For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 20, 2004
Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan
Aboard Air Force One
En route Buffalo, New York
8:55 A.M. EDT
MR. McCLELLAN: All right. The President had his usual briefings
before we departed. Just a short time ago the President was pleased to
receive a phone call from President Aznar. President Aznar called the
President to express his regret about the decision to withdraw Spanish
troops from Iraq. The President discussed the straightforward
conversation he had yesterday with President Zapatero. And the two
leaders also said they looked forward to seeing each other in the near
-- seeing each other in the future. And that was the conversation.
Upon arrival in Buffalo the Freedom Corps greeter is Frank
Brusino. And Frank is -- Mr. Brusino, B-r-u-s-i-n-o -- after hearing
the President's call to service in the aftermath of the September 11th
attacks, recruited 10 volunteers to help form the Grand Island Citizen
corps Council to prepare and protect his community for emergencies.
Following that, the President looks forward to participating in a
conversation on the Patriot Act, to highlight his commitment to making
the Patriot Act permanent. And the conversation participants include
Larry Thompson, the former Deputy Attorney General; Mike Battle, the
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, who was
instrumental in the investigation and prosecution of the Lackawanna Six
terrorist cell in Buffalo --
Q Could you spell his name, please?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- Buffalo, New York. B-a-t-t-l-e.
Q U.S. Attorney?
Q Are you sure there's an "E" on the end? I thought it was --
MR. McCLELLAN: That's what I have. We'll get you this
information, as well.
Q U.S. Attorney for?
MR. McCLELLAN: For the Western District of New York.
Q He prosecuted the Lackawanna Six?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. He was instrumental in the investigation and
prosecution of the Lackawanna Six. And we'll get you all this
information on paper.
And then Pete Ahearn, who is the Special Agent in Charge of the
Buffalo Field Office; Jim Mahon, the Director, office of Public
Security for the State of New York; and the Chief of Police of Amherst,
New York, John Moslow. Those are the participants.
And then following that, we go to New York. Oh, and I'm sorry, the
guests will include first responders, local officials and community
leaders at the event. Following that, we go to New York, where the
President makes remarks at a Victory 2004 reception. And then this
evening, when he returns to the White House, the President will meet
over in the residence with Republican House and Senate leaders to
discuss legislative priorities. This is part of the usual post-recess
meeting.
Q Is it bipartisan?
MR. McCLELLAN: It's Republican, House and Senate leaders.
And that's all I've got.
Q Do you have any numbers for tonight, how much money they're
going to raise?
MR. McCLELLAN: I would check with the RNC.
Q Did the President talk to the leader of Honduras, President
Maduro, at all, that you're aware of?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?
Q Did the President talk to President Maduro?
MR. McCLELLAN: No.
Q Do you know whether he plans to?
MR. McCLELLAN: We always keep you posted on calls, but there's
nothing I have at this point.
Q Is the coalition falling apart?
MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, the coalition in Iraq is strong, and we
appreciate the numerous recent statements from countries participating
in the security -- or participating in security for the Iraqi people
who have -- they have reaffirmed their resolve to help the Iraqi people
realize a free and peaceful future.
Q Can you name some of those countries?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, from Italy to Japan to Poland and others -- I
think Portugal. A number of countries. Remember, there are more than
30 nations who are participating in our efforts in Iraq, and we
appreciate the strong statements reaffirming their commitment to
helping the Iraqi people realize a free and peaceful future.
Q Do you expect any other defections?
Q Did Poland reaffirm --
MR. McCLELLAN: We've said, and as Condi said on Sunday and as I
think Secretary Powell said yesterday, as well, obviously, countries
have to make their own decisions. But we're pleased by the strong
statements of continued support for the Iraqi people.
Q Will Poland recommit in September? Have they given you any
assurance?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'd let the Polish government speak to that. I
also would point out that we're -- we welcome Mr. Brahimi's comments
earlier today, saying that -- essentially, that they would be moving
forward on a second United Nations Security Council resolution. And he
expected that to happen soon. And we welcome a -- I'm sorry, a new
resolution. We welcome another resolution that would encourage more
countries to participate in our efforts in Iraq.
Q Does the President feel snubbed by King Abdullah?
MR. McCLELLAN: No. Look, we understand that there are some
domestic issues involved here. And we respect King Adbullah's decision
to postpone it, postpone the meeting for a couple weeks. And we look
-- the President looks forward to meeting with him the first week of
May.
Q They said it specifically had to do with the President's
stand on -- when he was with Sharon, basically agreeing to the -- to
allow the Jewish settlements to remain in part of the West Bank. I
mean, the right of return --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we continue to discuss the President's views
with Jordanian officials and other Arab nations. And we look forward
to talking to those countries about exactly what the President's views
are. The President made it very clear that those are issues that would
be resolved in final status negotiations between the parties. He
simply was talking about -- the President simply talked about how we
have to look at the reality on the ground, but that the final status
negotiations would be decided by the parties.
Q Scott, it causes you all no concern that the coalition of the
willing is rapidly dwindling? We lost --
MR. McCLELLAN: I disagree with that strongly, Jeff. I disagree
with that characterization strongly. All you have to do is go and look
at some of the comments by countries. You know, we recognize that
President Zapatero had made a commitment to withdraw troops
previously. Obviously, we've --
Q Honduras today.
Q And Thailand.
MR. McCLELLAN: Honduras was working with some of the Spanish
troops in Iraq. But the coalition is more than 30 nations, I would
remind you, and the coalition is strong because countries realize that
this is about helping the Iraqi people realize a free and peaceful
future.
Q But, Scott, this is a time when you would hope to be winning
more coalition partners, hence your efforts to go back to the U.N. --
and, yet, we're losing coalition partners.
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that, one, the United Nations is playing a
vital role in helping the Iraqi people move forward on the transfer of
sovereignty; there's a U.N. mission there helping to move forward on
the elections that are scheduled to be held, beginning in January of
2005. I think that on Mr. Brahimi's comments today, that he expects
another U.N. resolution to be -- to be passed soon, is a welcome
development. We already believe that countries have the ability to
participate under existing resolutions, but we welcome another
resolution that would encourage more countries to participate because
this is about helping the Iraqi people realize their aspirations and
hopes.
Q Would the other countries come in and participate? Will they
be allowed to bid on contracts for the reconstruction?
MR. McCLELLAN: Those are questions you can direct to the
Pentagon. I think we've addressed that, and many countries are
participating in the contract process.
Q Scott, EU President Prodi, I guess, praised Spain's decision
to pull out their troops and suggested that others will soon follow
suit, almost encouraging them to do so. What do you make of those
remarks?
MR. McCLELLAN: Italy, Poland and Japan and others have said
otherwise; they recognize that this is about helping the Iraqi people
realize a brighter future and we're all working toward a shared goal,
which is a free and peaceful Iraq.
Q What do you hear from Thailand?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?
Q Have you heard from them directly, that they will pull out,
if attacked?
MR. McCLELLAN: You can check with others on that. I don't have
any information on that.
Q Scott, with the Honduras announcement, is the President
making any calls? What is the White House doing to ensure support,
shore up support among the coalition members in Iraq? Or is there
anything?
MR. McCLELLAN: Look at the strong statements of support from the
coalition. The coalition in Iraq is strong and their resolve is firm.
Q Why has Buffalo been picked for this visit?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one reason is to highlight how the Patriot
Act helped with the -- helped in breaking up the Lackawanna Six
terrorist cell in Buffalo. The Patriot Act played an important role in
helping to break down the wall between the criminal investigation and
the intelligence investigation that was going on there. And I think
that the U.S. Attorney there, Mr. Battle, will talk some about that in
the conversation.
Q Scott, Senator McCain is calling for congressional hearings
on the $700 million that Woodward alleges was diverted from Afghanistan
to Iraq. What's your position on hearings?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think the Department of Defense briefed on that
yesterday, and pointed out that that simply was not the case. Congress
was kept informed and the funding, the emergency funding from the --
the emergency funding gave the Pentagon broad discretion in how funds
were used. And they also pointed out that the funding specifically for
Iraq came after the resolution that Congress passed. And Congress was
kept fully informed of the funding.
We've got to go. Thanks.
END 9:06 A.M. EDT
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