U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing, 01-09-07

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From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>

Richard Boucher, Spokesman

Washington, DC

September 7, 2001

INDEX:

JAPAN/KOREA
1-2       Worldwide caution and warning for military installations in Japan and Korea / Warden Network / FBI Raid of Web sites in Dallas, Texas / President Bush and possible trip to Japan in October
ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
2-5       Possible Peres - Arafat Meeting in Paris / Secretary Powell’s Telephone Conversations with Leaders / Mitchell Report
NORTHERN IRELAND
5         Further Details on Haas’ trip to London, Dublin and Belfast next week
SOUTH AFRICA
5-6       Conference on Racism / Middle East and Muslim states
SUDAN
6 - 7     Sudan Peace Act / Appointment of Special Envoy Sen. Danforth / Aid and funding for education and agriculture / USAID Employees and safety concerns
MEXICO
7 - 9     President Fox and the Rio Treaty / OAS and Security Architecture / November meeting / Migration and Immigration Amnesty
PERU
8         Ambassador Busby’s report on Peruvian overflights to the National Security Council
INDIA
8 - 9     Ambassador Blackwill’s quote in the Times of India / Possible trip to New Delhi in 2002

MR. BOUCHER: Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to be here, and would be glad to take your questions.

Who gets to start today? I don't know. I guess Matt.

QUESTION: Can you explain what is going on with this warning that came out of the embassy in Tokyo overnight?

MR. BOUCHER: Sure.

QUESTION: Is there actually a threat?

MR. BOUCHER: In the US Government, we received information about a possible threat to US military facilities or to establishments that are frequented by US military personnel in Japan and Korea. The Department is revising its Worldwide Caution, our Public Announcement of June 22nd, to include this information and to ensure that the general American public is aware of this potential danger to their safety.

In light of this information, the US embassies in Tokyo and Seoul have alerted the local American communities in those places through their warden networks, and in Tokyo, part of the warden alert process includes issuing the press release that I think most of you have seen.

I point out both embassies were open for business as usual on Friday. They provided full services. Now they are closed for the normal weekend, but we would expect them to open again on Monday.

QUESTION: Because you are updating the Worldwide Caution, does that mean that the threats are -- that the possible threats are bin Laden-linked, which is what the Worldwide Caution is about?

MR. BOUCHER: I would have to see exactly how the text will be written to explain it. I don't want to lead you to that conclusion at this point.

QUESTION: Well, so in other words, the Worldwide Caution could be changed significantly to steer away -- I mean, that specifically refers to bin Laden.

MR. BOUCHER: It does, but it also needs to reflect the fact a little more specifically that there is a potential threat in Asia. But I don't want to say that one is subsumed under the other.

QUESTION: Was there in fact a warning issued to military personnel, a separate warning?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. You would have to check with the military on that.

QUESTION: Can you give us any more information on how the US embassies in Seoul and Tokyo notified the American community? And also, can you give us more information on what kinds of facilities you are referring to in terms of military personnel would go to? We know about the military facilities, but there was another warning about these other facilities frequented by US military personnel.

MR. BOUCHER: On the first question of how we notify Americans, it varies from post to post, but every embassy has established a warden network, which is -- in most places it's a telephone calling tree; it could be an e- mail system; it could be a fax system -- where they spread the word throughout the American community, usually based on major employers or compounds where a lot of Americans live. So they find different ways of getting it out, getting the word out to the local Americans about things going on in the community or things that Americans need to know about. We use them sometimes for passing out voter information, but we also use it to notify people of possible threats or closures of the consulate or the embassy, things like that.

And as far as the question of what we mean by establishments frequented by US military personnel, no, I can't be any more specific than that.

QUESTION: Did this have anything to do with the closure and FBI raid yesterday in Dallas, Texas, of an Arab websites company that is apparently doing that?

MR. BOUCHER: That's a new one on me. I can't define what this does have to do with, but I think I can pretty much say no to that.

QUESTION: The President is going to Japan in October. Does that concern your -- I mean --

MR. BOUCHER: Does it concern me?

QUESTION: Yes.

MR. BOUCHER: Has the White House announced the President's travel for October yet? Well, were the President to go to Japan, he would be well protected, I am sure.

QUESTION: One more?

MR. BOUCHER: Sure.

QUESTION: Well, while we're in the Middle East -- (laughter) -- because we know all terror originates in the Middle East. Evidently, that Arafat Paris meeting hasn't gelled yet, and I wondered if the US is trying to -- you spoke yesterday of the Secretary making calls, several of them.

Is the US trying to help bring about this meeting, and has he done anything more in that regard since we spoke yesterday?

MR. BOUCHER: I think I would have to say that we have always encouraged direct contacts between the parties. The Secretary has been discussing with the parties, with Foreign Minister Peres and Chairman Arafat, the past few days how a meeting, direct discussions between the parties, could help recreate a measure of trust and confidence and start to change the situation on the ground, get us into the implementation of the Mitchell Report.

Any specific decisions or details regarding their meetings obviously would have to come from the parties themselves, though. We have been in close contact with them. We want to try to help them as they look towards such a meeting, or the possibility of such a meeting. We want to try to help them make such a meeting helpful and productive.

QUESTION: Let me pursue this in a way that's gets a little bit, I know, tedious, but the Palestinian position is, first, the Israelis said there is a meeting. Peres jubilantly announced, with his customary enthusiasm in Italy, that there will be a meeting. And then the Palestinians, with their customary reserve, said that it has to be well prepared; they don't want a meeting just for the sake of meeting; they want to make sure it's productive, have results -- pretty much what you said you hope the meeting would do yesterday.

So is the US of the view that more preparation is needed or if there isn't either/or here, or is the US of the view, for heaven's sake, maybe they ought to sit down and talk, that's the most important thing, and let them take it from there; they know the problems?

MR. BOUCHER: As usual, I will take Option C.

QUESTION: Which is?

MR. BOUCHER: The US view is that meetings are useful if meetings can be made useful, that the meetings need to be well prepared, they need to be helpful to the process, they need to be productive, and we think we can help them do that. With that said, we encourage them to have direct discussions and contacts because we think that that is the best way to start making progress back to better security for both sides, and then implementation of the Mitchell Report and the path that that leads to.

So in terms of actually deciding to meet when, where, how; is it well enough prepared for me today, or for him tomorrow? That's for the parties to decide. We will keep working with them to try to make meetings useful and productive.

QUESTION: Are the days of quiet -- the seven days of quiet -- is that still applicable at this point?

MR. BOUCHER: I think the basic framework of the Mitchell Committee recommendations and how to get there certainly remains applicable, and as we all know, the Mitchell Committee recommendations begin with cessation of violence, and we hope in the end will result in the restart of talks based on 242, 338, land-for-peace. And in between that, there's a whole lot of steps that need to be taken to restore confidence.

But that basic framework is still there, and it begins with the cessation of violence. What we have been working on, what others have been working on, what we have been encouraging the parties to do is to get to that point where there is calm, quiet, cessation of violence so that we can really start implementing the Mitchell Committee recommendations, so they can really start implementing the Mitchell Committee recommendations in full.

QUESTION: Just to follow up, have we had a couple days of quiet?

MR. BOUCHER: I haven't heard anybody around here counting at this point.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: Richard, I assume you would have said something if the Secretary had made calls, but just to make sure, were there any further contacts between either of the two sides post -- what's today, Friday?

MR. BOUCHER: Let's see, Wednesday he spoke to Foreign Minister Peres, twice actually, Chairman Arafat, also Javier Solana. Yesterday, no. He talked to some others.

QUESTION: Non-Middle East related.

MR. BOUCHER: Non-Middle Easterns, yes.

QUESTION: Wait, wait. I want to go back to it.

MR. BOUCHER: He talked to Foreign Minister Jagland of Norway, he talked to Foreign Minister Ivanov as well yesterday. I'm sure they must have discussed the Middle East in some respects, but I think the purpose of the phone calls was a little bit different.

QUESTION: Okay. But on the Middle East, and I'm kind of on Barry's question, is it fair to say that you are encouraging those two sides to have a meeting?

MR. BOUCHER: I think I would say --

QUESTION: You said, "We have always encouraged --

MR. BOUCHER: We have always supported the idea of direct discussions. We have always felt that was important and useful. But we also as we talk to them now, as they themselves are considering the prospects of meetings, they themselves are discussing the idea of meetings, they themselves are looking to when they can meet. And what we have been talking to them about in that context is how to make it a useful and productive --

QUESTION: But you would like to see them have this meeting, if all the sides are --

MR. BOUCHER: We have always supported the idea of their having direct contacts, and we do today.

QUESTION: Another subject? Northern Ireland. Richard Haas' trip. Could you confirm first of all the dates, and who he is going to meet, and the purpose of the trip? And just for the record, is it in any way a response to the recent violence, or is it in any way a new initiative?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm afraid I don't have the details quite yet. He will be going to London, Dublin, and Belfast next week. It has been a long-planned trip, but obviously he will want to take up current issues. But the intention is to talk to government leaders, political leaders, to talk about the ongoing peace process.

QUESTION: A response to recent events?

MR. BOUCHER: Response to recent events I did yesterday.

QUESTION: No, is the trip by any --

MR. BOUCHER: The trip. As I said, it's been long-planned, but obviously he will want to discuss recent events, too.

QUESTION: Do you have an observation on the Racism Conference, the way it's dealing with slavery? Of how the Middle East is still not resolved --

MR. BOUCHER: Not at this point. I think there are a number of areas that are still not resolved. There appear to still be people working there, although not us. And we are just following developments.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: On that, it looks like you're drawing closer to an agreement on Middle East language, what with the South Africa proposal. I just grabbed a wire that says the Muslim states say they will accept with reservations the South African text on the Middle East. Do you know anything about that?

MR. BOUCHER: I read the same wire. We're not a wire service.

QUESTION: That's all you know?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't have any reports, I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Okay. New subject then. Sudan? I know we did some Sudan yesterday, but next week, I believe the House and Senate will meet on trying to reconcile or come up with shared wording on the Sudan Peace Act. And I know we discussed this earlier, but can you explain now the State Department's position on the Sudan Peace Act and the Baucus Amendment in particular?

MR. BOUCHER: No. (Laughter.) No, I better get the exact language. I'm afraid I don't feel comfortable quite doing that one off my head.

QUESTION: That's what I thought. You might have it.

MR. BOUCHER: I don't have my copy with me, and I'm not going to do it.

QUESTION: Sudan Peace Act.

MR. BOUCHER: No, I know the Sudan Peace Act and I know the issues involved. I just am taking a position on Congressional consideration of legislation.

QUESTION: Do you know if it has changed? You've done it. You did it once in June, right?

MR. BOUCHER: And I've done it before too, Terri. I just am not going to wing it.

QUESTION: Anything else on Sudan that you have since yesterday?

MR. BOUCHER: You have seen, I think in terms of the Sudan, a number of developments. First of all, the President announced yesterday our special envoy so that we can see where the United States can contribute to the peace process.

Second of all, we have announced yesterday, I think, some additional funding of some $25 to $30 million that we are going to spend on education and agriculture for the people of Southern Sudan. It is an important development in terms of the assistance programs and the humanitarian assistance being managed by Andrew Natsios.

I think these initiatives will go forward because we are dealing with what the Secretary called one of the greatest tragedies on the planet.

QUESTION: Do the aid workers have assurances that they can work unobstructed at this point, based on --

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. What country are you asking about?

QUESTION: Sudan. Natsios went about a month ago to try to get assurances that international aid workers would be able to work unhindered. You don't have any update, or do you have an update?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't have an update on that.

QUESTION: Richard, do you know, is Senator Danforth going to have an office in here?

MR. BOUCHER: Will he have an office?

QUESTION: Here, in the State Department.

MR. BOUCHER: You mean, like a computer and a desk?

QUESTION: In the past -- you know, like other special envoys had.

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know precisely, frankly. He has certainly been working very, very closely with the Africa Bureau. I don't know about office space, but I would expect so.

QUESTION: Another subject?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes.

QUESTION: What do you make of President Fox's inclination to opt out of the Rio Treaty?

MR. BOUCHER: I haven't seen the exact text of what President Fox might have said at this point, so I want to give you a complete analysis of that. But I would point out that at the last two Summits of the Americas, the one in Santiago and then the one that President Bush attended in Quebec earlier this year, that the language that was used there by the OAS leaders, in that case, was to say that we would look to revitalize and strengthen the hemisphere's security architecture. So that is a process that is ongoing.

We look forward to talking to Mexico. We look forward to talking to the other partners in the hemisphere about how we can do that. Indeed, in the OAS they are laying the groundwork for that sort of review and discussion about how the security structure of the hemisphere fits together.

There is a meeting in November of this year of the OAS Committee on Hemispheric Security, and they are looking to a series of meetings that will lead up to a big conference that will be held in 2004.

QUESTION: So you don't necessarily buy into the president's argument that the treaty is obsolete?

MR. BOUCHER: As I've said, I haven't seen the exact text of what President Fox might have said, but I point out that the leaders of the hemisphere did look to revitalize and strengthen the whole security structure for the hemisphere. And that is what we intend to do, working with our partners throughout the hemisphere.

QUESTION: Right, but saying you want to revitalize and strengthen doesn't necessarily mean that you think it's obsolete.

MR. BOUCHER: As a hemisphere, as an organization, all of us who participate in the OAS will have to look at this together, look at the issue of hemispheric security, and decide. I am sure there will be different views as we go forward.

QUESTION: On Peru. The second report on the Peruvian crash and recommendations for possible changes in procedures went to the White House or the National Security Council some time ago. Is there anything you can tell us about that report?

MR. BOUCHER: The findings that Ambassador Busby produced were submitted. He submitted his findings to the National Security Council, or the National Security Advisor -- I guess to the White House -- in July. Since that time, there has been interagency discussion and review of the findings.

There have been discussions and continuing discussions and work with the governments of Peru and Colombia with regard to the lack of aerial interdiction. We have seen views that they have expressed on that, and I am sure we will be discussing the aerial interdiction program with them during Secretary Powell's visit next week.

We would like to complete this whole review process as quickly as possible and we are moving forward, in what we think is a thorough and thoughtful manner, to decide what to do about these programs.

QUESTION: So before those meetings there is nothing you can tell us about the review?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes. At this point, there is no final decision on how we are going to go forward.

QUESTION: Did you see a Times of India article yesterday quoting our Ambassador Blackwill saying that Secretary Powell, along with other senior government officials, in the next year would be traveling to New Delhi? Can you say anything about that?

MR. BOUCHER: I didn't see the Times of India article. I guess some of my folks did get me the speech, and I think we actually have the whole speech of what Ambassador Blackwill said. He talked about the President's view that the United States wishes to fundamentally transform its relationship with India, said that increasing numbers of high-level US visitors to India would indicate the priority the Bush Administration places on this relationship. I think US Trade Representative Zoellick, Deputy Secretary Armitage, have already been there, and I am sure there will be other trips as we go forward.

So that was pretty much the way he discussed those things. As I said, we can get you the entire text.

QUESTION: Are there any plans right now for Secretary Powell to go to India?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know of any specific plans or schedules at this point, but it's an important place and I'm sure he would like to go there sometime. I think he said as much to the Indian Foreign Minister when they have met in the past.

QUESTION: With respect to Vicente Fox visiting the United States and meeting in Congress yesterday, it's as if he is trying to and wants all this with migration, immigration, amnesty, everything resolved within roughly, hopefully, 30 days and less.

Is there any points in contention with the State Department and the US Congress with regards to this and some of the --

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I have much to add to this discussion. I know he made some remarks the other day about trying to reach conclusions by the end of the year. The White House, I think, has talked about the need, the desire, to move quickly. That is what we said in the joint statement we issued yesterday with the Mexican Government.

Indeed, we will be having monthly meetings with the working group, with the Mexicans, together to try to work on this. They have monthly meetings. They report on a quarterly basis to the ministers. So there is very active work under way with the Mexicans. We will be doing this as quickly as possible.

QUESTION: Also, the other governments in Latin America and South America, do they feel neglected because all this has been focused only on Mexico?

MR. BOUCHER: You would have to go ask them.

QUESTION: You don't have anything more to say about the bilat -- or I guess it's a working lunch -- in S.F.?

MR. BOUCHER: With Foreign Minister Tanaka in San Francisco? Nothing more to say right now, I don't think. Is there something in particular you want to know?

QUESTION: The venue and the exact time, and the menu.

MR. BOUCHER: The venue and the menu? No, I don't have those for you now. I'll see if we have those pinned down at this point.

Okay? Thank you. [End]

Released on September 7, 2001

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