For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 28, 2004
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
12:50 P.M. EST
MR. McCLELLAN: The President, as you heard, is having a very good
discussion with Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey. You heard directly
from the two leaders. They are now having lunch over in the residence,
and we'll try to get you any more updates after that, if possible.
One of the issues they did discuss was the importance of moving
forward on building a free and peaceful and democratic Iraq for the
Iraqi people. And in that regard, I would like to give you an update
on some of the ongoing efforts by the Iraqi people to bring about a
democratic and peaceful Iraq.
As you all are aware, Iraqis are now freely participating in
discussions about the future of their country. And today, 200 Iraqis
freely gathered in Baghdad for a town hall meeting to discuss the
transition to sovereignty and development of democracy in Iraq. This
is the third of 18 planned town hall meetings, and is expected to be
the largest gathering of its kind. There are now more than 200
political parties in Iraq, and elected town and city councils in most
of the country. This grassroots participation is another important
step toward unleashing freedom and building democracy in Iraq.
And with that progress report update, I will be glad to take your
questions. Terry.
Q David Kay said on the Hill today that he supports the idea of
an independent investigation into the intelligence failures about what
Iraq had in terms of weapons. Does the administration support David
Kay's idea, or support that idea?
MR. McCLELLAN: Terry, I think that David Kay has also publicly
talked about the importance of letting the Iraq Survey Group complete
its work. The Iraq Survey Group -- the mission of the Iraq Survey
Group is to find the truth. That work is ongoing. They did provide a
progress report, I would remind you, which showed that Saddam Hussein's
regime was, indeed, in material breach of Security Council Resolution
1441. So it's important that we let the Iraq Survey Group complete
their work and gather all the facts they can. Then we can go back and
compare what we knew before the war with what we've learned since. But
that work is ongoing at this point.
I would point out that the CIA has publicly talked about the fact
that they have an internal process where they go and review their
intelligence. And that's something that's ongoing at this point, as
well. It's important that we gather all the facts, that we look at all
that information and compare it to what we knew before the war. That's
important. But first, before we can draw firm conclusions, we need to
let the Iraq Survey Group complete its work. But, at the same time,
the CIA is already looking into the intelligence as well.
Q Well, the CIA, obviously, isn't an independent commission.
Do you think the idea of an independent commission is incompatible with
letting the Iraq Survey Group complete its work?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I think our position at this point is we
want the Iraq Survey Group to complete the important work that it has
undertaken. That work is still a work in progress. There is a new
head, Charles Duelfer, of the Iraq Survey Group. We need to let him
get in there and complete the work that Dr. Kay started. Dr. Kay --
Q Are you saying weapons can still --
MR. McCLELLAN: Dr. Kay did a great job working on the Iraq Survey
Group. We very much appreciate his service. It's difficult work. But
he has pointed out that they need to complete their work.
Q Are you saying that still -- you still expect weapons to be
found, when the President, the Vice President, Powell and so forth have
basically written that off?
MR. McCLELLAN: Helen, I think I've addressed this question over
the last couple of days. What we know is that Saddam Hussein's regime
was a gathering threat. And in a post --
Q I didn't ask you that --
MR. McCLELLAN: I understand, but I'm coming to your question. In
a post-September 11th world, it's important that we confront those
threats before it's too late --
Q What were his threats? Has he ever threatened us?
MR. McCLELLAN: And before -- before -- well, we -- and Dr. Kay,
himself, has stated that it was a very dangerous place. The President
talked about, you had a dangerous man in a dangerous part of the
world. And after September 11th, this President is acting decisively
to make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect the
American people, because we want to do everything we can to prevent
something like that from ever happening again.
Q Do you still expect to find weapons?
MR. McCLELLAN: The work of the Iraq Survey Group is ongoing. And
they've already found that he was in material breach of Security
Council Resolution 1441. I would remind you that that was a unanimous
--
Q That's not answering the question.
MR. McCLELLAN: Helen, that was a unanimous resolution that said,
Saddam Hussein, you have one final opportunity to comply, or face
serious consequences.
Q I'm asking you if you found the weapons.
MR. McCLELLAN: And as I pointed out yesterday, if the inspectors
had found even half of what Dr. Kay's team, through the Iraq Survey
Group, has already uncovered, they would have had to have found his
regime in clear violation of 1441. So we're going to let their work
continue. I'm not going to get into prejudging the outcome of their
work; it's ongoing. But we already know that they have reconfirmed --
Q You're doing a beautiful job of filibustering. (Laughter.)
MR. McCLELLAN: Thank you, Helen. We have already reconfirmed that
it was the right decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power.
Q Who said so?
MR. McCLELLAN: The world -- I think a lot of people say so. The
world is a safer and better place --
Q Well, the jury is still out.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- the world is a safer and better place because
Saddam Hussein has been removed from power. America is more secure.
It was the right decision then, and we know that it was the right
decision today.
Q Scott, I'd just like to review a couple past administration
statements with you. I won't bother you with the dates, but I can
provide them for you. Secretary Rumsfeld said that Saddam has amassed
large, clandestine stockpiles of biological weapons; large, clandestine
stockpiles of chemical weapons. President Bush referred to stockpiles
of anthrax we know he has, stockpiles of BX, the biological weapons
which he possesses. And Secretary Powell said, our conservative
estimate is that Iraq today -- this was on February 5th, I'll give you
that date, last year -- has a stockpile of between 100 and 500 tons of
chemical weapons agent, enough to fill 16,000 battlefield rockets. Do
you today stand by the accuracy of those statements?
MR. McCLELLAN: You know, John, I think we addressed this
yesterday, as well. The work of the --
Q Scott, with respect, we never talked about these statements
made by administration officials in the past, in which they
unequivocally say that he had large, clandestine stockpiles of
biological and chemical weapons. So do you stand by the accuracy of
those statements?
MR. McCLELLAN: The intelligence that was presented was something
that was shared by intelligence agencies around the world. It was
certainly information that was shared by the United Nations, as well.
There was a lot of similar conclusions, a lot of the information came
from UNSCOM's report, as well, which talked about what was known about
Saddam Hussein's regime. I would point out to you that the choice was
Saddam Hussein's. He had 12 years to come clean. He had some 17
resolutions to come clean. And even then, he was given one final
opportunity to comply through Secretary Council Resolution 1441. He
chose to continue to defy the international community.
Given his history -- I would remind you that we know that Saddam
Hussein had weapons of mass destruction; we know that he had used
weapons of mass destruction on his neighbors and on his own people; we
know that he failed to comply with the demands of the international
community; we know that he refused to account for the programs and
information that you're talking about. And, yet, he was given one
final opportunity, and he chose to continue to defy the international
community. Given his history and given the events of September 11th,
we were not going to wait on the good intentions of Saddam Hussein.
Q Well, Scott, given those statements that John raises, do you
think it's possible that the next time the United States government --
this President or another President -- accuses a nation of developing
weapons of mass destruction secretly, there will be many people in many
governments around the world who will say, why should we believe you?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I think that if you go back and look at the
intelligence, it was something that was shared by other intelligence
agencies around the world. It was shared by the United Nations. There
was a lot of similar intelligence that everybody had and was made
available publicly, in terms of what was going on in Iraq. Saddam
Hussein --
Q And it turned out to be wrong.
MR. McCLELLAN: Saddam Hussein had the choice to come clean. And,
again, we cannot afford to rely on his good intentions in this
post-September 11th world.
Q But I asked about the future, not the past. And I'm asking
about is there damage, strategically, done to the United States'
credibility on this issue?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I think you want to --
Q And what will the President do about it?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I think you appreciate the importance of
gathering all the facts that you can. That work is ongoing, in terms
of the Iraq Survey Group. At the same time, the CIA has already -- a
long time ago began looking at the intelligence. They took that steps,
themselves. They've talked about it publicly. That effort is
ongoing. But it's important to let the Iraq Survey Group gather all
the facts that they can and to draw as complete a picture as they can.
Then we can go and look at what we knew before the war and compare that
with what was learned since.
But I remind you that that intelligence was shared by many agencies
around the world, and certainly the United States had a lot of similar
views.
Q So there isn't a "boy who cried wolf" problem that the United
States has --
MR. McCLELLAN: Saddam Hussein was a gathering threat, Terry. And
it was important to remove him from power. The world is safer and
better because of the action that we took. I think that's the bottom
line.
Q Scott, the Vice President apparently was, in a recent
interview on NPR, was pointing to these two trailers that were found in
Iraq as conclusive evidence that Iraq did have weapons of mass
destruction, an ongoing weapons of mass destruction program. And this
was as recently, I guess, as last week. David Kay, however, today says
that it is the conclusion of all the experts they were never used for
weapons of mass destruction. Why is he still saying that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I think he talked about what was known before
and then the different views that are held -- I think I saw what Dr.
Kay said about that. But you can direct questions to the Vice
President's office if you need to. But, again, if you go back to the
progress report that was released by the Iraq Survey Group, it showed
that Saddam Hussein's regime was, indeed, in clear violation of
Security Council Resolutions 1441. And Security Council Resolutions
1441 called for serious consequences if he continued his defiance.
David, do you have something?
Q Well, since neither you, nor the President, is willing to
offer an explanation for how it is that the intelligence was so far off
from the reality, then why shouldn't voters this year, in this election
year, question the President's credibility on the basis for which he
took us to war? If the President wants to wait until all the facts are
gathered by the ISG, that's one thing. The voters are voting this year
and they're looking at this issue now. Why shouldn't they judge his
credibility?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, and I would say that -- I say that when we
went to the American people and outlined the case, that it was very
clear that Saddam Hussein was a gathering threat, and that Iraq -- the
regime in Iraq was a unique situation. We're confronting threats in a
number of different ways. One of them I talked about yesterday in
terms of Libya, about the great progress we're making there, how
they're eliminating their weapons --
Q -- was based on weapons that don't exist --
MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on.
Q But we've heard all this. I understand you want to get to
this stuff, but the gathering threat was cited based on weapons that
don't exist. So isn't that a credibility problem?
MR. McCLELLAN: We know that Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of
mass destruction. We know that he had a history of using weapons of
mass destruction. We know that he had the intention, we know that he
had the capability. Dr. Kay has talked about that just recently, in
just the last few days. We know that it was a regime that had sought
to be dominant in the Middle East. The Middle East is a very dangerous
part of the world. And what we are working to achieve in Iraq will
help bring about a more secure and more peaceful Middle East. And I
talked about -- and we're moving forward --
Q Well, it would have been fine if you'd actually said that
before the war, instead of citing the weapons stuff --
MR. McCLELLAN: No, no, wait. And Saddam Hussein was the one who
made the choice. He had every opportunity to come clean and comply
with his international obligations. Saddam Hussein refused. Saddam
Hussein was given a final opportunity. He continued to defy the
international community. He had 12 years and some 17 resolutions. And
in the post-September 11th world that we live in, the President is
going to do everything he can to make sure that we're confronting new
and dangerous threats that we face.
Q Was the President misled? Did the President mislead the
country in any way --
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, David, in terms of the Iraq Survey Group,
that work is ongoing. We want them to finish their work. It's
important that they find the truth. That was what the President told
the Iraq Survey Group to do: find the truth. And so they will gather
all the facts that they can and they will come to -- well, they will
draw as complete a picture as possible. And then we can go back and
compare what was known before with what we've learned since.
Q You keep saying it's important for the Iraq Survey Group to
continue its work. When you were asked about the 9/11 Commission this
morning, you said that it was important for them to stick to the
schedule that was set out for them. In October, David Kay said that
the Iraq Survey Group would complete its work within six to nine
months. Is it important that they stick to that schedule and --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, look, Charles Duelfer is now the head of it.
David Kay was operating independently, had a lot of autonomy to do what
he needed to do. What we wanted to make sure was that he had the
resources he needed, so that he could go and find the truth. But he
has since resigned; there's a new person coming in. Those
determinations will be made based on his judgments of when he can
complete the work. But, obviously, yes, we would like it to be
completed as soon as it possibly can, for the very reasons that I've
stated. It's important that we look back at what we knew before the
war and compare that with what we've learned since.
Q But you're not willing to put any sort of timetable on it --
MR. McCLELLAN: Those aren't our decisions to make. It's the
decisions of the Iraq Survey Group, now headed by Charles Duelfer, to
make. And we hope they move forward as quickly as they can to gather
all the facts and draw as complete a picture as they possibly can.
Q Scott, two questions. One, it was a rare opportunity for a
Foreign Minister to be welcomed by the President in the Oval Office,
Prime Minister of India, last week. He was at a press conference at
the new embassy, praised President Bush from left and right. Could you
tell us what President did to him, or what they talked about and what
was really their discussion, other than what we know now?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think he was here meeting with some other
officials and it was more of a brief meeting with the President. But,
obviously, one of our priorities remains working with India and
Pakistan so that they can continue to engage in a dialogue that will
help reduce tensions in the region.
Q A quick -- two questions --
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, quick. We've got a lot of hands up.
Q This week President completes 1,100 days of his presidency.
Could you give us little rundown of his achievements?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think we kind of went through that at the end of
last year and put out some information on what we've achieved --
Q It can change now --
MR. McCLELLAN: And I think in the interest of keeping this
briefing moving, I will go to the next question.
Keith.
Q I want to hear every achievement.
MR. McCLELLAN: Okay, okay.
Q -- day-by-day? (Laughter.)
Q Run back through the State of the Union, if you would.
(Laughter.)
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Keith.
Q Given what we know now, or the information that we have now
about what's in Iraq, was the war worthwhile?
(Cell phone rings.)
MR. McCLELLAN: Hello? Cell phone violation in the room. Sorry,
that was not me trying to get out of this briefing.
Go back and look at the progress report from the Iraq Survey Group,
when it was headed by Dr. Kay. It made very clear -- and Dr. Kay,
himself, has made very clear over the last few days that Iraq was a
very dangerous place, that it was potentially more dangerous than we
even thought.
Q But that's -- I'm sorry.
MR. McCLELLAN: The situation in Iraq was a gathering threat. And
the decision that the President made was the right decision then. And
what we have learned since only reconfirms that it was the right
decision.
Q So, in essence, what you're saying is that even in 2003, if
we believed that he probably did not have large stockpiles of weapons
-- which is where we are right now -- believed that he probably did not
have large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction --
MR. McCLELLAN: If we believed when?
Q If we believed that in 2003, before the war, you're saying we
would have gone to war anyway because that's what we understand now;
correct?
MR. McCLELLAN: He was a gathering threat, and the President talked
about why he was a gathering threat. And what we have learned since
was that he was in -- continued to be in violation of Security Council
Resolution 1441. That resolution was unanimously passed by the United
Nations Security Council. That resolution called for serious
consequences if Saddam Hussein chose continued defiance. And that's
exactly what Saddam Hussein -- the choice that Saddam Hussein made.
Q Okay, I want to ask about pensions also. The Senate passed a
pension bill -- (laughter) -- I realize it's kind of a shift -- there's
a White House veto threat against that. Does that veto threat still
stand?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that was some -- that senior administration
officials would make a recommendation to that effect. We did put out a
statement of administration policy, and I actually talked about that
very issue last week, and there's no change in that at this point. But
thank you for bringing up a different topic.
Mark, did you have something?
Q Yes, I wanted to ask about tomorrow's trip. Is there
anything in particular that the President wants to say in New Hampshire
about his economic plan and about the prospects of the economy? And
why is it that he wants to say this in New Hampshire?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, it's a message he says all across the
country. And it's important to go out and talk with the American
people around the country. But the economy is one of our top
priorities. The most important responsibility the President has we've
been talking about in this room, and that's protecting the American
people. And this President is acting decisively to make sure we are
making the world a safer place and America more secure. But right up
there with that is the importance of moving forward to make America
more prosperous.
The economy continues to grow. It is growing strongly and it is
moving in the right direction. But the President is not satisfied
because there are people who are still looking for work and cannot find
a job. And so the President is going to urge Congress to act on the
rest of his six-point plan for creating a more robust environment for
job creation.
We've had a number of jobs created over the last few months, but
there is more that we need to do. And one thing that Congress can do
quickly is to move forward on making the tax cuts that were passed
permanent. That's an important step to bringing about a more robust
environment for job creation.
Q Are you telling me that it was just pure coincidence that the
President wants to make this argument in New Hampshire?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he travels across the country, Mark, and he's
going to continue taking his message across the country. This is one
of the highest priorities for the American people. It's a high
priority for people in New Hampshire. It's a high priority for people
on the other side of the coast, as well.
Q Scott, while in Moscow, Secretary Powell reportedly told
Russian President Putin that the possible stationing of U.S. troops in
countries of the former Soviet Union would not pose a threat to
Russia. Has the President personally conveyed this to Putin?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, these are issues I think that we've discussed
previously with Russia. Secretary Powell did just return from a very
good trip there and he had a good meeting with President Putin, and he
talked -- they talked about that very issue. He also put out an op-ed
where he talked about our relations, relationship with Russia. We are
moving forward in a good relationship and cooperating on a number of
important areas. And it's certainly a relationship between President
Bush and President Putin that is built on trust.
There are, obviously, some areas of differences that we have, and
we're discussing those. We continue to discuss those with Russia. And
one of the issues that did come up was to talk about some of the troop
deployments. And that was the discussion that they had.
Q In the last two weeks, Elaine Jones, President of the NAACP
Legal Defense Fund, announced her retirement, after a complaint was
filed against her with the Virginia Bar for her role in interfering
with hearings on judicial nominees to the 6th Circuit, which, in
effect, rigged the outcome of the Michigan affirmative action case.
Will the President direct the Justice Department to investigate the
unethical and possibly illegal conduct that was revealed by memos
leaked by the Senate Judiciary Committee?
MR. McCLELLAN: Jeff, I'm not familiar with all the specifics that
you brought up there, but I'm sure that if there is action that needs
to be taken, the appropriate officials will take that action. But,
again, I'm just --
Q But is the President concerned that these special interest
groups have been able to circumvent his constitutional right and duty
to appoint judges?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I'm not exactly sure on the very specific
there, but, obviously, one important priority for this Congress is to
move forward on the President's judicial nominees. There are some
judicial emergencies that exist, and that's why it's important for
Congress, the Senate, to give an up or down vote to those nominees.
They're highly-qualified individuals.
Q Scott, did the White House receive a readout of the Hutton
report in England? And does the President have any reaction to the
findings, which basically exonerated Prime Minister Tony Blair?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that that was previously a matter for the
British government and for the people of the United Kingdom, and it
remains a matter that's being addressed by the British government and
by the people in the United Kingdom.
Q Do you know if the President will at least contact Prime
Minister Blair --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, they speak on a regular basis. But, again,
this was a matter that was for the British government and the people of
the United Kingdom to address.
Q Scott, anything on the meeting between President Bush and the
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you heard directly from them just a short
time ago. I think they are still probably having lunch at this point.
They were running a little bit behind because their discussion was
going over -- the initial meeting was going beyond the originally
scheduled time. They were having a very good discussion and you heard
directly from them. They gave you the update of the issues that they
had talked about, from Iraq to the war on terrorism, to Cyprus, some of
the issues that occurred in their initial meeting. And we'll try to
get you more information if there is to give out from the lunch.
Q What do you expect from this meeting between the -- with the
Prime Minister of Turkey?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I talked a little bit about this earlier, but
the President was pleased to welcome Prime Minister Erdogan back to the
White House. Turkey is certainly a key ally in helping fight the war
on terrorism. The President talked about it in the Oval Office, about
how we -- both nations know what it means to be attacked by terrorists
who have no regard for innocent human life. And so we're working
together to fight the war on terrorism.
They certainly, I expect, will continue to discuss the greater
Middle East area and the importance of continuing to promote freedom
and democracy and peace in the region. And, certainly, the issue of
Cyprus came out, as well, and moving forward on the Secretary General's
efforts to resolve that matter.
Go ahead, Mark -- I mean, Greg.
Q Back on the 9/11 panel. Has --
MR. McCLELLAN: No mustache. (Laughter.) Radio guys, you know?
(Laughter.)
Q On the 9/11 panel, has it been determined if the President or
the Vice President and/or Dr. Rice will provide testimony to that
commission?
MR. McCLELLAN: One, we already have -- well, one, this White House
is committed to making sure that the commission has all the information
they need to do their job. We have been working to provide
unprecedented cooperation to the commission in their efforts. I would
point out that we have made a number of agency-level heads available to
the commission through briefings and interviews. We've made hundreds
of people available for briefings.
But we will continue to discuss all those issues going forward with
the commission. But it will be to make sure that they have the
information they need to do their job. That's the spirit in which we
will work. We want to make sure they have all the information they
need to do their job, and that would include discussions with other
senior administration officials, as well.
Q It sounds as if you do want them to do the best job
possible. The panel chairman says to do that best job, they need a
little bit more time. Is the White House open to that idea?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well -- and this is an issue that came up a little
bit earlier -- the commission, itself, is the one who said that -- said
just recently, just a matter of weeks ago, that they believed that they
could meet that timetable that was set out in an agreement with the
Congress and the commission; and the White House obviously was involved
in those discussions, as well.
We believe it's important that they move forward as quickly as they
can to complete their work. This is important work that they are
undertaking. And if there is information that we can learn from the
commission's work that will help us prevent future terrorist attacks,
we want to have that information. And so we hope that they will move
forward as quickly as they possibly can. I would point out that we
have worked to provide them information in a very timely manner so that
they could meet that timetable.
Q They want more time. What's wrong with that?
MR. McCLELLAN: We understood -- we understood that there was a
timetable that was agreed to and so we have been working in a way to
help them move forward as quickly as they possibly can. And that's
what we will continue to do. But obviously, any such discussions would
have to involve Congress, as well. This was all agreed to with
Congress and the White House involved in those discussions. But it was
previously agreed to, and we're hopeful that they can continue to move
forward as quickly as they can.
Q One more question on Iraq.
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me go right here, then I'll come back.
Q Thank you. On Cyprus, how important is this for the
President that a solution will be achieved before the May 1st deadline,
at which point the Cypriot accession to the E.U. will take effect? And
after today's meeting, should we expect the President to increase the
administration's engagement in the issue?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you heard the President talk about -- or the
two leaders talk about it in the Oval Office. And again, these
discussions are ongoing over lunch. But they will continue to discuss
a range of issues. But the United States is committed to helping in
the efforts to find a solution on the issue of Cyprus.
Last -- I guess it was last Saturday in Davos, the Prime Minister
demonstrated a strong willingness to advance a Cyprus agreement on the
basis of the Secretary General's fair and balanced plan. And we urge
our Greek Cypriot friends to agree to finalize a settlement and allow
the Secretary General to resolve outstanding issues, if necessary, and
submit a
settlement to referenda by a date certain. Because we believe such
a settlement will bring greater stability and prosperity to all people
on Cyprus and in Turkey as they move toward deeper integration into
Europe. So that's our view.
John, do you have something on Iraq?
Q I did. Just an update for me, if you could. What's the
White House's position on those aluminum tubes that Iraq was caught
with?
MR. McCLELLAN: John, again, we're now trying to get into issues
that are continuing to be --
Q No, I'm just wondering if you still believe that they were
destined for uranium-enrichment centrifuge work.
MR. McCLELLAN: John, again, a lot of this -- the Iraq Survey --
the Iraq Survey --
Q A simple yes or no --
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me finish. Let me finish. Again, you're
asking me to get into discussions of what the Iraq Survey Group is
looking into, all these matters. There was an interim progress report
that was put out that talked about what we have learned so far. It was
a public document, but it made very clear -- I mean, you want to go, I
know, line by line on --
Q No, I don't. I just want to -- you said that --
MR. McCLELLAN: No, you want to go line by line on prewar
intelligence. And I'm saying that --
Q The administration says --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- let's let the Iraq Survey Group complete its
work. Then we can compare what we knew before the war with what we
have learned since the war.
Q It's a simple question. You said prior to the war that those
aluminum tubes were destined for centrifuge work --
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, and I think Dr. Kay has since talked about --
Q -- and I'm wondering if you still believe it.
MR. McCLELLAN: Dr. Kay -- Dr. Kay, in his interim report, has
talked about the efforts toward a nuclear program in Iraq. He's
already addressed it. So he's already addressed that matter.
Q I'm wondering, do you still believe what you said before the
war.
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I know what you're trying to do. But I think
I've addressed the matter.
Q Thank you.
MR. McCLELLAN: Thank you. Thanks.
END 1:20 P.M. EST
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