For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 11, 2002
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
12:35 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good morning. Let me give you a --
Q Good afternoon.
Q Good afternoon.
MR. FLEISCHER: Within one minute of my briefing I already stand
corrected by Helen. Good afternoon. Let me give you a report on
the President's day and take your questions.
The President this morning had his regular breakfast with the
Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader of the Senate, Minority
Leader of the House, Minority Leader of the Senate to consult about
events abroad, as well as domestic issues. They talked extensively
about the war against terrorism, events in the Middle East. The
President raised several issues on the domestic agenda, including the
importance of passage of energy legislation to make us more energy
independent, faith-based legislation, confirmation of judges, his hopes
that the Senate will still be able to pass a budget resolution, as well
as supplemental appropriations that are pending in the Congress.
From there, the President had his usual intelligence briefings with
the CIA and the FBI. And then the President spoke with King Hamad of
Bahrain this morning. The two expressed mutual concern over the
continuing tension in the Middle East. The President reiterated his
commitment to bring about conditions for an end to the current
violence, and a return to negotiations. He outlined the need for
Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states to do more to achieve that
objective. The King of Bahrain also expressed his support for the
approach that the President outlined in his April 3rd statement, issued
from the Rose Garden here at the White House.
And, finally, the President also expressed his deep appreciation
for the strong relationship between the United States and Bahrain, and
for Bahrain's support for efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.
The President, as we speak, is having his regular lunch with the
Vice President. And then this afternoon, the President will conduct an
event and give a speech to call on the Congress to pass legislation to
help improve the lives of those who are living in poverty or near
poverty, through what's called the charity aid recovery and empowerment
act, or the CARE act.
Finally, one other notice, the President will meet with Lebanese
Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri at the White House on April the 17th. And
with that, I'm happy to take your questions.
Q In the last week, since that Rose Garden speech you were
talking about, have the Israelis, the Palestinians or Arab leaders done
anything to address his pleas? And if so, be specific as to what
they've done to meet any of the conditions he laid out a week ago.
MR. FLEISCHER: In the President's remarks last week, the President
called on the Israelis, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab nations
in the region to take specific actions to help bring about peace in the
region. He urged the Palestinian Authority to declare a cease-fire, to
agree to implement the Zinni plan and the Tenet accords. He urged the
Palestinian Authority to issue orders to security forces to exert
maximum effort against terrorist activities. He also urged Chairman
Arafat to make public statements denouncing suicide bombings, and to
renounce violence as a political instrument.
The President called on the Arab states to do everything possible
to stop terrorist activities, to disrupt terrorist financing and stop
incitement of violence in state-owned media. He also urged them to
denounce publicly suicide bombings, and to use their influence with the
Palestinian Authority and other groups to stop the violence.
And, finally, he called on Israel to halt its incursions into the
Palestinian areas, and begin withdrawing from Palestinian cities
recently occupied, including Ramallah, to acknowledge publicly that the
occupation of Palestinian territories must end through a withdrawal,
and to secure recognized borders consistent with U.N. Security Council
resolutions 242 and 338.
Now to answer your question -- I go through that for a reason,
that's the record. That's what the President publicly called for.
Here's where we are. Israel has continued the withdrawal that began,
that the President called for, in some areas. There are additional
incursions in other areas.
The President reiterates his call to all three parties that they
need to do the very specific things I just walked through. They have
not been done yet. The President calls on all the parties to keep
working to get them done.
I think it's also fair to say, Ron, that when the President said
what he said in the Rose Garden, he did not expect all three parties
that night to salute, to say yes. That's not how the Mideast works.
And if you note that since the President gave that speech in the Rose
Garden, where in very direct language he called on all the parties to
do what they need to do to create peace, the United Nations Security
Council has spoken out, what's called the Quartet -- which represents
the European Union, Russia, the United States and the United Nations
-- have also spoken out.
There's no shortage of people who are following the President's
lead and speaking out around the world. What still remains to happen
is the three parties on the ground to take the actions he's called
for.
Q Will you go on the public record and stand by a statement you
made earlier this morning, which was that Sharon is a man of peace?
Which some Israelis might not even agree with. Do you stand by that,
that he's a man of peace, considering his record?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President believes that Ariel Sharon is a man
of peace.
Q What does the President hope that the Secretary of State is
able to accomplish in his meetings over the next 10 days? Are you
looking for a cease-fire specifically?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President hopes that the Secretary in his
visits with Arab nations, Israel and the Palestinian Authority will be
able to create an environment that reduces the violence, that hopefully
leads to a cease-fire, that hopefully leads to a beginning of the
political process once again in the Middle East. It's a very difficult
mission. There's no guarantee of success. The President has given the
Secretary of State maximum flexibility so he'll have maximum influence
in the region and also an open itinerary toward the end of the trip so
the Secretary can make determinations on where to go, how best to
implement that mission.
Q Is it possible that he would stay on in the area until there
is a cease-fire?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the Secretary of State will determine his
agenda. The President has given him the flexibility. But the trip is
really just beginning. I mean, he's finished meeting with several of
the Arab nations. He's had several meetings with them. He's in Jordan
right now. He'll get to Israel late tonight and he will meet with
Israel tomorrow. He'll meet with Chairman Arafat the following day.
So I think it's also fair to say, give the Secretary time and let's
see how events unfold.
Q The President has made very clear his goal of defeating
terrorism around the world. Ariel Sharon says he is fighting a war on
terrorism against Palestinians and other groups like Hezbollah and
Hamas. Does the President have an opinion as to whether the Israeli
offensive to date has been successful, as to reaching that stated
goal?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President's opinion is that Israel needs to
withdraw. Israel needs to withdraw, as he said in the Rose Garden, and
that to fight terrorism, the Arab nations need to step up to their
responsibilities to take on terrorists, to stop funding terrorists, to
condemn terrorists. And the Palestinian Authority needs to renounce
terrorism because, despite what Chairman Arafat said at Oslo, the
Palestinian Authority has not done so.
Q But the question is, Ariel Sharon says they're making
progress, that they have to complete a job that is a successful job to
root out terrorism and terrorists in their midst. The question is,
does the President believe that this is a successful and worthy
operation that the Israelis are embarked upon?
MR. FLEISCHER: Here's how I put it from the President's point of
view. I think what he would say to that, David, is one, he recognizes
Israel's right to defend herself. Israel, of course, had been attacked
in a series of suicide bombings which are really homicide bombings. I
think the name "suicide bombings" is not an apt description of what
Israel faced from these attacks across the border.
But having done so, the President, as you know, in the Rose Garden
reached the point where he said to all parties, enough is enough.
Because his concern now is that the issue has moved away from how to
create a political environment where the parties can at long last sit
down and talk with each other to one where it's spiralling out of
control.
Q To follow-up on his statement that the President believes
Ariel Sharon is a peacemaker, given that Sharon has long been on record
saying that he is against the Oslo accords; that as Minister of Housing
in several governments, he is on the record saying that one of the
purposes of building settlements in the West Bank is to render
impossible the establishment of a Palestinian state there. And given
that he's twice, in his career, been reprimanded by Israeli authorities
for atrocities committed by forces under his de facto control against
Palestinians, on what evidence does the President believe that Ariel
Sharon is a man of peace?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, on several. Number one, Ariel Sharon is the
democratically-elected Prime Minister of the free state of Israel. And
the state of Israel is committed to peace, and they elected a leader
who would help them achieve security on the path to peace.
The President knows, because he's discussed it directly with the
Prime Minister, that the Prime Minister is committed to the Tenet
accords and to the Mitchell plan, that he supports both of those.
And what's happened in the Middle East is as a result of the
suicide attacks or the homicide attacks, the progress that had been
made through General Zinni's cooperative efforts with Israel and the
Palestinian Authority was derailed.
The point the President is stressing now is his deliberate
perseverance to emerge from the chaos and the violence with a plan that
gets the parties back to peace. That's where his focus is now.
Q Has Prime Minister Sharon's refusal to accede to President
Bush's demands stated clearly and unequivocally that Israel withdraw,
has that damaged the President's confidence or trust in Prime Minister
Sharon at all?
MR. FLEISCHER: Terry, all the entities I've cited have a
responsibility to bear in creating peace in the Middle East in the
President's opinion. The burden, the responsibility, does not fall on
only one. All three need to step up their responsibilities to achieve
peace.
As I noted, the withdrawals the President called for are
continuing. The Arab nations, as well as the Palestinian Authority,
were called on specifically to do certain things by this President and
the President is waiting to see results from them, as well.
Q Ari, the Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, said that the
withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank will probably require
another two weeks. Do you consider this as an acceptable time frame?
MR. FLEISCHER: I reiterate what the President said about urging
the Israelis to withdraw, urging the Palestinian Authority to denounce
violence, and urging the Arab allies to do their part to influence the
Palestinian Authority so the violence can be stopped.
Q Aides to Congressman Gephardt said that during the breakfast
this morning, while he thanked the President for these consultations
and these breakfast meetings, he felt that Democrats and Republicans
need to have more regular meetings with this White House to find out
what's going on in terms of the war on terrorism and the Middle East.
That it's sort of like pulling teeth to get some briefings.
So, A, how do you respond to Democrats who say that they're simply
not getting enough information from the White House about what's going
on?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, this President and this administration, in
the midst of a war against terrorism, in the midst of a terrible
situation in the Middle East, have carved out of their schedules
considerable time to keep the Capitol informed. It is Congress' right
and prerogative to be informed and they are being informed on an
ongoing, regular basis. Sometimes, you just have to recognize that in
Washington no amount of consultation is ever enough for the Hill. And
I think that extends well before this administration, that sometimes is
the way the Hill works.
But I also want to add that, from the President's point of view, as
much as he's consulting, he's also interested in actions and results
from all the consultations that he has given to the Hill. For example,
the President wants to make sure that the Congress passes the defense
appropriation bill first. They understand the seriousness of the war.
They've been consulted. The President is looking for results and
action. He wants to make sure Congress doesn't pass defense last. The
President wants to make sure they pass an energy policy that helps make
us more independent.
There are a host of issues that the President, in these meetings,
has called on the leadership, particularly in the Senate, to do.
They've gotten the consultation, they've gotten the message. The
question is, what are the results.
Q Just to follow up, Congressman Gephardt sent a letter to the
President just at the time of your briefing, so you can't obviously
comment on the letter. But he is calling for more formal -- a more
formal procedure, having key members of the House and the Senate, the
chairs of respective committees, meeting with the administration or the
President on a weekly or biweekly basis, saying this was done during
Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, why shouldn't it be done now?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think the administration is always going to
be willing to work with ways to find -- to help members of Congress
get access to information. I can assure you that if any of these
meetings are set up, we hope that members of Congress will show up.
There's often an issue where people go up to the Hill to brief and very
few members of Congress even show up.
Now Dr. Condoleezza Rice, the President's National Security
Advisor, will be meeting with the Democrat leadership to consult. They
were just down here to consult. There is plenty of consultation going
on. The question is, are there results from the consultations?
Q So the White House doesn't see any need to have more formal
consultations with law makers?
MR. FLEISCHER: We'll always be interested in ways to productively
consult with the Congress. Like I say, I hope people will show up to
the meeting. Sometimes they seek these things and then fail to show
up.
Q Ari, when Saddam Hussein of Iraq announced that he would be
suspending oil exports for 30 days, there was a fear on the world
markets that this could create all kinds of disruption. I think Saudi
Arabia stepped in and decided -- said they would make up any
difference. Does the United States feel there is a danger that the oil
in the Middle East could be disrupted as we speak now?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the United States -- the Department of
Energy is monitoring very carefully oil markets and the price. And it
does not look like there was any adverse reaction, market wide, on any
long-term basis, at least so far, as a result of what Saddam Hussein
has done.
The situation, though, is an ongoing problem for the United States
and for consumers and for people who want to be able to fill their car
up with gas, and not have to worry every spring, heading into the
summer driving season, about empowering other nations to exercise
domination over the United States when it comes to the price of
energy.
And that's why the President feels so strongly in the need for the
Senate to do what the House did, which is to pass a comprehensive
energy plan that focuses on conservation, on greater efficiency, and on
greater exploration here at home, so America can rely on America for
our energy needs, and not be vulnerable to the actions that others
take.
I think it's fair to say that as of today, the confluence of events
in Venezuela, the decision by Iraq to shut off its oil supplies, has
not created an impact in the markets, as of today. But the point is,
why take the risk? Why should the United States be vulnerable to these
other nations? Why can't the United States do more at home? The House
has taken action to help America do more at home. The President hopes
the Senate will, as well.
Q I'd like to follow-up on the Venezuela thing that you
mentioned. The situation with PDVSA, which is the state petrol company
in Venezuela, they're having a face off with President Chavez, and this
may create all kinds of problems. But also President Chavez is being
accused of violating freedom of the press and trying to use the media
-- control the media on that particular strike, saying that the strike
is actually an attempt to overthrow the government. Does the White
House share that view?
MR. FLEISCHER: I have not heard any updates, Jacobo, from the
events in Venezuela, other than there's a strike in Venezuela. This
appears to be an internal Venezuelan issue. The United States will
monitor it. But I don't have anything for you beyond that.
Q Ari, I know that the President has been sharply critical of
Arafat's behavior recently, but does he also consider Yasser Arafat,
ultimately, to be a man of peace?
MR. FLEISCHER: As the President, himself, has said in the Rose
Garden, Yasser Arafat has yet to earn the President's trust.
Q Can we get a more specific answer to Terry's second question?
MR. FLEISCHER: Remind me of what it was, it was nine or 10
questions ago.
Q The question was, is Sharon losing support in this White
House, because of his slow withdrawal?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, the President has, will be, and does -- the
President has, does, and will continue to work directly with Ariel
Sharon, to achieve peace in the region.
Q So that's a no, that story this morning is incorrect?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes. I just -- you know, the other thing, too,
you cannot separate, in a democracy, the leader of a democracy from the
nation. Ariel Sharon is the democratically elected Prime Minister of
Israel, representing the people of Israel. They elected him. The
United States' relations with Israel go through their democratically
elected leader.
Q So the story about frustration within the White House about
the Israeli leader's actions, it's not accurate?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I again go back to what I said at the
beginning. The President gave a speech in the Rose Garden where he
called on three entities, Israel, the Arab neighbors, and the
Palestinian Authority to step up and exercise statesmanship to bring
peace to the region. And the President is determined and persistent to
try to accomplish that goal. And that's why the Secretary is in the
region.
Now, the President will keep at it and will remain committed to
helping get it done.
Obviously, the parties themselves have not made much progress, and
that's why the United States can and should and will play a vital
role.
Jim, did you have a follow-up?
Q So, when Keith asked it, you said that the story was incorrect
and then sort of hedged when Kelly just asked the question. I mean, is
there more frustration now than there was, say, three days ago with
Sharon and his cooperation with --
MR. FLEISCHER: And I urge you -- there are three key parties
here. Your questions continue to focus on one party, and that is not
the President's approach. The President recognizes that all contribute
to what's happening in the Middle East, and he called on all to take
certain steps. The focus here, and the focus repeatedly, has just been
on one nation. That is not the President's focus. No one nation bears
the burden of the responsibility of what's happening in the Middle East
today. And that's why the President called on all to do their part.
And that's an important difference.
And so when the President -- the reason I hesitated on Kelly's
question -- I want to bring the focus back to the President's message
to all three -- not one, all three. All three.
Q The other day, this was not --
Q I thought the President had said the other day that this was
not the --
MR. FLEISCHER: Goyal? Your name is not Goyal. You had your
question earlier, Philippe. Goyal.
Q Thank you. Yesterday, a House panel on immigration
recommended that INS should be dismantled. So yesterday it seemed to
me that INS was again in hot water and had no friends on the Hill.
They said that they are not going to wait for President Bush do to
this, but we are going to do this. Now, what I'm asking you is, by
dismantling the INS, what would be the status of the --
Q always has -- slaughterer.
Q -- and also pending applications and new applications? Are
they going to be affected by, in any way by this --
MR. FLEISCHER: Is who going to be affected? I couldn't hear you.
Helen was --
Q The new application, pending applications or I245?
MR. FLEISCHER: First of all, what's moving now in the House is
just a beginning, and so it's a separate question from what will impact
anything, because you don't know the timing and what the House
ultimately will do, or the Senate has to take it up, et cetera. I'm
not sure dismantling is the right word for it.
The President had made a proposal and we're working with the
Congress. It involves both an administrative step forward as well as
working legislatively on reforming the INS, breaking it in two, one
agency responsible for enforcement, one agency responsible for the
immigration services that are provided. So that is just beginning in
the House. But this is consistent with what the Attorney General
announced with the reorganization last -- I believe it was last fall,
I think in November, the Attorney General announced the
administration's intention of splitting the agencies in two.
Q Ari, much as I'm reluctant to belabor this issue, the
President did say to a key American ally, withdraw without delay. And
the Israelis, although they have withdrawn from some areas, have
redeployed in others. My question to you is, is withdrawal, the word
you have used, is that an accurate description of the sum total of what
Israel's doing if they're still in major cities and towns?
MR. FLEISCHER: Israel is continuing its withdrawal, as the
President asked. The Palestinian Authority has responsibilities they
have not yet taken. Arab nations in the region have responsibilities
that the President has called for which he is still looking for
results.
So again, I remind you, it is not only one nation; it is all of
them and that's the President's focus.
Q But you said that the Israelis are heeding what the President
called for. He said, withdraw without delay -- and you're satisfied
that's what they're doing?
MR. FLEISCHER: I simply said that the withdrawal the President
called for is continuing. I did not put a value on it one way or
another beyond that. I think it's an accurate statement.
Q How can you call it a withdrawal? How can you call it a
withdrawal? They've pulled out of a few small towns and they haven't
pulled all the way out of any town. How the hell is it a withdrawal?
MR. FLEISCHER: With all due respect for your editorial, how can
you not? It is a withdrawal from those towns.
Q Do you see an erosion, Ari, between the U.S. relationship with
Jordan, Egypt, and some of those other key Arab allies? And also there
is a report that Saudi Arabia might be funneling some funds to the
suicide or homicide bombers. Do you have anything on that?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, this is one of the reasons why the President
feels so strongly about the importance of what is happening in the
Middle East, and his determination to try to bring the parties
together. The President does have concerns about the impact of the
violence on our friends in the region, and that is an important part of
what is going on.
And that's why the Secretary had meetings with President Mubarak of
Egypt, with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, with the King of
Morocco. He's in Jordan right now. So, again, there's a mission, and
a very important one, that is in the middle. And the President has
faith in Secretary Powell's abilities to work through a very difficult
challenge.
Q Ari?
MR. FLEISCHER: Les, we'll come to you on the side. You know the
procedure. Patience.
Q The story about Saudi Arabia perhaps funneling money to the
bombers? Have you heard anything about that?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, the President in his message -- the
President called on all parties to stop any actions that would incite
violence. And if there is any evidence that any nations are providing
money, that is something the President would condemn and call on them
to stop.
Q Ari, when you responded to the first question by saying what
Israel has and hasn't done in response to the President's speech, what
has the Palestinian side done or what has the Palestinian side done yet
in response to the President's speech?
MR. FLEISCHER: Not enough.
Q Have they done anything?
MR. FLEISCHER: There are statements from the Palestinian Authority
that ostensibly commit themselves to implementation of the Zinni
mission, as well as the Mitchell accords. But, again, even before the
suicide bombing took place on Passover, there was some signs that we
were making progress, but the Palestinian Authority did not make
sufficient progress for General Zinni to actually have acceptance of
what he called the bridging agreements.
So there are some good sounds that come out, but the President is
still looking for results on the ground. The President is still
looking for Chairman Arafat to denounce, in Arabic, suicide bombings
and terrorism. That has not happened. The President is still waiting
for that to happen.
Q Has Arafat, himself, done anything to respond to the President
--
MR. FLEISCHER: Not enough. And he has not earned the President's
trust. As I indicated, there were some soundings about the Zinni plan
and the Mitchell accords which sounded right, but when it came to the
actual implementation, they fell short.
Q What effect, if any, do you think some of the brewing
congressional proposals, such as there is a bipartisan proposal to call
the -- officially label the PLO a terrorist organization, deny visas
to leaders. What effect do you think proposals like that are having on
the diplomacy that you're attempting in the region?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think that it's unclear exactly what, if
anything, is going to emerge from the Hill. There are a variety of
different resolutions or different potential statutes that are all
being kicked around. Nothing has even been marked up. I'm not even
sure that any of them have, in the formal sense, been introduced. So I
think it's premature to get into that. I don't think it's surprising
that 535 different individuals have an opinion.
Q Is the administration still lobbying against that specific
proposal on the PLO? I know the State Department had spoken out
against it in the past.
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, I think it's a little premature to
hear -- to know precisely what the Hill intends to do. There are 535
people with 535 good ideas in varying shapes and forms and, again, I
think until something develops, I can't get into it much deeper than
that.
Q Ari, on both the responsibilities of the Arabs and the
Israelis have, one, aside from the fact that they haven't done anything
yet, what kind of assurances are you getting? What are they saying to
Secretary Powell and the President when he talks to Arab leaders about
what they are willing to do in this regard, about what they're willing
to say to the Palestinians? And then I want to ask about Sharon.
MR. FLEISCHER: Jim, the message the Secretary has been hearing on
his travels, from Morocco, from Egypt, and of course in the EU, is that
the other nations have indicated that they want to be helpful, and they
will be helpful. That is a summary of what he is hearing. And as I
said, he is still in the middle of a mission. He has many other places
to go and people to see. And events play off of each other. People
are looking to each other for you go first, no you go first, no you go
first. But that's the purpose of diplomacy. That's the mission of
diplomacy, and that's why the Secretary is on the ground.
Q But he does have some sense that they will, in fact, step up,
as the President says?
MR. FLEISCHER: The message that the Secretary has been hearing is
that the nations he has visited with are committed to peace.
Q Now I was going to ask about Sharon. You're denying that
there is any sort of animus toward Sharon. But, clearly, there has to
be some frustration here. You have both Prime Minister Sharon and Mr.
Netanyahu saying there can be no political process with Yasser Arafat.
Clearly, the administration has a fundamental difference of opinion
with Israelis on that point.
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think it's fair to say that the region is
represented by fundamental differences of opinion, and that's the whole
purpose of a peace process, is to bridge those differences. And that's
why the President's Secretary of State is in the region.
But, listen, the President gave a speech in the Rose Garden on
April 3rd. No one should expect, and I think very few people do expect
all of a sudden here on April 11th for the world to snap, salute and
listen to what the United States said just a short eight days ago; also
given the fact that the United Nations Security Council has weighed-in
and given its thoughts, the EU, the Quartet, Russia, many nations, many
regions and many bilateral organizations or multi-lateral organizations
around the world are all playing productive roles.
But this is the complexity of the Middle East. And I think it's
just unreasonable for anybody to think that a mere eight days after a
very important Presidential speech that these parties, who have been
divided for decades, would all of a sudden snap to, salute, and say
it's over, we're done, we agree. That's not the way the Middle East
works.
Q But you're not denying that there's any frustration with the
fact that the Israeli government seems to be dismissing the whole idea
of the Powell mission, which is to get peace talks between Arafat and
Sharon.
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, I remind you, this is not only about
Israel. This is about the burdens and the responsibilities that the
President believes the Arab nations and the Palestinian Authority
shoulder. It focuses on them, as well.
Q I want to ask you, also, what will happen if Sharon do not
want to negotiate with Arafat? What is the plan B in case he refuse to
negotiate? And on the other hand, you have mentioned that Sharon has
been elected democratically. What do you think about the election of
Yasser Arafat? Do you think he's democratically elected in a
democratic election?
MR. FLEISCHER: First of all, keep in mind that the reason that
Secretary Powell will be able to meet with Chairman Arafat is because
the circumstances have permitted for that to happen. And that's in
recognition of the Secretary's decision that he wanted to meet with
Chairman Arafat, he'll be able to meet with Chairman Arafat. So I
think it's a little more nuanced than just you say.
But the bottom line is, what will Chairman Arafat do, in the
President's opinion? It's one thing to have a meeting -- there have
been many meetings. It's one thing to have promises or statements --
there have been promises before. The President is interested in the
bottom line from Chairman Arafat, and that's results and results only.
Q What about the election, Ari? Do you believe, does the U.S.
believe that Yasser Arafat has been elected democratically?
MR. FLEISCHER: You know, I personally am just not expert enough to
be able to answer that question. I don't remember the history of the
region at the time. That was before I came to this White House, so I'm
not in a position to give you an authoritative answer on that, yes or
no.
Q Ari? Ari?
It's not Les time yet. It will come Les time, but it's not Les
time yet.
Q I'd like to sharpen up a previous question revisited. Today,
Saudi Arabia is organizing an 11-hour telethon to raise millions of
dollars for Palestinian martyrs. The first three big contributors were
King Fahd for $2.7 million, Crown Prince Abdullah for $1.35 million,
and Defense Minister Sultan for $800,000. Doesn't this kind of violate
the President's call to stop funding the terrorism? And how do you
react when the leadership of Saudi Arabia is putting their personal
stamp of approval on raising money for martyrs?
MR. FLEISCHER: Okay, that's the first I've heard of such a
telethon, so let me look into that.
Q Ari, a question on the domestic agenda. After the President's
speech on human cloning yesterday, Senator Daschle said that he
disagreed with the President's position. I'm wondering, first of all,
of the topics discussed this morning at the breakfast, was human
cloning one of them? And does the White House believe that that bill
is in jeopardy because of Daschle's position?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President spoke out about it and I think
the message and all the consultations were delivered yesterday. It was
not a topic that came up this morning. But I think Senator Daschle has
received the message. Now let's schedule a vote and see what the
opinion of the Senators is.
Obviously, the President's message is a very bipartisan one. There
are millions of Americans, tens of millions of Americans, who want to
have scientific progress and medical progress, but done in an ethical
manner. And that's why when this same issue was put to the House for a
vote, it passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support in favor of the
President's position.
The Senate, we'll see what happens in the Senate. There are others
who disagree. Put it to a vote, and let's proceed. That's another
issue where, despite all the consultations and all the meetings, the
Senate simply hasn't acted.
Q Is the White House more optimistic on the faith-based
prospects of passage, over the human cloning?
MR. FLEISCHER: I can't get linear about what we're more or less
optimistic on any one unscheduled vote or another unscheduled vote,
when neither has been slated for a schedule yet.
I do note that there is just some -- I think we're down to 95
legislative days left in the United States Senate and the Senate has an
extraordinarily busy agenda, and they need to make time and make room
for all items that the House has passed: energy legislation, the
faith-based legislation, trade promotion authority, a ban on human
cloning, terrorism insurance; these are all issues that the House was
able to get to that the Senate has not yet even finished.
And there are other issues that still are pending in the Congress
that the President wants to make sure they get to, such as the patient
bill of rights, which is in the conference committee, the farm bill
which is in the conference committee. And then, of course, there's the
normal budget issues, where there's some question this year about
whether the Senate will even be able to pass a budget resolution.
And the President hopes that the Democratic leadership of the
Senate will be able to pass a budget resolution. Without a budget
resolution in the Senate, it will be much harder to have fiscal
discipline. The House has been able to pass it, so it will be a test
for the Senate to see if they can. The President hopes the Senate
will. It has never not been done in the Senate. Since the Budget Act
was created in, I think, 1974 the Senate has always passed a budget
resolution. It's a difficult challenge.
They were able to do it last year. We'll see if it can be done
this year.
Q On the domestic issue of the economy, the President has made
it clear that he doesn't think we're out of the woods yet, and there
are dangers that could still come. And he's talked about trade
promotion authority and the energy plan, not just in security terms but
also in economic terms.
What can the President do in terms of the tax area to ensure that
this will not be a jobless recovery?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, one of the things the President would have
liked to have seen in the tax area would have been acceleration of the
marginal income tax rates, the across-the-board income tax rates that
went into effect with a nice bipartisan vote. That was stopped as a
result of action in the Senate. The President thought it would have
been helpful to do that.
Having said that, what the Senate and the House did ultimately
agree to, involving expensing and involving depreciation for
businesses, actually is a very helpful measure in making sure it's not
a jobless recovery. Because one of the issues that economists are
looking at in the recovery is business job creation. And it very well
may be that the taxes that were targeted in the bill that just passed
and was signed into law were the exact right tax reductions at the
exact right time.
So the tax agenda is very well in place for those. There are some
other issues that the President will talk about today, for example, in
terms of helping people in poverty, helping people who are low income,
through allowing individual Americans additional tax deductions for
charitable giving. That's something the President strongly supports
that's pending on the Hill.
Q And Monday's message on taxes, is that related to this?
MR. FLEISCHER: Monday's message on taxes I'll get into a little
closer to Monday. Today is just Thursday.
Q Can you find about tax returns -- release his?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes, I'm looking into that now. The question was
tax returns, I got that this morning. I'm looking into that now, and
as soon as I have something I'll share it.
Q The former Israeli prime minster yesterday, Netanyahu, said
that they will continue on with their military operation with or
without world and U.S. support. Don't you feel -- and Sharon said
the same thing yesterday when he visited a refugee camp outside of
Jenin.
Don't you think that the Palestinians also have a right to defend
themselves? I mean, the Israelis are going into areas that were given
to -- an area which was given to them as territory for the
Palestinians and under Palestinian control?
MR. FLEISCHER: I just simply reiterate what I said earlier at the
top of the briefing, that given the homicide bombings, the President
believed that Israel had a right to defend herself, and the President,
as he said in the Rose Garden, believes that enough is enough and he's
called on all three -- the Palestinian Authority, the Arab nations
and Israel -- to now carry out the specific actions he's called for.
Q Does the President still want the House and the Senate to
raise the debt ceiling and, if so --
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes.
Q -- is it still by $750 billion?
MR. FLEISCHER: Is it what?
Q Would it still be by $750 billion, or would you scale that
back?
MR. FLEISCHER: That was the request that was sent up to the Hill.
That's correct.
Q Even with an influx in revenues after April 15? Would that
still be the amount?
MR. FLEISCHER: By all projections, this is an issue that has not
and will not go away. There are seasonal fluctuations as the revenues
are received, particularly in the month of April, that mean that the
damage that is done as a result of not passing a debt ceiling increase
is temporary. But it means it doesn't go away, it will return again
later this year. It's a very serious issue that, if action is not
taken by the Congress, can impair the reliability of the nation's
debt.
Q -- indicate that they're going to --
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't know if that was a topic that came up this
morning. It wasn't in what was briefed to me.
So, Les. This better be good.
Q I'll try to. (Laughter.) In The Washington Post, Saudi
Arabia's Ambassador wrote, "it makes no sense to ask President Arafat,
who was elected by the Palestinian people and is currently under siege
inside two rooms, to stop the violence in the occupied territories."
And my question, can you recall, Ari, just when all Palestinians were
ever allowed to vote, or that any other ambassador has contended that
the Bush request makes no sense. And I have a follow-up.
MR. FLEISCHER: I indicated earlier in response to something
similar that I am not expert enough to know the history of some of
these specific regions in Arab countries, or in this case, Authority,
to determine whether or not it's accurate to say someone is elected.
Q Both The Washington Post and The New York Times reported at
length that a schizophrenic woman, still under medications, claims that
she may have been molested 32 years ago by Father Roger Mahoney, who is
now the Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles, but, she added, she's not
clear on the details.
And in the event that schizophrenic women in New York and
Washington claim that they think they may have been molested by Punch
Sulzberger and Donny Graham, can you imagine, Ari, that this would ever
be reported by the New York Times or the Washington Post?
MR. FLEISCHER: Does anybody have a question over here?
Q Thank you.
MR. FLEISCHER: Thank you.
END 1:15 P.M. EDT
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