*EPF202 03/02/2004
Terror Attacks Will Not Alter Transfer of Sovereignty in Iraq
(White House Report, March 2: Iraq, Haiti, U.N./WMD) (500)

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters at the midday briefing March 2 "the Iraqi people aspire to a free and democratic future, and the efforts by these terrorists will fail. The time line for transferring sovereignty remains June 30."

"You heard from members of the Governing Council earlier today about the brutal terrorist attacks that took place on Iraqis who were celebrating a religious holiday earlier March 2. Members of the Governing Council all talked about how they stood firmly together in the condemnation of these terrorist attacks," said the press secretary.

"The Iraqi people are providing more and more of their own security. They're the largest contributors to their own security. They are working to bring to justice the remnants of the former regime and the foreign terrorists who are seeking to undermine a better future for the Iraqi people. And we are working right alongside with them. We have been taking the fight to the enemy in Iraq," McClellan said.

According to news reports, there were explosions in Baghdad and Karbala on March 2 that killed at least 143 people.

STABILIZATION EFFORTS CONTINUE IN HAITI

The White House spokesman said that U.S. government officials are working "to bring order and stability to Haiti.

McClellan noted continuing efforts by Secretary of State Colin Powell to work with the international community on finding a peaceful, political resolution to the crisis. He also mentioned recent efforts by U.S. Ambassador to Haiti James Foley to meet with both interim Haitian officials and the democratic opposition.

"I think that you have to differentiate between all the different people involved here. There are armed thugs and criminals who do not have any place in the government. Then there is the peaceful democratic opposition, and the interim government of Haiti. There are those in the civil society that want to help move forward on a constitutional, democratic process. And those are the ones that we're working with, along with our international partners," McClellan said.

The press secretary noted that humanitarian aid is a top priority for U.S. and international efforts in Haiti.

WHITE HOUSE AGAIN DEFENDS INTELLIGENCE ON IRAQI WMD

Questioned by reporters about a recent United Nations report that suggested Saddam Hussein did not possess any weapons of mass destruction after 1994, the White House press secretary said, "The intelligence that the United Nations had, the intelligence that members of Congress had, all led everyone to the same conclusion: that Saddam Hussein's regime was a threat and was a danger."

McClellan also said that a working report by the United Nations Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) indicated that Iraq possessed biological agents that were not accounted for.

"Saddam Hussein's regime was a danger before the war, and everything that we've learned since the war only reconfirms that he was a danger," McClellan said.

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

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