For Immediate Release
September 13, 2002
Press Gaggle by Ari Fleischer
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Andrews Air Force Base
11:00 A.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good morning, everybody. Let me
do the week ahead
and then take questions.
This afternoon, the President will have no public events when he
gets back to Washington. He's going to have a quiet day, actually, in
the White House.
Q -- going on today, or something?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes, he's got some people, I don't know who. He's
got friends or family coming in for dinner tonight. It's not business
related, no staff. I don't know who they are. I didn't ask him.
What's that?
Q At the White House? Not going out?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes. So I think he's going to start having a quiet
afternoon. He will have some meetings when he gets back, and then
basically spend the rest of the day down.
Saturday morning, the President will depart for Camp David, where
he will host the Prime Minister of Italy for a meeting and lunch, then
will return to Washington on Sunday.
Monday, the President will travel to Davenport, Iowa, where he will
tour Sears Manufacturing and make remarks on the economy and fiscal
restraint. The President will then attend a Nussle for Congress
luncheon before returning to Washington Monday afternoon. Then the
President will participate in the presentation of Theodore Roosevelt
Medal of Honor in the Roosevelt Room.
Tuesday morning, the President will make remarks on Constitution
Day and the teaching of American history and civics. The President
will then travel to Nashville, Tennessee, where he will attend an
Alexander for Senate luncheon and participate in a Pledge Across
America event in Carter-Lawrence Magnet School.
Wednesday, the President will meet with the President of the Czech
Republic in the Oval Office. Later that morning, the President will
make remarks on cancer screening awareness with Lance Armstrong. That
evening, the President and Mrs. Bush will host the President of the
Czech Republic and Mrs. Havel for a social dinner at the White House.
Thursday, the President will make remarks at the Republican
Governors Association fall meeting in Washington.
Friday morning, the President will meet with the Russian Foreign
Minister and the Russian Defense Minister in the Oval Office. They're
going to talk about the Treaty of Moscow and the implementation of the
Treaty.
Q Friday?
MR. FLEISCHER: Friday.
Also, later in the day -- I'm sorry?
Q I'm sorry. What was that Tuesday morning thing? Something
about civics? That's an event before he goes on the trip?
MR. FLEISCHER: Right. Later this afternoon, you're going to get a
notification. You've seen these before, the extension of various
deadlines that are part of the laws or the regulations. This one deals
with -- I should have brought the language with me -- but it deals
with a one-year extension of the basic terrorism alert that we put out
that allows the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Treasury to
have more authority to deal with the terrorist emergency, particularly
the ability to call up Reservists for the Secretary of Defense.
I bring that to your attention now because, when you get it, I want
you to know that this is in the context of the ongoing war against
terror, Afghanistan, et cetera, so you don't make more of this than
you're going to see when it comes out. How could you not extend it,
given where we are in the ongoing war against terrorism? It's not
over.
Q It's not an alert increase or anything like that?
MR. FLEISCHER: No. That's why I want to let you know about this
before it comes out. The name of it is, I think, extending the
terrorism alert or emergency, something along those lines.
Q It gives who authority, DOD and who?
MR. FLEISCHER: Treasury.
Q Why Treasury, if it has mainly to do with calling up
Reserves?
MR. FLEISCHER: For DOD, it deals with Reserves. For Treasury, my
background information did not specifically list what Treasury could do
with this authority. I'll see if I can't draw on that before we put it
out.
Q When was it first issued, Ari?
MR. FLEISCHER: September 14th, last year, I believe, September
13th last year.
Q Has the President been briefed on any part of what's going
on in Florida?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I can just tell you this, we're reviewing
this. I don't know if it's risen to the President's level or not yet.
We're reviewing it and, right now, it's just -- it's not clear if
there is or is not any connection to anything broader. So it's under
review. Federal authorities are on the ground in Florida working with
state and local authorities. But at this point, there's just nothing
to report.
Q Ari, on the U.N., on the Iraq statements, yesterday the
people were -- people have seen a change now, saying yesterday Bush
was conciliatory, now he's insisting on deadlines. He's sort of laying
out his case for the U.N. You know, is he hardening his tone,
hardening his expectations of the U.N.?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think the U.N. understands how important it
is for them to show their determination to enforce their own
resolutions. The world is watching, and it's important for the U.N. to
fulfill its mission so that Saddam Hussein's unilateralist rejections
of the U.N.'s multilateral approach will not prevail.
Secretary Powell will have his meetings today with the Perm Five,
has already begun the discussions, and the President wants to send the
U.N. a helpful message that he wants them to be relevant, he wants them
to come out with something that is strong and concrete and around which
the world can rally.
Q Apparently Aziz has rejected unconditional weapons
inspections resuming in Iraq. Do you guys have any reaction?
MR. FLEISCHER: Obviously, they have something to hide.
Q For next week, does the President have any events or will
there be any opportunities for him to continue to make his case about
Iraq, meetings with congressional leaders? What next on this front?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes, I mean, I think the President will continue to
meet and consult with Congress. And, of course, the hearings begin
next week. So the hearings, I think, will be important and the
American people and the Congress will be able to hear from the
Administration secretaries directly. And they will be able to ask them
many of the questions they have at these hearings; that's why they're
important.
Q Will we have a news conference next week, to be able to ask
questions?
MR. FLEISCHER: I haven't talked to the President about it. You
had a mini one today.
Q We'd like a full-fledged one so all reporters get to ask a
question.
Q So Bob Deans gets one in, yes.
MR. FLEISCHER: Many people in Central Africa now know the name
Fournier. Many of those leaders spoke French, I noticed, and so the
name Fournier was very comfortable for them as the President enunciated
all of its many syllables.
Q Ari, the President was asked today what are the chances
that -- I forget how Ron put it -- that basically Saddam would
comply with the U.N. resolution. He said, highly doubtful.
MR. FLEISCHER: Right.
Q And doesn't this really confirm what many people suspect
all along, which is that Mr. Bush is not interested in a U.N.
resolution that would resume inspections of any kind, that what he's
really interested in is getting international support for the military
action, the regime change that he feels is necessary?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, Wendell, I think what it shows is that the
President is interested in exactly that, and that's why he's pursuing
this path --
Q And international support for the regime change that is
necessary?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is asking for the U.N. to express
itself in the forms of resolutions that will put teeth behind the
resolutions they passed in the past. But what it shows is that the
President is interested in getting this done, but he's a realist. And
your background briefer yesterday gave you the same answer. It's
important that the world do this for the sake of the world, the sake of
peace. But it's important for the world to do this and the U.N. to do
it with its eyes wide open. Nobody should underestimate Saddam
Hussein's determination to acquire these weapons and use them.
Q The message today seemed to be that war is inevitable. Is
that a fair assumption?
MR. FLEISCHER: -- not his message today; his message today was
he's a realist.
Q Let me understand what you're saying now. You're saying
the President's interested in international support for regime change?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, the President -- well, the policy -- let me
say this -- remains regime change, of course. And we'll let
Secretary Powell work his work at the United Nations. Okay.
Q Thanks, Ari.
END 11:07 A.M. EDT
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