23 October 2002
Fleischer Says U.N. Diplomats "Hard at Work" on Iraq Resolution
(White House Report) (850) U.N. DIPLOMATS "HARD AT WORK" ON IRAQ RESOLUTION, FLEISCHER SAYS Diplomats at the United Nations "are working very hard on the actual language" of a draft resolution on Iraq presented this week to the Security Council by the United States, with the support of Britain, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said. "They are hard at work in New York. And I think the best way to describe where they are is, the end is coming into sight, but it's not here yet. They have some amount of time left, but not a lot. And the president knows that, and I think the U.N. knows that, too," he said. "No one is going to know what the outcome of any vote at the United Nations Security Council will be until members of the Security Council raise their hand and vote. And there is movement in New York. We'll see ultimately where it takes us," the press secretary said. He added that "this has probably been the most deliberative debate of the United Nations Security Council in the history of the United Nations. It's been a thoughtful debate, a deliberative debate and a lengthy debate. It's coming to an end, but it's not here yet." Fleischer said "there must be a tough inspection regime, there must be consequences if Saddam Hussein fails to honor the previous United Nations resolutions, and there must be a finding that Saddam Hussein is in material breach, as the United Nations has previously found." The U.S. position, he said, "is shared by many, and we'll see if it's shared by all." Asked if consideration of the new U.S. draft resolution will move beyond the five permanent members of the Security Council (the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China) so that the other ten elected members of the council can also debate it, Fleischer said: "There is movement, and that is not ruled out. There very well may be additional action, broadened to the E-10, beyond the P-5; in other words, to all 15 members of the Security Council. Any such announcement will come out of New York." BUSH, TURKEY'S PRESIDENT DISCUSS IRAQ, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP President Bush began his day October 23 with an early morning phone call to Turkey's President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The two leaders discussed Iraq and "agreed on the need for Iraq to comply fully with the United Nations Security Council resolutions, and they discussed other issues of mutual concern, including Cyprus, support for Turkey's progress toward EU (European Union) ascension, and Turkey's strong record on economic reform," Fleischer said. They also discussed a range of issues pertaining to the U.S.-Turkish strategic partnership,"which stretches from the Balkans to the Caucasus and the Middle East to Afghanistan," said Fleischer. BUSH PRAYS FOR QUICK END TO "RUTHLESS" SNIPER ATTACKS President Bush says he is praying for a quick end to a killing spree by a sniper in the Washington, D.C., area and he offered full government resources to help catch the "ruthless" killer. "There is a ruthless person on the loose. I have ordered the full resources of the federal government to help local law enforcement officials in their efforts to capture this person," Bush told a White House meeting on combating online exploitation of children. The president said he and his wife Laura "join our fellow citizens in prayer as we pray for the families and friends who have lost loved ones, as we pray for the safety of our fellow citizens, as we pray for the quick end to this period of violence and fear." Bush spoke after police confirmed that a bus driver killed October 22 in Maryland was the gunman's 10th murder victim since October 2. Three other persons have been seriously wounded by the sniper. At the direction of Bush, the federal government is working closely with local governments in the joint effort to catch the sniper, Fleischer told reporters in response to questions. A joint operations center has been set up in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, staffed by representatives of multiple federal agencies along with representatives of local governments, particularly governments of localities where a shooting took place, he said. "And that leads to the best interaction among federal officials and local government officials, so they work shoulder to shoulder and side by side, so information can be shared, leads can be pursued and resources can be brought to bear. That's what's happening at a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week joint operations center." But the U.S. government does not plan to take over the joint federal-local investigation Fleischer told reporters. "It remains a joint operation," he said. Federal officers working on the case include 50 Secret Service agents and more than 600 employees each from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, plus officials from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of Justice, Fleischer said. The Defense Department, he added, is providing surveillance planes and the U.S. Customs Service is contributing helicopters and crews. In addition, the federal government is contributing $600,000 dollars to area schools to enhance their protection and pay for counselling services or for whatever they deem necessary to help the students deal with the situation. (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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