For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 16, 2004
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
2:41 P.M. EDT
MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everybody, and "welcome" to our new
White House correspondents. I will go straight to your questions at
this point.
Q Scott, can I try you again on this intelligence post? Is it
fair to say this idea of creating a new director of national
intelligence is being discussed -- aside from the 9/11 Commission?
MR. McCLELLAN: Steve, I think that is premature to start making
that suggestion at this point. The President made it very clear that
he wants to look at other ways we might be able to reform and revamp
our intelligence services, beyond the significant steps that we are
already -- that we have already taken in the aftermath of September
11th.
Remember, in the wake of that terrible day the President made a
number of significant changes in the way we protect the homeland. He
created the Department of Homeland Security. We worked to create to
Terrorist Threat Integration Center. That was very important to making
sure that we improved our intelligence gathering capability and our
intelligence sharing capability. And, most importantly, he was taking
the offensive and taking the fight to the enemy.
So we have made significant changes in the aftermath of September
11th. But we always should be looking at what more can we do to better
protect the American people. And the President very much looks forward
to the recommendations from the September 11th Commission and from the
Silberman Commission, which is focusing broadly on our intelligence
capabilities related to weapons of mass destruction.
Q I think there had been some talk on the Hill about creating a
domestic intelligence agency -- maybe Senator Edwards or some others
are backing that idea. Is that a good idea?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think it's just premature to get into what
specific steps we may want to look at. Let's let the commissions do
their work. They are carrying out very important work that can help us
better prepare in the future. Certainly, we have already taken a
number of steps to make sure that we are prepared to prevent attacks
and respond to attacks if they may come.
Most importantly, the -- well, the number one thing we can do to
prevent these attacks from happening in the first place is take the
fight to the enemy and win the war on terrorism. We have many
dangerous threats in this day and age, and we should always be looking
at ways we can better protect the American people.
Q Scott, the President said he couldn't recall whether it was
in November, 2001 when he asked Secretary Rumsfeld to draw up war plans
for Iraq, and he said he was going to check and try to refresh his
memory. Do you know whether it was -- that's the correct date,
November?
MR. McCLELLAN: First of all, I think what he was referring to was
the September time period in the immediate aftermath of the September
11th attacks, and when he was meeting with his national security team.
And at that point in September, all our focus was on Afghanistan and
removing the Taliban regime from power and taking away the safe harbor
for al Qaeda that existed in Afghanistan.
Certainly, late November it was becoming increasingly clear what
direction things were headed in Afghanistan. It was clear that the
Taliban was no longer going to have a hold on Afghanistan. We began
combat operations in Afghanistan in the earlier period of October, and
by November and early December things were winding down. And the
President did talk to Secretary Rumsfeld about Iraq. But there is a
difference between planning and making a decision.
Q So he did ask him to draw up invasion plans in November of
2001?
MR. McCLELLAN: You're talking about the late period of November,
when things were winding down in Afghanistan. He did talk to Secretary
Rumsfeld about planning related to Iraq.
Q And that would include an invasion?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, let me walk back, let's talk about
planning versus the actual decision, because as I said, there is a
difference there.
Remember that when we came into office, the President was talking
about Iraq very early on. He talked about the threat posed by Iraq
from the very early period in this administration. In fact, the very
first time that the President and Prime Minister Blair met, they talked
about how the sanctions on Iraq were not effective and how they weren't
working. And they talked about the importance of Iraq complying with
all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. That was back in
February of 2001.
The policy of the previous administration was one of regime
change. The policy of this administration continued to be one of
regime change. We had American pilots patrolling the no-fly zone in
Iraq. You had a regime in Iraq that was firing on those pilots. We
had Navy ships stationed in the Persian Gulf region to enforce the
blockade. We had thousands of troops stationed in Saudi Arabia because
of the threat from Iraq.
And then September 11th came. September 11th changed the equation
when it came to confronting the threats of the 21st century. September
11th taught us that we must confront gathering dangers before it's too
late. And Iraq was a threat. Iraq was a unique situation, because
Saddam Hussein's regime was a danger that had a history of invading his
neighbors, and had a history of using weapons of mass destruction, and
had a history of defying the demands of the international community,
and had a history of brutality seen through mass graves and torture
chambers and rape rooms.
The process that led up to the President making the decision to
remove Saddam Hussein's regime from power was well documented. The
President kept the American people updated and informed about the
process leading up to his decision. He talked about the threat in his
January, 2002 State of the Union address. He went to the United
Nations and talked about the importance of confronting this threat in
the post-September 11th world.
Q Scott, so you're confirming that the President did ask
Secretary Rumsfeld to draw up plans in November, 2001 on Iraq? But let
me just switch, I have one other question here, and then I'll yield.
The President said today that governing entity which will assume
sovereignty in Iraq on June 30th, "will be decided by Brahimi, a full
grant of authority to the United Nations to determine the political
structure that will assume sovereignty."
A year ago, this administration was not willing to do that. Six
months ago, this administration was not willing to do that. And I
wonder, what are the costs of a year of not embracing U.N. legitimacy
in the process, as the President is now?
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me correct something. I think the President
all along said that the United Nations has a vital role to play in the
political process in Iraq. He has always felt the United Nations has a
vital role to play, and they were playing a vital role in the political
process, in the reconstruction of Iraq previously. Certainly, they
have a lot of expertise they can offer when it comes to elections and
when it comes to the drafting of a constitution. And, certainly, Mr.
Brahimi has been playing a vital role in helping move forward on the
transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people by June 30th.
And so we -- the President, in his remarks today, said he very much
welcomes his efforts and welcomes the proposal that he has put
forward. At this point, Mr. Brahimi is going back to the United
Nations and speaking with Secretary General Annan about these ideas,
and he'll be talking further about his plans with the coalition and
with Iraqi leaders during the May time period and so that we can move
forward on those ideas.
The President is very supportive of his efforts, but we need to let
him talk back with the United Nations and continue to talk about the
specifics as we go forward.
And, most importantly, I think we have to keep in mind that the
Iraqi people have an important role to play in this and, ultimately,
they will have a say in how that interim representative government is
shaped.
Q Well, how will they have a say?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, they've been involved in these discussions.
Mr. Brahimi has been talking with Iraqi leaders --
Q But not in a popular way --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- throughout this process, and they very much have
a say in their future. They have been assuming more and more
responsibility for their future. I wouldn't view it as top-down, I'd
view it as discussing it with everybody involved -- most importantly,
the Iraqi people.
Q But you're going to live with whatever --
MR. McCLELLAN: It's John's turn.
Q I'm sorry.
Q No, go ahead.
Q You're going to live with whatever he comes up with, whatever
Brahimi comes up with?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, the specifics he's going to come back
with -- but there is nothing that we have seen that causes any concern
at this time. We've made that very clear.
Q Scott, Prime Minister Blair today said that he and the
President agreed that there should be a Quartet meeting as soon as
possible, to talk about the Sharon plan. And then the Prime Minister
said, in his view, that meeting should talk about immediate and urgent
economic, political, diplomatic assistance to the Palestinian
Authority.
Is this President prepared to support economic and political
assistance to a Palestinian Authority that is still controlled by
Yasser Arafat?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, look, the Palestinian people have a unique
opportunity here that they should seize, and the President has talked
about that. We have a real opportunity to move forward on the road map
and reaching the two-state vision that the President previously
outlined. It is -- this withdrawal proposal by Prime Minister Sharon
would be the first withdrawal of Israeli settlements ever, in areas
that will become part of a future Palestinian state. And it's
important for the Palestinian people to seize this opportunity and work
to move forward on political and economic reform. And we will be there
to assist them.
Of course, remember that the foundation for moving forward on the
two-state solution remains cracking down on terrorism and cracking down
-- and dismantling terrorist organizations. The President has made
that very clear.
Q And if the Palestinian people do not seize that opportunity,
and two weeks or a month from now the Quartet gets together and the
Europeans and the United Nations and the Russians say, we need to give
money, we need to give support, we need to engage Yasser Arafat and the
Prime Minister, because they are the Palestinian leadership now, will
the President do that?
MR. McCLELLAN: But Mr. Arafat has been part of the problem. Mr.
Arafat has undermined efforts every step of the way. Remember, we were
making some important progress on the road map when you had Prime
Minister Abbas in his position. But Mr. Arafat was the one who
undermined those efforts. We need to focus, as the President has
pointed out, on setting up the institutions necessary for a viable
state to exist for the Palestinian people. The President is focused on
moving forward to that two-state vision. And we have an opportunity
here, because of the historic step that Prime Minister Sharon
announced, to move forward on that process.
Q So is it fair to say that if the Europeans and others want to
come up with a pot of money, and other assistance to help the
Palestinians, and Yasser Arafat is still calling the shots, the United
States will say "no"?
MR. McCLELLAN: We believe there needs to be a Palestinian
leadership that is committed to, first and foremost, cracking down on
terrorism and dismantling terrorist organizations.
And remember what the President said earlier this week -- it's
important that you have the institutions in place for a viable
government -- viable and democratic government to exist. The President
often talks about how the institution is much bigger than any one
person. This isn't about any one person. And certainly the person
that you've mentioned has been someone who has undermined the process
every step of the way, and we need to recognize that fact.
We look forward to talking further with the Quartet at an early
date. Secretary Powell is certainly in close contact with people all
the time on these issues. And we will be consulting with the Quartet
as we move forward. But we need to keep the focus on moving toward
that two-state solution, where there is a Palestinian state for the
Palestinian people to realize their hopes and aspirations.
John.
Q Scott, getting back to the whole intelligence issue -- and I
wanted to ask this to the President the other night, but I'll pose it
to you -- was the President --
MR. McCLELLAN: No intelligence up here. (Laughter.)
Q Was the President surprised or disturbed about the admission
Senator Bob Graham made both through my publication and on "Meet the
Press" in May of last year, that the Senate Intelligence Committee had
the same intelligence reports leading up to 9/11 that the President,
himself, had in his daily intelligence briefing?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, look, I mean, these are all issues, one, that
the joint inquiry looked into. These are all issues that the September
11th Commission is looking into. They're going to be coming forth with
their report; they're going to be looking at recommendations to make
that could possibly help us prevent future attacks. These would be
recommendations in addition to all the steps that we have already
taken.
Q Was the President surprised at all, or disappointed --
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know if I've talked to him about that
specific instance --
Q He never mentioned Senator Graham's --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- but, certainly, we are continuing to work
closely with the September 11th Commission to help them move forward on
their efforts, these important efforts.
Q Scott, on the road map -- since the road map --
MR. McCLELLAN: How did you jump in here?
Q You recognized me.
MR. McCLELLAN: Did I call on you? No, I looked at you. Norah.
Q Thank you.
Q Will you come back?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'll come back to you.
Q Scott, also in Woodward's book about November 2001, he says
and reports in his book that the President, in talking about these
contingency plans, told Rumsfeld not to bring -- not to tell Tenet that
they were doing this, or other members of the foreign policy team. Why
keep Tenet out of the loop, then, in November?
MR. McCLELLAN: One, I have not seen the book at this point, so I
can't get into commenting on things that you're bringing up at this
point. I mean, the specific question that Terry asked, I can confirm
that, that we discussed earlier. But I haven't seen the book at this
point. I don't have any reason to dispute any of the quotes in the
book, but beyond that, I cannot get into commenting about some of the
characterizations that may be in there at this point.
Q So you don't know whether or not Rumsfeld was told by the
President not to inform Tenet?
MR. McCLELLAN: Look, I don't have any transcript in front of me at
this point. The book hasn't officially been released at this point. I
recognize there are some stories out there, but until I've had a chance
to see the book, I wouldn't be able to get into any of those issues.
Q Scott, can I follow on that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Sure, go ahead, Kate.
Q One other point that The Washington Post makes about the
book. They say that the President delayed the war's start until March
19th because Blair asked -- because Tony Blair asked for them to go
seek another U.N. resolution. Is that --
MR. McCLELLAN: This is going into different questions about what
may be in the book. I haven't seen the book --
Q Is it true, did the President delay the war by a day?
MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't seen the book at this point, Kate. It
was very clear to the American people the process leading up to the
decision to go to war. Remember that Saddam Hussein had the choice in
the end, and he chose continued defiance. We were no longer, in a
post-September 11th world, going to rely on the good intentions of a
madman. And keep in mind, that when we're talking about all this, that
as President you don't have the luxury of thinking about one thing at a
time. You have to be looking --
Q Did the President do a favor for Tony Blair, did he hold off
for a day for domestic --
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, the book hasn't been released at this
point.
Q Can I ask about the Patriot Act? The President has got three
days' worth of events campaigning for renewal of an act that doesn't --
first of all, that parts of which are permanent, but some of which will
expire next year. Why now?
MR. McCLELLAN: Because it's an -- one, it's an important priority
that we make sure that these provisions do not expire. This is a very
high priority for the President of the United States. The war on
terrorism is the number one priority, and this Act provides authorities
with important tools to prevent attacks from happening in the first
place.
Remember, this was legislation that passed with overwhelming
bipartisan support, including 98 to one in the Senate and 357 to 66 in
the House of Representatives. It has helped tear down the wall between
the FBI and the CIA, and allowed us to greatly improve our ability to
share information in order to track down terrorists. And these are
important tools for our law enforcement authorities to have in winning
the war on terrorism.
Q Is the President making a campaign issue of this?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President believes this is a very
important priority and he's going to continue to talk about it and
there's some clear choices on this issue, I think, in this election.
Q Scott, since the road map is one year old in two weeks, and
since it requires the Palestinians to "arrest, disrupt, and restrain
terrorists, confiscate terrorist weapons, and dismantle the terrorist
infrastructure" -- which they have never, ever done-- first question,
why is the anti-terrorist Bush administration giving $30 million to the
PA directly as, reported by The New York Times, rather than cancelling
all such aid?
MR. McCLELLAN: Les, let me talk to the bigger picture here. If
you put the institutions in place for a viable and democratic
government to exist, the leaders will emerge, the leaders that are
necessary to take steps to crack down on terrorism and to dismantle
terrorist organizations. And that's where the President's focus is.
Q You said last week, when I asked why there were so many U.S.
cameramen, but no U.S. troops, artillery, or helicopters in Fallujah,
the mutilation and hanging of the bodies of U.S. veterans, you said
that you are sure this crowd will be brought to justice. And my
question, are you still sure that we are willing to bring them to
justice along with any Hamas terrorists who have killed Americans or
citizens?
MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely, and I think our military leaders have
made that very clear.
Q They're going to do it?
MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely.
Q Scott, what's the President's thinking on the prospects of
bringing at least some troops home or shortly thereafter on June 30?
MR. McCLELLAN: The decisions about troops, the President believes
are best left to our commanders in the field. Those are the decisions
that our commanders will make based on the circumstances on the ground
in Iraq. And Secretary Rumsfeld spoke to this issue yesterday in his
briefing and talked about the request that General Abizaid made. But
you always have to look at the circumstances on the ground, as
Secretary Rumsfeld pointed out in his briefing yesterday, to make those
determinations. And you rely on your commanders in the field, who are
in the best position to make those judgments, to make those
determinations.
Q What about the prospects --
MR. McCLELLAN: And our job is to make sure, then, they have all
the resources they need to do their job, to make sure they are fully
equipped, to make sure they are fully trained and prepared to protect
themselves when they're in harm's way.
Q Prospects, though --
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, you're asking me to speculate, and we look
to the commanders in the field to make those decisions. Secretary
Rumsfeld talked about those tours that would be extended for some of
our military personnel, for a 90-day period in Iraq and a 120-day
period overall, yesterday in his briefing.
Q Can I ask you, is there --
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Peter. And welcome to the White House.
Maybe. Let me see what your question is first. (Laughter.)
Q You keep talking about a vital role that the U.N. will play
in Iraq. Is there a difference between a vital role and a central
role, which is the word that we've heard, I think, from Tony Blair, and
others?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we've always talked about, one, that this is
a coalition-led effort in Iraq, and we want the United Nations to play
a vital role. We want them to play a vital role in the future. We
hope that they will continue to do so. Remember, besides Mr. Brahimi,
there's also a U.N. mission there focusing on elections that will be
held beginning in January, 2005, under the transitional administrative
law. So they are playing a vital role. We want them to continue to
play a vital role.
But come January 30th, we're going to transfer sovereignty back to
the Iraqi people and the Coalition Provisional Authority will cease to
exist, as the President pointed out today. And we believe the United
Nations should continue to play a vital role moving forward, in helping
the Iraqi people have free and fair elections, so that they can choose
their representatives.
Q But you wouldn't be --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the Iraqi people will have the
central role going forward after June 30th.
Q But not the U.N.? The U.N. won't have a central role?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we think they should have a vital role.
Q Is there a difference between "vital" and "central"?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you maybe have different definitions than I
do. The central role is going to be led by the Iraqi people come the
end of June.
Q Can I ask you one other question about this Woodward book?
And I'm just curious if, with this book now, and then the similar --
there was the allegation by Richard Clarke that there was an obsession
with Iraq. I wonder if there's a danger that there becomes an
impression that you guys were obsessed with Iraq?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's just not the case. And, again, go
back to -- you all have covered the President from very early on. And
certainly you have to, as President of the United States, look at all
threats that you face. Remember what I just said earlier: regime
change was the policy of the previous administration, it was the policy
of this administration, we continued to have that policy. We talked
about our concerns related to the threat from very early on in this
administration.
September 11th came along and that changed the equation. We are in
a global war on terrorism, and we must confront threats before it's too
late. We must confront threats before they gather and before they are
able to carry out their attacks. That's exactly what this President is
committed to doing, it's what he has been doing, and it's what he will
continue to do, because he recognizes that his highest priority is the
safety and the security of the American people. And the stakes
involved in Iraq right now are very high. And the terrorists recognize
that, the President recognizes that, and that's why it's important that
we continue to stay the course and finish the work that we have
started.
Q I've got one more on the interim government. Last fall the
idea was a caucus, then in January it was sort of caucus --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, under the November 15th agreement -- I think
you're referring to.
Q Correct. And then in January, there was talk of caucus-plus,
and then there was an evolution here. And as of a couple weeks ago,
there was still a lot of talk about caucus-plus. Can you tell us
what's changed that makes the Brahimi approach a sort of
technocratic-driven --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, the specifics -- the United Nations
came in and looked at the situation and looked at the situation on the
ground, spoke with Iraqi leaders, worked with the coalition. We've
been working with Iraqi leaders, as well, and discussed all these
ideas. The important thing is that we're continuing to move forward on
the transfer of sovereignty, and that we're continuing to move toward
democracy in Iraq. And we're continuing to move forward on a brighter
future for the Iraqi people. These are always things that you discuss
along the way, and you have to be willing to make adjustments, as
necessary.
Q I'm just wondering what change precipitated this adjustment;
what makes this one --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think, remember, talking with Iraqi leaders
early -- quite a while back, I think, or at least a couple months back,
we essentially ruled out the part -- the caucus idea within the
November 15th agreement. It wasn't something that was gathering a lot
of consensus within the leadership of the Iraqi people. And so then we
started the process of talking about other ideas to have an interim
representative government in place.
Q Can you say what makes this plan more representative, more
democratic than a caucus-plus approach?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that the proposal, one, has -- as Mr.
Brahimi has talked about, has just been talked about in a general
sense. He's talked about how there would be a cabinet and a prime
minister and two vice presidents and a president. He said he's going
to come back with more specifics. He wants to go back and talk to the
Secretary General, and then he'll come back and talk about more
specifics about the exact shape and form of that government within that
proposal. And so we need to listen to those ideas. But we appreciate
his efforts, and we are strongly supportive of his efforts.
Q The White House declassified the August 6, 2001 PDB for the
9/11 Commission investigation. Will there be others, and have there
been other PDBs that have been declassified?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the September 11th Commission has
talked about some that maybe they would like to see declassified. You
might want to direct some questions to them. Those are always issues
that certainly we talk with the commission about in direct
discussions. And we always talk with them in a spirit of trying to
make sure they have all the information they need to do their job.
Q But it's you that make the decision to declassify.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, if a request has been made of us, we'll work
with the commission and discuss those issues with the commission. I'm
not going to get into discussing specific issues that may be going on
at this point. But we always work with them to accommodate their
needs.
Q One more question on that.
MR. McCLELLAN: We try to be fully responsive -- well, we have
worked to be fully responsive to all their requests, I might point
out.
Q PDBs from the previous administration, are those under
consideration to be declassified?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, direct those questions to the 9/11
Commission. I don't want to get into talking about all the specific
discussions that go on between the commission and the administration.
But we certainly always listen to their requests and work with them to
make sure they have the -- access, at least, to the information they
need to do their job.
Go ahead, Greg.
Q Scott, with the President's support of the Israeli plan, has
the U.S. squandered any of its ability to act as a mediator, an honest
broker, in the Middle East peace talks?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President -- the President's focus is on
getting to the two-state solution. And he sees this as a step that
could move that process forward. He sees this as a way forward. He
views this as a unique opportunity. This is a proposal by Prime
Minister Sharon, I would point out, and the President thanked him for
the historic step that he is proposing. He thinks it represents a
unique opportunity to get moving again toward the two-state solution
and a Palestinian state for the Palestinian people. The Palestinian
people have an opportunity here to realize what they have long aspired
for, which is their own state.
Q So there's no concern that the President's endorsement might
be viewed by some as one-sided?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we -- well, his support is for peace in the
Middle East. And his support is for moving forward on the two-state
solution and the road map as the best way to achieve that two-state
solution. He thinks that this represents a real opportunity for the
Palestinian people. You heard him talk about that in his remarks in
the Rose Garden a little bit earlier today, and that this is a time to
seize this opportunity to move forward so that we can have the
two-state solution and so the Palestinian people can realize their
hopes and aspirations.
Q May I ask two questions?
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead. Two?
Q When is the President and the Vice President going to meet
with the 9/11 Commission?
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't have any updates to report at this time.
You all will be kept apprised.
Q You know, don't you?
MR. McCLELLAN: I didn't say that, I'm just -- we'll keep you
apprised.
Q And then anything on -- there's apparently a video out now,
an American soldier who was taken hostage.
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't have anything on that report. I'm not
aware
at this point of any -- any additional American hostage at this
point.
Q It's someone who was previously taken hostage and now there's
apparently video of it.
MR. McCLELLAN: And I don't have any confirmation on that, nor am I
aware of any such.
Q Thank you.
MR. McCLELLAN: Thanks.
END 3:09 P.M. EDT
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