*EPF203 03/18/2003
White House Report, March 18: Petroleum reserve, Israel, Daschle
(Press Secretary Ari Fleischer briefed) (400)

U.S. STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE COULD BE OPENED

Asked about the administration's policy on the use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if that were to become necessary to prevent skyrocketing fuel prices, Fleischer said:

"The policy on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is that the reserve will be released in the event of an emergency such as a severe disruption of supply. So, at this moment, it's impossible to anticipate, predict whether or not there would be a severe disruption of supply. Those determinations will be made by the experts based on the circumstances on the ground in terms of what supply conditions look like.

Fleischer said the issue is primarily assessed by the Department of Energy in consultation with others.

U.S. MAINTAINS ISRAEL'S RIGHT OF DEFENSE

Asked if there are diplomatic discussions planned with Israel about the issue of non-response if Iraq were to attack Israel during the military action with Iraq, Fleischer said:

"Well, we have, and we will continue to consult with Israel. Of course, Israel has the right to defend itself. And we will continue to consult with Israel as they exercise their rights."

FLEISCHER JUDGES DASCHLE'S CRITICISM 'INCONSISTENT'

Responding to remarks by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat-South Dakota) that "the president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we now are forced to war," Fleischer replied, "it's hard to know what that means."

"It is within the rights of every member of Congress to say what they think, to express their opinions. He certainly is well within his rights to express his opinions. It just strikes me as inconsistent with previous things he has said," Fleischer told reporters.

"If you take a look at what Senator Daschle has said about the inevitability of using force in 1998 and if you take a look at what Senator Daschle said about the importance of raising the rhetoric to a higher level and not politicizing the rhetoric, I find his statement to be inconsistent."

Fleischer added that "Senator Daschle did not say anything about that in his meeting with the president last night." Fleischer was referring to the meeting President Bush had March 17 with leaders of the U.S. Congress in the Roosevelt Room of the White House shortly before Bush spoke to the nation and the world.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents