Post by bot on May 13, 2004 22:14:00 GMT -5
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
12:34 P.M. EDT
Q Are you convinced that Zarqawi was responsible for the beheading, or was this simply just done in his name? Is there an effort underway to find out?
MR. McCLELLAN: Steve, as I made clear yesterday, we will pursue those who are responsible and bring them to justice. No, I do not have an update on who exactly is responsible. Apparently, those who claim credit are terrorists tied to al Qaeda, as they stated in this video. This was a brutal and barbaric act. It shows the true nature of terrorists. They have no regard for innocent life.
Our deepest condolences go out to the family of Nicholas Berg. Nicholas Berg was in Iraq to help build a better future for the Iraqi people. He was there, a civilian who was there to help. And the terrorists seek to intimidate us, but they will not prevail. A free and peaceful Iraq is critical to winning the war on terrorism. And the terrorists understand that when we prevail in Iraq, and a free and peaceful Iraq emerges, that will be a significant blow for their efforts.
Q Scott, has the President seen the tape of Berg's murder, and does the administration believe that this is retribution or revenge for U.S. abuse of Iraqi prisoners?
MR. McCLELLAN: Suzanne, terrorists will change their excuses, or find whatever excuse they can to try to carry out their murderous and evil acts. The terrorists look for all sorts of excuses to try to justify murder and destruction and chaos. There is no justification for the taking of innocent human life. Terrorists, as we have seen across the world -- whether it be in Madrid or whether it was at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, or in Istanbul or other places -- terrorists seek to spread fear and chaos, and they have no regard for the innocent life of civilians, whether it's men, women or children.
Q Has the President seen the tape?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I don't believe he has. He's certainly been briefed on the tape, though.
Q Does he believe that this supports the argument that perhaps those photos of abuse should not be released to the public because they might incite further anger or violent acts against Americans?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there's no question that the acts of a small number of people in our military did harm. It does not represent the United States of America. Those actions do not represent the United States of America, nor do they represent the 99.9 percent of our men and women in the military who are serving with honor and distinction across the world, including in Iraq.
There have been more than 200,000 men and women in our military who have served in Iraq. They are there to help the Iraqi people build a free and prosperous future, and they are there to make America more secure, because a free and peaceful Iraq will help transform a dangerous region of the world. And those actions at Abu Ghraib do not represent the United States military or their actions that they carry out on a daily basis to -- acts of kindness and decency and compassion in helping the Iraqi people.
Q But does the administration believe that preventing those additional photos from being released to the public may protect U.S. soldiers?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think what the President believes is that it's important that we have an open and transparent process moving forward when it comes to these investigations, so that we can show the world that when acts like this -- shameful acts like this come to our attention, America addresses them swiftly, and America works to bring those responsible to justice, and we work to implement steps that will prevent something like this from happening ever again. So we show the world through our actions what we are truly committed to. And it stands in stark contrast to oppressive regimes. And it stands in stark contrast to terrorists.
Q Scott, can I ask you more specifically what the President's current view is on whether those additional photos should be released? Does he agree with the Vice President, who suggested yesterday in an interview, that essentially releasing those photos would have a negative effect on prosecutions going forward, and that, in essence, the call to release them is just from media types like us who want to print the photos? Does the President agree with the Vice President on that point?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, I think the Vice President pointed out that a decision had not been reached on that very matter. The Pentagon is looking into these issues. We have been in close contact with the Pentagon throughout this process. The President appreciates the considerations that the Pentagon has to work to address. They will make a judgment, but the Pentagon has to look at factors such as the ongoing criminal investigations that are underway. That's first and foremost, because no one wants to do anything that would compromise the investigations and possibly prevent people who are responsible from being brought to justice. We want to make sure that people are brought to justice for these shameful and appalling acts.
But the Pentagon is still working to address those matters. They are providing information to members of Congress because they recognize the important oversight role that Congress has. So members of Congress, at least members of the Senate will be seeing some of those images this afternoon, so they can carry out their responsibilities. And it's important to keep Congress informed.
Q Does the President agree with the Vice President's comments yesterday?
MR. McCLELLAN: The President supports the judgment of the Pentagon to look into these matters --
Q That's not what I asked.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- and address these issues. And the President fully understands the considerations that the Pentagon has to take into account, namely the ongoing criminal investigations that are underway.
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
12:34 P.M. EDT
Q Are you convinced that Zarqawi was responsible for the beheading, or was this simply just done in his name? Is there an effort underway to find out?
MR. McCLELLAN: Steve, as I made clear yesterday, we will pursue those who are responsible and bring them to justice. No, I do not have an update on who exactly is responsible. Apparently, those who claim credit are terrorists tied to al Qaeda, as they stated in this video. This was a brutal and barbaric act. It shows the true nature of terrorists. They have no regard for innocent life.
Our deepest condolences go out to the family of Nicholas Berg. Nicholas Berg was in Iraq to help build a better future for the Iraqi people. He was there, a civilian who was there to help. And the terrorists seek to intimidate us, but they will not prevail. A free and peaceful Iraq is critical to winning the war on terrorism. And the terrorists understand that when we prevail in Iraq, and a free and peaceful Iraq emerges, that will be a significant blow for their efforts.
Q Scott, has the President seen the tape of Berg's murder, and does the administration believe that this is retribution or revenge for U.S. abuse of Iraqi prisoners?
MR. McCLELLAN: Suzanne, terrorists will change their excuses, or find whatever excuse they can to try to carry out their murderous and evil acts. The terrorists look for all sorts of excuses to try to justify murder and destruction and chaos. There is no justification for the taking of innocent human life. Terrorists, as we have seen across the world -- whether it be in Madrid or whether it was at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, or in Istanbul or other places -- terrorists seek to spread fear and chaos, and they have no regard for the innocent life of civilians, whether it's men, women or children.
Q Has the President seen the tape?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I don't believe he has. He's certainly been briefed on the tape, though.
Q Does he believe that this supports the argument that perhaps those photos of abuse should not be released to the public because they might incite further anger or violent acts against Americans?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there's no question that the acts of a small number of people in our military did harm. It does not represent the United States of America. Those actions do not represent the United States of America, nor do they represent the 99.9 percent of our men and women in the military who are serving with honor and distinction across the world, including in Iraq.
There have been more than 200,000 men and women in our military who have served in Iraq. They are there to help the Iraqi people build a free and prosperous future, and they are there to make America more secure, because a free and peaceful Iraq will help transform a dangerous region of the world. And those actions at Abu Ghraib do not represent the United States military or their actions that they carry out on a daily basis to -- acts of kindness and decency and compassion in helping the Iraqi people.
Q But does the administration believe that preventing those additional photos from being released to the public may protect U.S. soldiers?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think what the President believes is that it's important that we have an open and transparent process moving forward when it comes to these investigations, so that we can show the world that when acts like this -- shameful acts like this come to our attention, America addresses them swiftly, and America works to bring those responsible to justice, and we work to implement steps that will prevent something like this from happening ever again. So we show the world through our actions what we are truly committed to. And it stands in stark contrast to oppressive regimes. And it stands in stark contrast to terrorists.
Q Scott, can I ask you more specifically what the President's current view is on whether those additional photos should be released? Does he agree with the Vice President, who suggested yesterday in an interview, that essentially releasing those photos would have a negative effect on prosecutions going forward, and that, in essence, the call to release them is just from media types like us who want to print the photos? Does the President agree with the Vice President on that point?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, I think the Vice President pointed out that a decision had not been reached on that very matter. The Pentagon is looking into these issues. We have been in close contact with the Pentagon throughout this process. The President appreciates the considerations that the Pentagon has to work to address. They will make a judgment, but the Pentagon has to look at factors such as the ongoing criminal investigations that are underway. That's first and foremost, because no one wants to do anything that would compromise the investigations and possibly prevent people who are responsible from being brought to justice. We want to make sure that people are brought to justice for these shameful and appalling acts.
But the Pentagon is still working to address those matters. They are providing information to members of Congress because they recognize the important oversight role that Congress has. So members of Congress, at least members of the Senate will be seeing some of those images this afternoon, so they can carry out their responsibilities. And it's important to keep Congress informed.
Q Does the President agree with the Vice President's comments yesterday?
MR. McCLELLAN: The President supports the judgment of the Pentagon to look into these matters --
Q That's not what I asked.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- and address these issues. And the President fully understands the considerations that the Pentagon has to take into account, namely the ongoing criminal investigations that are underway.