February 25, 2000
PRESS BRIEFING BY JOE LOCKHART
12:35 P.M. EST
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release February 25, 2000
PRESS BRIEFING BY
JOE LOCKHART
The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
12:35 P.M. EST
...................
Q Joe, is there a new shift or review underway of the
administration policy on shipments of various materials, dual-use, to Iraq,
under the sanction regime?
MR. LOCKHART: There is absolutely no shift in U.S. policy on
sanctions to Iraq. We believe that Saddam Hussein knows what he needs to
do to get out from under U.N. sanctions against his country. And there
will be no shift until he understands that and acts on it.
We have, since 1991, 1992, been strong supporters of the oil for
food program. We know that there is a humanitarian need in Iraq. We will
continue to be supporters and we will continue to work with the U.N. and
other organizations to look at ways to make that program more effective.
..............
Q Joe, back on Iraq for a second. How does the administration
respond to criticism from someone like David Bonior who called the
sanctions regime "infanticide masquerading as a policy" and others who are
concerned about the elevated number of children's deaths?
MR. LOCKHART: We certainly take those views quite seriously and
we understand that there is suffering in Iraq. We have worked very
diligently with the United Nations and NGO organizations to find a way to
get relief to the Iraqi people. The problem is who is standing in the way,
and it's Saddam Hussein who has consistently stood in the way of either
taking the steps he needs to relieve overall U.N. sanctions and even stood
in the way of oil for food. He has decided that it is in his interest, his
cynical, political interest, to inflict suffering upon his people. But,
having said that, we are going to continue to work in ways as innovative as
we can to make sure that humanitarian relief gets to the people of Iraq.
...............
Q Joe, you said there's no change on the administration's
policy towards Iraq. But in that article, they mentioned that the U.S. did
lift a hold in $80 million worth of dual-use electronic goods earlier this
week. Is that, in fact, true?
MR. LOCKHART: I'm not sure of that. I'll check on that. But I
can tell you that we haven't changed our sanctions policy, and that any
movement is designed, and intended, to work through the context of the oil
for food program and provide humanitarian relief for the people of Iraq.
Q Would it be fair to say the policy is under review?
MR. LOCKHART: The sanctions policy? No.
Q The article made the point that there is a lot of dual-use
equipment that's backlogged, or ordered. Is the United States, within the
policy of maintaining sanctions, going to review releasing some of those
dual-use technologies?
MR. LOCKHART: What I can say to you is we are working constantly
on trying to use the oil for food program to provide humanitarian relief.
We will continue to do that. We will continue to look at new ways to do
that. We will not clear what we view as dangerous dual-use products to
Iraq. That policy has not changed; that policy is not under review, as is
our sanctions policy not under review.
.............
END 1:57 P.M. EST
#169-02/25
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