Interview with Delaware Valley Elementary School TV

(10:40 a.m. EDT)

QUESTION: We have the honor of meeting Mr., the Secretary -- Deputy Secretary of State Mr. Richard Armitage. Good morning, Secretary Armitage and thank you for taking the time with us -- to meet with us today.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Good morning, guys.

QUESTION: Good morning.

QUESTION: Can you tell us what you do in your job as Deputy Secretary of State and what do you think is the most important part?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, the first answer, I guess, is I do anything Secretary of State Powell asks me to do. But more specifically, I'm responsible, in addition to foreign policy development, I'm responsible for running this building and the budget and the personnel items, so I guess you'd call me the Chief Operating Officer of the organization of my boss. Secretary Powell is the Chief Executive Officer.

QUESTION: When you were in college, was there anyone that influenced you to be a Deputy Secretary?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: No. I went to the U.S. Naval Academy, but there was one professor who influenced me a lot. He, about halfway through the course of study, he put down the books and he said, "You students think I'm the most intelligent, well-informed man you've ever met, don't you?" And we were quite surprised that he'd be so arrogant to make the statement, but it was, indeed, true. And he said, "The reason you think that about me is because you always understand what I'm saying," so I think he left a lasting impression on me that the most important thing is not how well you sound, but whether people understand what you say. So that really made a difference to me.

QUESTION: Did you think you would ever have this job as a child? And do you think you'll have any other jobs in the future?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: (Laughter.) Well, I must say, as a young person, I thought I'd follow in the footsteps of my father, who was a policeman, and I thought that was about the highest duty one could have.

I kind of got off that track. I went to the U.S. Naval Academy, went in the Navy, went to Vietnam, and got involved in politics. So I ended up here, never expecting to see myself at the Department of State. I always thought I would end up in the Department of Defense. And I suspect my days of public service, given my age, are just about over, but I certainly expect to go back to work for a while.

QUESTION: Did you have any other jobs before this one?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Yeah, (laughter), I've had a gazillion jobs. Out of government I ran my own company, which was an international consulting company. In government I was Assistant Secretary of Defense. I was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense before that. I worked on Capitol Hill for Senator Robert Dole. I worked overseas as a vice president of an international airline company and worked in Iran as a defense representative. I worked in Saigon as the defense attaché, and prior to that, I was in the Navy, so I've had plenty of jobs and probably mastered none of them. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: If there are any threats or attacks, what do you do to prevent them?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: If there are any what? Say again.

QUESTION: Threats or attacks.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, we try to work to, obviously, as you suggest, prevent attacks by using intelligence and to determine where people wish to do bad things to us and then try to outwit them or to take them down, if you will, before they're able to do it.

Beyond that, we try to make sure that our population is warned of potential danger so they can be on the lookout and take precautions to preserve us. We've been blessed. Although there are people in the world who wish others -- wish ourselves and other like-minded countries bad things, thus far, we've been blessed in not having another terrorist attack and we'll do our utmost to assure that it continues.

QUESTION: What role did you play at the conflict in Iraq and how do you -- how does the United States help other countries?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, two very widely divergent questions. In the question of Iraq, we participated, along with colleagues from Department of Defense, the CIA, the National Security Council, the Vice President's office in formulating an approach that would put further and further pressure on Saddam, both through the international institutions such as the United Nations as well as upping the military pressure on him to try to get him to change his behavior and to change his way of doing business.

Ultimately, we were unsuccessful, so our role in the State Department changed to helping put together a coalition of forces, or 31 nations who are assisting us in Iraq now, to move forward and ultimately to develop a democratic, stable Iraq.

I've just come down from a conversation with Secretary Powell, who is in Rome, and our Ambassador in New York, John Negroponte, about the formulation of a new U.S. or United Nations Security Council resolution, which will guide the international community in our approach to Iraq as we move forward in the future.

The second part of the question was what?

QUESTION: What do you see as the -- how is the United States helping other countries?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, in a variety of ways. The President has put forward a series of initiatives. One is a very major initiative to try to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS, which is devastating many nations and if we can't conquer it, it will be somewhat like a weapon of mass destruction, but one that hits through the immune system. We've, likewise -- or the President has developed something called the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which is a new way of giving international assistance to countries who respect human rights and who are trying to be more transparent and open in their government and in their education systems. So there are a variety of ways.

And, finally, one of the ways we assist is by having alliances with countries. And that is, that if they were attacked by an enemy, we would come to their aid. Likewise, if we were attacked by an enemy, they would come to our aid. We're very much, in this Department, responsible for managing and improving those alliances.

QUESTION: We all know you have many children. How do you fit --

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: How do you know I have many children? (Laughter.) Yeah, you're right. I've got a bunch. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: How do you fit your job and your children in?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I think I didn't do a very good job. My children are all grown and all out of high school now, some in college, some out with their own families. I have grandchildren. And I think that I have not been as successful as I should have been in balancing the demands of a career with the demands of being a good husband and father.

And it's easy in these jobs to fool yourself into thinking that what you're doing is very important, and therefore you can spend time away from your family because it's an important job. But the fact of the matter is I think most of us come to the realization that we've turned away somewhat from what is the most important job, and that is being a father and a good husband.

QUESTION: I was just wondering, are you often interviewed by kids? And why did you make time in your busy day for us today?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I'm often interviewed, almost every day. I have never been interviewed by 11-year-olds. I think my previous record were sophomore, freshmen and sophomores in high school. And so I look forward to doing you again, perhaps, when you're freshmen and sophomores in high school.

It seems to me that it's -- you're doing something very interesting and very exciting by having your own show. It seems to me, it's an opportunity for me to hear from you, what you've got on your mind, and also, by the way, to explain to young people, who will be tuning into your show, that this is a part of government, that I represent the Department of State, and give you some information on what we do here.

QUESTION: Do you think there will ever be peace? And how could this happen?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I must say, if you look at the grand history of the world, there has probably never been a time there has been complete peace. But I think that all of us in government dedicate ourselves to the proposition, and we've got to do what we can to make the proper preparations for peace, and do what we can to bring others to more peaceful ways of thinking. I can only hope for, and I can't guarantee it.

QUESTION: How is your job different from Secretary Powell's?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, he does a lot more traveling than I do. We are able and both do each other's job. That's the way Secretary Powell wants it to be done. But I concentrate more than he does on the internal running of the Department and the development of budgets in the preparation for Congress, of the budget deliberations, while he spends more time on the direction of foreign policy.

There are times when our roles are reversed. And I just came back a day and a half ago from Europe where I was representing the U.S. Government and representing Secretary Powell. He was actually back here running the Department. So we kind of alternate, but there is no question about who's boss.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: What is Secretary Powell like to work with? And do you see the President often in your position?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I see the President several times a week in this position, not as often as Secretary Powell, who sees him almost every single day, but I see him several times a week.

Secretary Powell is awesome to work with. He's awesome because: 1) the breadth of his experience; 2) the fact that he is used to running large organizations, so he is very comfortable in the job of Secretary of State. And when your boss is comfortable, I think it helps to make you comfortable. And, thirdly, as is widely understood in the world, he's a wonderful human being.

A PARTICIPANT: Does anybody else have any more questions?

QUESTION: How did you get the nickname "Powell's bulldog?"

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I can't imagine. How unfair. I thought it would be "Powell's poodle," which has some alliteration.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: Are you in the President's Cabinet?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: No, I'm not a cabinet officer. I'm what's called subcabinet, as a Deputy Secretary.

QUESTION: How many years have you been Secretary of State?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Deputy Secretary of State?

QUESTION: Yes.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Almost three-and-a-half years.

QUESTION: What's the funnest part of your job?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I think the funnest part of my job is going home at night. (Laughter.) But this is about second to that, being with you guys.

QUESTION: Thank you for spending time with us today. This is (inaudible) signing out at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Thank you all very much. Well done, guys.

(Applause.)
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