darock0116
03-19-2007, 03:06 PM
Press Briefing by Tony Snow
White House Conference Center Briefing Ro
First, the House is going to be taking up a war supplemental spending bill -- a couple of notes on that. It is a withdraw-the-troops bill, not a fund-the-troops bill. It requires the Iraqi government to meet certain conditions or benchmarks; but even if the benchmarks are met, it would require the withdrawal of U.S. troops and forces without regard to whether we're making progress against the enemy. It would also force failure of the mission in Iraq and forfeit the sacrifices made by our troops.
Now, the responsible thing to do for Congress right now is to send a bill that provides for our troops, gives General Petraeus the funding and flexibility he needs to get the job done, and to remove purely domestic spending items from the package. These should be taken up in the normal appropriations process. Just for a little context, this would include $74 million for peanut storage costs -- there are many more than these, I'm just giving you some highlights -- $283 million for the milk income loss contract program; $500 million for emergency wildfire suppression, even though the Forest Service right now has on hand $831 million for this purpose; $400 million for rural schools; $10 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission -- that's a U.S.-Mexico commission for Rio Grande flood control and rehabilitating the flood control system. As the bill is presently constituted, the President would have to veto it. Democrats know that. So our view is that we ought to just go ahead and sit down and negotiate a responsible bill now.
As the bill is presently constituted, the President would have to veto it. Democrats know that. So our view is that we ought to just go ahead and sit down and negotiate a responsible bill now.
Q.A new USA Today/ABC News poll of Iraqis around the country, where six in 10 people are saying their lives are going badly, only a third saying things will get better next year. What is the administration's reaction to this?
MR. SNOW: Well, as you know, there was also a British poll at the same time that had almost diametrically opposed results. I think -- we understand that there are difficulties in Iraq. We understand also that there have been an enormous number of things that are probably worth recalling on this 4th anniversary -- among other things, the fact that the Iraqis have now held three elections, sometimes under very difficult circumstances. And, furthermore, that an Iraqi democracy is standing up and meeting a lot of the challenges that are facing it.
On the security side, we have a new Baghdad security plan, where the Iraqis have already brought three divisions into Baghdad. They've been working with the coalition forces also to put together, as you know, in each of the nine -- actually, 10 districts within Baghdad, you have a number of offices that are going to be stood up to try to deal with security concerns. About half of those are already up.
Iraqis are now planning and conducting a number of important security operations around the country. We've seen a lot of that, especially in Anbar Province. We have seen in recent weeks some important military action, whether it be on arms caches, bomb-making facilities; rounding up of at least 700 -- more than 700 Shia militants; also Sunni radicals have been rounded up.
You see the Iraqis taking vigorous action on the political front. During the legislative break, the Council of Ministers -- basically the cabinet for Prime Minister Maliki -- went ahead and adopted an oil law that guarantees the equitable distribution of oil revenue around the country. That is now to be taken up by the parliament.
The Prime Minister today, in his conversation with the President, also made it clear that they are determined to move forward on other reforms that are very important in terms of building confidence among the Iraqi people: deBaathification reform, electoral reform, constitutional reform, and the sort. You also have, in addition -- I'm trying to lay this out because there's a lot going on. And we had the Iraq conference last month, where you had 13 nations talking about matters of security. We've had the U.N. Secretary General asking more than 90 nations to participate in the Iraq Compact, which has to do with economic relations.
So there are a lot of things going on. Secretary Gates said yesterday, so far, so good. But we're still at the beginning stages, and it's impossible to provide an absolute, ironclad analysis. We understand that with an enemy determined and nimble, they are going to try, wherever they can, to commit acts of violence that are going to raise doubts.
So you're talking about one political poll -- one poll that's been taken; there is another. What we do understand is that the most important thing for the Iraqi people is the ability to live in freedom, to enjoy peace, and have the promises of prosperity. And those are the aims of U.S. policy.
Q But this is beyond challenges. It's the Iraqi people, themselves, are feeling they don't have security -- and you can go through all those poll numbers -- isn't that devastating, four years into the war?
MR. SNOW: No. No. Devastating? No, what it is, is -- I'll tell you what it indicates is that, again, you have an enemy that tries to use acts of violence to shape public opinion and to try to influence the course of American policy and perhaps even Iraqi perceptions.
But we also understand that the benefit of democracy and also the benefit of having a reasonable expectation that you'll be able to chart your own future, have a job, own property, be able to live in conditions of security -- those are certainly important to Iraqi people and it's one of the reasons why the President said we need to find a better way forward. It was clear that the kind of violence that was going on in Baghdad, in particular, but in other parts of Iraq after the Samarra mosque bombing were simply unacceptable.
You also recall that a little more than a year ago the President thought we would be in a position to be announcing the withdrawal because things seemed to be going well, before the Samarra mosque bombing, and so did Democratic and Republican members of Congress who came back and said the same thing. The fact is that we found -- in 2005, there was a lot of success; in 2006, terrorists fought back; and in 2007, we now have an adjustment on the part of the United States government, on the military sides, but also on a lot of different levels, understanding that the Iraqis want the same thing we want -- and I don't think you have to consult a poll on that -- which is that they want security and peace.
Q The President talked to General Petraeus this morning.
MR. SNOW: Yes.
Q The initial surge was 21,500. Now we're almost up to 30,000. Has the General decided whether that's enough U.S. troops?
MR. SNOW: I think the General is -- first, we're sort of mixing apples and oranges. We were talking about 21,500 in terms of combat forces, where you also now have this supplementary forces -- support forces that have been requested. But I think you have to leave it to General Petraeus to try to assess the realities on the ground. That is what we've been saying all along. General Petraeus decided that he needed a little more support after he got there. I can't -- I'll have you direct comments or questions to him.
I think at this point, what you do, again, is the same thing we've been talking about, which is to figure out what resources you need to get the job done. We have had preliminary -- again, the very early indications have been fairly positive. Obviously, you still have opportunities for terrorists to commit acts of violence trying to derail things. But it's very important to continue to work the mission. And General Petraeus, himself, has said that he's not sure that he's going to be in a position to analyze fully whether he thinks this particular constellation of policies and forces are going to succeed in the mission until, maybe, June. Keep in mind, Bret, that probably the last brigade I think goes in, in May, or late April.
MR. SNOW: No, it's a commitment to win, that's what it is. It's a commitment to succeed.
Q (Inaudible.)
MR. SNOW: There's no such -- no. Let me put it -- when you talk about an open-ended commitment, it gives the impression that the United States is the only player here. In point of fact, a lot of what we're doing -- and I've already mentioned some of this to you -- is to build up Iraqi capability. You now have nine of ten Iraqi divisions assuming responsibility for operations. We continue to work on improving the quality of police forces. We are working on the economic side. And, furthermore, we've said to the Iraqis, you have to step up. If you take a look at their budget, they've got a $40 billion budget, and about half of it is involved directly in matters of concern to us -- $10 billion for reconstruction; more than $7 billion directly for security operations.
In other words, the President has said on a number of occasions, the Iraqis have to demonstrate the willingness politically, and also by their actions, to show that they are making not merely good faith, but vigorous efforts toward building the capacity that will enable them to assume full responsibility for their future.
Q But isn't the message, at the same time, don't worry if you don't meet the benchmarks, because we're going to be there as long as it takes?
MR. SNOW: No, the President has made it very clear to Prime Minister Maliki he understands the political atmosphere. But, frankly, that's not been the situation. What you're assuming is that the Iraqis haven't been acting -- in point in fact, they have. And it is important that they continue to move along the lines that we have been discussing, moving forces into Baghdad or moving them into other theaters as necessary, or redeploying within the country; making sure that you're continuing to build up, especially on the police forces, the credible ability to enforce the law so that everybody -- Shia, Sunni, Kurd, whoever you may be -- can have the assurance of equal treatment under the law, the economic pieces and so on.
So all of those are also things that the President has been very direct in speaking with the Prime Minister. Again, I wasn't in on today's conversation, but I've been on prior, and he's very direct about it, and frankly, the Prime Minister has been stepping up.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070319-1.html
White House Conference Center Briefing Ro
First, the House is going to be taking up a war supplemental spending bill -- a couple of notes on that. It is a withdraw-the-troops bill, not a fund-the-troops bill. It requires the Iraqi government to meet certain conditions or benchmarks; but even if the benchmarks are met, it would require the withdrawal of U.S. troops and forces without regard to whether we're making progress against the enemy. It would also force failure of the mission in Iraq and forfeit the sacrifices made by our troops.
Now, the responsible thing to do for Congress right now is to send a bill that provides for our troops, gives General Petraeus the funding and flexibility he needs to get the job done, and to remove purely domestic spending items from the package. These should be taken up in the normal appropriations process. Just for a little context, this would include $74 million for peanut storage costs -- there are many more than these, I'm just giving you some highlights -- $283 million for the milk income loss contract program; $500 million for emergency wildfire suppression, even though the Forest Service right now has on hand $831 million for this purpose; $400 million for rural schools; $10 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission -- that's a U.S.-Mexico commission for Rio Grande flood control and rehabilitating the flood control system. As the bill is presently constituted, the President would have to veto it. Democrats know that. So our view is that we ought to just go ahead and sit down and negotiate a responsible bill now.
As the bill is presently constituted, the President would have to veto it. Democrats know that. So our view is that we ought to just go ahead and sit down and negotiate a responsible bill now.
Q.A new USA Today/ABC News poll of Iraqis around the country, where six in 10 people are saying their lives are going badly, only a third saying things will get better next year. What is the administration's reaction to this?
MR. SNOW: Well, as you know, there was also a British poll at the same time that had almost diametrically opposed results. I think -- we understand that there are difficulties in Iraq. We understand also that there have been an enormous number of things that are probably worth recalling on this 4th anniversary -- among other things, the fact that the Iraqis have now held three elections, sometimes under very difficult circumstances. And, furthermore, that an Iraqi democracy is standing up and meeting a lot of the challenges that are facing it.
On the security side, we have a new Baghdad security plan, where the Iraqis have already brought three divisions into Baghdad. They've been working with the coalition forces also to put together, as you know, in each of the nine -- actually, 10 districts within Baghdad, you have a number of offices that are going to be stood up to try to deal with security concerns. About half of those are already up.
Iraqis are now planning and conducting a number of important security operations around the country. We've seen a lot of that, especially in Anbar Province. We have seen in recent weeks some important military action, whether it be on arms caches, bomb-making facilities; rounding up of at least 700 -- more than 700 Shia militants; also Sunni radicals have been rounded up.
You see the Iraqis taking vigorous action on the political front. During the legislative break, the Council of Ministers -- basically the cabinet for Prime Minister Maliki -- went ahead and adopted an oil law that guarantees the equitable distribution of oil revenue around the country. That is now to be taken up by the parliament.
The Prime Minister today, in his conversation with the President, also made it clear that they are determined to move forward on other reforms that are very important in terms of building confidence among the Iraqi people: deBaathification reform, electoral reform, constitutional reform, and the sort. You also have, in addition -- I'm trying to lay this out because there's a lot going on. And we had the Iraq conference last month, where you had 13 nations talking about matters of security. We've had the U.N. Secretary General asking more than 90 nations to participate in the Iraq Compact, which has to do with economic relations.
So there are a lot of things going on. Secretary Gates said yesterday, so far, so good. But we're still at the beginning stages, and it's impossible to provide an absolute, ironclad analysis. We understand that with an enemy determined and nimble, they are going to try, wherever they can, to commit acts of violence that are going to raise doubts.
So you're talking about one political poll -- one poll that's been taken; there is another. What we do understand is that the most important thing for the Iraqi people is the ability to live in freedom, to enjoy peace, and have the promises of prosperity. And those are the aims of U.S. policy.
Q But this is beyond challenges. It's the Iraqi people, themselves, are feeling they don't have security -- and you can go through all those poll numbers -- isn't that devastating, four years into the war?
MR. SNOW: No. No. Devastating? No, what it is, is -- I'll tell you what it indicates is that, again, you have an enemy that tries to use acts of violence to shape public opinion and to try to influence the course of American policy and perhaps even Iraqi perceptions.
But we also understand that the benefit of democracy and also the benefit of having a reasonable expectation that you'll be able to chart your own future, have a job, own property, be able to live in conditions of security -- those are certainly important to Iraqi people and it's one of the reasons why the President said we need to find a better way forward. It was clear that the kind of violence that was going on in Baghdad, in particular, but in other parts of Iraq after the Samarra mosque bombing were simply unacceptable.
You also recall that a little more than a year ago the President thought we would be in a position to be announcing the withdrawal because things seemed to be going well, before the Samarra mosque bombing, and so did Democratic and Republican members of Congress who came back and said the same thing. The fact is that we found -- in 2005, there was a lot of success; in 2006, terrorists fought back; and in 2007, we now have an adjustment on the part of the United States government, on the military sides, but also on a lot of different levels, understanding that the Iraqis want the same thing we want -- and I don't think you have to consult a poll on that -- which is that they want security and peace.
Q The President talked to General Petraeus this morning.
MR. SNOW: Yes.
Q The initial surge was 21,500. Now we're almost up to 30,000. Has the General decided whether that's enough U.S. troops?
MR. SNOW: I think the General is -- first, we're sort of mixing apples and oranges. We were talking about 21,500 in terms of combat forces, where you also now have this supplementary forces -- support forces that have been requested. But I think you have to leave it to General Petraeus to try to assess the realities on the ground. That is what we've been saying all along. General Petraeus decided that he needed a little more support after he got there. I can't -- I'll have you direct comments or questions to him.
I think at this point, what you do, again, is the same thing we've been talking about, which is to figure out what resources you need to get the job done. We have had preliminary -- again, the very early indications have been fairly positive. Obviously, you still have opportunities for terrorists to commit acts of violence trying to derail things. But it's very important to continue to work the mission. And General Petraeus, himself, has said that he's not sure that he's going to be in a position to analyze fully whether he thinks this particular constellation of policies and forces are going to succeed in the mission until, maybe, June. Keep in mind, Bret, that probably the last brigade I think goes in, in May, or late April.
MR. SNOW: No, it's a commitment to win, that's what it is. It's a commitment to succeed.
Q (Inaudible.)
MR. SNOW: There's no such -- no. Let me put it -- when you talk about an open-ended commitment, it gives the impression that the United States is the only player here. In point of fact, a lot of what we're doing -- and I've already mentioned some of this to you -- is to build up Iraqi capability. You now have nine of ten Iraqi divisions assuming responsibility for operations. We continue to work on improving the quality of police forces. We are working on the economic side. And, furthermore, we've said to the Iraqis, you have to step up. If you take a look at their budget, they've got a $40 billion budget, and about half of it is involved directly in matters of concern to us -- $10 billion for reconstruction; more than $7 billion directly for security operations.
In other words, the President has said on a number of occasions, the Iraqis have to demonstrate the willingness politically, and also by their actions, to show that they are making not merely good faith, but vigorous efforts toward building the capacity that will enable them to assume full responsibility for their future.
Q But isn't the message, at the same time, don't worry if you don't meet the benchmarks, because we're going to be there as long as it takes?
MR. SNOW: No, the President has made it very clear to Prime Minister Maliki he understands the political atmosphere. But, frankly, that's not been the situation. What you're assuming is that the Iraqis haven't been acting -- in point in fact, they have. And it is important that they continue to move along the lines that we have been discussing, moving forces into Baghdad or moving them into other theaters as necessary, or redeploying within the country; making sure that you're continuing to build up, especially on the police forces, the credible ability to enforce the law so that everybody -- Shia, Sunni, Kurd, whoever you may be -- can have the assurance of equal treatment under the law, the economic pieces and so on.
So all of those are also things that the President has been very direct in speaking with the Prime Minister. Again, I wasn't in on today's conversation, but I've been on prior, and he's very direct about it, and frankly, the Prime Minister has been stepping up.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070319-1.html