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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

01 April 2003

Don't Know If Saddam Hussein Is Dead or Alive, U.S. Says

(White House Report, April 1: Iraq, Turkey, nominations) (1160)
When Saddam Hussein did not make a live appearance April 1 on Iraqi
television as the Arab television network Al-Jazeera had announced he
would, the White House again said it did not know whether the Iraqi
dictator is dead or alive.
"The fact that he failed to show up for his scheduled appearance today
raises additional questions," White House Press Secretary Ari
Fleischer told reporters at his afternoon briefing.
Instead of the Iraqi leader, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed
al-Sahaf delivered a televised statement attributed to Saddam Hussein
denouncing the United States and calling for a jihad against its
troops in Iraq.
Fleischer dismissed the statements as "more rhetoric by a regime
losing its grip on power."
Fleischer said it is particularly interesting that, after it was
announced that Saddam Hussein himself would address the Iraqi people
but then did not appear, Iraq is not making a greater effort to show
proof that he is alive.
"If you're in Iraq, if you're part of the Iraqi regime, if you're part
of the leadership structure especially, if you had something hard or
concrete to report such as that Saddam was alive, the question is, why
aren't they showing it?" Fleischer said.
"The bottom line is, we don't know," Fleischer said. "We don't know
and therefore we're going to be guarded about what we say because we
don't know. He could show up, but he hasn't yet."
IRAQIS INCREASINGLY HELPING COALITION FORCES
There are increasing "visible signs of Iraqis speaking out for freedom
and helping the United States and the United Kingdom and Australia,"
Fleischer said.
"Some of the information that we have been getting from Iraqis has led
to direct actions on the ground, as the military briefers have shared
from CENTCOM. And so the only reason that Iraqis would be providing
that is if they themselves are taking sides, and, obviously, they're
taking sides with the United States and against the oppressive Iraqi
regime,," he said.
President Bush has been made aware of this through the constantly
updated information he gets from his military and intelligence
briefings, Fleischer said.
In Iraq, Fleischer said, on television you now see "areas where people
are being fed," and water is flowing into Basra again, "and that's
creating an improved humanitarian situation."
FLEISCHER SAYS U.S. WILL PROVIDE SECURITY IN POST-WAR IRAQ
In response to questions concerning plans for the interim government
in Iraq following the ouster of the Saddam Hussein regime, Fleischer
said the United States intends "to stay for as long as necessary to
provide security on the ground and then leave, and not stay longer
than is necessary."
"Obviously, you know, the United States being of the ground, providing
the security, it's going to have a substantial role to play. And we
want to make certain ... and welcome the role the others can play as
well. The exact nature of those roles is yet to be determined," he
said.
The fundamental issue, Fleischer said, "is not whether it's the United
Nations or the United States that will administer Iraq; the Iraqi
people will administer Iraq. Iraq can be and should be and will be, in
the president's judgment, administered by the Iraqi people from both
inside and outside Iraq."
U.S. PLEASED THAT TURKEY HAS HONORED WORD ON IRAQ
Asked about the current visit to Turkey of Secretary of State Colin
Powell, Fleischer responded:
"The visit to Turkey is meant to discuss with a NATO ally United
States-Turkish relations. We are pleased with the fact that Turkey has
honored what it told us it would do; it said it would not cross the
border. It has not, despite many a rumor that said they had or they
would. They have not. And the secretary of state is going to talk to
Turkey about the importance of that continuing to be the practice,
which, indeed, Turkey has done. And we enjoy important bilateral
relations with Turkey. They remain a NATO ally."
BUSH TO VISIT MARINES AND FAMILIES
On Thursday, April 3, President Bush will visit Camp Lejeune, North
Carolina, where he will make remarks to Marines and their families and
give a progress report on the war. He will also have lunch with
families before heading back to Washington, Fleischer said.
BROWNING, SCHLICHER, YOUNG DESIGNATED FOR AMBASSADORSHIPS
The President intends to nominate Steven A. Browning of Texas, to be
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of
America to the Republic of Malawi. A career member of the Senior
Foreign Service, Mr. Browning currently serves as
Diplomat-in-Residence at the Center for International Studies at the
University of Southern California. He previously served as Dean of the
School of Professional and Area Studies at the National Foreign
Affairs Training Center. His previous overseas assignments include
Deputy Chief of Mission in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Administrative
and General Services Officer in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He also served as
Administrative Officer in Alexandria, Egypt as well as a General
Services Officer in Nairobi, Kenya. Earlier, he served as Consular
Officer in Santo Domingo. He earned his bachelor's degree from Baylor
University and his M.ED for the University of Houston.
The President intends to nominate Ronald Schlicher of Tennessee, to be
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of
America to the Republic of Tunisia. Mr. Schlicher currently serves as
the Director of the Iraqi Task Force. He previously served as the
Chief of Mission and Consul General of the United States in Jerusalem.
Prior to this assignment, he was the Director of the State
Department's Office of Egyptian and North African Affairs. His
previous overseas assignments include Consular Officer in Dhahran,
Saudi Arabia and as Consular Officer in Damascus, Syria. He also
served as Consul General in Alexandria, Egypt and as Deputy Chief of
Mission in Beirut, Lebanon. He received both his bachelor's degree and
his law degree from the University of Tennessee.
The President intends to nominate Stephen M. Young of New Hampshire,
to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United
States of America to the Kyrgyz Republic. A career member of the
Senior Foreign Service, Dr. Young currently serves as the Director of
the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs. He previously served as
the Director of the Office of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh
Affairs. Prior to this assignment, he was the Deputy Director of the
American Institute in Taiwan. Earlier in his career, he served as
Director of the Office of Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs and as
Desk Officer on the Russian Desk. His previous overseas assignments
include Beijing, Moscow and Taipei. Dr. Young is a graduate of
Wesleyan University. He went on to earn his master's degree and his
Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)



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