For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 28, 2002
Press Gaggle by Ari Fleischer
Aboard Air Force One
En route Alamogordo, New Mexico
8:00 A.M. MST
MR. FLEISCHER: Good morning. Today is Monday, October 27th, and
the President will begin his day in New Mexico, to support the
congressional candidate, Steve Pearce; gubernatorial candidate John
Sanchez, and the New Mexico Republican ticket.
From there, the President will travel to Colorado to support the
campaigns of Colorado congressional candidate Bob Beauprez and Senator
Wayne Allard, as well as Colorado's Republican ticket. And will be
back in Washington this evening.
Q I'm sorry, the assassination of the Jordanian -- I mean the
American diplomat in Jordan?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President deeply regrets the death of AID
Officer Larry Foley. The circumstances of his murder are under
investigation. Jordanian authorities are extending the fullest
possible cooperation and support to the American community and to the
American government at this time. Jordan has been very, very helpful
and we look forward to getting to the bottom of this to determine who
did it.
Q Do you think it's terrorist --
MR. FLEISCHER: The investigation is just underway. We don't rule
that out. I cannot go beyond that at this moment.
Q Ari, what's the President going to do this week to help get
his vote in the U.N., apart from his campaign speeches? Has he got
anything else planned?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think the action will take place on two
levels, perhaps three. One is at the diplomatic level in New York.
Two is at the ministerial level, led by Secretary Powell. And, three,
by the President as he sees fit or necessary. And it is coming down to
the wire. This is important. The United Nations has debated this now
long enough. The time has come for people to raise their hands and
cast their vote and either announce that they will return to the ways
of the '90s, with a weak, ineffective system of inspection, or
recognize that Saddam Hussein has taken advantage of weakness and the
world needs to do something different.
Q Has the United States made a formal request to know what
type of gas was used on those hostages, including, I think, two
Americans?
MR. FLEISCHER: We are working to ascertain all the facts and
circumstances. But as that information is developed, the President
feels very strongly that the people to blame here are the terrorists;
the people who caused this tragedy to take place are terrorists who
took hostages and endangered the lives of others. This is a tragedy.
The President abhors the loss of all life. But he understands it is
the terrorists with whom the blame lies.
Q So taking your point, are you saying that it's not the
fault of the Putin government?
MR. FLEISCHER: This is a tragedy the Russian government reacted
to. The Russian people will sort out what took place. But the
President understands very clearly, and condemns the terrorists who put
people in harm's way in the first place.
Q What's the state of the three Americans?
MR. FLEISCHER: They're still working on ascertaining all
information. There are still some things that are just not clear.
Q Isn't that extremely frustrating and inexcusable, that we
can't find out what the condition is of the Americans is?
MR. FLEISCHER: There have been conflicting reports from the very
beginning about how many Americans actually were there, was it two or
was it three.
Q That's what I'm saying. It's been several days since the
siege ended. Why don't we know how many Americans were there, let
alone whether they're okay?
MR. FLEISCHER: Because it's the nature of people traveling around
the world. Americans don't have to stop and touch base with American
authorities to report where they are or where they go.
Q I guess what I'm asking is, are we do we feel Russia has
been -- do we feel Russia has been forthright with us, giving us enough
information about the fate of Americans and the operation itself? Have
they been
MR. FLEISCHER: The fate of the Americans is not an issue of the
Russians providing us or not providing us information. It's just an
issue of think about when you travel abroad and hang on and
your regular duties. When you travel abroad, you don't stop and inform
authorities everywhere you go. So, yes, we wish we could have more
information faster about where the Americans are. We're working to do
that.
Q Are we satisfied with what Russia has told us about the gas
and the operation itself? Are they being forthright?
MR. FLEISCHER: I have not heard from the embassy directly about
that status. So I'm not in a position to evaluate what we have heard.
Q Was the President scheduled to meet with President Putin in
connection with the Prague his Prague trip the end of November?
MR. FLEISCHER: They may be meeting. We haven't nailed down every
detail of the trip yet, so that is a possibility.
Q And how would you describe what was accomplished at APEC in
terms of Iraq and North Korea?
MR. FLEISCHER: The focus was on North Korea and the President is
satisfied with the accomplishments of the two statements that were
made, one by trilats, South Korea, Japan and the United States, and
then the broader APEC group statement calling for the immediate
dismantlement of the North Korean nuclear program.
Q Thank you for coming back.
MR. FLEISCHER: See you, everybody.
END 8:15 A.M. MST
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