White House Gaggle

By Gregory Gorman
June 8, 2005

President’s Schedule

The President had his usual briefings this morning and met with the Secretary of State. This morning, the President will welcome Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to the White House for a meeting in the Oval Office. Following the meeting with the Prime Minister, President Bush will be interviewed by Neil Cavuto of Fox News and will make remarks in Washington, DC on Social Security and other economic priorities. He will also meet with Republican House and Senate leaders in the Cabinet Room to discuss priorities of the legislative agenda. This evening, the President will see a screening of the new film, "Cinderella Man" at the White House. Press Secretary Scott McClellan announced that President Bush will welcome several African Presidents to the White House on June 13th. Presidents Festus Mogae of Botswana, John Kufour of Ghana, Armando Guebuza of Mozambique, Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia and President Mamadou Tandja of Niger will come to Washington to discuss the support for democracy across Africa, free and fair elections, economic development, HIV/AIDS and the upcoming G8 summit.

Six-Party Talks with North Korea

McClellan stated that the administration "remained hopeful that North Korea will return soon to six-party talks". He reiterated the administration’s focus is on a denuclearized Korean peninsula. McClellan also stated that the North Koreans have expressed a commitment to the talks but that no date has yet been set for their return. He said, "when they do return to the talks, we want North Korea to be prepared to talk in a substantive and serious way about how to move forward on the proposal that we have on the table".

Doctoring Scientific Documents

Terry Moran of ABC News asked why Philip Cooney, the chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality and "a former lobbyist for the oil industry", has doctored the summaries of scientific reports related to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. McClellan rejected the characterization and said that the documents were part of the interagency review process where more than a dozen agencies sign off on the reports including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. McClellan stated the scientific community, including the National Academy of Science, has widely praised the reports and signed off on them as scientifically sound. McClellan then promised to provide Mr. Cooney’s resume to the press for review.

PKK Militants in Iraq

A Turkish journalist asked McClellan about the administration’s view of the PKK (Kurdistan Worker’s Party) in Northern Iraq. McClellan responded that the White House has not changed its view and considers the organization a terrorist group. He stated, "we are committed to eliminating terrorists inside Iraq or terrorists that are coming into Iraq . . . that is something were are working on with the transitional government as well as the government of Turkey when it comes to the PKK".