• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Daily Press Briefing
Richard Boucher, Spokesman
Washington, DC
December 2, 2002

INDEX:

MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I don't have any statements or announcements, so I'd be glad to take your questions, starting with Mr. Gedda.

QUESTION: Any evaluation of the inspection process so far?

MR. BOUCHER: I think the short answer is no, that these inspections are just beginning and they're part of a longer process of determining Iraq's holdings, which includes Iraq's declarations that they have to make, part of the process of identifying and destroying any equipment or weapons of mass destruction that they may have. Iraq needs to cooperate, but it's a long process and their cooperation is needed on a consistent basis day after day.

The inspections resumed only five days ago. It's still too early to determine how long it will take. But the burden rests squarely on Iraq to fully comply with the terms of Security Council Resolution 1441 and to cooperate unconditionally with the inspectors.

QUESTION: Up at the UN, the latest short extension of the Oil-for-Food program comes up again on Wednesday. Midnight, Wednesday, I think it expires. Are you guys at a point yet where you think that a longer extension, longer than, say, a week or nine days, as this last one was, is okay, or does there still need to be more work done before you can get to that point?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, you know, Wednesday is 48 hours from now. What a long time. We're looking at this. Wednesday is the expiration of the short-term extension. We have some technical issues relating to the goods review list that we have to work, that we want to work with other members of the Council. That's the way the process was set up in the last resolution that adopted this new goods review list, and it is part and parcel of this resolution.

So we're going to be talking to other members of the Council. If some of these technical things can be done within the space of time available, we'll do them; otherwise, we'll have to look together at how long any further extensions might be.

So the bottom line answer, is it going to be another short extension or a longer one, I don't know. We'll have to see how things go. Ultimately, obviously, we want to make these fixes and get on with longer term again.

QUESTION: Right. But -- and I know you don't like hypotheticals, but is it safe to assume that if you can't get what you need worked out, what you think needs to be worked out, that you will be pushing for a shorter term extension rather than the longer term one?

MR. BOUCHER: It really does depend on where we are vis-à-vis ourselves and other members of the Council. I couldn't quite say that yet.

Okay, we had one back there we were going to go to.

QUESTION: Can you talk about Under Secretary Grossman's trip, particularly to Turkey? Is he carrying with him any promises for aid should the US go to war with Iraq?

MR. BOUCHER: Phil, have you tried to address the question of aid to Turkey?

MR. REEKER: Not specifically.

MR. BOUCHER: I didn't think so. He's not supposed to. I didn't think so. I think it's probably too early to speculate on future funding and aid levels for various people. We're looking with other governments to consult on the issues on Iraq and how to ensure Iraqi compliance, full compliance with Resolution 1441. It's an important matter for many people in the world, including people in the region like the Turks.

Under Secretary Grossman and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz are in London for consultations, then they'll go on to Ankara, and then Secretary Grossman will go to Cyprus and Greece and then Germany and the Netherlands, France and Portugal. So it's quite a number of different stops, all to talk about Iraq compliance with UN resolutions and then obviously in Turkey, Cyprus and Greece about the opportunity for peace in Cyprus.

So those will proceed as part of our, I would just say, regular consultations with a lot of different governments, not specifically tied to any aid packages.

QUESTION: Can I follow up quickly?

MR. BOUCHER: Yeah.

QUESTION: You've also asked 50-some nations for specific commitments. Where are you in this? How successful has that drive been?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think we're at a point now where we could assess one way or the other. We're dealing with potential cooperation in a circumstance that may arise, and obviously this will be an ongoing subject of discussion with other nations.

Down here.

(...)

QUESTION: Richard, there was a report over the weekend that the inspectors had given an advance warning to one of the sites they were visiting. Do you know anything about this?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, there was also an unreported statement by Dr. El Baradei which I would love to read to you just for the fun of it, but I can't find it. Yes, I can find it.

He cautioned the journalist writing about this not to shoot from the hip, but rather to look at the facts in the context of inspections. I think it had to do with some of these reports. Here's what we understand: The inspectors have assured us that they are conducting inspections on a no-notice basis. They have said that there are two incidents, I think, that were cited as somehow evidence of advance warning. But these weren't, in fact, inspections. They had to tell the Iraqis, in one place, to provide a crane so they could retrieve an air sampling device from the roof of a building, a broken device from the roof of the building. And the other case, they informed the Iraqis that they were going to come around and collect some old monitoring cameras to bring back for repair. So they weren't conducting inspections. They were picking up equipment.

QUESTION: -- what Dr. El Baradei said?

MR. BOUCHER: Yeah.

QUESTION: What do you mean, it was unreported? You seem to know about it. It was reported someplace.

MR. BOUCHER: Maybe it was reported somewhere. Underreported, I'm sure.

QUESTION: Hasn't Dr. El Baradei used similar words in talking to the US Government?

MR. BOUCHER: We didn't --

QUESTION: Don't you -- no, I'm talking about in terms of whether the inspections, whether Iraq is in material breach, determinations of that --

MR. BOUCHER: Not that I'm aware of. I think he was talking about this specific context, Matt. What he may have said about us in other contexts, I'm sure you've reported that.

QUESTION: Can I ask you about these aluminum tubes, allegedly for nuclear fabrication of some kind? Apparently, Iraq is supposed to have told the inspectors, it now has reported them but they're not for that purpose.

MR. BOUCHER: You'd have to check with the inspectors. The only thing I would remind you of is Dr. Blix's statement that if the Iraqis wanted to deny that they have these things or want to deny that they have these programs, then they better be able to produce convincing evidence, and I think that would probably apply in this case.

QUESTION: The British have released a 23-page human rights report which has documented torture, rape and terror that Saddam Hussein and his regime have conducted. Were you discussing that in London?

MR. BOUCHER: No, as a matter of fact, I wasn't. We've talked frequently with the British and others about the human rights abuses by this regime, and you can see that we've documented it a number of times and we'll continue to do so.

And I think particularly as we approach Human Rights Day and people look at the various human rights situations around the world, it's important to remember what Iraqis suffer from. They suffer from a regime that uses rape as a method of interrogation, that uses torture as a method of interrogation, that uses all sorts of human rights abuses as methods of oppression and repression of their own population. It's a regime that's gassed its own people. It's a regime that the people would certainly be better off without. And it's a regime that's taken the money for the people and channeled it into weapons programs and palaces, instead of food and health care and education for them.

So I don't think, you know, these are not the only human rights abusers in the world, but they are certainly among the most prominent, and that needs to be remembered, particularly as we head towards Human Rights Day.

QUESTION: Richard, on the human rights question, why wouldn't all of those things that you just listed be grounds for at least giving the Iraqis one more chance to comply, and if not comply with other UN resolutions that would criticize and prohibit that sort of behavior, for taking matters into the hands of the international community?

MR. BOUCHER: The international community, I think, has made clear that the chief issue on its mind at this point is disarmament, is the threat that Iraq poses by developing weapons of mass destruction, the threat to its own people, to its neighbors and to the world. That's the issue that we're focused on. That's the one we've dealt with.

We've also made clear that we expect Iraq to comply with other UN resolutions, many of which get to the point of how they treat their own population. But I have to say the most prominent one on the minds of the international community right now is the question of disarmament.

QUESTION: Can I just follow up? Was there at any point -- and in my own reporting I've found that there was no draft. Did the US at any point try to attach consequences for those sorts of things within the UN -- within the Security Council resolution that was passed about three weeks ago?

MR. BOUCHER: I think you've known of all the drafts that we've made and released on that subject, so I think those provisions were essentially the same throughout.

(...)

QUESTION: Just to get some odds and ends. Is there anything you can say about the Future of Iraq meeting in Washington and also anything about the Secretary's meeting with the British Northern Ireland Secretary this morning?

MR. BOUCHER: Okay, hold it. All right. Yes, I've got it. Two areas. Future of Iraq meeting in Washington, that's one of the working groups? There are a number of working group meetings that have been going on and off, and, frankly, I don't think I have them all straight in my head.

Is that what you're talking about? Is that one of the ones we announced?

QUESTION: Yeah. Can you tell me what groups?

MR. BOUCHER: I will have to see -- check, double-check on the dates of that. I don't remember exactly what --

QUESTION: I know it's happening, I just wanted --

MR. BOUCHER: Yeah, okay. Well, I will see what I can get you on that specific thing. We have not normally offered readouts while those things were ongoing and I'm not sure I can. But I will see if we can get you something.

(...)

QUESTION: Can I go to Iraq?

MR. BOUCHER: Yeah.

QUESTION: What's the status of the Iraqi opposition meeting? I know that's one thing that Under Secretary Grossman was supposed to be discussing in London today, but is it on?

MR. BOUCHER: I think the Iraqi opposition plans a meeting in London December 11 to 13. I think that's what they've been talking about. You'd have to check with them on how it's being organized and how definite it is. But we've discussed this with them. We know that the people we've talked to are committed to a conference that's as large and practical as practical, and one that takes place as soon as possible.

They are now in the final stages of preparing a conference and they would have to give you any details.

QUESTION: Okay. I know that some of those involved in this conference want to put forward some kind of a blueprint for a possible government-in-exile. Is that your understanding? And if so, is this a conference that the US endorses as it now stands?

MR. BOUCHER: It's a conference that we endorse because these groups have been instrumental in sort of thinking about the future of Iraq, including the constitutional future or the federal future, the integrity of Iraq -- all things that we support in terms of what should happen in Iraq after Saddam Hussein.

So we think it's important for them to discuss what kind of mechanisms can be used to represent Iraq's diversity, to carry forward the work of the conference. But as far as any specific decisions on, you know, creating a provisional government or anything like that, no, that's not something that we have supported. That's not something we have supported.

QUESTION: So you're saying it's not something you've supported, but I think Andrea's question was would you support it if that's what they did.

MR. BOUCHER: Well, that's a hypothetical then.

QUESTION: Oh.

(...)

Thank you.
[End]