White House Gaggle

By
President’s Schedule:
Shortly after 7 this morning, the President visited the Korean War Memorial in honor of tomorrow’s being the 50th anniversary of the armistice being signed. The President then had his usual FBI and Intelligence briefings, followed by a meeting with Secretary of State Powell. At 11:20 the President will welcome Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas. After a meeting with the Prime Minister on strengthening the US-Palestinian bilateral agenda and progress that has been made as well as areas where progress is needed, the two will make comments in the Rose Garden at 11:50. They will then have lunch together. This afternoon the President will tape his radio address in the presence of his Committee on Mental Retardation. The address will recognize tomorrow’s 13th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Afterwards, the President will sign an executive order renaming the Committee to the President’s Committee on People with Intellectual Disabilities. At 2:45 the President will make brief remarks to the 2003 Boys and Girls Nations. The President will then leave for Camp David for the weekend.

Liberia:
Saying the White House "remain[s] in active talks with ECOWAS," Press Secretary McClellan claimed progress was being made toward deployment of an ECOWAS Vanguard force. Asked if the Vanguard force would be a substitute for US forces, McClellan said he would not want to speculate.

Images of Uday and Qusay Hussein:
McClellan was asked to distinguish the publication of photos and video of the bodies of Saddam Hussein’s sons from the video of captured and killed US soldiers. He said firstly that he was not a lawyer, but had been advised that the releases were not in violation of the Geneva Convention. He then emphasized the value of these releases to the Iraqi people as confirmation that the Hussein regime is gone. Pressed again on the distinction, McClellan said that "it’s a huge difference from those who would use photos for propaganda purposes in a despicable way." Asked again, he said, "I think that it’s despicable the way those photos have been used for propaganda purposes."

California Gubernatorial Recall:
McClellan said that this is an issue for the people of California. While he would not rule out the President campaigning on behalf of Republican candidates, McClellan said that at this time the White House is not involved.

Week ahead:

Sunday: President returns from Camp David, hosts T-ball game on South Lawn

Monday: President makes comments to the 2003 Urban League Conference in Pittsburgh

Tuesday: meeting with Prime Minister Sharon in Oval Office

Wednesday: marks 38th anniversary of Medicare with event in East Room

Thursday: no public events

Friday: Cabinet meeting in Cabinet Room

McClellan also announced that Liz Donnan will be leaving the White House Press Office after today.