White House Gaggle

By Gregory Gorman
June 24, 2005

President’s Schedule

The President had his usual briefings this morning and taped his radio address. Later today, he will have a briefing with the Secretary of Defense and his Commanders, General Casey, General Abizaid and General Meyers, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The President will welcome Iraqi Prime Minister Jaafari to the White House for a meeting in the Oval Office followed by a joint press conference in the East Room. This afternoon the two leaders will have lunch in the White House residence and the President will finish his afternoon meeting with the Secretary of State who has just returned from her trip to Brussels and the Middle East.

President’s Speech Marking One-Year Anniversary in Iraq

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan announced that the President will give speech on Tuesday, June 28th from Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The President will give the speech directly to several hundred troops and it will air on the major networks at 8:00 pm. McClellan stated, "the President is the Commander in Chief and we are a nation at war. This is a critical period. This is a time of testing. The terrorists are trying to shake the will of Iraqis and shake the resolve of the American people". McClellan expressed the President’s belief in speaking directly with the troops and with the American people and keeping them informed on the "way forward and the strategy of success". The President will make very specific remarks on his two-track strategy for success, one political and one military.

Karl Rove Remarks

Helen Thomas asked the Press Secretary if Karl Rove will be apologizing for his remarks made on Thursday to the New York Conservative Party. McClellan questioned the reason for which Rove would make such an apology, "for pointing out different philosophies between conservatives and liberals in the war on terrorism?" McClellan said that he would be happy to go through Rove’s comments with Helen to clarify the issue.

U.S. Image Abroad

McClellan was asked for his opinion on why China is now more popular in Europe than the United States. He responded that terrorists are seeking to spread a very different and false image of the United States.

Public Support for the War in Iraq

McClellan responded to ongoing questions about the administration’s claims of success in Iraq while the Commanders on the ground have been saying otherwise. McClellan responded that the President has a strategy in place for succeeding and that great progress has been made in Iraq where democracy is taking root. He said that Iraqis have proven that they are willing to take their fight to the insurgents and that, "the terrorists cannot defeat the coalition forces and the Iraqi forces. All they can do is to try to shake our resolve". Iraq has become a central front for the terrorists. McClellan said that there will be tough days ahead because this is an enemy that has no regard for human life. In response to this answer, Helen Thomas asked, "and we do?". McClellan retorted, "I find that to be an outrageous question". Scott then responded to a question about how the lack of public support is affecting the troops. He answered that the President is confident that although the American people are seeing disturbing images on their television screens, they have not yet seen the White House’s plan for success.

President’s Week Ahead

The President will welcome German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder to the White House on Monday. On Thursday, he will make remarks in Washington, DC about the upcoming G8 Summit in Scotland.