White House Daily Briefing Transcript

(President's schedule, threat alert/public reaction, Iraq,


Portugal/President's meeting with Prime Minister, Vice


President/undisclosed location, homeland security/Senate vote, Afghan


Embassy/Bush remarks, surface-to-air missile testing, drought aid,


homeland security/news conference, cybersecurity) (4700)





White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer briefed.





Following is the White House transcript:





(begin transcript)





THE WHITE HOUSE


Office of the Press Secretary


September 10, 2002





PRESS BRIEFING BY ARI FLEISCHER





INDEX


-- President's schedule for the day


-- Threat alert/public reaction


-- Iraq


-- President's meeting with Prime Minister of Portugal


-- Vice President/undisclosed location


-- Homeland security/Senate vote


-- Afghan Embassy/remarks of the President


-- Surface-to-air missile testing


-- Drought aid


-- News conference


-- Cybersecurity





THE WHITE HOUSE


Office of the Press Secretary


September 10, 2002





PRESS BRIEFING BY ARI FLEISCHER


James S. Brady Press Briefing Room


12:10 P.M. EDT





MR. FLEISCHER: Good afternoon. Let me give you a report on the


President's day. The President began with a National Security Council


meeting. He had his intelligence briefings, followed by an FBI


briefing. And the President, continuing his series of phone calls to


leaders around the world in advance of his Thursday speech, called


President Aznar of Spain, and President Uribe of Colombia. He will


later call President Fox of Mexico, to continue the consultation


process.





The President, also this morning, met with the Prime Minister of


Portugal, where they talked about the war against terrorism, and they


also talked about the upcoming meeting in the Czech Republic dealing


with NATO expansion.





Later this afternoon the President will depart the White House and


make remarks at the Embassy of Afghanistan and meet with a group of


Arab and Muslim American leaders. The President will talk about the


importance in our free society of tolerance and respect, particularly


as the anniversary of the attack on our country approaches.





And finally, I want to draw your attention -- there will be a 1:15


p.m. news conference at the Department of Justice involving Homeland


Security Director Ridge and Attorney General Ashcroft, to discuss the


evolving security situation. I'm not at liberty to get into any


details about that in this briefing. They will have information for


you at their briefing.





QUESTION: Can you confirm for us that the alert is being raised to


orange, a high risk of terrorism, specifically threats against U.S.


embassies abroad?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, anything more specific than that will be given


out at that news conference.





Q:  Do you have any idea what caused this raised level of threat?





MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I'm not going to -- anything more specific than


that will be coming from them. Let me just say that the government


continues to monitor the security situation. Our abilities have been


enhanced since September 11th, and through the efforts of the


department of homeland security and other agencies that work very


hard, we are in a constant state of monitoring what we can learn about


the intentions of any of our enemies to bring harm to the United


States. Based on any of the information we receive, that's what


determines the various levels of the color codes.





Q:  Are you confirming that it was raised?





MR. FLEISCHER:  I'm not.





Q: Ari, there's a lot -- I understand that Justice is going to talk


about it -- a lot of people who are watching you now across the


country who may be wondering, since this is the first time that the


threat level has been raised, and with the anniversary tomorrow,


what's the President's view of -- from a safety point of view, people


out to mark 9/11? Should they take specific actions or not take


specific actions on such a solemn and potentially dangerous day, based


on this?





MR. FLEISCHER: The President thinks the American people should


absolutely take specific actions, and those specific actions are to


live their lives, to honor the memories of those who were lost, to pay


respects to the families and the loved ones of those families attacked


and killed on September 11th. The American people need to live their


lives. That's the best thing the American people can do to send a


signal to anybody who would do us harm.





The law enforcement community, the private sector that secures the


infrastructure, they all are part of the developments in the Office of


Homeland Security, to continue to harden America's assets to make us


harder to hit. And the law enforcement community is in constant touch


with the federal government at all levels, and so if there are any


changes, that would be where people would expect to see any changes,


as the law enforcement community steps up its protections of the


country.





Q: Ari, on Iraq. The Prime Minister of Portugal said that it's a


global problem, requires a global response. Prime Minister Blair in


his speech today said that action will be taken against Iraq if he


does not comply with U.N. resolutions. Is this a clear indication that


the President will be moving through the United Nations on any further


action, or future action against Iraq?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President will be giving an important speech


to the United Nations on Thursday in which he will discuss his


thinking about how to deal with the threat that Saddam Hussein poses


to the United States and to others. And the President looks forward to


giving that address. It will be before a large number of ambassadors


and leaders who represent the world.





Q: Can you speak to Prime Minister Blair's comments this morning? You


said that you would at this briefing.





MR. FLEISCHER: The President welcomes Prime Minister Blair's strong


leadership in the war on terror. Prime Minister Blair represents the


thoughts of many who were concerned about liberty and freedom, and the


President looks forward to giving a speech Thursday at the United


Nations.





Q: I don't mean to monopolize your time, but what Blair said this


morning about action will be taken if Iraq continues to ignore U.N.


resolutions, is that a clear reflection of the President's thinking?





MR. FLEISCHER: Let me leave it where I put it, and the President will


be speaking in his own voice on Thursday.





Terry.





Q: Ari, if I could just link the two subjects in a question that I


don't like asking, but needs to be asked. Can you assure the American


people that this elevated threat alert is not part of the


administration's effort to convince people that the danger is such


that military action against Iraq is necessary?





MR. FLEISCHER: I think any further questions on that will be addressed


to the Director of Homeland Security and the Attorney General.





Q: But you can assure us that the assessment is entirely related to --





MR. FLEISCHER: I think any follow-up questions to something that I,


myself, have not announced need to be addressed to the Attorney


General and to the Director of Homeland Security.





Q:  Is there any link to Iraq on this threat?





MR. FLEISCHER: Any questions need to be addressed to those two


individuals.





Q:  Will the President keep his public schedule?





MR. FLEISCHER:  Yes.





Q: Do you have a readout on the Portuguese meeting? Did the President


hear what he wanted to hear from the Prime Minister?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President -- I'm not going to characterize


the remarks of the Prime Minister. It's always the prerogative of the


other nations that visit with the President to characterize their own


statements. The President welcomed the President of Portugal to the


Oval Office. They had a very good meeting. The President talked about


his concerns about the threat that Saddam Hussein poses. The President


said that he is looking forward to giving his speech on Thursday at


the United Nations. And I think that Portugal and the people of


Portugal and people around the world will have a very full and clear


sense of what the President thinks after the speech is given.





Q:  Ari, two questions?





MR. FLEISCHER:  Kelly.





Q: First, on the Vice President, can you tell us why he's been


spending the night at a secure, undisclosed location? And is it


precautionary, or is it due to some specific threat?





MR. FLEISCHER: I will confirm that the Vice President last night spent


the night at a secure, undisclosed location. And, as was the case last


year, based on an ongoing review of information that is received, as


well as out of precaution, the combinations of the two are what makes


these determinations necessary. And so, I do confirm that.





Q:  Is he there now?





Q: Let me just follow up -- is he going to continue to work out of an


undisclosed location -- keep his public schedule?





MR. FLEISCHER: Any further -- any further announcements about his


schedule, I'm not going to make certainly in advance. And those


announcements would come from the Vice President's office in any case.





Q:  Was he here this morning?





MR. FLEISCHER: I'm sorry? He was here this morning, as I was speaking


this morning. But the question was about where he will be later today.


If you're asking me where he is at this very moment, I don't know.





Q: Just confirming, though, one night only, or has it been a few


nights?





MR. FLEISCHER: Any further information, you need to ask the Vice


President's office.





Q: Should we view that the President will be issuing an ultimatum on


Thursday to Saddam Hussein, either comply with resolutions or face


consequences?





MR. FLEISCHER: It's getting close enough to the time of the speech


that you'll have all these answerers very shortly, you'll be able to


hear from the President himself. And I don't think it would be my


position to give his speech for him.





Q: But the message in general -- Tony Blair sort of put it out there


-- is that a fair assessment, that Saddam either -- this diplomacy one


last time works, or there will be military action?





MR. FLEISCHER: You can reflect on what Prime Minister Blair said


today, and you'll be able to reflect on what the President says on


Thursday.





Goyle.





Q: Ari, two quick questions. One, former President Bill Clinton the


other day, he said that Osama bin Laden is not dead, and terrorists


are -- al Qaeda terrorists are still in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And


why we are not getting them and why don't we get them? But Vice


President Cheney said that I'd like to see him to be handcuffed, but I


don't know where he is, maybe he has moved out of the -- to another


country. So what do you think, both of them?





MR. FLEISCHER: We continue to not have anything definitive. The


President does not know if Osama bin Laden is dead or alive. Nothing


has changed in that regard. It's a frequently asked question, but that


doesn't change whether the President has any updated information. He


does not. We do not know.





Jacobo.





Q: Ari, now that the Office of Homeland Security is once again in the


spotlight, how does the President or the White House view the


negotiations that are taking place in the Senate? Does he think


there's any progress in the Senate toward the President's decision, or


is it still in the air?





MR. FLEISCHER: I think the progress of the legislation can be summed


up in one word, and that is, slow. It is important that America know


that it will have a new Cabinet-level department of homeland security


to protect the country. And this issue has been passed by the House of


Representatives, it's moving slowly in the Senate. And the President


has been calling on the Senate to pass this for quite a lengthy period


of time. And the President remains hopeful and will continue to help


the Senate so they can get this passed. But the President would like


the Senate to pass it -- it still has to go to a conference committee,


and there's not much time left in this Congress. So we'll continue to


work diligently with the Senate to help them so they can get this


done, but it's been slow.





Q: And a second question, Ari, the President been on the phone


speaking to world leaders about the situation in Iraq. Is he receiving


messages -- I don't necessarily mean phone calls -- is he receiving


messages from leaders around the world on the occasion of the first


anniversary of the 11th of September?





MR. FLEISCHER: He is. In many of the calls that the President makes,


as he talks about his speech on Thursday, foreign leaders offer on


their own their thoughts and their sympathies for the American people


as the one-year anniversary approaches. These messages are in many


ways heartening, to hear these leaders express their solidarity with


the United States.





Q: -- the diplomatic messages for the State Department arriving from


other countries?





MR. FLEISCHER: I think anything arriving at the State Department you


need to ask the State Department about.





Q:  I mean, addressed to the President.





MR. FLEISCHER: You know, correspondence is correspondence. I can just


report to you on the President's phone calls and what he's thinking


about these issues.





Q: Can you talk a little more about what the point of the speech to


the Afghan Embassy is, or what the message --





MR. FLEISCHER: The speech at the Afghan Embassy is really going to be


about tolerance, tolerance and respect in the United States. If you


remember, the attack on the United States took place on September


11th, and then on September the 17th, six days later, the President


traveled to the Islamic Center in Washington to make certain that all


Americans heard the message that Arab Americans and Muslim Americans


love our country just as much as anybody else. And that's an important


message, and the President wanted to sound it again here on the day


before the anniversary.





Q: Ari, can you comment on the reports that surface-to-air missiles


have been deployed in various locations in and around Washington?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, sure, there's a news release that went out. This


is very public; it's part of the training exercises for Clear Skies


II. If you recall, there was similar Clear Skies I training exercises


that took place earlier this year, and I'd refer you for anything


beyond that to the Pentagon. But this is all very public,


well-announced, and it's exactly as I indicated it would be.





Q: Ari, the Senate overwhelmingly passed nearly $6 billion in drought


aid today. I'm wondering, is the White House going to accept that, or


what's the deal on that?





MR. FLEISCHER: The President very much would like to help those people


who have been affected by this drought. The drought has been severe


and many people need help, and the President is dedicated to giving


them the help they deserve. And so the President will work with the


Congress to pass help for these farmers. He believes we can do it and


should do it in a way that is within budget limitations and that does


not bust the budget.





Q: Is that $6 billion within -- would that bust the budget, or not? I


mean, do you support what the Senate did today?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President will continue to work with


Congress. This is one body's action on it, on this matter. Ultimately,


it will get settled in a conference committee. But the President wants


to make sure that we can do two things. One is help those who need


help; and two, do so in a manner that's fiscally responsible.





Q: Ari, what are the President and the White House doing right now to


bring along members of Congress, particularly Democrats, on Iraq


policy?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, Dr. Rice and Director Tenet of the CIA went up


and briefed Hill leaders today. As you know, the Vice President went


up and briefed Hill leaders earlier. And so there constantly will


continually be a flow of information to the leaders on the Hill. And I


think Thursday's speech will be informative for many members of


Congress. Even though they won't be at the U.N., they certainly will


hear what the President has on his mind. And the administration will


continue to listen carefully to the voices in the Congress, and we


welcome the hearings that the Congress will shortly begin on the topic


of Iraq. Of course, Senator Biden's committee -- these will be a


continuation of the hearings he's already begun.





Q: What are the chances of a news conference with the President to


build on Thursday's remarks? Will we be seeing him Friday?





MR. FLEISCHER:  No, I would not anticipate one this week.





Q: And also, when will we get a chance to ask him some questions about


--





MR. FLEISCHER: You will have a chance this afternoon. The President's


going to be -- have a press pool this afternoon.





Q: -- his speech this afternoon?





MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not how you can judge that's a preemption. But the


President -- the President frequently takes questions from the pool,


as you know. And he'll continue to do that.





Q:  But what about a news conference to build on Thursday's remarks?





MR. FLEISCHER: As always, any time there's a news conference, we'll


let you know.





Q:  Is it under consideration?





MR. FLEISCHER: News conferences are always under consideration.


(Laughter.)





Q: Following on Richard's question, the President has now talked with


congressional leaders and also made phone calls to a number of world


leaders. Is the President encountering any difficulties in making the


initial case here against -- on his policy with Iraq, when as you've


said repeatedly, he has yet to decide how he's going to act?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the purpose of the calls is to touch base with


these foreign leaders. He stresses to each of them that he intends to


consult along the way and will constantly be in reach and in touch at


all levels of government. And then he invites them to listen carefully


to his remarks on Thursday.





There are a variety of ways that the President reaches out to foreign


leaders. One is, of course, direct, on the phone; others are through


the President's public statements, particularly in the more notable


settings, the more important speeches such as Thursday's speech; and


there will be other ways, through other administration officials. For


example, the President has already said that he'll be sending teams of


people out to various capitals around the world to continue the


consultations. So it's going to be ongoing at multiple levels. And I


think the reaction has been from these leaders that they welcome this


type of consultation.





Connie.





Q: Thank you. The streets around the White House seem inordinately


quiet. Do you sense fear and concern on the part of the people? And


how do you reconcile the two advices, to live a normal life, but to be


vigilant at the same time?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, no, I don't think the President detects that at


all in the American people. I think in the American people, the


President detects what has always been found in our people, and that


is a fantastic, wonderful strength, that has made us the strongest and


the freest nation. And we've had attacks on our country, and every


time after an attack the United States responded in a fashion that


represented justice, and we brought more freedom to the world. Because


as the President has said, particularly vis-a-vis Afghanistan, we did


not go into Afghanistan to conquer, we went in to liberate, which is


exactly how the people of Afghanistan reacted when they had their


cities and their towns returned to them.





And so the President sees in the American people -- and he'll talk a


little bit about this in his remarks -- a fantastic eternal strength.


And the American people, when they hear information about threats to


our country, particularly going back in the aftermath of September


11th, they've shown a resiliency, an ability to understand that two


things go on at once -- that the American people can and will live


their normal lives, and that security people and police are paid to


take care of the security situation, and they've done a masterful job


at it and will continue to work hard to do so.





Q: Ari, on drought relief, I thought the administration's position was


that the new farm bill, that mammoth farm bill had money in it to deal


with drought relief, and that you did not want to pursue drought


relief through emergency spending. Is the administration now talking


about --





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, there are a number of ways to do this in a manner


that both helps the farmers, which is important, and also does it in a


fiscally responsible manner. The farm bill does have plenty of funding


in it to handle many different issues. And the President will continue


to work with Congress to see what the most appropriate way is to bring


this help to the people who need it.





Q: Are you contemplating supporting emergency spending measures for


drought relief, or would you prefer to see it all come out of the farm


bill?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, there are various different ways, as I indicated,


of working to get something that's final result is fiscally


responsible, in the President's judgment. And he'll continue to take a


look at what the Congress is working on. I don't think we've heard the


last word from the Congress on this issue.





Q:  So you're open to emergency spending for drought relief?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President has said it needs to be done in a


fiscally responsible way.





Q: Was there -- what was the White House reaction to Prime Minister


Blair's speech, and was there any coordination with its timing?





MR. FLEISCHER: I've already given a reaction to the speech. On the


coordination of it, I think it's fair to say when the President met


with the Prime Minister, they had a good exchange of ideas. They


strongly understand each other's positions, and there were no


surprises. But it's really at that level. It's not as if Tony Blair


hands a copy of his speech to President Bush, or that President Bush


hands a copy of his speech to Tony Blair prior to giving it. But you


can assume that the two have a very clear understanding of each


other's positions.





Q: When the President, as he put it, started a process last week, he


was explicit about gaining congressional approval. Now you're talking


about members of Congress hearing Mr. -- hearing the President's ideas


at his speech on Thursday. Has the importance of the U.N. in this


process grown, and can you characterize the importance the President


attaches to the U.N. as he pursues his objectives in Iraq?





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think that the -- that people around the world


will reach their own conclusions about the importance of the United


Nations, given the fact that the United Nations has passed many


resolutions that call on Saddam Hussein to disarm, to get rid of the


weapons that he has, to abandon the pursuit of the weapons of mass


destruction, especially the chemical, the biological and the ballistic


missiles. And that judgment is still out about whether the U.N. has


done a good job in enforcing its resolutions.





Q: That's not what he asked. He asked you what the President and the


White House think.





MR. FLEISCHER: What does the White House think? You'll get that


Thursday when the President gives his speech.





Sarah.





Q: Thank you. I know part of my question was already asked, but I have


another part. The Pentagon is now conducting an air defense exercise


in and around Washington, using a Avenger surface-to-air missile


launchers that are not equipped with missiles. On the eve of 9/11, is


this very smart? (Laughter.)





MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, the answer is that this is an exercise and


this is a drill that is being carried out. There are numerous ways


that the Homeland Security Office, the Department of Defense have to


protect the American people -- CAPs are one of those ways. And so


there are various ways, but this is in a different context. This is,


as the Pentagon indicated, a drill.





Q: Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Canada said, after discussing the


Iraqi situation with the President, that the President hadn't offered


him any new evidence or proof that Hussein is currently or doing


anything new in terms of pursuit of these weapons. And some members


have had briefings, closed-door briefings from administration


officials, like the Defense Secretary, CIA Director, and have emerged


from those meetings and say the same thing. Does the President have


new information, new evidence gathered within the last six months, or


is he simply content to press the case based on what the world has


already known about Saddam Hussein?





MR. FLEISCHER: The President has said, and you heard this repeatedly


on the Sunday shows from the Secretary of State, from the National


Security Advisor, from the Vice President, from the Secretary of


Defense -- that there already is, based on what we know, a mountain of


evidence about the threat that Saddam Hussein poses to the United


States, to our interests abroad and to our friends and allies around


the world. And based on that, as well as other information, the


President is going to discuss at the United Nations the threat that he


sees in Saddam Hussein.





Q:  By "other information," what do you mean?





MR. FLEISCHER: Again, it's the beginning of a process, and as the


President reflects on various issues, the President will continue to


discuss his case. But, make no mistake, based on what President Bush


and the national security team know already, and has been known,


Saddam Hussein presents a threat to the United States.





Q:  Even if there's nothing new?





MR. FLEISCHER:  I'll leave you with that conclusion.





Q: Ari, has the U.N. failed the world in not addressing Saddam more


aggressively and quicker?





MR. FLEISCHER: The President would hope that that would never be the


case, that the U.N. would fail the world.





Q:  He doesn't feel that the U.N. has failed the world --





MR. FLEISCHER: I think, again -- I understand the questions, but I am


going to say that the President will give this speech on Thursday, and


it's just not the staff's role or job to give it for him on his


behalf. He'll be doing it Thursday, and you'll have the answers to


many of these questions then.





Paula.





Q: On the issue of cybersecurity, the Office of Cybersecurity


reportedly will be presenting recommendations next week to the


President on how to secure computers, whether at universities, even at


home. And according to The Washington Post, some of these


recommendations are just going to be for voluntary compliance, rather


than requirement by the federal government. How does the


administration weigh in on this? And is the administration in favor of


a privacy czar?





MR. FLEISCHER: The issue of cybersecurity is an important part of the


overall defensive efforts, and it's a focus that has been brought to


the security team. And I think it's too soon to predict when any


report that the cyber people have been working on will be ready. There


is ongoing -- work that is ongoing about that project, and so I would


not leap to any conclusions about when they will have something.


They're continuing to work hard on a review of cyber policy.





Q: And what is the position of having a privacy czar to make sure that


individual and businesses' privacy is not --





MR. FLEISCHER: Paula, let me see if I've got anything on that, and


I'll post it if I do.





Q: Ari, as a follow-up to this morning, do you have anything more on


terrorism insurance? Are you guys close to a deal?





MR. FLEISCHER: I did not get an update on that. I think we'll be able


to get you something today, but I did not get it yet.





Q:  Thank you.





MR. FLEISCHER:  Thank you.





12:33 P.M. EDT





(end transcript)