about defeating an ideology, as I
talked about at the beginning. And we will continue to pursue those who
seek to spread this ideology of hatred and oppression through the use of
violence and other means.

Q Scott, the word is "ideology." We are fighting ideology. That's great,
all well and good. But a man, a human being, put forth the worst terrorist
attack on American soil. We're not talking ideology. We're talking
someone's mind, who said, do this.

If you capture Osama bin Laden, or kill him, is there a fear that terrorism
will be rampant in the United States like it's happening in Iraq?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, staying on the offensive and going after those who seek
to do us harm, or who have done us harm, is part of winning the war on
terrorism. Another part of winning the war on terrorism -- as I said, this
is a comprehensive approach -- is to work to advance freedom and support
all those across the world who yearn to be free but live under tyranny and
oppression. And that's what we will continue to do in many different ways.

Go ahead, Sarah.

Q Thank you. Scott, would the President consider sending former President
Carter to Iraq to monitor the coming elections there?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know of any such thing that's under consideration at
this point. I think that there are international observers that will be
there in Iraq. I haven't heard any such discussion.

Go ahead, Mark.

Q Looking ahead to the trip to Florida tomorrow, tell us what aspect of the
President's agenda he wants to pick out and highlight during the visit?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, tomorrow, the President -- and the last couple of
days, the President has been focusing on education, because education is
fundamental to our long-term, sustained economic growth and job creation.
And it builds upon the efforts we've already taken to get our economy
growing stronger. But we live in a changing economy, and there are many
high-growth, high-paying jobs that are available but not being filled
because our workers don't have the education or skills that they need to
fill those jobs.

And so tomorrow, the President will be focusing on making sure we have an
educated work force for the 21st century. He wants to make sure that our
students have the education they need to succeed in the world and to fill
these jobs. He also wants to make sure that workers are being retrained in
order to fill these jobs that are available. So to talk about his support,
strong support, for our community colleges, and he'll talk about some of
these other initiatives when it comes to job training and making sure
workers have the skills they need to fill these high-paying, high-growth
jobs.

Q Since we're not going to see you tomorrow, can I ask to look a little bit
--

MR. McCLELLAN: You're not going on the trip?

Q No. Well, we're not going to see you on camera tomorrow. The inaugural --

MR. McCLELLAN: Is that a promise? (Laughter.)

Q Well, last time we went to Florida for an education event -- (laughter.)
This coming weekend and as he moves into next week, is the President doing
anything to prepare for the Inaugural Address? Are there any events this
weekend? Any things that he's planning to do with family or friends? I
guess I'm just looking for something that describe how he uses --

MR. McCLELLAN: There will certainly be plenty of family and friends coming
into town. I'll try to update you as we get closer. The President is
continuing to work on his remarks for the inaugural. I know he's
participating in some speech preparation today for the first time. And he
looks forward to taking the oath of office for a second term. He is
grateful to the American people. He believes that this is a very hopeful
period of time that we live in. We face many significant challenges. But he
is enthusiastic about the opportunity to continue leading this country and
working to advance freedom, not only abroad, but at home. And that's what
he will continue doing in the second term.

Q You said this is the first --

MR. McCLELLAN: And I would also point out that this -- that the inaugural
is a way to not only celebrate freedom, but it's also a time to honor and
pay tribute to our men and women in uniform who are serving and sacrificing
in defense of freedom. And so the President looks forward to next week's
activities, and I'll try to keep you posted as we get closer to it.

Q The speech preparations. Is there a theme to the speech that you can tell
us about yet, or is that --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think -- and the President has had -- participated
in a few interviews. I think you've seen some of those. But I think that
the speech will focus on the importance of freedom and the importance of
advancing freedom. I don't want to -- a week out, I don't want to go too
much further than that. That's what the President has already said.

Q How much -- how far along are they on the State of the Union?

MR. McCLELLAN: He's continuing to work on it. I don't have any update for
you beyond that at this point.

Okay, thank you.

END 1:51 P.M. EST
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