28 May 2002
Transcript: Defense Department Briefing, May 28, 2002
(Memorial Day tributes, USS Stennis returning to homeport,
Afghanistan: Operation Mountain Lion/numbers of al Qaeda forces/rumors
of attacks, Iraq: suppression of anti-aircraft fire, Pakistan: missile
tests/tensions with India/redeploying troops from Afghan
border/Chinese missiles, detainees/U.S. treatment/Amnesty
International report/Walker-Lindh trial) (3720)
Pentagon Spokeswoman and Assistant Secretary of Defense (PA) Victoria
Clarke and Air Force Brig. Gen. John W. Rosa Jr., deputy director for
current operations, Joint Staff, briefed reporters May 28 at the
Pentagon.
Following is the Pentagon transcript:
(begin transcript)
U.S. Department of Defense News Briefing
Victoria Clarke ASD (PA)
Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 11:30 a.m. EDT
(Also participating was Air Force Brig. Gen. John W. Rosa, Jr., deputy
director for current operations, Operations Directorate, the Joint
Staff.)
Clarke: Good morning. Welcome back from what I hope was a good weekend
for all of you.
This year Memorial Day had an added meaning for all of us, for the
obvious reasons. And as I was going around on my couple days off this
weekend, I saw a lot of expressions of support and appreciation for
the military, and I'm sure all of you did as well. But people from
governments and communities and schools and businesses went out of
their way to show their support for the men and women in uniform. And
so, on behalf of the Department of Defense, I just wanted to say thank
you very, very much for the people who took the time out from this
weekend to honor the people in the military.
And as many of you know, the USS John C. Stennis is returning to San
Diego today, after a six-and-a-half-month deployment in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom. The Stennis Battle Group is a fighting
force of approximately 10,000 sailors and Marines. And some of the
facts of what it did in that six and a half months, while deployed:
The air wing flew over 10,000 combat sorties and clocked over 54,000
hours. The flight deck crew, who successfully accomplished 9,600
arrested jet aircraft landings, had only four days off. And they all
performed exceptionally and made many, many sacrifices. We welcome
them home, and I'm sure their families are glad to have them back.
And finally, Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz leaves for Singapore tomorrow,
for a speaking engagement at the Institute for International Strategic
Studies Asia security conference. He will also make some U.S. troop
visits in the Philippines and returns on June 4th.
Sir?
Rosa: Thank you, and good morning.
In Afghanistan, Operation Mountain Lion continues throughout
Afghanistan, including aggressive reconnaissance and surveillance.
In Khost, coalition forces reported two possible mortar rocket impacts
between 1 and 2 kilometers from their position. And this was in the
vicinity of the airfield where we've seen before. They're currently
being investigated.
There was also some activity recently in Iraq in the north. Earlier
today, coalition pilots observed AAA firing near Mosul. Approximately
an hour later, coalition aircraft dropped two precision-guided weapons
on that AAA site, and battle damage is pending. In the south, on
Saturday, a similar incident occurred. Coalition pilots responded by
dropping four precision-guided weapons on a surface-to- air missile
site in the vicinity of Nasiriya.
I, too, would like to echo my appreciation, as a member of the
uniformed services, for the tremendous outpouring this nation showed
for Memorial Day and for our veterans and those who have given the
ultimate sacrifice. It was a tremendous outpouring and we thank you
very much.
And with that, we'll take your questions.
Clarke: Charlie?
Question: Torie, is there any concern in this building, or indeed, in
this government, about the ongoing missile tests by Pakistan at a time
like this, that that might be ratcheting up tensions, already high
tensions between nuclear powers, India and Pakistan?
Clarke: Oh, I think you can only echo what the secretary and General
Pace were talking about on Friday, which is the concerns we have about
what's going on between India and Pakistan are grave ones. The United
States government is working hard, in conversations and consultations
with both countries, to try to ease and de-escalate the conflict. Any
time you have two nations who continue to have the problems they're
having, two nuclear-armed nations, we, of course, have great concerns.
And we have concerns about the ongoing efforts on the war on terrorism
in Afghanistan. It's very important to us; we want to stay focused on
it. Pakistan has been tremendously helpful in that effort and we need
that assistance going forward.
Q: Has the secretary, in his talks with Mr. Fernandez -- has he talked
to him in recent days, and has he expressed any concern about these
missile tests?
Clarke: I have to check to see if they actually made contact. They
were trying to -- they were trading phone calls late last week, and I
will check for you and get back to you on that one. But I would not
get into the particulars of the conversation. I mean, the United
States government is working at all levels -- the president on down,
including the talks that Doug Feith, our under secretary for policy,
had last week -- to do what we can to help de-escalate the conflict.
Q: Specifically regarding these missile tests, do you feel that that's
ratcheting up tensions at this time?
Clarke: I wouldn't get into characterizations of it. We're very
concerned about what's going on there, and we're working hard to try
to de-escalate the conflict. But let's check and see if contact ever
got made on the call.
Q: To what extent has the tension between India and Pakistan affected
the U.S. war on terrorism, specifically in that border area along
Afghanistan and Pakistan? Have the Paks withdrawn significant number
of troops that were participating in efforts to root out the al Qaeda
and Taliban in Pakistan?
Clarke: Again, I can only repeat what the secretary said, and General
Rosa can pile on here. But their help has been enormous along that
border, and attention and troops that cannot be focused there because
they're focused elsewhere, that's a concern for us because we need as
much assistance as possible in guarding that very porous border. So,
as the secretary said last week, it is a concern when they have to
focus attention and people to other parts of the country. Specifics in
terms of numbers, I don't think we're going to go into.
Q: Without speaking about specific numbers, has it, in fact, had a
detrimental effect on U.S. efforts to locate and root out Taliban and
al Qaeda along the Afghan-Pakistan border?
Clarke: Again, just repeating, another way of saying what I said
before, it is not helpful when their attention and some of their
people have to be focused on other areas.
Q: Just to follow --
Clarke: Sure.
Q: On India-Pakistan. You keep saying that General Musharraf is very
helpful in the war against terrorism, but there are many countries.
But he's still harboring terrorism, according to the Washington Post,
not one time, three tines, said he has not lived up to his January
12th statement. And at the same time, what kind of message he's
sending by testing missiles at this time when administration is
pushing hard on him to stop terrorism against India? Does that mean
this building is encouraging him, when you said he is very helpful in
fighting against terrorism, are you encouraging him for this missile
test?
Clarke: We are encouraging Pakistan to remain involved, as they have
been, extensively, in the war on terrorism that obviously is a
priority for us, that is a priority for the world. We understand what
is going on there. We're doing our best with both countries to try to
bring the level of tensions down.
Q: Is it the assessment of the U.S. government that most of the senior
leadership of al Qaeda and the Taliban have now migrated to the
Pakistani side of the border, as Buster Hagenbeck said yesterday?
Clarke: I don't know if that's exactly what he said. I know he was
talking about the fact that it is likely there are al Qaeda and
Taliban in Pakistan, and that happens to be true. Given the porous
nature of the border around the country, it's likely there are al
Qaeda and Taliban in lots of different places. So I don't know if
that's exactly what he said. If we knew exactly where some of these
people were, then we probably would have them.
Q: Well, not necessarily. Not if Pakistan has diverted its attention
to other concerns of higher priority to them. You wouldn't
necessarily, not if you're not able to operate in that territory.
Clarke: Well, I think, even up to recent remarks, it's clear that
trying to prevent the al Qaeda, the Taliban from having any kind of
real influence in that country is a concern for Musharraf as well.
Q: Is it the assessment of the U.S. military that there are as many as
a thousand al Qaeda fighters on the Pakistani side of the border now?
Clarke: Again, I think what General Hagenbeck gave was an estimate, a
very, very broad estimate, of the kinds of numbers that might be in
that region of the country. Again, we don't know exactly what those
numbers are. Is it likely that some have gone across the border? Sure,
as we said before.
Q: General Rosa, what is the assessment of the guys in uniform as to
the impact of the India-Pakistan crisis on your ability to do anything
in that border region, especially on the Pakistani side?
Rosa: As Ms. Clarke said, it's got us concerned. If in fact forces
move away from that border -- we're not confirming or denying force
movements, but if they do, it obviously has -- would have some type of
impact. But when you have a focus someplace else in other regions of
your country, it will make some impact.
As far as the estimates, I saw in the article that General Hagenbeck
was quoted -- it was a wide range, tremendously wide range, and
estimates like that normally -- historically is not that accurate.
Yeah?
Q: When it is an estimate of between 100 and a thousand, that
indicates that maybe the U.S. doesn't have a real good handle on who
or what is really there?
Clarke: We've always -- we've said all along it's very hard to have
exact numbers of anything. So it's true about in Afghanistan. It's
true about the numbers of al Qaeda and Taliban who might be in
neighboring countries. It's very hard to know exact numbers. They tend
not to be in large groups.
Q: General, General Hagenbeck also in an interview with the Times said
that the -- that there is a belief that the -- that al Qaeda is
organizing for some sort of an attack or some kind of an operation
during the -- to disrupt the loya jirga. Do you have any details on
what he was referring to?
Rosa: I read that same article, and that's the first I heard.
Q: Well, apparently -- I mean, similar concerns have been raised by
Afghan officials, by the head of the British -- you know, the British
commander of the ISAF force. You're saying you've never heard of any
concern about --
Rosa: I haven't seen any reports that say that -- what was in the
article this morning, in our intelligence channels, that said that
there are specific people -- the way I read the article, it said there
were some specific (group) going to terrorize folks up in Afghanistan.
You can suspect that that might happen, given the nature of what's
happened in the past, but I haven't seen specific reports that have
said that.
Q: So what are we supposed to make of his comments, then?
Rosa: He's the commander in the field. I would believe what he has to
say.
Q: You both have now indicated it's not helpful, that it's got us
concerned that Pakistan has had to move some of it's forces from that
border area. Can we draw the conclusion that the effort on the
Pakistani side is now stalled?
Clarke: No, I wouldn't put any characterizations on it. I don't think
it's useful or helpful or accurate to be talking about hypothetical
situations. We continue to impress upon Pakistan, as we do to lots of
countries who are committed to this effort, about the need to remain
focused, to finish it to its conclusion, which is trying to disrupt
completely the Taliban and the al Qaeda, prevent Afghanistan from
returning to what it returned to. So -- but I wouldn't draw
conclusions, I wouldn't put characterizations on it, and I wouldn't go
further than what we've said, which is it is a concern.
Q: With all due respect, it's not a hypothetical when they withdraw
forces from the border area and you are less able to --
Clarke: No, but you were -- you were heading into hypotheticals and
wanting to put a hard --
Q: I was heading into a characterization of what appears to be the
case on the ground, that there is very little activity on the part of
the Pakistanis in that tribal border area, which is a prime and
important area for the United States.
Clarke: Just say this. Pakistan has been enormously, enormously
helpful in the effort; enormously helpful in that border. We remain
hopeful that they can and will stay committed to that effort. And
that's it.
Brett?
Q: Do you find reports that al Qaeda fighters are operating in Kashmir
to be credible? Have you seen anything to that extent that regards?
Rosa: I have not seen.
Clarke: I have not.
Q: Okay. What is the level of fear that this entire tension could
cause problems for President Musharraf in holding on to power there?
What's that perception in this building?
Clarke: I'd refer that question over to the State Department.
Rosa: State Department.
Clarke: It's a very difficult situation he's dealing with -- very
difficult domestic considerations. But those sorts of things -- I'd
refer you to the State Department.
Let's go way back and then back to Dale.
Q: With the changes in the Pakistan force, are you considering
increasing the number of U.S. and/or coalition forces in Afghanistan
and shifting more of them to the border area?
Rosa: I have seen nothing that would say we're going to increase troop
strength. That's always an option, but right now I have seen nothing.
There are no plans that I've seen.
Q: So even if they withdrew, you wouldn't necessarily consider --
Rosa: That's a hypothetical.
Q: Well, they say they have withdrawn some.
Rosa: I mean, you know, we can war-game this thing, but right now
there are no plans.
Clarke: Dale?
Q: Obviously the greater concern is the possibility of a nuclear
exchange. Is there any kind of buffer zone that's been established for
American forces operating either at sea or on the ground to stay a
certain amount of miles or kilometers away from areas where we think
there's at least the possibility for a nuclear exchange?
Clarke: Not that I'm aware of.
Rosa: No.
Clarke: (Inaudible name.)
Q: General, on Iraq, you reported yet another incident. Do you have
any new assessment of whether this amounts to a new form of activity,
a change in tactics, compared to what we've seen in the past few
months?
Rosa: It hasn't been, and I'll echo General Pace's comments on Friday.
The level is about the same. We had a slight increase over the last
couple of weeks, but it's not uncharacteristic for what we've seen
over the last several years.
Clarke: Donna?
Q: On another issue, Amnesty International has issued a 300- page
report basically repeating some of its earlier criticism that the Bush
administration has lost the moral ground on fighting the war on
terrorism, because it's ignored human rights, and again points to
indefinite detention of detainees and again says that the legal rights
of the detainees have been ignored. Do you have any response to the
Amnesty International report?
Clarke: Not to the report, because I haven't seen it. But in terms of
treatment of the detainees, they continue to get excellent care. They
continue to get culturally appropriate food. They continue to get
excellent medical treatment. They continue to get the right to worship
as they want, which is not something I -- at least last time I
checked, the Taliban and the al Qaeda wanted others to have. So they
continue to get excellent treatment. They are battlefield combatants,
and they're being held as such, and they're being held appropriately.
Q: And on the detainees, any plans yet to move any of them out? Have
you determined that some of those should be moved out of Guantanamo
back to their countries? What's the latest on --
Clarke: Nothing to announce from here. But as we've said before, we
have no desire or intent to hold large numbers of people for a long
time. So to the extent we can work through arrangements with countries
of origin for some of these people and it's going to be handled
appropriately, then we'll do so. But nothing to announce at this time.
Q: Since you haven't done it in a while, could you give us an update
on the numbers in Gitmo and in Afghanistan?
Clarke: Very roughly. Gitmo recent --
Rosa: I've got them.
Clarke: Oh. Go, General Rosa.
Rosa: I just happened, Charlie, because I knew you'd ask that
question, I just happened to look this morning.
Clarke: And I would have guessed wrong.
Rosa: In Afghanistan we've got 255, and in Guantanamo, 384.
Q: Three eighty-four. Thanks.
Staff: One in Norfolk.
Rosa: And one in Norfolk.
Yes, sir?
Q: And about the one in Norfolk, I think a federal judge last week had
ordered that the public defender have access to him by today, do you
know what the status of that is?
Clarke: You should check in with the Justice Department. It's either
today or tomorrow, I believe, the United States government will be in
court on that one. But send you over to the Justice Department for
that.
Jim?
Q: Yeah, there was another report that the latest raid -- there was a
raid last week -- that there was a three-year-old girl who was killed
falling down a well, and that the head man of the village died in U.S.
custody. Do you know whether those reports are accurate? Is there any
concern that maybe these tactics that are being used, the nighttime
assaults, that kind thing, are posing unacceptable risk to civilians?
Rosa: Before we move on any intelligence, we take all sources of
intelligence -- the coalition, the Afghanis that are with us, and
we've moved on several compounds, and we've gone in, talked to folks,
not even detained them. On others, we've detained folks, never fired.
In cases where we go in and folks fire at us, we'll fire back, and in
this case, that happened. And unfortunately, there were some folks
hurt.
We don't have any reports -- and we were trying to confirm them this
morning -- on a three-year-old or a hundred-year-old man. We haven't
seen anything in our reports that would lead us to believe that that
happened. We're not saying it didn't, but we haven't seen anything.
Q: And how many people were killed in that raid?
Rosa: There was one killed in that raid, I believe, and two wounded.
Q: And nobody died in U.S. custody?
Rosa: Not that they're reporting.
Q: Not that --
Rosa: Not that are in our reports. I haven't -- and I just looked at
them this morning, and I haven't -- I didn't see anything like that.
Q: Sir, if this building is worried about intelligence reports that
China is still supplying missile technology to Pakistan? And also they
have a military-to-military strong relations and most of the money
Pakistan got from the U.S. is going to China to buy the military
equipment for the war against India?
Clarke: We wouldn't talk about any intel matters at all. We would say
what we've said often, which is proliferation of weapons,
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a constant, ongoing
concern for us that we raise almost every time we meet with anyone
from another country. I mean, I know it's true about the secretary of
Defense; I'm sure it's true in many of his meetings the president's
had; he raises the issue of proliferation and what a threat that
presents to people who just want to live their lives in peace.
Brett? Last question.
Q: Is the Defense Department digging in its heels on the efforts by
John Walker Lindh's defense team to speak to detainees one on one?
Where is that standing right now?
Clarke: You know, I want to be very careful not to say anything that
has an impact on a legal case, which is ongoing. So again, some of
these things you really should go to the Justice Department.
But I do know one of our main objectives, for obvious reasons, is to
prevent future attacks on the American people, on our friends and
allies. One of the ways we can do that is to get information out of
people. And so one of the things we want to make very sure of is that
we not pollute or integrate the process of those interviews or those
interrogations with other things, with other people, with other
processes.
Q: So there is an effort underway to try to prevent that from
happening?
Clarke: Just say what I just said.
Thank you.
Q: Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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