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Skriven 2006-12-26 23:31:06 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (061226) for Tue, 2006 Dec 26
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Press Gaggle by Scott Stanzel
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 26, 2006

Press Gaggle by Scott Stanzel
Aboard Air Force One
En route Waco, Texas



11:47 A.M. CST

MR. STANZEL: Hello everyone. Thanks for being here today. We're on our way
to Crawford, Texas, where the President will remain until January 1st.

One quick thing to read out, and then I'll take your questions.

The President this morning placed a phone call to Ugandan President
Museveni. He thanked him for his support of the regional peacekeeping force
in Somalia, and they had discussions about the tensions in the Horn of
Africa.

And with that, I will take your questions.

Q Do you have a response to the Iraqi court sentencing Saddam Hussein to
death, and saying that it should be carried out in 30 days?

MR. STANZEL: Today marks an important milestone in the Iraqi people's
efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law, and the
Iraqis deserve praise for continuing to utilize the institutions of
democracy to pursue justice. Saddam Hussein has received due process and
legal rights that he denied the Iraqi people for so long. So this is an
important day for the Iraqi people.

Q What about for President Bush, how does he feel about this -- Saddam
Hussein is going to be executed?

MR. STANZEL: We understand that the Iraqi High Tribunal has affirmed the
verdict and a death sentence for Saddam Hussein, and a written judgment
will be written soon. So we look forward, as does the rest of the world, to
seeing that written judgment.

Q Scott, where is he right now in determining the way forward in Iraq?

MR. STANZEL: As you know, the President after the first of the year will
talk with the American people about the new way forward in Iraq. He
continues to ask questions of his advisors and he is continuing to think
about thinking steps ahead and trying to make sure that all options and all
ideas are given the due consideration they need, trying to think through
the consequences of any actions and of those options.

So he will continue to do that this week while he's down on the ranch. And,
as you know, he'll be meeting with members of his National Security Council
on Thursday to continue to talk about this option.

Q Scott, on the meeting on Thursday, how do we characterize the importance
of this meeting? Is this, like, the final one before he's going to actually
make up his mind?

MR. STANZEL: You know, I think we characterized it yesterday as a
non-decisional meeting, but --

Q That's how you characterized it Friday, too. (Laughter.)

MR. STANZEL: The meeting hasn't occurred yet, so we look forward to that
meeting on Thursday. And I'm not going to say whether or not this will be
the last meeting -- that depends on the discussions that occur and depends
on the dialogue and how comfortable the President is with that new way
forward.

Q Can you give us a sense of what this meeting will be? Is it an all day,
multiple sessions? Is it one meeting? And who will be there?

MR. STANZEL: We have indicated that Secretary Gates, Secretary Rice, the
Vice President, Stephen Hadley, of course, the President will be there -- I
don't have a full list for you at this point and don't have specific timing
of the meeting, but we'll get you that as we get closer.

Q Are you thinking of it, though -- is it an all-day pow-wow, or is it just
--

MR. STANZEL: That may be your characterization, but I don't have the
specific times for when it will start and when it will end, but we'll get
you that as we get closer.

Q Is that the only day that Gates will be here?

MR. STANZEL: I don't have Secretary Gates' schedule, but that is the day of
the national Security Council meeting.

Q Could there possibly be another one later in the week -- Friday?

MR. STANZEL: We haven't made any announcements beyond that, but my
expectation is that Thursday's meeting will be the day for those meetings.

Q -- more on the Iranians who were picked up in Iraq?

MR. STANZEL: As we've indicated, we suspect that this validates our claims
that the Iranians have been meddling in Iraq, but we want to finish the
investigation of the detained Iraqis before characterizing their
activities. And that's an ongoing investigation that we are working with
the government of Iraq on, so we'll have more information when that
investigation concludes.

Q But do you concede that at least two of them were actually diplomats -- I
mean, had diplomatic --

MR. STANZEL: Yes, and that has been widely reported and they were released
back to the embassy.

Q Why did the United States take them into custody if they had diplomatic
standing?

MR. STANZEL: Force protection operations like this happen all of the time,
and we'll have more information as that investigation continues.

Q Do you have a date yet for the speech?

MR. STANZEL: No information on that front. After the first of the year.

Q -- rough drafts?

MR. STANZEL: Yes, you didn't get it? (Laughter.)

Q Given the rising death toll in Iraq, does the President feel a sense of
urgency to announce his new strategy sooner, rather than later, in January?

MR. STANZEL: Well, the President spoke about this at the press conference,
he's wanting to make sure that we give all consideration to all the
options. It's important the forces -- our forces, coalition forces in Iraq
are continuing to take the fight to the enemy, and the President will
announce a new way forward when he's comfortable announcing that.

Q Do you have any comment on The Washington Times report that the President
announced his intention to increase the end force of the military, under
pressure from the Joint Chiefs and other military officials?

MR. STANZEL: I don't have any comment on that. And we've discussed -- you
know, we've seen a lot of things appear in the papers, and I'll just leave
it to the President to make his own announcement.

Q I don't know if you have anything on this. Ifax, a Russian news service,
is saying that the United States detained a former co-owner of Yukos --
Leonid Nevzlin. Have you heard anything about that, or why or --

MR. STANZEL: I don't have any information on that.

Q You don't? He was detained as he tried to enter the United States.

MR. STANZEL: I don't have any information.

Q Now for the really important stuff, can you tell us what they gave each
other for gifts, and a little bit more about their Christmas?

MR. STANZEL: I don't have any information on that. Did you not get that
readout yesterday?

Q We got nothing yesterday.

MR. STANZEL: Okay. I'll see what I can do on gifts and the other thing.

Q How about New Year's plans?

MR. STANZEL: We'll have more information about his New Year's plans towards
the end of the week.

Q Gaggling prospects?

MR. STANZEL: Eleven a.m. tomorrow, you all are welcome to sleep in.

Q Thank you.

END 11:54 A.M. CST
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