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Daily Press Briefing

Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
June 1, 2007

INDEX:

12:45 p.m. EST

MR. CASEY: Good afternoon, everybody, happy Friday. One quick announcement for you and it just follows up on what I'd mentioned at the gaggle this morning. Just to tell you that Secretary Rice will be traveling to Panama on Monday, June 4th, to lead the U.S. delegation at the 37th General Assembly of the Organization of American States. I think, as you probably know, the theme for this year's general assembly is "Energy for Sustainable Development," so she'll be pleased to talk with her counterparts about that and other topics. And as we mentioned, she'll also have several bilateral meetings while she's there. And this is just a one-day trip.

QUESTION: Can you tell us what bilats she's going to have?

MR. CASEY: Well, the only -- we'll try and get more scheduling information for you as we go, Arshad. One thing I can confirm for you is that she will be having a meeting with Panamanian President Torrijos, and I believe they may have an opportunity to address your colleagues and those that are going along on the trip as well.

QUESTION: And can you say anything about the importance of the trip or what themes she plans to -- you know, what she plans to talk about, what her message might be?

MR. CASEY: Sure. Well, again, as I noted, the main theme for the ministerial this year is sustainable energy. And this is something that I think you've heard a lot about from the President in the broadest context yesterday. But what we're looking to do at the ministerial with the Secretary and her colleagues is develop a general understanding on the part of the hemisphere in support of efforts to build sustainable energy partnerships and to look for support for things like the U.S.-Brazilian biofuels initiative, which has been launched and was launched during the President's recent trip to the region and that we are continuing to develop, and that we're also in technical conversations with some of the other partners that we are bringing into that, including El Salvador and Dominican Republic and others. We certainly believe that this is something that's important for the broader hemisphere.

Our dear departed colleague, George Gedda, would tell you and would remind you that Latin America has been buffeted economically over the course of the last 20 or 30 years because of shocks to oil supplies and it's had a very serious impact on economic development and therefore on the ability of these countries to be able to reduce poverty and work on achieving greater success for their people. So we believe that the kinds of models that are represented by the U.S.-Brazilian biofuels agreement are the kinds of things we would like to have broader discussions with -- at the OAS. And, again, we would like to be able to put the organization in the hemisphere on track to support the development of alternative sources of energy, on energy efficiency and on other kinds of mechanisms that will allow us to be able to have broad energy self-sufficiency, be able to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and, therefore, make it more likely and more possible for people to grow their economies.

Also certainly there'll be a discussion at the ministerial, as there generally is, about implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. One of the things that has been discussed over time is the idea of making it so that this set of principles in this document can be used in a more effective way, in part by trying to help empower the Secretary General to be able to take steps to intervene in crises or to keep crises from happening in the first place.

I also expect that there will be a continuation of earlier discussions on the importance of civil society to the development of the hemisphere. And certainly in light of some recent actions, and of very great concern that we've seen in the hemisphere, I suspect part of that support for civil society will include a discussion of the importance of press freedom and the importance of freedom of expression as a means for ensuring that democracy really does develop in a positive way in the region.

So I think that's an overview of the kinds of things we're expecting to discuss.

QUESTION: Tom, can you give us -- well, one, just point it where -- let's, perhaps we should off on referring to George as dear departed since --

MR. CASEY: Well, I mean only in the briefing room -- (laughter) -- since, George, if you're out there, I meant no offense. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: On your last point --

MR. CASEY: I actually thought about conferencing him in here so that most of us could get over the absence. Sorry, Matt, go ahead.

QUESTION: That's all right, I just want to make sure that you were referring to Venezuela when you speak of recent incidents -- recent actions in the freedom of the press --

MR. CASEY: Obviously, the issue that's getting tremendous attention in the hemisphere, and that I was referring to, were actions that had been taken in Venezuela against some independent media.

QUESTION: New subject.

MR. CASEY: Go for it.

QUESTION: I presume, given the statement that came out of the White House from the President just about several minutes ago, that there's still not no -- you still haven't heard anything back from the Swiss -- or from the Iranians by the Swiss about the five people who are mentioned in that statement.

MR. CASEY: No, we haven't. And just to clarify what Matt's referring to is a statement by the President that just went out with respect to the dual American citizens -- American Iranians citizens that are being held by Iran. And one of the things that is mentioned in there is that we continue to seek both access to the individuals we know are detained, through the Swiss. But also, as the President said, is disturbed by Iran's refusal so far to provide any information on Mr. Levinson, despite the fact that there have been repeated requests for that information. And we want to see them respond to some of our diplomatic notes, perhaps this will be another opportunity for them to give us some information and help us help his family locate him and then return him home.

QUESTION: Do you know, in your conversations with the Swiss, have they gotten zero response from the Iranians or have the Iranians come back and said, no, you can't see these -- you can't have access to these people or, no, we don't know what you're talking about.

MR. CASEY: My understanding is there simply has been no response to the requests.

QUESTION: Were you able to -- we had reported earlier this year that the Swiss were called in on Sunday -- it was either Sunday or Monday, but I believe it was Sunday -- and essentially that the Iranian officials lodged complaints with them about alleged spying by American citizens. You said you weren't aware of that meeting and I'm wondering did that meeting take place. Are you concerned --

MR. CASEY: You know, Arshad, I'm sorry, I never did check into that for you. Let me do that and I'll get you an answer on that this afternoon.

QUESTION: Thanks.

MR. CASEY: Charlie.

QUESTION: Would the State Department intensify its efforts to establish consular visits or something of that nature because of what the President is doing? Is this all being done in concert -- State, White House?

MR. CASEY: Well, I think the President's statement reflects his personal feelings on this issue, but we are going to continue to do everything we can to press the Iranians to allow us to have access to these individuals and, more importantly, to release them because, again, these aren't people that are associated with the U.S. Government. They're individual private citizens. They've got family ties and family business that they've been conducting there and a lot of private independent research or other kinds of activities. And certainly, it's ridiculous to try and say that they pose any kind of threat to the Iranian regime.

QUESTION: Can I ask another question about this?

MR. CASEY: Sure.

QUESTION: Yesterday, Lee Hamilton said that he was concerned at what he called the lack of clarity or suspicion about the goals and impact of the democratization offensive the United States has toward Iran might be at the root of this whole problem. Is there anything you or the State Department can do to offer that clarity and remove that suspicion?

MR. CASEY: Well, I think we've offered as much clarity as one can give, and I'll make it -- again, I'll reiterate what I just said. These individuals have nothing to do with the U.S. Government. They have nothing to do with any U.S. Government programs or activities. These are private individuals who have been going back and forth to Iran for many years. In most cases, their purpose for their visit in Iran when they were stopped was to visit, in most cases, usually elderly family members. This is hardly the stuff of espionage. This is hardly the stuff of government disputes. It is absolutely incredible to us to think that there could be any possible doubt in the Iranians' minds that these individuals are there simply to conduct normal, basic human interactions, including family visits.

QUESTION: Excuse me, I didn't phrase that very well. I think he was worried that there's a lack of clarity about the United States democracy movement in Iran, not about the roles of the detainees. Do you feel that that's an issue and anything you can do?

MR. CASEY: Well, again, I think that there is an ample public record and discussion about the programs that we have. You know, again, providing funding for broadcasting into Iran by U.S. Government agencies or providing support for civil society groups is, again, hardly something that is revolutionary or novel or different. It's basic kinds of civil society activities. I can't understand why anyone would think that there is any question -- and again, this gets back to you have people that are being detained. The Iranians claim they're being detained because they somehow have a connection or involvement in U.S. Government activities which, again, they claim is designed to overthrow the government. That's simply not true, it's never been true, and it's absurd for them to even try and make that claim.

Yeah, Libby.

QUESTION: Still on this. What is it that you guys can actually do to try to help secure the release of these individuals beyond just statements and rhetoric? And, you know, given the fact that you're not -- you don't talk to the Iranians, we don't have diplomatic relations, what is it that you can do that could possibly --

MR. CASEY: Well, I mean, it's a tough -- it is a tough situation. I do, by the way, want to point out that we did put out a revised travel warning for Iran yesterday, in part simply to recognize and reflect the fact that Iranian Americans have had these problems and have had trouble being able to depart Iran once they've entered. But that is one of the difficulties of travel to a country where we don't have a normal set of diplomatic relations.

I do think though we can continue to work with our diplomatic representatives with the Swiss there to engage the Iranian Government on this issue. We certainly can do what we have done, which is make public statements on this, just to clarify our views on this issue to make it clear that these people do not have any U.S. Government business in Iran, and that they're simply private citizens trying to go about their normal lives. And certainly, we also hope that others, who are interested in this, from NGO groups and private citizens as well as other governments that are concerned about this, will speak out about it as well and will use whatever influence they might have with the Iranian Government to get them to do the right thing here.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) you do now talk to the Iranians, since you spoke to them, you know, earlier this week. And is any consideration being given to rethinking what has been your policy hitherto of not adding in what you regarded -- you used the word "extraneous" yesterday -- extraneous issues to the discourse on Iraq. I mean, is any thought being given to whether it might be worth, should you ever have another bilateral conversation with the Iranians -- actually raising a matter like this, even if you have to accept the risk that they might raise something else? Are you actually giving any thought to rethinking that policy?

MR. CASEY: You know, Arshad, I am certainly not aware of what senior-level discussions might be about, hypothetically what might occur in a future meeting. Again, the conversations on Iraq I expect to stay focused on Iraq. Certainly, we'd point out that there is an offer on the table by the P-5+1 to talk to Iran not only about their nuclear program but about any and all other issues, should they choose to take the simple step of complying with the international community's requirements and suspend the Iranian enrichment activity. Certainly, that would be a forum where if the Iranian Government actually has any real concerns or real information that would indicate that these individuals have undertaken activities that somehow pose a threat to them, it'd certainly be a forum where we could discuss it. I think we'd welcome the opportunity to discuss all kinds of issues with the Iranians in that kind of forum.

David.

QUESTION: Tom, yesterday, the police of the Bosnian-Serb political entity arrested a guy who was described as the number three war criminal from the Bosnian war. And I wonder if you have any response to that. And does that make you guys feel any more kindly toward this Republic of Srpska, or the -- Serbia, which also had a hand in this?

MR. CASEY: Yeah. Well, first of all, we do welcome the arrest of Mr. Tolimir. He is accused by the ICTY of genocide and other crimes, and a lot of this is related to actions that took place around Srebrenica in 1995. And this was, as I understand it, action that was taken as a result of cooperation between both the Republika Srpska and Serbian Government authorities, and certainly that's a welcome and positive development.

There are, as you know though, still five people who are indicted by the tribunal, including Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, who are still at large. And we do want to see them and all the other remaining indictees turned over to the tribunal. So yes, it's a positive step forward, but more needs to be done.

QUESTION: Do you think that these authorities in the Bosnian-Serb entity -- is it credible that they can't find the latter two people you mentioned?

MR. CASEY: Look, I think what would be credible would be to see all efforts made by the authorities in those countries to locate these individuals, bring them into custody, and turn them over to the tribunal. This is, you know -- Srebrenica was in 1995 -- it's been a long time since the fighting. It's been a long time since the Dayton Accords. It's been a long time since the establishment of the tribunal. And it's very clear that these two king fish, if you will, of the wars in the Balkans need to face justice in order for there to be full accountability and a real resolution of crisis there.

Matt.

QUESTION: Tom, two days ago, you were asked about these unusual, or allegedly unusual, Turkish military movements.

MR. CASEY: Yeah.

QUESTION: I'm just wondering -- at the time you said that you've been told by the Turks that this was routine, and the Turks, I guess, have said the same thing. But has anything happened in the last 48 hours to make you change your opinion on this?

MR. CASEY: No, I mean, again, we understand that they've been conducting antiterrorism operations in and around the border area for some time. And what's occurred, as far as I understand, during the course of this last week, is just a continuation and a part of that, and is not, as far as I know, viewed as anything distinct or separate from those.

Yeah, David.

QUESTION: Yeah, the Lebanese army resumed shelling this morning of the -- today of the Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. I wondered if you have comment on that, and particularly on the humanitarian situation in the camp. Is the U.S. involved in any way in trying to alleviate some of those problems?

MR. CASEY: Well, it's a tough situation, but the Lebanese Government is doing what it needs to to be able to fight against a very dangerous terrorist group, and to bring law and order throughout the country. And certainly, we support their efforts to do that. They've assured us that they're going to do everything they can in conducting these operations to minimize its impact on the civilian population in the camps and we do want to see them carry through with that.

In terms of humanitarian support, the camps are largely administered, in terms of humanitarian support, by UNRA and that's an organization that we do contribute to substantially. I'm not aware that there's been any new request from UNRA for additional assistance. But certainly, we would take a look at that, and are certainly going to make sure that we do what we can to help UNRA carry out its operations, not only there in the camps in Lebanon, but also carry out its responsibilities in the Palestinian territories as well.

QUESTION: Can I follow-up to that?

MR. CASEY: Yeah, sure, Arshad.

QUESTION: Our reports suggest it's not just shelling, but the fighting is the fiercest that it's been in two weeks. Tank-led Lebanese troops have gone into the camps, and our reports say that "security sources saying that 60 civilians have been wounded in the latest sort of spasm of fighting." And I wonder if you have any concerns about the nature and ferocity of the fighting and the wounding at these civilians. And whether you -- this gives you pause, or you would perhaps wish the Lebanese forces or government to be more careful in this. Or if you feel that this is just something they have to do, and that the civilian casualties are a price that has to be paid.

MR. CASEY: Well, I think one thing that we're all agreed upon is that neither the Lebanese Government nor any sovereign country can let a group of terrorists or independent militias roam free and conduct criminal acts and attacks on a population. And so again, we think what the Lebanese Government is doing to try and combat this group is important and is necessary for the long-term good of the country. Certainly, we regret and I am sure the Lebanese Government regrets any loss of life or any injuries that occur to civilians in the course of this. And again, they have committed to us to take precautions to limit those casualties as they try and, again, confront a very hostile and dangerous force. So we want to see them exercise all due care and diligence in doing so, but, again, believe that what they're doing to take on this group is the right thing to do.

Matt.

QUESTION: Is there any update on the status of the two FSNs who are missing from the --

MR. CASEY: No, unfortunately not. I know we've seen in the last 24 hours a claim by an insurgent group that they have been killed. We certainly hope that's not true and we continue to look for them, but we don't have any way of either confirming or denying that report at this point.

Yeah, John.

QUESTION: On the report yesterday about architectural details of the new United States embassy in Baghdad being revealed online, how much of a security risk does that pose and what's being done to keep that kind of thing from happening in the future?

MR. CASEY: Well, I've seen a little bit about this. Look, we -- just as a matter of practice -- normally don't put up plans or designs for our diplomatic facilities just for security reasons, and that applies worldwide. I understand there have been some conversations between the firm involved and our security and building services people here and that there have been some steps taken on that.

Obviously, the fact that some of this material has been out in the public domain is something that our security folks will have to take into consideration as they move forward with the construction and occupancy of the facility. But it hasn't in any fundamental way altered our plans.

QUESTION: Do you know if actually the plans are now down? Have you confirmed that?

MR. CASEY: I believe they are. Yeah, I'd understood that as of last night.

Mr. Gallegos? Are the plans down, Mr. Gallegos?

MR. GALLEGOS: They are reportedly down.

MR. CASEY: You weren't making a caricature of me, were you? (Laughter.) No, I'm just checking. All right. Okay. Yeah, they're down. Let's go to the back.

QUESTION: North Korea?

MR. CASEY: Yeah.

QUESTION: There's a report saying that during the meeting with Prime Minister Abe at Camp David, President Bush said "screwed up" the deal with North Korea regarding the issue, the nuclear issue. Do you have any comment on that?

MR. CASEY: That President Bush said --

QUESTION: Screwed it up.

MR. CASEY: Who?

QUESTION: Screwed the deal and with --

MR. CASEY: No, but who is doing the screwing up?

QUESTION: U.S.

MR. CASEY: I certainly doubt that the President said that, but you can check over at the White House for that.

QUESTION: No, that the President said it.

MR. CASEY: Abe said that? You can check with Prime Minister --

QUESTION: No, that President Bush said that during a talk with Prime Minister Abe.

MR. CASEY: Either way, I'll leave it to the White House to talk about presidential conversations. We are very close partners with Japan in working on the six-party talks. We certainly appreciate their support in this effort and we hope to be able to move forward with completion of the February 13th agreement and then move on to what is more important, which are the next steps in this that will ultimately lead to a denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

QUESTION: Thanks.

MR. CASEY: Thanks, guys.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:02 p.m.)

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