Text 4178, 565 rader
Skriven 2007-03-05 23:31:24 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0703052) for Mon, 2007 Mar 5
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Press Briefing by Tony Snow
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary March 5, 2007

Press Briefing by Tony Snow White House Conference Center Briefing Room

˙ Video (Windows) ˙˙Press Briefings


12:02 P.M. EST

MR. SNOW: The briefing is in order. Questions.

Q My goodness, where is everybody? (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: You guys have been -- you've been briefing -- I know, we've got
the answer to briefing fatigue.

Please, questions. Anybody. Victoria?

Q Is it something the President should do, as Commander-in-Chief, to say,
the buck stops here and take responsibility for the scandal at Walter Reed?

MR. SNOW: Well, in a sense, the President, and also everybody within the
chain of command are taking responsibility. It's time to shine a bright
light on the entire system and find out where the failings may be, and
address them. The people who have served have given us their best; it's
time for us to make sure that they get our best when it comes to treatment.

You already have ongoing, I think, very swift and definitive action on the
part of the Department of Defense, not only on the personnel side, but the
Secretary of Defense has put together a team involving medical
professionals, and on a bipartisan basis, to take a look specifically at
Walter Reed and Bethesda.

Meanwhile, there's an interagency task force working out of the V.A. to
take a look at the entire medical system and the care system for veterans.
And the President is putting together also a presidential commission that
will take an even broader look at the needs, and also possible future
needs.

So we take a very exhaustive look at this. It is very important to figure
out what's wrong, and get it fixed. And the President is committed to that.

Q But the President hasn't said in any way, shape, or form, this is my
responsibility, this is on me?

MR. SNOW: Okay, well, I'll take the rhetorical flourish under advisement.

Q Tony, how important is the President's upcoming trip to Latin America in
countering the growing influence of Hugo Chavez in the region?

MR. SNOW: I think the more important thing is, it underscores America's
commitment to the region. And you will hear a lot today, when the President
talks, that the United States' commitment is not only economic, but we also
think it's important to bring to the people of South and Central America
the full benefits of democracy, which include representation, but also the
basics: health care, help with social programs, education, and so on. The
United States is committed to doing what we can to make life better, and we
have -- again, I'm not going to steal the thunder from the President's
speech, but he outlines a lot of that in his address today.

Q But is the White House concerned about the growing -- Chavez's growing
influence in the region?

MR. SNOW: Well, there have been a number of cases in which that government
has tired to intervene in elections, and so far is batting zero. I think
it's more important to, again, extend the blessings of democracy throughout
the region and make it clear that the United States is committed not only
to the prospect of free elections, but also the follow on, so that you can
continue to provide hope and opportunity for people who live in democratic
nations.

Q Tony, back on Walter Reed, the V.A. system. Some have said that the V.A.
system is a whole other monster all unto itself. Has the President been
hearing from anyone particularly, reaching out, making phone calls, and
just asking their thoughts or their personal experiences --

MR. SNOW: What the President is really trying to do right now is to
assemble people who can devote their full time and attention to an
exhaustive look, as I said, to shine light on the system and to take a
comprehensive look at what's going on. I'm not aware -- as you know, April,
he had a very busy weekend, and he was on the road Thursday and Friday, as
well. I'm not aware of any reach out calls to ask people about personal
experiences. But on the other hand, what he has been doing is making sure
that people take a good look to find out what the situation is -- no
excuses, get the facts, get it fixed.

Q But isn't it sad that it takes Walter Reed to go back into the V.A.
system that has been a problem for so, so many years?

MR. SNOW: Well, again, that's an editorial comment I'm not willing to make.
A couple of things. Number one, this administration has been committed to
trying to improve things through the '08 budget that the President has
proposed. We're talking about a 77 percent increase in V.A. spending, as
well as an 83 percent increase in medical spending for the military. But
having said that, the point I made before is, they've given us their best,
it's time that we make sure we give them our best, when it comes to their
care.

Q Tony, we've just come off the weekend where Senators Clinton and Obama
generated a lot of news coverage with their trip to Selma. We're sitting
here now in practically an empty briefing room. The President has said
repeatedly that he believes he has the microphone still. But are you
concerned that you are losing the microphone, and the President is losing
his microphone?

MR. SNOW: No, if you'd come earlier, it was fuller. (Laughter.) The fact
is, Sheryl, the President is not losing his microphone. And when you take a
look -- whether it is the conduct of the war on terror or domestic policy,
the President is the one who is out there with not only a message, but
proposals that are going to shape a lot of what goes on in terms of the
domestic political debate, and they ought to. They're good ideas, and
contrary to the suspicions of some earlier on, he is somebody who has been
bold and not cautious in terms of tackling big problems.

And I think you see, again, with what's going on with Walter Reed and the
situation there, we are attacking problems boldly because they're not going
to go away, whether it be the war on terror, or whether it be health care,
education, immigration, energy. And we have had a number of constructive
conversations with Democrats and Republicans. Both parties, I think, have
not only an obligation, but a vested interest in showing something for
their work this year.

I think what you're really talking about is something bright, shiny, and
new every time we have a presidential campaign. And reporters are
dispatched to look at it and get the local color and speculate and figure
out who is ahead and who is behind. CPAC also had its complement of
reporters last week. That's part of the pageantry, but while that's going
on, there is serious legislative business that is not going to await the
campaign trips of various candidates.

Ken.

Q Tony, back on Chavez, Citgo/Venezuela has a very aggressive TV ad
campaign on now where they have lower-income Americans, in effect, thanking
Venezuela for the low-cost heating oil that Venezuela is providing. Is that
as it seems, or is that some sort of propaganda effort?

MR. SNOW: I'm not going to comment on those ads.

Q Tony, Michael Battle, the Director of the Executive Office of U.S.
Attorneys is resigning. As you know, this comes in the wake of firing of
the eight U.S. Attorneys across the country that Congress is now
investigating; some Democrats saying they were fired for political reasons.
Is the timing of this resignation now all tied with any --

MR. SNOW: Well, as you know, because you've had conversations with them,
no. He's made it known for many months that he's wanted to move on. So it's
certainly not news. He's wanted to go the private sector.

Q Can you comment on the investigation into the firing of these eight U.S.
Attorneys?

MR. SNOW: No, because that, I think, is being done on Capitol Hill.

Q Tony, two quick questions. The major story this weekend, all over the
globe, one is, China's military expansion, and second, immigration. And as
far immigration is concerned, President leaves for those countries where
U.S. has more than 10 million illegals from those countries, and still
coming in this country. And people around the country are worried about the
illegals in the future. So what really, again, President's chance on this
immigration (inaudible), immigration bill, is it going through? (Inaudible)
as he has done in the last six years, he's going to push again in the
Democratic Congress --

MR. SNOW: Of course. The President is absolutely committed to comprehensive
immigration reform because it's the best way not only to guarantee our
security, but also balance against that economic needs and urgencies, and
America's long tradition of welcoming people who want to be Americans, who
want to experience freedom and make the most of it. So all of those things
are very important to him, and he will absolutely proceed.

As far as the Chinese military spending, a high rate of expenditure
certainly is concerning some of China's neighbors. It's raising concerns.
And it is inconsistent with the policy of peaceful development. But the
more important issue for everybody, I think, is to have transparency,
budgetary and otherwise, so people can actually see what the situation is.

Q (Inaudible) China's neighbors, it's not right (inaudible), because that's
what all that (inaudible) -- that whatever China is doing as far as
building nuclear (inaudible), is going to (inaudible) the United States
because they are --

MR. SNOW: I'm not going to get into -- again, that gets back into the issue
of transparency.

Jim.

Q Tony, when's the last time the President had any contact with President
Maliki?

MR. SNOW: Gordo? It's a good question. We'll find out. Couple of weeks
maybe.

Q Is there any sense -- I mean, there's some sort of conflicting pictures
coming out of Iraq this morning. On one hand, you have this implementation
in Sadr City, more troops and the security plan. On the other hand, there's
a story about the intelligence agency in Basra. First of all, what's the,
sort of, assessment of how things are going with the implementation?

MR. SNOW: Well, okay, a couple --

Q And is there concern about what you're doing out of Basra?

MR. SNOW: We're still trying to figure out what the facts are. We don't
have a full readout on that. If you take a look at what's been going on,
the President -- the Prime Minister, I mean, gave a speech over the weekend
on reconciliation, which, in fact, hit on all the themes that Democrats,
Republicans, and the President have said are important. And he talked about
such things as the rule of law and making sure that the law is enforced
fairly across the country; reconciliation, he spoke of the oil law; he
spoke of going after corruption. So all of those things certainly said the
right things.

If you take a look at what's been going on, on the ground in Baghdad and
elsewhere, there are encouraging signs. But I want to remind people that
we're at the very beginning stages of the new way forward. There's one U.S.
brigade in, out of five. The Iraqis have placed three brigades into Baghdad
now. The Prime Minister has recently signed off on the orders for Baghdad
security. We have seen operations in Shia and Sunni neighborhoods. We have
seen some small, but encouraging signs. But, again, one doesn't want to
read too much into it.

I think it's important to give everything a chance to work. General
Petraeus has been on the ground for about three weeks. So I think for
people to start drawing snap conclusions, let's see how things continue to
work.

But you may recall, we were talking not so long ago about a series of
things that would qualify as benchmarks, such as having three brigades in
by the end of February -- it happened. As far as pushing for the oil law,
it's now been passed by the Council of Ministers, it goes to the
legislature, the Council of Representatives. If you take a look at the way
the Iraqis also have reached out within the region, that is a key
recommendation of Baker-Hamilton, and something a lot of Democrats and this
administration have talked about. We're going to have a meeting in Baghdad
on the 10th of March, followed by a ministerial level meeting the following
month, in April, that will include Secretary Rice and others.

So, again, a lot of encouraging signs. As you know, I'm hesitant to give
out report cards on the Prime Minister, but we have seen many encouraging
signs in recent days. But we also acknowledge that we're still at the very
beginning of this plan.

Q Is it discouraging, his initial comments about the Basra incident seem to
focus on the invasion into the office, as opposed to the apparent torture
victims found there?

MR. SNOW: As I said, what you're trying to do is to get me to comment. I'm
aware of the news reports, just as you are. What we're still trying to do
is to unravel everything, and I feel a little uncomfortable about trying to
do it simply on the basis of wire stories.

Q And one last question, I missed this. Has there been a location nailed
down for the second meeting in April?

MR. SNOW: Not that I'm aware of, no. No, that's still pending.

Q Two questions, one on Walter Reed and the veterans. Is there anything
that the President is doing to facilitate immediate improvements in care? I
understand there are long-term commissions, but anything to help people who
are in need right now?

MR. SNOW: I know what's going on is that there's a full-court press both
out of DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs. DoD obviously would have
the lead on Walter Reed, and I'd send you in that direction.

Q So nothing the White House knows of?

MR. SNOW: Well, no, I'm not saying that. I'm saying what the President said
early on is find out what's wrong and fix it. And we have seen quick
action. I know that there were some people from DoD who were out there last
week, inspecting Unit 18. I just honestly don't know, Jessica, precisely
what's been done. But he's made it clear that he wants improvements done,
and done quickly.

Q Why did it require media exposure for the President and the
administration to act on this?

MR. SNOW: I think what happened was that people weren't aware of it. And
that was one of the sources of concern.

Q So none of the letters or the protests that have been expressed by the
veterans' families ever reached anyone in a position of power?

MR. SNOW: Well, apparently, what happened was that within the chain of
command, things were not getting up high enough and, therefore, weren't
acted upon.

Q And the President and the administration wasn't aware of other media
reports that came out last year about these issues?

MR. SNOW: I don't want to say that nobody was aware of them, but when the
President saw the story in The Post, that was the first he was aware of
what was going on in Unit 18. And as I told you the following day, he
wanted to know what was wrong and get it fixed.

Q Tony, U.S. forces killed a number of Afghan civilians over the weekend,
including 10 who were shot by American troops. Can you tell us -- the
Afghan government has condemned it, Karzai, in particular. The U.S.
military says it was -- they acted in self-defense. And can you tell us
what this says about winning hearts and minds, at a time when the Taliban
are resurgent and al Qaeda is regrouping?

MR. SNOW: Yes, a couple of things. First, everything is under review, so I
don't want to try to presume. Secondly, there's a real difference between
the Taliban, which kills innocent as a matter of policy, and the United
States, which abhors the death of any innocent. And that's just -- they're
two different approaches. And, frankly, in the battle of hearts and minds,
the Taliban already lost that. What they're trying to do, once again, is to
use terror to impose their will -- and it's not going to happen.

But it is certainly the case that -- again, I want to make it very clear
that any attempt to draw a moral comparison between terrorists who kill
innocents as a matter of policy, and the United States, which is trying to
save innocents as a matter of policy, is utterly unwarranted. There is no
moral parallel between the two.

Q You just draw that parallel; I didn't. But what is the U.S. going to be
doing --

MR. SNOW: Well, but it's embedded in the question, when you talk about
winning hearts and minds -- when you're saying in winning hearts and minds,
it would insinuate that there was something there that would, in fact,
constitute a deliberate assault on hearts and minds. So I just -- well, I
think a lot of people would construe it that way, so I wanted to make sure
that there was no confusion.

Q What will the U.S. do to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening in
the future? We've had two major instances --

MR. SNOW: In a time of war you can never fully -- if somebody tries to hold
innocent civilians, put them in harm's way, it's very difficult to at all
times avoid unfortunate circumstances. But, look, again, we're still
studying it. So what you're asking me to do is to give you a detailed
explanation of what happened and how one would fix it in the future, and
I'm not in a position to do it.

Q Tony, just as a brief follow on that, has the President and Karzai, have
they communicated on this, talked about this at all?

MR. SNOW: I don't believe -- no, no direct conversation. Again, look, when
things like this happen, there is always immediate diplomatic contact.

Q Tony, maybe you commented on this already, but I saw the mention several
times over the weekend that this line of analysis about Walter Reed, that
the administration can't afford another Katrina, and that Walter Reed is
viewed as if it is another potential Katrina.

MR. SNOW: I think that was done by a polemical columnist, but I don't see
any parallel. Here you have a very rapid and definitive response on the
part of the Department of Defense; you have a very rapid and definitive
response on the part of the White House and the V.A. No comparison.

Q Is the "rapid and definitive" response, in some part, out of the memory
of what happened when there wasn't a rapid and definitive response?

MR. SNOW: No. It's out of being concerned and alarmed by the reporting.

Q But, Tony, the reason there's no comparison is that Katrina was a natural
disaster, whereas this situation at Walter Reed is something over which the
administration had control. And it would suggest there was incompetence or,
you know, not --

MR. SNOW: And what did you see -- and you saw the immediate holding of
people accountable. Again, Sheryl, the first the President saw of that was
in the pages of The Post. And that set in train without having to -- the
President didn't have to call Bob Gates, people in the higher levels of the
chain of command were not aware of it and that is a failing of the system.

Q But doesn't it speak to the larger level of incompetence --

MR. SNOW: No, I don't think so.

Q -- or a failing of the system, that it happened on the President's watch?

MR. SNOW: It is failures within the system that led to this. But I would
also caution you against having wholesale indictments of a system that has
saved many, many lives. There has been an extraordinary improvement in the
quality of military medicine during the course of this conflict that has
saved lives that otherwise would have been lost, and dedicated people --
look, I go to Walter Reed. I get my regular cancer checkups there. These
are people who are really devoted to what they do. And so I would strongly
caution against trying to use the broad brush of "incompetence." What we're
talking about at this point is outpatient care. We're also talking about
administrative problems.

But there is also, I think -- and I would direct you to V.A., because I
know they've done some analysis of this, in terms of the levels of
satisfaction with care -- but the fact is, look, as long as you have one of
these cases, it's too much. But, again, I would just warn against trying to
do a broad and sweeping allegation of incompetence based on this. It is
simply something that -- but on the other hand, it is utterly unacceptable.

Q Tony, there was a front page story about a lack of a Plan B for the
Baghdad security plan. Is there a Plan B?

MR. SNOW: Let me put it this way: Plan A is barely underway. And it is
always -- the idea that the administration would talk freely about a Plan B
is -- it's silly. But you also know, as you have long experience with the
Pentagon -- that people have lots of plans, and continue to plan for every
imaginable contingency. But as Secretary Rice said, the real secret right
now is making Plan A work. And Plan A is -- we've got about 15 percent of
the troop complement on the ground. As I said, we have seen encouraging
signs, but there's a lot of work yet to do. And before people start casting
about for Plan B, Plan A first has to be implemented.

Connie.

Q Just to follow up, since you know Walter Reed very well, and since
thousands more wounded warriors are coming into Walter Reed, have you or
the President discussed changing plans to close down Walter Reed?

MR. SNOW: I am aware of no -- I certainly haven't discussed it with the
President. It is important to try to figure out how to provide the most
effective care for all veterans. I am simply not going to get into the
debate about facilities and BRAC decisions. But the point is we remain
committed to first-class care for everybody.

Q Change of subject, immigration. I wanted to just do a spot check, based
on discussions on the Hill. Does the President still believe that the guest
worker program has to include a path to citizenship to be effective to
work?

MR. SNOW: Well, first, the way the guest worker program operates is there's
a path to citizenship -- the path to citizenship and the guest worker
program are separate items. The guest worker program is something in which
people would come here for a specified stay, and they would return. They
wouldn't bring family members; you'd have workers coming, being matched for
jobs that Americans are not taking, and after a specified time, return. If
they decided that they wanted to become citizens, then they would go
through the regular process of trying to get green cards, and so on.

The path to citizenship -- I think you're referring to trying to figure out
how to deal with 12 million people who are here illegally and coming up
with some sensible way of dealing with the problem, knowing that you are
not in a position to kick them all out, nor does it make any sense to
ignore the fact that they're here as a result of having broken a law.

And what the President has proposed is a way of acknowledging the rule of
law by requiring those who have gotten here illegally, effectively, to
acknowledge it by paying penalties, and also, at the same time, going to
the very back of the line when it comes to immigration -- I mean
citizenship -- should they want to apply for it, and during that time, have
to maintain continuous employment, good behavior and mastery of the English
language.

Q Following up on that, Tony, if I may, really quickly. The President will
talk about, I assume, defense with President Calderon during the trip --

MR. SNOW: I'm not sure precisely what it is. I'd refer you back to Steve
Hadley's briefing. He gave that to you about an hour ago.

Q Okay. Let me also follow up, then, on the V.A. Is it your expectation
that there may be more big fish, if you will, to fall in the wake of this
particular circumstance?

MR. SNOW: I don't know. Our primary concern is to make sure the system gets
fixed. I don't know if that implies that there are going to be other
personnel changes, or not. I know that makes for, sort of, saucier
reporting, but it's much better to get into the real and important business
of ensuring that the people who have risked their lives and have been
wounded in service to their country receive first-class treatment from the
moment they're in, through the rest of their lives. That's what they're
promised; that's what they deserve.

Les, and then in the back.

Q Thank you, Tony. The New York Times reports this morning that yesterday,
in Selma, Mrs. Clinton recalled going as a teenager to hear Dr. King speak
in Chicago in 1963, but she made no mention at all of what is in her
autobiography, that in 1964, she campaigned as a Goldwater Girl, and
Senator Goldwater opposed the '64 Civil Rights Act. And my question: The
President believes she surely should have admitted this at Selma yesterday,
doesn't he?

MR. SNOW: Oh, please don't waste my time with this silly stuff. I've
already told you we're not commenting --

Q It's not silly stuff, that --

MR. SNOW: Yes, it is.

Q -- was from The New York Times. Do you think that's a silly paper?

MR. SNOW: Yes, it's a silly question because we have told you the President
is not going to play pundit-in-chief. As much as you want to go --

Q -- just want to know where he stands on this.

MR. SNOW: As much as you want to goad me into doing judgments about Hillary
Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, it's not going to happen. So don't blow
one of your questions by asking something you know I'm not going to answer.

Q Well, let me ask you about another one, not Obama or -- the AP reported
that Bill Clinton's induction yesterday into Selma's Voting Rights Hall of
Fame -- do you, Tony, know of any record that, in March of '65, when
18-year-old Bill Clinton -- that he participated in the Selma march with
those of us who did, and who came from a lot further away than either
Arkansas or Georgetown?

MR. SNOW: I'm unaware.

Q You're unaware.

MR. SNOW: Paula.

Q The Employee Free Choice Act is under consideration; the White House has
put out a veto threat based on the secret ballot provision.

MR. SNOW: Right.

Q But those who support the bill have said that the current system allows
employers to intimidate anyone that wants to join a union, and threaten
relocation. Does the administration dispute that --

MR. SNOW: I'm not going to get into that, simply because what you're asking
-- if you've got specific instances you want to bring up, we'll be happy to
refer you to the NLRB. That sort of activity, as you know, is illegal.

On the other hand, a secret ballot has always been a hallmark for
protecting people's civil rights, as you know, and why people who are in
the process of trying to decide whether to join labor unions would be
denied that, is peculiar, and it is -- it's one of the reasons why this
administration, the senior officials, have recommended a presidential veto
if that provision carries forth.

Q Tony, real quickly, can you describe the process as the Secretary of
Defense is making personnel changes related to responsibility at Walter
Reed? How is he working with the White House to either fly those by him,
choose the replacements --

MR. SNOW: We place a lot -- the President places a great deal of trust in
Bob Gates. I am not aware that this is something where he does a flyer. I
think he informs the President about what he's going to do. But this is my
acting on instinct, rather than on direct knowledge. I have not been in on
any meetings. It's not my understanding that it works in that way. Bob
Gates was selected as Secretary of Defense in part because of his
no-nonsense manner and also because of his managerial abilities, and we've
seen both of those in evidence recently.

Q Thank you, Tony.

Q On North Korea, U.S.A.-North Korea will discuss normalization of
relationship between U.S. and North Korea in New York today. Would you be
more specific to tell us that normalization (inaudible)?

MR. SNOW: No. What's going on is within the context of the six-party talks,
there are five different working groups, two of them involve normalization
-- one with Japan, one with the United States -- and this is the first
meeting under the six-party agreement that was signed off on a couple of
weeks ago.

Q Thank you.

END 12:28 P.M. EST
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