For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 24, 2004
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
1:14 P.M. EDT
MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. The President looks forward to
going to the Army War College this evening. Tonight's speech is
focused on our strategy for success in Iraq. The President will update
the American people about the clear strategy for the way forward to a
free, democratic and peaceful Iraq for the Iraqi people. And he will
talk about the specific steps we are taking to achieve our goals.
And with that, I will be glad to go straight to your questions.
Q Is there anything in tonight's speech, in terms of this clear
strategy, that we haven't heard before? Will he be unveiling any kind
of new initiative?
MR. McCLELLAN: John, I expect there will be some new aspects in it
that you will hear. This is really an opportunity for the President to
talk in more detail to the American people about the specific steps we
are taking to achieve our goals, as I said a minute ago. The President
will outline the five specific steps we are taking to build a free and
democratic Iraq for the Iraqi people. He will talk about the political
front; he will talk about the election front; the President will talk
about how we are working to eliminate the security threats in Iraq; and
he will talk about our efforts to reconstruct Iraq's infrastructure --
we are making great progress on that front, but there is still more to
do.
And I expect he will talk about our diplomatic efforts. As you are
aware, earlier today the United States and the United Kingdom tabled a
resolution before the Security Council to recognize the interim
sovereign government that will be in place by June 30th in Iraq, and to
endorse the timetable for elections in Iraq, and provide for a leading
role by the United Nations in Iraq, going forward on the political
process; and to reaffirm support for the multinational force to help
provide for the security.
Q I asked you about the possibility of new initiatives, just
thinking about what retired General Anthony Zinni in recent days, where
he said, to think that we're going to "stay the course ?- the course is
headed over Niagra Falls. I think it's time to change course a little
bit, or at least hold somebody responsible for putting you on this
course, because it's been a failure."
This is a general who, as part of his duties as the leader of the
Central Command, had drawn up contingency war plans for Iraq. It seems
that he's suggesting the President needs to go further than what you're
indicating he will.
MR. McCLELLAN: First of all, we have great respect for General
Zinni, but the President looks to the active commanders who are under
his command in implementing the strategy we have put forward for
success in Iraq. And, certainly, when you are pursuing a strategy that
is helping people transition from years of oppression to democracy,
it's important to have flexibility within that strategy. You've got to
be able to adjust and adapt to the circumstances on the ground, and
that's what we have done throughout the process.
You might recall -- and I think the President may touch on this a
little bit -- that we removed Saddam Hussein's regime from power in a
very swift manner, swifter than ever expected. And you had a lot of
Saddam loyalists who simply fled the battlefield, and now those are
some of the enemies of freedom that we are facing in Iraq. Those
Saddam loyalists and the foreign fighters and the other thugs in Iraq
do not want to see a free and peaceful Iraq emerge. But they will be
defeated. And the President, I expect, will talk about that some in
his remarks tonight.
Q But if I could just ask you one more question, just based on
what you said. General Zinni points out that part of the reason why
these people were allowed to have escaped back into the population and
form these militias and this resistance was the fact that the U.S. war
plan did not have enough personnel involved and that he and General
Shinseki and others have been saying that you can't do Iraq war light,
that you've got to have more people. And so was this not --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I recognize he's a retired general who
certainly stated his position on our efforts to go into Iraq
beforehand, and his views were well known. But the President looks to
those active commanders who are working to implement our policies and
build a safer world to make America more secure. So those are the
individuals he looks to. And he looks to the commanders on the ground
to make the determinations about the size of our troops and the
resources that they need. And the President has made it very clear
from the very beginning that they will have all the resources and all
the troops that they need. And he will look to those commanders on the
ground to make those decisions.
Q Even though it appears that people like Zinni and Shinseki
were correct?
MR. McCLELLAN: John, I disagree with that view.
Q Does the President have a new commitment for shoring up the
coalition in Iraq? And, secondly, can you say how the multinational
force that's authorized by the U.N. resolution would interact with U.S.
forces headed by U.S. commanders?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the first part of your question, the
coalition in Iraq is strong. Our resolve is firm. The enemies of
freedom will not prevail. I think it's also important to note that the
Iraqi people do not want to see a return to tyranny. People
everywhere, when given the choice between freedom and oppression, will
choose freedom. And the Iraqi people are no different.
And so we will continue to work closely with the coalition, the
more than -- there's some 30 nations that are in Iraq providing support
for the security of the country. There are obviously ongoing security
concerns and threats that we need to continue to work to address and
eliminate. The President will talk about that in his remarks tonight.
He will talk about the important work underway to train and equip
Iraqi security forces. Iraqis have been, more and more, assuming
responsibility for their future, and that includes in the security
fronts. While on the reconstruction and political front we have
already turned some 12 ministries over to the Iraqi people, we are also
making progress in training and equipping Iraqi security forces. But
there is more work to do. We are learning from some of the past
battles that have occurred that there is still more work to do. And
you have General Patraeus now overseeing some of those efforts to equip
and train Iraqi security forces.
The second part of your question was --
Q Well, back on the first part, if I could. Were there any new
commitments, in terms of support for the coalition?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, new commitments --
Q New commitments -- is anybody stepping forward with troops,
money, help --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one of the things the President will talk
about -- one of the five steps that we are pursuing in our strategy for
a free and democratic and peaceful Iraq is to broaden international
support. We want to see even greater international support. That's
why we moved forward on a United Nations Security Council resolution
earlier today. This resolution marks a new phase in the transition to
democracy for Iraq.
It recognizes the end of the occupation and the beginning of
sovereignty for the Iraqi people. And it makes a commitment on behalf
of the international community to support that interim government and
support the timetable for holding elections that has been agreed to by
the Iraqi people and put forward by the Iraqi people. And it provides
for a leading role by the United Nations in the political process going
forward. And it also addresses the multinational force, and it
reaffirms support for a multinational force to partner with the Iraqi
people in providing for their security going forward.
Q That multinational force, how does that work? How does that
interact with U.S. troops led by U.S. commanders, a multinational
force? Is the multinational force led by a U.S. commander or --
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, that's what I expect. Obviously, we'll be
working closely with Iraqis and others on these efforts. The President
and others, I think, have made clear that the Iraqi forces will be
under an Iraqi chain of command. But it would call for a unified
multinational force. There has been previous resolutions that have
addressed this matter, as well.
Q And that would be under an American?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, that's correct.
Go ahead, Helen.
Q Does the President feel any responsibility in supporting
Israel all-out in Gaza for the slaughter that's been going on, the
demolition of hundreds of homes, children killed?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Helen, I think we made --
Q Does he think that the U.S. support of all of these policies
has put some of the blame on us?
MR. McCLELLAN: Our policy is to support a two-state vision that
the President outlined. He was the first President to articulate a
two-state vision --
Q -- supporting the policies in Gaza?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- based on two states, Palestine and Israel living
side-by-side in peace and security. That's where our focus remains.
Obviously, there have been some concerns we've had about some of the
events on the ground. We expressed our concerns about those events on
the ground. And we --
Q By abstaining at the U.N.?
MR. McCLELLAN: And we talked -- and we spoke about our position in
terms of the destruction of homes of innocent Palestinians, and our
position remains the same.
Q Why did we abstain on a U.N. Council condemnation of such
acts?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that we always look to make sure that
resolutions are balanced. There are steps that all parties have
responsibilities to meet called for under the road map. One of the
first steps in that road map is to address --
Q Nothing -- to his road map --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- the terrorism and violence on the ground. And
all parties have responsibilities when it comes to that.
Go ahead.
Q How much sovereignty will the interim government really
have? Will there be limits --
MR. McCLELLAN: Full sovereignty, Steve.
Q -- any limits to what they have control over?
MR. McCLELLAN: The interim government will have full sovereignty,
and I expect the President will talk a little bit more about this, this
evening. Obviously, it's an interim government, so you would expect
that they're going to have limited authority in the sense that they are
there to be a caretaker government as we transition to a more elected
-- to an elected representative government. There will be a
transitional government that will be elected by January 2005. That
transitional government will work to draft a constitution to be adopted
by the Iraqi people and that transitional government will serve until
such time the Iraqi people can elect a permanent government. And these
are important details that I think the President will address tonight
and spell out for the American people.
Q Scott, it seems like what the President is trying to do with
his speech tonight, at least in part, is to take a more optimistic view
of the way things are going, and to remind the American people that the
glass is maybe half-full, that there is a transition underway, that
there is a plan. Is that -- is he trying to paint a more optimistic,
forward-looking picture and --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President is confident about the
direction we're headed. But let me state very clearly that we are at a
critical stage in Iraq. The stakes are very high. The terrorists
recognize that Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism. We
recognize that Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism.
We have been through a difficult period and there are going to be
difficulties ahead. Certainly, we've seen some of the recent images
from the suicide car bombing that led to the death of the Iraqi
Governing Council president. We've seen what the terrorists will go
to, to try and shake the will of the international community and the
evil acts they carry out against innocent American citizens and against
innocent Iraqi citizens. We've seen those images.
The mission at hand is not an easy one, but it is vital to our
nation's interests. And the President will talk about that in his
remarks. We face a clear choice going forward. We can work to build a
free, democratic, and peaceful Iraq or we can let the terrorists
prevail. But the terrorists will not prevail. When we succeed in
Iraq, it will be a decisive blow to the terrorists in the war on
terrorism.
Q But if he's trying to also say, optimistically, there is a
light at the end of the tunnel, will he tonight define any further what
we can expect? Will he say -- will he suggest that there is a time
limit to U.S. forces being in Iraq? Will he suggest any kind of time
frame?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he will certainly talk about our troops and
the outstanding work that they are doing and he will express his
appreciation on behalf of the nation for the great work that our men
and women in the military are doing. There are some in our military
who have seen their tours of duty extended for a longer period of time
than they had originally expected. The security situation called for
increased demands upon our own troops; and we are still working to
train the Iraqi security forces. But I think what he will --
Q But surely he knows that the American people want to know
when they're coming home?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- but I think what he will talk about is that the
future of Iraq is going to be in the hands of the Iraqi people, but
that the coalition continues to have a significant role that it will
play going forward. And the President will talk about that in his
remarks.
Q By any objective measure, the administration has a mixed
record, in terms of success with the U.N. Security Council resolutions
it has tabled. For some, we have been able to secure unanimous
support, and some we've -- one, at least, we've had to withdraw because
we could not muster support of the Security Council for it -- all
within the context of Iraq.
What confidence do you have about the votes that you've got at the
Security Council for this resolution? And, if so, would you share with
us what basis for confidence you have?
MR. McCLELLAN: Sure. I think that this draft should be viewed as
a product of some of the recent discussions we have had in a number of
different places. Certainly, we've had some discussions on this draft
resolution with the G8 ministers. We've had discussions in New York
with -- informal discussions with members of the Security Council and
others. And we've had ongoing discussions with other nations, as
well. We believe that there is strong support based on these
consultations for moving forward on this resolution.
I think everybody shares a goal to realize a free and peaceful
Iraq. I think everybody wants to see an end to the occupation and
support the Iraqi interim sovereign government that will be put in
place, and provide for a leading role by the United Nations going
forward. And this resolution -- this resolution recognizes the end of
the occupation, and the beginning of a sovereign interim government.
Q And has Mr. Brahimi been of any help in smoothing a way
inside the U.N. for this resolution?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Mr. Brahimi's work has been focused on
putting in place the interim sovereign government. He has continued to
move forward on the formation of that interim government. He has
spelled out the form of that government, and I think the President will
talk about that in detail this evening in his remarks. And he will
talk about how there will be a president, two deputy presidents, and a
prime minister -- a council of ministers and so forth, in terms of the
shape of that interim government. And Mr. Brahimi, we expect, in the
next week or so will be coming back with some names to fill those
positions in the interim government. And we certainly strongly support
his efforts.
But it's important, first, for Mr. Brahimi to complete those
efforts on naming the interim government, and then we can adopt a new
United Nations Security Council resolution. But we believe there's
strong support for this resolution, and we look forward to further
consultations with our colleagues on the Security Council.
Q Scott, you said that the speech is the chance to inform the
American people about the way forward in Iraq. What is the
administration planning to do to -- besides the coalition briefings --
to keep Iraqis informed in the weeks ahead about what's going to be
happening in their country?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President, when he speaks, is speaking to
the entire world. And I'm sure that they will hear his remarks, as
well. So it's important that, as President of the United States, that
he keep the American people informed. But he also will be keeping the
world informed about the steps that we are taking.
Certainly, there are briefings that go on, on a regular basis in
Iraq, as well, by the Coalition Provisional Authority, as they move
forward to transition to sovereignty. The Coalition Provisional
Authority will cease to exist by June 30th, when a new sovereign
government is put in place. And I think the President will talk in
detail about these efforts. And he will talk in detail in his remarks
tonight to the Iraqi people, and talk about how the future is in their
hands, that this is a time for them to assume even greater
responsibility going forward.
Q Do you feel that message has not gotten across to them?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it's important to continue talking about that
message as we move forward, and as we see some of the distressing
images on TV. I mean, I don't think anyone wants to be occupied, and
certainly we recognize that. And that's why it's important to continue
to talk to the Iraqi people about the steps we are taking to help them
realize a brighter future.
Q The recovery looks like it's really picking up steam. And
there are some economists who would argue that high gasoline prices at
the current levels have a silver lining, and that they prevent the
economy from overheating. Others, of course, see a threat that high
gas prices could derail the recovery. I'm wondering what the White
House thinking is on the current level of gas prices?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President continues to believe that gas
prices are too high. And I think most Americans believe that, as
well. That's why he's continuing to urge Congress to pass his
comprehensive national energy strategy that he proposed some three
years ago. That will reduce our dependence on foreign sources of
energy. We have to keep in mind that the reason we're in this
situation is because we're dependent upon foreign sources of energy.
The President put forward a comprehensive plan that would expand
conservation, increase energy efficiency and diversify our supply at
home, so that we would not be as reliant upon foreign sources of
energy. And you've seen demand increase greatly in the world because
of the growing global economy and because of the growing American
economy. And the supply has not been there to meet that demand at the
level that is necessary. We continue to be in touch with producers
around the world. But the economy continues to move in the right
direction. We are in the middle of a strong recovery, because of the
policies that this President advocated and passed in Congress.
Q Two questions. One, India has a multi-cultural government
under the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This is the
first time in the world history that the top President is a Muslim and
Prime Minister is a Sikh minority, and the opposition is Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, Hindu, and party President is a Christian, Sonia Gandhi. So
if President has spoken with the Prime Minister or anybody, or what he
thinks about this new government, how relations will --
MR. McCLELLAN: There is no update on the President -- no update on
the President's phone call. But, obviously, we congratulate the new
Prime Minister on being sworn in over the weekend. And we look forward
to working with him and continue to build upon our strong relations.
Jacobo.
Q Yes, two questions, please. How long is the speech going to
be tonight?
MR. McCLELLAN: I still expect it's going to be in the 30 to 35
minute range. The President did a walk-through of the speech earlier
today, and he'll do another one this afternoon.
Q Second question. Has the President seen or heard the
statement Mr. Ahmed Chalabi said yesterday, on various television
programs, about his offer to come to Congress to clear his name of the
accusation? He's charged George Tenet directly with the charges.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, obviously, that's up to members of Congress
to decide.
Q Yes, but has the President been made aware --
MR. McCLELLAN: I think the President is focused on moving forward
on the mission at hand and implementing the clear strategy we have for
building a free, democratic and peaceful Iraq. He is looking forward
and, you know, if others want to look back to the past, that's fine,
but he's going to continue looking forward.
Q Scott, the new U.N. resolution calls for the new Iraqi
government to control the $10 billion Iraq development fund. So just
to clarify, that means that the Iraqis, alone, will decide going
forward who gets future contracts, as of June 30th?
MR. McCLELLAN: The Iraqis are going to have full sovereignty by
June 30th. That is what we are moving forward on.
Q And that's included, right? So the Iraqis, alone, will make
decisions about who gets the --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, those are discussions, obviously, we will
have with members of the Security Council. There is language that
addresses that matter in the resolution and we'll let those
consultations continue to occur.
Q It's not specific --
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead.
Q Scott, the Treaty of the Law of the Sea is something that's
talked about almost never at any of the briefings here, and recently,
Senator Inhofe held hearings over at the Natural Resources Committee in
the Senate which indicated that if the treaty were ever ratified, it
would lead to U.S. citizens paying international taxes and U.S. troops
under some kind of world control. In other words, it very deeply could
affect sovereignty. Is the President opposed to ratification of the
Treaty of the Law of the Sea?
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me get you some more information on that and
I'll come back to it. I'll be glad to talk to you about it.
Q Thank you.
MR. McCLELLAN: Scott, can I ask about the attack on -- near the
Syrian border, that the Pentagon has said, you know, was a gathering of
insurgents. There's a new videotape that APTN has obtained, which
pretty clearly shows several hours' worth of, well, revelry, if not a
wedding. Is the administration familiar with this tape, and is it
troubled by the pretty sizeable doubt that it casts on the Pentagon --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the military has pointed out that --
pointed to evidence that they have showing that foreign fighters were
in that area that they targeted, and that that was the reason for the
action that they took. So they disagree with the way you characterized
it in your question. They also said that they would be looking into
this matter because of the allegations that have been raised. And
that's what they will do.
Q Scott, a two-part. Andrew Card impressively addressed --
MR. McCLELLAN: A fine Chief of Staff.
Q Thank you. Andrew Card impressively addressed this weekend's
annual gathering in New York of 250 talk radio hosts, where there was
considerable debate over the possibility that if Howard Stern is driven
off the air for his many obscenities by the FCC fines, all of us could
be driven off the air by the government for our political opinions.
And my question: Can the White House give us assurance that our
expressed political opinions, liberal or conservative, will never be
treated like Stern's obscenities by any organization in the Bush
administration?
MR. McCLELLAN: Les, I'm not going to try to speculate on something
that's so -- so broad as what you're bringing up. Obviously, the
President believes that there are certain standards of decency that
should be adhered to.
Q Right.
MR. McCLELLAN: And we all have a responsibility to adhere to those
standards.
Q But he would never let the FCC --
MR. McCLELLAN: And that if people violate those standards, they
should be held accountable. And there are measures in place to hold
people accountable.
Q Of course. But he would never allow the FCC to take action
against any of us in talk radio for our political opinions, would he?
MR. McCLELLAN: In a general sense, no. But, again, you phrase
that in a context of some standards that apparently violated some of
the -- our standards of decency.
Q Sure. Almost all of us have respected the President and
Mrs. Bush's request that questioning of or about their twin daughters
are out of bounds. But the twins are both now college graduates, and
are going to work for the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign. And my
question, so they are no more out of bounds for questions than you or
the President's brother, Jeb, are they, Scott?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, we hope that the media will
continue to show respect for the daughters and allow them to --
Q Respect. If they're going to be in the campaign --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- go about their lives. But the daughters have
also expressed a strong interest in helping the President on his
reelection. And I know the President very much appreciates that.
Q Therefore, they are subject to questions, aren't they? If
they're going to be in the political campaign, they're certainly
subject to questions?
MR. McCLELLAN: Les, I think I addressed your question.
Go ahead.
Q You addressed it -- you evaded it.
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that the media, hopefully, will continue to
show respect that -- and recognize that they are the President's
daughters --
Q -- and ask respectful questions.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- and that they have their own lives.
Go ahead.
Q Do they have any questions for us? (Laughter.)
MR. McCLELLAN: They are not -- they are not the person on the
ballot.
Go ahead.
Q If they're on the campaign trail, they're fair game to
questions.
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead. Helen, I just made a comment on that.
I just said we hope the media will continue to show respect for --
Q That doesn't connote that we don't --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- for the daughters.
Q That doesn't mean we don't respect them, but we can question
them.
MR. McCLELLAN: Understood. Oh, understood.
Q They're out there.
Q We respect you. We respect you.
MR. McCLELLAN: You all have an important role to play.
Q It's my turn now.
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know about that, Les. Go ahead.
Q Last week a deal was struck between the White House and
Senate Democrats where the President surrendered his constitutional
right to recess appointments, in exchange for the removal of Senator
Daschle's blockade of all his nominees. Considering the status of the
six filibustered judges isn't part of that deal, how can this be seen
as anything but capitulation to --
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't look at it at all the way you characterized
it, first of all. I looked at it as an important step forward to
getting these judges in places that were being held up by the Senate.
There are some 25 judicial nominees who are highly respected and well
qualified who will now be given an up or down vote, and we are very
confident that they will be approved by the Senate.
Q What about the filibusters?
MR. McCLELLAN: And about those additional people who are
continuing to be held up, we are going to continue to fight for those
nominees, because like the others, they are people of high integrity
who are well qualified, and the President supports very strongly. We
will continue to fight for those nominees, as well. The President will
continue to urge the Senate to give those nominees and up or down vote,
as well.
Q You didn't say "bipartisan," but I'm going to follow up with,
how's that bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act working out, now that
the FEC has decided to be totally impotent?
MR. McCLELLAN: And I think that we have expressed our concerns
about people using loopholes in the law to get around some of the
intent of the campaign finance reforms. The President strongly
supported the campaign finance law because he felt overall it would
improve the system. Unfortunately, there are some that are using
loopholes to get around the intent of that law.
Q Scott, how much time does the President spend on other topics
besides Iraq?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President has to focus on a number of
priorities. That occurs anytime you're President of the United
States. And, obviously, his highest and most important priorities are
winning the war on terrorism, of which Iraq is a central front,
protecting the homeland and strengthening our economy. So you've heard
the President talk about his priorities in recent speeches. He will
continue to talk about the key priorities that we are pursuing. So, I
mean, he has to spend his time focusing on a number of important
priorities, but certainly Iraq is one of the highest priorities of this
President.
Q Thank you, Scott. The United States has decided to ship
about 3,600 of the U.S. troops from South Korea to Iraq. It is also
reported to be only beginning to -- the total withdrawal of the U.S.
troops from South Korea. Would you comment on that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, we've been having consultations with
South Korea and other nations on our global posture review that has
been underway and it's something the military has been looking at and
moving forward on. And, certainly, when we announced that some of the
troops would be going to Iraq, there was a need to send some troops
over there to relieve some of the other American troops there, but that
this should be viewed as part of our global posture review, something
that we've discussed very closely with the government of South Korea,
and we will continue to discuss with them going forward.
But our commitment to the region remains very strong. And just
because there is a reduction, maybe, in some of those forces, does not
reduce our commitment to ensure stability in the region. And there are
many new threats that we face in this day and age, and there's also a
lot of new ways that we're working to address those threats, with a --
swifter deployments and a more technologically advanced military that
can deploy quickly and meet some of those threats. And we'll be
working closely with the South Korean government, as we have been, to
move forward to address those threats.
Go ahead.
Q Egypt Foreign Affairs Minister said today that President
Mubarak would not come to the G8 and that Tunisia has turned down the
invitation, as well. How bad is it?
MR. McCLELLAN: And that who has turned down?
Q Tunisia.
MR. McCLELLAN: Okay.
Q How bad is it for the President's greater Middle East
initiative?
MR. McCLELLAN: We believe very strongly that it's important to
support the calls for reform in the region. And that's why the
President put forward his initiative for the broader Middle East. And
the President met with President Mubarak in Crawford, as you are aware,
a few weeks ago. They had a good discussion about the this initiative
for the broader Middle East. And there will be additional discussions
going forward with others in the region.
This initiative, like I said, is about supporting efforts underway
for reform in the region by the people in the region. And we want to
support their efforts, not impose anything on them. It's a
generational commitment that we're talking about here. And we will
have a lot of countries, I expect, attending the G8, and we believe
they will have a good representation from the Middle East, as well.
Q But has he been made aware by President Mubarak that he will
not come to the G8?
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know what level of official contacts there
have been in the last day. But, again, we expect that there will be a
list of a number of countries from the region attending the G8 out
soon.
Go ahead.
Q Thank you. I have a couple of questions on the Japanese
Prime Minister Koizumi's trip to Pyongyang last weekend.
MR. McCLELLAN: Okay.
Q On his trip, he took about five cabinet members of
(inaudible), except Sergeant Jenkins who is husband of Hotomi Soga, an
evictor from the North Korea to -- from the U.S. Army to North Korea.
We know that U.S. position has not changed with regard to his position
-- status as a deserter by the U.S. Army. But is there any room for
the political decision by White House on him?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, I think that that might be a question
best directed to either the Pentagon and/or the State Department to
address the latest situation regarding that matter. We certainly did
note that Prime Minister Koizumi talked about the importance of North
Korea agreeing to completely, verifiably and irreversibly dismantling
its nuclear weapons program. And it's important that North Korea
continue to hear that message. We are moving forward on that
multilateral process. And we believe it's important for all parties to
emphasize that to North Korea as we go forward. I think all parties in
the region recognize the importance of a nuclear-free peninsula.
Q Thank you.
MR. McCLELLAN: Thank you.
END 1:46 P.M. EDT
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