1:00 P.M. EST
Real Audio of Briefing 
MR. DENIG: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Washington Foreign Press Center. Welcome also to journalists at our New York Foreign Press Center.
I’m pleased to see you in such large numbers, and even more pleased to be able to welcome back to our podium, Sean McCormack, the spokesperson for the National Security Council. He will give us update briefing on United States foreign policy. He'll have a very brief opening statement, and then we'll be very glad to go to questions.
Sean.
MR. MCCORMACK: Thank you, Paul. I just wanted to start off by filling you in on a phone call the President had this morning. President Bush, this morning, spoke with President Karimov of Uzbekistan. President Bush expressed his condolences to the people of Uzbekistan for this week's wave of terrorist attacks. Both leaders reiterated their commitment to continuing cooperation on counterterrorism including through coalition use of the air base at Qarshi Khanabad in Uzbekistan for operations in Afghanistan. President Bush stressed the importance of focusing Uzbekistan's law enforcement response on terrorists rather than civil society, and we in the United States believe that democratic and market economic reforms are crucial to long-term stability in Uzbekistan.
So with that, I'd be happy to take your questions.
We'll start over here.
QUESTION: My name is Said Arikat from Al Quds daily newspaper.
Mr. McCormack, could you give us an update on the development or the latest on the American team that visited with Palestinians and Israelis, Mr. Hadley, Mr. Abrams and Mr. Burns? And I have a follow-up to that.
MR. MCCORMACK: Okay, great. Mr. Hadley, Mr. Burns and Mr. Abrams just returned last night from a trip to Europe and the region. They talked with leaders in the region about Prime Minister Sharon's proposals for withdrawal, and they talked with Quartet members, members of NATO and leaders in the region about how we can use those proposals and possible implementation of those proposals as a way to progress towards the President's vision of two states living side by side in peace and security, as he outlined in his June 24th speech.
So this is part of the ongoing dialogue and ongoing discussions on this matter that has been, up until this trip, focused on discussions with the Israeli Government, talking about a lot of the different questions associated with this proposal. And now with this trip, we've expanded it out and started talking to other leaders in the region, as well as our Quartet partners.
I expect that the President will also speak with President Mubarak of Egypt at his ranch in Crawford about this, and as well as other matter. Prime Minister Sharon, as you know, is going to also be visiting the U.S., and so is King Abdullah. So this is part of our pattern of dialogue on this issue.
QUESTION: And my follow-up, sir.
Rumor has it that the United States has all but adopted the Sharon plan for separation, and in fact, there is, you know, some time in the late spring, there may be an announcement by the Administration saying that the right of return as stated in Resolution 194 is null and void, and if the Palestinians wish to return, they will return to the Palestinian territories. Could you enlighten us on that?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, let's focus on where we are right now, and that is we are in the process, you know, a process of dialogue and discussion on the Prime Minister's proposals. He has not formally put those to his cabinet or to the Israeli people, or to his party. This has been a period of discussion and dialogue.
Now our view of his proposals and -- are that they are promising, and we believe the discussions we have been having have been very useful to examine the details of his proposals and any possible ramifications of these proposals. And that's part of the reason for the dialogue with the other leaders in the region as well.
And we believe that these proposals have the potential to be historic. But we are now still at a point of discussion and dialogue. So I would urge you not to -- let's not get ahead of ourselves. I think I've described where we are right now in this process, and let's let the process and discussions unfold.
Okay, Charlie.
QUESTION: Yes. Charlie Cobb with allAfrica.com.
Really, a two-part question: First, does the Administration now consider that the Sudan has abandoned sponsoring terrorists organizations?
And secondly, for most of this year, certainly in the Pentagon, we've been hearing mounting concern about Africa's vulnerability to penetration, if you will, by terrorists organizations. General Jones, as far back as last May, said the continent would be of significant interest in the 21st century. And just last month, UCOM troops were helping Chad track down Algerian terrorists.
Has there been a shift in the thinking of the National Security Council and the Administration, with regard to Africa's strategic importance, insofar as combatting terrorism is concerned?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I'll start with the second part of your question first. We have always considered Africa an important front in fighting the war on terrorism. And as a matter of fact, we have been working very closely with a number of African countries individually, as well as a number of African countries as a regional grouping in fighting terrorism.
So our commitment to working with African countries -- and frankly, the receptivity of African countries to working with United States, as well as other countries, to fight terrorism has really been extraordinary on both sides.
I'd point to two initiatives that we have underway with African countries in two different regions: The first one is the East Africa Counterterrorism Initiative, and this is an initiative that focuses on bolstering the capacity of African countries to police their borders, monitor movements, which in turn helps them to prevent the sort of penetration of terrorist groups and individual terrorists into their countries.
Now this is, you know, certainly not a cure all that requires vigilance and we're going to continue working with those countries on that initiative. And another initiative that we have underway is the Pan-Sahel initiative. And it's again the same kind of focus where you want to help the countries fight terrorists and terrorism themselves.
So these are just two examples of the kinds of things that we have been doing. So I would say, the war on terrorism, it has many different fronts. It has to be fought on a global scale and Africa is an important part of that.
Now in terms of the Sudan, I don't have any update for you in terms of the State Department's terrorist list. And that would be an announcement that the State Department would have to make, [indicating] any sort of change in status there. But I would point out that there are ongoing peace discussions there, and that we would urge Vice President Taha and SPLM Chairman Garang to find the compromises necessary to conclude a framework agreement for Sudan, and that we believe that this agreement must be reached within days.
Andrei. Then we'll move to the back.
QUESTION: Thank you. My name is Andrei Sitov. I'm with the Russian News Agency, ITAR-TASS.
I wanted to ask you about the news of the day, I guess, which is unfolding, the tightening of the visa regime. What was the role of the White House in that decision?
And I also have another one, which was before the visa.
MR. MCCORMACK: Okay. Well, it's a great setup because I have personally arranged for you a briefer later this afternoon to talk exactly about this issue, who is an expert, and I'm going to defer all questions on that matter to that briefer.
QUESTION: Okay. And certainly, I wanted to ask you about this recent spate of stories about Senator Kerry and his support from foreign leaders. I know the answer to that from the White House, and the answer, of course, is that it's a decision to -- for the American voters, which is self-evident.
But it also sounds like the White House does really care about what the international community thinks because it will be an election that will have global ramifications obviously, and especially in light of the recent polling, especially the Pew Poll, for instance, where we saw a lot of anti-American feelings are still present around the world.
What is the attitude of other countries and other leaders that the White House would find the correct one in the run up to the presidential election in this country?
Thank you.
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, Andrei, I'm going to defer any political questions for people who deal with politics. I'm here to talk about foreign policy, and to talk about the substance of our foreign policy. So I'm going to have to refer you over to those who talk about politics.
Okay. Right here in the middle.
QUESTION: My name is Zaher Imadi from the Syrian TV and Radio.
The dollar value has gone down 20 percent. The OPEC is planning to cut down the production. And I'm wondering what the United States does see in the decision of OPEC to do what their -- to cut down the production? Now how it is going to affect the United States? And what is the United States' efforts are at this moment, in order to deflect that kind of decision by OPEC?
And I have another question too.
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I guess, rather than talking about what the United States has to say about the OPEC decision, I'd actually probably just refer you to comments from some of the representatives of the [OPEC] member countries regarding the production because Prince Bandar, just yesterday, at the White House talked about -- and this is a quote from him -- "We will not allow any shortage on the world market. Oil prices should be between 22 and 28 dollars a barrel. My government's target is $25." And he added that, "We will monitor the market closely in the coming days."
So we've been -- and that's just one quote and one example -- we've been in close touch with many OPEC members regarding this issue. Our views with regard to the OPEC and the price of oil on world markets are well known. I'm not going to repeat them here. But I would just refer you back to the words of the representatives from the OPEC members themselves.
QUESTION: I have another question, please. Senator Lugar, Richard Lugar initiative, seems to be very thoughtful and very comprehensive initiative by a moderate Republican leader. What does that initiative -- what kind of chances does it have to be received by the White House in a serious way? Or how the White House would take it, you know?
MR. MCCORMACK: Right, right. No, I understand. No, you're absolutely right. Senator Lugar is a very thoughtful person on all matters, and especially on foreign policy, and we'll talk to him about his ideas. It's very important.
But what's most important here is what Arab leaders [say] and what we hear from the region itself in terms of democracy, in terms of reforms, in terms of spreading prosperity to people throughout that region. We are in the position of responding to the voices in the region, talking about these very ideas. So, again, the United States, Europe and the rest of the world would be in the position not of forcing reforms, not of imposing anything, but actually responding to what we are seeing in terms of the changes and the dialogue in that region.
Let's keep it moving. Let's move over here.
QUESTION: Khaled Dawoud from Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper.
Also to follow up on this reform initiative raised by my colleague, there were reports, actually, and even an editorial in The New York Times today suggesting that the Administration, instead of adopting the Greater Middle East Initiative might adopt the Alexandria initiative, which was declared by a number of Arab intellectuals last month in Egypt. So I just want an update, if possible, what's happening with the Greater Middle East Initiative alterations.
MR. MCCORMACK: Right.
QUESTION: And also, I have another question on Iraq, if you don't mind.
MR. MCCORMACK: Right. In terms of the so-called Greater Middle East Initiative, again, I would just reiterate that we are going to be in a position of responding to these ideas and the reforms from the region. You mentioned one, which I think is very, very interesting.
It's crucial to note that these ideas and the energy and motivation and the ferment surrounding the ideas of spreading democracy and expanding prosperity throughout the region are coming from the region itself, and we think that is very hopeful and very important. And what we want to do is be in a position to respond to those initiatives and to do what we can to encourage those initiatives, those things that are coming out of the region itself.
You had another question about Iraq?
MR. MCCORMACK: You'll give up the Greater Middle East Initiative? Is it going to be altered? Is it going to have a different name? What are you going to propose to the G-8, NATO, European Union?
MR. MCCORMACK: Again, in terms of the G-8 and NATO, stay tuned on that. But I'd just make the point that what's important is what's coming out of the region.
QUESTION: Okay. My second question on Iraq. We've heard reports today about preparations for possible in intervention in Fallujah for the revenge of the horrific attacks that took place there yesterday. So, I mean, aren't you worried that this might actually increase the tension in the so-called Sunni Triangle with the Iraq?
Thank you.
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, in terms of a response for the incident that you talk about, I'm going to leave that to the people at CPA as well as CENTCOM to talk about, I think. They have spoken about the need to find those responsible for perpetrating this act and the importance of their facing justice for what they have done.
It was a terrible, terrible, horrific act of terrorism that a few people committed, and it was a sad day, I would say, mostly for the people of Iraq. And I think what's interesting about the act itself and some of the response you saw actually in Fallujah that we all saw on the TV, is that the Iraqi people themselves are disavowing this act as an act that is not consistent with the tenets of Islam.
And if you'll allow me, I have an e-mail here from an Iraqi who is working with coalition authorities, and I think it gets to the point that I'm making. He talks about how he feels ashamed for what happened in Fallujah two days ago and that it is not only him who feels like this but many Iraqi citizens who share the same sorrow and rage at what happened.
So what the people who perpetrated this attack are trying to do is to try to take away the new hopes that many Iraqis, that the vast majority of Iraqis, actually support and encourage in Iraq. You have to remember that the vast majority of Iraq is moving forward. They have moved beyond the point where these few people who commit acts like this are. They want to take Iraq back. The vast majority of Iraqis want to move forward and want to move on to a better life.
QUESTION: Reha Atasagan with the Turkish Public Television.
President Bush will be going to Istanbul for the NATO summit in June, and before that he is going to Ankara for a very brief visit. What are your expectations from that, with it, because a few days later you will be transferring power in Iraq, and can you give us some --
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I expect that President Bush and Prime Minister Erdogan will talk about Iraq, they'll talk about U.S.-European relations, they will talk about U.S.-Turkish relations, which are very strong. Turkey has no closer friend than the United States, and we have a long history of close cooperation. The President looks very much forward to visiting Turkey, visiting Ankara, and also looks forward to participating in the NATO summit in Istanbul.
Okay, why don't we move here. Right in the middle here.
QUESTION: Daphne Fan from Taiwan TV.
We know that Taiwan does just conducted our presidential election. White House also issue a statement. But it seems to us like it's kind of a little bit unusual. This statement is not issued by President Bush, just like four years ago. Can you elaborate more U.S. policy implications about the statement, especially after the election situation across the straits is kind of tense?
MR. MCCORMACK: I guess I wouldn't read any greater policy implications into what we said. We congratulated Mr. Chen for the election victory. We also noted that our confidence in the Taiwan people and Taiwan's democracy to resolve any questions that had surrounded that election. But, again, I wouldn't read any greater policy implications into the statement.
Let's keep things moving here, okay? Let's go in the back. The lady with the glasses.
QUESTION: Thank you. Beth Gorham from the Canadian Press.
Sean, there are reports that Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin is coming down this month to meet with the President. Can you give us a date and some idea of the issues that they're going to be focusing on?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, in terms of any sort of visit announcements, we usually don't comment on those until we actually put out a statement, and that would be coordinated between both capitals.
I will say the President looks forward to seeing Prime Minister Martin at the earliest possible date, and there are a variety of issues we have to discuss between the U.S. and Canada. We're neighbors and there are always a variety of issues for us to discuss.
QUESTION: Can you tell us, though, if there is something being worked on?
MR. MCCORMACK: Again, we'll let you know if there's a visit to announce.
Okay, let's go way in the back.
QUESTION: Raimund Loew with Austrian Television.
NATO and Iraq. According to what the White House wants, would there be a NATO intervention in Iraq before the 30th of June, or is this a long-term perspective? Would you, as White House, as the United States, would you want NATO to discuss that and to do something in Iraq before that date? And what would be the scope of such -- could be the scope of such an intervention?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, Secretary Powell talked about this in Brussels, I believe, just today. He had a meeting with all of our old NATO colleagues, as well as seven new NATO members, and that's an important moment.
And I think that this will be part of an ongoing discussion that we have with NATO about NATO's role in the 21st century, and really a process of transformation that was begun at the Prague summit. And NATO is involved in Afghanistan. NATO countries are involved in Iraq.
And so I think that, again, there are no specific proposals right now on the table, but I think it's going to be an item that's discussed in the future.
Okay, let's go over here.
QUESTION: Going back to the Middle East Initiative, now you mentioned -- Emad El Hody from Al Hurrah TV.
President Bush is going to receive three Middle East leaders this month and the three of them do not necessarily have the same priorities. What would be the American Administration priorities? And given the fact that the initiative has got a lot of bad press in the Arab world, would this affect the policy of the United States?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, of course, there are a number of common items on the agenda, I think, among all those three leaders that are going to be coming to visit with President Bush, and certainly talking about the situation in the Middle East is something that is an issue of common concern among all of those leaders and that President Bush shared with those leaders.
We'll also talk about bilateral issues with each of the leaders of those countries. We have important relationships and issues that we will deal with on a bilateral basis with those leaders.
In terms of the Greater Middle East Initiative, again, I would just refer back to what I said previously about this question. We are responding to voices coming out of the region and proposals and ideas coming out of the region. We want to be in a position to respond to and support those voices for change.
All right, let's go up here in front.
QUESTION: Hoda Tawfik, Al-Ahram newspaper.
Again on Middle East, you just described the initiative of Prime Minister Sharon that it might be historical, and now the President of Egypt and the President of United States are going to discuss this. What do you expect Egypt to do in this connection?
And also, the corridor between Egypt and Gaza, and there were some European suggestions to put like international security force or something. What is your position regarding this, because this really is a problem because Egypt will not enter Gaza, will not put forces.
And also, you described as historical --
MR. MCCORMACK: I said potentially historic.
QUESTION: Potential. When Mr. Sharon is threatening to assassinate leaders in Palestine, how much does this help?
MR. MCCORMACK: Again, on the second of those two questions, you know, we have made quite clear what our position is with respect to issues concerning Mr. Arafat. And Deputy Secretary Armitage just reiterated those today so I don't really have anything to add to what has already been said on that subject. Again, I don't have anything to add on that subject. We made quite clear what our views are on that.
In terms of the visit of President Mubarak, I would just urge you to wait for the visit to happen. We're going to be talking about these issues with President Mubarak. We certainly want to hear what he has to say. Mr. Hadley and his delegation met with President Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh during this trip, as well as some of the President's advisors. They had good discussions.
But, again, what we are trying to do here is continue and expand the process, the dialogue that was begun, with respect to these proposals. We think that these proposals have potentially great promise both in and of themselves, but also in moving the region and specifically the Israeli and the Palestinian people further toward the goal the President outlined on June 24th, 2002. That's a two-state solution.
You brought up a number of different details and ramifications from these proposals, and those are precisely the kinds of things that we are going to be talking with the Israeli Government, the Palestinian Authority, the Egyptian Government, the Jordanian Government, as well as others in the region about.
So right now I don't have any specific information for you on that question, but I would just point to the fact that there is a process of dialogue with respect to these proposals and the ramifications from those proposals, and it's in the interest of all the countries in the region to participate in that dialogue and to look at what the possibilities are.
Let's --
QUESTION: (Inaudible) accept the international presence on the borders between Egypt and Gaza.
MR. MCCORMACK: Again, I think let's let the process of dialogue and consultation take place before we get into answering in public those kinds of questions.
Okay, let's go over here.
QUESTION: Ken Moriyasu of Nikkei, the Japanese newspaper.
I want to ask about the Vice President's trip to Asia next week. Two topics, one on North Korea. What is he going to say about that? And the other one, the cooperation in the war on terror. What will he be requesting Japan and Korea on that?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I think that I'm not going to speak for the Vice President from this podium in advance of his trip. Certainly, I know that he looks forward to his trip. This is a trip that, for a variety of reasons, had to be postponed earlier and he very much looks forward to going there next week and talking about North Korea and talking about the war on terrorism, as well as a variety of bilateral issues with each of the countries that he's going to be visiting.
Why don't we move up here.
QUESTION: Chris Cockel from the China Post from Taiwan. The other day Congress passed a bill authorizing the Secretary of State to help Taiwan gain observer status in the WHO. I wonder if you can tell us what action, if any, the White House might be taking this year on that. And what is the White House's position on Taiwan's bid to join the WHO?
Thank you.
MR. MCCORMACK: I'm afraid you stumped me on that one. I'm going to have to go back, and when I'm back here next time I'll be happy to get the information and provide you an answer on that question. Okay?
Right here.
QUESTION: Another question about Taiwan. Min Lee with Taiwan TV.
Taiwan's newly elected President Chen Shui-bian is going to his -- to have his inaugural ceremony next month, and Vice President Annette Lu has openly requested President Bush to send a high-level delegation there. So is the White House planning on doing so, or what kind of level the delegation would be?
MR. MCCORMACK: I don't have any announcements for you at this point, so we'll keep you posted. Okay?
Right here.
QUESTION: John Zang, with CTI TV of Taiwan.
Sean, the White House statement congratulating President Chen, his reelection, was issued in the name of the Press Secretary. Why wasn't it issued in the name of President Bush? What was the thought behind this? Yeah, could you tell us why?
MR. MCCORMACK: We talked -- yeah, I --
QUESTION: President Bush has been a firm supporter of Taiwan democracy. When you have someone that has been reelected --
MR. MCCORMACK: Right, I understand. Yeah, I addressed this general question earlier. We thought it was the appropriate words and the appropriate statement to make.
All right. I'll take one more, one more question.
QUESTION: Giampiero Gramaglia, Italian News Agency ANSA.
Back to Iraq. Is the Administration actually working to have a new UN resolution, and in which way, or do you prefer wait for the next multilateral meetings before taking any initiatives?
MR. MCCORMACK: I think right now we are in informal consultations with respect to a new UN resolution. At the moment, we believe 1511 is appropriate and covers all the contingencies that exist at the moment.
But, of course, from June 30th forward, you're going to have a new situation with respect to Iraq. There's going to be a new Iraqi government, and sovereignty will be returned to the Iraqi people and that government. So I think it's appropriate that right now we begin discussions with our colleagues at the UN with respect to a new resolution, but I think that those discussions are right now at an informal level.
All right. Thank you very much.
