White House Gaggle

By Scott McClellan
THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
(Parkersburg, West Virginia)
____________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release May 13, 2004



PRESS GAGGLE
BY
SCOTT McCLELLAN

Aboard Air Force One
En Route Parkersburg, West Virginia

11:58 A.M.EDT

MR. McCLELLAN: Okay, let's see, let's get started. The Freedom
Corps greeter, upon arrival, is Heather Stout. She tutors West Virginia
University students in math, and she's also tutoring a 4th grader in
reading. And then we -- then we go to Parkersburg South High School, where
the President will participate in a conversation on high school
initiatives. The President will also talk about how he's setting a new
national goal to make sure every high school student, when they graduate,
is ready to compete in the workforce or ready to go on to college. And the
President will talk about the initiatives that we are implementing and
pursuing to meet that national goal.

And the participants include the principal of Parkersburg South High
School, a high school advanced placement teacher, a high school science
teacher, a coordinator for High Schools That Work, and the interim
president of West Virginia University at Parkersburg. And the audience
will include parents and teachers and education officials, community
leaders involved in education activities.

And then we go back to the White House, and this evening the
President makes remarks to the American Conservative Union's 40th
Anniversary Gala. And that's at the JW Marriot this evening.

One update to the schedule. On Monday, May 3rd, we've already
announced the Topeka part of the trip. Following that --

Q May 3rd?

MR. McCLELLAN: May 3rd.

Q May 17th.

MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, May 17th, I'm sorry. I don't know what --
Monday, May 17th -- Monday, whatever date that is, the President will
attend a Victory 2004 reception in Atlanta, Georgia, after the trip to
Topeka.

Q So, what message was Secretary Rumsfeld trying to bring across
by going to Baghdad?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think he talked about that in his remarks earlier
today, so you can look to his remarks. He was interviewed, participated in
an interview with some of the media traveling with him and talked about
that.

Q -- sense of that?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, we -- oh, yes, we were aware he was going.

Q It was decided --

MR. McCLELLAN: Obviously, it's always good to show support for the
men and women of our military who are serving in Iraq and doing an
outstanding job, helping to move forward on our mission to build a free and
peaceful Iraq.

Q It reportedly was decided -- Rumsfeld decided on Monday to go.
Was that during his meetings with the President at the Pentagon?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know the exact timing. I mean, the Pentagon
can probably tell you the exact timing, when he made the decision. But,
yes, there was talk about it earlier this week, I'm aware of.

Q Do you know whether it came up in that meeting at the Pentagon?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sure they talked about it, but I don't know if it
-- I wasn't in that particular meeting.

Q Say that again, Scott. They talked about --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sure they did, but I wasn't in that particular
meeting.

Q -- and the President?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, they had their meeting with -- to receive the
briefing from the military leaders on the global war on terrorism, and then
they had some time after that to discuss. I'm sure they did. But they
have talked about it.

Q Congressman Lantos is talking on the Hill today about the
meeting at the White House yesterday, where he and some others were
advocating a role for the U.N. in Iraq going forward, much like it had in
Bosnia, with fairly expanded powers. How does the President feel about
that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, look, he had a good visit last night with the
-- those members. And they talked about the way forward in Iraq. And it
was a very constructive discussion. It was part of his ongoing
consultations with members of Congress. And in terms of the United
Nations' role, I mean, we've made our views very clear, that the United
Nations has a vital role to play, going forward in Iraq. They're playing a
very vital role right now in helping to move forward on the formation of
the interim representative government. And they're also playing a very
vital role in helping to move forward on elections, beginning next January,
as agreed to under the November 15th agreement.

Q Some conservatives are having doubt about the Iraq mission. Is
the President going to try to answer those doubts tonight?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think in his speech tonight, the remarks the
President will make are similar to some of the remarks you've heard him
making in his speeches at some of the recent campaign events. He will be
talking about the -- his positive vision for the country, and he'll be
talking about the clear choices we face going forward. And I expect he
will talk about what -- the importance of what we are working to achieve in
Iraq. You have heard him talk about how a free and peaceful Iraq is vital
to our national interest. A free and peaceful Iraq will help transform the
Middle East, which has been a dangerous region and a breeding ground for
terrorism. And that will help make America more secure.

Q Is he going to tailor his remarks in any way toward the
conservative audience?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think it will be similar to what you -- I
think it will be similar to some of the remarks you've heard in recent
speeches he's given.

Q Nothing specific?

MR. McCLELLAN: You'll be there tonight. But I think it will be
similar -- like I said, that's why I'm trying to tell you it will be
similar to some of what you've heard previously, and he'll talk about our
priorities going forward.
Q But, Scott, with the situation both -- some of the military
difficulties over recent weeks and now the prisoner scandal, there is a
sense amongst a lot of people that the President isn't in control of events
in Iraq, that he's sort of being battered about by things happening on the
ground. Is there anything he can do or say, do you think, that can
reassure people who might support the overall mission, but are sort of, I
don't know, concerned about the ability to --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think he has been. I think the President will
continue to speak out about the important mission we're working to
accomplish in Iraq. You've heard him talk recently about the importance of
staying focused on the mission at hand. We must complete this mission for
the reasons I stated a minute ago, to Steve's question. And he will
continue to talk about how we must focus on the mission, despite the
difficulties. We will help the Iraqi people realize a free and peaceful
future. It's -- there are always going to be difficulties transitioning
from decades of oppression to democracy, and that's to be expected. And
there are certainly -- we can expect that the enemies of freedom will
continue to try to undermine and derail the transition to freedom and
democracy.

But they will not prevail. The mission we are working to accomplish
in Iraq is vital to our nation's interest. And it will make the world a
safer and better place, and it will make America more secure. And the
President will continue to speak out about the importance of the mission.

Q But everyone has sort of predicted increasing violence, for
instance between now and June 30th. Politically, do you think the
President can withstand another month of worsening events there?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think the American people recognize the importance
of the work that our men and women in the military are working to achieve
in Iraq. Our men and women in the military are doing an outstanding job
helping to bring stability and freedom to Iraq. And there are those
terrorists who recognize the stakes are very high in Iraq, because Iraq is
critical to our efforts in winning the war on terrorism. And they will
seek to try to derail a free and peaceful Iraq, because they know when we
achieve a free and peaceful Iraq, that will be a major blow to the
terrorists in the war on terrorism.

Q Scott, back to Secretary Rumsfeld's trip. Did the President
ask him to make this trip, or was it the Secretary's suggestion?

MR. McCLELLAN: This was a decision made by the Secretary. He has
traveled there before, and --

Q So the President did not ask him to go?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, this was a decision made by Secretary Rumsfeld.
The President was very well aware that he was going.

Q Does the administration have any reaction to the upset election
in India, the new government there?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, we have good relations with India. We
obviously congratulate the people of India on the completion of their
parliamentary elections. And we look forward to working with the new
government once it is in place.

Q There's some lawyers who are advising the Pentagon not to
release the photos, any more photos, you know? Will the President go along
with whatever the Pentagon decides to do about that, or is he weighing in
at this point on that?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think we've already said that the President
supports the judgment of the Pentagon in addressing this issue. I think
members of Congress have spoken about this, as well, after having seen some
of the pictures. The Pentagon has to take into consideration that there
are ongoing criminal investigations. And we don't want to do anything to
undermine those criminal investigations. We want to make sure that people
are brought to justice for these shameful and appalling acts. So we
appreciate the considerations being taken into account by the Pentagon.
They've been looking at these issues. You heard from the Secretary earlier
today on his trip to Iraq.

Q So you support not putting the photos out?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I'm not aware that the Pentagon has made a
final decision at this point. But we support the judgments that they have
to make to address this. But it's a matter that the Pentagon will make a
decision on.

Q It's not the President's decision at all?

MR. McCLELLAN: We're in close contact with the Pentagon on these
matters. The President fully understands the -- fully understands and
appreciates the factors that they are considering when they look at whether
or not to make these pictures more widely available. But they have made
them available to Congress --

Q --

MR. McCLELLAN: As I said yesterday -- I think I've said that over
the last few days. We've said that over the last few days, that it would
be a judgement that they would make, yes. I haven't heard any update from
the Pentagon. I know that they've continued to look very closely at this.

Q Is there any -- has the President's desire to see the full
scope of the pictures changed, now that all the members of Congress have
sat through the thousand or so photos? Does he have a desire to edify
himself, as they have?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President, as you're aware, was at the
Pentagon the other day. And he saw a representative sample of the
pictures. And his reaction was what I said the other day, it was one of
deep disgust and disbelief that anyone in our military would engage in such
shameful and appalling acts, and that these -- what the President focuses
on now is making sure that the military gets to the bottom of this, and
that people are brought to justice, and that we take steps to make sure it
doesn't happen again. And the military has been moving forward on all
fronts to make sure that that happens.

And it's also important to stay focused on the mission at hand, as I
said earlier. We've got to complete this important work that we're working
to achieve in Iraq.

Q A lot of the questions coming out the hearings this week was
about General Miller and his trip to Iraq and kind of getting control of
the prison situation in Iraq. Does the President see that there's any
problem, even if it's only an appearance problem, that Millero is still in
Iraq, now responsible for cleaning up this latest prison mess?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think you're trying to get into discussions of all
the issues that they're looking into. The Pentagon has several formal
investigations going on. They're pursuing individuals who -- the small
number of individuals who committed these appalling and shameful acts.
They are also looking more broadly at the entire prison system in Iraq.
And those are issues we need to let the investigation look at, and see
what's determined from the investigation.

Q But the President thinks Miller is the right person to be now
cleaning up the prison situation in Iraq?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I pointed out that the Pentagon has taken
several steps to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again.
There are investigations ongoing. I know you're trying to -- I think by
the question, it's trying to draw me into investigations that are ongoing
right now. We need to let those investigations proceed, and address all
the matters they're looking at.

Q Scott, Secretary Rumsfeld also said today that he is no longer
reading newspapers. Might that have been on the advice of the President?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think so.

Q No?

MR. McCLELLAN: No.

Q Scott, does he have a preferred timetable on when he'd like to
see these investigations wrapped up?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that that will be made based on where
the facts lead. And obviously we want to show the world that we take these
matters seriously and that we move swiftly to address these matters. And I
think the military is moving forward in a determined and swift matter to
get to the bottom of things. It's important that we know the truth, and
it's important that we move forward in an open and transparent way, so that
the world sees that America takes these matters seriously and addresses
them when they come to light; that we do not tolerate this kind of
activity, it is unacceptable.

THE PRESS: Thank you.

END 12:13 P.M. EDT