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 A Full Panoply of Tactics - White House Press Briefing by Scott Stanzel 1/9/09 — Friday, January 09, 2009 —  Q The administration has been boasting about the success of the President's war on terror, yet data compiled by the RAND Corporation show that the global rate of terrorism, as measured by the number of people killed per year, increased by almost fivefold during the Bush presidency. And according to the government's own terrorism statistics, 2007 was the worst year ever, with over 22,000 people killed worldwide. Does the President consider that record a success? MR. STANZEL: The President considers it very much a success that we have kept this nation safe since the devastating attacks of 9/11. The magnitude of the attacks on 9/11 were unprecedented, unseen, when 19 individuals armed with box cutters flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and were fought and died in a field in Pennsylvania. We have taken the fight to the terrorists. It has been this President's sole mission throughout his presidency to confront those threats where they are. He has a much talked about Bush Doctrine. The President has made it very clear that if you aid, abet, house, feed, fund a terrorist, you are just as guilty as the terrorist, and that we will also confront the challenges where they emerge so we don't have to face them here at home. And we will work to spread an ideology of hope and freedom, which will be the ultimate tool in combating terrorism around the world. So I'll move on. Yes, go ahead -- Q But shouldn't the anti-terrorism efforts reduce terrorism rather than increase it? MR. STANZEL: Well, I guess you should ask the question, have terrorists -- do terrorists continue to try to kill innocent civilians around the world? Yes, they do. Should we then just take a step back and decide, no, we shouldn't confront those challenges? Q But you can try a -- MR. STANZEL: I'm done, I'm going to move on. Q -- you can try a different tactic. MR. STANZEL: Which is -- we have a full tactic, full panoply of tactics that we use, on the diplomatic side, on the defense side, on the homeland security side, and terrorist financing side. So the President is very proud of his record in defending this country and taking the fight to terrorists for the past two terms. Yes, sir. Q Back to Gaza and the U.N. resolution yesterday, can you expand on why the White House opted for abstention rather than voting with the rest of the Security Council? MR. STANZEL: Sure. Did you have an opportunity to see Secretary Rice's remarks last night? So I would just refer you to those. The discussions between Israel and Egypt we believe hold great promise of providing a way to a durable and sustainable cease-fire. And as Secretary Rice said, that is a resolution -- that resolution that passed last night, we believed it should have just been postponed to allow those discussions between Egypt and Israel to go forward so it could be more informed by those discussions. However, I would note in the resolution and in Secretary Rice's remarks, she talked about we agreed with the text, we agreed with the objectives, and we agreed with the goals of that resolution. We just happen to believe that there should have been a different timing for it. Yes, sir. Q With Israel as our ally, how influential is the United States in pushing Israel towards a cease-fire? And have there been any more conversations about sending additional aid to Palestinians? MR. STANZEL: Well, we have I believe earlier in the week, or maybe even last week, we talked about the $85 million that we have provided through the U.N. in terms of aid to the Palestinians. But the cease-fire will come when terrorists stop lobbing rockets at innocent civilians for the desire to kill to advance their ideology. When Hamas attacks Israel they're not only hurting the Israeli people, but they are hurting the Palestinian people because they are also attacking the two-state solution, which is the ultimate solution for the Palestinians and the Israelis living side by side in peace. Q As the humanitarian crisis grows there, will the United States send more aid? I know the -- MR. STANZEL: I don't have anything to announce for you, but obviously we've indicated our deep concern about the humanitarian situation, and that's something that the State Department and the leaders there have talked about at length, as well. Steve. Q The French and the Egyptians have tried to broker a peace deal. Has the U.S. lost its leadership role in any kind of negotiations in this regard? MR. STANZEL: I wouldn't say that. I think that the United States has a unique role around the world and a unique relationship with Israel. We have a very strong bond with Israel. This is a challenge that has unfortunately gone back many years and many decades and -- but, no, we are working with our international partners at length. The resolution that was passed, Secretary Rice had a very much -- a very strong involvement in that resolution, and she's been in New York working round-the-clock to try to bring a solution to this problem that, again, is durable and sustainable. Al Qaeda | Bush Administration | Gaza | Israel | Press Briefing | Scott Stanzel | War on Terror | White House Press Corps Labels: Al Qaeda, Bush Administration, Gaza, Israel, Press Briefing, Scott Stanzel, War on Terror, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 4:56:00 PM  Facing Economic Facts - White House Press Briefing by Scott Stanzel — Friday, December 05, 2008 —  MR. STANZEL: Jim. Q Scott, when you enter a laundry list of things that the President had to deal with, it sounds like you're claiming victimhood, that the administration has had nothing to do with the blowup of our economy. Is that what you're trying to say, or do you admit that -- MR. STANZEL: I said nothing of the sort. It is a statement of fact that those are the challenges that this President has faced. We have faced the largest terrorist attack on our economy ever. We have faced the largest natural disaster in the last hundred years. We have faced the largest crisis in our financial markets in a hundred years. That's statement of fact. The President has taken on those big challenges and taken swift action to address them. So I don't think you can dispute any one of those facts, that they're -- they simply happened. Q But what did the President do that contributed to the current economic blowup? Nothing? MR. STANZEL: Well, the President has been working to address the economic situation for years. The President, I will remind you, put in place tax relief when he inherited a recession at the beginning of his first term. He put in place tax relief, the largest tax relief in a generation, that spurred 52 straight months of job growth. That is a record. That's a statement of fact, as well. The President has put in place policies to try to get our economy moving and try to make sure that people who want to find a job can find a job. So the President has worked hard to make sure that we can take action to keep our economy moving, but many of these problems that we have seen -- in the financial markets, in the housing markets -- are many, many years in the making. Bush Administration | Economy | President Bush | Press Briefing | Scott Stanzel | White House Press Corps Labels: Bush Administration, Economy, President Bush, Press Briefing, Scott Stanzel, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:29:00 PM The Press and Body Language - Press Gaggle by Scott Stanzel 10/6/08 — Monday, October 06, 2008 —  Q If there's any -- going to be any change or update in whether [the President] might speak on the economy today, can you give us a heads up?Q -- we might hear from him when he gets back -- I mean, that's the body language I took from you. MR. STANZEL: You guys are all great at reading body language. Q Is that true? MR. STANZEL: No, it's not. But I think you're all very adept at reading body language. But my body shifting and walking back and forth here was not meant to indicate anything whatsoever, other than I read out this President's schedule as it stands right now. Economy | President Bush | Press Gaggle | Scott Stanzel | White House Press Corps Labels: Economy, President Bush, Press Gaggle, Scott Stanzel, Wall Street, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 4:26:00 PM
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