Text 4900, 479 rader
Skriven 2007-06-27 23:31:00 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0706279) for Wed, 2007 Jun 27
====================================================

===========================================================================
Press Briefing by Tony Snow
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 27, 2007

Press Briefing by Tony Snow White House Conference Center Briefing Room

˙ /news/releases/2007/06/20070627-9.wm.v.html ˙˙Press Briefings
˙˙Audio


12:39 P.M. EDT

MR. SNOW: Feeling nostalgic?

Q Are you?

MR. SNOW: Our last on-camera briefing at this lovely facility.

Q Do you like it here?

MR. SNOW: I like it here, but only because of the company. So I will be
happy -- (laughter) -- so I will like it when we're in Room 450 and I'll
really like it when we're in the new briefing room.

Questions.

Q So while you are trying to get the Senate to pass this immigration bill,
the House Republicans say they want no part of it. The House Republican
Conference voted 114-23 in opposition to the Senate bill. So where does
this go?

MR. SNOW: Well, first, let's try to get this thing through the Senate
first. There were also some 70 Republicans who were not part of that vote.
I think if we get the Senate bill passed, which we feel confident we will,
it creates an opportunity for people to spend a lot of time talking about
what the bill does and does not do, and frankly, how it also addresses a
lot of the concerns that House Republicans have, such as how can we trust
you to enforce the borders? What do you have here that creates credibility
in a system that in the past has not been credible in enforcing borders, or
trying to hold to account those who crossed over the border illegally? What
do you do about employers?

In other words, there are a lot of very practical questions that are of
concern, and I think it gives us an opportunity to spend time talking with
House members, and also making clear that we share not only their concerns,
but reassure them we share their goals in a lot of ways, in terms of border
security, in terms of restoring the rule of law, in terms of making sure
that citizenship means something. All of those elements are in place. So --
and finally this: If House members do, in fact, have concerns with things
that they think can be used to improve the bill, to strengthen it, they're
going to have an opportunity to do it, because whatever happens in the
House will move from subcommittee to committee to the floor, and offer a
chance, I think, for a very full and detailed debate.

Q So you don't see this as a setback to hopes for the bill?

MR. SNOW: No. I mean, we understand --

Q -- when there's an overwhelming majority of House Republicans who voted
are against it?

MR. SNOW: An overwhelming majority of those who voted. But there are going
to be opportunities to speak to them and to hear their concerns. There are
going to be some who are not going to vote with us, we understand that. But
on the other hand, we believe, on a bipartisan basis we'll be able to put
together the vote -- well, we hope that in the House we'll be able, on a
bipartisan basis, to put together the votes we need. But it is going to
require a lot of conversation and a lot of opportunities for us again to
talk about what the bill does and does not do, because, frankly, there have
been characterizations out there that don't reflect what the bill does, nor
do they reflect the thinking of the administration.

Q Can you set a picture for us about how the President is making his
personal outreach? Is he making the calls from the Oval Office? Is he
offering members anything new or trying to pitch this in a new way?

MR. SNOW: Well, I'm not going to -- what I will say is that he is making
phone calls and will continue to be making phone calls. There have been
opportunities also to speak individually with members, and we'll continue
to do that.

And the President does that -- he does it on immigration; obviously, we do
it with Iraq. So it's the normal practice -- sometimes he'll do it from the
Oval, sometimes he'll do it from the residence, sometimes from the small
office -- it sort of depends where he is at the time, but he makes sure
that he is -- there will be continued outreach, but I'm not going to go
into details about how, who, what, when, where, why.

Q And is the outreach going to extend to Senators Lugar and Voinovich for
coming to the White House and talking about some of the concerns they've
been expressing?

MR. SNOW: Well, we certainly are going to have conversations with them.
We're going to be talking to them. You know, it's interesting, because I've
been going back again over the Senator Lugar speech. Really, when you take
a look at it, the one thing he rules out very quickly is the idea we just
get out -- don't fund the troops, don't have precipitant withdrawal. What
he's really talking about is the over-the-horizon strategy -- and the
President has used that term before -- that once you have created the space
in which the Iraqis, in fact, have stepped up, they've made the political
progress, they've made the military and training progress, where do you go?
And you get to the point where U.S. forces withdraw -- again, over the
horizon is the term the President has used -- and it sounds like that's a
lot of what Senator Lugar is discussing, as well.

We think it's important to allow the Baghdad security plan to work. But if
you take a look -- and what Senator Lugar is trying to figure out is what
configuration is going to be conducive in the long run to success, and also
build a greater -- bipartisan support.

Q Tony, on Blair's appointment as Quartet envoy, why does the President
believe now, after so many failed or stalled initiatives toward peace
between Israelis and Palestinians, that Tony Blair is the man who can now
carry this forward?

MR. SNOW: Well, first, ultimately, this is going to be up to the
Palestinians and the Israelis. An outside politician is not going to be the
person who creates peace or a settlement in the Middle East.

On the other hand, Tony Blair is not only enormously capable and
well-respected as a world leader, he is somebody who has personal skills
that are going to be able to get people to talk with one another. And,
frankly, the President is delighted that the Prime Minister has agreed to
lend his considerable talents and energies to the task of trying to advance
the peace process.

But, as we've said, people are going to have to be making choices and
they're going to have to make choices in the direction of peace. And
obviously the first step is getting people on the Palestinian side to adopt
the Quartet principles.

Q On the President's speech today, does the President believe that moderate
Muslims are going to stand up and speak out against extremists? Because, to
this point, it seems either they have been intimidated or perhaps
indifferent.

MR. SNOW: Well, no, I think you've seen a number -- you've seen moderate
voices coming forward and especially -- take a look at what's going on, for
instance, in Iraq right now where you have leaders -- Sunni and Shia now
really focusing a lot of their efforts and also their rhetoric on al Qaeda.
When you're talking about an organization that is trying to use Islam as a
shield for terrorist activity, al Qaeda really is your perfect example of
it, and you do see people standing up for it.

Obviously, what you want is, the dialogue continues for people to speak out
more forcefully against the abuse of a religion of peace for those who want
to use it as a shield for terror that that religion does not condone.

Q What is the horizon of this administration to stop the killing in Iraq?
And does the President have an exit strategy over and beyond "you guys in
Iraq, shape up now," the collaborators and so forth who were with us and
supposed to carry out our mission?

MR SNOW: What the President -- I think what you -- you focus on exit,
Helen. The thing that we're trying to focus on is success.

Q I think that these Republicans are focusing on exit.

MR SNOW: Well, take a look again at what Dick Lugar talked about. Dick
Lugar did not talk about exit. What he talked about is reshaping the way
the forces are. But the one he rejected is exit. What he is talking --

Q He said that this is the word and that's another story. They are talking
about exit.

MR SNOW: No, what he's talking about is a strategy for pulling people,
again, over the horizon. Take a look at the speech and also his public
statements and you're going to find that what he's not talking about is
getting out. What he's trying to come up with is a way of engaging regional
powers and also Iraqi powers and the allies in such a way that has to deal
with the ongoing problems they've had in terms of violence, but also build
the institutions that are going to be absolutely necessary to have a safe
and free and democratic Iraq.

Q Tony, can you go back to Tony Blair? How can he hope to make any progress
while the West Bank is in one set of Palestinian hands and Gaza is in
another?

MR. SNOW: Well, again, the first thing you do is you start working with the
Palestinian government. President Abbas has appointed a Prime Minister;
that is the government, it's a constitutional government, you begin working
with them. And the other thing you do is you continue to pour in
humanitarian aid to people who need it, and you send a strong signal to
Hamas that the way of terror is not going to do it.

Again, Tony Blair is not the person who comes in and says, aha, I will
solve it. It's going to be up to the Palestinians. And it's going to be up
to Palestinians to say to Hamas, sorry, the way of terror is not, in fact,
in the best interests of the future of this country.

Now, Tony Blair is going to have the opportunity to work with and in
support of those who support democracy and peace in the region, and that's
what he does. He's not Superman, he doesn't have a cape. He's not designed
to be doing that. What he is designed to do is to work as an aggressive
facilitator between the Quartet and interested parties to try to look for
ways to make progress where in the past we have not seen the kind of
progress we'd like.

Q Is there any thought to going ahead and attempting a peace with the
Palestinian government whose writ right now only runs in the West Bank?

MR. SNOW: Again, at this juncture I leave any of those decisions -- that is
a tactical question that I leave to -- now, the one thing we've said is
that we believe in -- we're not talking about -- what you're really
discussing would be a partition, and we're not talking about a partition.
We think that the Palestinian area encompasses Gaza and the West Bank, and
that's got to be part of the solution.

Q Tony, could I go back to the hedge fund question of this morning,
briefly? You said -- your response was this administration is not
predisposed to a tax increase.

MR. SNOW: Right.

Q Is that predicated on the fact that it would hurt capital formation --

MR. SNOW: Again, I'm not -- I was not addressing specifically -- I gave you
a very general answer for a reason. We're going to take a look at what
Democrats have to offer. As you know, we already have a couple of veto
threats out on that energy bill. We'll take a look at tax provisions, as
well, but I'm not going to get into that --

Q There is a Ways and Means bill that would raise those tax rates to as
much as 35 percent -- from 15 percent now. Does your general comment apply
to that --

MR. SNOW: Again, I'm not going to give you -- I gave you a very general
comment. Let's see what the House does and then we will give you a specific
comment.

Q But you're not inclined to be in favor of any tax increases?

MR. SNOW: We're not inclined to be in favor of tax increases.

Q Tony, back on immigration. Some are saying it has to be done, all of it
has to be done by August -- July-August. Others are saying at the end of
the year. When does this have to be done before it's the death knell for
immigration, comprehensive immigration?

MR. SNOW: Boy, what a negative way of framing it. First, I think as a
practical matter, you're not really talking about July or August, simply
because for something to work its way through the House is going to take
some time. So if you get a Senate bill, then you move to the House --
you're talking into the fall, anyway. What we're working toward is, again,
getting through the Senate and making a vigorous case to the American
people -- Democrats and Republicans -- for this to succeed.

Again, April, you take a look -- everybody agrees that it's a problem that
has been unaddressed for 21 years; needs to be addressed. Everybody agrees
on the importance of border security. Everybody agrees on the importance of
restoring the rule of law. Everybody agrees that citizenship ought to mean
something.

We think that this bill, when people do have a chance to look at it -- I'll
give you an example. A lot of folks say, well, why don't you go ahead and
take care of border security? Well, you take a look at the triggers, we're
talking about a $6 billion investment over a three-year period,
unparalleled in American history, that is the most aggressive, the most
assertive, the boldest and most ambitious proposal anybody has put forward.
And yet, a lot of times folks say, oh, well, I didn't understand that, how
do you prove it to us? Well, the answer is we say that by the end of next
year, we have to meet these triggers. It's one of those things where I've
said before, don't trust, verify.

So a lot of times, there have been expressed concerns and qualms that we
think are actually answered by the legislation. People in the Senate and
also here in the White House, we have worked to address concerns of
conservatives, especially dealing with the White House, about a lot of
items in the legislation, and we think that these are strong provisions
that are going to help us with security, and help us also with our
long-term economic progress, and do it in a way that is consistent with our
traditions and will make us proud.

Q Tony, worst-case scenario, let's say it does not work out in the fall,
let's say --

MR. SNOW: But, April, you know I never answer questions like that. I don't
even want you to --

Q You've answered a couple of "ifs" recently, so --

MR. SNOW: Well, no, but I don't do "what if X, Y, and Z don't happen
between now and the end of the year." We think it's --

Q I'm still going to ask the question, okay?

MR. SNOW: Okay.

Q Okay, what if the worst-case scenario, it doesn't work out in the fall as
the White House hopes, what about next year? Is there hope next year, at
the beginning of next year, possibly?

MR. SNOW: Again, I think it's important to get it done this year. April, to
say, oh, yeah, we'll do it next year, immediately the headlines springs up,
"White House writes off immigration" for the -- we're not going to do that.
We're not writing off immigration reform. It's important, it's vital, it's
important for the country. The President has shown real leadership on this.
He's taken a lot of heat from a lot of people, but he believes very
strongly that this is the right way to proceed. And we are going to
continue to work hard to make sure that comprehensive immigration reform
becomes law.

Q You don't want to get mixed up in immigration and election-year politics
at all, do you?

MR. SNOW: What we want to do is get it done.

Q Why did 62 die for lack of detention, according to The New York Times?

MR. SNOW: More than a million people have been detained in those times. You
obviously regret any time somebody dies in detention, and you take a look
at ways to make sure that, if it's preventable, it is.

Q Tony, can you preview for us President Bush's meeting this weekend with
President Putin, some of the issues that they're looking at addressing?

MR. SNOW: Again, we'll have some opportunities -- there will be some
opportunities --

Q We won't have you on camera, though, so we kind of need a little --

MR. SNOW: Again, what you are going to have is the kind of exchanges that
you would expect. There are a whole series of issues that are of concern to
the two nations, and it is likely that they're going to come up. Again, if
you're expecting some sort of grand initiative, a bold announcement -- no.
This is a consultation between two leaders of very important nations on a
host of issues that would include North Korea, that include the Middle
East, that include Iran, that include the ongoing challenges that are being
faced throughout the region. We're going to talk about -- I'm sure there's
going to be an opportunity to discuss the future of missile defense, and
all those things. You would expect them to come up.

But I would caution against expecting grand, new announcements. This is, in
fact, an opportunity for two leaders to talk honestly and candidly with one
another, and they get to -- they're the ones who are going to control the
agenda.

Q Let me just follow up on missile defense. The last time these two met
missile defense was the principal thing they talked about. The proposal
that Putin made at that meeting, is that still being seriously considered
by the U.S. government?

MR. SNOW: Again, I'm not going to -- what the President -- the President
was encouraged that President Putin thought it was important to talk about
missile defense, recognizing that if somebody -- if a hostile power, a
rogue nation gets the capability of putting nuclear weapons on a missile,
everybody in Europe and Asia is going to be in jeopardy, and it is
important to provide that kind of a shield for the Europeans, as well as
throughout the region.

And this is why the President is heartened by President Putin's
acknowledgment of the fact. I'm not going to get into any particular
details. I'll leave that for the two of them to discuss.

Q A lot of experts have said since then that really this facility that he
offered is not appropriate, it's not going to be terribly useful --

MR. SNOW: Again, I'm not going to get into assessing it. I'll let them have
their conversations. One of the things that has happened is that
individuals on both sides have been tasked to take a good, thorough look,
which you would expect them to do.

Q Can you characterize the significance of being at Walker's Point for this
kind of a visit, with the President's father also in attendance? Can you --

MR. SNOW: I just think it's an acknowledgment of the importance of the
relationship, and also I think the importance of having an atmosphere that
is going to be conducive to relaxed, but candid discussions of important
issues.

Q Is the former President going to be involved in the conversations?

MR. SNOW: I don't think so, but I don't know.

Q Tony, you talked about the recent arrival of troops in the surge, and you
also talked about the late start of the surge, how it's just got underway,
and you've got two months basically until September. Are you really setting
us up for that to be laying the groundwork for support for a report from
General Petraeus saying that there hasn't been very much progress?

MR. SNOW: No.

Q Are you expecting there to be very much progress?

MR. SNOW: Again, you'll have to take a look, but, no, this is not a way of
setting up a lack of progress. We're 12 days into the most ambitious
military operation really since the intense combat hostilities, and you
have seen reports from General Petraeus and General Odierno and others
about significant actions on the part of our forces at Baquba, obviously in
Anbar, and in Baghdad, as well.

I would expect there to be a progress report about what's going on and what
we've achieved not only militarily, but also what sort of things have been
accomplished on the political side and the economic side. It is not merely
General Petraeus, but also Ambassador Crocker who are going to be
contributing to the report. What we're trying to condition people for is a
report that is going to tell us what has been happening. Again, 12 days in
to the most significant military action in a very long time, and at the
same time, just now getting all of our forces into place -- it's worth
giving people a granular look, a detailed look at what has been
accomplished and what will have been accomplished by the date.

Q Is it your view that September is too soon for such a report?

MR. SNOW: No, look, we have agreed to make reports in July and September;
we're going to do it.

Q Thank you, Tony. Two questions. First, in just the past few weeks, there
have been reports of China-made toys being recalled because of dangers of
lead paint, China-produced food with contaminants, and even China-produced
honey laced with a drug. And now it's being reported that Chinese-made
tires are probably faulty and dangerous. What is being done to crack down
on what appears to be a concerted effort to dump damaging or dangerous
Chinese products on the American public?

MR SNOW: Well, those are your conclusions, Les. That is --

Q No, no, that's a world --

MR SNOW: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. What would you -- what you have done is
you have insinuated a conspiracy to dump these things on the American
marketplace. Obviously, when you have problems with the safety of things,
you deal with it, including the recall of 450,000 tires.

Q Okay. This morning's Washington Post headline "After Speech, Aides
Scramble To Cover Bush's 'Amnesty' Slip" -- while we realize that anybody
can make mistakes, can you tell us, just for human interest sake, which
aide scrambled first, and did the President commend him or her for being
alert, or not, and what was his reaction?

MR SNOW: I did, and I don't discuss --

Q You were the first one?

MR SNOW: I believe so. I mean, look --

Q Good.

MR SNOW: -- the President misspoke. It was a -- you recall we issued a
statement by the Press Secretary. What was interesting is that Fletch wrote
that story; meanwhile I was getting a lot of people saying, what took you
so long? So we were getting it from both sides. The fact is that anybody
who knows what the President's policy is knows that that was a slip of the
tongue. It was overplayed on Drudge. We thought it was important to go
ahead and puncture that balloon, which we did, and to move on so that
people who actually knew the issue could discuss other things.

Q Thank you.

MR SNOW: You're welcome.

Sarah.

Q Thank you.

MR SNOW: You're welcome, as well. (Laughter.)

Q Possible presidential candidate, Fred Thompson advocates putting a
blockade around Iran. What would that accomplish? And isn't a blockade an
act of war?

MR SNOW: I would refer all questions to Fred Thompson's policies to Fred
Thompson.

Q Thank you.

MR SNOW: Thank you.

END 1:00 P.M. EDT

#116-06/27
===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070627-9.html

 * Origin: (1:3634/12)