Middle East Digest: June 23, 2008Bureau of Public Affairs The Middle East Digest provides text and audio from the Daily Press Briefing. For the full briefings, please visit http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/. From the Daily Press Briefing of June 23, 2008: QUESTION: After Switzerland signed a long term gas contract with Iran earlier this year, the U.S. said that it would be looking at – said on its (inaudible) website that it would be looking at Switzerland’s role in representing the U.S.’s interests in Iran. Has the U.S. been looking at that and have you been looking at other options?MR. CASEY: I don’t have any updates for you on it. Certainly, we look all the time at the best way to manage our diplomatic affairs. But there’s no change in the status of the Swiss as our protecting power in Iran at this time. QUESTION: And is there – is there any – can you tell us whether there are any plans afoot or any proposals afoot to have a U.S. interests section in Iran, as it does in Cuba? MR. CASEY: I saw a story or saw a op-ed alluding to that. I’m not aware of any plans to do so. No. Yeah. QUESTION: Is it under consideration? I mean, is it – are you – is it under -- MR. CASEY: You know, I can’t guarantee you that there aren’t people somewhere in the U.S. Government talking about it. But it’s certainly not anything that’s been decided nor is it anything that I would expect to see decisions on in, you know, the near future. Yeah, Kirit. QUESTION: Anything to say about Zimbabwe and the -- QUESTION: Can we stay on Iran for a second? MR. CASEY: Sure. QUESTION: Go ahead. QUESTION: I just want you to tell us about the new EU sanctions that were announced today, especially the asset freeze and the travel restrictions, and particularly about a report last week in an Iranian newspaper that Iran had been – before the sanctions were announced today, had been withdrawing up to $75 billion out of European banks. Have you heard that? Do you have – are you in touch with the Europeans on the issue? What’s going on? MR. CASEY: I haven’t in terms of what is going on in or around, you know, banking related issues. That’s something you might want to talk to the Department of Treasury about. In terms of the sanctions that the EU has now imposed, certainly, we welcome them. We think it’s important that the international community continue to step up pressure on the Iranian regime, as long as it refuses to comply with Security Council resolutions and suspend its uranium enrichment. We certainly all wish that Iran would choose a different path and there is another one open to it. As you know, Mr. Solana did recently present the Iranians with a refreshed package of incentives that would be part of an arrangement with them, should they choose to suspend their enrichment activities and enter into negotiations with the P-5+1. But unfortunately, given an absence of a positive response from the Iranians, they’re going to find themselves under increased pressure and steps that will be taken to include not only what we’ve done in the Security Council, but also measures taken by individual states or organizations like the EU. QUESTION: And just one more. MR. CASEY: Sure. QUESTION: There have been reports in the last few months about the oil revenues that Iran is receiving instead of being put into its own economy to help with unemployment and other economic problems, that the money is being used as aid to foreign countries allegedly to buy influence or however you call it. I wonder whether anybody in this building has been looking at the issue of Iranian – so-called aid to foreign countries? MR. CASEY: Well, I don’t think the Iranians are generally very open and transparent with us in terms of how they’re using their finances and revenue. But we do know that Iran regularly and routinely supports activities of terror groups, like Hezbollah and Hamas, that it continues to interfere in the affairs of a number of its neighbors as it’s done in Iraq. And I think it would be a fair question for the Iranian people to ask why its government is seemingly so intent on spending its resources outside the country when there are clearly so many pressing needs inside it. QUESTION: Right. You have here at the State Department and through the IDG – IDDG, rather, a small but neverending type of controversy in television programming. It’s hit the Washington Post front page and it’s been on CBS 60 Minutes last evening. Now, was the initiative by Karen Hughes affecting the media – was it worth it? And of the Arab countries, do you see them as using the media much like we politicized our radio talk shows here on this election cycle? And apparently, Al Jazeera attempted to do regular news as opposed to fluff pieces, and they were not -- pretty much rebuffed for that. MR. CASEY: Okay. Well, I think you’re referring, at least in part, to the development of the Middle East Broadcasting Network and Alhurra. And of course, you can talk to Michel sitting here – sitting here regularly in the briefings, asking – asking me all kinds of interesting questions, about how his network manages their news coverage. But look, I think the thing that’s important to us is that we believe that Alhurra is an important vehicle for being able to convey news and information into the Middle East. My understanding – and you can talk to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, but the audience for Alhurra stands at approximately 26 million regular viewers. That’s a significant increase over the last couple of years. I would not try and assert to you that any network or any news organization in the Middle East or anyplace else has particular dominance over the region. And that’s a good thing, but we do believe that what Alhurra and the Middle East Broadcasting Network provides is another opportunity and another vehicle for people to get news and information and have a opportunity to choose for themselves. Certainly, I noted in the piece that they did the classic “Let me go find three random people, in the street and ask them what they think of the show,” and like I said, all I can say is the rating, as measured by Nielsen Company, show a fairly substantial increase in viewership. And, you know, again, we believe, much like through the Voice of America and through other broadcasting services over the years, that this is a important way for us to be able to help communicate news and information to individuals in the region, even though it certainly is – and we think it’s very positive that it is a much more competitive marketplace for ideas and information in the Middle East than it was, say, behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. QUESTION: There was a piece over the weekend in, I think, Washington Post, that talked about warnings that the legal advisor, John Bellinger, from this building, sent to Congress, warning them that they need to seek congressional approval for interrogation techniques. Now, could you speak to this? The warnings, whether this building gave to Congress – Look, I’m not going to talk about any alleged internal conversations or process here -- QUESTION: Well, I mean, it wasn’t necessarily – I mean, unless there was a forged document, it seemed that there – it wasn’t alleged. It was an actual published email. MR. CASEY: Again, whatever conversations take place in terms of internal discussions with the Administration; I’m going to wave that away. I won’t have any comment on it. MR. CASEY: No. |
 | |||
|
