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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 17, 2001
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
1:17 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good afternoon. I would like to fill you in on the President's
day and, also, I have a couple announcements to make.
President Bush this morning spoke with President Zayid of the United Arab
Emirates. The two spoke about cooperation against terrorism. The President
thanked President Zayid for his public statements of support and his willingness
to help the United States.
The President, earlier today, convened a meeting of his National Security
Council to continue making plans. Earlier, the President visited the Pentagon to
be briefed on the status of the call-up of the Reserves and to thank the
employers and families who we know will be making a sacrifice to allow the
Reservists to come serve our nation.
The President is about to make a phone call to the Chancellor of the New York
City public schools, Harold Levy, to discuss how the federal government is
prepared to help the school children and the parents of New York City deal with
this tragedy as children go back to school.
The Secretary of Education is with the Chancellor right now. He will be there
for the phone call and he will be making an announcement about additional
millions of dollars which will be provided to New York City public schools to
help them in this effort and to help our children and to help their parents.
A little later this afternoon, the President is going to be departing the White
House to go to an Islamic center in the Washington, D.C. area, where the
President intends to speak out very strongly about the need to remind all
Americans that Arab Americans and Muslim Americans love the American flag, just
like everybody else who is a citizen of this country. And he's looking forward
to that visit. He'll spend some time with the leaders of the community, as well
as various members of the community. The President considers that a very
important meeting.
Later this afternoon, the President will return for a meeting of the economic
policy team, where they will discuss the consequences of the terrorist attack on
the United States, from an economic point of view, as well as discuss the
airline industry and the position the airline industry is in at this moment.
Mrs. Bush will be in Pennsylvania for the memorial service for those who lost
their lives in the crash of the airline in southwest Pennsylvania.
Two announcements for you, and then I'll be more than pleased to take questions.
President Bush will welcome French President Jacques Chirac for a meeting and a
private working dinner on September 18th, tomorrow. The visit is part of
President Bush's continuing consultation with key allies about our global
agenda, including the war on terrorism. And I'd note that this was a previously
planned meeting.
In addition, the President will welcome Amir Shaiki Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
to Washington. He is the Amir of Qatar, for a working visit on October 4th. And
with that, I'm more than happy to take questions.
Q Ari, on the economic front, the President talked about working with Congress
on an economic stimulus package. Is he specifically preparing to back another
tax cut? Does he think the country needs that right now?
MR. FLEISCHER: Too soon to say, David, but the President will continue to keep
his eye on the economy, and he will continue to listen to members of Congress in
both parties about what steps, if any, they believe need to be taken to help the
economy, if any need to be taken.
Q Can you be more specific? Is that one of the ideas that's currently being
discussed, both in Congress and between Congress and the administration?
MR. FLEISCHER: That is one of the ideas being discussed, correct.
Q And what kind of tax cut? Are we talking about capital gains --
MR. FLEISCHER: No, it's too soon to say. The President will have the briefing
later this afternoon, and so I would hesitate to speculate until the briefing.
Q Let me go further. Does the administration support the bill in Congress to
provide assistance to the airline industry?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's the topic that will come up at the meeting this afternoon
-- the best forum that assistance, if any is to be coming, could be available.
So that's a topic the President will review, and he has -- he's very concerned
about the health of the airline industry.
Q Will there be a decision on either one of these matters out of this meeting?
MR. FLEISCHER: Let the meeting take place, and I'll try to keep you informed.
And, again, this is the beginning of a process where the President will keep his
eye on the economy, in the aftermath of the attack on the United States. So I'll
keep you updated.
Q The Taliban is now saying that it's Supreme Council will meet tomorrow to
discuss the U.S. demand to turn over bin Laden. What's the administration's
response to that? What are you looking for out of that?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President's response will be, he will see what they say. But
this is much bigger than that. The President has made it clear, the Vice
President has made it clear, the Secretary of Defense has made it clear that
this war on terrorism is bigger than any one person. The al Qaeda organization
is a network that is represented in some 60 countries around the world, that
exists beyond any one leader. And this war on terrorism is a war that the
President said he is committed to taking throughout this organization that
engaged in this attack on our country.
Q And the Pakistani officials are saying that they told Afghan leaders, the
Taliban, they had 72 hours to turn over bin Laden. Is that a U.S.-sponsored
deadline?
MR. FLEISCHER: Anything involving, any specific actions that may or may not have
been taken by our allies in this matter, I'm not going to get into. And let me
try to shed a little light on the reason for that, because there have been many
questions about what have you asked your allies to do, and I've indicated the
broad areas.
We've asked our allies to cooperate with us in military areas, in financial
areas, in economic areas, in political and diplomatic. And I understand why you
want to know more. But for me to indicate to you anything more than that would
also be an indication to our enemy about what concrete steps allies may be
taking. And one of the easiest ways for them to get around any steps our allies
may be taking is for them to know about them.
So I wish somehow there was a way that I could share this information with
people here and with the American people. But, as you know, any answer I would
give to that would also be directly provided to our enemy. And I will not do
that.
Q Ari, two things. One is, we're hearing reports of an American airliner that
had to make an emergency landing in Chicago today. The FBI came on board,
apparently, and took away three gentlemen. What kind of state of alert is the
White House had, and law enforcement, about people who may still be flying, that
may be a danger? And, secondly, has the President rescinded the order for the
military to shoot down commercial airliners, if necessary?
MR. FLEISCHER: On the second point, I'm not going to address the exact status of
the defense operations to protect the American people. Suffice it to say the
United States remains on a very heightened status of alert to protect the
traveling public. But that's an operational question so, therefore, I'm not
going to get beyond what I have said.
On the first part of it, the President has tried every day in every way to warn
the American people that this is a war and we are an open society. Obviously,
the events of September 11th, a terrorist organization was able to penetrate our
country and to attack. And being an open society, everybody does still need to
be vigilant; people still need to take care and to remember that we are in a war
footing. And it is a different time and a different era, unfortunately.
Q Does law enforcement, Ari, in the United States, does law enforcement believe
that there may be a number of suspects still at large in the U.S. that may have
participated in the Tuesday attack and may be planning future attacks?
MR. FLEISCHER: Concerns remain dealing with ongoing security. And that's why I
think you've seen steps that are being taken by the Department of
Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, to do everything possible
to secure the traveling public, particularly in the air. So there's a reason for
the stepped-up vigilance and for the stepped-up security. It's because there are
causes for concern that remain.
Q There's a news report today that there's a division among the President's
advisors about whether or how much to help the airline industry. As the
President goes into this meeting, what is the current thinking about that? And
is ironing this out one of the purposes of the meeting?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think, as you can imagine in any major issue where it
involves the health of an American industry, there are lots of factors that need
to get considered. And the President will have a good opportunity today to start
to address what the facts are. And as I indicated earlier, the meeting hasn't
taken place yet. It will take place mid-to-late this afternoon, and you may want
to check back with me after that.
Q Ari, the IMF cancelled their meetings today, and the Emir of Qatar is coming.
Do you think the WTO ministerial should proceed as planned?
MR. FLEISCHER: I have no information about that. That, of course, is in Qatar
and that's an entirely different security situation. So you can't put everything
in the same category. Of course, the meeting that was cancelled is right here in
Washington, D.C., and that meeting would have involved bringing down police from
New York, bringing down police from Philadelphia. Obviously, there is a major
strain on the police departments along the east coast and they've made their
decision.
Helen.
Q What items on the President's legislative agenda are now on the back burner,
shelved for the year?
MR. FLEISCHER: None. It was interesting -- none. It was interesting, at the
meeting last week with the Cabinet, the meeting of the Cabinet was called for
the purpose of discussing what the Cabinet members, again, in collecting
information from Cabinet Secretaries about the status of combatting the attack
on our country and dealing with it. At the end of the meeting, however, the
President called on all the members of the Cabinet to take action on our
domestic agenda.
The President reminded them that a patients' bill of rights remains important;
that there are a series of initiatives that are pending up on the Hill that
remain important. And he called on them to get done, including education reform,
which the President reminded them remains a top priority domestically.
Q He doesn't expect to get it, surely?
MR. FLEISCHER: You know, Helen, I think it's interesting, the Congress still has
a job to do and we still are a constitutional system and that's what has kept us
strong and that's what is going to enable us to win. So there is a domestic
agenda, the President is committed to it. I think it's fair to say that you'll
hear less about it because of the dominance, obviously, of dealing with an
attack on our country.
But the President told the Cabinet members to be dedicated to it and members of
our staff are.
Q A couple of times in the past two or three days the President has talked about
the need to rebuild New York, the need to do it as quickly as possible. It is
his opinion that the World Trade Center, or something similar to it, should be
rebuilt?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think it's too soon to say, John. And that's the type of
conversation the President is going to want to have with New York officials and,
of course, with the many private organizations who are headquarter in the World
Trade Center.
But, obviously, the President has a real keen eye out for how to help New York
and how to bring New York -- rebuild New York. But what form that will take,
it's too soon to say, this is six days after the attack.
Q But is he of the mind, though, that if you did not rebuild that building, or a
reasonable facsimile thereof, that it would be bowing to the terrorists?
MR. FLEISCHER: No. I think, again, the President is going to have serious
discussions at the appropriate time with the Mayor of New York, with the
Governor of New York, with the appropriate people who are responsible for such
an endeavor. But what the President is making clear is not only for the
symbolism of rebuilding New York in the wake of attack, but for the humanity of
it and for the deserving nature of helping New York, he is intent to get it
done.
Q Can I just follow up on Helen's question. The President would like those
issues addressed this year, patients' rights, education and everything that was
on the plate, trade promotion authority, still this year?
MR. FLEISCHER: That was his charge to the Cabinet members.
Q Now, wouldn't that foster some disunity on the Hill? I mean, a lot of those
are very contentious issues and he's looking for a united Congress.
MR. FLEISCHER: You know, Keith, I guess that's one way to look at it. I don't
think that's the way the President looks at it. And I think that in the wake of
this there is a different mood in the Congress, and in the Presidency about
working with each other and cooperating with each other. So I've made no such
presumption. The issue should be, proceed with the people's business on the
domestic front and work together.
Q Can you give us any kind of summary about the Pentagon meeting the President
had today?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President received an update about the status of the call up
of the Reserves, the number of people involved, the activities that they will be
working in. The President, of course, listed many of those activities -- you
heard him, himself, when he was talking about engineering roles, he went through
-- protecting the harbors. He went through the whole list of activities which
the Reserves are helping in. And also talked about the employers and the
families, the difficulty that a call-up can impose on them. And the President
expressed his gratitude for those who provide such a vital service.
It's interesting because the Reserves really do play a tremendous role in our
nation's ability to defend itself. It's not a passive role, it's not a small
role -- it's an integral role. And that's what they talked about.
Q Ari, you know the eyes of the world are on Wall Street today. It's been closed
for six days, after the terrorist incident. Is the President being appraised --
I know Secretary O'Neill was over there for the opening, but is the President
being appraised continually of the behavior of the markets, not just the
averages?
MR. FLEISCHER: You know, I did not ask him when we went over to the Pentagon if
he was aware what stocks were trading at, at that moment. But, of course, the
President is keenly aware of the first day of the markets opening, and the
importance of the markets working and functioning. It's a terribly important
topic. That's why Secretary O'Neill has been so involved in it and will continue
to be.
Q Will he be at the meeting this afternoon, the economic meeting?
MR. FLEISCHER: Secretary O'Neill? I believe the meeting is of the White House
staff that works with all the Cabinet Secretaries. But, again, the meeting will
be in a couple of hours.
Q Ari, can you elaborate a little bit on the President's remarks today about
wanted dead or alive? I mean, could you explain his intent? Is he essentially
issuing an appeal for anyone to hunt down and possibly kill bin Laden?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't think you can elaborate. I think they were pretty plainly
spoken.
Q How about in addition to that, then, if we want to go through the same
imagery, is there any consideration of a federal bounty, a reward?
MR. FLEISCHER: There's nothing that I've heard about like that.
Q To follow up on that, yesterday afternoon the President used the term, find
the perpetrators and bringing them to justice. Was he talking about a form of
justice in which you police, the international community polices, brings them to
an international sense of justice in terms of judicial justice, or is he talking
about specifically just military strikes, obliteration?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, and the President said that again today, he said that
remark in the context of justice. He added that, as you heard, in his comments.
I think that justice comes in many different shapes and forms. And the President
has stressed his opinion about a couple of those different shapes and forms that
it could come in.
Q The comments that the President and his senior advisors have made about the
increased security, the increased awareness that we will have to follow now have
been careful to note that we don't want this country's freedoms to be eroded by
the terrorist attack, we want to remain America. And, yet, the presence of five
or four Middle East nationals on a domestic flight is exceptionally rare.
Are the rules different for non-Americans? Should that trigger now questions --
Middle East nationals on domestic flights in large numbers, should that trigger
questions? And are non-Americans in this heightened sense, this more aware time,
to undergo more close scrutiny than members of the Arab American community --
non-Americans to undergo more scrutiny than they did in the past?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think when you look at the fact that there are lines,
sometimes people are told to get to their flights four hours early, that way
they can all go through the same security review, I think it's perfectly clear
that these provisions apply to one and to all. As a matter of law enforcement,
anybody who is believed to be violating the laws of the United States will be
held accountable and responsible. And the laws target law-breakers.
Q -- whether we can be more focused on non-Americans in this time. I'm trying
not to get to profiling; I'm trying not to get to the diminution of civil
liberties. But is the scrutiny more on non-Americans than it can be on
Americans?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think the scrutiny is on those who violate the law. And
whether that's in the form of immigration, whether it's in the form of anything
else that would give the law enforcement community reason to believe that there
are threats. But I remind you, again, that the precautions that have been put in
place apply to one and to all.
And, again, the President -- also, there's a reminder here when he goes to the
mosque this afternoon that it still is a time to remind all Americans about the
role of civil justice in our society, about the role we all play as individuals
in treating our neighbors fairly and in making no presumptions about guilt. And
that's one of the reasons the President is going. He wants to stand shoulder to
shoulder with the American Arab community and Muslims to say that they, too, are
patriots and they, too, are victims of this attack.
Q But, Ari, one of the hijackers was an American.
MR. FLEISCHER: And I repeat my answer: law enforcement will target those who
break the law.
Q Ari, on the issue of bringing -- potentially bringing someone like Osama bin
Laden to justice, he's already under indictment in New York. Does the President
believe that it's, as a security matter, that it's even possible to try Osama
bin Laden in the United States, particularly in New York? Does he think a trial
is even a viable option?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think we'll just have to see what steps unfold and in what
manner this is dealt with.
Q Does he want him tried, or does he want him --
MR. FLEISCHER: As the President said, dead or alive.
Q Right, but this is not a hypothetical. I mean, he's under indictment in New
York, currently. If he were to be produced, there's a real question, if you talk
to former prosecutors, current prosecutors about the ability of the United
States to even try such a person, to secure a courthouse, to be able to put
somebody like that on trial --
MR. FLEISCHER: David, I hope the United States has to deal with this. I hope the
United States has to face the fact that Osama bin Laden is found, either dead or
alive, and then it's a question we will actively have to deal with. Until that
time, I'm not going to speculate about any trials in the United States. I just
refer you to the words of the President and the words of the Vice President on
this very specific matter.
Q I'm not asking for details, but has the President settled on a course of
action, or is that still under debate within the administration?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to discuss the timing of
it --
Q That's not the question. Has he settled on --
MR. FLEISCHER: To answer that could be a clue that something could be imminent
or it could be a long time from now. So I'm not going to get into giving status
reports on the President's decision-making process.
Q Ari, when the President said, "wanted dead or alive," did he have a preference
as to whether -- (laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: I did not hear him express any preference.
Q Ari, has the President, vis-a-vis the "dead or alive" comment, has the
President lifted the directive that forbids the use of assassination?
MR. FLEISCHER: That directive is in effect. And I also want to add that it does
not limit the United States' ability to act in its self-defense.
Q -- has been interpreted to limit our ability to target a specific individual
at a specific time?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'll just refer you to my words. It is in effect, but it does not
limit America's ability to act in self-defense.
Q Are you saying we haven't prohibited assassination?
MR. FLEISCHER: I've answered the question in the context in which it was asked.
Q Can we follow?
Q Let me follow up on that point. You said it doesn't limit the U.S. ability to
act in self-defense. Does going after a prime -- going after someone who we
believe is responsible or behind the Trade Center fall under that directive? Is
that an act of self-defense?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm just going to repeat my words, and others will figure out the
exact implications of them. But it does not inhibit the nation's ability to act
in self-defense.
Q Can you give us a copy of that order?
Q Would going after bin Laden be an act of self-defense?
MR. FLEISCHER: This is a legal matter and I'm sure the lawyers will have more to
say if they want to. But that's the answer, Ron. It does not -- the executive
order does not limit the United States' ability to act in self-defense.
Q And is going after bin Laden an act of self-defense?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to define all the steps that may or may not be
taken.
Q Ari, we like to think of ourselves as a civilized world, so why does the
administration feel that it is appropriate to encourage, globally, people to go
kill someone else?
MR. FLEISCHER: Jean, our nation has been attacked and we're at war, and to win a
war it is vital for the United States to engage in it. And, unfortunately,
having had the first blow taken at our nation, our nation will defend itself.
And defending itself means acts which involve the lives of others. We will
defend ourself. And the United States will act in self-defense, and that is why.
Q The President's visit to the Islamic center you mentioned has an important
domestic purpose. Does it have an international purpose, as well? How concerned
is the President that in defending ourselves we could ignite, not among the
government of the region, but among the people of the region, a kind of
religious conflict, a holy war?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think it's fair to say that any actions the President
takes domestically have international repercussions. The world is looking to us
to see how we react to the fight against terrorism. The world will follow
America's lead in many cases. And we will continue to work directly with many of
those other nations.
But I remind you, also, Terry, that many of those nations have their own threats
from within and they have to ask themselves if they fail to act against
terrorism, will that further embolden the terrorists and send a signal that they
can get away with more?
Q But is there a concern that this could degenerate into a conflict, not between
terrorism and civilization, but between Islam and Christianity?
MR. FLEISCHER: This attack had nothing to do with Islam. This attack was a
perversion of Islam.
Q Ari, if you could just come back to the coalition you're trying to put
together here -- and the President has used that phrase a few times. How does
this differ from the kind of coalitions put together in the Persian Gulf time?
Do you envision a different role for, say, the close and traditional allies, the
NATO allies, and then, obviously, this other group that you are going to -- who
tend to be, in large cases, either Arab states or states that encircle
Afghanistan?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think that's a very good question. The biggest difference is
while the United States is talking to coalition allies and asking for various
things, the war to be fought is a very different war. In 1991, the Persian Gulf
War was much more a traditional war. It involved a lengthy period of aerial
attacks on Iraq, as part of a broad coalition, followed by a ground force
invasion of Iraq, organized by a large coalition of nations, including Arab
nations, in that case.
What is different in this war, as the President has said, as the Vice President
has said, as the Secretary of Defense said yesterday on one of the shows, is a
war on terrorism does not involve those traditional targets. There may be some
elements of that, but there will be some things that don't involve overt
military action of that nature.
And what that means is that some nations are going to contribute in ways more
identical to 1991. Others are going to contribute in ways that are much more
limited, but they have real contributions to make on that front, on the
political front, on the diplomatic front, on the financial front. So different
nations will contribute in different ways. But just because one nation
contributes more or less doesn't make them any more or less an important part of
the coalition.
Q Ari, can you clarify one thing for me? Going back to this "dead or alive," the
Vice President said yesterday that he wouldn't mind seeing Osama bin Laden dead,
but that he would have to consult more with the White House lawyers. Is the
description that you gave us based on a recent interpretation by the White House
legal counsel staff as recently as yesterday? Or is this the standing policy of
this administration? Can you clarify --
MR. FLEISCHER: I couldn't tell you the exact genesis, the date of that. But that
is the policy.
Q Two-part. The President does not want the State Department to keep pressuring
Israel to negotiate with Arafat, does he, since that would be to tell Israel, do
as we say, not as we are preparing to do?
MR. FLEISCHER: You know, I've thought about this a lot, and they really are very
different circumstances. In the case of Israel, and the situation there, you
have a lengthy process that was involved in bringing the partners together,
toward peace, a process that both have committed themselves to. So the President
does see here an opportunity to help address the problems of the Middle East,
and he does believe that the patterns in the Middle East need to rededicate
themselves to the Mitchell Accords and to the peace process.
Q The Baltimore Sun reports that radio stations in Washington and Baltimore and
elsewhere owned by Maryland multi-millionaire Kathy Hughes are, "broadcasting
African-Americans either endorsing or excusing the acts of terrorists who took
thousands of lives and who are expressing sympathy with both bin Laden and the
Palestinians."
And my question is, does the President, who stated, we are at war, believe it
would be wrong for the FCC, which already take action on pornography, to contact
Mrs. Hughes? Or does the President believe we were wrong after another war to
send to federal prison Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose?
MR. FLEISCHER: I have not heard these reports, so I'm not going to comment on
things that I have not --
Q Well, they were in the Baltimore Sun.
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to comment on things that I haven't heard. But if
you have anything that would demonstrate that, I'd be interested to see it.
Q Two questions. There was a wire report that Berlusconi said he had talked to
the White House or the President about a
G-8 meeting here, sounding somewhat imminent, and that the White House has
agreed to it. Do you know anything about that?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, there's nothing. I think there was some conversation, I saw a
report on the wire that someone is proposing a G-8 meeting on the ministerial
level, but I don't know what the status of that is. That's something that,
obviously, if it's ministerial, it's Treasury.
Q What about at the leader level?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, there just was a G-8 meeting and I don't anticipate any
upcoming ones, other than previously scheduled.
Q The President, in his remarks at the Pentagon, used some fairly graphic
language talking about the terrorists slitting the throat of a woman who was on
one of the planes. Is he talking about a specific incident or was it imagery or
what --
MR. FLEISCHER: You know, I have not talked to the President since he said that,
but I know I'm aware of public reports involving things that were said on cell
phones with passengers on the flight in southwest Pennsylvania.
Q So there wasn't something -- I mean, do you know which flight he was talking
about or was this just general --
MR. FLEISCHER: I just indicated. I just said.
Q But it's based on press reports?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I indicated I haven't talked to the President to see beyond
that. But you all have heard those same reports.
Q On the meeting this afternoon with the economic team, when you said that
they're considering what steps, if any, to consider in the way of an economic
stimulus package, is it possible the administration might be considering the
appropriateness of encouraging proposals to encourage the sell-off of assets at
a time when, in fact, there is a concern about major sell-offs?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, I think you have to let the meeting take place and
see what information is presented to the President and what his reflections are.
I'll be there; I'll do my best to give you some type of information.
Q Ari, speaking of civilized nations and religion, America heeded the call that
President Bush gave this week, talking about going to the church house or going
to the place of worship and praying. Many of those who prayed this week were
praying to prevent war. What does the President, who is a devout Christian, say
to these people as they're praying that there is no more bloodshed?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think that, also, is a great question. I've thought about that
a lot, as somebody who works here, frankly. And I just think it's really -- it
has to be said, but it's unfortunate to say -- that one of the reasons all of us
are here and enjoy what we do and have the lifestyles we lead is because
somebody in a generation before answered the call. And, unfortunately, in our
history, there has been a call to war at times. And it's a call that a
peace-loving nation and a free nation like the United States never -- ever --
wants to get involved in or answer.
But make no mistake: the United States has been attacked, and the United States
will answer the call.
Q The Bible says, turn the other cheek.
MR. FLEISCHER: This nation will be defended. That way, we can have a Bible to
continue to live by and to listen to, as well as a Koran, or as well as
everybody else who comes to this country so we can protect their way of life.
Q Ari, just a few days ago, the President talked about Osama bin Laden as a
suspect. What has happened in the past few days to bring a finer point on his
sense that this is the perpetrator and that this is the person who is
responsible, and this is what he wants to tell the American people?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I can't share that information with you, of course, and
that deals with anything that would involve how the United States has learned
information. If I were to answer that question, that would be information our
enemy would love to have about how we get the information we get.
Q Just to clarify, this is what the President wants to tell the American people,
that this is the mastermind of this, this is the person who is responsible, and
that he is worth, dead or alive, rather than being brought to a court of
justice?
MR. FLEISCHER: People have asked him questions, and he's answered them. People
have said, is Osama bin Laden a suspect, and he's answered your questions
directly. But this is why I caution you that, ask away on the topic of Osama bin
Laden -- but that is not all this is about. This is about something so much
bigger and broader than any one person. And as I think the Vice President could
not have made it plainer yesterday, that if Osama bin Laden was dead, this war
would continue on, because it does not stop with him.
Q Ari, does the President consider the possibility that by declaring these acts
of war, he might prevent some of the businesses in the New York area that were
harmed from collecting on insurance? Is there any contingency plan, perhaps, to
help those businesses out if they have catastrophe insurance, but cannot collect
because this was deemed an act of war?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, number one, the President has called this an act of war
because it is, and our nation previously has dealt with the consequences of acts
of war. And as a result of our dealing with those consequences, we've led the
world every time. We will do so again. But there are economic implications
to
all of this, and that's one of the reasons the President is meeting today with
his economic team.
But, fundamentally, the President knows that America is a nation of patriots.
And as he said today at the Pentagon, corporations have to pay more attention to
just the bottom line, to profits and losses. He said that in the context of
those who allow the Reservists to come up. But everybody in this country is
going to be asked to chip in, in one way or another.
Q Ari, is the Vice President, personally, taking part in the NSC meeting here at
the White House today? Was he there? Was he present?
MR. FLEISCHER: That was earlier this morning, and he did.
Q He was here?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes.
Q Ari, going back to the President's trip to Islamic center. There have been
some incidents of Indian Sikhs and Indian Muslims were also under attack. And
one Sikh was shot dead in Phoenix, and other -- now, also the Prime Minister of
India called President Bush. They spoke on the phone yesterday. So could you
share their conversation and what the President is going to take action against
those -- Indian Sikhs who look like Osama bin Laden?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, the President spoke with President Vajpayee yesterday, and
it's just another reminder that everybody in this country is an immigrant here,
and everybody may have come at a different time and from a different place. But
for this President, it doesn't matter how recently you've been here, everyone
here is just as American as the next.
And I think at a time like this, it's incumbent on leaders -- and that's why he
is going to go to the Islamic Center today -- to say that to the American
people. I indicated earlier that in several of the private meetings I've been in
with the President and, for example, at the meeting with those who represented
New York and Virginia and Pennsylvania, the areas that were hit, the President
said, it is your job as leaders to go out and remind people that all of us have
to speak out and remind Americans not to act violently toward our fellow
citizens just because of their ethnicity or the color of their skin.
Q Just to follow, I'm sorry, almost every Hindu temple around the country,
including this area, they've been having prayers and they are sending message to
President Bush that they are united and they are with the American people,
including yesterday. The Indian Ambassador, he spoke clearly that India is with
the United States. And tomorrow, all over India, they will observe prayers for
the victims in New York and Washington.
MR. FLEISCHER: And I can report to you, the President, he has noted this and
he's been touched by it. I've heard the President comment about the prayers and
the candle-lightings around the world, the fact that the American National
Anthem was sung at the Elysee. And these are powerful signals that the world is
sending as the world stands as one.
Q Ari, just a couple weeks ago the U.S. government was condemning Israel for
hunting down and killing people that they said were terrorists, they said they
were acting in their self-defense, that a war had been declared on them. And we
were saying that was wrong. Now it seems that we're making the exact same
argument the Israelis were. Has the U.S. changed its position on this?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, that's basically Les's first question. The difference clearly
is that the two parties there had pledged to each other and to the United States
to engage in a peace process. That process has begun, and when the two parties
are committed to that peace process, the President believes the best course is
to help them and urge them to honor that peace process.
I don't think there's any peace process that was ever begun between those who
committed this act and the United States.
Thank you, everybody.
END 2:00 P.M. EDT