15 January 2002

A/S Bloomfield Visits Eight Arab Countries

Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs, Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr., is in the Middle East for two weeks of consultations with senior officials in eight countries.

Bloomfield said he is in the region to "compare notes" on the restoration of Afghanistan and support to other countries like Pakistan, and also to discuss regional political developments. Bloomfield's itinerary includes stops in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Jordan.

Bloomfield granted interviews with Abu Dhabi television January 12 and with Al Jazeera television in Doha, January 15.

"We have to make good judgments in Washington when we are recommending policies, so that the future that we are building together will be compatible with our partners. And we want to make sure that we make decisions and then build a relationship which will be comfortable for a long long time with our friends in the region," he told Abu Dhabi television January 12.

Bloomfield emphasized the need for open communication between America and the Arab and Islamic world. "We need to fight for our future together, we can't let the acts of a few terrorists make us feel as though we are being pulled apart and I know that everyone is sensitive to what is in the media, but I'm confident that in the hearts of Americans, they do not hold any negative feelings towards the Arab and Islamic peoples at all. And President Bush is leading the way, as I said, to rediscover our own heritage, which is very much Arab and Islamic as well among many Americans," he said.

Questioned by reporters about U.S. policies in the Middle East, Bloomfield emphasized Secretary Powell's efforts to retain the confidence of Israeli and Palestinian interlocutors, while working in public and behind the scenes to lower the violence. "But, ultimately, as you can see, the violence is coming from all sides," Bloomfield said. "This ship [Karine-A] that came from outside the region is worrisome; it's important to recognize that we have great sympathy in America for the Palestinian people, but we also understand what it must be like for the Israeli government when one of their members is murdered in a hotel room in the middle of the night. The escalation has become a threat to regional peace and we're trying very hard to stop it."

"There are extremists who do not want to see peace," he told Abu Dhabi television. " I think we have seen that in Afghanistan and we've seen it elsewhere in the region, and all of us who are looking for a peaceful Middle East, whether it's in the Palestinian and Israeli area or further to the east, in the Arabian peninsula or in Afghanistan, have to make sure that extremists do not steal the future away from us."

Bloomfield also responded to other questions dealing with issues such as Iran, Iraq, and the legal status of al Qaeda prisoners at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo, Cuba.

Following are the transcripts of Assistant Secretary Bloomfield's interviews with Abu Dhabi television January 12 and with Al Jazeera television in Doha, January 15.

Transcript of Lincoln Bloomfield Interview with Abu Dhabi Television Abu Dhabi January 12, 2002

Question: Sir, Assistant Secretary, this conflict in the Middle East peace process if you can talk about peace or the latest in developments on it, that the (inaudible) Gaza, as to Arafat (inaudible) is still besieged in Ramallah, he cannot go, bombardment at the airport. What do you think about these latest developments; can we still talk about peace?

A/S Bloomfield: It's not easy to talk about peace when there is so much violence and it's a terrible situation on both sides. I think both the Palestinian people and the Israeli people are exhausted from the conflict. I think the more they escalate hatred, the more funerals on both sides, the more they realize that this does not lead anywhere, and the only path is a political path forward and that's why the United States is still trying, despite all the violence, to have General Zinni try to persuade both sides to control the violence and to stop the violence so that they can get back to a political process according to the Mitchell plan.

Question: To what extent can the US help this? Some of the Palestinian leadership say that Mr. Powell, Secretary Powell's latest statement, was not helpful when he said that what Israel did was a defensive measure.

A/S Bloomfield: I think Secretary Powell is trying very hard to retain the confidence of the people on both sides to show that the United States is fully committed to the future of both sides. President Bush himself had spoken in favor of a Palestinian state consistent with Israel being allowed to live within recognized borders and both sides having security. So I think Secretary Powell is trying very hard in public and behind the scenes to do everything he can to try to lower the violence. But, ultimately, as you can see, the violence is coming from all sides. This ship that came from outside the region is worrisome; it's important to recognize that we have great sympathy in America for the Palestinian people, but we also understand what it must be like for the Israeli government when one of their members is murdered in a hotel room in the middle of the night. The escalation has become a threat to regional peace and we're trying very hard to stop it.

Question: About the ship, the Palestinian Authority arrested (inaudible...) officials and the United States is saying that it has evidence on the ship, that the Palestinian Authority was involved. What kind of evidence?

A/S Bloomfield: Well I've been traveling, so I can't really answer the factual question, I'm sorry. I hope in Washington, if they have some evidence, they can share it with the public. I certainly believe what they say in Washington in my government; they wouldn't say it otherwise; but I believe that Mr. Arafat will need to explain what was the intention of receiving these arms as well. Obviously, as I said before, violence will not lead this process anywhere good. We need to help as a friend, to try to bring a process that the children in both countries can live side by side at peace and not the escalating violence; it is an unacceptable path to the future.

Question: You talk about General Zinni, who left the region a few days ago. We have the impression that whenever the United States gets involved in the peace process, trying to bring both parties together, the situation gets worse like what happened when (inaudible...) came to the region.

A/S Bloomfield: I may share that impression with you; there are extremists who do not want to see peace. I think we have seen that in Afghanistan and we've seen it elsewhere in the region, and all of us who are looking for a peaceful Middle East, whether it's in the Palestinian and Israeli area or further to the east, in the Arabian peninsula or in Afghanistan, have to make sure that extremists do not steal the future away from us.

Question: Let's talk about Afghanistan (inaudible...). What is the evaluation of the whole military operation with the political, diplomatic (inaudible...)? To what extent did the US reach its goal?

A/S Bloomfield: Well to some extent, certainly, a lot has changed since the military operation began, but let's remember this was not a conflict that the United States expected. It was a complete surprise that our country was attacked. It was a shock to find out that because of our open society and our open borders that we had hundreds and maybe thousands of people inside America who had penetrated and were trying to conduct some operations against us, and even 67 other countries had the same problem.

So we tried to find out; we went back to the source, which was the Al Qaeda network hiding in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban. Obviously, the Taliban has been defeated militarily. The specific answer to your question is that it is not finished; there are still Al Qaeda fighters in different parts of Afghanistan and they will continue to shoot at innocent people and cause a threat to the security of the new interim authority unless the military continues until it is finished. So we are going to continue; it may take a while, but as you heard Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld say, it may take a long time, but we will finish the military mission in Afghanistan.

Question: How about Bin Laden and Mullah Omar? Some say that it is no longer the focus of the US operation in Afghanistan.

A/S Bloomfield: No, to be perfectly honest, suppose Mr. Bin Laden and Mullah Omar had been eliminated somehow or arrested on the first day, we would still have thousands of other Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. And so in a way, if you go back to what the United States said, President Bush said it was the network of terrorists that we were trying to control and make sure that they could not attack us or other free countries. And that's really been the focus. Now obviously Osama bin Laden bears a lot of guilt for what happened, as does Mullah Omar. But Osama bin Laden -- he should have to answer for his own actions, but unfortunately he seems to have run away from his troops and let them do the fighting. So others will have to judge whether this is the mark of a great leader or someone who is more cynical, who is willing to fight till the last Afghan, and the last Pushtun and the last Egyptian and the last foot soldier, while he runs away to get his money.

Question: About this Al Qaeda fighters and Taliban (inaudible...), some human rights groups and organizations question the way the United States is going to deal with this problem (inaudible...).

A/S Bloomfield: I think it's perfectly appropriate for people who defend civil rights to ask all the questions that they have; and in the United States of America, they will find that we are great defenders of these rights; the law protects these rights. Now these individuals are not Americans, and they are connected to an operation directly which came into our country and which killed thousands of people, all of them innocent, who were working; people from many different countries, maybe 70 countries were killed. And so a great crime was committed and there is no good answer. But if you were to allow them all of the benefits of an American who is being brought in, who is presumed innocent until proven guilty and has a jury of his peers under our system of law, that is not applicable to a foreign terrorist or suspected terrorist. I think you'll find that the United States is not interested in people who are innocent. We find that if they have no connection, we have no interest in detaining them. So we're working on it and we're very conscious of the human rights issue.

Question: If the United States, even the Geneva accords doesn't apply to especially the prisoners (inaudible...); Washington says they are unlawful combatants...(inaudible...)

A/S Bloomfield: No, I'm not an international lawyer, but there is a precedent for the way we are operating now. And as I say, they are not entitled to be treated the way Americans would be treated; if there was some suspicion of Americans accused of terrorism, that would be different. But you will find the United States has a free press and that people will speak out. If they see some improper handling, it would be loud and clear inside the American open society. And so our readers will know and they will have to answer all of those questions, but right now I'm confident that the US is on solid ground and we are acting legitimately.

Question: Let us talk about the US strategy, military strategy in Afghanistan and some observers. Even some Congressmen in the United States questioned this strategy relying mainly on Afghan fighters and not sending US troops to accomplish the mission like capturing Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, which led twice to the escape of Mullah Omar, first through Kandahar and now lately.

A/S Bloomfield: Well the US has actually used a great deal of military forces; we've used military for many different missions. This is a very hard thing to do after your country is attacked from thousands and thousands of miles away. We had to go and investigate; we sent all of our intelligence; we had to try to create partners who are inside Afghanistan. We put people inside the country to coordinate the activities, and we also had a very large humanitarian operation because the winter was coming, and under the Taliban regime the Afghan people were on the verge of starvation. So in order to save the Afghan people, and also avoid a refugee crisis flowing into Iran and Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and Pakistan, we have helped to feed something like six million people in the country along with the rest of the international community. That has used a lot of our military forces as well, so we are doing both military and humanitarian operations at a very high level of operations. So I think we've, more than any other country, have contributed quite a lot to this effort.

Question: Now about the future, whenever the operation is finished, what are the countries that would be focused upon; there are operations now starting in the Philippines; Indonesia is very concerned about the US coming to accomplish the job inside Indonesia; with Somalia there are operations also, maybe in Yemen. How is the US dealing; does the US have a strategy about which country will be first or accomplishing operations in all these countries at the same time?

A/S Bloomfield: Well, I would say first of all, that the United States was the country that was attacked on September 11th, but soon afterwards there was a United Nations Security Council resolution which mandated all use of force, Chapter 7, against terrorism and so there is an international mandate with the force of law against terrorism. President Bush has been very very clear about what he thinks that means, and he announced in front of the Congress that we are talking about terrorism groups with global reach. Now, without trying to give away any secrets or without looking into a crystal ball obviously we are concerned about a number of situations, but so are many other countries. We are talking, we are coordinating with 150 countries; it's an amazing new international environment.

So this is not just the United States, and I think you will find that any government which is giving refuge to terror groups, which may not do any problems inside their territory, but which then take false passports and get on the airplane and they go cause somewhere else, those governments are going to have to make a big decision, and as President Bush said: Either you are with the United States or you're not with the United States. But no longer can they sit on a fence and pretend that they are our friends and give comfort to terrorist groups which go overseas and commit these crimes. It's finished.

Question: Some operations are the one that you are talking about maybe, because in the Arab world or Islamic world, they are still putting the emphasis on the fact that you should differentiate between terrorism and fight for freedom, what they call freedom fighters in Lebanon, in Palestine, in Pakistan. How should the US deal with this conflict, you know, which is very difficult from the US point of view?

A/S Bloomfield: Well in the first place, when you talk about the Arab countries, I'm a little bit sensitive to that, because I'm here visiting friends throughout the Arab world. You mentioned a number of countries; some of them are in Africa' some are in Asia; some are in Southeast Asia, so we're not tied down to one geographic region; this is about terrorism. I think the United States is very sensitive to issues of justice, to political issues which need to be redressed; the US has been trying to solve the Arab Israeli dispute for 50 years, and it's been a mission of our diplomacy, and we will try even harder in the 21st century, because it's very important to all of our future. So we haven't lost our commitment to justice, but I don't know of any culture -- and I hear a lot of debate in the Arab and Islamic world that says there is no justification for killing innocent people, no matter what the reason. So there are rules of war, which have survived for many decades and many generations. But the rules of war do not include extreme acts of violence that kill innocent people, and so no cause is just enough to allow terrorism to appear.

Question: Some people in the Arab world are saying Israel is killing innocent people (inaudible...)

A/S Bloomfield: We are friends of the Palestinian people and we are friends of Israel, and we don't deny that, and I think most of our friends in the Arab world understand that after so many years. We do not always speak with a loud voice when we talk to our friends, but we do it in private; we let our views be known, and even in public you can see that the U.S. government has called for restraint and we have criticized Israel, and we think that they have done things which are unhelpful to restrain the violence. And we'll continue to speak out even, despite our friendships. This is too important to remain quiet, and I think people need to know that the US will stand up for what is right.

Question: Other critics say that in the United States (you) seek help from all these countries that you mentioned in the fight against terror;(inaudible...) we talk about justice maybe freedom, democracy and allowing these governments to go ahead and doing something the United States was against before September 11th.

A/S Bloomfield: That's a very interesting point; it's an interesting question and a fair question. I don't think that the US has become less sensitive to issues of democracy and justice because of September 11th. I think what really happened is the American people were shocked to find out that after ten years beyond the Cold War, when we were dealing with domestic issues like education and health care and retirement security, suddenly the outside world came in and shocked America, and they told us that we have a very important connection to the whole world and that our security depends on our foreign relations. So I think the US government has a new mandate from the American people to engage around the world and try to encourage policies of cooperation, and we are not judging people right now on every single issue. But I will tell you this: history has taught us that whenever we cooperate with a country for tactical reasons that does not support human rights and does not support the voice of the people, we always get into trouble. And I think we have learned that lesson and we are keeping that in mind even today.

Question: Yes, about this issue, the big picture, and the big issue is the image of the United States in the Islamic world; this question that all Americans ask after September 11th: why do they hate us? To what extent is the United States, what are the efforts doing to explain the American point of view to this category?

A/S Bloomfield: I think that is a very important question. There are two things that were the most important after the terrorist acts of September 11th. Number one was to find out where the terrorists are so they do not hit anyone again, so that's the first thing that we did. The second thing is the strategic issue of the terrorists trying to separate America from its friends in the Arab and Islamic world and trying to isolate Islamic and Arab Americans from their own country. And President Bush has led the fight to reach out and embrace our friends in the Arab community, in the Islamic community. He went to the mosque in Washington right away; he went to Islamic schools in Virginia right outside of Washington; he held a Ramadan dinner, and it is clear that we have reached out to make it clear to our friends throughout the region that we need to fight for our future together.

We will not let a few extreme terrorists separate us and allow them to push away people in this part of the world who have every right to enjoy a future working with us -- people to people, in business, in marriage, in friendship; we don't want to be denied our connection. And frankly, we are rediscovering that we have a very large Islamic population in America. We have 1200 mosques; we have a very strong Arab/American culture which is part of our own bloodstream and part of our voting public. So we're rediscovering our connections, and I think maybe that is one of the silver linings of the terrible events of September 11th.

Question: Let's talk about Afghanistan, (inaudible...), there is a new government now. What is the US doing to help this new government in terms of (inaudible...)?

A/S Bloomfield: Well this is a very positive development obviously, Abdulrahman. What has happened is that the Taliban has gone, and I think even in this region in the Arabian peninsula, people can see how much happiness there is among the Afghan people. Their women in particular now can breathe again; they can become part of society without being hidden away and abused. The children can go to school. And so the first most important step was to get a legitimate political process, which the United Nations helped in the meetings in Bonn to create the interim authority. Then the British government and eleven other nations put together an interim security assistance force for Kabul, which is now starting to show up and to build up their security presence. The US soldiers are not part of that force. And now the Japanese government is convening the governments of the world later in January in Tokyo to try to assemble pledges of support for humanitarian relief. I think this is all extremely positive.

I mentioned before that we did a lot of humanitarian relief of food and blankets, but also, in my own bureau, I am in charge of land mines and de-mining and we are going to spend more than seven million dollars this year in Afghanistan, working with United Nations and local Afghan non-government organizations to do anti-personnel demining and other humanitarian efforts. It is very important that we give Afghanistan back to the Afghan people and we intend to work with the rest of the international community to do just that.

Question: One of the first measures this government did was to disarm all these fighters and to get rid of (inaudible...). What do you think about this?

A/S Bloomfield: Well I don't want to sound naive. I understand that guns are a very normal part of the culture in that part of the world, so I don't want to say something which is foolish, that everyone will have to have his gun taken away. If we tried to do that, I think the population would turn against the international community. What we do need to do is find a way to bring stability and security so that one faction will not fight another faction, and so that the women and children and elderly people will be safe and the humanitarian workers who are bringing in food and who are taking out the land mines; all of them need to be safe.

I think we can work creatively with the interim security force and with the interim authority to find ideas to make sure that the big guns are not used in any way and that no one will be threatened. This is a very important part, and I think as Secretary Powell said, we want to start thinking about the possibility of an Afghan army, so that they can ensure stability at the national level. That's going to take some time but it's a good question.

Question: Let's talk about Iran; for once the relations were always not that good but after September 11th the relations maybe will improve because of the position Iran took. But recently Iran was persuaded by the United States, and criticized, or they were warned if they give help or give shelter to Al Qaeda or try to destabilize the government. Why do you suppose (inaudible...)?

A/S Bloomfield: Let me clarify that just a little bit. I think we would have negative words for any country that wanted to destabilize Afghanistan or that would receive Al Qaeda fighters and give them refuge. I don't think there is any government who would escape our criticism or anyone else's. I don't think the US is looking to be particularly negative toward Iran. We all remember what started in 1979; the political developments in Iran pushed them very far away from the Iranian people away from the American people, and we had a very heavy heart on both sides for a number of years.

I think that in recent years that has become less of an issue and the US has started to ask what kind of a future can we have in the Middle East where Iran is not an adversary and can we have some constructive cooperation. It takes two to tango, as they say, and the US does not want to go any faster than Iran wants to go. But I think we have a constructive view toward Iran; most importantly though, we hope that they share our goal of allowing the Afghan authorities legitimately to continue this process of rebuilding their own country. And obviously we do not accept anyone taking Al Qaeda fighters and hiding them, if that is the case. So no one will be exempt from our criticism or from our campaign.

Question: (inaudible..) the New York times just reported today that Iran maybe sold or have given away Stinger missiles to Hizbollah, American Stinger missiles.

A/S Bloomfield: Well, you know the reason the Stinger missiles went to Afghanistan was because 140,000 Soviet Red Army troops invaded Afghanistan. This is one more historical reminder of how much trouble that poor country has gone through. So we were not trying to give arms except to rescue the country from an invasion. Unfortunately, some of those arms are still floating around and can cause a problem. I think this is an example of providing lethal weapons from thousands of miles away that could be used in the Arab/Israeli dispute as an act of irresponsibility. Obviously, you can see what the Americans are doing; we're sending General Zinni to try to calm the violence on both sides. Any government which sends weapons to try to destabilize the situation has a lot to answer for right now.

Question: There are other threats, other countries, not only Afghanistan, that you recently...Singapore, maybe in Malaysia, how the US is concerned about possible threats inside the United States (inaudible...)?

A/S Bloomfield: It is a big surprise to find out that perhaps hundreds, maybe even thousands, of the Al Qaeda people were inside the United States. And then when we followed the trail of evidence, we found that they were in as many as 68 countries around the world. That shock is one of the reasons that so many governments have been cooperating in terms of law enforcement, counter-terrorism cooperation, financial cooperation, intelligence cooperation. They don't do it for any specific political reason; they are doing it so that these extremists cannot slide through and disappear and then create terrible acts of crime, killing innocent people. So yes, I think the Americans, we are shocked; we want to get back the safe country that we had before; I am sure the UAE feels the same way and that's why we're working so well together.

Question: Sir, regarding your mission, give us some details about your mission here in the UAE.

A/S Bloomfield: My first task is to re-introduce myself. I've been a visitor as a private citizen; I used to be a government official. I've come many times over the years in the 1990s. But now I come representing Secretary Powell. To introduce myself, as the Assistant Secretary for Political and Military Affairs, I cover a worldwide set of issues which are important to our security and our political relationships.

And so I wanted to thank our friends in the UAE for their excellent cooperation in so many areas. I wanted to compare notes on the efforts we are making to try to restore Afghanistan as a free country and to provide humanitarian support. I wanted to talk about our support for other countries like Pakistan and to compare views and to listen carefully from my friends in the region about the regional political situation, which is unsettled. And we have to think, we have to make good judgments in Washington when we are recommending policies, so that the future that we are building together will be compatible with our partners. And we want to make sure that we make decisions and then build a relationship which will be comfortable for a long long time with our friends in the region. This is my first stop, so I'm very grateful for the warm hospitality that you've offered me today.

Question: So, is the relation with Saudi Arabia a little bit different to what ... are involved in September 11th (inaudible...)?

A/S Bloomfield: Well I will know more after my visit in a few days, but let me just remind you that the US and Saudi Arabia have been friends and partners for a long time, not only in the security field but the economic field and cultural field. And I think that the fact that there were Saudi people involved in the terrorism is a problem for them and for us and we will consult as friends and partners. I don't think it's fair to say that these terrorists have succeeded in interrupting US-Saudi relations, they have not, we are cooperating very well.

Question: Saudi officials and Saudi people are concerned, or they think that there is an offensive especially in the media, in the American media, even if the (inaudible...), but they think that the media reflects what the government thinks.

A/S Bloomfield: I don't think anyone in America thinks that the media reflects the government. In fact if you can ask President Clinton whether he thought the media reflected the government, you'll find he might laugh, because we have a free press and criticism is allowed no matter how hard it is unless it is personal, and that is there is a line which you cannot cross. But other than that, as long as you are telling the truth, you are allowed to speak freely. No, I repeat that I don't think that our relationships have been disturbed.

I think it's important: the message from my friends in the Arab and Islamic world is to keep your lines open to AmericAnswer: don't give up on us; come to America; tell us your feelings and your views, and I'm here to do the same. We need to fight for our future together, we can't let the acts of a few terrorists make us feel as though we are being pulled apart and I know that everyone is sensitive to what is in the media, but I'm confident that in the hearts of Americans, they do not hold any negative feelings towards the Arab and Islamic peoples at all. And President Bush is leading the way, as I said, to rediscover our own heritage, which is very much Arab and Islamic as well among many Americans. So we are fighting for that future and we are isolating the few extremists who did these terrible acts on September 11th.

Question: ..India and Pakistan (inaudible...) speech right now; before this speech he arrested about two members of the Islamic extremist (inaudible...). What do you think this speech should bring; what do you think about this measure (inaudible)

A/S Bloomfield: Well I think in Washington we recognize that President Musharraf has made some very courageous decisions. He has shown great vision in accepting a good relationship with the United States at a strategically important time, and I think the Pakistani people can see that he made the right decision. Andthe neighbor I guess who you'd say to the East, no it's to the West, to the North maybe, Afghanistan, has changed. Now we have a much more open and a society in Afghanistan, a political situation which reflects the Afghan people's wishes.

So President Musharraf made the right decision. He is also taking some tough decisions now to try to defuse a very very serious problem between India and Pakistan. And I know that American diplomats and particularly Secretary Powell in Washington and others are doing everything they can to urge restraint on both sides and to urge both to take whatever steps they can to keep these two powerful countries from escalating any further. It's a very big challenge.

Question: So (inaudible...), about escalation you think it is possible the use of nuclear weapons at this point?

A/S Bloomfield: I obviously don't because we believe that both the government of India, Prime Minister Vajpayee, and President Musharraf in Pakistan are obviously very sophisticated and civilized leaders and so are the countries that they lead. But there is always the danger when there is a conflict which has not been resolved and we have had these capabilities on both sides that things can always get out of hand. And there have been three wars between India and Pakistan in recent times, and so we have to guard against any prospect of escalation. There are underlying issues which irritate tensions between both sides; it's a difficult challenge and I think both governments are proceeding with goodwill and I think Secretary Powell will do his utmost to encourage them to be restrained and to work together.

Thank you.

Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr., Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs Interview with Al Jazeera Satellite Channel Doha International Airport January 15, 2002

Question: Recently, President Bush called on Iran to surrender to the U.S. Al Qaeda members who are fleeing to Iran. Does Washington really believe that Iran harbors Al Qaeda members?

A/S Bloomfield: We have a concern about Al Qaeda members running to any country that would take them. Obviously any of the people who created this terrible act of terrorism in New York and Washington are of great concern to us, so we are asking Iran and other countries to do the right thing. We want every state in the region to make sure that they do not harbor these terrorists.

Question: Do you have any information that Iran really is harboring them?

A/S Bloomfield: I have been traveling for a number of days, but I assume that we are asking anyone who has a border with Afghanistan to be on the lookout, including Iran.

Question: Many members in the U.S. administration are trying to push for a strike against Iraq. Does the regional context allow the U.S. to wage a new war against Baghdad?

A/S Bloomfield: The U.S. is not trying to wage a war. The U.S. has been attacked. We are reaching out to the international community to work with us so that terrorism does not become a way of life that will threaten the American people or any of the sixty or seventy other countries that lost people in the World Trade Center towers and in the airplanes. As far as Iraq is concerned, it is well known that the international community has had concerns about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and its threats to its neighbors. International law and the UN resolutions have been in place for a decade and Iraq still has to comply with them. They have not been honest with the international community. The United States has its own policy. We do not approve of the regime in Baghdad -- that is well known. But as far as we are concerned, we are finishing what we are doing in Afghanistan. That is the concern right now, and we are looking at other countries that may be sponsoring global terrorists.

Question: Two days ago, Secretary Colin Powell approved Israel's destruction of the Gaza Port and Palestinian homes. Does this mean that the U.S. is now publicly taking sides in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict?

Answer: With all due respect, I think that is a complete distortion of what Secretary Powell has said. He is trying very, very hard to achieve an end to the violence between Israel and the Palestinians so we can return to a diplomatic process, a political process that will lead to a Palestinian State, and Israel within secure and recognized borders so they can live together as neighbors. That is our priority. We are not urging violence on either side.

Question: Why did the U.S. refuse to recognize the Al Qaeda prisoners who are being taken to Guantanamo as prisoners of war?

Answer: That is a very technical, legal question. Many of these Al Qaeda personnel have been found at caves where they have been shooting at people, and rather than keep them in Afghanistan where it is an unsafe situation we have taken them somewhere where they can be more peacefully interrogated and we can find out whether or not they are connected to these acts of terrorism. You know that there was a huge prison breakout in Mazari-Sharif, and there was another one on the Pakistani border where and some of the prisoners and officers who were guarding them were killed. This is a safer solution. The U.S. is trying very hard to meet all of the international conventions and processes. I believe that the U.S. has also announced that we will allow the ICRC to visit these facilities. The detainees are being treated humanely and decently, and we are trying to move on with the interrogation process as quickly as we possibly can.

Question: How do you evaluate the security of the presence of your forces in the Gulf states?

Answer: I look at it as a very long-term partnership. The U.S. has been here for more than fifty years with our friends in the Arabian Gulf. We are here as friends for the long term. We are trying to build a 21st century which is stable and peaceful and in partnership with many countries of the region. I'm here to talk about the future and to listen as much as talk and to try to help shape a relationship that will be beneficial to all of the peoples of the region.