For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 8, 2005
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
12:56 P.M. EST
MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everybody. I'd like to begin with
an announcement on the President's schedule. The President will welcome King Abdullah of Jordan to the White House on March 15th. The
President looks forward to discussing bilateral and regional issues
with the King, including Jordan's economic development, the broader
Middle East initiative, the global campaign against terrorism, the
situation in Iraq, the situation in Lebanon and the search for peace in
the Middle East.
The President this afternoon looks forward to welcoming Presidents Clinton and Bush back to the White House, and receiving an update on
their trip to the Indian Ocean region, where they toured some of the
areas that were devastated by the tsunami that hit the area. The
United States is committed to a long-term effort to help the people of
the region rebuild their lives and their communities. And the
President looks forward to this opportunity to also personally thanking
these two leaders for taking on the effort to encourage an outpouring
of support from the American people to support non-governmental
organizations in the region who are helping those people who are in
need.
To date, my understanding is that the estimate is that private
sector contributions from the United States is around $1 billion. So
we certainly appreciate the efforts of these two leaders to help with
those efforts that show the compassion and generosity of the American
people.
And with that, I am glad to go to your questions.
Q Scott, how does the President square his calls again today
for Syria to get out of Lebanon, with the enormous outpouring of support for Syria on the streets of Lebanon today and calls for the international community to stay out of the internal affairs of Lebanon?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, we are glad to see people
peacefully express their views in the town square, as they have done
for days now. We hope the Lebanese people will be able to express
their view at the ballot box, through free elections, without outside
interference and outside intimidation.
Syria's continued presence in Lebanon undermines the aspirations of
the Lebanese people to live in freedom. I also noticed today that the
flag that was being waved was the Lebanese flag.
Q Right, but it's another side of the story, it would seem,
that there is one segment of the Lebanese population who wants Syria to
get out, another segment of the population that wants them to stay in;
and that the call is for people like the President, for Germany,
France, Saudi Arabia to stay out of the process, that it's not their
place to be involved in.
MR. McCLELLAN: We want the Lebanese people to be able to determine
their own future without any outside interference or outside
influence. Syria is a destabilizing force in the region right now
because of their actions and their continued support for terrorism and
their continued presence in Lebanon. We have seen in the past few
weeks large numbers of Lebanese people going out into the town square
in Beirut and talking about -- or speaking out in support of freedom.
That came on the heels of the assassination of former Prime Minister
Hariri. And we continue, as the President did earlier today, to join
the international community, calling on Syria to comply with Security
Council Resolution 1559. It was very clear. It said, the complete and
immediate withdrawal of all Syrian forces -- that means military forces
and intelligence service personnel.
And our objective is to make sure that the upcoming parliamentary
elections in May are free and fair and credible. For those elections
to be free and fair and credible, Syria needs to get out.
Q Now, are you absolutely confident that if Syria were to
withdraw from Lebanon under the timetable you are suggesting, that
Lebanon would be stable enough, security-wise, to be able to conduct
these elections without any assistance from the international
community?
MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, that's something the President has
addressed with other leaders. It's the importance of the international
community supporting the Lebanese people as they move forward. And
when you're talking about some of these forces withdrawing --
Q So could that not be seen as outside interference of a
different sort, depending on what your point of view is?
MR. McCLELLAN: We want to make sure that the international
community supports the Lebanese people as they move forward to have
more control over their own future. And, obviously, those are issues
you have to look at.
Q Scott, are you saying that if the people we saw today
marching in the streets of Beirut saying that they want -- the
pro-Syrian demonstrators, saying that they, perhaps, would like them to
--
MR. McCLELLAN: They were waving the Lebanese flag, I might point
out.
Q The question is, if those people determine their future,
and that determination is that they want to remain connected to Syria
and they want to reject what the President is saying, you'll be okay
with that?
MR. McCLELLAN: They'll be able to express their views at the
ballot box, we hope, come May, when they have the parliamentary
elections. We look forward to those parliamentary elections taking
place without Syria, or anyone, interfering or trying to influence
those elections. We want the will of the Lebanese people to be
respected. That's what we've made very clear over the previous few
weeks.
Q So when the President said today -- his message to the
Lebanese people was, the American people are on your side, he was also
talking to the tens of thousands of people out marching against the
President today?
MR. McCLELLAN: The international community is on the side of the
Lebanese people in their aspirations to realize greater freedom.
Absolutely, we stand with the Lebanese people.
Q Scott, today's speech had a little bit of a feel of a
victory lap for the President. Does he believe that this
administration's policies have ushered in this new wave of freedom in
the Middle East? Or does he think there are other factors?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, freedom and democracy advancing in the
broader Middle East region is a victory for the people in the region.
It's the people who deserve the credit for stepping forward to realize
greater freedom. Freedom is on the march in the region. The President
talked about that. We're seeing remarkable developments take place in
the region. And it's because of the people in the region, because all
people aspire to live in freedom. That's a belief the President holds
very strongly, and it's a belief that we're seeing proven true because
of the people in the region who are stepping forward to insist on
democracy and freedom, to insist on more control over their own
future.
Q I'm sorry, then why did we have to go to war in Iraq, then,
if they were going to take care of this themselves?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we can go back through all those --
Q You sound like you're being a little overly humble here.
Is that really what the President believes? Does he believe that this
was all, sort of, people power that would have been unleashed at one
point or another, or does he believe that war in Iraq was the catalyst
here?
MR. McCLELLAN: The Iraqi people are serving as an example for the
rest of the Middle East. The people of Afghanistan --
Q But that's not the question, Scott. I understand that's
your view, but my question is, what's the catalyst?
MR. McCLELLAN: You're not letting me come to the response. I'm
trying to get there.
The Iraqi people are serving as an example to the rest of the
Middle East through their courage and determination to defy the
terrorists and defy the regime elements who want to turn back to the
past. The people of Afghanistan are serving as an example. The
Palestinian leaders who are stepping forward to help the Palestinian
people realize their aspirations deserve credit for the events that are
taking place in the Middle East.
But the fact that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power has been
helpful to advancing democracy and freedom in the region. He was
someone who brought instability to the region. And it's the Iraqi
people who have stepped forward to say, we fully support freedom and
democracy and that we do not want to turn back to the past, that we are
not going to let the terrorists determine our future. For too long, we
excused and tolerated and accommodated the governments in the region
because we thought it would lead to stability. And when I say "we,"
we're talking about -- I'm talking about the international community.
Instead, it led to instability and it led to tragedy. We saw the
tragedy that it led to here on our own shores on September 11th.
Q In that speech this morning, also, Scott, the President
once again said that Iran is trying to shape Iraq's constitution, that Iran is trying to influence the shaping of Iraq's constitution. What specifically is he talking about? Is he talking about financial support for certain politicians or parties, secret agents on the
ground? Can you point to something specific?
MR. McCLELLAN: These are conversations the President has had with
leaders in the region and that we've had with leaders of the interim
government. I think the interim government has spoken to this issue
and talked about how Iran is trying to influence the formation of their
national assembly. And Iran has made commitments not to do that.
They've made a commitment to play a constructive role in Iraq's
development on its path to democracy. We want to see Iran live up to
that commitment. Iran needs to stop interfering in internal political
matters going on in Iraq. We want the Iraqi people to determine their
future. The Iraqi people voted for their national assembly, and it's
those leaders who should determine the formation of the leadership of
that national assembly, the transitional national assembly.
Q The President also said that the Europeans are involved in
these negotiations with Iran over Iran's nuclear weapons. Has he now
fully endorsed the European desire to offer these economic carrots to
Iran -- WTO membership and others?
MR. McCLELLAN: We are continuing to discuss our common strategy
with our European friends. The President's recent trip showed that all
of us have a common purpose, which is to make sure that Iran does not
acquire nuclear weapons. It's important that we work together to
develop a common strategy to meet that shared goal, and we're having
discussions with our European friends. They are the ones who are
leading the diplomatic effort in discussions with Iran. We support
those efforts, we want to see those efforts succeed. They have had
some ideas that they have been talking about. The President listened
to those ideas when he met with leaders from the European -- from those
European countries during his European trip.
And I think it's also important to point out, when you're talking
about a common strategy -- because that's important to making sure you
get to your shared objective -- that if Iran continues its
noncompliance, then you have to look at what steps you will take if
that happens. And I noticed that Henry Kissinger had an interesting
op-ed today in The Washington Post, and it talked about some of the
questions that need to be answered as you move forward together to
develop a common strategy, and, you know, it reflected some of our
views, I think.
Q Then just one more on the region, on Egypt. Human Rights
Watch put out a report last week that after the bombing of the Taba
Hilton, Egypt rounded up about two thousand suspects, most of whom are
still being held incommunicado. Is the United States aware of this?
Is the President, his emphasizing democracy and human rights in the
region, is he going to stand by and allow for this to happen?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I know we've expressed our views when it
comes to Mr. Nour and the fact that we believe he should be released.
And when you're talking about opposition leaders, in terms of this
specific incident, I'd have to look back at it -- State Department may
have previously commented on it, but I'll be glad to take a look at
it.
Q Just to be clear on Syria -- why are you giving Syria until May to pull out? I thought you wanted them out immediately?
MR. McCLELLAN: We're saying complete and immediate withdrawal. I
think that's what --
Q The President gave them a deadline of May, today.
MR. McCLELLAN: Chancellor Schr der and President Chirac yesterday
issued a joint statement saying the complete and immediate withdrawal.
That's what the United Nations Security Council Resolution calls for;
that's what we want to see. Obviously, you can't have free and fair
elections, in the President's view, if Syria continues to have a
military and security service presence inside Lebanon. And those
elections are coming up very soon here, and that's why it's important
that they leave Lebanon now. And that remains our view. They
certainly need to be out of there before those elections take place, in
order for the elections to be free, fair and credible.
Q So we shouldn't read anything into your change from --
MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on, I'll come to you. Dick.
Q Scott, what options are on the table if Syria does not
completely withdraw? What kind of pressure can you bring to bear on
them to compel them to do this, if they choose not to?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, those are discussions we have with the
international community. The President had a good phone conversation
with President Chirac yesterday. We're working very closely with the
French on this issue. We have been all along. We're working with our
other partners, as well. This is an issue the President discussed at
length on his trip with many leaders, and so those are issues that
you'll talk about with other leaders, about -- if Syria does not live
up to the demands of the international community.
Right now we've seen some half-measures taken by the Syrian
government. We want to see the complete and immediate withdrawal of
all its military forces and intelligence services. And if they don't
follow through on their international obligations, then, obviously, you
have to look at what the next steps are. But the Lebanese people I
think are saying they want to be able to determine their own future.
They're out there expressing their views.
Q How do you go about dismantling the Hezbollah, given how
much popular support they have? And, also, how much help would the
U.S. give the Syrian people and the Iranian people if they try to
change their governments?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, our views in terms of Hezbollah are very well
known. And in terms of Iran and Syria's continued support for
terrorism, the President spoke about that earlier today: they need to
end their support for terrorism. That's one of our concerns with those
two countries. They need to change their behavior and get on the path
that the rest of the Middle East is moving on, toward democratic
process -- toward democratic progress.
Q But is the President telling the people of Syria and Iran
he will help them, the United States will help them if they change
their governments?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there are serious -- there are serious
concerns we have about Syria and Iran. The President expressed those
views earlier today, and those are what his views are. And we are
continuing to work with the international community to get both nations
to change their behavior and address the concern of the international
community.
Q China has passed a law, sort of cocked the trigger on the gun pointed at Taiwan. If Taiwan declares its freedom, then China will invade. What's the reaction to that?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'll react -- you're talking about the draft
anti-secession law that was outlined today. We view it as unhelpful
and something that runs counter to recent trends toward a warming in
cross-strait relations. We would call on Beijing to reconsider passage
of the law. The draft law that was presented allows for punitive
measures directed at Taiwan. We oppose any attempts to determine the
future of Taiwan by anything other than peaceful means, and our views
are very well known, in terms of our continued commitment to a one
China policy that upholds the three communiqu s and does not support
Taiwan independence. We oppose any attempts to unilaterally change the
status quo, and that is our view.
Q On the distinction that the President made today about the
Lebanese elections in May, is there no change in the President's
position in terms of immediate and complete withdrawal? Or does May,
in fact, provide an additional amount of time? And is the
administration convinced that in two months these can be free and fair
elections based upon the massive population of Syrian intelligence
personnel?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, in fact, this is something the President has
said before. We remain committed to -- like the rest of the
international community -- to seeing Syrian forces completely and
immediately withdraw from Lebanon. The elections are just around the
corner, in a couple of months' time. And we want to make sure those
parliamentary elections are free and fair and credible. And Syria's
presence in the country only undermines the ability of those elections
to be free and fair.
Q Is the administration then confident that if Syria does, in
fact, get out immediately, as you'd like, that those elections can be
free and fair? Or will they require additional observers and some
measure --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we believe that there ought to be
international monitors to observe the election, and to ensure that
those elections are free and fair and credible. We've previously
expressed that.
Q Scott, would people in Taiwan who are for independence be
fair in regarding President Bush's policies on freedom as hypocritical,
because he doesn't support Taiwan's independence?
MR. McCLELLAN: We've always been supportive of what I spelled out,
and that's -- that the Taiwan Relations Act -- that's any effort to
determine the future of Taiwan by anything other than peaceful means.
We believe that there ought to be cross-strait dialogue. There has
been some helpful dialogue in recent times. That's why I pointed out
that what was drafted -- this law that was drafted and presented runs
counter to that. We continue to encourage cross-strait dialogue, but
we've been supportive of the people in the region and we'll continue to
be.
Q The President's tax cut proposals appear to have gotten a haircut in the Senate Budget Committee today. The Republicans announcing a $70 billion plan, as opposed to what the White House asked for, $100 billion over the next five years. Is that a concern for the President?
MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't seen the action -- you're talking,
they've acted in the Senate Budget Committee today?
Q I believe that Senator Kyl announced a plan.
MR. McCLELLAN: I've heard about some preliminary discussions. I
think that's what they are at this point, preliminary discussions in
the budget process. We're going to continue to work closely with
members of Congress on getting a budget resolution that meets the top
line that the President outlined that makes sure -- it makes sure that
we fund our priorities as well as holding the line on spending
elsewhere in the budget. But I think that those are preliminary
discussions you've been referring to, and this process still has a
little ways to go.
Q Employees of the Office of Special Counsel have filed a
complaint against Scott Block, the Director of the OSC. President Bush
has been cc'd on the complaint, and a letter has come to him about it.
What is he going to do about this? And does he believe that the OSC is
able to operate, do its work, in this environment?
MR. McCLELLAN: Haven't seen the complaint, and I'll be glad to
take a look at it.
Q One more on Taiwan. When you were calling on the Chinese to be restrained on their actions, would you also state clearly that you do or do not support Taiwan to declare independence, though?
MR. McCLELLAN: That's why I said that we -- what we support is no
unilateral change in the status quo. That's what our view is, and that
remains our view.
Q On Russia. The Russians have just announced they have
killed the secessionist leader, Aslan Maskhadov. First, do you have
any independent confirmation of that?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, the last I heard before I came out here, I'd
seen the reports, but I did not have any confirmation on those reports
at this point. Our views, in terms of the situation, is that we
believe it should be resolved through a political process, and that
remains our view.
Q How can it be resolved in a political process if the leader
of the secessionists have now been killed -- has now been killed? And
a number --
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I've seen the reports. I don't have
confirmation on that. But we've consistently said that when it comes
to Chechnya, that it needs to be -- in this situation with Russia, that
it needs to be resolved through a political process.
Q I don't -- I don't see the logic there. Why is it
different from capturing and killing terrorists in other countries?
Why is it different from capturing Saddam Hussein in --
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I mean, you're talking about a specific
report. I've not confirmed that report. I would want to find out more
about the information on this particular report.
Q I'm asking --
MR. McCLELLAN: Obviously, our views on terrorists are very well
known.
Q I'm asking about your --
MR. McCLELLAN: We work very closely with Russia in the global war
on terrorism.
Q I'm asking about your general approach to the situation.
Suppose the report comes true -- suppose the report does not turn out
to be true, why do you insist that in this particular instance, the
political approach is what should work, whereas in other situations
involving Americans themselves, you do not have much regard for
political processes, as far as I can see, in Iraq, or maybe some other
places?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, again, I don't -- I'm not going
to suppose anything. I do not have official confirmation on the
reports that I have seen, and I would want to have that first. But we
have a longstanding position when it comes to the situation in
Chechnya. And our view has not changed. Our view remains that it
ought -- there ought to be a political resolution to the situation.
Q I just want to come back to something that you said in
describing the paradigm shift towards governments in the Middle East that the President talked about this morning. You seem to suggest that U.S. policy may have at least been partly responsible for the September 11th attacks, and I just want to make sure I heard that right.
MR. McCLELLAN: What I said -- well, the terrorists are responsible
for the September 11th attacks. You did not --
Q You said the U.S. policy of supporting these totalitarian
regimes gave rise to terrorism, which we saw manifested in the
September 11th attacks.
MR. McCLELLAN: The Middle East became a breeding ground for
terrorism. I think that that's clear to all people now. The President
talked about it in his remarks. It should be clear to everyone that
excusing and accommodating tyranny -- or excusing and accommodating --
I should say, excusing and accommodating what was going on in the
Middle East where democracy and freedom were not advancing.
Q Right, but you seem to make the connection that policy --
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm trying to finish a response.
Q -- may have had something to do with it.
MR. McCLELLAN: No, the terrorists are the ones who are responsible
for the attacks on September 11th. They're the ones who are being held
accountable for the attacks on the American people. But we saw over
the course of time, the President talked about this in his remarks --
or early in his remarks; I would go back and refer you to what he said
at the beginning of his remarks -- that this was something that was
building for some time, that terrorists, through hopelessness and
despair and tyranny, found a breeding ground in the Middle East. And
it led to people hijacking airplanes and flying them into buildings and
killing innocent Americans.
So the policy of excusing and accommodating that, the governments
in the region, as the President talked about in his remarks, was
designed to bring stability to the region and to the world. And,
instead, we've seen that it led to instability and it led to tragedy.
And that's why the President believes that the advance of democracy and
freedom is so important, because democracy and freedom leads to peace.
When people -- when people are free, they respect the people in their
own country and they respect their neighbors. So that's what the
President was talking about.
Q So is it more the idea, then, that U.S. -- previous U.S.
policy turned a blind eye to this?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think we've talked about it before and we
said the fact that we ignored what was going on in the Middle East led
it to become a breeding ground for terrorism and outlaw regimes like
the one in Iraq. And that's why it's important that we act to advance
freedom and democracy in the world because freedom leads to peace.
Q Thank you.
MR. McCLELLAN: Thank you.
END
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