For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 5, 2003
Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan Aboard Air Force One En Route Little Rock, Arkansas
10:46 A.M. CDT
MR. MCCLELLAN: Good morning, everybody. Lucky Duck says good
morning, too. Let me go through the President's day. Let's see -- the
President had his usual intelligence briefing on board the flight. The
President also called President Sezer of Turkey. The primary purpose of
the call was to extend his condolences to the President for the men,
women and children who were injured and killed in the recent
earthquake. He was particularly -- the President was particularly
saddened by the children that were killed and injured in the earthquake
-- and to let him know that the United States stands ready to help.
The President will participate in a roundtable of small business
owners and employees at 11:25 a.m. in Little Rock. And we're working on
getting you a list of those people. Then the President will make
remarks. Approximately -- well, over 2,000 people are expected to be in
attendance -- make remarks on his jobs and growth plan. The President
will talk about the need for Congress to act quickly when they return
and pass this jobs and growth plan. And it's about creating new jobs,
particularly in light of Friday's unemployment news, it's all the more
reason for Congress to act quickly.
Following that, the President will arrive at the White House at
approximately 4:25 p.m. this afternoon. And then at 5:30 p.m. he has a
meeting with the Secretary General of NATO, Lord Robertson.
Q Coverage?
MR. MCCLELLAN: At this point, I'm told that it's closed. If
anything changes, we will let you know.
Upon arrival, there's a Freedom Corps greeter, David Shapiro. He's
a member of SCORE -- Service Corps of Retired Executives program --
which is administered by the Small Business Administration, and they --
he serves as an advisor and mentor to small business owners and
individuals interested in starting a new business.
With that, I'm happy to take your questions.
Q What's the agenda on the NATO meeting? Why does he want to meet
with Robertson?
MR. MCCLELLAN: Well, some of this is following through on the
Prague Summit. If you look at the statement from the other day, as
well, that was put out on announcing the visit, they will talk about --
I expect they will talk about transformation and future missions of
NATO for the 21st century and addressing the threats of the 21st
century, as well as the leadership role that NATO will play in
Afghanistan later this summer.
Q Has the White House -- or the administration received any aid
requests from these states hit by tornadoes?
MR. MCCLELLAN: I'm not aware at this point. FEMA is continuing to
monitor the situation and coordinate with local authorities on any
assistance. I'm not aware of any official requests that have been made.
Obviously,, the President's thoughts and prayers are with the families
who have lost homes, who have lost loved ones, as well as those who
have been injured.
Q Do you think he'll address it all today when he makes his
remarks?
MR. MCCLELLAN: I think he should. Listen to his remarks, and I
expect that he will.
Q Has the President tacitly conceded that North Korea is a nuclear
power and it's not going to -- does he still want them to dismantle
their nukes, or just not sell them?
MR. MCCLELLAN: I saw those reports, and I think that our position
remains the same, that the United States, as well as the international
community, is concerned about North Korea possessing nuclear weapons
and potentially transferring nuclear materials to others. We're
continuing to consult with friends and allies, after our recent
discussions with North Korea, about the next steps to take. Remember
that we are approaching this in a multilateral forum, and that the
international community has made it clear to North Korea that its
relations with the outside world hinge on its verifiable and
irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons program.
Q No change in policy?
MR. MCCLELLAN: -- North Korea will continue to isolate itself as
long as it pursues a nuclear weapons program. But we remain concerned
about both the possession of and transfer of nuclear weapons, or
nuclear weapons materials.
Q Scott, is the U.S. considering unilaterally lifting sanctions on
Iraq?
MR. MCCLELLAN: There's really no change to report on the U.N.
sanction front. The President has made it clear that now with the
regime of Saddam Hussein gone, that those sanctions are no longer
needed, the U.N. should lift those sanctions. And we are consulting
with members of the Security Council. We are consulting with our
friends and allies and others about moving forward through the U.N. on
lifting those sanctions.
Q Do you stand prepared to do it just as the United States if the
U.N. doesn't act?
MR. MCCLELLAN: Well, I think -- right now we're consulting with the
Security Council members. The President has called on the U.N. to lift
those sanctions. And we are consulting with Security Council members,
friends and allies before moving forward.
Q How soon do you see that resolution from the U.N.?
MR. MCCLELLAN: Well, there's no update on the timing of that again.
We're still in the consultation phase with Security Council members and
working to determine how we move forward through the U.N. to lift those
sanctions, about any resolutions that might be introduced in the near
future.
Q Scott, how does today's event, which is focusing on jobs and
growth, square with the reasoning we got for the cancelling of the
Ottawa trip, which was that the President needed to stay to focus on
Iraq?
MR. MCCLELLAN: Well, Canada is a friend and ally, and the trip to
Canada was postponed. That was the decision that was made in mutual
consultations with Canada. So it was a mutual decision about postponing
that trip. The President looks forward to visiting Canada in the
future. And remember, the reasoning for the postponement of the trip
was related the situation in Iraq. Remember, presidential visits to
foreign countries aren't done in one day. It takes planning and
preparation.
Thanks, guys.
END 10:53 A.M. CDT
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