May 20, 1998
PRESS BRIEFING BY MIKE MCCURRY
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release May 20, 1998
PRESS BRIEFING BY
MIKE MCCURRY
The Briefing Room
..................
Q Would the Clinton administration like to see China
be Pakistan's security guarantor, in other words put them under a
kind of iron-clad nuclear umbrella?
MR. MCCURRY: We would like steps taken by all
governments in the region to enhance regional security and stability.
And there are a number of ways that can happen and a number of ways
in which we pursue our diplomacy in coming weeks and months, we'll
try to make that happen, in light of India's test.
Q So is that one of them?
MR. MCCURRY: There will be lots of discussions about
ways in which we can enhance security and balance on the Indian
subcontinent.
Q Well, when would he be ready to present Pakistan
with measures that you could take to improve their security beyond
the F-16s, which they've already dismissed as being not good enough?
MR. MCCURRY: I'm just not previewing the kind of
substantive discussions we've had with the government of Pakistan or
others about ways in which in the face of the Indian nuclear test we
can work to try to put the genie back in the bottle and to limit
tensions.
Q Mike, was it a mistake with hindsight that the U.S.
was so tough on terms of proliferation as far as the Pakistanis are
concerned because now U.S. leverage in trying to convince the
Pakistanis not to detonate a nuclear device is rather limited?
MR. MCCURRY: When we imposed sanctions on the M-11*
transfer back in '94?
Q Or the Pressler Amendment and all of that -- not
this administration, the U.S. government over a couple of
administrations.
MR. MCCURRY: Well, as most executive branches have,
this executive branch has indicated some measure of disagreement with
Congress when they tried to handcuff the executive branch in the
performance of its constitutional responsibility to conduct foreign
policy. And there has been some chaffing at that, yes.
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