30 August 2004
State Department Noon Briefing, August 30
Syria, Greece/Powell's cancellation of trip, Department/investigation into spying at the Pentagon, Iraq, Sudan, Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Afghanistan, Russia, North Korea, Panama,
State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher briefed the media August 30.
Following is the transcript of the State Department briefing:
(begin transcript)
U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing Index
Monday, August 30, 2004
1:05 p.m. EDT
BRIEFER: Richard Boucher, Spokesman
DEPARTMENT
-- Assistant Secretary Burns' Possible Travel to Syria
-- Secretary Powell's Cancellation of Trip to Greece/Secretary's Calls to FM Li and FM Fischer
-- Investigation into Spying at the Pentagon/Secretary Powell Briefed
IRAQ
-- Ambassador Negroponte's Review of Spending Priorities/Embassy Meeting with Iraqi Officials/Congressional Approval
-- Ceasefire Announced by Sadr's Militia/Situation in Najaf
SUDAN
-- Jesse Jackson's Visit to Darfur
-- Humanitarian Assistance
-- UN Report
-- Peace Talks in Abuja
-- Assistant Secretary Newman's Travel/Visit to Darfur
LEBANON
-- Syrian Influence in Lebanese Constitutional Process
-- Discussions with Security Council Partners/France
IRAN
-- Threat of Iranian Nuclear Program/Iranian Commitments
-- Upcoming IAEA Meetings
-- German, French and British Proposals Regarding Nuclear Program
SAUDI ARABIA
-- Attack on U.S. Diplomatic Vehicle in Jeddah
GREECE
-- Greece's Safe, Secure and Successful Olympic Games
AFGHANISTAN
-- Terrorist Attack at an Office Building in Kabul
RUSSIA
-- Elections in Chechnya/Flaws in the Electoral Process
NORTH KOREA
-- Status of TCOG Meeting
PANAMA
-- Decision to Pardon Cuban-Born Exiles Convicted in Plotting to Assassinate Castro
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2004
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
1:05 p.m. EDT
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I don't have any statements or announcements. I'd be glad to take your questions.
George.
QUESTION: There's a report that Assistant Secretary Burns is going to Syria next week. Have you heard that?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll check on it for you and see what I can get.
QUESTION: Something that's only a slightly different matter.
MR. BOUCHER: Sure.
QUESTION: I'm wondering if you want to stick with your early Saturday morning explanation that the Secretary canceled his trip to Athens due to the crushing press of business in Washington in this last week of August.
MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary had some matters that he wanted to be in Washington to attend to, including Iraq and the situation in Darfur and the upcoming UN resolution. He made phone calls over the weekend, was working some of those things, so that was the principal reason why he stayed.
QUESTION: Who'd he call?
QUESTION: Who do -- yeah -- who were --
MR. BOUCHER: He talked to Foreign Minister Fischer over the weekend. He talked to Foreign Minister Li of China over the weekend.
Foreign Minister Fischer is in the region -- is in the Middle East, so they talked about the Middle East.
Chinese Foreign Minister Li, they talked about North Korea, prospects for working group talks as all parties agreed to at the last round; and they talked about Taiwan.
QUESTION: Is it still your expectation that working group talks will be held in September?
MR. BOUCHER: It's still our hope that all the parties will stick to the agreement they made at the last round.
QUESTION: But not an expectation?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know that the Chinese are in a position at this point to predict that all the parties will come to the talks.
QUESTION: Last week, I think your replacement was saying expectation, and now you're saying hope. It sounds like you think the chances have diminished.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I can use the wonderful word expect without clarifying as to whether we expect it to happen or whether we hold people to the commitment they've made, but we certainly expect all the parties to hold to the commitment they've made.
QUESTION: Okay, so, let me just get this straight. So, during the 48 hours that the Secretary would have been in Athens, he made two phone calls. That was the press of business in Washington?
MR. BOUCHER: The phone calls are the tip of the iceberg, Matt. There are obviously a lot of other things that he has been doing that we don't necessarily talk about.
QUESTION: Well, like what? I mean, if it's an iceberg, it's a lot of stuff. Surely, there's some of that iceberg you can talk about except for those two phone calls.
MR. BOUCHER: He's been doing paperwork. There's been plenty to do here. Let's -- why don't we just leave it at that?
QUESTION: Was there any of this stuff that he couldn't have done on the plane or in Greece?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know.
QUESTION: Arshad wanted to be there, obviously.
QUESTION: I didn't, actually.
MR. BOUCHER: I know. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: And you stand -- so that -- then that was the only reason? There wasn't -- there weren't any other concern over there?
MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary considered any number of factors. The principal reason was his desire to attend to business in Washington.
QUESTION: Okay. There weren't any security concerns about --
MR. BOUCHER: No significant security concerns. No significant security concerns, I'd have to say.
Yeah, Teri.
QUESTION: On that, can you talk about any role the State Department has in this investigation into the alleged spying at the Pentagon?
MR. BOUCHER: Can I talk about it? No.
QUESTION: Can you talk about any part of it?
MR. BOUCHER: Can I say something? Yes.
QUESTION: Could you say, could you say something?
MR. BOUCHER: No. The most that I could say is that the Secretary's been briefed on the investigation. The Secretary made clear at this morning's staff meeting to all the senior staff that we -- the State Department would cooperate in any way we could with any requests that might come from the investigators. But as far as the investigation, the facts of the matter, of what -- how it's proceeding, that's all -- nothing that I can touch there.
QUESTION: When was he briefed, and can you talk about how many other officials have been briefed and/or questioned?
MR. BOUCHER: No.
QUESTION: When was he briefed?
MR. BOUCHER: He heard -- he talked to the Deputy Attorney General over the weekend about the case. That was another thing he did this weekend. And -- but I don't know when he was first briefed on the matter, frankly.
QUESTION: Are any State Department officials implicated in handing over --
MR. BOUCHER: Again, that's a question you have to ask the Department of Justice. But we'll assist with any form of information or cooperation that they might want from us.
Yeah.
QUESTION: Can you elaborate on the Wall Street Journal report about Mr. Negroponte's cable and his request to use money for security and quick employment projects, rather than for more --longer-term reconstruction in Iraq?
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah, to some extent, I can. It's -- we don't have a final answer yet on how we will proceed.
The -- I think the important thing to remember is Ambassador Negroponte, when he went out to Iraq, made clear that one of his first priorities was to conduct a comprehensive review of construction priorities, of aid priorities and assistance priorities, and to do that in conjunction with the Iraqi Government.
And so the Embassy has been having meetings with the Iraqi Government. They've been closely consulted throughout this process of review, and they have made some recommendations. The recommendations relate to how U.S. assistance dollars can best be used to support the establishment of a free, secure and democratic Iraq.
They've done their on-the-ground assessment and come up with some recommendations on how to respond to the evolving situation and the evolving priorities. They had discussions not only with the Iraqi Government but also with the country team, with sectoral experts that are working with various U.S. implementing agencies in Iraq.
Discussions now continue, both here and in Washington -- both here in Washington and at our Embassy in Baghdad. The Embassy's recommendations are a key initial step in the overall review effort. That review needs to include not only the evaluation here and the discussion with the Embassy, but also further interagency discussion, and then discussion and consultations with our Congress. So that process is underway. The recommendations from the Embassy are the initial step.
QUESTION: Did the Ambassador recommend taking 3 billion for reconstruction and spending it on security?
MR. BOUCHER: I am not, at this point, able to get into any specifics. We are talking to the Embassy about some of the numbers and some of the programs. We want to spend money on the major priorities, which are improving security, increasing Iraqi employment and improving quality of life for all Iraqis. And what the Embassy is looking at his how they think the money can best be put to work to do that.
Sir.
QUESTION: Would the State Department have to get congressional approval to -- if they decide to shift the focus of the funding, or as part of the money that's there, because -- is it sort like a blanket, sort of a slush fund?
MR. BOUCHER: The answer is yes and no. It depends what money we shift and how much we shift in different categories. There are regular reports to Congress about the funding priorities and how the money is being allocated. And some of that, some of the changes, may could require some notifications to the Congress.
But, obviously, we are going to consult with the Congress anyway after we get -- after we've worked this through with the Embassy and the other agencies, and then the -- we'd make the appropriate notifications to Congress. But we'll be consulting with Congress in any case.
Tammy.
QUESTION: When Secretary Powell was in Baghdad, he talked about fast-tracking some of
the funds. It sounds like you still have quite a process here.
MR. BOUCHER: There is a process here. I'm not sure it's quite a process. It may be a matter of a few weeks depending on how the decisions get made, but the desire is to not only keep putting money in areas where we think it's most beneficial to the Iraqi people, but also to focus even more money on projects that have the kind of impact that we're looking for of improving quality of life, of creating employment and providing better security, so that's what the Secretary talked about when he was in Baghdad. That's what he discussed with Ambassador Negroponte and his country team when he was in Baghdad. And what you're seeing now is that process as it evolves.
Steve.
QUESTION: Do you have any new figures on how much has been obligated, committed, spent out of the $18 and some billion?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't at this moment. I'll have to see if we have any updated numbers on that.
Yeah. Okay. Sorry.
QUESTION: There was a breakdown, I believe, out of the 18. 4 or 5 billion already was set aside for security. Do you have that sort of breakdown available?
MR. BOUCHER: That, again, is the kind of breakdown that we do provide periodically to the Congress. The issue here is how some of those allocations might be revised in order to better target the priority areas that we've identified.
Yeah. Okay, more on this, or something else?
QUESTION: Well, Iraq.
MR. BOUCHER: Okay, Iraq.
QUESTION: I just wanted to know if you have any reaction, any comment on this ceasefire that apparently has been announced by Sadr's militia?
MR. BOUCHER: I think -- I hadn't -- do you mean -- is that something announced today, or do you mean the events over the weekend?
QUESTION: Yes, there's supposed to be an agreement signed right now, I think, or --
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah. I don't really have an instant reaction to that kind of news. As you know, we've worked very closely with the government in dealing with the situation in Najaf. We've supported the government and their efforts to bring peace to that area and to resolve the problems there, and have been showing some success in that regard, but the United States -- obviously; U.S. forces are very much a part of that effort.
Okay. Where are we going? Joel.
QUESTION: I have a question on Darfur. Jesse Jackson spent some time both in Libya and Sudan. Was he authorized by the State Department for his talks there, and what -- did he help or hinder those talks?
MR. BOUCHER: I wasn't aware of the trip, but no. People -- Americans don't need authorization by the State Department to go to Darfur and -- or Libya anymore, I think.
QUESTION: Well, he was talking to high government officials.
MR. BOUCHER: People do that. No, no particular comment.
I would say that we continue to work very intensely on the situation in Darfur. The United States, as you know, has provided something like, now, where is the latest number -- $192 million in assistance already, with a projected total of $299 million through fiscal year '05. So the United States has worked very hard to improve the humanitarian situation, and we have indeed seen some improvements in the humanitarian situation -- have been able to double the number of humanitarian workers there and provide relief supplies to more and more people.
Security remains a major problem. And while there have been some indications, some, you might say, spotty progress here and there, there's still a lot of problems that do concern us.
And so we'll be looking in the next few days at the UN report. I think the UN representative, Mr. Pronk, is going to brief the United Nations on -- the Security Council on September 2nd. So we'll look at that assessment; we'll measure the situation against the standards of the resolution, Resolution 1556; and the Security Council will decide what the next steps are. But the United States has, I think, worked very hard to try to bring not only food to the people of Darfur, but give them better security conditions.
The peace talks in Abuja have continued through the weekend. There was a 24-hour interrupted -- interruption promised -- prompted by reports of continued attacks against civilians. And we are concerned that there continue to be such reports, even at this stage in the peace process. But the Nigerian Government has worked to try to get the talks to continue and to try to make them productive, and we're fully supporting them in that matter.
QUESTION: Have you -- ahead of the UN report -- has your new assistant secretary for Africa been out there today or yesterday?
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah. She's been traveling for the last week to Kenya, Eritrea, and presently, she's in -- currently, she's in Sudan. She visited a refugee camp in Darfur earlier today in order to see, firsthand, the conditions there and to listen to the refugees' accounts and discuss ongoing humanitarian relief efforts.
She is expected to meet with senior Government of Sudan officials in Khartoum before she returns to Washington on Wednesday evening.
QUESTION: You haven't gotten any kind of a readout from her about whether she thinks the UN standards have been met?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, I think, first -- obviously, we'll listen to her and what she sees from her trip and what she hears from the Sudanese Government in the next day or so.
But as far as what happens next in the Security Council, it's not time to speculate at this point. We'd want to hear from the UN's representative and see the state of affairs as they report it. And then, the Security Council will have to get together and decide what to do next.
QUESTION: Regardless of what she's going to hear from the Sudanese Government officials, what is she going to say to the Sudanese Government officials? What is the message she's there to deliver to them?
MR. BOUCHER: She is going to say that it's important -- it's vital for the Government of Sudan to comply fully with its own commitments; comply fully with the requirements of the UN resolution. Otherwise, as stated in the UN resolution, the Security Council will decide to take further action.
QUESTION: Can I ask a question up here?
MR. BOUCHER: We had some people in the back waiting, so we'll come to you.
Yeah.
QUESTION: The Lebanese Government, according to a Syrian demand, has decided to nullify the constitution extending the Lebanese presidential mandate for three years.
The White House has said on Saturday that it's against any outside influence in the modification of the constitution. What's your comment on the Lebanese Government's step?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, our comment is the same as the White House's comment on Friday and the same as Deputy Secretary Armitage said in an interview on Friday, that the Lebanese should be able to figure out their own future free of all and any outside interference.
It is our view, and, I think the view of many in Lebanon, that it's about time -- 15 years after the Taif Accords, to live up to the spirit of those accords and have all foreign forces removed from Lebanon.
We have heard a lot of voices in Lebanon standing up for the established constitution and we think the Lebanese people should be allowed to decide without influence from other parties.
QUESTION: Will the --
MR. BOUCHER: Hang on.
QUESTION: Will the Security Council members discuss today an American-French draft resolution concerning the Syrian-Lebanese matter?
MR. BOUCHER: We have had some discussions with the French and with some of our UN friends about this matter. I think we, and others, care very much about what happens with Lebanon and the Lebanese constitution. So it would be natural for us to have discussions in New York with other governments. But exactly how that's going to proceed, I can't predict at this point.
Sorry. Barry.
QUESTION: You (inaudible), and this is a very, very, very old message. Should Mr. Burns end up in Syria, will he -- would he reiterate that message?
MR. BOUCHER: We've had discussions with Syria at various levels in various ways. I'm sure any U.S. official who's talking to Syria these days would want to reiterate that message.
QUESTION: Can I ask you about another subject? About Iran?
MR. BOUCHER: Okay.
QUESTION: All right, the notion -- think-tankers saying Iran's nuclear program is unstoppable -- you have a lot of things going: diplomacy, you're having help from -- getting help from three European countries. Is there still -- are there still diplomatic ways that the U.S. -- this Administration thinks perhaps you can stop that program?
MR. BOUCHER: There are still active diplomatic efforts by the United States to pressure Iran, to try to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. I think this Administration has had notable success in terms of convincing other governments that this was a serious problem. Those of us who have been following this issue for many years know the United States for a long time has said that Iran was developing nuclear weapons and had programs devoted to nuclear weapons. And it's only been recent years that we've been able to get other countries to take those concerns and share those concerns with us so that we have now had, I think, significant action on the part of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
There have been four unanimous resolutions there. We have had now, Russia has deferred shipping nuclear fuel now for, I think, two years to the Bushehr reactor and has agreed that that should be a closed fuel cycle, but even then, that the fuel would not be provided, pending an agreement on the return of the spent fuel and a resolution of outstanding questions and concerns that have been raised in IAEA discussions.
And finally, we've worked very, very closely with the Europeans, as well, who have been raising the same concerns that we have with Iran. So there's -- a combination of factors; continues to make clear to Iran what they have to do in terms of compliance; continues to make clear to Iran that they need to live up to their own commitments as well as the responsibilities of the IAEA resolutions.
We have an IAEA meeting coming up in September, a Board of Governor's meeting in September, and I guess there will be another one in November after that. And we'll continue to work with other governments as we approach those meetings and as we see the Secretary General's reports on Iran to continue to focus attention, focus pressure on Iran, and try to bring Iran into compliance with those commitments.
QUESTION: You've mentioned the second meeting. Are you implying that the first meeting might not trigger the decision to go to the UN Security Council, or are you just explaining there are meetings in sequence?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm just explaining that there are meetings in sequence. The Board of Governors will ultimately, if Iran does not comply, have to refer this matter to the Security Council.
QUESTION: And that's where you --
MR. BOUCHER: We'll discuss with other members exactly when that should be.
QUESTION: And that's where the emphasis is now, isn't it? Because Mr. Bolton has outlined, specified a number of actions the U.S. could take, like interdiction, if necessary. But the main chance now is concerted action, isn't it?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, as we have said, as I just said, as Mr. Bolton has said, as the Secretary has said, the Board of Governors, if it decides that Iran is not complying or that there's not any further action that can be pursued, will need to refer this matter to the United Nations. We'll be talking with other governments about when the appropriate time is for that.
Teri.
QUESTION: Change of subject?
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah.
QUESTION: Wait.
MR. BOUCHER: No?
QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the response of the Germans, the French and the British to Libya's apparent dismissal of the agreement that was reached concerning --
MR. BOUCHER: Iran's.
QUESTION: Libya?
QUESTION: -- with Iran concerning centrifuges?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think it's a matter of evaluating their response. They have made proposals to Iran about how one can move forward. They have made clear to Iran that they were prepared to move forward, and it's Iran who has, I think, consistently rejected their proposals and rejected their ideas, even after agreeing to some of them initially.
So it's not too surprising and I think they are finding that it's increasingly difficult to get Iran to comply with its own commitments and therefore, they're adopting a different stance on this matter and we've been working very closely with them to translate that into further action.
QUESTION: Well, the centrifuge decision on the part of the Iranians occurred about two months ago, and -- so far as I can tell there has been no -- they haven't paid any price and there have been no consequences as a result of this decision.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, to some extent, the consequences are in steps not taken -- that the Europeans had been prepared to move forward on various things that they are certainly not prepared to move forward on now, but I'll let them speak to that. We will all address this matter together at the Board meeting in September. And to the extent that they have found their proposals rejected, that Iran has violated its own commitments as well as the Board -- the standards set by the Board, I think you'll find a -- how can I say? There's a more concerted attitude by all the nations as we head into the September meeting.
Okay, we're going to go to Teri.
QUESTION: Can you tell us about U.S. diplomats in Jeddah who apparently were fired on today in a car?
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah. It was about 11 a.m., local time, this morning, that a gunman fired several shots at a vehicle belonging to the U.S. Consulate General in Jeddah. The attack occurred approximately two blocks from the Consulate. A Marine security guard and a local driver were inside the vehicle but no one was injured. Local security officials were notified and have responded immediately.
As a precautionary measure, the Consulate closed to the public for the rest of the day. Saudi officials are now investigating the attack. The Consulate remains in close contact with the Saudis regarding this investigation. Our Consulate General has also put out a Warden message to Wardens there about the incident and urging Americans -- well, reiterating the warning earlier to Americans that they should depart the country and urging Americans who remain to exercise a high level of vigilance.
QUESTION: Could you identify the -- not the official, but his rank, or generally?
MR. BOUCHER: It was a Marine security guard and a local driver who were inside the vehicle. Yeah.
QUESTION: And no -- obvious question -- no idea where it came from, who did it? Nobody's seen --
MR. BOUCHER: Not at this point. Saudis are still investigating. It was apparently --
QUESTION: No witnesses?
MR. BOUCHER: -- a single gunman.
QUESTION: A single gunman, apparently?
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah.
QUESTION: And presumably, no one was injured? Just damage to the car? Or was -- did it even get hit?
MR. BOUCHER: No one was injured. I don't know what damage there was to the vehicle.
QUESTION: You said this is the car that usually the Consul General is driven around in?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I didn't say that.
QUESTION: Oh, okay. Well, you said it's a --
MR. BOUCHER: It was a vehicle belonging to the U.S. Consulate General, U.S. Consulate General.
QUESTION: Oh, Consulate.
MR. BOUCHER: It was an office car.
QUESTION: Got'cha. Okay.
QUESTION: With diplomatic plates?
MR. BOUCHER: I presume so. I don't know exactly what plates were on the vehicle at the time.
Okay, Lambros.
QUESTION: Mr. Boucher --
QUESTION: They were the only two people in the car, correct?
MR. BOUCHER: They were the two people inside the car, yes.
QUESTION: Okay.
QUESTION: On the Olympics. Mr. Boucher, anything to say about the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Athens yesterday?
MR. BOUCHER: I think I would just say it was a spectacular end to a very successful event. The Secretary, as you know, spoke to the Foreign Minister on Friday and has repeatedly conveyed to him our congratulations to Greece for the success of the Olympics and the way that they were handled safely, securely and with great fanfare and excitement around the world. And so we congratulate them once more.
QUESTION: Those pressing business you mentioned earlier to a question from my colleague for the cancellation to Athens by Secretary Powell appeared in the last moments? What happened exactly, if you know?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, the Secretary considered the situation, considered the things that there was to do in Washington, and decided it might be better for him to stay here and take care of the business in Washington, and called the Foreign Minister and informed him of that.
QUESTION: But according to the Greek newspaper Vina, V-I-N-A, in which Secretary Powell provide exclusive interview in the recent past. In a story yesterday, wrote that one to three American officials at the American Embassy in Athens on the highest level somehow specifically blackmail the Greek Government on the Olympic Games with unacceptable ways, including on the cancellation trip by Secretary Powell to Athens, who is very popular to the Greeks. How do you respond to this?
MR. BOUCHER: It's not true.
QUESTION: It's not true. Do you know if your Ambassador to Greece, Tom Miller, advised Mr. Powell not to go to Athens, admitted to the anti-American demonstration, as has been characterized by Associated Press?
MR. BOUCHER: I would not characterize his views.
The Secretary talked with a number of people, including the responsible people in the European Bureau here, and -- as well as the Ambassador and others, so this was considered, but I think everybody agreed it was important for him to visit Greece, and he's agreed that he will visit Greece in the fall, probably in early October.
QUESTION: But may I finish my question? It has been characterized to Associated Press by two DOS officials on condition of anonymity. That's why I'm asking.
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah, I'm not pretending to know what officials are saying on condition of anonymity, and whether it was one official or three officials that said something at our Embassy.
I could tell you I've talked to the Secretary about this. I've explained it -- the way he sees it in his mind, and he does look forward to visiting Greece. He looks forward to visiting in early October.
QUESTION: And the last question, the today's Washington Post, under the impressive title "Heaven and Hellas," which means Greece. The reporters said the (inaudible) wrote, inter alia, "Let's give those games a gold medal. In summing up the Athens Games, the first order of business to extend a big sorry to the Greeks. Nothing blew up, nothing collapse, and nothing less has been accomplished than the full restoration of Athens as a splendid world capital." Any comment on that?
MR. BOUCHER: I would just say that, despite persistent questioning by some members of the press corps for the last several months about all the disasters that were about to happen at our Embassy, from bombs, to cancellations, to security problems -- I have consistently said here that we were confident that the Greeks could pull off a safe, secure and successful Olympics, and we're just thrilled that they've been able to do that.
Yeah, Teri.
QUESTION: The bombing in Kabul over the weekend. Various reports, I think, currently it's three Americans killed, one injured. Could you just confirm your numbers, and do you have any additional information about targeting of Americans there?
MR. BOUCHER: There were, indeed, three U.S. citizens killed and another one that was critically injured in Sunday's terrorist attack at an office building in Kabul. We don't have a Privacy Act Waiver, so we don't have permission to provide further information on the injured U.S. citizen, and out of respect for the families, for the moment, we won't be releasing any information on the deceased Americans.
We have -- I do want to take the opportunity to express our deepest sympathy to those killed and injured in the attack. We're certainly shocked and saddened by the attack. But we are also committing to working to Afghanistan's success, and we'll continue to work with Afghanistan in the training of security personnel to ensure a peaceful future for the people of that country.
As far as the security situation for Americans there, the U.S. Embassy released a Warden message to the local U.S. community advising them of the attack. The Embassy noted that due to this incident, the Embassy recommends that all Americans living and working in Kabul restrict their movements, observe the strictest security measures, and defer any unnecessary travel around the city. And then they identified some of the areas where people might want to stay away from in terms of potential target areas.
The current Travel warning strongly warns U.S. citizens against travel to Afghanistan. But we also work with the Americans who are there to try to ensure their safety and security.
QUESTION: Why are you shocked? There have been plenty of bombings, maybe just not against an American company in quite a while.
MR. BOUCHER: I think this -- certainly any death, loss of life, is shocking. It's very disturbing. And this kind of attack was directly against a police training facility and, therefore, causes us even more alarm.
QUESTION: Richard, --
MR. BOUCHER: Go ahead.
QUESTION: I'm just curious. You say, due to privacy concerns, that these people, these families haven't been notified?
MR. BOUCHER: No, privacy concerned on the injured U.S. citizen, and just in terms of respect for the family, we don't feel --
QUESTION: So the families have -- the families have asked you not to identify who they are, or is it their employer?
MR. BOUCHER: We are -- well, we're working with the employer; we're working with the military; we'll be in touch with the families, as necessary, to try to take care of them. But until we are totally comfortable with -- know that everybody is totally comfortable with release of the names; we won't be releasing the names.
QUESTION: All right. Okay. Because, I mean, maybe CA could answer this question now but it's my understanding that once -- and I'm not trying to be macabre here, but I mean, once someone is dead, there is not really --
MR. BOUCHER: No, it's -- that's why I differentiated between the legal matter of the Privacy Act of not being able to talk about the injured American, and a -- more a question of our own deference to the families before we provide any information on the deceased.
QUESTION: And that's fine if it's deference to the family.
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah.
QUESTION: But if it's deference to the employer, who is engage -- a contractor who has been engaged and somebody --
MR. BOUCHER: The answer, I think, Matt, is that we want to know that everybody is okay before we start talking about who died.
QUESTION: Change of subject.
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah.
QUESTION: Elections in Chechnya, do you have any comment on the election, and in particular, on allegations by one of the opponents that there were widespread violations and faked ballots?
MR. BOUCHER: Let me make clear from the beginning that we continue to support a political settlement of the tragic conflict in Chechnya, that recognizes Chechnya as a part of the Russian Federation, that creates conditions for a more normal life based on democratic principles, that eliminates terrorism and protects human rights throughout Chechnya.
We know that there were serious flaws in the electoral process there, especially this earlier disqualification of a leading candidate on a mere technicality. It's, therefore, not possible to say that -- well, it is possible to say that yesterday's presidential vote did not meet international standards for a democratic election.
Mr. Alkanov now faces the difficult task of broadening support among the people of Chechnya, of bringing pluralism into the political process, and finding ways to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the conflict and we will call on him and others to address themselves to those fundamental tasks which remain unresolved by this election.
We also call for an end to human rights abuses in Chechnya by all parties and urge that those who committed such abuses be held accountable.
QUESTION: Let's be clear on one thing. The abuses that you believe took place are by no means restricted to the earlier disqualification; they include things that happened yesterday on the Election Day, itself?
MR. BOUCHER: They include a lot of different things, including things that happened yesterday, yeah.
QUESTION: And you had people there?
MR. BOUCHER: I think -- I don't know if we had people there, frankly. I think we've seen enough --
QUESTION: So this information comes from?
MR. BOUCHER: What we consider reliable press reporting.
QUESTION: So what would you recommend is a remedy? I mean, I don't think they are going to have a Venezuelan-like --
MR. BOUCHER: No, it doesn't look like they're going to.
What we would recommend is what we've been recommending all along, that everybody in Chechnya focus their attentions on bringing real pluralism to the political process and finding ways to achieve a political settlement.
QUESTION: Are you talking to the Russian Government at all about any role they may have had in not assuring a fair vote?
MR. BOUCHER: It's certainly been a -- those points have been consistently discussed with the Russian Government and continue to be.
QUESTION: But not since -- not since yesterday, obviously?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know what discussions we've had since the vote.
QUESTION: But you would expect it will be taken up specifically?
MR. BOUCHER: We will continue to take up these issues along the lines of what I said.
Yeah. Okay, sir.
QUESTION: Chinese news sources said that North Koreans read, Kim Jong-il's wife is dead, which can cause serious political conflict in North Korea. Is the U.S. contacting China about this matter or --
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think -- I don't really have anything to say on that.
QUESTION: Can you confirm the schedule for the coming trilateral meeting, the TCOG meeting, which is reported to be held next month?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to check and see if there is anything to say at this point.
Yeah, George.
QUESTION: A question about the pardon granted to -- for Cuban-born exiles. They were convicted in plotting the assassination of Fidel Castro in 2000, and they were pardoned last Thursday by President Moscoso. Does the United States have any view about this? There are those who think that these people are international terrorists and should not be treated so leniently.
MR. BOUCHER: I think Adam expressed our view last week. This was a decision by the Government of Panama. It's not something the United States lobbied for. They were convicted. They served four years in court, and it was a decision by the Panamanian Government to pardon them at this point.
Okay.
(The briefing was concluded at 1:45 p.m.)
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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