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Skriven 2007-01-25 23:31:56 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (070125) for Thu, 2007 Jan 25
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Press Gaggle by Tony Snow
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 25, 2007

Press Gaggle by Tony Snow
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Kansas City, Missouri



10:42 A.M. EST

MR. SNOW: Welcome, everybody, to this morning's gaggle. I have with me
Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt, and Kate Baicker from
the National Economic Council.

Before we begin, let me just -- a couple of comments on developments in
Iraq. The Prime Minister today has given an address -- we don't have a full
translation yet, but as you probably know from your own reporting, at least
three basic and important points:

Number one, he has once again made it clear that there's going to be no
safe haven for those committing acts of terror within Baghdad, regardless
of whether they're Shia, Sunni, Kurd, Arab, you name it.

Secondly, he has told the Council of Representatives that he wants the
Council, during its current legislative session, which just has a couple
more weeks to run, to pass a hydrocarbon law and also de-Baathification
reform. As you know, those are two hugely important political benchmarks.

Number three, he also talked about the fact that in certain neighborhoods
within Baghdad people have been pushed out of their homes, quite often by
advocates or practitioners of sectarian violence. He says that the
government is determined to allow those people back into their homes, and
to push out what he referred to as the squatters.

So you had a very assertive address on the part of the Prime Minister. We
certainly welcome that, because it demonstrates the kind of vigor we've
been talking about and that the American people expect, and also responds
specifically to concerns members of Congress have been expressing, in terms
of the aims of and the determination of the government of Iraq.

And with that, I'll take questions.

Q Tony, could you talk about the Post support today on possible $7 billion
to $8 billion increase for Afghanistan money?

MR. SNOW: Secretary Rice will be talking about it tomorrow, but we are, in
fact -- and the President has discussed previously that we may be
increasing our commitment in Afghanistan, and we will be.

Q Is that amount correct?

MR. SNOW: I think the amount is basically correct. Again, I'll let the
Secretary confirm it tomorrow. But it's certainly in the ballpark.

Q It's for a wide -- not just military, it's for a wide range of
initiatives, across a bunch of fronts, right?

MR. SNOW: Correct, but it will have a military component.

Q Do you have a comment on the resolution that got passed by the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee yesterday?

MR. SNOW: No real surprises. Senator Hagel was the only Republican to vote
for it. He was a co-sponsor, however, so you expect him to sign on to his
own resolution. The President understands that people have political
concerns. What he has said is, let's give this chance -- this plan a chance
to work. You've already seen significant action, I think, since the
President -- well, significant action since the President announced the way
forward in the sense that Muqtada al Sadr has told members of the Mahdi
army to stop wearing black and to put their arms down, and he's also
instructed members of his political party to return to the political
process.

We have seen assertive action on the part of Iraqi forces and joint
Iraqi-U.S. forces within Baghdad taking on terror. You've seen what the
Prime Minister had to say today. I don't want to attribute that
specifically to the President's announcement of a way forward, but it is
clear that a sign of American determination not only builds confidence but
also activism on the part of the Iraqi government. And we continue to
believe that it's important to make it clear to the Iraqis that our job is
to help them build capability, and we'll do it.

Q Republicans on the panel were critical of the plan, like Voinovich and
Lugar. Are you worried about the party splitting over Iraq?

MR. SNOW: No. What we want to do is, again, let members of the party -- and
we know they will -- take a look at what happens as we proceed with the way
forward. They know that five brigades are going into Baghdad, they know
that 4,000 Marines are headed to Anbar, they know that there has been
significant military improvement within Anbar, and they have all said
things that we agree with: Number one, we cannot fail in Iraq. Number two,
they support the troops. Number three, they want Iraqis in the lead.

We believe that the President's plan is the best way to achieve those
objectives. We've also said, if you've got a better proposal that will
achieve success in Iraq, help Iraqis get swiftly into the lead, and will
demonstrate support for American forces, let us hear it. You have a
patriotic obligation and you can do the whole nation a service.

Q Do you expect Iraq will dominate the meeting tomorrow with the House
Republicans?

MR. SNOW: I don't think so. In fact, I don't expect it at all. I'll be
talking to the House Republicans before the President does, but I think
what House Republicans are looking for is they're going to want to talk
about issues that came up in the State of the Union address, too, because
that is going to play a significant role in politics over the next few
months. So we'll talk about health care, we'll talk about immigration,
we'll talk about energy, we'll talk about education, and we will talk about
working together on Iraq, as well.

The fact is everybody in both Houses knows that we are going to proceed
with the way forward, and they will have an opportunity to see results on
the ground. And we also have no delusions, Americans want to see results on
the ground, as well.

Q As the debate unfolds, though, are you hearing anything on Capitol Hill
that you see as responsible -- you said that you'd be open to the debate --
anything that you can latch on to and perhaps move on yourselves?

MR. SNOW: I think at this point I really would resist talking about
"latching on to," because it gives a sense of a sense of desperation,
where, in fact, the President approaches this as a Commander-in-Chief. And
as a Commander-in-Chief, it is his obligation to figure out how to succeed
in Iraq. This is not a political exercise, this is an exercise in
leadership.

To the extent -- we continue to look for each and every avenue towards
success -- diplomatically, economically, politically and militarily. I
think at this juncture, what we have are members expressing concerns --
perfectly understandable. We expect that. But also we understand that
members of Congress will keep a keen eye out for what happens in the region
and how events continue to unfold.

Q How aggressively is the White House lobbying members, particularly
Republicans, on the resolutions?

MR. SNOW: Not particularly. We're talking with them, but we understand that
members have concerns and they want to express them.

Q Have you asked Warner whether he will withhold negotiation with Democrats
for a united resolution? Are you speaking with him about limiting any
changes he might make to his resolution that might be more attractive to
other Democrats?

MR. SNOW: No, certainly we've had conversations with Senator Warner. We're
trying to take his temperature on what he intends. But I think any
conversation about what he intends to do you probably ought to leave up to
him. I'm certainly not going to speak on his behalf.

All right, thanks.

END 10:49 A.M. EST

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