For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 7, 2003
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
Audio
1:15 P.M. EST
MR. FLEISCHER: Good afternoon. I want to give you a report on the
President's day, and then I want to give you a little bit of a look
ahead to the next week or two in terms of what the President and this
administration are going to be pursuing, both domestically and
internationally.
The President began early this morning with a phone call that
lasted 20 minutes with President Jiang Zemin of China. The two
discussed the situation in North Korea, as well as Iraq. President
Bush stressed that time was of the essence in dealing with Iraq, and he
stressed that the credibility of the United Nations was at stake.
President Bush underscored the need for a multilateral approach for
dealing with the situation in North Korea that has been created as a
result of North Korea's actions involving their weapons program.
President Jiang reiterated China's commitment to work with the United
States to secure disarmament and to prevent the nuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula.
President Jiang again expressed the condolences of the people of
China to the people of the United States for the loss of the space
shuttle Columbia.
Following the phone call, the President had an intelligence
briefing and an FBI briefing. I'll be happy to return to that. The
President then departed for the Treasury Department, where he made
remarks upon the swearing-in of the new Secretary of the Treasury.
The President returned to the White House, where he spoke with
President Jacques Chirac of France. The two agreed on the importance
of disarming Iraq. They agreed to continue consultations. The
President stressed that France is an important ally. And they also
discussed the importance of working together to achieve peace in the
Middle East between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
The President will depart for Camp David later this afternoon. And
let me -- I want to give you a look ahead for about the next two
weeks. During the next two weeks, the President and many members of
his administration are going to focus on two main goals: diplomacy
abroad and jobs at home. There will be number of activities on both
fronts. The President will be discussing the situation vis-a-vis Iraq
in his weekly radio address this weekend. Members of his foreign
policy team -- Secretary of State Powell and National Security Advisor
Dr. Condoleezza Rice -- will appear on the Sunday shows.
Members of his economic team -- Secretary Snow, Secretary Evans,
NEC Chairman Friedman -- will be meeting with Republican House and
Senate members to discuss the President's job and growth plan. And the
President will also address member of Congress on both foreign and
economic policy when the President travels Sunday to the Congressional
Republican Retreat.
Next week, the President will continue with the diplomatic
efforts. The President will have a series of meetings or phone calls.
We'll keep you informed on the phone calls. He is scheduled to meet
with Prime Minister Howard, of Australia, on Monday and with President
Gutierrez, of Ecuador, on Tuesday.
The President will also hold two events to promote his economic
plan next week, focused on helping small investors, as well as small
businesses. One will be an in-town event, the other will be travel --
as you know.
In addition, some 15 or 20 members of the Cabinet and sub-Cabinet
will be fanning out across the country to more than 20 cities to talk
about the economic package and growth package. We can provide you with
additional information about who is going to where, and this will, of
course, continue during the time that Congress is on recess, to
continue to make the case to the country and to the public about the
importance of Democrats and Republicans working together to promote
jobs and growth here at home.
And with that, I'm more than happy to take your questions.
Q Can I ask, when the President said this morning he wants the
U.N. Security Council to make up its mind soon, to do what? What does
he want to see in this new resolution? What does he want not to be in
there?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President, as he has said and as he has talked
with numerous allies, particularly in Europe -- the President has said
that he would welcome a second vote by the United Nations Security
Council that enforces the resolution that is already in place, which is
Resolution 1441, which said that this is Iraq's final chance to comply,
that failure to comply would be seen as a material breach that would be
met with serious consequences -- in the words of the 15 members of the
United Nations Security Council.
Q Does he want language more specific than "serious
consequences"?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, on the exact language, the process is now
just beginning. It began yesterday with the President's statement.
And I think, as you can anticipate, and you're very familiar with the
United Nations processes, this will now become a matter of diplomacy.
I've indicated to you the President is going to spend some time,
himself, and other members of the administration, engaged in diplomacy,
toward the point of working together with the United Nations Security
Council, to come out with a resolution that is serious, effective and
acceptable. And that's the process that now begins.
Q But, clearly, he must have in mind some minimum standard for
this resolution, otherwise he thinks it's pointless, right?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, he does. The standard the President has set
is that the second resolution must enforce the first resolution, that
it must provide meaning to the first resolution.
Q Does the President think there is anyone in the world who
believes he has not already made up his mind to go up to war at any
cost, no matter what? Does he actually think that nobody has already
made up -- believes he has already made him mind up?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think what's, in the President's judgment,
important, there is one person's mind who matters the most, and that's
Saddam Hussein. The issue of whether or not war comes is a matter that
Saddam Hussein will decide. And so when you say, has the President
decided, the President remains hopeful that war can be averted. And
the President strongly believes that the stronger the show of
international unity and the stronger the creation of the military
presence, building up alongside Iraq, we'll work to convince Saddam
Hussein to do what he always should have done, and perhaps the peace
can still be maintained.
Q But the President actually thinks that people think he still
might not go to war?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, there is really only one person the President
worries about when it comes to, can war be averted, and that's in
Saddam Hussein's --
Q Why shouldn't he worry about what the American people think?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, obviously, the President worries deeply about
what the American people think. He is responsible to the American
people and to their protection, per the Constitution, which is why the
President went to the United Nations Security Council last September.
It's why the President worked so hard to achieve the result of the
first tough resolution that the United Nations passed last November,
and why the President directed Secretary Powell to travel to New York
this week to make the presentation of facts.
Q Why doesn't he let the inspectors complete their work?
MR. FLEISCHER: There's only one person who can let the inspectors
complete his work, and that person's name is Saddam Hussein.
Q After talking to the Presidents of China and France, does the
President here feel any more optimistic that he's going to get their
votes in the Security Council on the kind of resolution that he wants?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I'm not in the business of predicting the
actions that will be taken by sovereign nations, that is up to them to
do.
But I think what you are seeing here is a serious diplomatic effort
underway and it's going to continue. And that is, I think, what the
American people and what the world would expect. It is important for
international organizations to have meaning. It is important for
proliferation regimes to work if we're going to send a signal to the
world that we will enforce proliferations regimes so that weapons of
mass destruction cannot be spread or can be easily acquired with
impunity from the very international organizations who at their heart
and soul must be dedicated to the stopping of the Saddam Husseins now
and in the future.
Q Can I just follow-up? Does the President feel that these
people, such as the Presidents of Russia and France and China, would
voice some opposition, or their officials would voice some opposition
to the American's stand on this? Does he feel that they're doing it
out of sincere beliefs that war is not necessary?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President, of course, believes that the leaders
he's working with are working in sincere faith. And, frankly, in the
days and the weeks leading up to the vote that the Security Council
took in November, there were a variety of different opinions shared,
not all in unison with the United States.
And because of careful diplomacy, because of the President's
dedication to working well with the United Nations, and also to leading
the world, you saw a 15-0 vote. I cannot predict what will be the
outcome this time. But that's the pattern that the President put in
place last time. Nobody know what will happen this time. But that is
why the President approaches it as seriously as he does. Their voices
count, their opinions are important. He will engage with them, as he
did today, in ongoing diplomacy. But make no mistake, he will also
lead.
Q If I could change the subject. We just had a briefing by the
Justice Department on the increase in the threat level. Can you just
tell us, from the President's perspective, what information was shared
with him, what role he played in the decision making?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, for the last several days, leading back even
a little bit longer -- of course the President, as you know -- I report
it each morning, when I say to you what has now become a routine part
of your day -- is when I say, the President began with a CIA briefing
followed by an FBI briefing.
The purpose of it is for the CIA to provide the President with the
latest information that they are able to gather from a variety of
sources, about a variety of matters, worldwide, that could affect the
United States. Then, as you know, in a change that was put in place
after September 11th, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security are
integrated into this.
So the information that has been under review has been brought to
the President's attention for the last several days in these morning
meetings. Specifically this morning, the President had his FBI -- his
CIA briefing, followed by an FBI briefing. Information, again, was
brought to the President's attention. That was followed by a meeting
of the Homeland Security Council in the Situation Room this morning.
The President did not --
Q The President took part in that meeting?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, the President does not take part in that. A
meeting took place of the Homeland Security Council. The Homeland
Security Council met for a little more than an hour to discuss the
information, to discuss response to it, and to discuss the
recommendation to increase the alert to high.
They concluded the meeting, and at 10:12 a.m. this morning,
Homeland Security Secretary Ridge and Attorney General Ashcroft came
into the Oval Office and made the recommendation to the President to
increase the alert. The President, based on the information he already
had, and having received then the recommendation from the Homeland
Security Council, concurred in their recommendation, in their
decision. Technically, it's a decision of the Attorney General, or
legally of the Attorney General, but it of course comes to the
President. And that all took place at 10:12 a.m. this morning.
Q Was there any discussion over the -- you said it's been
several days that they've been looking at this information, discussing,
I guess, in these meetings the possibility of the need to raise the
threat level, or was there something new that you saw today that pushed
it over the top?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, it gets discussed every day, whether or not
the alert level should stay at the current level. Typically ,it
remains at that level as information is assessed. But there are two
factors that go into it. One is the reporting, the information that we
receive. The second piece is the analyzing of the information. And
the two go on concurrently.
So as all the information was analyzed this morning, in the formal
process of the meeting of the Homeland Security Council, the broad
group, which represents many different agencies, made the
recommendation, the recommendation which reached the President, and the
President concurred. That is the process.
Q Why the big push on the economic package? Are you worried
that it's gotten sort of luke-warm support on Capitol Hill this far?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, there's a big push on the economic package
because the President believes in the plan he has sent into the
Congress. The President is pleased, of course, that the Congress this
year will be a little bit more likely to pass many of the elements that
he proposed than the one that last year, as a result of the election.
But nevertheless, it remains a close Congress, and it's important to
always, at all times, work with members of Congress. Members of
Congress have their own thoughts, their own ideas, and that's
important. That's the only way any President will work with a Congress
successfully, is to visit with them, to talk to them, and also to talk
to the country.
The President believes deeply in the proposals he's made. He's
very -- on the one hand, the President noted, as he said this morning,
that the unemployment rate today dropped from 6 percent to 5.7
percent. But the President remains concerned about the overall
strength of the economy, and he wants to make certain that we continue
to push for more jobs in this country and more growth in this country
Q Is he willing to give up certain items that might not be so
popular on the Hill?
MR. FLEISCHER: Steve, are you asking to negotiate with myself on
behalf of the President, who I won't speak for on a matter that will be
discussed with the Congress? No, the President is going to fight for
the plans that he submitted to the Hill. He put them together because
he believes they are the best policies. He understands the process and
we're engaging him.
Q Ari, you mentioned before that the focus over the next couple
of weeks would be on jobs at home and diplomacy abroad. Left out of
that formulation is any mention of explaining and justifying war to the
American people, or preparing them for the risk that this doesn't go as
smoothly as a lot of people might expect or hope.
MR. FLEISCHER: Obviously, anything dealing with diplomacy abroad
gets communicated to the world, gets communicated to the American
people, as well. I don't rule out that you certainly will, when the
President's travels, as you well know, when the President goes out, for
example, and gives speeches around the country, he'll have a new policy
that he may announce domestically, but typically the President will
also discuss international events.
And so the President will continue as he travels to talk about
global affairs as part of his overall remarks.
Q But more broadly, is he confident that he has made the case
to the American people -- not to France or Russia or China -- but to
the American people, that this is something that he needs to do and
that it's going to entail risks and casualties and potentially
long-term costs?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, the -- first of all, you have to keep
in mind the President has not made the decision that force will be
used. The President has, of course, in his State of the Union, talked
directly to the American people about the nature of the threat and why
it's important that one way or another Saddam Hussein be disarmed.
The President directed the Secretary of State to travel to the
United Nations, where his speech was watched around the globe, of
course, and tens of millions of Americans saw both the State of the
Union and Secretary Powell's presentations. The President understands
that if there is more to come, the President will continue to honor his
obligation to our democracy, to talk more and explain more.
So, no, you have not seen the end of that story in the event that
the President decides there is more necessary.
Q Ari, going back to raise the threat from yellow to orange is
a concern, since we don't hear any more from Osama bin Laden, or we
don't talk about him anymore. So who is the new boss? Where all these
threats are coming from? And who is directing these terrorists?
MR. FLEISCHER: This is exactly why we have, for more than a year
now, said this is about much more than any one person. There remains a
network of people who hate the United States, who on September 11th
showed us, they'll attack us if they can. And it's not the first time,
unfortunately. We've had our embassies abroad attacked. We've had our
ships attacked abroad. September 11th, they traveled to our own
shores.
There remain people -- despite the disruptions that have taken
place, despite much of the activity that has hindered their abilities
-- there remain people who would seek to attack us. Based on the
information that we have gathered, we have heightened concerns at this
time. And that is why the threat code was put in place in the first
place. That is why we work so closely through the Department of
Homeland Security with -- not only local law enforcement, state police,
city police, local police -- but as well as infrastructures, the
various sectors of our society, many of which have their own security
entities, private security operations which have a role in deterring an
attack.
And so these mechanisms have all been part of our country's fabric
for quite a number of years. Since September 11th, what's happened on
the federal level is we've brought more means available to coordinate
them, to communicate with them. And particularly if Congress passed
the final appropriation bill, it would give them $3.5 billion more
money to do their work.
Q Let me follow one more on the economy. During my recent
visit to India, most people there were not worried that the U.S. would
attack Iraq or not, but the economy -- some people are -- more people
are worried their economy also. The question is now the prices -- oil
prices and gold prices are going up. And so what is the future, what
message you think President will have for these small business who are
hurting really because of this tax of war?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, of course, this remains an issue for the
American people. I think the American people get it at all times --
but they get it even more now -- why it's so important to be energy
independent.
And this remains an important priority of what the President -- and
as you know, this week he had several events focusing on future ways to
make America energy independent through breakthroughs in technology.
But there remains more that Congress can do now, in term of improving
America's energy infrastructure and America's energy independence. And
we hope the Congress will take action on those matters.
Q Ari, two questions on the threat level. Anything different
that the White House is doing, or White House officials are doing
because of this new threat level? For instance, the Vice President, is
he going to an undisclosed location? Anything of this sort, anything
different here?
MR. FLEISCHER: As you know, periodically, the Vice President and
the President do work apart. We will do our best to inform you of
anything along those lines. I don't have anything for you today on
that. We do try to share with you scheduling information to the best
degree we can, with an eye toward security, of course, at all times.
But there are a series of concrete things that people can see, that
they can know are happening as a result of the alert being moved up to
high. Let me share a couple of those with you.
In the area of transportation, of course. The Transportation
Security Administration screeners at airports around the country are
likely to increase the number of random examinations conducted at
airport security checks. I think you may anticipate an increased
presence of federal air marshals assigned to flights. I think in
terms of Customs and their activities, customs and immigration
inspectors will be requesting more people -- questioning more people
more closely as they cross the land border or enter the United States
through international airports.
As part of this process, travel documents, which often are at the
discretion of officials in how to view them, will be increasingly
scrutinized. Customs inspectors will increase the number of vehicles,
refer to secondary inspection areas for closer scrutiny, with
non-intrusive inspection equipment. Cargo inspections are likely to go
up.
There are a whole variety of activities that can be carried out by
the federal agencies to reflect the increase in alert status. And I
think, similarly, if you talk to various police departments and local
departments, as we all adjust in this country together to the realities
of life after September 11th, you will see local enforcement, local law
enforcement increase their presence. And I certainly recognize that as
local law enforcement works through what exactly does it mean to
increase the alert status to high, they will ask questions. Part of
this whole process is to provide every available federal resource to
them at a time when not everything can be known about exactly how or
where the enemy wants to hit us. Not all can be known because we have
an enemy who is trying to hide it from us.
Based on what we do know, we pass it on to local authorities. We
can't know everything. Therefore, not everything can be known. And it
still requires extra vigilance and extra actions.
Q You walked over to Treasury right after the President made
his decision. Can you enlighten us on his mood or on anything that he
said about having to make this decision to raise the threat level and
really change the feeling of the country?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President, having received in his morning
briefings this information about the nature of the threats and the
advice and counsel of the experts in the government who deal with this,
the President when he was informed about the recommendation, his
statement was, I agree, change the code.
The President is determined. This is the President who has
repeatedly warned the American people that we have enemies who remain
dedicated to hitting -- and hitting the United States, and hitting the
United States in ways that if they could would be horrible. As
Secretary Powell said, as the President said, if on September 11th our
enemies had other weapons at their disposal, they would use them. So
the sad fact is, this does remain the reality of today. The good fact
remains, the American people and the American government have never,
ever before let any challenge stop us from achieving our national
objectives. And that is the reality of the world we live in today.
Q Ari, the President has said he would welcome a second U.N.
resolution. Is that desire strong enough that he would go back to the
U.N. and speak directly to the Security Council?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not in a position to make any predictions. But
I would not suggest to you that because the President did it on
September 12th would be any need for him to do it again. I think now
the burden falls on the shoulders of the 15 members of the United
Nations Security Council to review the facts, to review the
intelligence that has been shared, to evaluate what they know about
Saddam Hussein and his possession of weapons of mass destruction, his
absolute failure to comply with the inspectors -- who were sent there
not to hunt around the country in search of weapons but to verify that
he has actually disarmed from the weapons he has.
The President believes that they will make those judgments, and
this is a real time of telling for the United Nations Security Council
on whether they are, indeed, an effective body in the 21st century.
Q Can you give us a little bit of readout on President Jiang
Zemin's reaction during that telephone conversation? Can you do the
same with President Chirac? What was his reaction to what President --
MR. FLEISCHER: As I indicated, the two agreed about the importance
of continuing to consult with each other. And I think that sums it
up.
Q Did Chirac, for instance, indicate any willingness to
consider something other than endless inspections? Did he indicate
that there was a limit to his patience on Iraq?
MR. FLEISCHER: You know, again, I appreciate the opportunity to
speak for foreign leaders, but --
Q I'm only asking you to convey what he indicated to the
President of the United States.
MR. FLEISCHER: I appreciate the opportunity to speak for foreign
leaders. But, no, it's not my place to do that. They had a warm call
and the President again indicated that he respects France and it's
important to continue the consultations, and they will.
Q You indicated the President wanted any new resolution to
reinforce 1441. Obviously, as you indicated, diplomatic discussions
will determine the exact language and how far it goes. But is there a
minimum that the United States needs to see in a second resolution?
Would it, for instance, have to declare that Iraq is yet again in
material breach? Is there some minimum level here that would be
required for it to actually reinforce 1441?
MR. FLEISCHER: The minimum is that it would to enforce what
Resolution 1441 meant. And what Resolution 1441 meant was it was
final, the words of the United Nations -- final. It said that Iraq is
and continues to be in material breach. And it said if they are in
material breach there will be serious consequences. That's what the
President believes. It must disarm Saddam Hussein.
Q One other thing, if I may. The Attorney General indicated
this morning that one of the threats received mentioned something about
the end of the Hadj. I gather from that, that this particular threat
warning will be in place at least through the end of the Hadj?
MR. FLEISCHER: It would not be my place to predict how long it
would be in effect. And as I've indicated on numerous times, this is
information that gets reviewed on a daily basis. And I will not try to
predict when it will go down.
Q So there's no decision on that today, about --
MR. FLEISCHER: Oh, no. No.
Q Ari, with the threat level now at orange, what does that mean
for us ordinary citizens? How are we to be protected or how can we
protect ourselves against chemical, biological attacks?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think Secretary Ridge addressed this in his
remarks, and General Ashcroft did, as well. I provided you the
information about what this means to the government, what the
government would be doing. As you've heard, everybody in our society
can play a role in being vigilant and that's what has been called for.
Now, I recognize that it can sometimes be a nebulous phrase, but
nevertheless, everybody -- Richard Reid is the perfect example of where
vigilance stopped an attack that could have been a devastating one.
And the job of the average citizen is to continue to be vigilant,
while knowing that the agencies of the government that the taxpayers
pay for, at the federal level, the state level and the local level,
will be kicking it into higher gear to provide greater protections,
based on the new warning.
Q Ari, I have another one -- it's a different question.
Q She gets two? (Laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: That would be a cutback from the normal number of
ones everybody has had so far in the first two rows. So this
represents a 33 percent reduction in the number of --
Q Well, not everybody.
MR. FLEISCHER: That's true, Bill. (Laughter.)
Q She gets your question.
MR. FLEISCHER: Bill Plante did not have a question today.
Q I have not yet.
Q Thank you, thank you. And you are to be quiet. (Laughter.)
The President is requesting $110 million in next year's budget for
increased military aid to Colombia. What's our intended mission there,
anti-drug or anti-terror?
MR. FLEISCHER: It is the both. As you know, as a result of an act
of Congress that was passed last year, the counter-narcotics and
counter-terrorism efforts in Colombia have been enhanced, as we deal
with the situation in Colombia. Our approach is based on that expanded
authority that was provided by the Congress.
There are new deployments that are training deployments consistent
with these new authorities. And I'll give you an example of one of
them. Special forces are providing training to the Colombian armed
forces for the protection of the Cano Limon oil pipeline, which is a
strategic element of Colombia's economy and a key export. It has been
attacked by terrorists on dozens of times per year, causing serious
economic and environmental damage. So per the expanded authority
provided by the Congress last year, it is both.
Q On the Iraq-al Qaeda connection, if this Zarqawi guy is such
a threat, and we know from the satellite photographs exactly where the
camp is, we have uncontested control over the air space, why hasn't any
action been taken?
MR. FLEISCHER: Number one, you should not in that statement
presume that we know exactly where he is, or at all times exactly where
he is. We may have reporting on where he has been. Now, if you're
asking me to talk about anything that may be a military operation,
that, of course, is something I would never do.
Q Ari, since a big part of a second resolution would
potentially be to show global support for ultimate action against
Saddam potentially, is it important that the White House come away with
another 15-0 vote, as it received in the first go-round?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, first of all, I don't think -- nobody has said
that that is a standard that must be set. And I think it's fair to
recognize that Germany, which is a member of the United Nations
Security
Council, has spoken out very strongly on this matter. The
President disagrees on this matter, but the President also respects the
right of nations to disagree. So I have not heard any standards set
about what the vote must be. The United Nations Security Council has
its rules about what makes a resolution pass. And that standard
remains in place.
Q Publicly and privately, comments from French diplomats don't
necessarily jibe. Privately, some French diplomats are actually
willing to paint a scenario in which they move into the same camp, or
thought, as the White House, as the President. Did you detect, or did
the President detect, at all, from his conversation with Mr. Chirac
whether or not the French are, indeed, starting to move a little bit
closer?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, I think that at the appropriate time,
the vote will take place. And at that time we will learn what the
positions are of the variety of nations. I'm not in position to
predict what that outcome will be -- collectively or for any individual
state of the United Nations Security Council.
The importance of it, however, remains paramount in the President's
judgment about whether or not international organizations play a
legitimate role. If they don't, in the case of disarming Saddam --
given his total defiance for 12 years -- at what point would they ever
have any effect? What message would it send to the next would-be
proliferator if their actions are meaningless now?
Q Ari, the President said today that all options are on the
table in regards to North Korea. I'm wondering ,is this a reflection
of some of the discontent we're seeing on Capitol Hill about our
policies towards North Korea? Or is it a reflection of a rising level
of exasperation on our part? Because if you recall, when we first went
into this, we said, diplomatic course, possible economic sanctions, no
military options. Then the economic sanctions disappeared, and it's
only diplomacy, only diplomacy. Now we're back, military is on the
table again.
MR. FLEISCHER: I hate to get back into this with you, but I think
that's a misstatement of what transpired previously. I think it's a
reflection of the fact that there may be some on Capitol Hill who have
not paid close enough attention to the debate, and failed to observe
the fact that the President and members of his administration have
regularly said, going back months, that all options are on the table.
And so the President reiterated that longstanding policy today,
saying again that he believes, as he talked to President Jiang about it
this morning, that his can and should be handled on a multilateral
basis and through a diplomatic fashion. And in that, we stand
shoulder-to-shoulder with Russia, China, South Korea, and Japan.
Q -- now said the game is over in regards to Saddam Hussein.
MR. FLEISCHER: Wait a minute, we have both of you today?
(Laughter.) This is four questions. It's the same news bureau.
(Laughter.)
Q Thank you, Ari. Thank you.
MR. FLEISCHER: Ivan, you have the floor.
Q Who says there was a limit? They have a right.
MR. FLEISCHER: Helen, you have proved there is no limit.
(Laughter.)
Q Very briefly, now that the President has said the game is
over, does he want a deadline in the next resolution before the
Security Council? And if it's not there, will he impose one soon
before the end of the month --
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes, again, in response to Mark's question, we are
still within 24 hours of the President making this statement. And this
will be a process. The process will unfold. There will be numerous
suggestions, and numerous writers, and it's a serious process. I'm not
going to predict any specific wordage, but what's important is the
parameter that the President has set which is that this new resolution
must enforce Resolution 1441.
Q Mr. Fleischer, yesterday -- you praised Turkey for its
support on the war against Iraq, despite that 80 percent of Turkish --
disagree? I'm wondering -- to say about Greece, since the Greek
government satisfied all your requests regarding the use of the bases
and the air space? Are you satisfied, Mr. Fleischer, at the way Greece
is handling the Iraqi crisis under the capacity, having the President
of the European Union?
MR. FLEISCHER: As I've said previously, the President has been
working, and the State Department, Department of Defense, have been
working around the world talking to numerous allies of ours. And it's
not my place to characterize what they do unless those nations take a
public action. Different nations are contributing and helping out in
different ways. I'd have to review the public information on Greece to
give you a specific answer on it, but my standard has always been it's
not my place to speak for other nations, but the President knows that
there are many who have been very helpful to us.
Q You spoke to Turkey --
MR. FLEISCHER: They publicly stated their position. I'd have to
verify what Greece has done publicly before I can publicly state it.
We're going to keep moving here for a second. We've got hands coming
back up on the first rows.
Q Can you tell me, did the President say anything to President
Jiang regarding the heightened alert that is in the Pacific region,
given the Korean situation, the Korean Peninsula?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, they talked about the importance of a
multilateral approach and diplomatic solution. I don't think
heightened alert -- no. But I think President Jiang understands,
however, that the President has said that all options are on the table,
but he believes this can be solved through diplomacy. I think that's a
clear understanding.
Q Secondly, Ari --
MR. FLEISCHER: We're going to keep moving, and then we're going to
come back.
Q There's a report in Financial Times that much of a British
report, lauded by Secretary Powell at the U.N., was actually
plagiarized and old information. What's the White House's response?
MR. FLEISCHER: I haven't seen the report, so I couldn't comment
it. I think Secretary Powell's presentation spoke volumes and was well
received.
Q On some of the second resolution questions, in the Gulf War,
the U.N. passed two resolutions condemning Iraq's actions and imposing
economic sanctions, but it wasn't until November, when they passed 678,
which basically said two things: it authorized the use of force, and
it set a deadline. So without specific language, are those two types
of things the President would look for, and if not getting into it
specifically, does the administration look to this resolution as the
last resolution?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, I realize, as I said earlier, that
this is just almost 24 hours after the President said it. It's a
little too soon to start getting into the exact wording. Now, it's
almost 24 hours and a couple minutes since I was last asked the same
question. My answer remains the same.
It's too soon to indicate, because it is a real process. There
will, at some point, be a time when pens are put to paper and language
is available or language is knowable. That has not happened today.
And that's the -- I think you all understand the process. And I think
you would be surprised if it was a knowable answer this quickly.
Q Ari, American citizens continue to privately travel to
Baghdad to register their opposition to war, the possibility of war.
What does the President think about this?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, number one, again, it remains the rights of
Americans to speak out. I think that Americans have to be careful
about travel to Baghdad, to be used by the regime of Saddam Hussein for
purposes that would be at odds with America's traditions of honesty,
credibility and being accurate with the American people.
It's important, if people decide that they want to speak out, to
have that freedom within this country. The President accepts that and
understands that and respects that.
Q On the President's remarks this morning about all objects
being on the table with North Korea. Ever so often, there is a burst
of alarm in news coverage about the administration's posture on the use
of nuclear weapons. Can you clarify whether or not this administration
has changed the longstanding policy with regard to the use of nuclear
weapons?
MR. FLEISCHER: There has been a decades-long policy about
America's use of nuclear weapons, and it remains in effect. And that
is, we don't rule anything in, we don't rule anything out, and we don't
comment on it. That has been the decades long policy, that remains the
policy.
THE PRESS: Thank you.
END 1:50 P.M. EST
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