LoungeMachine
06-03-2006, 10:09 AM
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 2, 2006
Press Briefing by Tony Snow
James S. Brady Briefing Room
Q And also can you -- have you been able to get any kind of readout on what the Prime Minister said yesterday about --
MR. SNOW: Yes. As a matter of fact, I just -- I spoke just a couple of minutes with Ambassador Khalilzad, who, today with General Casey, went over and spoke with the Prime Minister. And according to the Ambassador, the Prime Minister says he was misquoted. General Casey has said that he will inform him fully of the results of investigations when they have concluded. He filled him in on the fact that there are two separate tracks, one having to do with the timing of reporting in Haditha, and number two, on the criminal investigations.
And apparently the Prime Minister did try to sort of explain how such a characterization would be made in the press, but that is a little too complicated for me to try to read out. But in any event, they did have a meeting with him.
It's probably also important to note that, on a more general basis, a couple of propositions. Secretary Rumsfeld today said of the allegations, "We don't expect U.S. soldiers to act that way, and they're trained not to." But as I have done from this podium, and as all of us in the administration will continue to do, you're not going to be able to get specific reaction to specific charges for the simple reason that it could, in fact, get in the way of any necessary prosecution, should it become necessary, and we're not going to get ourselves embroiled in the legal process.
A couple of other points. The President has, on a number of occasions recently, expressed his admiration for Prime Minister Maliki, who seems to be a take-charge guy. We were heartened by the fact that it appears that he will be completing his cabinet and filling it out within the next few days also. But he went to Basra, which was a pretty courageous thing to do, a couple of days ago, saying, we're going to go in and we're going to take care of the security here. The Prime Minister is clearly somebody who is eager to take on the responsibilities of providing for the safety and security of the Iraqi people, and we look forward to working with him.
Q He was misquoted. Do you have a sense of what he said or meant to say?
MR. SNOW: No, I -- it was one of these things where he said at one point he was asking an unrelated question about a traffic stop, and it really does get pretty convoluted. I don't want to get myself too much into it. But he said -- what Ambassador Khalilzad did say is that he said he was misquoted and they're going to look into it. That is what Prime Minister said.
Q Can I just follow on that, Tony, because it sounds a little too neatly wrapped up.
MR. SNOW: Well, then you're going to have to take that up with the Prime Minister.
Q Well, but I assume we were taking that up with the Prime Minister. So why don't we talk about it from the U.S. government perspective.
MR. SNOW: All right.
Q Which is how does the President react to the fact that someone we had heaped praise on has fired a pretty serious shot across the bow at U.S. forces who are securing Iraq?
MR. SNOW: Well, I've just told you, David, that he said he didn't.
Q And that's it? I mean --
MR. SNOW: Yes.
Q -- he was just misquoted?
MR. SNOW: Yes.
Q So what did he -- I just want to push --
MR. SNOW: Well, again, you can feel free to push. I've tried to relay to you what was related to me by --
Q That he just didn't mean it?
MR. SNOW: No, no, not that he didn't mean it, that he didn't say it. He said he was misquoted. When somebody says they're misquoted that means --
Q What's the issue? What's the concern that U.S. officials over there are trying to deal with, then?
MR. SNOW: They're not. There are regular meetings. I think -- as you know, there are allegations of things that have gone on in Haditha, in Hamandiya and now in Ishaqi. And these things are -- these are matters --
Q But his remarks are much more general than that.
MR. SNOW: But I'm answering your question, because what I'm trying to do is to talk about the nature of the conversations between the Ambassador and General Casey and the Prime Minister. And, again, this is based on my conversation just concluded with the Ambassador. And they try to maintain regular contact about these things, and they want to make sure that he's fully informed.
Now I am sure that the Prime Minister is every bit as troubled by the allegations as the President of the United States is. And he got the full assurances from General Casey that he will be given all the evidence and all the materials available so he will know what's going on. I think that's really what's going on.
The other thing is, it seems pretty clear that Prime Minister Maliki values the contributions of American forces, but he also wants to make sure, at the earliest practicable moment, that Iraqis can stand up and take full responsibility for security within their borders. And on that, they're all working together on a daily basis.
Q So does the Ambassador and does General Casey sense that they've got some frustration in the Iraqi leadership?
MR. SNOW: No, I don't think so. As a matter of fact, this is an Iraqi leadership that's not even two weeks old. They don't sense frustration. Actually, what's interesting is that the readout I am getting on the Prime Minister -- and everybody -- they're still in that phase where they're getting to know each other -- Prime Minister Maliki is not an English speaker, he speaks Arabic, and so it's not the kind of thing where these guys have had long-standing conversations. So they're feeling each other out.
What I'm getting is just the opposite of frustration. They're impressed. They're impressed that they've got a guy who is not afraid to make decisions, who is not afraid to show leadership, and who is not afraid to put himself in some pretty difficult situations, such as making the trip down to Basra the other day.
So, no, I would wave you away from any characterization that there's frustration. What I'm hearing is, everybody is impressed and they're wishing him success and they want to see more and they want to get to know him better.
Q I'm talking about frustration on his end toward us.
MR. SNOW: No. No.
Q So we don't have a problem here with the Iraqi Prime Minister?
MR. SNOW: No. No.
Q What was misinterpreted? Surely -- you've been a reporter a long time. You just simply ask, what was the real reason that he --
MR. SNOW: Well, what I've tried to do --
Q Where does he say he was misinterpreted?
MR. SNOW: Well, unfortunately, Helen, I have just tried to -- what I'm trying is to relate to you, through Ambassador Khalilzad, through me, what was told to him through an interpreter by the Prime Minister. And it becomes a little convoluted, and so I don't want to make a real clear characterization, because it's a little hazy to me, too. All right? What I do know is that he was misquoted, he's looking into it. But that what he said, and when he said it, and in reaction to what is a little gauzy.
Q No, no, no, but what was the crux of the misinterpretation?
MR. SNOW: The crux is that he says he didn't say it, and that there was --
Q He didn't say he wants us out?
MR. SNOW: Somebody had shouted out a question about an unrelated incident, and I'm not sure I can quite follow it either.
Jim.
Q The phrase that I saw was, "a daily phenomenon." This is fairly specific stuff he's talking about. So to say, well, we know he didn't say that, when the quotes are -- it's not a generalization, it's very specific stuff that he's quoted as saying. So if you then turn around and say: Well, we know he didn't say that; we don't know what he said, but we know he didn't say that --
MR. SNOW: I'm just telling you what he said. But here's the other thing. Here's Rich Oppel's piece --
Q You're not telling us what he said.
MR. SNOW: But I don't know exactly what he said. All I'm doing is giving you the characterization I repeated through the Ambassador. I'm trying my best to be your advocate on this one. But I did not have a direct conversation with the Ambassador -- I mean, with the Prime Minister. But it's interesting to note that you have -- violence against civilians has become a "daily phenomenon by many troops in the American-led coalition who did not respect the Iraqi people." This is gauzian in and of itself. It doesn't refer to American troops. It talks about troops in an American-led coalition, which also involves Iraqi troops. I don't know what this means. I wish I did, and I wish I could give you clearer guidance.
Q But we do know that it's favorable in terms of the relationship between Maliki and the United States?
MR. SNOW: Yes.
Q We know that there's no problem, everybody is in great shape, "Kumbaya"? (Laughter.)
MR. SNOW: No -- do you really think it's "Kumbaya"? You were talking --
Q That's what I'm asking. I'm trying to figure out what it is.
MR. SNOW: No, that is -- no, come on. You're --
Q That's the impression you're giving from the podium.
MR. SNOW: I am not giving -- when we are talking about investigations that could lead to capital prosecutions, nobody is singing "Kumbaya." And when you have --
Q And that's not what I referring to now, either, and you know that.
MR. SNOW: And when you have General Casey going in and trying to brief a Prime Minister, nobody is singing "Kumbaya." You know what they're saying? They're saying, let's figure out what the facts are and let's work together to secure peace.
Q And Tony, that referred specifically to the idea of what the Ambassador is reporting the conversation with the Prime Minister said. That's all I'm trying to figure out.
MR. SNOW: I gave you my best readout, which is, he said the Prime Minister said he was misquoted, and the Prime Minister was looking into how the misquote appeared.
Q And at some point, we will get a more accurate readout about exactly what he did mean?
MR. SNOW: Lots of luck. We will see what we can get. All right?
Q On a somewhat related issue, as Secretary Rumsfeld correctly said, our troops can get morals and ethics training. And now, after these possible massacres, General Casey has ordered additional training for all hands. Isn't that a little late? Doesn't it smack as spin control as all of this is going on?
MR. SNOW: Well, Ivan, let's do a couple of things. Number one, understand that there is a presumption of innocence in all American courts of law. Number two, let's also try to figure out what the facts are. I'm simply not going to be talking about two later -- smacks of this or smacks of that when neither you nor I has seen the evidence, neither you nor I has heard the prosecution or the defense, you nor I has seen any of the documents. That would be moral grandstanding, and I think we owe it to ourselves to figure out what the facts of the case are, and we all may be able to draw appropriate morals at the appropriate time.
Q I'm not implying guilt. What I'm asking about is the training that General Casey has ordered, if there is possible guilt, if there is possible malfeasance in the way our troops deal with civilians. Isn't that training coming on what they were --
MR. SNOW: No, because it is -- as Secretary Rumsfeld and others have pointed out, people have, from the beginning of this war, been getting training in a number of these things. And so this is not something completely new. But, obviously, there is concern, and they want to make sure that everybody, in a hard war where young men are spending a lot of time in the field of battle, make sure that they know what the proper rules and procedures are so they can do their jobs properly.
Steve.
Q But why hasn't the President been briefed on this Ishaqi case? And has there been any evidence found of wrongdoing?
MR. SNOW: As far as I -- let me just -- the last time I was briefed on it was this morning. And it was a new story. People here were just hearing about it. So I do not know whether between then and now he's been briefed on it. I just told you my most recent knowledge of what he'd been briefed on -- most recently last week by General Casey and by Secretary Rumsfeld, included Hamandiya and Haditha. So I think we're still trying to figure out what's going on there, as well.
Q So that incident is still under investigation? There's been --
MR. SNOW: What we had is General Campbell today is the one who said it was under investigation. And sometimes some of those facts, as we saw when I was doing the tick-tock yesterday, for whatever reason, it takes time for some of the information to make its way from there to here.
Q Has General Campbell indicated that there are other incidents, as well, that they're investigating --
MR. SNOW: All he said -- all I can do is give you the guidance we have, which is three investigations, period. That's what we have been told. I would refer further inquiries to the Department of Defense. But that's what we have been told by our sources over there.
Q Let's go back for a second to a conversation you just had with the Ambassador.
MR. SNOW: Yes.
Q The Prime Minister tells him that he was misquoted.
MR. SNOW: Right.
Q The next logical question for anyone to ask would be, what did you say or what did you mean? And, presumably, the Ambassador and/or General Casey asked the Prime Minister that question.
MR. SNOW: Well, you know what, what I got -- I'm trying to tell you here that, again, you're getting a translated conversation, now translated through an Ambassador to me to you. And you can ask -- I've told you everything I know.
Q Okay.
MR. SNOW: So you can try to tease out more, but there ain't any more to tease out.
Q Did you try to find out more?
MR. SNOW: Yes, absolutely I'll try to find out. Because I'll get on the horn with the Ambassador, and try to find out.
Q If I were in your position, I'd want to know -- I'd want to be able to come in here and say, okay, he said he was misquoted, one; and, two, here's what he said he meant, or here it --
MR. SNOW: Thank you for sharing what you would do if you were in my position. Let me just --
Q Just trying to be helpful.
MR. SNOW: I know. And you know what, a lot of times, again, there was an attempt -- I must say he tried to do it, and it was a complicated answer that I'm not sure he followed, all right, that had to do with somebody stopping -- again, he says -- let me not get into the -- let's just try to follow up, and we'll see what we can get you in terms of a fuller answer.
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Office of the Press Secretary
June 2, 2006
Press Briefing by Tony Snow
James S. Brady Briefing Room
Q And also can you -- have you been able to get any kind of readout on what the Prime Minister said yesterday about --
MR. SNOW: Yes. As a matter of fact, I just -- I spoke just a couple of minutes with Ambassador Khalilzad, who, today with General Casey, went over and spoke with the Prime Minister. And according to the Ambassador, the Prime Minister says he was misquoted. General Casey has said that he will inform him fully of the results of investigations when they have concluded. He filled him in on the fact that there are two separate tracks, one having to do with the timing of reporting in Haditha, and number two, on the criminal investigations.
And apparently the Prime Minister did try to sort of explain how such a characterization would be made in the press, but that is a little too complicated for me to try to read out. But in any event, they did have a meeting with him.
It's probably also important to note that, on a more general basis, a couple of propositions. Secretary Rumsfeld today said of the allegations, "We don't expect U.S. soldiers to act that way, and they're trained not to." But as I have done from this podium, and as all of us in the administration will continue to do, you're not going to be able to get specific reaction to specific charges for the simple reason that it could, in fact, get in the way of any necessary prosecution, should it become necessary, and we're not going to get ourselves embroiled in the legal process.
A couple of other points. The President has, on a number of occasions recently, expressed his admiration for Prime Minister Maliki, who seems to be a take-charge guy. We were heartened by the fact that it appears that he will be completing his cabinet and filling it out within the next few days also. But he went to Basra, which was a pretty courageous thing to do, a couple of days ago, saying, we're going to go in and we're going to take care of the security here. The Prime Minister is clearly somebody who is eager to take on the responsibilities of providing for the safety and security of the Iraqi people, and we look forward to working with him.
Q He was misquoted. Do you have a sense of what he said or meant to say?
MR. SNOW: No, I -- it was one of these things where he said at one point he was asking an unrelated question about a traffic stop, and it really does get pretty convoluted. I don't want to get myself too much into it. But he said -- what Ambassador Khalilzad did say is that he said he was misquoted and they're going to look into it. That is what Prime Minister said.
Q Can I just follow on that, Tony, because it sounds a little too neatly wrapped up.
MR. SNOW: Well, then you're going to have to take that up with the Prime Minister.
Q Well, but I assume we were taking that up with the Prime Minister. So why don't we talk about it from the U.S. government perspective.
MR. SNOW: All right.
Q Which is how does the President react to the fact that someone we had heaped praise on has fired a pretty serious shot across the bow at U.S. forces who are securing Iraq?
MR. SNOW: Well, I've just told you, David, that he said he didn't.
Q And that's it? I mean --
MR. SNOW: Yes.
Q -- he was just misquoted?
MR. SNOW: Yes.
Q So what did he -- I just want to push --
MR. SNOW: Well, again, you can feel free to push. I've tried to relay to you what was related to me by --
Q That he just didn't mean it?
MR. SNOW: No, no, not that he didn't mean it, that he didn't say it. He said he was misquoted. When somebody says they're misquoted that means --
Q What's the issue? What's the concern that U.S. officials over there are trying to deal with, then?
MR. SNOW: They're not. There are regular meetings. I think -- as you know, there are allegations of things that have gone on in Haditha, in Hamandiya and now in Ishaqi. And these things are -- these are matters --
Q But his remarks are much more general than that.
MR. SNOW: But I'm answering your question, because what I'm trying to do is to talk about the nature of the conversations between the Ambassador and General Casey and the Prime Minister. And, again, this is based on my conversation just concluded with the Ambassador. And they try to maintain regular contact about these things, and they want to make sure that he's fully informed.
Now I am sure that the Prime Minister is every bit as troubled by the allegations as the President of the United States is. And he got the full assurances from General Casey that he will be given all the evidence and all the materials available so he will know what's going on. I think that's really what's going on.
The other thing is, it seems pretty clear that Prime Minister Maliki values the contributions of American forces, but he also wants to make sure, at the earliest practicable moment, that Iraqis can stand up and take full responsibility for security within their borders. And on that, they're all working together on a daily basis.
Q So does the Ambassador and does General Casey sense that they've got some frustration in the Iraqi leadership?
MR. SNOW: No, I don't think so. As a matter of fact, this is an Iraqi leadership that's not even two weeks old. They don't sense frustration. Actually, what's interesting is that the readout I am getting on the Prime Minister -- and everybody -- they're still in that phase where they're getting to know each other -- Prime Minister Maliki is not an English speaker, he speaks Arabic, and so it's not the kind of thing where these guys have had long-standing conversations. So they're feeling each other out.
What I'm getting is just the opposite of frustration. They're impressed. They're impressed that they've got a guy who is not afraid to make decisions, who is not afraid to show leadership, and who is not afraid to put himself in some pretty difficult situations, such as making the trip down to Basra the other day.
So, no, I would wave you away from any characterization that there's frustration. What I'm hearing is, everybody is impressed and they're wishing him success and they want to see more and they want to get to know him better.
Q I'm talking about frustration on his end toward us.
MR. SNOW: No. No.
Q So we don't have a problem here with the Iraqi Prime Minister?
MR. SNOW: No. No.
Q What was misinterpreted? Surely -- you've been a reporter a long time. You just simply ask, what was the real reason that he --
MR. SNOW: Well, what I've tried to do --
Q Where does he say he was misinterpreted?
MR. SNOW: Well, unfortunately, Helen, I have just tried to -- what I'm trying is to relate to you, through Ambassador Khalilzad, through me, what was told to him through an interpreter by the Prime Minister. And it becomes a little convoluted, and so I don't want to make a real clear characterization, because it's a little hazy to me, too. All right? What I do know is that he was misquoted, he's looking into it. But that what he said, and when he said it, and in reaction to what is a little gauzy.
Q No, no, no, but what was the crux of the misinterpretation?
MR. SNOW: The crux is that he says he didn't say it, and that there was --
Q He didn't say he wants us out?
MR. SNOW: Somebody had shouted out a question about an unrelated incident, and I'm not sure I can quite follow it either.
Jim.
Q The phrase that I saw was, "a daily phenomenon." This is fairly specific stuff he's talking about. So to say, well, we know he didn't say that, when the quotes are -- it's not a generalization, it's very specific stuff that he's quoted as saying. So if you then turn around and say: Well, we know he didn't say that; we don't know what he said, but we know he didn't say that --
MR. SNOW: I'm just telling you what he said. But here's the other thing. Here's Rich Oppel's piece --
Q You're not telling us what he said.
MR. SNOW: But I don't know exactly what he said. All I'm doing is giving you the characterization I repeated through the Ambassador. I'm trying my best to be your advocate on this one. But I did not have a direct conversation with the Ambassador -- I mean, with the Prime Minister. But it's interesting to note that you have -- violence against civilians has become a "daily phenomenon by many troops in the American-led coalition who did not respect the Iraqi people." This is gauzian in and of itself. It doesn't refer to American troops. It talks about troops in an American-led coalition, which also involves Iraqi troops. I don't know what this means. I wish I did, and I wish I could give you clearer guidance.
Q But we do know that it's favorable in terms of the relationship between Maliki and the United States?
MR. SNOW: Yes.
Q We know that there's no problem, everybody is in great shape, "Kumbaya"? (Laughter.)
MR. SNOW: No -- do you really think it's "Kumbaya"? You were talking --
Q That's what I'm asking. I'm trying to figure out what it is.
MR. SNOW: No, that is -- no, come on. You're --
Q That's the impression you're giving from the podium.
MR. SNOW: I am not giving -- when we are talking about investigations that could lead to capital prosecutions, nobody is singing "Kumbaya." And when you have --
Q And that's not what I referring to now, either, and you know that.
MR. SNOW: And when you have General Casey going in and trying to brief a Prime Minister, nobody is singing "Kumbaya." You know what they're saying? They're saying, let's figure out what the facts are and let's work together to secure peace.
Q And Tony, that referred specifically to the idea of what the Ambassador is reporting the conversation with the Prime Minister said. That's all I'm trying to figure out.
MR. SNOW: I gave you my best readout, which is, he said the Prime Minister said he was misquoted, and the Prime Minister was looking into how the misquote appeared.
Q And at some point, we will get a more accurate readout about exactly what he did mean?
MR. SNOW: Lots of luck. We will see what we can get. All right?
Q On a somewhat related issue, as Secretary Rumsfeld correctly said, our troops can get morals and ethics training. And now, after these possible massacres, General Casey has ordered additional training for all hands. Isn't that a little late? Doesn't it smack as spin control as all of this is going on?
MR. SNOW: Well, Ivan, let's do a couple of things. Number one, understand that there is a presumption of innocence in all American courts of law. Number two, let's also try to figure out what the facts are. I'm simply not going to be talking about two later -- smacks of this or smacks of that when neither you nor I has seen the evidence, neither you nor I has heard the prosecution or the defense, you nor I has seen any of the documents. That would be moral grandstanding, and I think we owe it to ourselves to figure out what the facts of the case are, and we all may be able to draw appropriate morals at the appropriate time.
Q I'm not implying guilt. What I'm asking about is the training that General Casey has ordered, if there is possible guilt, if there is possible malfeasance in the way our troops deal with civilians. Isn't that training coming on what they were --
MR. SNOW: No, because it is -- as Secretary Rumsfeld and others have pointed out, people have, from the beginning of this war, been getting training in a number of these things. And so this is not something completely new. But, obviously, there is concern, and they want to make sure that everybody, in a hard war where young men are spending a lot of time in the field of battle, make sure that they know what the proper rules and procedures are so they can do their jobs properly.
Steve.
Q But why hasn't the President been briefed on this Ishaqi case? And has there been any evidence found of wrongdoing?
MR. SNOW: As far as I -- let me just -- the last time I was briefed on it was this morning. And it was a new story. People here were just hearing about it. So I do not know whether between then and now he's been briefed on it. I just told you my most recent knowledge of what he'd been briefed on -- most recently last week by General Casey and by Secretary Rumsfeld, included Hamandiya and Haditha. So I think we're still trying to figure out what's going on there, as well.
Q So that incident is still under investigation? There's been --
MR. SNOW: What we had is General Campbell today is the one who said it was under investigation. And sometimes some of those facts, as we saw when I was doing the tick-tock yesterday, for whatever reason, it takes time for some of the information to make its way from there to here.
Q Has General Campbell indicated that there are other incidents, as well, that they're investigating --
MR. SNOW: All he said -- all I can do is give you the guidance we have, which is three investigations, period. That's what we have been told. I would refer further inquiries to the Department of Defense. But that's what we have been told by our sources over there.
Q Let's go back for a second to a conversation you just had with the Ambassador.
MR. SNOW: Yes.
Q The Prime Minister tells him that he was misquoted.
MR. SNOW: Right.
Q The next logical question for anyone to ask would be, what did you say or what did you mean? And, presumably, the Ambassador and/or General Casey asked the Prime Minister that question.
MR. SNOW: Well, you know what, what I got -- I'm trying to tell you here that, again, you're getting a translated conversation, now translated through an Ambassador to me to you. And you can ask -- I've told you everything I know.
Q Okay.
MR. SNOW: So you can try to tease out more, but there ain't any more to tease out.
Q Did you try to find out more?
MR. SNOW: Yes, absolutely I'll try to find out. Because I'll get on the horn with the Ambassador, and try to find out.
Q If I were in your position, I'd want to know -- I'd want to be able to come in here and say, okay, he said he was misquoted, one; and, two, here's what he said he meant, or here it --
MR. SNOW: Thank you for sharing what you would do if you were in my position. Let me just --
Q Just trying to be helpful.
MR. SNOW: I know. And you know what, a lot of times, again, there was an attempt -- I must say he tried to do it, and it was a complicated answer that I'm not sure he followed, all right, that had to do with somebody stopping -- again, he says -- let me not get into the -- let's just try to follow up, and we'll see what we can get you in terms of a fuller answer.
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