White House Gaggle

By Kathryn Krupnik
President’s Schedule

The President began his morning with his usual briefings. At 11:25, the President will meet with President Lagos of Chile. The two will then have lunch in the residence. At 2:55 the President will meet with Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah of Malaysia. The President will then participate in a photo opportunity with Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indianapolis 500 champion.

9/11 Commission Report

On the topic of the 9/11 Commission Report, Press Secretary Scott McClellan said that the President has made his view known on this topic. McClellan then made note that the 9/11 Commission report has not been made public and that it will be released later this week. On the report, McClellan says, "We are looking forward to seeing what the 9/11 Commission recommends. I think you have heard directly from the President that he has talked about intelligence reform and our intelligence capabilities. This President is committed to making sure that we are doing everything we can to protect the American people. That includes making sure that we have the best possible intelligence." McClellan then said that the President is open to ideas to "build upon reforms that we are already implementing." McClellan said the President made this clear last week when the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report was released. McClellan said that the White House has been involved in the classification process of the report.

Director of the CIA

When asked whether he thought it was important to wait to nominate a director of the CIA, McClellan said that "it was a cleaver way of trying to get me to speculate about timing. Again, I am not going to speculate about the timing or who it may or may not be under consideration when it comes to the CIA Director."

Intelligence Reform

A reporter said that McClellan is making it seem that changes to intelligence reform are going to be based on the 9/11 report. McClellan responded saying, "No, because we have already moved forward on it in a number of areas on intelligence reform. This commission certainly will have some important ideas that they will put forward to help us build up some reforms that we are already implementing."

The White House and the 9/11 Commission Report

When asked how the President is being informed and what he is doing with the report, McClellan said he is being briefed daily. McClellan said that the White House, "has individuals whose focus is working with the 9/11 Commission on all of these issues. We have completed the classification review of the 9/11 Commission report several days ahead of time, and this would enable the commission to go forward in printing the document and get ready for release later this week."

Iran, Al Qaeda, and the 9/11 Commission Report

A reporter asked McClellan why the President has spent so much time talking about Iraq and not Iran. McClellan responded saying, "The President has talked about the importance of confronting threats in the post-September 11th world, and we are confronting threats around the world. In fact, we are seeing some real progress made when it comes to the nuclear issue in Iran." McClellan then said that the President spoke about the threat of Iran in January 2002, in his State of the Union address. McClellan said, "There are different strategies for confronting different threats around the world. But what September 11th taught us, we cannot ignore threats as they build, we must confront them before they build and fully materialize."

Ban on Assault Weapons

When asked about whether the President supported the ban on assault weapons, McClellan said that yes he supports it. McClellan did not say whether or not the President was going to do anything to renew the ban which expires in September. McClellan said the issue is to crack down on crimes committed with guns.

Palestine

When asked for his opinion on what is going on in Palestine, McClellan said, "It is important to have a Palestinian cabinet in place that is committed to cracking down on terrorism and establishing a unified security structure to improve the security structure."