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 Press Briefing 06/26/06 (Q Topic: New York Times) — Monday, June 26, 2006 — MR. SNOW: I don't think so, no. No, I don't think so. It's a very good question. No, if The New York Times decides that it is going to try to assume responsibility for determining which classified secrets remain classified and which don't, it ought to accept some of the obligations of that responsibility; it ought to be able to take the heat, as well. So the administration certainly is going to lay out its concerns and what it may mean for the safety of the American people and the integrity of the process of developing intelligence that can permit us to track down terrorists and prevent them from killing again. That's what this is all about. It's about what we can do in a time of war. Traditionally in this country in a time of war, members of the press have acknowledged that the Commander-in-Chief, in the exercise of his powers, sometimes has to do things secretly in order to protect the public. This is a highly unusual departure. It's interesting, The Times, talking about this being a -- this program having been a departure from previous banking efforts. This is also a departure from long-standing traditions here in the United States. So it is -- it's not designed to have a chilling effect. I think what it's -- if The New York Times wants a spirited debate about it, it's got it. But, certainly, nobody is going to deny First Amendment rights. But The New York Times and other news organizations ought to think long and hard about whether a public's right to know, in some cases, might overwrite somebody's right to live, and whether, in fact, the publications of these could place in jeopardy the safety of fellow Americans. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | SWIFT | New York Times >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:08:00 PM  Press Briefing 06/23/06 (Q Topic: Banking Transaction Monitoring) — Friday, June 23, 2006 — MR. SNOW: I think what you've done is just reveal the lens through which you're looking at it, which is suspicious, skeptical, and doesn't seem to understand that the word "terrorist" has real meaning, and furthermore, that somebody does have to have stated legal reasons and evidence to support it to enter the database. I would suggest going back and actually reading more carefully the stories, because they do not convey the dark impression you try to convey in the question. Q But you're not conveying the legality of it. That's the question here. MR. SNOW: I'm not a lawyer, so I would suggest, if you want to get into the legal issues, talk to the Treasury Department lawyers and also to the legal -- Q We're asking you. MR. SNOW: I know, but I'm not a lawyer, Helen, and, frankly -- Q You don't have to be a lawyer, you should have just gotten the information from inside, as to what they base it on. MR. SNOW: Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Bank Transactions >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 9:59:00 PM Press Briefing by National Security Advisor Steve Hadley (Q Topic: WMD) — Thursday, June 22, 2006 — MR. HADLEY: I think really it is what it is. There's a declassified, I think one-pager, that the intelligence community has cleared. I don't know whether that's been released to the press. Q It has, yes, it has. MR. HADLEY: That's really the story, I think. And I don't have a whole lot to add. It sort of, it is what it is. And I think -- I read that statement quickly last night and it's really all we can say about it. And I think people are going to have to draw their own conclusions. But the bottom line is, 500 chemical munitions in Iraq, and obviously we're concerned about the potential threat they pose to Iraqis and to our forces. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | News Media | Bush Administration | Iraq | WMD >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:20:00 PM Press Briefing by Judy Ansley, NSA Senior Director for European Affairs and Faryar Shirzad, NSA Deputy National Security Advisor (Q Topic: Guantanamo) — Wednesday, June 21, 2006 — MS. ANSLEY: Yes. Satisfied might not be the right answer. I think that they understood his reasoning. I think that might be a more accurate way of describing it. They understand that there are people in Guantanamo that are dangerous. They would like for them to be tried. The President explained that he would also like to bring these people to justice, to have them in courts. He explained to them that he has to await the Supreme Court decision for the forum before which they would be tried. And they seem to understand his rationale, that he wants to do that, as well. He also explained that we're trying to return these people to their home countries. In some cases, that's problematic because we want to ensure that they go back to countries where they will not be mistreated. Q They didn't break any new ground in terms of -- MS. ANSLEY: It was really -- Q -- commitments to -- it was a restatement of -- MS. ANSLEY: No, it was really a restatement and explanation to these particular leaders of what the policy is. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | News Media | Bush Administration | Guantanamo >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:18:00 PM Press Gaggle 06/20/06 (Q Topic: North Korea) Q Can you elaborate a little bit more of what kinds of consequences North Korea might face if they do test fire this missile? MR. SNOW: No. I'll restate what I've been saying the last few days, which is it's our hope that there is no missile firing. North Korea made a commitment back in 1999 at a summit with the Japanese that they wouldn't do it, and certainly there are many options and we are simply not going to tip our hand as to what the possible response should be. The other thing to keep in mind is it's not us and North Korea. Anything that happens is going to be part of sort of joint operations, if you will, or joint negotiations with the other five nations, or the other four nations that are involved with us in dealing with North Korea in the six-party talks. So we don't want to be drawn into any perception that somehow it's the United States responding solely and unilaterally to anything the North Koreans may do. Q But, obviously, you bring up the notion of consequences to try and give them, you know, a nudge away from taking this action. So how does that really have teeth if you don't talk about what that means? MR. SNOW: Doesn't mean they don't hear it, just means you don't. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | North Korea >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 1:17:00 AM Press Gaggle 06/19/06 (Q Topic: Iran) — Tuesday, June 20, 2006 — MR. SNOW: No, actually it's -- one of the good things so far is that the EU3 have remained firm and also the Chinese, as well -- what you have is -- I'm sorry, the Russians, as well. No, at this point it's not that they're getting wobbly, it's just simply teeing up what is going to be a topic of conversation and of interest, obviously, to the EU. No, the Eu, as you know, was the first to lead the negotiations with Iran and the President is grateful for that and happy to be able to try to assist. Q Solidifying support or -- MR. SNOW: Well, the support is solid. It's really not -- Q What's the message? MR. SNOW: The message is -- look, it's also part of the democracy template, trying to secure democracy in the region, trying to make sure that external threats do not become a problem and a complication. I mean, you'll hear it in the speech -- real soon, as a matter of fact. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Iran >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 12:16:00 AM Press Briefing 06/15/06 (Q Topic: World Cup) — Thursday, June 15, 2006 — MR. SNOW: Yeah, that may be light to you, but it's serious business for a lot of people. Q Millions of people around the world are watching, are obsessed with it. They consider it in many ways a war substitute between nations. Other than the President's phone call to the ill-fated American team, is anybody here paying attention to it? MR. SNOW: Well, wait a minute. Ill-fated American team? They've got a big match against Italy coming up. Come on. It ain't over 'til it's over. Look, it's sporting events, and the President follows sports. And, obviously, soccer is more popular in other countries than it is in the United States, but it got a pretty good constituency. It's been playing up in our office today. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | World Cup | Soccer | Football | USA vs Italy >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:15:00 PM Press Conference of the President (Q Topic: Iraq War) Q Thank you, Mr. President. Yesterday while you were gone, Senator Kerry, who was your challenger in the last election -- THE PRESIDENT: I remember that. Q You remember that. (Laughter.) He said he now regrets his votes on the war. And, actually, I think Senator Clinton at the same meeting, actually heard some boos when she said that she did not support a timetable for withdrawal. Do you see, as some of your critics do, a parallel between what's going on in Iraq now and Vietnam? THE PRESIDENT: No. Q Why? THE PRESIDENT: Because there's a duly-elected government; 12 million people voted. They said, we want something different from tyranny, we want to live in a free society. And not only did they vote for a government, they voted for a constitution. Obviously, there is sectarian violence, but this is, in many ways, religious in nature, and I don't see the parallels. You know, look -- I thought you were going to ask, do I regret what I did. Absolutely not. I made the right decision in Iraq. It's the right thing to get rid of Saddam Hussein. And now it's the right thing to stand with this government when they build a new democracy. And I reminded the Iraqi people, their democracy doesn't have to look like us. It's their country, and the government ought to reflect their traditions and their history. All we expect is people to be treated with respect and there to be self-governance in a way that tolerates differences of opinion. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Dana Perino | News Media | Bush Administration | Iraq >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 1:41:00 AM Press Gaggle 06/09/06 (Q Topic: Zarqawi) — Friday, June 09, 2006 — MS. PERINO: I haven't heard anyone express it either way. He's dead now, so -- White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Dana Perino | News Media | Bush Administration | Zarqawi >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 11:04:00 PM Press Briefing 06/08/06 — Thursday, June 08, 2006 — MR. SNOW: And Baghdad is -- you've got four provinces where violence is a significant problem. Baghdad proper is one of them. Al-Anbar is one. You know -- and so, absolutely, it's tough to get out and around in those places. On the other hand, if you've had people who have been in Kurdish areas, who are vacationing there, for heaven sakes, literally vacationing. So it's -- again, I don't want to be a Pollyanna about this, but there have been significant successes in various portions of the country. There have also been cases where we've succeeded in cleaning out a place, and then over time, bad guys come back. We understand that. But it is worth noting that it is not all unrelieved gloom and doom, and it is possible for someone to paint a picture of a place being in total chaos simply by detonating a single bomb. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Iraq Security >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:02:00 PM Press Gaggle 06/07/06 — Wednesday, June 07, 2006 — MR. SNOW: Well, he's happy that Brian Bilbray won. Look, it was a close and tight race all along. But it's also interesting to note that in a case like this, everybody was trying to look for a bellwether. I think a lot of critics were hoping that this would be a kind of bellwether so that they could say that the Republican Party and the presidency were in peril. And they clearly -- their hopes were clearly frustrated. Q So not a bellwether, then? MR. SNOW: No, it was a tight race. It was a race that in many ways was governed by a series of local issues and it was a tough race for Republicans. Here you had Duke Cunningham having to leave Congress; and you had Brian Bilbray, whose activities as a lobbyist had been brought up as a campaign issue; and having missed votes while traveling had been an issue. That's a tough election. And, furthermore, one of the things we've noticed in looking at polling in recent weeks is that people who stick with the President on immigration, on the issue, that tends to be attractive over the long run when people hear about comprehensive reform. Representative Bilbray didn't support that -- nevertheless, we congratulate him on his victory. It was a tough race. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Bilbray >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:26:00 PM Press Briefing 06/06/06 — Tuesday, June 06, 2006 — MR. SNOW: We are not commenting at this point on any of the characterizations of the incentives or the disincentives. I'll repeat the central point, which is if the Iranians agree to suspend enrichment related and reprocessing activities, then we'll be able to discuss more openly what the incentives are, and we certainly hope that that's the case. Q All these words are saying it means really nothing until they say, okay, we're suspending, we're ready to talk. MR. SNOW: That's correct. I think at this point the Iranians are now just beginning to have a glance at the offers -- "offer" is the wrong term -- at the incentives and disincentives packages that have been offered them. And I would expect there to be a series of comments and characterizations over the next few days. It's obvious, and I think it is heartening that they will be taking them seriously. Q Without characterizing the incentives that are already on the table, can you say whether the United States would be willing to put more on the table? MR. SNOW: No, I'm not going to negotiate, even from Air Force One. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Iran >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:33:00 PM Press Briefing 06/05/06 — Monday, June 05, 2006 — MR. SNOW: It's more a love affair than an obsession, Lester. (Laughter.) Q Very good, Tony. Good. (Laughter.) Q I salute you. (Laughter.) White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 11:19:00 PM Press Briefing 06/02/06 — Friday, June 02, 2006 — MR. SNOW: First thing is -- do I have comments about -- you're asking me, April, about things that I have not seen, both the comments about my comments, and the book. Q Trust me, it's a fact. MR. SNOW: All right, well, come and share them with me, and I'll respond. Q Well, why can't you respond now, on the record? MR. SNOW: Because I can't respond to things I haven't seen. Q Timothy P. Carney is coming out with a book -- MR. SNOW: I understand that. Let me look at the book, let me look at the allegations. Q We've already -- my network has already published and put out for our listeners to hear his comments about immigration -- MR. SNOW: I understand, but you're asking me to respond -- April, I can't help you. I haven't seen it. Q You haven't been able to help me since you've been here. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Immigration >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:19:00 PM Press Briefing 06/01/06 — Thursday, June 01, 2006 — MR. SNOW: Thank you. (The press all sing "Happy Birthday" to Tony.) White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration >> Full Story
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 11:54:00 PM
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