*EPF303 05/12/2004
White House Report, May 12: Berg Murder, Prisoner Treatment, Panama
(bush condolences on Berg,) (680)

BUSH OFFERS CONDOLENCES ON MURDER OF NICHOLAS BERG

President Bush expressed condolences May 12 to the family and friends of Nicholas Berg, a U.S. civilian murdered by terrorists in Iraq.

According to news reports, a video was made of Berg being beheaded, and it was posted May 11 on a web site.

"Nicholas Berg was an innocent civilian who was in Iraq to help build a free Iraq," Bush said, "There is no justification for the brutal execution of Nicholas Berg -- no justification whatsoever."

The president said, "The actions of the terrorists who executed this man remind us of the nature of the few people who want to stop the advance of freedom in Iraq."

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters that terrorists in the video had ties to al-Qaeda.

Asked about security measures to protect U.S. workers in Iraq, McClellan said, "When it comes to American citizens in Iraq, their safety and security is always a priority."

"Terrorists will seek any excuse to try to justify murder, destruction, and chaos," he said. "We have seen this in Madrid, our own country, and all over the world."

U.S. IN COMPLIANCE WITH GENEVA ACCORDS ON PRISONERS

"Our policy is very clear when it comes to the conduct of military activities," the White House spokesman said. "Our policy is to comply fully with all U.S. laws and our treaty obligations, including the Geneva Treaty."

The spokesman noted distinctions of status between prisoners in Iraq and enemy combatants held at a U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"At Guantanamo Bay, we have made it clear that prisoners and detainees will be treated humanely and in a manner consistent with our treaty obligations in the Geneva Convention," McClellan said.

The United States began holding terrorism suspects -- most caught in Afghanistan -- at the Guantanamo base in January 2002.

"When it comes to prisoners in Iraq, President Bush said we are bound by the Geneva Convention," McClellan said.

Commenting on the current investigation into prisoner abuses in Iraq, the spokesman said, "It is important that we are committed to getting to the bottom of what occurred at Abu Ghraib [prison] and we are taking steps to prevent these acts from happening again."

SHIP-BOARDING AGREEMENT WITH PANAMA WELCOMED

The press secretary said that the U.S. welcomes Panama's signing of a ship-boarding agreement to interdict movement of weapons of mass destruction.

"The agreement establishes streamlined procedures for American officials to request and board ships registered to Panama if those ships are suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, or related materials," McClellan said.

According to McClellan, more ships sail under the Panamanian flag than that of any other nation.

"This agreement sends a strong signal to proliferators that the free nations of the world are determined to protect their people and preserve the peace," the spokesman said.

The U.S. ship-boarding agreement with Panama is the second such bilateral accord signed to support the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). McClellan noted that the United States and the government of Liberia signed a similar agreement in February.

The PSI, announced by President Bush in May 2003, is a multinational response to the growing challenge posed by worldwide proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related materials.

"We welcome this historic decision by the government of Panama, and we urge other nations with large commercial shipping registries to follow the lead of Panama and Liberia to make a stand against proliferation," the spokesman said.

BUSH MEETS WITH ANGOLA'S PRESIDENT

President Bush met with Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos at the White House May 12.

"The president appreciates the support Angola has given for our efforts in Iraq," McClellan said, adding that the two presidents "also talked about the need to combat HIV/AIDS" and discussed moving forward on elections in Angola.

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

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