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Skriven 2007-06-30 23:30:52 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0706305) for Sat, 2007 Jun 30
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Press Gaggle by Tony Snow
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 30, 2007

Press Gaggle by Tony Snow The Colony Hotel Kennebunkport, Maine

˙˙Press Briefings


1:05 P.M. EDT

MR. SNOW: In response of the news of the day, the President was briefed
before and after -- before, during and after the bike ride on ongoing
developments in London, and continues to be briefed during the day,
regardless of where he may be. Phil Lago of the NSC has been communicating
when necessary through the military aide. o

So the President is fully briefed up. He's also aware of the developments
in Glasgow. What I told you yesterday continues to be the case. There is no
indication of any specific or credible threat to the United States, no
change in the overall security level.

However, at airports there are some alertness-raising measures that the TSA
has invoked. You're likely to see those and the increased presence of some
TSA agents outside terminals. There will some inconvenience to passengers
in terms of longer wait times -- that's already being reported on some of
the networks. Local police also have the option of invoking whatever
measures they may deem necessary or appropriate. Again, the most you're
going to see right now is some inconvenience, some increased inconvenience
for airline passengers, more likely at large airports than small.

There is -- we have nothing to give you on Glasgow. As you can tell,
British authorities are still trying to sort through that. We remain in
communication. Nor is there anything significant to add to what we had
yesterday on the situation in London. But again, for domestic purposes,
it's important to know that we remain committed to being vigilant
throughout the country, including at airports, and as I said, you'll be
seeing some, in various places and locations, some increased presence of
police or TSA employees, out at the curbside and so on.

Q Is that a result of London yesterday?

MR. SNOW: I think it's really a result of just trying to make sure that
we're -- when you're taking a look at developments around the world, that
you're taking every necessary precaution.

Q When did they start, though?

MR. SNOW: The TSA, I think that's going out today. It's gone out this
morning.

Q Oh, so before Glasgow?

MR. SNOW: No, I think it's probably -- I don't know for sure.

Q Does TSA actually have some sort of threat level they raise?

MR. SNOW: No, actually, that's a good question -- the airports have been
under an orange level since August. That is not going to change. They're
not going to change the threat level at airports. But there has been
heightened security at airports since August.

Q And the broader threat level obviously is not --

MR. SNOW: The broader threat level is not changing. The airport threat
level is not changing, nor is the national broader threat level changing.
Those are remaining the same.

Q You had a Cabinet-level meeting yesterday based on London --

MR. SNOW: It was an informational briefing.

Q Is there any consideration, following Scotland, for that kind of
conference call or face-to-face meeting?

MR. SNOW: No -- I know that there are meetings going on right now at the
Department of Homeland Security, TSA, obviously they've been in touch. But,
no. Again, what you had yesterday were -- it was a meeting that also had
some people at remote sites joined by SVTS, just getting a detailed
download of what they know, what we don't know, what we're hearing from the
Brits, and so on.

Q Tony, without compromising any information, obviously, can you broadly
speak about how the President is able to stay in contact on these
high-level things, even while he's on a bike ride? You said he was briefed
during the bike ride --

MR. SNOW: If there's any information, the NSC can pass it through the
military aide to tell the President.

Q And that's just done by a cell phone or something --

MR. SNOW: It's relayed to the military aide, again, by folks.

Q Is there a secure video conference in Kennebunkport that he could use?

MR. SNOW: Yes. Yes.

Q Do we know he was actually briefed, or are you just explaining to us that
process if --

MR. SNOW: I'm explaining the process. I'm not entirely sure that there was
a phone call. I think there may have been one passing on of information
during the bike ride.

Q Any reaction to the Glasgow incident?

MR. SNOW: Any reaction? No, because at this point, again, the reaction is
what you would expect, which is let's find out what's going on, let's find
out, A, if there's anything we can do to help, and B, if there's anything
we need to do, period. Obviously our intelligence agencies, both domestic
and international, have been working very hard just to stay on top of
things. That is their daily chore, and really has been a point of emphasis
since September 11th, and continues to be.

Q Tony, you had this yesterday, but now that Glasgow has happened, is there
an increasing suspicion that this timing had to do with Gordon Brown coming
in?

MR. SNOW: It's really impossible to say at this point also. I would warn
against trying to draw over-broad conclusions. We're still trying to figure
out also, as are the Brits, who may be responsible. It is not clear that
they're related incidents, and it's not clear what the provenance of the
various incidents may be.

Q A phone call to Mr. Brown?

MR. SNOW: No, but there, again, there have been high-level contacts --
there have been cabinet-level contacts between the British government and
the U.S. government.

Q What prompted the statement by the President on visa waivers today?

MR. SNOW: It's just -- it's reenforcing once again the importance of the
visa waiver program. We've been trying to push that for some time. It's
very important I think for a lot of our allies and it's something we
clearly have heard, especially from Eastern European allies and the
Koreans. The President believes that they've got an important point, wants
Congress to act on it.

Q And it was prompted for today -- was a nation getting upset, tired of
waiting?

MR. SNOW: No, I think it also comes on -- as you noticed the other
announcement that came out today refers to the fact that we do have a free
trade agreement with South Korea. And the South Koreans also are part of
the visa waiver.

Q Tony, are you able to give any more information of what kind of
inconveniences people will have at airports? Again, I don't want to
compromise --

MR. SNOW: The only information -- the one thing we can say with safety is
that you're going to see in some places just enhanced police presence on
the outside -- enhanced police and TSA presence. And when that happens it
tends to slow down traffic.

Q Is it at all airports or just --

MR. SNOW: Again, all airports are -- there are certain measures that are
going to be appropriate for different airports, and also, especially on the
local police side, it's really up to the discretion of the local police
agencies. Therefore, they're going to have a lot to say about it. I think
you're going to find it at certain small, isolated airports, or even some
mid-size airports, there may not be anything in terms of visible
difference. But it's clear and it's already been reported in New York and
New Jersey there's been beefed up presence, and so you're going to see that
in some of these places. And you would probably expect to see it in a great
number of major metropolitan airports.

Q At what level is the President being briefed? Is he being briefed on what
kind of new intelligence they're sharing, or they're gaining, or -- do you
know?

MR. SNOW: Yes -- well, the briefings on intelligence is pretty
comprehensive in terms of what we have been hearing and what various people
know and what they suspect on conclusions -- for preliminary conclusions
they may be drawing. But on the other hand -- again, so it is not at a
high-level generality, he's getting specific briefings.

Q Do you get the impression that they're moving close to finding out who is
responsible?

MR. SNOW: I don't want to be characterizing the status of an ongoing
investigation in Great Britain. Obviously, in Glasgow, they figured out who
is at least immediately responsible because they've been apprehended. But
in terms of London, we'll again let the British government take the lead in
those announcements.

Q But the TSA measures you told us about now are a result -- were decided
on after the London incidents, but before Glasgow>

MR. SNOW: I'm not entirely sure about when it was decided. They were
announced after Glasgow, but I'm not -- my sense -- I don't know exactly
when they were --

Q You may have already explained this, but every airport has been given the
same alert, and is it up to then local authorities whether to enact it?

MR. SNOW: There are packages -- there are what we'll call alertness-raising
packages, and different airports are going to have a different package
based on a whole variety of considerations. Also, local law enforcement
agencies who obviously have a lot of presence at airports, they have it at
their discretion to put together whatever responses they deem appropriate.

Q Is that the term of art, "alertness-raising packages"?

MR. SNOW: That is kind of a term of art -- I don't know if there is a
complete term of art. What we were talking about yesterday is that it's
important to have an enhanced level of vigilance and to make it clear that
we are in fact being as vigilant as we can about trying to assess and make
sure that we can keep -- do threat assessments and, at the same time, keep
people safe.

What I also want to reiterate, because it's very important to do, is no
specific or credible threats on the U.S., no changes in the threat levels
at airports or nationally. It's important not to get people too spun up.
It's also important, though, to reassure folks that at a time like this,
when you're in a global war on terror, you want to make sure that you're
not only reassuring the public by practicing every bit of diligence you
can, but making sure that everybody is being vigilant about what may be
coming up.

Q Why not change the overall threat level, though?

MR. SNOW: Because there is nothing -- because there is no intelligence to
justify so doing.

Q But it justifies boosting the presence of security --

MR. SNOW: Well, this is -- when you're talking about boosting the presence,
that's exactly what I'm talking about -- that, I think, in some cases,
tends almost to over-hype what's going on. What you're really trying to do
is -- again, there is a way of being more alert and more present -- what
this is doing is it's creating an up-front presence that, in and of itself,
is a deterrence to anybody who may have anything in mind. So I wouldn't
really place it at any higher level than that. I mean, it's a way of doing
it -- we've seen this happen on a number of occasions, and so that's really
what the TSA guidelines will do.

Q Tony, along the same lines, has there been any thought to beefing up any
police presence here in Kennebunkport, with -- you're going to have two
Presidents here, a former President --

MR. SNOW: I'm not going to comment on any security arrangements in
Kennebunkport.

Q You said there were Cabinet-level contacts between the U.S. and the UK.
Can you say what Cabinet-level contacts?

MR. SNOW: Let me find out what our folks are comfortable with discussing. I
mean, I know that there are and I'm just -- I'll figure out exactly how
forward they want to lead on it.

Q Any updated information about the talks?

MR. SNOW: The talks?

Q Putin.

MR. SNOW: There will be a number of social occasions and there will be a
number of private occasions, and the two leaders, I daresay, are looking
forward to all of the above.

Q What kind of social occasions apart from the lunch?

MR. SNOW: Well, I think there's a social dinner terrorism night, as well.

Q What about boating? Are they going to go boating?

MR. SNOW: I don't know. We'll give you -- we will try to find a
recreational roster when one becomes available. I'm not sure that they're
going to do boating. You've got a number of meetings between the President
and -- the two Presidents and also the President and the National Security
Advisor, and the Secretary of State. You also have in the larger -- the
"larger" social occasions would include the hosts, President George Herbert
Walker Bush and Mrs. Bush.

Q Tony, any reaction to the Putin meeting with Chavez yesterday?

MR. SNOW: No.

Q Come on. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: Thanks, guys.

Q We're playing slow ball with you here. (Laughter.)

END 1:13 P.M. EDT
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