MR. RUBIN: Greetings. Welcome to the State Department briefing here on Monday. I have no announcements for you. So let me go right to your questions. Sid Balman, from the United Press International.

QUESTION: Well, why don't we start with Iraq? What about you choosing the time and place for confrontation?

MR. RUBIN: Let me bring you up to date on the facts first and then address the question directly. My podium seems a little lower here, but we'll work on that.

Over the weekend Iraq announced it would prevent the UN Special Commission from conducting any further activities, including monitoring inside Iraq. The decision does not appear to pertain to monitoring of designated sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency, nor has Iraq expressed an intent to expel UNSCOM personnel. The Council issued a statement unanimously condemning the decision over the weekend, and we expect them be discussing the matter in informal discussions at the bilateral and multilateral level today and tomorrow.

A normal complement of roughly 120 inspectors remains in Iraq. There are no plans to withdraw UNSCOM inspectors at this point. We understand that one technical team has gone out to maintain monitoring equipment and IAEA teams have visited sites for a second consecutive day. With respect to your question on the use of force, let me say that we regard this as a very serious matter. Iraq has confronted the international community with an escalation by refusing to cooperate. It flies in the face of the offer the Council made on Friday to allow for a comprehensive review if, and only if, Iraq returns into compliance. This flouting of the Security Council and the international community and the world was unanimously condemned, and I think the Council acted with great speed and great clarity in making clear that this is a flagrant violation of the Security Council's decisions.

The Secretary is reviewing all options with the President. All options remain on the table and all options means all options. With respect to next steps, let me say the Secretary has been in consultation with some of her colleagues over the weekend and today. I believe she has spoken this morning with Foreign Minister Ivanov of Russia; yesterday with Foreign Minister Vedrine of France; and yesterday with Foreign Minister Cook, UN Secretary General Kofi

Annan and Foreign Minister Lampreia of Brazil. So, we are in an intensive consultative mode consulting about Iraq's failure to comply with previous resolutions and its escalation of this confrontation by its most recent decisions. That's where we are as far as the use of force.

I think I have addressed it as best as I can.

QUESTION: There was a suggestion -- I forget by who -- over the weekend that this was really something for Kofi Annan to deal with since after all it was sort of his agreement. Is that a torch you all care to --

MR. RUBIN: Well, obviously we would be pleased if Saddam Hussein were to respond to such an entreaty by the Secretary General but it looks like it is a little bit beyond that at this time. Right now we are in a situation where the Council is going to be meeting today informally in bilateral discussions -- and tomorrow, and we understand that some delegations are considering a resolution which we would be happy to take a look at. So, I think the next step is clearly for the Council to make clear that this is unacceptable and that this decision is in flagrant violation of the requirements of the Security Council. Secretary Albright is going to be consulting with her colleagues about that.

Furthermore, I think it is also clear that Saddam Hussein has tried and failed to divide the international community. Even Saddam Hussein's erstwhile friends are left speechless in trying to defend the indefensible. So, that is where we are and its a matter that is being dealt with at the White House today and Secretary Albright is going to be consulting with her colleagues in addition to the ones she has already consulted with.

QUESTION: I think it was Secretary Cohen who said, you know, this violates the agreement -- Kofi Annan's?

MR. RUBIN: It certainly does.

QUESTION: His reputation is on -- he's crossed.

MR. RUBIN: I know.

QUESTION: You agree he has crossed Kofi Annan, hasn't he?

MR. RUBIN: Absolutely.

QUESTION: Jamie, this has come up so many, many times. You know, like you couldn't read Milosevic's mind. And I don't know that anybody can read Saddam Hussein's mind.

MR. RUBIN: Or want to.

QUESTION: Well, I don't know you know the phrase "cry wolf" comes to mind. Not that I am saying you folks are crying wolf, but he has been threatened so many times. How do you drive home that at this time, you know, you folks really mean it? What about the old unilateral option? Apparently, you don't think that is necessary that whatever will be done will be done in an allied way?

MR. RUBIN: When I said that all options remain open that includes the option that you mentioned. So all options means all options. And all options are on the table.

With respect to bringing this home to Saddam Hussein, I think he severely miscalculated. In Secretary Albright's conversations with her colleagues her impression was that this was one of the more uniform responses from colleagues that she consulted with in saying that Iraq's action was inexplicable and unacceptable. So, I think they may have imagined that there would be more support than there is. But as I said even their erstwhile friends are left speechless in trying to defend the indefensible.

QUESTION: Did anybody -- the Russians, particularly -- suggest or the French that maybe they will run their own -- make their own diplomatic effort.

MR. RUBIN: No -- not so far.

QUESTION: There's no awareness of that.

QUESTION: Can we assume that since she spoke with Vedrine and Ivanov and you're now -- you're saying that in her consultations, the uniform response was that Iraq's actions are inexplicable and unacceptable?

MR. RUBIN: Right.

QUESTION: Can we make the leap that that is what the Russians and the French said to her, as well?

MR. RUBIN: Again, I would not be in a position to comment on any specific conversation with a specific foreign minister. I have given you the list of people she has talked to. I have given you a general flavor as to what the responses were.

QUESTION: Does the still delicate state of the Middle East peace process and the aftermath of Wye --

MR. RUBIN: We are done with Iraq?

QUESTION: No, no. It bears on that.

MR. RUBIN: I see. This was a lead-in.

QUESTION: Does this complicate -- does it complicate your --

MR. RUBIN: On the contrary?

QUESTION: All right, I have another Iraq. But other people have questions.

MR. RUBIN: Yes.

QUESTION: Did you see any gap between what the Iraqi's are saying in public and what they are enforcing on the ground in respect to the UN inspections? And if so, how do you interpret that?

MR. RUBIN: Well, as I indicated at the outset that there were one of the cameras was allowed to be serviced by UNSCOM and IAEA people were allowed to visit two locations, I believe. Let me check that precisely. IAEA teams have visited sites for a second consecutive day, both of which are consistent with what they have said publicly.

As I indicated at the outset, what they have said publicly is that they would prevent the UN Special Commission from conducting any further activities, including monitoring inside Iraq. It does not appear to pertain to monitoring of designated sites by the IAEA, nor has Iraq expressed an intent to expel UNSCOM personnel. With the one exception of the adjustment of that one camera, they have made clear that they are not going to cooperate and UNSCOM has not sent its people home but they have not been expelled either.

QUESTION: Can I ask that another way around? Just to find out if the Iraqis have one anything which would show that they are intending to carry out this threat? I mean, they've spoken about what they're going to do.

MR. RUBIN: Right.

QUESTION: But has anything happened? Any sort of confrontation happened that would suggest --

MR. RUBIN: I'm not aware of one. I think the posture of the IAEA and UNSCOM has been adjusted based on this announcement. When Saddam Hussein's Revolutionary Command Council and Saddam Hussein himself make these kind of statements, there are certain consequences. In a dictatorship like Iraq, one has every reason to assume that if UNSCOM inspectors try to act in such a way to contravene the statements of Iraq, that it wouldn't be allowed. So, I will have to check with UNSCOM to see what they've tested. But let's be clear, starting in August, and now with its escalation today, Saddam Hussein is defying the will of the international community, and the international community is making increasingly clear that these actions -- especially this escalatory action is unacceptable.

QUESTION: You've mentioned that Saddam has defied the will now since August. How long -- at what point does sort of this continuing intransigence affect his ability to reconstitute any weapons of mass destruction programs that he may have or have had?

MR. RUBIN: If we determined that he is reconstituting his weapons of mass destruction programs, we would act. We have no evidence of that at the present time. But let me be clear. This is a very serious matter. We're handling it seriously, and we're acting with all deliberate speed.

QUESTION: What do you mean by act?

MR. RUBIN: I don't want to be more specific than that.

QUESTION: Is it possible to determine if he's reconstituting his weapons of mass destruction without having inspectors on site able -- going through the various buildings and locations?

MR. RUBIN: Yes, with a reasonable degree of confidence.

QUESTION: Is the Food For Peace Program (sic) continuing normally?

MR. RUBIN: Oil For Food.

QUESTION: Oil For Food, whatever.

MR. RUBIN: Food For Peace is somewhere else.

QUESTION: Is that continuing normally.

MR. RUBIN: Sorry, the commentary flowing from your question made me unable to hear the last --

QUESTION: Sorry. Seeds of Peace.

MR. RUBIN: -- part of the question. Okay.

QUESTION: Oil For Peace.

MR. RUBIN: Can we now go back to the question? Thank you.

QUESTION: Is the program that feeds the Iraqis -- continuing?

MR. RUBIN: Yes, it's continuing. This has no effect on that. Let's bear in mind the U.S. and the British and others set up this program precisely because we have every reason to believe Iraq is not going to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions because we care about the Iraqi people. So billions of dollars of food and medicine have gone to the Iraqi people as a result of a program started by the United States and pushed by the United States, and that is irrespective of his noncompliance on the weapons of mass destruction side.

QUESTION: Can you cite anything -- or what evidence do you have, or we'll even take your word for it, if she got it on the phone, that the Arab countries, some of whom you may need militarily, share the despair or the attitude of the U.S. and the British?

MR. RUBIN: Well, the reports that we're receiving are that there is unanimity in the world that this is unacceptable. In the Arab world it's very clear to us from some of our key friends there that they regard this as totally unacceptable. I wouldn't purport to speak for each one of them. But generally speaking, the general reaction has been that this is unacceptable.

QUESTION: Do they find it so unacceptable they would cooperate in military operations?

MR. RUBIN: That's getting too far ahead of the game for me to address.

QUESTION: You said that some delegations to the United Nations were preparing resolutions. Why is the United States not doing that? Why are you not taking the lead on this?

MR. RUBIN: Well, that's a technical detail. For a variety of reasons, we often let others prepare a resolution. As you know, we don't believe we need authority from the Security Council to act any further. Let me rephrase that for clarity. We don't believe we need any further authority to act. Others may have a different view.

QUESTION: Would you urge the Security Council to adopt a new goal, which is perhaps the old goal, of complete compliance and access to all sites in Iraq instead of merely restoring the monitoring?

MR. RUBIN: We will seek -- and the Security Council resolutions, we hope, will make clear that Iraq doesn't get to decide where and when and with whom UNSCOM and the UN does its inspections. It's up to the UN experts to decide where to go when to go and with whom to go. That should be very clear from our past positions. We would certainly be supportive of any effort to further clarify that, but I don't think there's a lot of doubt about it.

QUESTION: But, Jamie, then long-term monitoring and IAEA inspections would not satisfy the United States?

MR. RUBIN: We've said since August that it's unsatisfactory, the situation in which the inspections weren't permitted. So that's -- there's nothing new about that.

QUESTION: So there wouldn't be an alternative that might?

MR. RUBIN: There's nothing new about that position. It's been our position since August -- since the beginning of UNSCOM.

QUESTION: I know. But now this -- seems to be more noise about the long -- you say the long-term monitor -- and the cameras are still on and they're still allowing the IAEA to come in. This looks like that may be where it's --

MR. RUBIN: You're looking for me to presage choices. I'm not going to do that. All of them are unacceptable. I have made certain statements about what would happen if there were reconstitution. But with respect to monitoring, inspections, challenge inspections of normal sites, challenge inspections of sensitive sites, challenge inspections of presidential sites, our position remains unchanged: UNSCOM should be able to go where it needs to go to do its job.

QUESTION: Middle East?

MR. RUBIN: Well, one more on this.

QUESTION: Jamie, how would you respond to reports out of Baghdad today that officials are saying that Iraq can withstand a U.S. attack, and then the vice president was quoted as saying that, you know, they're not afraid of these threats from the U.S. because we've been making them for the past eight years?

MR. RUBIN: I think the Iraqi history includes statements saying that they were going to win the Gulf War. So we don't take those very seriously.

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(The briefing concluded at 1:30 P.M.)