20 September 2001
White House: Taliban Must Turn Over Bin Laden to Responsible Authorities
(U.S. stands by its demands, Fleischer says)(620 )
By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent
Washington -- A recommendation from Afghanistan's Grand Islamic
Council that the country's Taliban rulers ask suspected terrorist
ringleader Osama bin Laden to leave Afghanistan "does not meet
America's requirements," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer
told reporters September 20 at his early morning meeting with them.
"It's time for action, not words. The president has demanded that key
figures of the al Queda terrorist organization, including Osama bin
Laden, be turned over to responsible authorities and for the Taliban
to close terrorist camps in Afghanistan. The United States stands by
those demands," Fleischer said.
He reminded reporters that "this is about much more than any one man
being allowed to leave voluntarily, presumably from one safe harbor to
another safe harbor, if what he's doing is voluntarily."
Fleischer also told reporters that President Bush had made a series of
phone calls the morning of September 20 -- to President Ricardo Lagos
of Chile, President Fernando de la Rua of Argentina, and Belgium Prime
Minister Guy Verhofstadt, "accepting their condolences" about the
September 11 terrorist attack on the United States and discussing with
them the response to it.
The president, he said, was to meet later in the morning in the Oval
Office at the White House with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud
al-Faysal.
Saudi Arabia "has strongly supported the United States in the wake of
the attack, and that's the president's view," Fleischer said.
In the early afternoon, following a luncheon meeting with Vice
President Dick Cheney, Bush was to hold a private meeting in the
Roosevelt Room of the White House with "a wide-ranging group of
religious leaders to talk about tolerance. The leaders, Fleischer
said, came to Washington from across the nation and represent
Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs,
Hindus and Buddhists.
Fleischer said that among the participants is Greek Orthodox
Archbishop Demetrios, whose home church, St. Nicholas, "was located
within 250 feet of ground zero in New York and was completely
demolished" in the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade
Center.
The evening of September 20 Bush is to meet in the Oval Office with
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, followed by a private working
dinner.
Then at 9:00 p.m.Washington time Bush will address a joint session of
the U.S. Congress.
"His intention," in that speech, Fleischer said, "is to talk to the
American people about these known terrorist organizations around the
world who have a goal, and their goal is to do the greatest harm and
disruption to democracies and to freedom-loving people around the
world, and including within the land borders of the United States."
Britain's Prime Minister Blair will be sitting in the gallery with
Mrs. Bush during the speech, Fleischer said, adding that security
"will be exceptionally tight."
As an indicator "of how serious this is," Fleischer said, "sitting
behind the president will be Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and
President pro tem of the Senate, Robert Byrd. The vice president will
not be in the chamber tonight. Recognizing the importance of
continuation-of-government issues, he will be at a different location.
So, too, will one member of the Cabinet, as is the tradition."
"There's no more fitting place to discuss the fight for freedom than
in the halls of freedom," Fleischer said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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