National Security Adviser targets focus on North Korea and Iran

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley spoke at the Proliferation Society Initiative fifth anniversary meeting and said that North Korea and Iran are still great proliferation risks. Hadley said that the position of the U.S. and many other nations is to not betray future generations by allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons. He said the door is still open to negotiations only if Iran suspends their uranium enrichment program.

Hadley discussed the new challenges in the fight against nuclear weapons that differ significantly from the challenges faced during the Cold War. He said the U.S. is no longer facing a nuclear threat from specific nations, but also terrorist organizations with an increased threat of chemical and biological weapons.

He outlined a six-step plan to achieve the goal of keeping weapons out of the hands of dangerous people. This plan focused on locating the sources of the weapons and disrupting the networks that facilitate terrorist organizations.

Addressing representatives in the international community, Hadley said that information sharing among nations is still not what it needs to be. He said that the faster information is shared the more quickly actions can be taken.

White House Gaggle, April 23, 2008

Briefer: Dana Perino
By: Ellen Ratner


Schedule:

The President had a private meeting with the King of Jordan in the dining room off the Oval Office. On the King’s visit, Dana said that the President had lots vested in mideast peace talks and that it was good that leaders could talk frankly with the President. He had his usual briefings and then will give the Medal of Honor to Dr. DeBakey. Later he has a photo op with Johns Hopkins donors, and then he will give the Baldridge Award.

Taxes:

The White House wants people to know that it is important for every taxpayer to fill out 1040A form so that they will get a stimulus rebate. This is available for anyone who makes $3,000 plus per year.

North Korea and the Syrians:

Dana said that they would continue to brief members of Congress on national intelligence.

Equal Pay Bill:

Dana would not comment on the bill or if the President would veto as she said they might not be able to get the votes for cloture in the Senate.

Pakistan:

Dana would not comment on reports that the Pakistani government is working with the Taliban militants. She said however that they are “concerned about these types of approaches.”

President’s Remarks Yesterday on Economy:

Dana said that we don’t know what this period is yet and we do not have the data yet, and that the President wants more robust growth in the country.

Farm Bill:

There may be a push for a one-year extension if they can’t get it done.

White House Gaggle

Briefer: Dana Perino

President’s Schedule

President Bush has his normal briefings this morning at 8 am.
At 9.45 am, the President makes remarks to the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. At 11.10 am, the President will participate in an interview with April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks. This afternoon at 1:45 pm, he will meet with former Cabinet Secretaries and Senior Government Officials on Free Trade Agreements. At 2 pm, the President will make remarks on “Picturing America” Initiative in the East Room of the White House.
White House Press Secretary Dana Perino will brief the press at 12.45 pm today.

Iran

When asked about updates and new incentives to get Iran to negotiate, Perino said that the meeting yesterday was to talk about the next round of sanctions. Perino referred to the State Department for more information.

FISA

Helen Thomas asked why the tele-companies need retro-immunity if they haven’t done anything wrong, and Perino replied that, “if they have not done anything wrong, why are trial lawyers bringing 40 different class-action lawsuits against them? “ Thomas wanted to know why they can’t go to court if they know that they did so many right things. Perino said that any time anyone is sued it is extremely expensive. “They did not break the law,” she added. Perino was also asked why the President did not talk about lost intelligence as mentioned by the Director of National Intelligence McConnell. “What is different now is that back in August, when we signed the six-month extension of the Protect America Act, it did not include retro-active liability protection which is something they said that we needed to have in this bill. The Senate agrees and the majority of the House members agree, and if the House Democratic leaders would allow for a vote this bill would pass, Perino said.

Governors’ idea of another stimulus package

Perino was asked why the President closed the door on the idea of an additional stimulus package, a proposal raised by the Governors yesterday. This was a package to support infrastructure as a way to help revive the economy. Perino replied that the President does not believe that those projects will have the short-term stimulus effects that the country needs. He will listen to all their ideas, though he will not support anything that will raise taxes.

NY Philharmonic North Korea concert

When asked if the President watched or listened to the New York Philharmonic’s concert from N. Korea yesterday, Perino said that she doubts it. When asked if she thinks it was a good idea that they went to North Korea, Perino replied that the President thinks that at the end of the day this is a concern and that it is not going to change the behavior of their regime. They are still not as forthcoming as we need them to be. “They need to move faster of denuclearization, we need a full and accurate report from them, and we need a report on all their proliferation activities. From there it is possible that additional culture exchanges, like Philharmonics, will be available. But you can’t help to think about all the people in North Korea who are not going to be able to hear it. For those who were lucky enough to hear it, I am sure that it was a memorable, and I am sure the philharmonics played a lovely concert. “

Secretary Condoleezza Rice testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Budget 2009 Hearing

At the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 Hearing, Representative Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), said there are many developments in the present that were of concern. At the top of the list, she said, is the "accelerating spread of the capacity to make nuclear weapons." She said the threat to the world’s security is obvious, and said the nuclear fuel in a reactor can be used in "dirty bombs."

She went on to say that our efforts in North Korea to have them give up their nuclear weapons program has encountered obstacles, and that we are in danger of making the same errors we have made in the past. The greatest threat to the world’s security, she said, is Iran’s determination to lay the foundation for a nuclear weapons program.

Lehtinen said that China and Russia continue to assist Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, and said "I regret that the Olympics are being held in the capital of a country which does not respect the human rights of its own population."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that "we’ve made a lot of progress" over the last several years. In Iraq, she said, we really did not have an institution that could deal with the restructuring. If America does not stand for freedom, liberty, and the rights of the oppressed, she said, then nobody will.

Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) asked Rice if the American people should be worried about Iran’s nuclear capability. Rice answered the enrichment of fissile materials were of a great danger. In answer to questions from Lehtinen, she said that we have worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to deal with the tunnels in Egypt and the smuggling problems. She said it’s important to note that there are intensive discussions going on with the Egyptians and the Israelis to find a solution that involves all parties, but has no intention of talking to Haamas.

For Afghan reconstruction, Rice said that there is "about a billion dollars" being requested. In response to Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Rice said our commitment to Afghanistan over the last six years has been over 20 billion dollars. This was in defense to the statement by Rohrabacher about the budget being overfunded in the favor of humanitarian assistance programs such as AIDS research.

Representative Robert Wexler (D-FL) said that Rice and Prez Bush made a total of 935 false public statements pre-9/11 in an orchestrated attempt to be misleading about the war. Rice said "I take my integrity very seriously."

White House Gaggle

January 29, 2008
Briefer: Tony Fratto
By: Ellen Ratner

Schedule:

The President had his normal briefings. This morning he has an interview with Morton Kondracke. Then he will go to Baltimore to make remarks on faith based program at the Jericho Program. This is the seventh anniversary of the President's Faith Based Program. Later he will sign the Executive Order on earmarks that he announced during his State of the Union Address last night. Then he will meet with the Joint Chiefs and Combatant Commanders. This is an annual meeting. A list of participants will be coming from the White House later in the day. The House will vote on HR 5140, the Economic Stimulus bill. On Wednesday the President will fly to California and will discuss Free Trade. On Thursday he will go to Las Vegas and will discuss FISA and the Global War on Terror. On Friday he will go to Kansas City. Data will be available on jobs on Friday.

Financial/Budget Package:

In terms of an economic stimulus the White House said that the solution worked out between the Congress and the Administration will provide immediate tax relief and be large enough to make a difference. The budget will be presented on February 4th. The President will deliver a package that creates a budget surplus by 2012.

FISA:

The President will veto a thirty day extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act . When asked why the White House said they needed FISA and could not get a warrant. White House Spokesman Tony Fratto responded that the Senate had six months to pass a bill.

Iraq and North Korea:

Asked why the President did not mention North Korea in the State of the Union Speech, Tony said that there could be a whole briefing on things that were not mentioned in the speech. In terms of Iraq, the President did say that twenty thousand troops would be leaving Iraq by the end of 2008 this is not the entire surge force which added 30 thousand troops to Iraq.