*EPF501 01/31/2003
Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, January 31
(Announcements, Iraq, Canada, Jordan, Germany/Poland, Italy, Russia, Israel/Palestinian Authority, North Korea, population/refugees/migration) (3760)

State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher briefed.

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing Index
Friday, January 31, 2003
12:10 p.m. EST

BRIEFER: Richard Boucher, Spokesman

ANNOUCEMENTS
-- Special Briefing by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Paul Simons
-- Briefing on the President's FY 2004 Budget Request for International Affairs Function 150
-- Welcome to Students Participating in Groundhog Job Shadow Day

IRAQ
-- Links Between the Iraqi Regime and Terrorists
-- Oil Working Group and Future of Iraq Working Groups
-- Push for Compliance and Disarmament

CANADA
-- Secretary Powell's Meeting with the Canadian Foreign Minister William Graham

JORDAN
-- Possible Link Between al-Qaida and the Assassination of Former USAID Worker Lawrence Foley

GERMANY/POLAND
-- Status of United States Military Bases in the Region

ITALY
-- Reported Link Between Violence to al-Qaida Activity

RUSSIA
-- Reaction to Reports of Russian Arms Contracts with Iran

ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS
-- President Bush's Meeting with the Quartet/Roadmap

NORTH KOREA
-- IAEA Timetable/Need to Report to UN Security Council

POPULATION, REFUGEES, MIGRATION
-- Congressional Letter to Secretary Powell on Allocations of Funds for the United Nations Population Fund

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

12:10 P.M. EST -- FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2003
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

MR. BIESTER: Good afternoon. My name is Evan Biester from Wakefield School. I would like to remind everyone that today at 3 o'clock p.m. there will be a special briefing by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Paul Simons on the President's FY 2003 Narcotics Certification Determinations. The briefing will be held here in the Press Briefing Room.

I also call your attention to the announcement released yesterday regarding an on-camera and on-the-record and on-camera briefing on Monday, February 3rd, at 2 o'clock p.m. on the President's FY 2004 Budget Request for International Affairs Function 150. The briefing will be held in the Press Briefing Room.

Thank you. And now the Spokesman will take your questions.

QUESTION: All right. As you've all noticed, it's Groundhog Job Shadow Day in the State Department and we're happy to have all these young people and students with us. And now they're in training to replace me. I just hope they work hard at it so it happens soon.

All right. I don't have any other statements or announcements. Be glad to take your questions. Mr. Schweid.

QUESTION: Well, Dave McIntyre says --

MR. BOUCHER: Do you want to ask about the briefings?

QUESTION: Well, McIntyre wants to ask the first question. I mean, you know, it's Groundhog Day and all of that. He's had this question for two months.

QUESTION: Now I've forgotten it.

QUESTION: All right.

QUESTION: Actually, one thing that I have been wondering about, Richard, the President has been preparing the country for war, partly on the hypothetical possibility that Saddam might give weapons to terrorists. So why won't you and Ari Fleischer answer hypothetical questions?

(Laughter.)

MR. BOUCHER: We're happy to tell you about the links between the Iraqi regime and the terrorists. I think we've been up front and factual on that. We tell you what the facts are. In terms of United States policy, yes, we have to prepare for contingencies and possibilities. We'll tell you the facts of how we prepare for those things.

But it's the President's job to protect the nation against possible threats. It's our job to tell you what the facts are.

QUESTION: Can I just ask you very briefly about the drugs report? I realize you're not going to leave it to others to actually go through the list of countries and all that kind of thing. But I'm curious if in his meeting yesterday with the Canadian Foreign Minister it was mentioned, they Secretary made mention of the fact they're talking about border security and how important that was.

Did the question of narcotics trade, narcotics trafficking in Canada, was that a subject that was discussed?

MR. BOUCHER: No. They did talk about secure borders and some of the steps being taken back and forth, how to work together on this. But especially the Canadians, as you know, they're working directly with Tom Ridge, now the Department of Homeland Security, and on a lot of the cross-border things they work directly with law enforcement on trafficking. So those issues just didn't come up with the Secretary yesterday.

QUESTION: Richard, something else?

MR. BOUCHER: Sure.

QUESTION: I know the other day the Secretary authorized a board to look into the assassination of the U.S. AID officer in Jordan. And I hate to say, you know, having heard second hand, we think that a senior official, on television, has linked al-Qaida to the slaying. Was that misheard or is that true?

MR. BOUCHER: "We think a senior official, on television -- "

QUESTION: I could identify him, but I don't lift weights.

MR. BOUCHER: A man by the name of Armitage, perhaps?

QUESTION: A guy who lifts weights. That's right.

MR. BOUCHER: A man by the name of Armitage who testified for several hours on the Hill yesterday, and I don't know if I have the exact quote with me today. But essentially, your characterization is correct. He said that we had some information -- here it is: "There are indications of some a recent assassination of our diplomat in Amman, Mr. Foley, that was apparently orchestrated by an al-Qaida member who is resident in Baghdad.

"Having said that, I'm not making the case here that this is a 9/11 connection. But I will make the case that the President has made consistently, sir. And that is that it is the thirst for weapons of mass destruction and our belief that if Saddam Hussein can pass them to people who will do us ill without being caught, he will do it. That's what gives us much concern."

So that's exactly what our Deputy Secretary said on the Hill yesterday and we stand by that. And we'll, as we can, provide more information, but I can't do that today.

Betsy.

QUESTION: Yes. Can you give us some information about the Oil Working Group that's meeting today? What they're doing, what their raison d'être is?

MR. BOUCHER: Their raison d'être? The Oil Working Group is one of the Future of Iraq working groups that we've had looking at various aspects of Iraq in a post-Saddam era. Some of these people are working on political and constitutional issues, some are taking up issues like the environment. And the Oil Working Group is people, Iraqis, free Iraqis, who have expertise in this area getting together with some of our help in organizing it so that they can start planning and looking at how Iraqis can control Iraq's oil resources in a post-Saddam era, how Iraq's oil resources can be used for the benefit of the Iraqi people instead of wasted in palaces and weapons programs.

QUESTION: Well, there is a lot of talk and then belief in the region that the reason that the United States is sort of ginning up this possible military move into Iraq is because the U.S. wants to control the oil.

MR. BOUCHER: I think that doesn't stand up to any of the facts or any analysis that might be made. The fact is, we've got Iraqis working together, Iraqis looking at how their future, their future oil revenues can be put to good use for the Iraqi people, how the future of their oil industry can be organized.

What we've seen from Iraq are, again and again, misuse of the money, attempts to devastate the oil fields, and a lot of other steps that really run counter to the interests of the Iraqi people. As the Secretary said, any U.S. involvement in Iraq would still mean that the Iraqi oil fields would have to be held in trust for the Iraqi people, as would be required under the standard laws of occupation. But in addition to that, they need to be turned over and used by the Iraqi people as soon as possible.

One of the observations is that Iraq can have, based on its oil exports, something like $20 billion a year. And that, in terms of redevelopment of Iraq and providing the supplies and the economic growth that the Iraqi people need, is quite a lot of money. And that's an important aspect of our planning, to make sure that it is used for the Iraqi people.

QUESTION: Can I ask one more, please?

MR. BOUCHER: Sure.

QUESTION: The people in the Oil Working Group, these are people who worked in the industry in Iraq and have intimate knowledge of it and that you all would rely on to go back in and to run the industry once --

MR. BOUCHER: No, we're not trying to allocate portions of the industry to anybody. We're just saying that Iraqi experts need to take a look at this problem, need to take a look at what might be done, and come up with some ideas and some plans. But we're not choosing, and I don't think they're choosing any questions of management or ownership at this point.

QUESTION: Who are they? Who are the people?

MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to look and see if we can provide you a list. Many of these working groups we have not been able to provide the lists. It depends on the individuals. But generally, they are people who have been involved in the -- free Iraqis who have been involved in the oil industry. I'm not quite sure if all of them have been involved in the industry in Iraq or whether some might be more international.

QUESTION: So would you characterize their work as coming up with ideas that they are then presenting to the U.S. Government, or coming up with ideas that would perhaps someday be presented to any successor Iraqi Government?

MR. BOUCHER: I think I would characterize it as coming up with ideas that would be presented to a future Iraqi Government, coming up with ideas that would be presented to the Iraqi people.

QUESTION: Same subject? Or a different subject. A couple of Polish newspapers today reported that the United States is discussing the possibility of moving some of its military bases from Germany to Poland. Is that true?

MR. BOUCHER: Number one, we value our strong military alliances with both Germany and Poland. And, two, there are no discussions underway aimed at the relocation of U.S. forces from Germany to Poland.

QUESTION: Have there been any such discussions regardless of whether or not there are any underway right now? I'll give you an opportunity to just categorically slap this down.

MR. BOUCHER: I thought that was pretty categoric. I didn't think of asking on the angle, but I don't have anything that would indicate there ever have been such discussions. So I think the answer stands in the past as well as the present.

QUESTION: Talking about your effort just one second in the Jordan thing. Are you prepared at the moment to expand at all on what Deputy Secretary Armitage had to say in terms of do you guys have information suggesting that this man Zarqawi is resident in Baghdad now?

MR. BOUCHER: I am not in a position to expand on what Mr. Armitage said yesterday at this point.

QUESTION: But the Secretary will -- as the Deputy Secretary -- it's your understanding that as Deputy Secretary Armitage told the Senate, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, that this is one of the things that Secretary Powell will be expanding on when he goes to the UN on Wednesday?

MR. BOUCHER: The relationship between al-Qaida and the Iraqi regime is one of the things the Secretary will be expanding on at the UN.

QUESTION: Not necessarily this case?

MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to see how much information we end up with on this particular case.

Joel.

QUESTION: Richard, there's been an uptick of violence and police searches through Italy and elsewhere in the EU. Is this a concerted effort to minimize al-Qaida or these cells?

MR. BOUCHER: I think you'd have to ask the Italians about that. I just saw the tickers, the wires on this one. But it's really a question for the Italians. There have been a lot of law enforcement operations throughout Europe over these last few months directed at al-Qaida cells. I don't know whether this is one or not.

Terri.

QUESTION: Change of subject?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes.

QUESTION: Russia has just announced that it is going to again aggressively pursue contracts with Iran. Arms export officials are speaking today in Moscow. Have you continued to have discussions with Russia on your concerns about this, and did they tell you that they were going to go after more contracts?

MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to check. That, too, is something just breaking on the wires. I think our views are very well known. It is, as you say, an ongoing subject of discussion. We've had frequent conversations with the Russians in the past. Our concerns about nuclear cooperation with Iran, as well as the sale of advanced weaponry to Iran, from time to time there have been these press reports that have come out and we've always discussed them with the Russians. I'll have to check and see if we had a conversation about this one yet.

Matt.

QUESTION: Again, this is not breaking at the moment but it did come out this morning so maybe you know something about it. The Middle East.

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not a wire service, I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Has the administration decided to delay yet again the publication or announcement of the roadmap the creation of a --

MR. BOUCHER: Our position on the roadmap is where it was when we discussed it at the Quartet meeting and where the President has discussed it when he met with the Quartet.

The President met with the Quartet on December 20th. The President said he remains strongly committed to his vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace. The President also made clear the United States is committed to the implementation of the roadmap as a means to achieve that goal.

Everything we are doing with relation to the roadmap is to implement the President's June 24th vision, and we will continue to finalize the elements of the roadmap together with our Quartet partners and we will continue to assess closely the situation on the ground and how best to proceed.

QUESTION: My question -- what the Secretary has said -- I don't know if the President has said, but the Secretary has said several times that you have to wait until after the Israeli election to do this.

MR. BOUCHER: Yes.

QUESTION: Are you now saying that you have to wait even longer?

MR. BOUCHER: The question now of how exactly we proceed -- there is no Israeli Government formed yet. But we are assessing how to proceed at this juncture and how to move forward. It remains our intention and the President's intention, as he expressed on December 20th, to move forward with the roadmap as the means to implement the vision that the President announced on June 24th.

QUESTION: And you do not envision any further -- any delay beyond the formation of an Israeli Government?

MR. BOUCHER: We envision proceeding on the course that we set for ourselves a month or two ago that we explained in public, that we recognize the reality of elections, formation of a government, would maybe slow things down or not provide the atmosphere of high-level decisions, but that we did intend to proceed as we could, and that remains our intention today.

QUESTION: Richard, indeed, the Secretary said last week, just tying into what Sharon had said that previous weekend, that once the elections are over, the administration tends to proceed with its European partners. Sharon isn't too crazy about your European partners. But is -- are you saying that's still true, it shouldn't be taken too literally; in other words you've got to have a government formed, for instance, in Jerusalem? But is there any sense of something, some proceeding being imminent once there's a government formed?

MR. BOUCHER: There is a sense that we want to keep moving as we can and that the President made clear that we intended to keep using the roadmap as the best means to implement the vision of two states living side by side.

The Secretary said, after the election meeting, after the election and formation of a government, obviously, if you're looking for governmental decisions, there has to be a government to make those decisions.

The Secretary called Prime Minister Sharon -- two days ago? Two days ago, I think it was. Congratulated him on the election victory and said we looked forward to working with them on issues of peace. We look forward to moving forward when we can. That remains the policy we announced. That remains what we intend to do.

QUESTION: One last thing, please. Mr. Sharon is now going to be a Prime Minister again. He evidently is irked that the President's position on several things is not reflected in the roadmap. The President has called for a change of Palestinian leadership. The President has said it's a prerequisite and they have to stop the corruption.

You have European partners who might not feel that way. The roadmap doesn't say that. So, you know, what is the policy? The roadmap or the President or some combination thereof?

MR. BOUCHER: The roadmap is the President's policy. It reflects the particular implementation of the President's policy. If you look at everything we've been doing with task forces, with the roadmap, Palestinian reform, transformation of the Palestinian Authority, new governing structures, essentially the new leadership that the President called for is embodied in the roadmap as a part of the reform process that has to be taken.

Obviously, we're in touch with the parties about the roadmap. If they have things to discuss, I'm sure we'll discuss them.

QUESTION: Different topic?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes.

QUESTION: North Korea. Is there anything you can say about the intelligence reports that things are being moved into Pyongyang?

MR. BOUCHER: I think we all know the answer to, "Is there anything you can say about the intelligence reports." No, there's nothing I can say about the intelligence reports and I'm not able to comment, clarify or otherwise confirm in any manner for you some of the reporting today in the press.

I would note, however, that North Korea's nuclear weapons program is, indeed, a global concern. We are working with our friends and allies in the international community on a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of these questions.

Any movement of the spent fuel rods at Yongbyon would be a very serious development for the international community, and be another step in the wrong direction by North Korea.

I would note that North Korea has been saying loudly and publicly, as well as privately, to many nations that it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons. And yet we know, for example, in the comments made by the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General where he -- his assessment is that once North Korea starts operating a reprocessing plant, they will be able to produce plutonium in increasing amounts as they go along. So reprocessing of spent fuel is clearly a step in the direction of nuclear weapons.

We would expect North Korea to abide by the public commitments that it's been making, as well as the ones that it has made in the past.

QUESTION: Richard, is the IAEA meeting on Monday, if you can confirm? And what are the American talking points, and --

MR. BOUCHER: It would simplify -- we wouldn't have to send them to our delegation. We could just kind of publish them here.

I can't confirm the exact date to the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency. We are in discussions in Vienna with others about having a meeting, and the United States view is that the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors should report the matter of North Korea's violating its safeguards and asking to withdraw from the NPT, should report that matter to the United Nations Security Council.

QUESTION: And no economic sanctions, still?

MR. BOUCHER: As we said, we think it needs to be reported to the Security Council. The Security Council would then obviously decide what it wanted to do. But the first thing, I think, is to make clear the international community is concerned about this matter.

QUESTION: Thank you. Will the Secretary give a deadline to Saddam Hussein next week? If not, will the President give one soon after?

MR. BOUCHER: I think we've made very clear that time is running out, that we don't think there's any purpose served by continuing inspections indefinitely if the inspectors are not permitted to do their job, if Iraq is not cooperating, if they are not able to do what they were sent out to do, which is to verify Iraqi disarmament.

If there's no Iraqi disarmament, then one has to ask what the inspectors could really achieve. So it's a matter, as we've said, of weeks, not months. But at this point there have not been any particular deadlines set.

QUESTION: Do you have anything to say about the release of an al-Qaida suspect by SFOR in Bosnia?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't.

Thank you.

QUESTION: Oh, sorry. One more which I think you may have something on. Congressman Foley sent a letter to Secretary Powell yesterday complaining about the allocation of some of the $34 million that was originally to go to the UNFPA, and you guys announced about two weeks ago it was going to, in fact, go to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He says that $11 of the $34 are not going to family planning and reproductive health care, as you had committed. Is that correct, and do you have any reaction to his --

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. I'll have to double-check on that.

QUESTION: Can you get back to me?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes. I will try to find out for you.

(The briefing concluded at 12:30 p.m. EST)

(end transcript)

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