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Daily Press Briefing
Richard Boucher, Spokesman
Washington, DC
January 2, 2003

INDEX:

(...)

QUESTION: Yes. I'm sure you've seen all these reports circulating that there are proposals to persuade Saddam Hussein to go into exile and retire and the name of the United States has been attached to some of these proposals. And have you been in touch with anybody about how you -- about any such offer or idea, suggestions as to where he might go? What do you know about all this?

MR. BOUCHER: I refer you back to what Secretary Powell, Secretary Rumsfeld, have both said in public, that it's certainly an option he ought to consider. The certainty of coalition forces prevailing, if it comes to military action, should make him consider any other options he might have.

QUESTION: Okay, but can you say a bit more about any active efforts to promote this proposal through Arab parties or anyone else?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I'm not aware of any active efforts to promote such proposals, but --

QUESTION: So it's just you think it would be a good idea, but you're not doing anything about it?

MR. BOUCHER: If he has the option, he ought to take it.

QUESTION: Well, exile sounds a little voluntary. I think Armitage, before he took on his current job, spoke of a need to evict him. Then again, you folks have spoken a little -- how should I say? -- squishily about regime change. It doesn't -- if they change their ways, they -- I don't want to go through it again. But now you seem to be very straightforward in favor of him departing Baghdad. Exile? Evict?

MR. BOUCHER: Out.

QUESTION: Push him out?

MR. BOUCHER: Gone.

QUESTION: Forcibly removing him?

MR. BOUCHER: Change his ways or change his venue. I don't know how to say it.

QUESTION: Well, change his ways, change his venue, is different.

MR. BOUCHER: Well, we've been quite clear.

QUESTION: I mean, can he change his spots? What do you mean, change his ways?

MR. BOUCHER: Barry, I'm not -- you don't want to go through it all again, I don't want to go through it all again. You're quite clear on what our policy is. Our policy is that Iraq has to disarm. If that is achieved through the UN process, that is our goal. And that is our effort and that is our focus right now.

If the Iraqi leadership should decide to abandon its aims or abandon the country or if we have to force them to abandon the country, one way or the other, Iraq is going to disarm. We have made that very, very clear. But we've also made very, very clear that the UN process is an effort by the international community, a final opportunity for the Iraqi regime to disarm peacefully.

QUESTION: Richard, do you have any ideas on safe haven, safe passage? Are those kind of --

MR. BOUCHER: No.

QUESTION: I mean, if you're going to say it would be a good idea if he left Iraq and gave up power, then you would have to presumably offer him some kind of alternative, no?

MR. BOUCHER: No.

QUESTION: No?

QUESTION: On Iraq --

QUESTION: Can I just clarify this? So you -- do you rule out any kind -- accepting any kind of proposal which includes safe haven and safe passage?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think it's proper to really speculate on this at this point. Is there anything in Saddam Hussein's past behavior that would indicate that he's smart enough to figure out that he ought to do something like this? If there were, I might consider entertaining these questions about an option like this. But at this point, if it's an option he has, he ought to be smart enough to take it. But there's nothing in his past that would indicate he might.

Okay. We're working our way back slowly.

QUESTION: Richard, how much is true in an AP story that said that Iraq was offered help, nuclear help from Pakistan after the North Korean --

MR. BOUCHER: I didn't see the story. I'm not going to try to speculate on that now.

QUESTION: It's been printed in The Washington Times and --

MR. BOUCHER: Isn't that good? Good. I doubt if we'll have anything, but if we do, I will get it to you.

QUESTION: I mean, in order to disarm Iraq, really, don't you think we have to first stop outside help what Iraq is getting from --

MR. BOUCHER: That's called the United Nations resolutions. Remember? We got a new United Nations resolution -- when was it? Tuesday? Monday? Anyway, we got the renewal of the Oil-For-Food, we got things added to the Goods Review List, just like we said we would. And we have a set of sanctions that apply to any kind of assistance to Iraq in areas that help weapons of mass destruction and that's a process that all nations in the world should abide by.

QUESTION: But Richard, Oil-For-Food is being misused by Saddam Hussein.

MR. BOUCHER: I think we've made quite clear our views on the program. We felt it did need to be renewed and it needed to be renewed as an appropriate program with appropriate lists of goods for review.

(...)

QUESTION: Yes. The new Turkish Government Prime Minister Mr. Gul is going to go to several Middle Eastern or Arabic-Islamic countries, visiting tomorrow, starting tomorrow. The subject is Iraq and the subject is how they will convince the United States not to attack Iraq.

Do you have any reaction on this subject?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I'm going to make assumptions from here about what the Turkish leaders may or may not raise.

QUESTION: They already make a statement on this subject.

MR. BOUCHER: I think it's very clear that the United States has been seeking a peaceful solution to the problems presented by Iraq's programs; that we have been seeking through the United Nations to disarm Iraq and end these programs that threaten the region, that threaten Iraq's neighbors. Iraq's neighbors and people in the region are very concerned about the situation there and I'm sure they, as much as we do, want to see a peaceful solution.

QUESTION: And also, the new Turkish trade minister is visiting to Baghdad right now with a very large delegation, including several businessmen, several hundred businessmen, to developing the Turkish-Iraqi trade and business relationship. Is that the opposite the Turkey - U.S. policy against, you know, Iraq confined?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know exactly what he's talking about. Certainly, our policy is the UN policy, the policy embodied in the UN resolution that we helped pass last -- earlier this week and the one that we have followed for some time now.