Press Briefing by Counselor to President Bush Ed Gillespie and Press Secretary Dana...

Press Briefing by Counselor to President Bush Ed Gillespie and Press Secretary
Dana Perino

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript
of remarks by counselor to President Bush Ed Gillespie and Press Secretary
Dana Perino.

Marriott Riyadh Hotel

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

9:48 P.M. (Local)

MS. PERINO: Hi, everyone. We wanted to stop by and say hello. We apologize
for not being able to do so beforehand. I think as you've seen, this trip has
been chock-a-block full every single day. There's not hardly a moment of down
time, and even the flights have been short. But we're here tonight, and I will
just make a couple of opening comments and give you a little bit of background
about the dinner this evening. And then we'll take a few of your questions
before we all go to bed and do it all again tomorrow.

You saw the arrival ceremony, when the President arrived. I think that it's
colder here than -- I think, 50 degrees or so, when added with the wind chill,
colder than any of us anticipated. And I think the King and all of our hosts
were thinking of us when they brought everyone inside right away, so we didn't
stay outside for everything. But the President was certainly able to see a
lot of the ceremony that they wanted to put together as he walked with the
King to the room. And then they rode together in the motorcade, and then they
arrived at the guest palace, which is where a lot of us are able to stay
tonight. And that's -- they're being very gracious to allow us to be there.

And we had a little bit of time there, and Adil al-Jubayr was very kind to
take us around to some of the rooms, a couple of which I'll mention. In the
1950s, the King of Saudi Arabia had been in Iran, and had seen a beautiful
mirrored room. And then the Shah said, well, I will make sure that you have
one. And so he sent some craftsmen down. And it's a beautiful -- it's mirrors
all from floor to ceiling, and then on the ceiling, actually, and all beveled.
And it's quite spectacular. Our photographer might have gotten a shot in
there, but I'm not exactly sure how that would have worked out with the flash.
But it was really beautiful.

And then next to that is another Iranian design of a mosaic room. And then the
European Salon is where they put all of our equipment, so that we could do a
little computer work. And so we stayed there for a little while. They also
have two large reception rooms. I think that you might have seen that one --
the pool covered that when we first came in.

And then we made our way to the King's Palace for a dinner tonight. I think
that the King was certainly -- knows the President well, because he knew that
dinner should be held relatively early for our early-to-bed President. And
then the dinner actually moved along very quickly. We had very nice dinner
guests.

I'll give you just a -- I'm not going to read out the entire menu. I'll let
the Saudis do that if they want to. But some of you really like a little bit
of this color, so I will provide you just a couple of things that we had:
artichoke soup, which was really nice.

Q Soup?

MS. PERINO: Artichoke. They had a mixed grill, which included lamb cubes,
and they call it chicken shish, tauk lamb chops and grilled potatoes, also
chicken Biryiani, which most of us are familiar with from eating out at Indian
restaurants in the States. They had red rice with shrimps and also potato
stew. But the dessert, in addition to having the fresh fruit, they also
recognized this President's vices, and had apple tart with vanilla ice cream.

I'll let Ed make a few comments, and we'll take your questions.

MR. GILLESPIE: Thanks. A lot of the conversation was about the weather and
how cold it is, which is unusual, obviously. Tomorrow, apparently, it may
snow. I was seated next to a former minister of oil, and I asked him when was
the last time he could remember it snowing here. And he thought about it, and
finally determined that it was 1968. So I don't think that's an official
Farmer's Almanac version, but he seemed to be pretty definitive that it was
about 40 years ago was the last time it snowed. So we're anxious to see if it
snows tomorrow.

It was a great dinner, a lot of very friendly conversation and a lot of
interest in what's going on in our financial markets -- and we found that also
in the United Arab Emirates, as well -- a lot of curiosity about policy and
how we see the elections; also a lot of interest in the politics back home.
Surprising to me anyway, the level of knowledge of -- I had somebody ask me
today in Dubai who I thought was going to win the Michigan primary, which I
thought was pretty impressive.

So it's been very interesting. And the meeting the President had today, I
think -- did Hadley read out the young professionals and the meeting -- I was
there for that, which was, I thought, very interesting and very encouraging.
And so it's been incredibly positive. So I'm happy to take any questions of
anything that may be more substantive, because I think I'm afraid all we have
for you is color.

Terry.

Q One of the things on a lot of people's minds back home is the price of
oil. Has that come up, or does the President plan to bring that up with the
King?

MR. GILLESPIE: It has come up. It's come up in different context. There's
been questions about -- and again, I don't know about the President's
conversation with the King; I'm talking more generally about conversations in
the region. There was interest in reducing* -- alternative fuels and the
efforts there, and how that's going. There has been talk about the oil
prices, but I don't know if the President will raise it in his one-on-one, or
if he's raised it yet today. I can't answer that question about the King.

Q Why wouldn't he?

MR. GILLESPIE: I didn't say he didn't, I just don't know if he's going to.
It has come up in other conversations and other context in the region.

Q Two questions. First of all, how much of this trip is designed to give
the President and the King an opportunity to have kind of private time, have
conversations, since, reportedly, the King doesn't like to use the telephone
that much? And so I think it's the first time in three or four years that
they've actually met. Can you address that issue?

And then, number two, just in general about the trip, in the conversations
that the President has had with his counterparts, how much do you find that
the region is looking beyond the Bush presidency and thinking that this
President has only a year left and we have to wait to make big decisions until
we find out who the next American President is?

MR. GILLESPIE: I'll take them one at a time. In terms of the visit with the
King, he is -- and I think actually one of the things I've noticed is that
with all these leaders, the direct conversation, the one-on-one contact is
very important, it matters a lot, and I think it's been one of the reasons
it's been a very productive trip.

With the King, I do think that the opportunity to sit down one-on-one and talk
about things that are going on in the region is a very timely conversation.
The President was looking forward to sharing with the King, as he has with
other leaders, his conversations and his insights from his time in Israel and
the Palestinian Territories, and obviously sharing with him why he's
optimistic about this being a good time for that.

And so I think, obviously, in terms of the time, why it's a good time, one of
the reasons it's a good time, I do think that all of these leaders know this
President, they understand that he does have a year left in office and I think
they see that as an opportunity for all of them to deal with someone they
know. And that's not to say that they're not going to know the next President;
possibly some may, some may not. But I think they have faith and they have
confidence and trust, from the meetings I've sat in and seen the personal
interaction. It's a very positive relationship that the President has with
these leaders. And I think that they -- it would -- they've been clear that
they see this as an opportunity for them to take advantage of the fact that
this is the President's last year in office, he's not running for reelection,
he doesn't have to worry about the politics and that kind of thing. So I
think they see it as an opportunity.

If they're looking past his presidency and anticipating things -- which I'm
sure they are, I'm sure they're thinking ahead; they are obviously very astute
and thoughtful and care deeply about the relationship with America, and I'm
sure they're anticipating different changes -- but they have not raised that,
that I've seen with the President.

Q How would you describe the President's sort of feelings about the fact
that there's a year left in office and he seems like, this trip, he's been
really -- a very pensive trip for him, lots of meetings, very clear message on
a couple different issues. I mean, does the President feel a sense of
urgency, and does this --

MR. GILLESPIE: I think he feels a sense of opportunity. And I know you've
heard from him and from Steve and from others about why we feel that this
moment in time with the leaders that we see in Israel and the Palestinian
Territories, and the fact that the -- many of the neighbors also seem
interested in trying to help make this work and are supportive of the process,
that there's an opportunity here. I think it's coincidental that it occurs in
the last year of the President's presidency, but I think that's a good thing,
and I think that does allow him to put much focus on it. As you know, he said
as he was leaving Israel that he'll return to the region again in May;
Secretary Rice obviously very deeply committed to the process and spending a
lot of time and travel on it, as well.

And so I think it's more, Mike, the circumstances, one of which is the fact
that it's the President's last year in office and he doesn't have any
political agenda to bring to bear into the process that I think is an
advantage for him.

Does that answer the question? Let me go over to the left here. James.

Q While I, too, am interested in your predictions on the Michigan primary
-- (laughter) -- I will spare --

MR. GILLESPIE: I appreciate that. (Laughter.)

Q -- you from actually being asked about it. Two questions. First, to
follow up on what we've just been talking about, it struck me that the Abu
Dhabi speech was in some parts designed to reassure people in this region who
are supportive of the agenda that there's a certain continuity to American
foreign policy, and that even if George Bush maybe soon leaving office, the
United States will have, as he put it, a lasting commitment to this region.
Was that part of the design of the speech?

MR. GILLESPIE: That was a part of it. I think that the President clearly
believes that the interests of this region and the interests of the United
States are closely intertwined, and that it's important that we encourage the
growth of freedom, liberty, justice in the Middle East and in these countries;
and not only because it's in the interests of the people of the Middle East,
but if that happens, as we know from history and experience, it makes it much
less likely that societies produce extremists intent on killing innocent
people in pursuit of their own political objectives. And if you look at where
you have free societies and people are empowered, then you don't have that
kind of repression, that that is -- and so that's in our interest as a
country. It's in our own interests, as well as in the interest of the region.

So I do think the President wanted to convey the lasting commitment. I think
he wanted to make clear the depth of his commitment. And I think he also
wanted to continue to promote the freedom agenda and to give a gentle push, as
I think we put it, to folks in the region.

I think that's the first time, by the way, a speech like that has ever been
delivered by an American President on Arab soil. I thought it was notable. I
thought it was -- we got very positive feedback from people here. And so I'm
hoping it will be -- have a positive impact, obviously.

Q This is addressed to both of you, if you could answer. My question is
based to some extent on the exchanges that the President had with my Fox News
colleague, Greta Van Susteren. In your own discussions with the President
about the NIE and its central finding that the weaponization aspect of the
Iran nuclear program has been suspended, do you find that the President fully
accepts this conclusion? Or is there any -- has the President expressed to
you, are you aware of any feeling on the President's part that, however
sincere the analysts might have been, they might have gotten it wrong? Has he
admitted the possibility at all in his mind that the analysts may be wrong
about this?

MS. PERINO: I've not heard the President express anything but support for the
intelligence community. But I think what he has said, and he has repeated
both privately and publicly, is that he does not believe that the NIE that was
produced -- was it two months ago -- should provide anyone any comfort that
Iran is not a threat. In fact, it underscored for him and for many others, as
we've learned from around this region, that they also believe that Iran
remains a threat.

And the very fact that they were hiding their weaponization program from the
world, that nobody knew about, should not give anyone comfort that all of a
sudden now we know that they had one, and that they halted it. What the
international community has called on them to do is to halt their enrichment
of uranium. And we are united in that, and we are going to continue to press
for sanctions.

But there is no doubt that across the world the NIE that was put out by our
intelligence community did cause some confusion. And one of the things the
President has done at every stop is to tell them that he believes that Iran
was a threat, they are a threat, and they will continue to be a threat if they
are allowed to have a nuclear weapon. He believes that they have the right to
have civilian nuclear power. He has provided, along with his international
partners, a way for Iran to come to the table and have a negotiation for
civilian nuclear power if they verifiably suspend. And so until we see that,
I think that we will remain concerned and skeptical, and continue down the
diplomatic path.

Another point that the President has made when this has come up is that he
does believe that this problem can be solved diplomatically.

But I also want to underscore for you that it is a mistake to think that these
meetings that the President has had across this region have been about Iran.
If it has come up, it has been brief. Now, I'm not there, sitting at the
President's shoulder, or by his side, when he has one-on-one meetings, but I
can tell you, in the meetings that we have been in -- and we have been very
fortunate on this trip to have been included in everything except for the
one-on-ones -- my observation is that while it has come up, what they were
looking for was reassurance from President Bush that he agrees -- that he
still believes what he had said before the NIE came out. And the fact is that
that is what he believes.

Q But my question was not about perception or misperceptions of the
report's findings, or the implications, or whether or not Iran remains a
threat. My question to you is whether or not the President admits at all in
his own mind of the possibility that the central finding was actually wrong?

MS. PERINO: Again, I said he has complete confidence in the intelligence
community. They work very hard to get as much information as they possibly
can. They brought this new information to the attention of their superiors
back in late August. They said they were going to need some more time to vet
it out before they were able to fully understand it. And intelligence is not
an exact science and they continue to seek out more information. But the
President agreed with the intelligence community that it was important to get
this information out so that everyone knows what they're dealing with. And
again, the fact that the Iranians had a secret, covert program that they were
hiding from the world should not give any of us comfort.

Q This is for Ed again. I'm going to try once on the oil question. These
are four countries that are -- are major producers of oil in the world. Did
the President at any time bring up with any of these rulers, either in a
private session or in group sessions, the Americans' concern about the high
price of oil?

MR. GILLESPIE: Yes, they talked about oil. The President made the point
about the -- part of his agenda is alternative fuels and alternative sources
of fuel. They talked about the nature of the market and the vast demand
that's on the world market today for oil. That was a point that was obviously
made in the course of these conversations by our friends, and that's a
legitimate and accurate point. So there has been discussion of oil and
energy, along with other issues that have come up in these talks.

Q Did those leaders in any way indicate some possible ways they're going to
-- of mitigating against those high prices?

MR. GILLESPIE: I don't want to characterize -- I'm more comfortable letting
other governments characterize the nature of the conversation from their
perspective.

Q I want to ask you about the President's trip to Israel in May, which is
seen as a Palestinian anniversary in Arab countries -- (inaudible) -- follow
up that statement? Also, did he talk about the subject of Iran -- (inaudible)
-- Syrian problem?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think we're going to have -- we don't know the answer to
that question. As I said, we arrived, we had the arrival ceremony, and then
the President then -- they went to dinner. I'm not exactly sure what the
dinner conversation was about, but they'll be meeting this evening, and so we
don't have a way to tell you tonight.

MR. GILLESPIE: I'm going to make another point, Jim. I failed to mention, in
his discussions of alternative energy, the President also mentioned nuclear
energy as an important source of energy in the future.

MS. PERINO: Last one.

Q On the JDAMs which have now been notified, can you just rehearse for us
the -- what you see as the strategic importance that going ahead with it
still, in the face of what, at least early this summer, was some reservations
in Congress about -- (inaudible) - Israel and whether it benefitted U.S. --

MR. GILLESPIE: In fairness, we'll give you another last one, because I know
Steve Hadley talked about the JDAMs today, and the State Department is
handling comment on JDAMs. So I will refer you to the State Department -- in
which case I'm happy to take one more question. In the back.

Q Thanks. Some of us who have had an opportunity during this trip to talk
to foreign policy officials of governments in countries where the President
had visited, have heard from them that their message was, they don't want the
U.S. meddling in their relations with Iran, that they can conduct their own
dealings through their own channels. Is that something that the President was
told in any way, shape, or form by them?

MR. GILLESPIE: I did not hear anything like that. I think - and the
President was sharing his view of concerns about Iran and I think he was
making clear, as Dana pointed out, in terms of the NIE, that the fact that
they are continuing to enrich uranium, they are continuing to test and deploy
ballistic missiles, delivery systems, and that they had a secret weapons
program that they have halted, but that clearly - in response, by the way, to
international pressure -- that doesn't mean that they couldn't start again,
and that that is a concern of the United States. And we wanted to share --
the President wanted to share that that's a continuing concern, and that the
-- our view of the NIE is that it reinforced that concern.

They shared views, as well, again, which I'm not going to characterize, but I
don't think -- I didn't hear anyone suggest along the way in any of the
meetings that I was in that this not a legitimate concern for the President,
and that they also -- that they saw the -- Iran as an important relationship
for them, as well, obviously here in the region.

MS. PERINO: Yes, I would just add, of course, many of these countries have
had relationships with Iran for a long time, and actually the President thinks
it's important that they do have those relationships, because one of the
things that we can do to help the Iranian people realize their dreams and to
get out from under the isolation that their current government is making them
live under - is having channels to provide for dialogue is not a bad thing at
all. In fact, the President encourages it.

Okay.

MR. GILLESPIE: Thank you all. See you tomorrow.

END 10:13 P.M. (Local)

*There was interest in reducing (dependence on oil)...

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