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Press Briefing by Dana Perino
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room Play Video
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3:41 P.M. ESTMS. PERINO: Hi, everyone. Sorry for the late briefing again, but we'vehad a couple of busy days, as you know. The President had his normalbriefings at 8:00 a.m., and then he went to Annapolis, as you know, andhe gave a speech -- we'll have more on that in a moment. And youalready heard from the President.He then -- when he came back to the White House he had a meeting withthe leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Abd-al-Aziz al-Hakim,that was in the Oval Office this afternoon. The last time they met wasDecember 4, 2006. The following were the key topics that theydiscussed: the improving security situation in Iraq and theimprovements that have occurred since their meeting nearly a year ago;the strategic partnership between the United States and Iraq and theimportance of the Declaration of Principles that the President and PrimeMinister Maliki signed yesterday; the tribal awakening, how the Sunnitribal groups from al Anbar and other areas -- and Shia groups -- arecoming together and meeting, and this is being replicated across Iraq;and then the importance of the need for support from Iraq's neighbors asIraq moves forward.Then the President just now finished an interview with the AssociatedPress, your colleagues here from the White House briefing room and --Q I notice they're not here.MS. PERINO: I know; kind of an empty room today.Q Did he make some major news?MS. PERINO: They told me that they were going to have somebody elsemonitor the briefing. So I'll go to questions. Kelly.Q There are reports of new tension between China and the U.S.concerning U.S. Navy ships, where Admiral Keating today said that theChinese government has denied safe harbor. And there was some questionabout whether this was a new wrinkle with China, perhaps a response tothe Dalai Lama's visit. What do you know about this? And --MS. PERINO: To be honest I don't know enough about it. I knew aboutthe incident from last week; this is new for me, I've been up inAnnapolis and then with the President, and so I'll have to refer you toDepartment of Defense for now.But we'll check, and if I can get more,I'll get it for you.Q Dana, is the President planning any trips to Israel and the WestBank?MS. PERINO: He was asked -- he made no announcements, in terms oftravel, today.One of the things he said is that you don't need to bein the region in order to help facilitate getting to this point. Infact, the President, as you know, has not traveled to Israel asPresident; he went as governor of Texas. And so he said that if thereare plans and news of a future trip, that he'll let us know.Q But he doesn't think that would send a signal that he's fullyengaged in this? I mean, he just doesn't --MS. PERINO: I think that you saw -- what you saw today is that thePresident is fully engaged, and that it's because of his actions -- ifyou go back to 2002, where he -- 2001, where he said, we are no longergoing to stand for terror; in 2002, he calls for -- he's the firstPresident to call for a Palestinian state. He said he would not workwith Arafat, who was complicit in terror. Since then, we now have aJewish leader in Israel who recognizes the need for a Palestinian statefor Israel's own security. In addition to that, you have a Palestinianleader who wants to work forward to get to the road map. He caresdeeply about the welfare of the Palestinian people.And so now they all came together today and they had a moment that thePresident considered was a significant moment, in that they were able tocome together on a joint statement today. There was some question -- asyou know in this room, there was a question of whether or not thePalestinians and the Israelis would be able to agree on a statement.And the President helped encourage them today to finalize that whilethey were in their trilateral meeting, and Secretary Rice and hercounterparts stepped away from the meeting and they finished working onthe final details. And then the President was able to read that jointstatement. And he said that he will continue to be committed.But what he also said is that the Americans cannot impose peace, andthat this is going to have to take the Israelis and the Palestinianshaving this genuine commitment to work together. And he thinks thatwe're at such a moment to take advantage of that time right now.Q What is your strategy for engaging Hamas in this?Because, youknow, they're calling it a waste of time. Do you believe that they needto be a part of this to actually have --MS. PERINO: Well, this is something that is going to be very difficultand is going to take some time to work through. But I think that whenyou have a leader such as in Prime Minister -- I'm sorry, PresidentAbbas, you have somebody who cares deeply about the welfare of thePalestinian people. They have lived with terrible indignities andhumiliation for years, and it is time that they had a vision and a hopefor peace. Hamas doesn't provide that vision, and increasingly thePalestinian people are realizing that.And President Abbas is showing that he is a leader that can provide forthem a hopeful vision on the horizon -- and because of that, hisleadership will be rewarded. But this is going to be something that thePalestinians are going to have to work through. It will take some time.Q So does the President believe that you can actually have asustainable peace in that region without engaging Hamas, who a lot ofpeople do follow over in the --MS. PERINO: Well, the Palestinians are going to have to work thisthrough. But the President -- you can't have two Palestinian states.You're going to have one Palestinian state in order for this to work,and so it will take some time for the Palestinians to work it through.Suzanne.Q The President said that the U.S. was going to play a role inmonitoring and judging whether or not both sides meet their phase one inthe road map.MS. PERINO: Right.Q Did the President explain how he was going to do that, or is thatsomething that --MS. PERINO: That is still something that the final touches of that arebeing worked on. And I expect that the State Department would havesomething, maybe, before the end of the week that they could detail outon that.Q And you said that the President talked to al-Hakim today?MS. PERINO: Yes, in the Oval Office.Q Okay. Did he mention at all that the Middle East -- theconference, and whether or not he thought this was a good thing forIraqis, and the reconciliation that's going on over there?MS. PERINO: I did not sit in on that meeting.I got these notes fromone of the note-takers that was there; I don't know if that specificallycame up. But obviously the President thinks that if you can get to apermanent two-state solution in the Middle East, with two states livingside by side in peace and security, that it will then help lead to anoverall comprehensive peace in the Middle East, of which, obviously,Iraq is a part.Q Has the President heard from Maliki or anybody else, expressingthat, that they're encouraged by the --MS. PERINO: The President and Prime Minister Maliki spoke about ityesterday morning on the secure videoconference when -- right before theconference, right before the President's bilateral meetings. And PrimeMinister Maliki congratulated the President on getting to this point,and recognized that it was a significant moment.Sheryl.Q Dana, I believe that the President is supposed to meet with PrimeMinister Olmert and President Abbas separately tomorrow in the OvalOffice. Can you talk at all about the purpose of those meetings?MS. PERINO: Well, one of the things that we have said is that -- thatthe President has said -- and both leaders, the Israeli leader and thePalestinian leader, have said -- that today was important because todaywas the moment where you launched the negotiations, but what's reallyimportant is what happens the day after and the subsequent weeks thatfollow. And tomorrow will be a chance for the President to meet withthem again. There is going to be an addition to the schedule, and thePresident will also have another trilateral meeting with them, a shorttrilateral meeting with them, as well, tomorrow.Q And does the President intend to continue those kinds of meetingswith them again, or will he leave that to Secretary Rice?MS. PERINO: Secretary Rice will be doing a lot of that heavy lifting,in terms of the travel to the region and helping them -- as she hasbeen. But what the President told the leaders today is that he's only aphone call away. And obviously they travel to the United States veryoften, and if there's travel on our end I can let you know. But he'sbeen on the phone a lot with these leaders leading up this moment, andthat's what has helped us get to this time when these two leaders couldcome together.And in addition, you had over 40 countries who arerepresented at the conference today, including the Arab nations, whichis very important -- and the President helped bring all of thattogether.Q And then just back to his visit -- or lack thereof -- to Israel, isthere a reason that he hasn't gone to Israel during the course of hispresidency?MS. PERINO: No, not that I'm aware of. Obviously he's -- he has saidseveral times that he really loved his trip to Israel when he wasgovernor and that of course he would like to go again.If there can bean agreement and plans come together, then we'll let you know.Wendell.Q Presumably the President offered encouragement and inspiration whenhe met with the two leaders yesterday.I wonder if he gets down tonegotiating tomorrow, if he starts to look at specific issues when hetalks with them?MS. PERINO: Well, we'll see. But my instinct is that that's not theintention of these meetings. This is going to be a situation where theIsraelis and the Palestinians are going to have to work through thesecore substantive issues and look carefully at what President Abbas andPrime Minister Olmert said today. They both said that they're committedto doing that; that they're not going to leave any issue untouched; andthat it's going to be painful and difficult and it's going to be a longroad, but that they are committed to doing it.And so the President can help guide them, but he is not going to do thenegotiating for them.Q So it's more inspiration tomorrow, then? More encouragement?MS. PERINO: Well, we'll see. I think that it will be the how do youkeep moving forward in terms -- on this path. We have -- they have away to get there, which is the road map that the President released inApril of 2003.And that is what they can use in order to start workingthrough those issues.Q You also said that the President helped encourage them to finalizetheir statement while at the trilateral. I noticed he was wearing hisglasses, suggesting to me they didn't have time to get it into largeprint.Was it that close, I mean, minutes?MS. PERINO: Yes, sir, it was.But the President got there and he wasinformed by Secretary Rice that they were very close, but there werejust some issues that still needed to be worked out, and the Presidenthelped finish -- helped them resolve those differences. Secretary Riceand her counterparts, the Palestinian and Israeli counterparts, steppedaside, worked on the language and brought it back, and everyone agreedto it.And the President said, why don't I read this at the top of myspeech, and they all agreed.Q What was the sticking point? Was it the fact that they didn't wantto (inaudible) Jewish state?MS. PERINO: No, I'm not going to comment, because I don't know thedetails, and I'll leave that -- those were private negotiations, andI'll leave it at that.Q So it was not originally planned for the President to read thestatement?MS. PERINO: That's right, because we didn't know that there was goingto be a statement.Q By reading it, was that a way to reinforce it?MS. PERINO: Sure. I think that having the President there to be ableto -- I think, well, leading up to this, everyone had wondered, is theregoing to be a document or is there not? And you'll remember, I saidyesterday, it would be a nice thing to have, but it wasn't critical tothe meeting; they could launch negotiations without the document. Butby having the document, it helped define the -- it helped define thelaunch of the negotiations, which then helps define the success of theconference, so that others wouldn't define it for them.Roger.Q Once more on tomorrow's meetings.Is this some sort of a send-offor a pep talk or something for tomorrow? What is it that he's going tosay to them tomorrow individually and in the trilateral?MS. PERINO: Well, he's had lots of discussions with them, in terms ofgetting them forward. And they now --Q I guess, what more can he say?MS. PERINO: You know, you have a big event and then tomorrow morning,it's like the after-party. (Laughter.)Q Is that what --MS. PERINO: No, I don't know, I can't predict what the President isgoing to say tomorrow.They've had a lot of discussions leading up tothis.Q But is there one piece of advice that he's going to give them thathe's saving for tomorrow or something?MS. PERINO: No, I don't believe so. I think that this will just beanother chance for him to touch base with them. And if they havesomething on their mind that they want to share with him that they'reworried about or troubled about, he's got an open mind, and he's got awide-open door, and the phone lines are open and they can call him anytime.And so I think that's one of the things that he'll reinforce with them,is that he said he was committed, and he means it.John.Q Thank you, Dana. While I realize the President has had a fullplate today and will tomorrow, you put out a pretty strong statementfrom him about Russia and what is going on there yesterday. Given allthat he's had to do, has he found any time, perhaps, say, to put in atelephone call to President Putin or do anything to follow up on hisstatement?MS. PERINO: I don't have an update for you on any of the calls, but ourembassy officials have been in touch with his officials. And UnderSecretary Nick Burns and my counterpart at the State Department, SeanMcCormack, both answered charges yesterday where President Putin'sgovernment had suggested that the United States somehow was responsiblefor the election observers not going to that country, and that'sabsolutely untrue.Ann.Q Dana, why do you think it is the President never has gone to Israelover the last six-and-a-half years? He has been a strong supporter; itis unusual for a President not to make a trip to that part --MS. PERINO: I'm not going to speculate as to why he hasn't gone. Therecould be a variety of reasons, including security. But I know that hewould like to go again and if those plans come together he'll let us allknow.Q If he does accept an invitation to go, what would be the point? Imean, what would it take to get the President to go to Israel?Wouldthey have to have an agreement with the Palestinians? Would it have tobe an occasion of some sort?MS. PERINO: As much as I'd like to speculate on that, I just can't,because it's a hypothetical that I just -- I don't know yet.Okay, Les.Q Dana, at Annapolis today the President said, "The Israelis mustbring an end to the occupation which began in 1967." And my question,do you know of any Israeli officials who have asked about the U.S.occupation of Mexican land in 1848?MS. PERINO: I do not.Q All right. The AP reported that organizers of the Annapolis peacetalk would not promise that this will confront "the rights ofPalestinians and their descendants who left homes in present-dayIsrael," but this AP story made no mention at all of hundreds ofthousands of Jewish refugees in 1947 and '48, who lost their homes inArab lands when they became refugees to Israel. And my question, doesthe White House believe that Palestinian land losses were more or lessor about the same as Jewish losses?MS. PERINO: What I will tell you is that those are all of the issuesthat are going to have to be discussed as they work towards a permanentsolution.Q Can I have one more?MS. PERINO: No, I'm going to move on --Q No, no, no, she had three -- could I just --Q Thanks, Dana. I just want to talk about the importance of thisnegotiation to the President, in terms of his last months in office.How much of his political capital does he want to spend on this deal?Is it all his remaining political capital?MS. PERINO: Well, I really urge you to take a step back and look whatthis President has done on this issue.This is a decades-old conflict-- many Presidents have tried to address it and to work with them.We have a different set of circumstances now and that's why thePresident said that time is right for us to work towards this peace. Ifthree years ago you would have had these two leaders in place, both inagreement that there needs to be a Palestinian state, then the timingwould have been right then. It just so happens that the timing is rightnow, and the President is going to do all he can to help the leadersachieve what they have said is their stated goal. The leaders have saidthey would like to complete this negotiation within the year. And sowe'll try to help them do that.Q I guess what I'm asking, though, is does this become the primaryfocus of the last year in the White House?MS. PERINO: There are many -- the President has a full plate, frommaking sure that America keeps safe from terrorists, ensuring that thereare the institutional tools in place for the intelligence community andour law enforcement officials to keep us safe; we have 160,000 troops inIraq; we have tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan -- I don't havethe exact number off the top of my head.We have a lot of issues that we're working towards. We are dealing withIran, in terms of a multilateral effort, in order to solve thatsituation diplomatically. We're trying to solve the situation in NorthKorea diplomatically, and we're on that track to do that. We're tryingto get Pakistan back on a path to democracy. There are a lot of issuesthat this White House can focus on, and we can walk and chew gum at thesame time.Q Dana, at the meeting today, Syria was present. And althoughinitially there were discussions that Syria would not be invited, andthat if they were invited, there wouldn't be a discussion of the GolanHeights. But Prime Minister Olmert mentioned the Golan Heights in hisstatements. He also indicated he wanted to have peace with all the Arabnations. If the Israelis, as their indication -- their ongoingdiscussions, back-channel discussions -- would come to some agreementwith Syria around a peace treaty, would the United States be supportiveof that, given that Syria has been on the "axis of evil" and has been onthe outs --MS. PERINO: Syria was invited as part of the Arab follow-up committee,which is part of the Arab peace process. They were invited; they senttheir deputy foreign minister.To the extent that Israel and Syria worksomething out, that is something that we would look to in the future.But I think it's important -- remember -- and I encourage you to look atthe speeches, look at how genuine these two leaders were, listen totheir words. Prime Minister Olmert said, I want to have a relationshipwith these Arab countries, and he reached out and he hopes that theywill reach out back.Q Lighter note? Given the President's interest in alternative fuel,do you know if he helped his parents make a decision on the windmillthey're installing in Walker's Point?MS. PERINO: No, I don't know.I know that the President -- thePresident and Mrs. Bush's home that they constructed on their ranch isquite energy efficient and designed for that purpose in mind, with lotsof different features.So I think that it's a trend that not only theBushes, but Americans everywhere are looking towards.Q Any update on Vice President Cheney -- sorry --Q This mechanism that they're forming to judge the future, is thatwhat you said they'll have mo