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Skriven 2006-01-30 23:33:06 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0601302) for Mon, 2006 Jan 30
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Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 30, 2006

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
James S. Brady Briefing Room

Press Briefing
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12:34 P.M. EST

MR. MCCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everyone. I want to begin with one
announcement -- actually, a couple of announcements, one I might have
mentioned to some of you earlier today.

First of all, the President intends to nominate Ed Lazear to be a member of
the Council of Economic Advisors, and upon appointment, designate him
chairman. Ed is currently a professor at Stanford University's Graduate
School of Business and he was a member of our advisory panel on federal tax
reform. We look forward to Ed joining the economic team. He has helped to
produce -- the economic team has helped to produce real results for the
American people; that we have worked to help create 4.6 million jobs; the
unemployment rate is down to 4.9 percent; and we look forward to him
joining the team and helping the President build upon our strong record of
accomplishment when it comes to the economy.

Second of all, the President looks forward to giving the State of the Union
tomorrow night and speaking directly to the American people. We are living
in historic times and, as the President has said, we have a responsibility
to lead. America is always at its best when we are shaping events, rather
than being shaped by events. And the President tomorrow night will be
charting the path forward for our nation. It's important that we continue
leading and acting to spread peace abroad and prosperity at home. The
President is optimistic and confident about the path that we are on.

Tomorrow night, he looks forward to discussing some bold initiatives to
help keep America strong and he will talk about some new policies that will
reflect the priorities that the American people care most about. It will be
a hopeful agenda for our future that he will be outlining. And as he said
earlier today, and has said last week, it's important that we all work
together to elevate the tone in Washington and work together to achieve big
things for the American people.

Following the State of the Union remarks, the President is going to travel
across the country to directly engage the American people on four key issue
areas or initiatives that he will be talking about in the State of the
Union tomorrow night. He will be giving four major policy speeches in the
coming weeks, over the course of the month of February, in addition to
talking about -- continuing to talk about the global war on terrorism. The
speeches will give the President an opportunity to lay out in greater
detail his agenda for 2006 and focus on those four key initiatives or issue
areas.

And with that, I'll be glad to go to your questions.

Q Scott, what are the four key initiatives, areas that you're talking
about?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President hasn't given the State of the Union
address, I want to hold off, let him give the address tomorrow night, and
then I think you'll be hearing more from him. But the President, earlier
today and last week, talked about some areas that we need to continue to
focus on to keep America competitive; to address priorities that the
American people care most about, like rising health care costs; and our
dependence on foreign sources of energy. And he'll talk more about that
tomorrow night in his remarks.

Q Scott -- do you have another question?

Q I did.

Q Okay, go ahead.

Q Thank you. Last year, Social Security was the signature issue of the
State of the Union address. You talked about the initiative, that he'll
talk about bold initiatives. What is the signature issue out of this year's
--

MR. McCLELLAN: Nice try, but I'll hold off until tomorrow night. You'll
hear directly from the President on some of those. And you heard a little
bit from him last week and a little bit more from him this morning, and I
think I'll leave it to the President to talk about that more. That's what
the State of the Union is for.

Q You done?

Q Yes, go ahead.

Q Nothing else?

Q Well, if I do, I'll interrupt. (Laughter.)

Q How bold can he be in this State of the Union, given the fact that this
is an election year where members of Congress are saying that it's not
really a time to take on some controversial initiatives? And, also, with
this idea of spending restraint being so preeminent in the President's
agenda for 2006, the deficits running the way they are -- I mean, just how
bold can you be?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, a couple of things. As I talked about, these are
historic times that we are living in, these are challenging times. That's
why we have an obligation to lead. This is also a time of great
opportunity. And the President will be talking about the importance of
putting aside partisanship and working together to continue to focus on the
big priorities for the American people. This is a President that believes
we must lead and act. We have achieved great things over the last four or
five years.

But there is much work to do. And we recognize that this is an election
year, and we're mindful of that and take that into account. But the
President recognizes that we were elected to get things done for the
American people. And because of the times that we are living in, we must
continue to lead and we must continue to act on the priorities that the
American people care about. We must continue to work to address the threats
we face abroad. We must continue to work to spread prosperity here at home.
We've achieved great results, but there is much work to do.

And in terms of the budget, 2006 was a year of significant achievement when
it came to the budget -- the 2006 budget, I'm sorry, thanks for correcting
me. The 2006 budget was a time of significant achievement. We were able to
-- Congress delivered on much of what the President asked for. We were able
to keep the growth of discretionary spending below the rate of inflation.
We actually cut non-security discretionary spending. Congress is on the
verge of passing $40 billion in savings in mandatory programs. That's
something that needs to be addressed. And the President will continue to
talk about the importance of addressing that.

Congress also acted by cutting or eliminating nearly 90 programs. The
President had called for more. The President called for more in savings on
mandatory programs, and we will continue to build upon that in our coming
budget, but we must continue to meet our highest priorities. And the way
you make sure you can meet your highest priorities is to set clear
priorities and then exercise spending restraint elsewhere in the budget.
And that's important to also keep our economy growing. And the President, I
expect, will be talking about the importance of fiscal discipline tomorrow
night, as well.

Q If you're not unveiling broad new initiatives like tax reform or Social
Security reform, as the President did last year, would you describe this
more as tinkering around the edges?

MR. McCLELLAN: He's going to be talking about some bold initiatives
tomorrow night, and I would encourage you to listen carefully.

Q Is the President going to ask for permanent tax cuts when we have such
deficits that are rising so incredibly?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, tax cuts are part of the solution. It's out of control
spending that has been part of the problem that you bring up, and that's
why the President has continued to lead and advocate spending restraint
within the budget. And Congress has changed the path that our budget is
heading on by moving forward on initiatives that he outlined to --

Q Taking it out on food stamps --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- address mandatory spending and reduce the growth of
discretionary spending, and it's important that we continue moving in that
direction. But we are a nation that has been at war. We are a nation that
has had to address unanticipated challenges, like the recovery and
rebuilding along the Gulf Coast. And, you bet, we're going to continue to
meet the needs when it comes to winning the war and --

Q But why give permanent tax cuts to the richest people?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- we're going to meet the needs when it comes to the people
of the Gulf Coast as they work to rebuild their lives and their
communities. That is something the President is strongly committed to.

Now, in terms of keeping our economy growing, and keeping our budget on
path to cut the deficit in half, we need to continue to keep that economy
growing, we need to continue to exercise spending restraint. And tax relief
has helped us lay the foundation of a strong economy. We're creating jobs
-- 4.6 million new jobs created since May of 2003; 400,000 in just the last
two months. It's because of the policies that we have pursued that our
economy is growing.

And if you look back over the last few years -- and, Helen, I would
encourage you to do this -- the revenues have come in much higher than
anticipated. Many people said that we'd pass tax cuts and that it would
have the opposite effect. Well, it didn't turn out that way. Tax cuts are
good to keep our economy growing. It's important that we make the tax cuts
permanent. You bet, the President is going to continue advocating for that.
The worst thing we can do to our economy right now is raise taxes on
working families and the American people. As I pointed out last week, it
would be a $1.3 trillion tax hike on the American people and working
families if we let those tax cuts expire.

Q You're contemplating $40 billion to $50 billion in cuts for food stamps,
scholarship grants, everything that affects the poor.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I disagree with that. We're making sure that -- the
President has talked about this on a number of occasions. The government
has a responsibility to make sure that we are meeting the needs of our
neediest Americans, and we're meeting the needs of people with
disabilities, and we're meeting the needs of the elderly. That's why this
President worked to pass Medicare reform. And now seniors are starting to
realize significant savings on their prescription drug cost. And we will
continue working to make sure that those priorities of the neediest
Americans and our elderly are met.

Q If Judge Alito is confirmed tomorrow morning, does the President want to
arrange to have him sworn in, in time to attend the State of the Union
address?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, we look forward to his confirmation.
Judge Alito is someone who is exceptionally well qualified to serve on our
nation's highest court. He brings more experience than anyone in the past
70 years to the bench, having served 15 years on the federal appeals court.
And he is someone that all Americans can be proud of. And so we look
forward to the Senate moving forward quickly on his confirmation. I think
they will be having a vote later today, and then moving forward tomorrow.
And I think that Justice O'Connor has waited for quite some time to move on
to her next challenge. And so I expect that we will move forward quickly to
see that he is in place.

Q Here, at the White House?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we'll keep you posted, but the vote hasn't happened
yet.

Q What's he going to focus on, on the foreign side in his speech tomorrow
night? Is it mostly about Iraq, or what?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we remain engaged in a global war on terrorism. And I
think you can expect the President will continue to focus on the progress
we're making in the global war on terrorism and continue to talk about the
advance of freedom in the world. Freedom is advancing in this world. And
there is a lot of progress over the past year, and we need to continue to
build on that. Even there, it's advanced.

And the President will also talk about threats we continue to face. You
heard him mention earlier today that he will talk about the threat from the
regime in Iran. This is a regime that continues to defy the international
community. It's interesting that now the international community is coming
together and starting to send a very firm message to the regime that the
regime is now talking about -- or more interested in looking at the
proposal by Russia. It's important that we send a very clear message to the
regime that their behavior will not be tolerated and that they must end
their nuclear weapons ambitions. And you heard from him earlier talk about
that.

But I also expect he'll continue to talk about the importance of what we
are doing abroad to win the war on terrorism, and what we are doing at home
to prevent attacks and save lives.

Q Scott, on the agenda for this year, 2005 was very difficult for this
President on a number of fronts, and if you look at some of the signature
initiatives that he discussed in the State of the Union, they were either
put off or they failed -- Social Security being the most notable. What are
the challenges of trying to outline new agenda items combined with things
that you're still pushing -- like the Patriot Act and the permanence of tax
cuts -- in an election year when Republicans are under considerable
pressure --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's why you heard from the President earlier today,
and he'll continue to talk about the importance of elevating the tone and
focusing on getting the important business of the American people done. We
all have an obligation to keep our focus where it belongs, and that's on
getting things done for the American people. And the President is going to
continue to do his part to elevate the tone in this town. We need to work
together to renew the Patriot Act; we need to work together to continue to
strengthen our economy; we need to work together to make the tax cuts
permanent; we need to work together to address rising health care costs; we
need to work together to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of
energy.

Now, I would disagree with the way you characterized 2005, because 2005 was
also a year of significant achievement for the American people. We passed a
comprehensive energy plan that put us on the path to reducing dependence on
foreign sources of energy. There's more to do. Energy prices are too high.
We also were able to pass class action reform, to reduce frivolous
litigation. We put out a whole sheet at the end of the year last year
focusing on the accomplishments. As I mentioned, there was great progress
made when it came to our budget. And it's time to continue building upon
that progress we have made.

We recognize it's an election year, but this is also a time of great
importance for the American people and for our future.

Q Let me ask you a question about elevating the tone, because, obviously, a
lot of Americans are familiar with this talk from the President, even
though it didn't really come to pass after he was elected in 2000. The
President has talked a lot recently about, in essence, trying to set the
terms for how his critics should disagree with him on Iraq, what the
responsible way is to do it and what the irresponsible way is to do it. So
could you be a little bit more specific about what he thinks he can do to
elevate the tone?

MR. McCLELLAN: Just exactly what he's been doing throughout his
administration. This President has always worked, whether it was when he
was governor of Texas or since he's been President of the United States,
has always worked to reach out and elevate the discourse. If you look at
his tone, this President has focused on how we can work together to get
things done, and focused on what the American people expect us to do. And
that's what -- and that's what he will continue to do.

Q And then also equated Congressman Murtha to Michael Moore, when he
questioned whether troops should be withdrawn, is that the sort of
elevation in tone you're talking about?

MR. McCLELLAN: First of all, we said that we have great respect for his
service to the country.

Q You later said that.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, we said that at the time. I correct you.

Go ahead, Goyal.

Q Two questions. One, if you can confirm or any comments on The New York
Times report last week that as far as domestic recording by NSA's concern
that is basically focused on the terrorists in Pakistan and calls going
from the U.S. to Pakistan and coming from Pakistan to the U.S. And al
Qaedas are there. That's why the CIA last week, or two weeks ago, took
action against the number two man, because they were not getting any
cooperation from Pakistan. Can you confirm that report?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I'm not going to get into talking about specifics that
might involve operational details of the terrorist surveillance program.
This terrorist surveillance program is a limited effort targeted at al
Qaeda communications. It is focused on international communications, and it
is about detection and prevention. And the President believes it's a very
important tool.

We have a whole tool box of tools that are available to help us win the war
on terrorism. And we must make use of each of those tools. This is a
comprehensive effort. We have to fight the war abroad, we have to fight it
here at home. And the President is going to continue doing everything he
can within his powers and within his authority to prevent attacks and
protect the American people. And this is one vital tool in that.

In terms of Pakistan, we continue to work very closely with Pakistan in the
war on terrorism. And we will continue to build upon that. The President
had a very good visit with Prime Minister Aziz just recently.

Carl, go ahead.

Q Is the United States concerned that India is becoming a crack in the
international unity about referring Iran to the Security Council? And, if
so, what are you going to do about it?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there are discussions going on. You said, Iran? Is
that --

Q And India, particularly, as a --

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, but you said referring Iran to the Security Council? As
the President talked about, that's something that we are looking at. We're
in discussions with the international community. It's important that we
send a clear message to the regime that its nuclear ambitions -- nuclear
weapons ambitions will not be tolerated. We will not accept the regime
developing a nuclear weapon. It is an issue of trust.

The President talked about that earlier today. This is a regime that has
hid its activities from the international community for some two decades.
It is a regime that has refused to abide by its international obligations.
And Secretary Rice is in London this week having discussions with members
of the United Nations Security Council, the permanent members of the
Security Council, in Germany, about how we proceed forward. We're also in
discussions with others. We're in discussions with our allies and partners
about how to move forward. I don't want to try to prejudge that at this
point, but we've long said that it is time for the matter to be referred to
the Security Council, that the regime's noncompliance cannot be tolerated.

Q And insofar as the President has made it clear that those who don't stand
with the U.S. against terrorism stand -- if you're with the terrorists --
you're either with us or against us. In a nuclear stand-up with Iran, are
we beginning to see ourselves -- is the U.S. beginning to see itself in a
situation where you're either with us or against us against Iran?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I wouldn't describe it that way at all, Carl. I would
describe it as the international community continuing to come together to
send a unified message to the regime in Iran. I think very few in the
international community want to see that regime with a nuclear weapon. They
understand the threat that it poses. This is a regime that continues to
make outrageous comments, that has called for the destruction of a
neighboring country. And it's important that we send a very clear message
that its behavior cannot be tolerated.

It is a regime that moves in the -- continues to move in the wrong
direction from the rest of the Middle East. It is a regime that puts its
own interest above the interest of its people. That's why the President
also made very clear earlier today that we stand with the Iranian people
and support their aspirations to live in freedom. And we will continue to
do that. This is about the regime when it comes to the nuclear issue, and
other issues that we have concerns about.

Go ahead, Suzanne.

Q Scott, you say the President is going to be optimistic tomorrow and
there's been a lot of talk about being upbeat in his message. Many
Americans believe that the President would have more credibility if he
acknowledged some of the hardships that they're facing, whether or not
there are people who are still homeless from Katrina, or U.S. casualties in
Iraq. Is he going to address any of those things?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President often talks about those issues. And I do
expect he will talk about Iraq tomorrow in his remarks, and I do expect he
will talk about the importance of continuing to meet the needs of the
people throughout the Gulf Coast region who have been put in a terrible
situation because of a storm of unprecedented magnitude and scope. And we
have an obligation to continue making sure that their needs are met. We
have already passed some $85 billion in resources that are available to
help them. Only about $25 billion or a little bit more than that has been
allocated to be spent at this point. There is enormous resources available.
We are going to continue working to meet their needs. And the President
made it clear that, if needed, we will continue to build upon those
efforts.

Anyway, go ahead. Did you have a follow-up?

Q Is that one of his initiatives, the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast?

MR. McCLELLAN: No. I mean, that's one of his initiatives now. But I'm
talking about new initiatives now.

Q Scott, the President has been talking about alternative sources of energy
for about five years, so what is exactly new in this energy proposal he
talked about yesterday on CBS?

MR. McCLELLAN: The energy --

Q He's been talking about new sources of energy --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, I don't [sic] think he's outlined some
of the areas we need to focus on, in addition to what we've already done.
We did pass a comprehensive energy strategy last August, and that was the
first time that had been done in, like, a decade or so. And that will put
us on a path to reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy. The
President has long talked about the importance of making America more
energy self-sufficient, and that's why that legislation was so important.
But there's more that we need to do. Energy prices remain too high and --

Q Is he going to talk about the record oil -- the record profits of Exxon
released today? Is he going to address that issue?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you'll hear his speech tomorrow, and he'll talk about
what we need to do and the kinds of alternative sources of energy we need
to look to in his remarks.

Q But is he going to make any reference to --

MR. McCLELLAN: But not only that -- again, tomorrow night, the State of the
Union, there's only so much you can say in the course of that time period
on each priority area. And that's why I said that following the State of
the Union the President is going to continue to lay out in greater detail
some of the initiatives that he will be talking about tomorrow night. So
I'd encourage you to listen. I know you want to try to get out in front of
what he's going to say, but I'd encourage you to listen tomorrow night, and
then listen in the coming weeks as he outlines in greater detail his
agenda.

Q We promise if you dish now, we'll listen tomorrow night, too.

Q Yes, can you just say what he's doing right now? Is he --

MR. McCLELLAN: All right, I'll tell you, but don't tell anybody else, okay?

Q -- rehearsing today, doing one more run-through? What's he doing with the
speech?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, he was doing another run-through this morning,
following the Cabinet meeting earlier today, of the speech.

Q And that's it, we're done? Or is there more?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, if he wants to do more, that's certainly an option.
But, typically, on the day of, he doesn't tend to do a run-through of the
speech. But it just depends, so we'll see.

Q What draft?

Q Yes, what draft?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, in the 20s, in the low 20s right now -- 23 as of early
this morning.

Go ahead.

Q You said the President is going to continue doing what he's doing in
terms of elevating the tone in Washington. So to whom, exactly, is he
referring?

MR. McCLELLAN: To elevating the tone?

Q Yes.

MR. McCLELLAN: All of us. Both parties, to work together to get things done
for the American people.

Q So everybody is kicking in the gutter, except him? (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: No, that's not what he said. That's what you said.

Q But he doesn't need to elevate his tone, so are there some who don't need
to elevate their tone?

MR. McCLELLAN: He's going to continue to. I think we've seen that -- and
it's one of the things he's talked about, Victoria. Maybe it's a surprise
to you, but this town has become pretty bitter over the course of the last
several years, not just when this President has been in office, but even
before that. And this President, when he -- go back to his days as
governor; he was able to reach out and work with Democrats and Republicans,
alike, to get things done, and he was hoping we could have made more
progress to elevate the tone in this city. But it requires both parties
reaching out to one another.

The President has reached out. It requires others to reach back. And there
are many people here in this town that would like to see that happen, many
leaders that would like to see that happen. Unfortunately, the focus
sometimes is too much on the partisan attacks and the bitter, negative
tone. The President is going to continue to say, even though it's an
election year, we've got to work together and elevate the tone and get
things done.

Q So in terms of working together, is he prepared to compromise at all on
the Patriot Act with the Senate?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think we've made our views very clear on the Patriot
Act. And it's -- unfortunately, there are some that have obstructed getting
that renewed. And there was a compromise --

Q (Inaudible.)

MR. McCLELLAN: I reject your characterization, because there was a
conference committee that came together and they reached important
compromises.

Go ahead, Mark. And we continue to urge renewal of the Patriot Act. It's an
important tool in the war on terrorism, and it's helped to disrupt plots
and prevent attacks.

Q You've spoken about the President's hope to get something done, despite
the fact that this is an election year. As someone who listened to last
year's State of the Union speech and would probably rate tax overhaul as
one of the top issues the President hoped to accomplish something on
quickly, is that a casualty of the election year?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, in terms of priorities, it remains a priority. But we
have not --

Q But not this year?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't believe we have yet received a report from the
Secretary of Treasury. But we do recognize the realities of an election
year and recognize what can be accomplished in the context of an election
year. But the President, again, tomorrow night is going to talk about some
bold initiatives that we need to move forward on, and we need to move
forward on now.

Q But tax -- we're not going to --

MR. McCLELLAN: I just told you where we are, and tomorrow night you'll hear
more about the priorities.

Q Scott, a two-part. The Washington Post has published history professor
emeritus Lewis Gould's critique of the State of the Union speech as, in his
words, "nothing but theater, meaningless annual ritual, continuous
campaigning, a gaudy spectacle of ballyhoo and hype." And my question:
Since this professor emeritus is from the University of Texas in Austin,
was he one of your teachers? (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't believe so.

Q Why aren't the -- you don't believe so?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't recall him being one of my teachers. I don't know if
he was even there -- when was that, 20 years ago, almost 20 years?

Q Why aren't the Hamas-electing Palestinians immediately cut off from all
U.S. funding of what they decided to elect, a terrorist government whose
leaders have again refused to abandon its call for the destruction of
Israel?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, a couple of things, Les, and Secretary Rice has talked
about this; the President talked about it earlier today. We will not -- we
do not and we will not fund a terrorist organization. We will not fund an
organization that advocates the destruction of Israel. We will not fund an
organization that engages in terror. Hamas has choices to make. They need
to renounce their platform calling for the destruction of Israel. They need
to reject terror.

We have been very clear on our views. So has the international community.
The Quartet has been very clear in their views, as well, putting out a
statement. And Secretary Rice is meeting with the Quartet in London to talk
about the way forward when it comes to these issues. And in terms of our
assistance programs, our assistance programs will be reviewed with that key
principle in mind, that we will not fund a terrorist organization. We can
not be clearer --

Q "Reviewed"? What about now, right now, to stop the money right now, the
millions going --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, right now we believe it's important for
President Abbas to continue to remain engaged in the peace process, and
indications are that he intends to do that, from what we've seen in recent
days and in terms of his comments. And we will see how the new government
forms. At this point, it's in the process of forming. And as we've said, if
Hamas is the new government, we will not fund a terrorist organization. The
President couldn't be clearer --

Q "If"? You're implying there is any doubt that Hamas is going to be the
government.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think there's a level of uncertainty in the
political system in the Middle East right now, and in the Palestinian
Territories. And so we'll see how that plays out.

Q Is the peace process then, is it stalemated, is it set back, is it
broken? Where is the peace process now, given this whole election?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, as we indicated the other day, we believe very
strongly that the Palestinian people want a peaceful life, that they want
to live in peace. The way to get to peace is the two-state vision that the
President outlined. That's why there are discussions going on with the
Quartet and others about how to move forward. And that's why we continue to
encourage President Abbas to stay in office and remain engaged in the
process. He is someone who has expressed a commitment to peace.

The election, as we talked about the other day, had much more to do with
fighting corruption and responding to the needs of the people. The
President talked about that in his remarks the other day. Remember, when it
comes to elections, elections are the beginning of the process, not the end
of the process. So we are going to continue working to achieve peace, and
working with all those who want to be a partner in peace. But you can't be
a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a neighbor, and if
you advocate the use of terror, the use of attacking innocent civilians.

Q Do you consider this, then, a setback for peace at this point?

MR. McCLELLAN: Freedom is advancing. Again, elections are the beginning of
the process. We congratulate the Palestinian people for conducting a
successful election that was peaceful. And we are going to continue to work
with our partners and others and support people in the region as they move
forward to achieve peace.

Q According to data currently available at the Department of Homeland
Security Funded Terrorism Knowledge Base, the incidents of terrorism
increased markedly in 2005: worldwide attacks were up 51 percent from the
year before, and the number of people killed in those attacks is up 36
percent; since the year 2000, attacks are up 250 percent, and deaths are up
550 percent. How do you reconcile those numbers with your claim that you're
winning the war on terrorism and putting terrorists out of business?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, just look at the facts. If you look at the facts, many
of al Qaeda's known leadership have been put out of business. They've been
brought to justice. They've either been captured or killed. No longer is
America waiting and responding. We're on the offense; we're taking the
fight to the enemy. We are engaged in a war on terrorism. The enemies
recognize how high the stakes are. And one thing the President will talk
about, continue to talk about tomorrow night and in the coming weeks, is
that we continue to face a serious threat. This is a deadly and determined
enemy. But the difference is now that we've got them on the run, we've got
them playing defense, we're taking the fight to them. And all of us in the
international community must continue to work together.

We've been fortunate that we haven't been hit again since the attacks of
September 11th. And that's in no small part because of the great work of
our men and women in uniform abroad, and because of the great work of our
intelligence community, and the great work of our homeland security
officials here at home who have worked together using vital tools, like the
Patriot Act and other tools, to help disrupt plots and disrupt attacks. And
there's great progress being made.

But the President made it clear after September 11th that this was going to
be a long war, but he's going to continue acting and leading and doing
everything in his power to win that war so long as he is in office. And we
also have to work to continue to advance freedom. And 2006 was a year of
progress when it came to advancing freedom around the world. The Middle
East is a dangerous, troubled region, and that's why it's important we
continue to support the advance of democracy throughout that region.

Go ahead.

Q Prime Minister Koizumi is still under much scrutiny because of the
(inaudible) U.S. deal more than a week ago. How do you think this will
affect U.S.-Japan relations? And how does President Bush -- does he have
any other plans to -- action or to call the Prime Minister again?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Deputy Secretary of State Zoellick just returned from
a visit to the region. He was able to visit with Prime Minister Koizumi. He
updated the Cabinet earlier today during the Cabinet meeting that took
place about his visit. And we have a very good relationship, very strong
relationship with Prime Minister Koizumi and Japan. And we will continue to
work together to address issues of mutual concern. And we will continue to
work together to address this matter, as well. The Department of
Agriculture has been taking a number of steps to address this issue
already.

Bob, go ahead.

Q From the White House vantage point, is it possible that the Patriot Act
will be renewed by the end of this week?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President has made it very clear that we cannot go
even a day without this vital tool. It has been essential in helping us to
disrupt plots and prevent attacks and save lives -- we have spoken about
the many examples, the way it has. The one thing we are determined to do is
not let that wall be put back up between law enforcement and intelligence
officials. It was important to break down that wall so that they could
share information and be able to go after people who may be inside the
United States seeking to do harm to innocent civilians.

And so the President is continuing to urge renewal of the Patriot Act. But
it's important that we not let that law expire even for a day. And so --

Q Are there discussions --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there are discussions going on -- there are
discussions going on with Congress, and we continue to engage in those
discussions about how to get it renewed.

Q Two more, Scott, on Hamas, please. Does the U.S. still think it's
important to press for democratic elections in the greater Middle East?

MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely.

Q Even though you might get the same results?

MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely. And Condi, again -- I go back to what I said
earlier. Elections are the beginning of the process, not the end of the
process. Democracy yields peace. Democracy yields responsive government.

And I think that that's what you saw in the elections last week, was that
there was a sense with -- among the Palestinian people that they were sick
of corruption. The President talked about this earlier today. They wanted
more responsive government, and they had some concerns about the old guard
that had been in place for many years. Those were ongoing concerns that
they had, and I think they were able to exercise their choice at the ballot
box in a peaceful way. And so we congratulate them for doing so. But,
again, elections are the beginning of the process, not the end.

Q Just two more on this, then. Why would you press for Mahmoud Abbas to
stay on as President if he was --

MR. McCLELLAN: He was elected by the Palestinian people to serve a
four-year term as President of the Palestinian Authority.

Q The last one, would the United States force Israel back to the 1967
borders to mollify Hamas?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there's a road map that spells out the steps forward
to getting to the two-state vision. And that is the way to get to the
vision that the President outlined, and all parties have responsibilities
under that road map.

Go ahead.

Q Scott, it is reported that North Korea is manufacturing and illegally
exporting to (inaudible) U.S. brand of cigarettes. And even some of them
are now circulating in the U.S. market. What is your comment on that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we will not tolerate North Korea's involvement in
illicit activities. We have taken steps to stop the flow of counterfeit
money, or stop the flow of other fake goods or drugs. And we will continue
to do so. I think we've announced what steps we've taken and the successes
we have achieved when it comes to addressing those issues.

Q If democracy in the Middle East leads, as it appears to, inexorably to
theocracy, have we gained anything? Have we maybe not lost something?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I saw some articles maybe over the last few days about
the whole issue of democracy. First of all, the President believes that all
people want to live in freedom, and so if you believe that, then you have
great confidence in the power of democracy. We saw the power of democracy
last week. Again, elections are the beginning of the process. They're not
the end of the process. Democracy leads to peace. Democracy leads to
peaceful, responsible government. And that's what is important to keep in
mind here.

But seeing some of the articles, there's this attitude that some people
can't live in freedom. That's a dangerous elitist attitude that the
President strongly rejects, or that it's not time for -- certain people
aren't ready to live in freedom. Freedom is on the march in the world.
Freedom is on the march in the Middle East. The people of the Middle East
want peace. They want freedom. And we're going to continue to support those
efforts.

And we saw the power of democracy take place in the Palestinian territories
last week. And it was -- we saw the people step forward -- let's make
clear, Hamas was out there campaigning on fighting corruption, and
campaigning on providing essential social services to the people. I don't
think Hamas was out there saying, we're going to destroy Israel. And we
believe the Palestinian people have a strong desire to live in freedom, and
we support those aspirations. We believe the people in Israel want to live
in freedom, and that's why the two-state vision is so important. And we
have an opportunity to continue to advance peace in a troubled region, and
that's what we will do.

But the great thing about democracy is that people choose, they get to
chart their path forward.

Q But, historically, hothouse democracy has not worked terribly well. I
would cite the little democracies established in post-colonial Africa that
led automatically to dictatorships.

MR. McCLELLAN: There were people that said after World War II that Japan
couldn't -- that the Japanese people couldn't live in freedom. We had an
attitude in our own country that said African Americans couldn't live in
freedom. It was a terrible part of our past. And the President just rejects
the attitude that suggests certain people can't live in freedom.

Go ahead.

Q Scott, I'm delighted to be called today by you.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm delighted to call on you.

Q Okay, thank you. I'm a Chinese correspondent. My question is, Taiwan
leader Chen Shui-bian yesterday said that he is considering to abolish
guidelines for national unification, and abolish the national unification
council. So what's your comment and views on his speech?

MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't seen those comments. I think we've made our views
known on those issues in the past, and I don't think anything has changed
in terms of our view. You might want to check with the State Department to
see if they have any additional information.

Glad to call on you, too, John. (Laughter.)

Q And I'm glad that you did call on me, Scott. Thank you very much.

A couple of Republicans over the weekend, including Senator John Thune,
suggested that the White House do a public data dump on everything you've
got related to Jack Abramoff, just to clear the air. Your response on that?

MR. McCLELLAN: My response is that it's important for anyone that was
engaged in this wrongdoing to be held to account. Mr. Abramoff is being
held to account by the Department of Justice. The career team at the
Department of Justice within the public integrity unit is continuing to
move forward on the investigation, and they should pursue it to the fullest
extent and hold all those who engaged in wrongdoing to account. Beyond
that, I think we've made our views very well known in terms of this matter.
And nothing has changed.

Suzanne.

Q Al Jazeera is reporting a new tape from al Qaeda's number two, Zawahiri.
Do you have anything on that?

MR. McCLELLAN: No. It's the first I'm hearing about it, so we'll check into
it.

Thank you.

END 1:15 P.M. EST

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