For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 27, 2003
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
12:39 P.M. EST
MR. McCLELLAN: Good
afternoon. I
would like to start with a brief update on federal assistance in fighting the
wildfires in California. The
President is continuing to monitor the California wildfire situation. He has been assured that all federal
resources necessary to fight these fires will be provided to the state of California. FEMA
Director Mike Brown is on his way there now.
The FEMA regional operations center has been mobilized to coordinate
closely with state and local officials and other federal agencies. We have FEMA personnel stationed at the state
emergency operations center to be in direct contact with California State emergency management teams.
The Department of
Homeland Security has made available 150 customs and border protection agents
to assist with evacuations and to support local law enforcement. Since last Thursday, FEMA has approved eight
fire management assistance grants to support the state's efforts to combat the
recent outbreak of wildfires. This
assistance is aimed at helping California with expenses for field camps, equipment
use, repair and replacement, tools, materials and supplies, and mobilization
and demobilization activities.
So that's the latest
update. We are continuing to work with California state officials to assess their needs in
terms of the request we received overnight, as well.
And with that, I'll
be glad to jump right into questions.
Okay, thank
you. (Laughter.) Terry, go ahead.
Q Scott, there are now upwards of 35 attacks a
day being perpetrated in Iraq, and I wonder how the President can claim
that's progress?
MR. McCLELLAN:
Terry, as we've said, there are dangers that still remain in parts of Iraq. There
are dangerous people that are still in parts of Iraq, particularly that Sunni Triangle. We have continued to make progress on
security in that area. In the north and
south, we have made significant progress.
Those areas are secure areas.
Most of the attacks -- the vast majority, I think Ambassador Bremer has
talked about some 90 percent of those attacks -- are really occurring in the
Sunni Triangle.
And what we are
continuing to do is go on the offensive with our military to find these
terrorists and bring them to justice.
These are terrorists who are enemies of freedom and enemies of the Iraqi
people. We see the true nature of these
terrorists when they carry out attacks like they did today, against aid workers
at the Red Cross, against Iraqis at police stations. So we are seeing their true nature in these
attacks. But we will not be
intimidated. We will stay the course,
and we will prevail in this central front on the war on terrorism, because the
world has a stake in seeing a peaceful, free, and democratic and prosperous Iraq emerge.
It will serve as an example for the rest of the Middle East.
Q These attacks are increasing in number and in
sophistication. You now have -- you have
simultaneous attacks across Baghdad today. That doesn't sound like
progress in securing Iraq. It
sounds like --
MR. McCLELLAN: There are
a number of fronts where we are making important progress. We are continuing to work on the security
front, as well. Our military leaders
have said that some of these attacks have become more sophisticated. But what you're really seeing is that the
more progress we make, the more desperate these killers become. And that's what these people are -- these are
cold-blooded killers that are enemies of freedom, they hate peace and freedom, and
they're enemies of the Iraqi people. We
will continue to work with the coalition to bring these individuals to
justice. And that's why our military
will stay on the offensive.
Q Have you got a timetable on when the Iraqi
people can feel safe, or when the American people can feel that we're making
progress?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
one, we've always --
Q And I ask because Senator McCain has
specifically said that the window, he believes, is closing. And for the first time this veteran of the
Vietnam War has said it feels similar to him.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I
think in a six month period we have accomplished quite a bit on the democratic
front, on the economic front, in helping the Iraqi people build a better future
that is based on democracy and sovereignty and prosperity. And we will continue to work on those
fronts. What you see is the schools are
-- all the schools are open, all the hospitals are open, children are receiving
immunizations, electricity is above pre-war levels, oil production is up. There are a number of areas where significant
progress has been made.
We will continue to
move forward in those areas. We will
also continue to stay on the offensive and take the fight to the enemies of the
Iraqi people who are carrying out these attacks. We will bring them to justice. They will not succeed. We will not be intimidated by these kinds of
-- that's all they seek to do, is to intimidate us and to spread fear and
chaos. We will spread hope and peace,
and we will continue to move forward, because of the important stakes involved
in Iraq. This
is the central front in the war on terrorism.
Q Scott, let me just follow on a couple of
points. I mean, this is all going on at
a time when this White House is telling the American people, listen, don't
believe the mainstream media, they're not telling you all the good news that's
happening there, they're only telling you about the bad news, and it's not the
full picture. It's also at the time when
the American government is prepared to pledge tens of billions of dollars to
reconstruct Iraq, and when you're asking foreign governments to do the same.
So all of this
progress that the President is talking about that the terrorists are trying to
undo, even if that's the case, isn't it a dire concern now of this
administration that just in the area of infrastructure alone that all the money
that's going to go toward reconstruction will be undermined, in a very physical
sense, by these terror groups who are attacking on a daily basis.
MR. McCLELLAN: David,
these enemies of the Iraqi people will not succeed. These enemies of freedom and peace will not
succeed.
Q That's great rhetoric, but the reality is --
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm glad
you brought up --
Q -- you've got a security problem on the ground. Why won't the President be more specific
about who they are, what's being done to stop them and
why it persists as long as is does?
MR. McCLELLAN: I
think that our
military leaders in the region in Iraq have been specific about saying that what we
have are holdouts of the former regime who are in Iraq and foreign terrorists who have entered the
country. We also have a number of
criminals that were let loose when Saddam Hussein's regime was falling. And we will continue to go after all those
killers and bring them to justice.
I think it's
important to point out what you just said, we did also
have a very successful donors conference this weekend. The international community recognizes that
the world has a stake in seeing a free, peaceful and democratic Iraq emerge.
This will serve -- a free, democratic and prosperous Iraq will serve as an example for the rest of the
Middle East. Free
societies do not breed the ideology of terrorists. And that's why we will continue --
Q Well, Scott, what about the question? I mean --
MR. McCLELLAN: This is
--
Q -- at a time when you want all this money to go to reconstruction, you've
got groups out there attacking on a near daily basis with more sophistication,
as Terry points out, and with devastating effect. I mean, how can you pour all of this money
and call, you know, the Madrid conference a success, when you've got money
going into revitalizing infrastructure that is obviously in some jeopardy?
MR. McCLELLAN: Keep in
mind, as we continue to improve the infrastructure, which we have made
significant progress in improving the infrastructure, that will help improve
the security situation and help our troops succeed in our mission. So it's important that we move forward to
provide our troops with all the resources they need. It's also important that we continue to move
forward on the economic and democratic front to transition to a sovereign
nation for the Iraqi people. And as we
provide these resources on that front, it'll help improve the security
situation for our troops to succeed.
But it's --
Q Bottom line, you just want the American
people now to believe, don't worry about it, in the end it'll be okay.
MR. McCLELLAN: Again,
what we will continue to emphasize is what we have said all along, that as we
make progress, and the more progress we make, the more desperate some of these
holdouts of the former regime will become -- the more desperate these foreign
terrorists will become. They do not want
to see us succeed in Iraq because they know that it will be a
devastating blow in the war on terrorism.
And when we succeed we will have dealt the terrorists a significant
blow. And that's why it's important that
we continue to stay the course and we continue to go on the offensive to bring
these killers to justice.
Q Scott, one on this and one on the economy, if
I may. The President always talks about benchmarks,
about the importance of being able to measure performance -- he does in regard
to education and lots of other issues, perhaps suggestive of his MBA -- give
the American people a way to measure his performance in Iraq by the time they
step into the voting booth in November 2004.
If attacks like these are still going on at that time, would they be
right in judging the policy a failure?
MR.
McCLELLAN: Well, one, we are moving
forward as quickly as we can to transition and to transfer responsibility as
quickly as we can to the Iraqi people.
That's important. That's why the
wartime supplemental that is before Congress right now is critically important
to our efforts in Iraq. Congress -- we appreciate the
fact that Congress is moving forward quickly to get this wartime supplemental
passed, to get our troops the resources they need to succeed, to get resources
to the Iraqi people so they can realize a better future and so we can improve
the security situation to help our troops succeed.
And so we'll
continue working closely with Congress on that front. And this is all about helping us transition
and transfer responsibility to the Iraqi people as quickly as possible.
Q Is that a suggestion then -- and I do still
want to get to the economy -- was that a suggestion, then,
that by the time Election Day 2004 rolls around, that transition will have
occurred, do you believe?
MR. McCLELLAN: You're
putting certain time lines on this. I'm
saying that we're moving as quickly as possible. If you look at the recently passed U.N.
Resolution, 1511, it calls on the Iraqi Governing Council by December 15th to
come up with a time line for a constitution and to move forward on free
elections. Again, what you see with
these kind of attacks are, the more progress we make, the more desperate these
killers become, because they do not want to see a free and peaceful Iraq
emerge. These are people that oppressed
the Iraqi people for over 30 years, and they have lost their power and they are
becoming more and more desperate.
Let me come back to
the economy. Let's stay -- will we stay
on this subject?
Q Yes.
MR. McCLELLAN: Okay.
Q The donors conference, it came up quite a bit
short of what the World Bank and U.N. says is needed -- I don't know, $20
billion short, or whatever. How do you
propose to make up that difference? And
can you rule out coming back to Congress and asking them for more money?
MR. McCLELLAN: I
think we made a
tremendous amount of progress on the international front at the donors conference in Madrid. And
they're still tallying all the results of that, but it surpassed our
expectations and we're pleased with the response from the international
community.
We have also pointed
out that this is over a several-year period.
And you see oil production continue to go up in Iraq, that much of that remaining money will be made up
of, in the form of surplus oil production from the Iraqi -- from Iraq. And
we will also continue reaching out to the international community in other ways
to provide financial assistance to the Iraqi people.
Q So no more U.S. aid, that $20 billion --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
we've said that we won't be going back with another supplemental. If there are additional sums that may be
needed, they'd be in the regular appropriations process.
Q How much oil revenue are you counting on?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I
think that it's been estimated at surplus oil revenue beginning,
I think, in 2005, $5 billion a year in surplus oil revenues that would go
towards these efforts in Iraq.
Q On the question of foreign terrorists. When
Bremer was asked about this on television yesterday, he said: most of them seem to be coming across the
Syrian border, but the Ansar al-Islam, which is
another al Qaeda-related group, they appear to have
come across the Iranian border, starting in about July.
What is being done
diplomatically and militarily to begin to try to stem the flow of foreign
terrorists into Iraq? And what evidence is there
that al Qaeda is playing any kind of role in
everything that's going on?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
one, we've made our concerns known to all the countries in the region about
foreign terrorists crossing the borders.
And we will continue to do that.
You mentioned Ansar al-Islam, a group that was
previously in Iraq, and that we talked about when we talked about the terrorist ties that
Saddam Hussein's regime had. So we will
continue to make those concerns known, and that they can take steps to help us
in these efforts.
Q But making concerns known, it sounds not
terribly aggressive in the face of --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
we're also continuing to improve the border patrol. You have more Iraqis now involved in their
security, both in -- well, in the police
forces, some 55,000, a number in the border patrol, and a number in the civil
defense forces. So there are a number of
ways that we're working to improve the security situation, with one of the
foremost being that the Iraqi people are the second largest contributors to
their own security. And that number is
growing on a daily basis because the vast majority of the Iraqi people want to
see a free and peaceful and prosperous future emerge.
Q Follow-up to that.
Scott, before the President went to Australia, there was a roundtable discussion with
reporters. And one of the questions was,
with the Democrats' message being filtered out to many of these other
countries, in reference to the President's foreign policy, particularly as it
relates to Iraq, and then we saw what happened in Australia, and now you're
hearing about what will not be happening in London, do you think that message
is now getting out that this Iraqi situation may be a failure, if indeed, it's
not been found? And some people are
saying that this whole situation was contrived.
MR. McCLELLAN: That what
situation?
Q The Iraqi situation was contrived.
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't
-- again, there's a lot of politics going on, on the Democratic side. We'll let them talk about politics. We're going to stay focused on what we're
trying to achieve in Iraq and why we are trying achieve
it. The President led and acted to
confront what was a grave and gathering threat, as he outlined before the
international community. The United
Nations Security Council passed a resolution saying there would be serious
consequences if Saddam Hussein continued to fail to comply with his
international obligations after 12 years.
And we followed through on that to make sure that that word was kept,
and to better protect the American people, and to make the world a safer place.
Q But the reaction in Australian was real. The President may not go to parliament in London because of the nay-sayers
and their strong feelings.
MR. McCLELLAN: I think
the President was warmly received by the parliament in Australia, and appreciated the response that he got.
Q And a last on something -- is the President
-- there is a call for the President to fix this disparity problem. There's word that Shoshana
Johnson, shot in the ankle as a POW, she's only getting 30 percent disability,
whereas Jessica Lynch is getting 80 percent disability. And the President is being called upon to fix
this disparity of -- or get something moving.
Have you heard anything about it?
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't
have any update. I think that you might
want to address those questions to the Pentagon, they
can probably better address those questions.
Q -- there is a big disparity gap there.
Is he -- is there a concern here?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he
has confidence that the military will address those matters.
Q Where does the White House think that the
weapons are coming from that are being used in Iraq? Do
you think that they're currently coming over the border? That they were in Iraq?
Where does --
MR. McCLELLAN: I'll
leave that to our military commanders in the region to discuss. They're the ones that are closest to that
situation and in best position to address those issues. So I'll leave it to them to address it.
Q Scott, two quick unrelated questions. One,
on California, in the past few years FEMA has received a
lot of credit for acting very quickly.
Why did it take Director Brown so long to get -- start going to California?
MR. McCLELLAN: I
think we have been
responding quickly. I just mentioned
that we have provided grants to California to help in fighting these wildfires.
Q But he didn't leave until today to go to California.
MR. McCLELLAN: I'd
double check with his schedule, but I think he's out that way and on his way to
California.
Q On Medicare, the President is going to speak
about it Wednesday. Is he prepared to do
any more than he has done to get this bill through? Because he has called people here to say, I
want this bill -- but is he prepared to do any more than that? And, if so, what?
MR. McCLELLAN: It's
a very high priority for the President. It's
a high priority for our nation's seniors.
The President is continuing to work closely with Congress to pass a
modernized and strengthened Medicare bill that provides seniors with more
choices and better benefits so that seniors can choose the health care that
best meets their individual needs -- just like members of Congress can.
We are working
closely with Congress. This is a real
opportunity to once and for all get this passed. Medicare has not kept up with modern
medicine, and that's why we are continuing to work closely with Congress. We're pleased that progress is being made,
but this is -- and we should not let this opportunity pass. And the President will continue to work with
Congress and urge Congress to move as quickly as possible to get this done.
Q So the answer is, he's not going to do any
more than what he has already done? Which is to urge Congress to --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
he'll continue to be -- he's had meetings with members of Congress, he'll
continue to have meetings with members of Congress and urge them to move
forward on this high priority for this Congress.
Q -- get more involved as he did on tax cuts, on education reform?
MR. McCLELLAN: He will
work as hard as he can and do what is necessary to get this important priority
for America's seniors passed.
Q On the economy, you had some good numbers on
the housing starts today, but we heard a lot from the Democratic candidates
last night in that debate -- for example, Wesley Clark: they came to office with no policies except
tax cuts, they said tax cuts would help us, it would bring us jobs -- they
didn't; they said they'd fix Social Security, they didn't.
The
state of the economy today?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the
economy is moving in the right direction.
It's continuing to grow, this is after coming
out of a recession and the attacks of September 11th, the corporate scandals
and the lead-up, obviously, to the war with Iraq. But
it continues to move in the right direction, but the President is not satisfied
because there are still people who are looking for work who cannot find a
job. And that's why he's continuing to
urge Congress to act on his six-point plan to strengthen our economy even more
and translate that economic growth into job creation. And the President won't be satisfied as long
as there are people looking for work who cannot find a job.
Q Is the economy going in the right direction,
or is it just going in the wrong direction less quickly?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think
what you're seeing is it's continuing to grow.
You cited one positive indicator.
There are a number of positive indicators about the direction the
economy is moving. And Congress needs to
move forward on the rest of the President's proposals to get our economy
growing even faster and create the conditions necessary for strong job
creation.
Q What was the President seeking, what was his
central message to Bremer today and what did he want to learn in that meeting
today?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
they had a good discussion. I think he
received an update on recent developments, both in terms of the donors conference, the Ambassador has been talking about
that over the weekend, we just had the recently completed donors conference,
which was very successful and another sign that the international community
recognizes that the world has a stake in what's going on in Iraq. You
had the recently passed third U.N. -- postwar U.N. resolution,
that also sent that same message to the Iraqi people, that the
international community supports you in your efforts to have a better future.
Q So did he want to talk to Bremer about the
budget?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he
also received --
Q About financing?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think
it was a general update on the progress, an update on the donors
conference and an update on the security situation. You had Secretary Rumsfeld
as well as Generals Myers and Abizaid that were
present at the meeting, so they were able to discuss all those issues.
Q Were they able to discuss what they might do
differently, in light of the recent rash of problems?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think
they talked about the security situation and the efforts that they are
undertaking to bring those people to justice.
Q New tactics?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I
would leave those to the military leaders to address.
Q We've been seeing an increasing number of
attacks, casualties to U.S. soldiers, international organizations, Iraqi civilians. For
a long time we've been hearing that the commanders in the field, U.S. commanders have been saying the number of
troops there are exactly what is needed.
Doesn't the President feel it might be time to send some more troops?
MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, I think -- what I pointed out earlier was that you're
seeing the Iraqi people assume more and more responsibility for their future,
and that includes the security situation.
You have more and more Iraqis who are becoming members of the police
force, who are becoming members of their civil defense force, who are becoming
members of their border patrol.
So that's an
important step forward. And I think that
our military leaders have addressed this issue, and they will always look at
and assess what our troop needs are, in terms of achieving our objectives in Iraq. But
those are decisions that we leave to our commanders in the field, because
they're the ones closest to the situation and best able to make those judgments.
Q Scott, getting back to Randy's question about
the donor's conference. You've said several times today, this morning
and this afternoon now, that it was a success.
However, as you know, at least half the money -- and the tally is still
coming in, so it's really hard to pin down at this point -- but at least half
the money is in the form of loans. How
do you justify calling that donor's conference a success, and yet hanging a
veto threat over the Congress if they don't send you a straight grant package,
instead of a package that includes loans?
MR. McCLELLAN: Keep in
mind that a large portion of that was the World Bank and IMF
funds. And by definition, those
are lending institutions. That's the way
they provide those resources. It's
important that there was a significant commitment from the international
community. And many nations who attended
the donors conference, it's important that they
provided significant resources to help the Iraqi people achieve a free,
democratic and prosperous future. And
that's an important step in and of itself.
The Iraqi people
were saddled with a lot of debt from the previous regime, that was more
interested in palace building and serving its own interests than it was in
helping the Iraqi people by providing the type of infrastructure that they
needed. And that's why we believe it's
important that we should not burden the Iraqi people with additional debt. We'll also continue to discuss with countries
the importance of not doing that, as well.
Q Do you believe that these will remain loans,
or is it the administration's --
MR. McCLELLAN: Are you
talking about the wartime supplemental?
Q No, I'm talking about the pledges. Or is it your feeling that down the road that
maybe countries will be urged or, as you say, the World Bank and the IMF will
be urged to turn these into straight grants?
Is that really what you're counting on?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the
World Bank and IMF, by definition, those are lending
institutions, that's the way they're set up. As far as other countries, we'll continue to
emphasize the importance of not burdening the Iraqi people with additional
debt. And that's why we're also working
with the international community to kind of restructure their previous debt
that they received from the previous regime.
Q Scott, back on the donors
conference. The World Bank said $56
billion was needed. You got about $33
billion in loans, pledges, so on and so forth.
That leaves a shortfall of about $20, $23 billion --
MR. McCLELLAN: And you'll
see surplus revenues of about $5 billion a year coming in from oil production
in Iraq. So
that will get us very close. We're also
continuing to talk with countries about additional ways that they can support
those efforts.
Q Okay.
So the idea is oil revenue will make up most of the rest of the
shortfall?
MR. McCLELLAN: That
should make up a vast amount of the rest of the money.
Q Scott, let me ask about the 9/11 commission,
if I can. The President spoke of
sensitive documents this morning. Why
should the 9/11 commission not receive sensitive documents? How else are they supposed to do their job?
MR. McCLELLAN:
Well, first of all, there's a lot of ways to provide
information that is needed to the 9/11 commission. We fully support their efforts. We have provided unprecedented cooperation to
the commission, and unprecedented access for the commission. We have provided more than 2 million pages of
documents. We have provided more than --
or nearly 100 administration officials for interviews. There have been, I think, nearly 300
interviews conducted -- I'm sorry, 100 administration officials who have
provided briefings to the commission.
The President has directed the administration to work closely and
cooperatively with the commission, and that's what we will continue to do.
Q I appreciate your reminder of what he has
done --
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I
think it's --
Q -- but it's what he has not done is provided, for example, a copy of the
presidential daily briefing. Isn't that the
kind of thing --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
one, I think you need to address some of those questions to the commission
about what we have and have not done. I
think the commission has pointed out that we have been working very
cooperatively with them, and our commitment is to continue to do that. But there are, obviously, in situations like
this, always some highly sensitive or classified information that is
involved. That's why we'll continue to
discuss those issues with the commission in the spirit that I just
mentioned. And that is a spirit of
cooperation.
Q But why are they not entitled to sensitive
documents? Are you afraid they're going
to betray them in some fashion?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
one, as I said, there's a lot of ways to provide information to the commission,
and we will continue working with them in a cooperative way to make sure that
they have the information they need to complete their work and meet the
deadline that Congress created.
Q Scott, what do you say to some members of the
commission, though, like former Georgia Senator Max Cleland, who charges that
the White House is trying to, as he puts it, "run out the clock
here," that it is -- he says he believes its withholding classified
information for purely political reasons.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
again, and we just sent out another memorandum to all heads of executive
departments and agencies last week. And
this was from Judge Gonzales, the President's General Counsel. In that memo it said: as you know, the President has a stated --
has stated a clear policy of support for the work of the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks.
And on March 19th of
this year, Chief of Staff Andrew Card sent a memorandum directing cooperation
with the commission and requesting that they have people to work -- designated
to work with the commission. And this
memorandum goes on to point that: in
the less than six months since the first document request was issued by the
Commission in May 2003, the executive branch has produced or made available to
the commission more than 2 million pages of documents, provided nearly 100
briefings, and facilitated nearly 300 interviews. It goes on to say: it is imperative that we see these strong
efforts through to completion of the commission's work.
So we have been
working with the understanding that they have a time line. We've been working quickly to get them the
information that they need. And I think
you'll see that we have provided unprecedented cooperation.
Q Chairman Kean seems
to imply in this interview in The New York Times that these remaining documents
that they don't have are vital. Are you
concerned that if you don't turn them over, that the White House will have the
appearance of having something to hide?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one,
we are going to continue to work in a spirit of cooperation with the commission
to resolve any of these remaining issues.
And as I said, there's a lot of ways to provide the information needed
by the commission to complete its work, and we'll continue to work closely with
them as we move forward and help them work to get to the -- to complete their
work.
Q Scott, the President said last week General
Boykin's comments didn't reflect his opinion or the views of the
government. Does the President think
that General Boykin needs to step down?
And was that matter discussed today with Mr. Bremer?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
as you know, the Secretary of Defense has requested, at the request of General
Boykin, an internal investigation. And
so that's ongoing at this point. I think
specific questions related to the general, you might want to direct to the
Pentagon. But the President has made it
very clear that he flat out disagrees with any notion that the war on terrorism
has anything to do with religion. The
war on terrorism is about cold-blooded killers who have no regard for innocent
life. And he has made it very clear that
Islam is a religion that teaches peace.
And the President will continue to make those views known.
Q And could I just follow? Did
Mr. Bremer suggest in any way that they're girding for additional attacks
throughout the Ramadan season?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I
think that there have been advisories sent out both from -- well, from our
appropriate authorities, both in the region, as well as the State Department,
about any concerns in the current alert level and current threats that are
posed. And they will continue to keep
people informed about steps they need to take.
But, obviously, people need to continue to remain vigilant.
Q Scott?
MR. McCLELLAN: Go
ahead, Les.
Q Can you -- a two-part. Can you assure us that none of the money paid
by U.S. taxpayers to help rebuild Iraq will go to pay Iraqi debts to France and Germany?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
one, in terms of past debt, we are working with the international community to
restructure those debts. And that's what
we will continue to do.
What's the second
part of your question?
Q The President's proclamation that marriage is
between a man and a woman is believed in strongly by many Episcopalians who, if
they withhold contributions to bishops who do not believe this, they risk
losing their church property. And my
question, does the President believe that the U.S. Constitution's promise of
free exercise of religion should not allow confiscation of church property by
Episcopal bishops who promote or engage in sodomy or who, in one case, denied
the existence of God?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think
that those are matters that the church will resolve, the Episcopal Church will
resolve. You need to address those --
Q Doesn't he believe in free exercise of
religion, Scott?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'd
address those to the Episcopal Church.
Q Scott, when you look at Iraq, you have these constant incidents of
violence -- not just in Baghdad, but the -- but the smaller, constant attacks in various parts of the
country. Terrorism doesn't occur in a
vacuum. Is the President concerned at
all that the ordinary Iraqi people seem to be either, if not tolerating this,
turning their eyes away against possible terrorists in their midst? I don't mean people joining the civil defense
or the army, I'm talking about the man in the
street. People can't just operate
without being seen by others.
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't
agree with that premise. I think the
vast majority of the Iraqi people want a free, peaceful and prosperous
future. And that's why the Iraqi people
are working more and more with us to find these killers and bring them to
justice. And that's why we'll continue
to work to improve the human intelligence on the ground,
our military commanders will continue to do that.
But I think if you
hear from the Iraqi people, themselves, they will say that they want us to stay
and complete our work. And that's
exactly what we will do.
Q Are you concerned that there might be an
impression starting to build among the American people that if these attacks
are going on -- they see the demonstrations against us, and so forth -- that
the Iraqis really don't care, they don't want us there, so why the heck should
we put our kids out there --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I
disagree with that. I think the Iraqi
people do want us there to help them realize a better future after 30 years of
oppression, after 30 years under a very brutal regime. The Iraqi people see a better day coming, and
I think that the overall majority of the Iraqi people appreciate our efforts
and appreciate the support of the international community in helping them
achieve a free, democratic and prosperous future.
I'll take a couple
more, and then I've got to go.
Q The meeting this morning with the Secretary
of Defense there and two top generals certainly had the look of a council of
war. It also wasn't on the schedule --
the President's schedule that you released on Friday. Was this called in reaction to the Al Rasheed attack yesterday?
MR. McCLELLAN: No. We update our schedule as things are
confirmed and scheduled. And we were
working on this on the heels of the donors
conference. And that's the reason we
were scheduling it in the first place.
Q When was it actually set? When did you decide --
MR. McCLELLAN: I think
it was finalized maybe very late Friday or sometime Saturday. I think late Friday.
Q Did the President demand some answers from --
MR. McCLELLAN: And then
we put out the daily schedule the day ahead and then that's when we updated it
for you all.
Q Did the President want some answers from the
officials who were there about the security situation and why, for example, an
attack --
MR. McCLELLAN: He
receives constant updates about the progress we are making in Iraq and about the security situation in Iraq. And
so he was able to receive further updates this morning from some of those
officials who are in Iraq and best equipped to brief him on the situation on
the ground.
Q Did he specifically ask how these attacks --
the most recent attacks could happen?
MR. McCLELLAN: They
talked about the security situation.
Q On the wartime supplemental, does the
administration support including in a final bill a provision that would fund a
tanker leasing deal for Boeing that has fallen under criticism both by former
OMB Director Mitch Daniels as being too costly, as well as by the GAO, which
has said that this particular arrangement does not meet thorough accounting standards?
MR. McCLELLAN:
Well, I think, one, the Air Force and the OMB have
reviewed this issue thoroughly. I think
we've already seen that we've secured significant savings from the initial
estimates. There is an urgent need to
upgrade our tanker capability, and that's why we are working to -- with
Congress to meet this important national security need while making sure that
our taxpayers are getting the best value for their dollars.
Q According to one Air Force study, they
concluded that new planes are not needed until after 2010, and that because of
the way this arrangement was made, it's actually a purchase in disguise,
according to the Congressional Budget Office.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
again, I think that we've worked to meet -- make sure that an urgent need was
met -- an urgent national security need -- and that taxpayers are getting the
best values. So that's -- the Air Force
-- both the Air Force and the OMB looked at this thoroughly and reviewed these matters
and worked with members of Congress to address this and make sure that the
taxpayers were getting good value for their dollars, as we meet this important
national security need.
And with that, I've
got to run, and we'll see you tomorrow.
END
1:15 P.M. EST
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