Exerpts: August 8 Press Briefing

Question: So, do you have any reaction to Saddam Hussein's speech today warning the U.S. against any military attack against his country?

Mr. Reeker: Well, I think some comments have come from other corners of our government, but it's obvious once again that Saddam's comments are a bluster from an internationally isolated dictator, demonstrative yet again that this regime shows no intention to live up to its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions. Those obligations are about disarmament.

The President and the Secretary have been quite clear. We continue to leave all our options available regarding Iraq. Saddam Hussein's regime remains a serious threat to the Iraqi people, to the people of the region, to the neighbors of Iraq, and to international peace and stability. And as the President underscored in his State of the Union Address earlier this year, the regime not only pursues weapons of mass destruction and missiles, but it has shown no reluctance to use weapons even against its own people, as we have seen so vividly in the past.

So we are going to continue working closely with our allies, with the international community, to secure Iraq's full compliance with all UN Security Council resolutions, the obligations that Iraq undertook, including the unconditional acceptance and full cooperation with the UN weapons inspectors to verify the disarmament that Iraq is required to undertake.

Terri.

Question: Can you confirm that you've gotten positive replies from everybody who was invited to the meeting tomorrow, everyone whose names you gave us are expected to be there?

Mr. Reeker: Which meeting are we talking about?

Question: The Iraqi oppositions meeting. Sorry.

Mr. Reeker: Yes, as I discussed yesterday, I believe we expect -- let me find here what I have on that. Well, we talked about it yesterday -- expect representatives of the six groups-- that have been invited to Washington for this meeting co-hosted by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Grossman and Under Secretary of Defense Feith. It will take place at the Department, that is tomorrow, August 9th.

So there were six groups representing Iraqi oppositionists, and we expect to have representatives from all six of those groups.

Question: I'm asking about the names of the people that you gave us. Are those all the people who will be here, not just the groups?

Mr. Reeker: I'm not sure of the exact things. You might want to check with the groups particularly to see exactly who is going to make it in terms of who may or may not represent the individual leaders of those groups that we invited. I can check back on that and we'll see as we approach the meeting tomorrow, since the meeting is tomorrow.

This obviously is a meeting that is designed to discuss next steps in coordinating our work with the Iraqi opposition. We think it's important to have this coordination and cooperation among those groups, and that is what our meeting will encourage. 
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Question: On the Middle East, yesterday Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat gave a press conference in which one of his major points was the humanitarian crisis, and he gave some statistics that they'd been given by USAID. Also this morning, Jesse Jackson talked about the humanitarian situation and said that they had arranged truckloads of supplies and things like that.

Can you tell us where any of that is going? Is there any -- what's the current situation in terms of U.S. humanitarian aid going into the territories?

Mr. Reeker: As you indicated, the humanitarian situation has been of great concern to us. The President has talked about it. It was one of the focal points of his June 24th speech in terms of the strategy that we're pursuing towards the President's vision, and that includes dealing with issues like reform, economic reform, security cooperation, political reforms necessary, but certainly the humanitarian crisis.

Just a few points -- and AID may have provided these for you already. I think they had a fairly major press briefing following the release of the study recently on malnutrition among the Palestinian community.

Since October of 2000, USAID has launched a $120 million emergency response program to address the emergency health needs, also to create jobs and provide resources for micro-credit loans. This nutritional assessment that I just mentioned found very high rates of malnutrition and anemia among women and children in the West Bank and Gaza. And so with that information available to them, AID is supplementing the humanitarian response, contributing more than $12 million to the World Food Program and to the International Committee of the Red Cross to deliver basic foodstuffs and food vouchers to 500,000 vulnerable persons in the West Bank and Gaza.

They are adding very targeted assistance to help avert long-term health consequences that are found with acute malnutrition and iron deficiencies, including support for UNICEF's work to ensure a steady supply of vaccines, to keep the rate of infectious disease down, providing vitamin supplements such as folic acid and iron for pregnant women and Vitamin A for children, plus some health education programs that they are funding, and promoting iron fortification policies for flour and cereals sold or distributed in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as training health providers to identify those most at risk and counsel parents on how to maximize nutritional value.

I would also like to take the opportunity to welcome the UN Secretary General's decision yesterday to appoint Catherine Bertini as his personal humanitarian envoy for the West Bank and Gaza. We look forward to her report through the Secretary General to the Quartet on Palestinian humanitarian needs. And you will all remember that Catherine Bertini did an outstanding job as Director of the World Food Program, and we expect she will make a similarly valuable contribution in this new role.

Elise.

Question: Following up on that, one of the problems is that despite all the aid that countries such as the US and others are giving for the humanitarian situation, the problem is access and delivery and that even though there's no shortage of people that want to give food or aid or medicine, that there's no access to -- by the Israelis.

So in addition to giving this aid and doing all these programs, are you urging the Israelis to allow access, and do you see that happening?

Mr. Reeker: I think you have heard the President and you've heard the Secretary speak about that before. Our overall focus on this -- and it will certainly be part of the discussions that the Secretary has with the Palestinian group that's coming here shortly -- we are continuing contacts with Arabs and with Israeli leaders, with Palestinian representatives to continue to try to find a way forward.

And as we move forward with our strategy, where it remains essential to end violence and terror and work to create an environment in which progress is possible, as the reform progresses in the Palestinian community, reciprocal Israeli steps like easing closures, handing over tax revenues to responsible parties and facilitating movement of humanitarian goods and services, will be critical. And the President has made quite clear our concern for the plight of the Palestinian people and all they have had to suffer, and we will continue to urge the parties to have their direct discussions focus on that as well.

Question: Right, but some of those reciprocal steps, such as easing the checkpoint and the tax revenues, you know, possibly understandably may be tied to some reform. But in the realm of humanitarian aid to help the situation that not only the Palestinians are describing but obviously this AID report is describing an immediate need, an immediate need for access for healthcare workers, for sanitation workers to come and get some of the garbage out that allegedly is causing some illnesses among people. Medicines -- you know, there's not any food getting on the roads to these people.

So do you think that that should be tied to some reform on -- to some benchmarks on reform, or do you think that that needs to be an immediate --

Mr. Reeker: As I said, and as the President said, access and facilitating movement for humanitarian goods and services is critical and we certainly are going to look forward, the Secretary looks forward to talking to the Palestinian delegation in about 20 minutes' time about some of those aspects: the humanitarian aspects as well as the important security cooperation issues, the reform issues, in terms of institutions in the Palestinian Authority and also the economic reforms that are going to be vital for the Palestinian community as they move forward toward the vision that the President has described and discussed and the entire international community has embraced.

Terri.

Question: I wasn't here yesterday, so I couldn't really tell from the transcript. Was it that there aren't any more details to be known about the move of consular functions from East Jerusalem? Is it that those decisions haven't been made or just that you didn't have the information? Yesterday you said, "I don't have anything more for you, but if there is something, I will get it to you."

Mr. Reeker: It was actually two days ago when I talked about the --

Question: I'm sorry. That's right. Tuesday.

Mr. Reeker: -- Jerusalem Consulate, but as long as we are keeping track, in many ways it is old news. It is something we have been looking at for some time. I would just reiterate that the purpose, the undertaking of moving some of the consular functions in Jerusalem, is for the security of our personnel, American as well as local, as well as for members of the public who visit our offices. There is no political dimension to this.

And I will remind you that the Consul General's Office and the main offices of the Consulate will remain at their current location on Agron Road. The move of other functions, which has been contemplated for some time and is still being looked at, is solely intended to address significant security concerns. The Consulate General and the offices and residence of the Consul General will remain where they have been since about 1914, I believe. They are not moving. And then we plan to move certain operations from three sites -- two of them in West Jerusalem, one in East Jerusalem -- to a more secure location, which allows us to meet security needs.

It is still a process that is ongoing. We are firming up details and that is why I didn’t have any further details to provide you two days ago, nor do I now.

Question: Okay. Are you taking into consideration, as I presume you are, the fact that some people, for some Palestinians whose movements are limited, this may be the only way they can get to a facility.

Mr. Reeker: I am sure all appropriate factors will be taken into consideration as they examine the need to move functions based on the security concerns about the current locations of some of those functions.

Gene.

Question: A follow-up on that. This means that you have made no change in the independence of the Consulate General in reporting back to Washington?

Mr. Reeker: I don't know if I quite understand your question.

Question: It's an independent Consulate General, always has been, and doesn't report through the Embassy.

Mr. Reeker: There is no change in our structures and how we operate in any way. These are simply physical changes being planned that have been discussed for years, and they have been looked at because of security concerns for our personnel, both Americans and local hired personnel, as well as for those that visit our facilities.

The gentleman over here.

Question: Your reaction on the meeting the Brits had yesterday in Libya with Qadhafi?

Mr. Reeker: Sure. First of all, as you know, we work very closely with the British on issues surrounding Libya. In terms of some of the reports that we've seen regarding payment of compensation, we would say that some of those statements appear to be the step in the right direction, but the proof is going to be in Libya translating words into concrete actions. As you know, our policy toward Libya remains very much focused on resolution of the issues surrounding the Pan Am 103 bombing, and there are no shortcuts for Libya in resolving those issues.

We've been working very closely with the United Kingdom to urge Libyans to fulfill their obligations under the Security Council resolutions related to the bombing and we understand that the Junior Minister, Mr. O'Brien, from the UK reinforced this message to his Libyan interlocutors during his meetings there.

Elise.

Question: Back to the Middle East. Saeb Erekat also said that the alternative -- yesterday in his press conference -- the alternative to Yasser Arafat is chaos and that he was still here as a representative of Yasser Arafat's government and that the United States should not seek to alienate him any further and should, you know, let the Palestinian people decide who their leader should be. Any comment on that?

Mr. Reeker: I think the President has been very clear. I would refer you back to his June 24th speech and statements that he has made and that Secretary Powell has made since that time. The Palestinian people should choose new leadership through democratic, open, free and fair elections. And we believe there is movement within the Palestinian community for such new leadership -- free from association with terror, free from the taint of corruption, capable of taking the necessary decisions to prepare the Palestinian people and the institutions in the Palestinian community for statehood. That includes preparation of a constitution.

We respect and indeed, have called for an electoral process. It is simply a matter of fact that one of the consequences of elections of leaders not committed to fight terror will be that we will lose the present chance for peace and progress in the lives of the Palestinian people. And so we have here today, meeting with the Secretary in just a few moments, a group of Palestinian leaders, three of them here to discuss reform and ways forward, to look at a wide range of issues including civil reforms and economic reforms. I mentioned before renewal of security cooperation that is so vital, progress on political dialogue, and the humanitarian situation we discussed earlier.

Question: Right. But one of those reform-minded individuals that you're meeting with is still a representative of Yasser Arafat. So is it to say that you just won't deal with him, but you'll deal with his interlocutors?

Mr. Reeker: I think I gave you the best answer I possibly could in what I just said, and I would invite you to go back and look at it. It reflects what the President has said before in his statements and what the Secretary has said, and I am sure the message that we will convey in the meetings later this afternoon.

Yes, Joel.

Question: Between now and January, when the PA is scheduling their elections -- that's about four and a half months -- is there any concrete priorities that you're giving to this group as they meet here at the State Department? And also, do you expect any specific actions to be taken? In other words, you give a list to them --

Mr. Reeker: We are going to meet, Joel, with this group. We are going to discuss what I said -- a wide range of issues -- looking at reform of Palestinian civil institutions, reform of the economy, renewal of security cooperation, progress on political dialogue and the humanitarian situation. And we'll have these discussions and I'll let you know if I have anything more to say after that.

Yes, Gene.

Question: Do you have any comment on Adam Shapiro being deported from Israel today, along with Jesse Jackson's staff member and five other people who are not allowed to come in?

Mr. Reeker: I don't know if I had specific names. I think you're referring to a group of congressional staff members who, I believe, identified themselves as participants in something known as an American Muslims for Jerusalem/Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel congressional staff delegation that arrived at the Allenby Bridge from Jordan this morning to apply for entry into Israel. It's our understanding that two of the three coordinators with the group, who were not congressional staff members, had been denied entry into Israel. And then the congressional staff members themselves decided not to present their passports to the Israeli authorities for inspection and permission to enter.

Our Consulate General in Jerusalem and the Embassy in Tel Aviv were deeply involved in attempting to facilitate entry for the group. My understanding is that they have all returned. I believe they are expected to be returning back to Amman, Jordan at this time.

Question: The Shapiro case is separate from that. He was arrested by settlers a few days ago.

Mr. Reeker: Then I'm afraid I don't have anything on that. If you could leave the details with the Press Office, we can try to look into that for you.