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White House Daily Briefing

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

April 30, 2001

PRESS BRIEFING BY ARI FLEISCHER

The James S. Brady Briefing Room

2:04 P.M. EDT

MR. FLEISCHER: Good afternoon. We have one personnel announcement
today. President George W. Bush today announced his intention to
nominate Clark Randt Jr. to be Ambassador to the People's Republic of
China.

....

Q: Ari, what's the latest with the plane in China, please?

MR. FLEISCHER: As you know, a team of Americans will be heading to
Hainan Island to inspect the airplane, an assessment team, to
determine how best the plane can be brought back to the United States.
That was part and parcel of the process that we discussed several
weeks ago, when the crew was - it was announced that the crew would
be able to return home.

The actions by the Chinese officials are viewed by the President as
constructive. And the crew will be there - I would refer you to the
exact time of when the crew is going to be there. This, too, is a DOD
operational matter. They'll be able to give you the best play-by-play
on where the assessment team is, and when they'll be landing. But the
President views this as a constructive step by China.

Q: Ari, if I could take you back on missile defense for just a second.
When the President spoke with all of the foreign leaders, is it his
view that these leaders have an active role in the decision making, or
is it his view that these leaders will just be consulted and informed
ahead of time about what the U.S. position will be?

MR. FLEISCHER: From the President's point of view, he views it as a
question of leadership. He believes that if the United States leads
and that we consult wisely, our allies and friends will find good
reason to follow and to join with us.

And that's why, as I indicated earlier, when he met with Schroeder and
when he met with Blair, this topic, of course, came up and in the
joint communiques afterwards there was some encouraging language in
there about the need to develop defensive weapons.

So that's the President's mind set as he discusses this with these
leaders.

Q: As far as missile defense is concerned, do you have any comments on
the Washington Post article that now U.S. is shifting its aim from
Russia to China, that means there is a threat from China in the
future?

MR. FLEISCHER: No, I think the point the President makes repeatedly
about the need to develop a missile defense is that the Cold War is
over and the United States needs to protect itself and our allies and
our troops that are stationed abroad from a different nature of
threat. And the paradigm that existed in the Cold War is no longer the
most imperative paradigm that should guide America's defense
structures.

That's why Secretary Rumsfeld is conducting a four structure review,
as well, to assess our needs in this post Cold War era. And that's the
reason the President wants to proceed.

And where is your tie today? No tie? (Laughter.)

Q: So how would you frame what the President is going to do tomorrow?
Is he going the make the same case he's made to the foreign leaders to
the American people? Is he going to try to explain why we need this?

MR. FLEISCHER: In his remarks tomorrow the President will present this
as his view of the best way to preserve the peace in the post Cold War
era; and how to work with our allies and work with other nations in
the development of a missile defense system that can not only protect
the United States from rogue or accidental missile launch, but to
protect our allies, as well, and our troops stationed abroad.

The President views this as a new way of thinking in the protection of
our nation. And that's what you'll hear tomorrow.

Q: What do you mean by "new way of thinking"?

MR. FLEISCHER: A new way of thinking reflecting that the fact that the
Cold War is over and that the threat to peace comes mostly from rogue
nation missile launches or accidental missile launches - which is
very different from what the threat was in the 1980s, when
conversation about a missile defense was about a much broader defense
that could protect the United States from a launch of multiple
warheads, for example.

This is much more focused on protecting the United States and our
allies from accidental or principally rogue missile launches.