MR. CASEY: Okay. Well, good afternoon, everybody. Happy Friday. I do have one brief announcement for you to start off with. This concerns Passport Services.

We're pleased to be able to say that the Department has now restored passport service to our normal standard of six to eight weeks processing time for routine passport applications and no more than three weeks for expedited service. And at this point to date, we've now issued over 16 million passports in this fiscal year. Certainly, we've got a little more time and may get up to 17, I think, by then, but we'll see. That's compared with a little over 12 million last year. And as you know, throughout the summer, we've had literally hundreds of people volunteering from the Department to go and help deal with the delays in processing applications at various centers throughout the United States. We've also hired several hundred additional passport adjudicators.

And by this coming fiscal year, the one that'll start at the end of this month, we believe we'll have put sufficient capacity in place that will now be able to respond to a maximum of 500,000 passport applications per week. So that's a substantial increase in our capacity and includes things like a doubling of the capacity at the National Passport Center in New Hampshire. So we're very pleased that we've been able to get back to the customer service standard that has long been our desire and pleased that we've been able to do so in accordance with the commitments that we made to the American people and Congress when this issue first came up earlier this year. So, good news and we hope that this will ensure that Americans will be able to receive their passports now and in the future and in a timely and secure fashion.

So with that, we'll go to your questions.

QUESTION: I don't -- does anyone have anything on this?

MR. CASEY: Guess not.

QUESTION: Have you guys, in this building, seen the bin Laden tape yet or is that being -- that analysis being conducted elsewhere for the moment?

MR. CASEY: I certainly haven't, Matt. I don't know whether anyone in this building might or might not have. Certainly, though, I think you've heard from some of the folks at the White House on this earlier in the day and heard from me a little bit early this morning. We've seen tapes like this before from bin Laden, from Zawahiri, and from others. The bottom line is all that does is reinforce the need for all of us to take concrete action to fight extremism and to fight terrorism.

We are going to do whatever it takes to continue to confront these extremists, working with our allies and partners overseas. And that includes dealing with the kinds of things we saw in Germany this past week. It also includes continuing to fight against extremists in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

QUESTION: Just to follow, Tom -- but where do we stand when reports are saying that he's alive and there are reports and another paper in Pakistan in Karachi was saying that he was dead in 2005, intelligence reports were saying that he's alive. Where do we stand? I mean, how far can we make Americans feel of their own -- people around the globe on whether he's dead or alive and where he is?

MR. CASEY: Look, there are a lot of people that are involved in trying to look for and bring to justice Usama bin Laden. What his exact status is, I don't think anybody knows and I'd certainly leave it to those people in the intelligence community and analysts and others to try and give you any kind of sense of that.

The main thing is, though, is he's certainly not able to operate as he was in the past. He certainly continues to be on the run. And we are certainly going to do everything we can to ensure that he and those who he inspires are not able to hurt the American people or hurt anyone else out there. That's why we're involved so actively throughout the world with other countries in fighting against the kinds of extremism and the kinds of twisting of Islam that bin Laden and bin Ladenism represent.

Sorry, go ahead.

QUESTION: I'm sorry. Let's say Secretary Rice, Vice President and Secretary Gates and many others were in Pakistan and they were discussing the same issue with the high-level Pakistani official, including General Musharraf. What the Pakistanis are telling the State Department that -- whether he is dead or not, alive or not, what are we hearing from them?

MR. CASEY: Let's say that that's a hypothetical question and in terms of what the Pakistanis believe or not about bin Ladin's whereabouts, you can go ask them. I don't have any new assessment to offer you in terms of what U.S. views are. And again, I'd point you towards those people that are actively engaged in looking for him and other Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders.

Yeah, Sue.

QUESTION: Change of subject?

MR. CASEY: Sure.

QUESTION: On Iran, ElBaradei -- Mohamed ElBaradei had some comments today on what he called backseat drivers, those who are criticizing a cooperation deal he has with Iran. He also said that there are those -- he criticized people he said who were banging war drums and saying that the short-term solution is to bomb Iran, which makes me shudder. This is his quote: "Because the rhetoric reminds me of a pre-Iraq war." So I think he may be referring to the United States there, but --

MR. CASEY: I don't know. I mean, it would be -- because certainly people speak in interesting language all the time. I would certainly hope that those kinds of comments wouldn't be referring to the United States because they certainly wouldn't be true. Look, I think the United States, first and foremost, appreciates the efforts that the IAEA has made in trying to help us all answer those questions that exist about Iran's nuclear program.

Those questions are ones that have been put to Iran for a long time. And of course, in addition to the original questions we started out with, the kinds of things that the IAEA has been trying to get to the bottom of for a long time, there are new questions added every day, as Iran continues to develop its nuclear program, as it continues without inspections or safeguards, to make efforts to advance its uranium enrichment activities, as it continues to defy the explicit requirements of the international community that it halt all uranium enrichment activity and answer these kinds of questions.

And in that sense too, I know there's been a lot of discussion about the work plan or the plan of action, I guess it's being called, that has been worked out between Iran and the IAEA. And we've addressed that here and I think Greg Schulte, our ambassador in Vienna, talked a little bit about this today as well. But it is, as we've said, a potentially important way of clarifying some of the historical questions regarding Iran's nuclear program and again, these are the ones that have been out there for some time.

But I think one of the issues is that that work plan's limited to historical questions and it certainly doesn't provide for a full verification of current activities, nor does it address the fact that, again, Iran is continuing to conduct enrichment and other kinds of activities completely in defiance of the requirements of the Security Council and the rest of the international community.

But I think it would be really hard for anyone to say that the United States has been anything but at the forefront of supporting the work of the IAEA to try to resolve these issues, of working diplomatically with the IAEA, with the Board of Governors, with the Security Council and the international community to come up with a resolution of this. And more importantly, to come with a resolution of this that is not simply about trying to pressure Iran to change its policies, but is using that pressure only as a result of Iran's refusal to take what is, in fact, a very positive offer that's been on the table for a long time from the international community.

So, I'm not sure -- you can talk with him about, you know, exactly who he was referring to, but I think the U.S. record on this issue is pretty clear.

QUESTION: Are you a bit disappointed with him though, because earlier this year in May -- June, I think, it was when the Secretary was in Madrid actually -- he was making comments about the crazies and -- this is word not mine -- the crazies in the United States who were, you know, kind of -- he was referring there to the Vice President's office. Do you think that the rhetoric has sort of got out of control with ElBaradei and that this is not helping your cause?

MR. CASEY: Look, I haven't seen the comments that you're referring to -- these made today. And he is the head of an important international organization, and an organization, again, with which we cooperate very well and which has an important role to play. I think, as always, it's important, though, that we all understand that what we're dealing with in Iran is a country that has continued and repeatedly defied the will of the international community and repeatedly refused to do what it needs to do so that the people who work for Mr. ElBaradei, for Dr. ElBaradei, can actually be able to assure themselves and help us understand what the nature of Iran's program is and to be able to respond to it appropriately.

So, you know, I would certainly hope that everyone, Dr. ElBaradei included, would focus on what the real issues are here and what the real problems are. Because we very much want to make sure that the concerns and questions that the IAEA has, which were part of what prompted the process that's brought us to this point now, are answered because they're important issues and they need to be answered, not only the historical questions that are there but all the current questions, and the ones, again as I said, that are raised every day by Iran's continued noncompliance.

QUESTION: So do you think that this kind of language serves -- is a distraction for the underlying problems that you have with Iran's nuclear program?

MR. CASEY: I think that everyone in the international community is aware of the very serious problem that's represented by Iran's nuclear program. You have several 15-0 UN Security Council resolutions that I think very much reflect the fact that it's not the United States or just the permanent members, but it really is the whole world that is concerned about this program. And I don't think individual comments of any kind are going to detract attention away from what the real issue and real problem is.

Sylvie.

QUESTION: Same subject. Iran threatened today to suspend its cooperation with IAEA in case of the adoption of a new UN resolution. Do you think it can hamper your efforts to gather support for such a resolution?

MR. CASEY: I haven't seen those comments, though there have been many like them made before. Look, you know, Iran and the Iranian Government is in a very difficult position. They are increasingly isolated. They are under sanctions. Those sanctions are having an effect not only in terms of their specific application, but in terms of making many in the private sector think twice about doing business with Iran and certainly hampering their desire to get more investment and get more engagement with the international community.

That's a tragedy for the Iranian people and it's something that shows exactly how little concern this government appears to have for the welfare and needs of the people. Again, I keep on coming back to the fact that what has been offered here, on the positive side of the ledger, is a way for Iran to achieve all its stated objectives, provide for the needs of its people, and still help the international community make sure that they're not using that -- those needs as a cover to build a nuclear weapon.

So you know, if Iran wants to take steps backward to limit its cooperation with the IAEA or with other parts of the international community, again, that is only taking them further away from a resolution of this issue and I think will only lead to further negative consequences for the government and unfortunately, for the Iranian people as well.

QUESTION: Iran?

MR. CASEY: Sure.

QUESTION: Tom, would you offer Iran, if they stop their nuclear program, the same similar deal as U.S. has offered to North Korea?

MR. CASEY: Well, Goyal, what would be very nice would be for Iran to actually want to engage in negotiations on this, though understanding that the international community has had the offer that has been out there on the table for many, many months now, is for Iran to suspend its current activities, at which point we would engage in a negotiation over how to address international community concerns.

While we're very pleased to see that there has been progress with other countries that we have concerns about, including North Korea, each of these situations is unique. But unfortunately, we won't really ever know what kind of agreement could be reached until and unless the Iranian Government decides to do what, frankly, ought to be in its best interests, which is to suspend its uranium enrichment activities and engage with the international community in that kind of discussion.

QUESTION: Tom.

MR. CASEY: Yeah.

QUESTION: In response to a very similar question, someone, and I can't remember who it was, but it was Sydney and this was on the record and it's in the White House transcript, said that the U.S. intends to go -- to deal with Iran in a multi -- with a multilateral approach, but then didn't say that it -- didn't specify that it had to be a diplomatic approach.

And my question is, you know, the -- this Administration has argued that its attacks on Afghanistan and invasion of Iraq were not unilateral or multilateral. Is there some new language that's being used for you to talk about -- when you talk about a multilateral approach with Iran that could say you've got someone else on board, you -- for some kind of a --

MR. CASEY: Matt, I think you're trying to slice the salami too thin here. Look -- no, I --

QUESTION: Language matters, you know.

MR. CASEY: Because it -- because -- yes, it does, and the President's language on this has been very clear. We're pursuing a diplomatic track with Iran. We are engaging with our Security Council partners and the IAEA. We've been doing so for a number of years. We are working with the Iraqi Government to -- and the Iraqi security forces and our own to deal with the problems that Iran has caused there. We are working with our partners in other parts of the world to deal with the consequences of Iran's state sponsor -- sponsorship of terrorism.

But there is no change in U.S. policy. While no U.S. President ever takes any options off the table, our approach has been and is -- and as far as I know, until you hear differently from the President, will continue to be one of using diplomacy, using all the tools in the diplomatic toolbox, to try and convince Iran to change its behavior and do, again, what I think is in the best interest not only of the international community but of the Iranian people themselves.

Sue.

QUESTION: Talking about the tools in the diplomatic box, what's happened to the designation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization?

MR. CASEY: I don't have anything new for you on that.

Kirit.

QUESTION: Do you have anything to say about this possible extradition of Noriega to France and where the State Department stands on this?

MR. CASEY: Well, we can kind of work through a little bit of what I said this morning, but let me just first of all talk about the process in general and then I can talk a little bit about this specific case.

QUESTION: Well, before you do that, has anything changed since what you talked this morning?

MR. CASEY: No.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. CASEY: First of all, and that's to the basic point, the way extradition requests are handled is they are processed through the U.S. courts. At a certain point in the process, a judge will make a decision either to recommend extradition or not. If they recommend extradition, as has happened in the case of Manuel Noriega, the judge will then issue something called a Certificate of Extraditability. That has also happened in this case.

At that point, if there are no additional legal challenges, that information is passed to the State Department for final review; and ultimately, for an extradition to take place, the Department -- a Department official, the Secretary or other designees, would need to sign what's called a Surrender Warrant. At that point, the Surrender Warrant is transferred to the Department of Justice, and the Department of Justice, usually the U.S. Marshals Service, will make arrangements with the country that the individual is being extradited to for the physical transfer.

Now, let's talk about this case because I've seen some interesting reports out there that I think aren't necessarily consistent with the facts. Where this case stands right now, as I understand it, unless something has happened since I've been out here, is that Manuel Noriega has been found to be extraditable by the judge, a certificate has been issued. However, his lawyers, not surprisingly, as this does happen in most extradition cases, have filed a number of legal motions and actions designed to overturn that decision or otherwise prevent this from happening.

The State Department does not normally and will not in this case act on the Certificate of Extraditability until those legal issues are resolved. And so at this point, where we are is waiting to see how that legal process plays out. Once it is, the material will come here for review and the Secretary or others here will then be in a position to render a final decision on whether or not to sign the Surrender Warrant and ultimately have Mr. Noriega extradited.

QUESTION: What's the current State Department position on his extradition?

MR. CASEY: The current U.S. Government position on this, as represented by all the filings from the Department of Justice and other associated agencies, is to support the French request. And that's where we've been in the court proceedings and that's where we are now.

Mr. Lambros.

QUESTION: On HIV/AIDS. Mr. Casey, almost two years ago, February 8, 2006, Dr. Mark Dybul, Global AIDS (inaudible) Coordinator and chief medical officer here at the State Department, appear in this briefing room within the presence of the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and talked to us about the deadly disease. Since then to the present, a lot of new positive medical developments have taken place. Would it be possible for your Global Coordinator to appear again as soon as possible for a new briefing on the record, on camera?

MR. CASEY: I think, actually, on International AIDS Day this past year Mark Dybul briefed, and I'm sure his office will be happy to respond to any inquiries you have or give you whatever updates are there. I'm certainly happy to take under advisement bringing Mark down here if there's general interest in it.

QUESTION: But could you please pass the request to him --

MR. CASEY: Mr. Lambros, we'll make sure that you have contacts for the press folks in his office and you can give your request directly to him.

QUESTION: Okay. On Serbia? I have a question on Serbia.

MR. CASEY: Well, let's go around to other people first and then we can come back to Serbia. Let's go back here.

QUESTION: Do you have any comments on the (inaudible) elections taking place today in Morocco?

MR. CASEY: I think I'll wait till the elections take place before I offer any evaluation of them. Certainly, we want to see a democracy develop in Morocco and see elections move forward in a positive way. I will -- have not heard anything from our officials on the ground there, though, and I'll wait till I hear from them before I offer any assessment. I know they have presidential elections coming up on Sunday. Again, I think before offering any comment on them, we’ll let them take place and see what some of the international observers have to say.

Sue.

QUESTION: The Senate last night passed the Foreign Ops appropriation bill which included a measure which restricts the sale and transfer of cluster bombs. I wondered if you had any comment on that.

MR. CASEY: No.

QUESTION: Could you get some comment on that? I mean, is this --

MR. CASEY: I'm not aware that there's a statement of Administration position on that issue, but I would -- if there is not, then it's something working through the legislative process. I'd prefer to let it work out.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Tom, yesterday, U.S. Institute of Peace had a briefing on the financing terrorism around the globe. And what they had very clear message that France and allies of the United States are the one who are hurting the U.S. and financing those terrorists and still they are financing, including Saudi Arabia, and training taking place in Pakistan. Where do we stand now after -- because we had gone through a lot of this -- with those allies and friends, stop financing terrorism, or terrorists?

MR. CASEY: Well, first of all, I think my friends in the Department of Treasury are probably better placed to talk to you about some of the actions on international terrorism financing, although we certainly are involved in that issue as well. But I think it would be wrong to say that the countries, including the ones you might mention, are somehow as a matter of national policy supporting terrorist financing.

I think outside of a few notable exceptions, such as Iran and Syria, there aren't too many nations out there that as a matter of national policy support providing weapons, money, training or otherwise to terrorist or terrorist organizations. Certainly, though, everybody can do more to respond to this issue. It's an ongoing problem and certainly, as we work to crack down on individual terrorist groups and their means of support, they are trying to adapt and respond to that as well. That is simply part of the landscape. So I know we're going to be continuing to work with all our friends and allies on this issue. But certainly I would hope that no one had made the contention that, for example, the Government of France was actively promoting or sponsoring the financing of terrorism, because that's simply not true.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Do you have any further information on the experts to go to North Korea?

MR. CASEY: Well, nothing beyond what I told you today, as most of you know, Chris announced in Sydney that there's an agreement on the part of the North Korean Government to host a group of technical experts on nuclear matters from the United States, China, and Russia. It's our understanding they'll be going to Pyongyang next week for these conversations with North Korean nuclear experts.

The purpose of this is to come up with an understanding on the specifics of disablement and how it will be conducted. And again, also, as Chris said, our hope is to see that phase completed and that agreement implemented by the end of the year.

QUESTION: And do you have any updates of the schedule on the --

MR. CASEY: No, I don't. I don't have any more details than I did this morning in terms of composition of the group or travel schedule.

Yeah, Matt.

QUESTION: Did you get anything on that Ethiopia question I asked this morning?

MR. CASEY: Matt, the only answer I have on that is yeah, this incident happened about four months ago. I'm not really aware of any State Department involvement in it. I'd refer you over to the Department of Defense for details on it.

QUESTION: Tom, one more on different subject, please?

MR. CASEY: Well, I'll tell you what. Why don't we let Lambros do his last one since he's doing his -- he's on his only second last question, not on his third.

QUESTION: On Serbia a little bit, sir.

MR. CASEY: Sure.

QUESTION: On Serbia, any -- Mr. Casey, any update on U.S. position vis-à-vis to new Serbian policy on Kosovo of use of force in case of -- in defense in -- by Kosovar Albanians as we discussed yesterday expressed by Minister Dusan Prorokovic?

MR. CASEY: Yeah. Mr. Lambros, I don't have anything beyond what we said yesterday on that for you.

QUESTION: (Inaudible), but next week, Tom, two former prime ministers of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto --

MR. CASEY: Yeah, let me -- I know what you're going to ask and let me stop there. These are issues that are before the Pakistani political and judicial system. We would expect them, as I said this morning, to honor the terms of Pakistani law and the constitutional process.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:23 p.m.)

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