For Immediate Release Office of the
Press Secretary June 19, 2002
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
Listen
to the Briefing
James S. Brady Briefing Room
12:36 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good afternoon. Let me give you a report on the
President's day, and then I have two announcements I'd like to make.
One, this morning the President began with his usual CIA briefing,
followed by an FBI briefing. And then the President made an
announcement this morning about an important American commitment to
fight AIDS globally, particularly as AIDS affects mothers, therefore
the children of mothers. The President announced a $500 million
initiative aimed at child HIV prevention initiative.
The President also this morning made remarks to the United
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, in which he talked about the
need for Congress to pass terrorism insurance to help protect jobs
in our country. And then later this afternoon, the President will
greet newly appointed ambassadors here at the White House. Among the
group will be Ishaq Shahryar, the new Afghani ambassador to the
United States. It's an important moment marking the ongoing efforts
of Afghanistan to reconstruct from the devastation that was wreaked
under Taliban control.
And the President, later this afternoon in the East Room, will
make remarks at the White House Conference on Character and
Community. And finally, this evening the President will participate
in the President's Dinner, to help raise money for the House and
Senate Republican candidates.
Two announcements for you. One, President Bush has invited Polish
President Aleksander Kwasniewski to Washington for a state visit on
July 17-18th. Poland has become a friend, partner and NATO ally of
the United States, and is an ardent supporter in the war on
terrorism. President Kwasniewski shares the President's vision of
creating a Europe whole, free and at peace. Poland hosted the
President and Mrs. Bush's visit to Warsaw in June of 2001.
And on one domestic issue involving the Congress, the President,
on March 21st, sent an emergency request to the Congress -- this is
almost 90 days ago -- for our troops in the field and for homeland
security. The House passed the President's request for this
emergency funding for our troops and for homeland security on May
25th. The Senate, contrary to the House, added $4 billion above the
President's request for many non-emergency items, such as coral reef
mapping, a storage facility for Smithsonian specimens, and other
spending not related to the war against terrorism or homeland
security. Now we learn that the Senate may not be interested in
acting on this emergency bill in the conference before adjourning
for the July 4th recess.
This funding is an emergency. The President sent the emergency
request almost 90 days ago. Funds for our troops in the field and
homeland security, and especially the Transportation Security
Administration, are running out. The Senate needs to get this done
quickly and they should not delay in the hopes of adding billions of
dollars in unrelated spending, including for programs that have no
focus on homeland security or the war to this bill. The President
does not believe this should be a time for business as usual.
With that, I'm happy to take your questions. Ron.
Q There was a bombing in Israel yesterday. Israel announced a new
policy today whether to seize Palestinian territory --
MR. FLEISCHER: Excuse me one second. Go ahead, Ron.
Q -- bombing yesterday, and there was aggressive Israeli policy
today, and a few minutes ago, another bombing in a Jerusalem
neighborhood. How can the President put forward any kind of new
initiative with all this going on?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President is looking forward at the
right time to making remarks that address the situation in the
Middle East. Violence has been going on in the Middle East for too
long, and the President wants very much to work with all the
parties, as he has been doing in his meetings that he's had with the
Israelis, as well as Arab nations, on help finding a way out of this
violence.
The President condemns this latest attack. The President was
informed of it just moments ago. And the President is determined
still to find a way to help the parties to find peace.
Q How do you find a -- like you say, violence goes on in the
Middle East, unfortunately, all the time. When will there be a right
time to deploy this policy?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think in the immediate aftermath of these
attacks, it's obvious that the immediate aftermath is not the right
time. The President knows what he wants to say; the President will
share it when the President believes the time is right to share it
so it can do the most good.
The President's focus is on helping to make Israel more secure
and finding a way to give hope to the Palestinian people. That
remains the President's focus and the President will look for the
right moment and the President will have more to say.
Q When you say that the President knows what he wants to say, do
you mean that the policy is now worked out, that there is no longer
any debate on what this major statement will be and what the
roll-out will consist of? And, secondly, the Israelis have made it
very clear, they're putting a new policy into action on how to
respond to suicide bombings that involves reoccupation of certain
Palestinian territories. What is the President's response to
Israel's actions?
MR. FLEISCHER: Okay. On the second point first, the President
understands that Israel is in the middle of, once again, even as we
speak, reaction to a terrible terrorist attack. The President
understands Israel has a right to defend herself. As Israel defends
herself, the President asks that Israel continue to remember the
consequences of any actions so that the path to peace, the political
path, can also be pursued.
Q And the first point?
MR. FLEISCHER: And on the first point, the President knows what
he wants to say. I think you can anticipate, until the moment the
President gives a speech, there will be continued discussions around
the edges. But the President knows what he wants to say. And, as I
indicated, the Middle East for too long has been an area of the
world in which there have been two steps backward for every step
forward. On a good day, sometimes there's one step forward, one step
backwards. And on a rare day, it's two steps forward, one step
backwards. The President wants to contribute and do everything in
his power to an environment which it is steps forward, not backward.
So the President will, when he determines the time is right, have
more to say about how to bring about more accountability for
security, how to help build institutions that are necessary to
develop peace. And when the moment is right, the President will
announce that and then you will hear from the President.
Q When you talk about consequences for Israel --
MR. FLEISCHER: Correct.
Q -- we went around on this before. What are the consequences? I
mean, the President has said this through you for months that Israel
must bear in mind the consequences to its reaction to violence. What
are the consequences?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the consequences are that ultimately still a
political solution must be found to peace in the Middle East. At the
same time, it's very understandable, and the President does
understand, that there are also immediate security issues that
Israel is forced to address and Israel will address. And the
President understands Israel's right to self-defense. But the
consequences for all in the region are the violence does not help
solve the fundamental problem and terrorism has got to stop.
Now, the President will continue to work with the Palestinians,
with the Israelis and with the Arabs, to help bring them together in
such a way that the worse consequence of all would be a loss of
hope. And the President wants to make certain that all parties
continue to do what they can and that the United States will be
there for them to help them focus on a political solution. But these
are very difficult days for the Israeli people and the President
understands that.
Q Just to button this down, is it okay with the President that
Israel is reoccupying Palestinian land?
MR. FLEISCHER: Terry, again, the President understands that
Israel is in the middle of yet again another attack -- they're not
even in the middle of this latest one, they're only dealing with it
literally as we speak, in the streets of Jerusalem right now. And
the President is understanding of that. The President understands
that a nation that is undergoing what Israel is undergoing has a
right to defend itself, and that's what the President understands.
Q What do you say to the argument that some will undoubtedly make
when the President does make his announcement, that any offering of
the Palestinians statehood of any sort is a reward for this kind of
terrorism? That will undoubtedly be raised against whatever the
President has to propose. What does he say?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to speculate about any one element
that may or may not be in a presidential speech. But I think that
when the time comes and the President decides that he's going to
make a statement, the President will address all the various issues
that are presented in terms of how to create an environment for
peace. And that will be in the President's remarks.
Q Briefly, on one other subject. Saudi Arabia has said it will
not allow outside investigators to question the al Qaeda suspects
who were rounded up in connection with the attempt to shoot down
U.S. aircraft. Does the administration think that's okay, that they
--
MR. FLEISCHER: We're going to continue to work cooperatively with
the Saudis on a host of issues. The Saudi cooperation has been
strong and we'll continue to work with them.
Q Even before yesterday's attack and today's attack, there was
some discussion about when the President would speak. It was
suggested for one time then pushed back. Is the President at all
concerned that by delaying he's raising expectations beyond what is
reasonable, given what's happening?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, I think people always expect the President of
the United States to share his thoughts when he has something to
share. And you will judge, and the American people will judge about
what the President said and how constructive it is toward helping
bridge some of these gaps that are in the Middle East. But the
President has come to some conclusions based on his meetings that
he's had with a host of the Arab leaders who visited here, with
Prime Minister Sharon who visited here. And when the President
determines the time is right, he will share it.
Q You keep saying that he has come to these conclusions and --
MR. FLEISCHER: Correct.
Q -- so it seems logical that the time would then be soon,
doesn't it?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think the time will be soon. But I'm not going
to be in a position to guess exactly what day that means. That's
something that the President will make a determination on and
proceed. But there are some -- it's hard to get people to focus on
peace today, when they're still suffering from the consequences of
terrorism, as we speak.
Q Ari, do you know if this is a long-term measure by Israel to
reoccupy, or a short-term measure, temporary?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think you have to address that question to
Israeli authorities.
Q Ari, Sharon has said time and time again he won't negotiate
with Palestinians until this violence stops. Clearly, that's not
happening. Within the last hour, the attack. With all due respect,
what does it matter what's in the U.S. proposal if it doesn't
accomplish the one requirement that will bring Sharon back to the
negotiating table?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think that may be somewhat of an
overstatement of what the Prime Minister has said. The Prime
Minister has been clear in his focus on security, and it's
understandable why Israel has a focus on security, given what they
are going through.
But the President understands and the President in his
conversations with Prime Minister Sharon and with the Arab leaders
has made clear that the United States can help bring parties
together, can help bridge some of the gaps between the Israelis and
the Arabs, between the Israelis and the Palestinians. And Prime
Minister Sharon, as well as the Arab leaders, have all expressed a
desire for peace. And that's why the United States occupies a unique
role in the world in bringing these parties together. And President
Bush is determined to play that role.
Q Ari, the President is waiting for the right time to put his
plan forward, but the terrorists or the people who perpetrate these
attacks have their own calendar and their own schedule. So what's to
stop whenever the President does his speech to have attacks the same
time, or a few minutes afterwards or very shortly afterwards? The
attacks are not going to stop, so what's holding the President back
from giving it anyway?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat
need to make every effort to stop the attacks. These attacks are
coming from territory that are occupied -- territory that is under
Palestinian Authority control. And the Palestinian Authority needs
to do everything in its power to stop these attacks.
Q Has the President called Sharon ever since this latest
incident?
MR. FLEISCHER: He has not.
Q I understand the expressions of sympathy and understanding as
Israel tries to recover from these two attacks. But Israel yesterday
announced a long-term policy the reoccupy territory; that's not a
short-term response to one attack, it's a long-term policy. So does
the President think it's a good idea or not for Israel to implement
that policy?
MR. FLEISCHER: Jean, again, the President understands that Israel
is in the midst of dealing with these attacks. And the President's
message is that Israel has a right to defend itself. And the
President also reminds Israel to be aware of the consequences
tomorrow of any actions they take today.
Q But Israel has announced how it will react, and that is to
re-take land. Is that a good idea, as the President sees it?
MR. FLEISCHER: I've shared with you the President's immediate
reaction to the announcements that you have heard so far.
Q So is it safe to say the White House has no position or no
reaction to the actual policy that the Israelis announced last
night?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, it's just exactly as I outlined it.
Q Thank you. Wouldn't a call for a Palestinian state at this time
be seen as a reward for terrorism? And why would a state at this
time guarantee an end to terrorism? And finally, if Israel is in a
state of war, is the U.S. bound to help defend Israel if Israel is
in trouble and calls the U.S. --
MR. FLEISCHER: Okay, I'm just not going to get drawn into any
speculation about what the specific topics are that the President
will discuss when he discusses this. I think what you will find is
that when the President does share with the American people his
conclusions based on the many meetings that he's had, and his vision
long-term, and short-term and medium-term, about how to bring the
Israelis and Palestinians together, those questions will be
answered. Those are legitimate questions; they raise valid issues.
The President is aware of all the issues and the nuances of those
issues and the complications on both sides of those issues. And when
you hear from the President you will hear these things answered in
entirety and in context. And the President will share that when he
decides to.
Q Including the question about the state of war? In the past, the
United States has come to Israel's help and --
MR. FLEISCHER: I think the President has made perfectly plain
that the United States is and will continue to forever be a strong
and powerful friend of Israel's.
Q Ari, are you ruling out the President talking on this subject
this week?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not indicating any guesses about the specific
day. As always, when the White House has something to inform you
about in terms of the timing of a presidential event, we will.
Q Can you tell us whether the President's timetable for the
speech was altered today as a result of the second attack, a second
bombing attack, or earlier?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, let me just say that the President wants to
give his speech at a time when it will have the maximum impact to
bring the maximum prospects for peace to the region. And the
President will make that determination about what that right time
is. Clearly, acts of terrorism present threats to all in the region
-- threats, of course, to Israel, the Israeli people and the
security of Israel, and acts of terrorism also diminish the hopes,
the legitimate hopes of the Palestinian people.
I'm sorry, I said Deb, and then we'll go to Richard.
Q Ari, the Israelis say that these latest attacks are one more
proof that it is impossible to have Yasser Arafat as a legitimate
peace partner. What is your response to that?
MR. FLEISCHER: Whatever the source of the attacks, the President
thinks that Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority can do more
to stop them, and they need to do more, they should do more, and
they should want to do more. If terrorism is to be condemned in not
only word, but in deed, the Palestinian Authority needs to take
additional action, in the President's opinion, to help Israel to
know that Israel's security will be maintained.
Q And, Ari, what if they don't?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm sorry?
Q What if they don't. I mean, I'm sort of asking the same
question that Jean asked before in a different way, which is, the
President has said repeatedly, ever since he's gotten into office,
that Yasser Arafat needs to do more, and he hasn't.
MR. FLEISCHER: I think that, from the President's point of view,
if the Palestinian Authority doesn't it will be another example of
the Palestinian Authority letting down the Palestinian people.
Q Ari, do you get any sense that the timing of these attacks that
came this week were designed to scuttle the speech or delay the
speech --
MR. FLEISCHER: I can't put a -- pin a cause of action of that
nature. Unfortunately, these attacks have been going on for -- of
such long duration that I've not heard anybody in our government
speculate that they're timed to anything involving the United States
or President Bush's speech.
David.
Q Ari, the President has said on a number of occasions that he
wants to move at some point to a Palestinian state. What is his
thinking on the question of how you balance the setting a time that
would make the Palestinians realize this will, in fact, eventually
happen, and his own stress on the question of what they need -- what
Palestinians need to do to reform? When he discusses this, how does
he balance time line versus performance together? Which of those two
are more important?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President's focus is on two things. One
is making Israel more secure, and two, giving hope to the
Palestinian people for their future. And the President believes that
the best way to give hope to the Palestinian people for their future
is through the development of an infrastructure that's accountable
within Palestinian governance that will help develop peace, that
will build institutions that are reliable, that citizens can develop
-- can depend on to protect peace, and to help them to have a strong
future, just like citizens look to their government anywhere around
the world for that.
As far as anything dealing with a timetable or anything of that
nature, again, if the President has anything to share on that topic
specifically, you'll hear it in complete context from the President
when he decides to.
Q Ari, by waiting until the moment is right, presumably a moment
of calm when Israel has not just been hit by a terrorist bombing,
doesn't the President put his own peacemaking at hostage -- doesn't
he make his peacemaking hostage to a terrorist timetable?
MR. FLEISCHER: Terrorists put everybody at hostage. The
terrorists who carry out these acts have a -- are determined to stop
a peace process from taking place, and the President will not let
that happen. The President is determined to follow through, to focus
on the long-term, which is seeing through the attacks and helping
Israel and the Palestinian people and the Arab nations achieve a
peaceful settlement to these issues.
The President will wait for the moment that he thinks is the most
appropriate moment, so that his speech is heard by all the parties
in the region and his speech has the best prospects of being acted
upon.
James.
Q Ari, the President has told the world many times that the
United States will view any regime that harbors terrorists or
clothes terrorists or feeds terrorists or supports terrorists in any
way as terrorist regimes unto themselves. Last week, Dr. Rice termed
the Palestinian Authority a corrupt regime that cavorts with terror.
Is cavorting with terror enough to get a regime classified under the
Bush Doctrine as a terrorist regime?
MR. FLEISCHER: Let me put it to you this way. The President
believes that Yasser Arafat needs to step up and do more to stop and
prevent these attacks from taking place. The President expects the
Palestinian Authority to do the same. And the President is
understanding of Israel's right to self-defense. But there is more
that can be done from the Palestinian side of the border to prevent
these actions from taking place.
These actions threaten a radicalism in place of a government. And
radicalism cannot be the future for the Palestinian people, in the
President's opinion. The only path to peace lies through political
solutions. And the people who carry out these attacks represent a
radical threat to forces that the President hopes will be created on
the Palestinian side that will work toward peace. And it's important
for Palestinian people who are concerned about peace to step up
their actions and to fight this type of radicalism and this type of
terrorism.
Q The Israelis, Ari, have produced documents to this government
that purport to link directly the Palestinian Authority to these
kinds of terrorist operations. And Dr. Rice has termed it a regime
that cavorts with terror. On what basis then does the President have
this expectation that the Palestinian Authority is going to do any
more than it already has?
MR. FLEISCHER: As the President has said, he believes that there
is talent in the Palestinian people and that the talent will emerge
to help create this environment. The challenge for the Palestinian
people is to reject, not only in word, but in deed, those who would
divert the Palestinian people from their just cause of statehood in
a way in the direction of radicalism that threatens their ability to
become a state.
Peter.
Q Ari, following up on Richard's question. The terrorists have a
longstanding pattern of linking their attacks to upcoming events,
visits to the region by high-level delegations and so forth. The
Israel government seems to think that this is an attempt to undercut
the President. What makes you think that it's not linked to that in
any way?
MR. FLEISCHER: I just have not heard anybody in our government
come to that conclusion. And, unfortunately, there have been so many
scores of these types of attacks that it's very hard to pinpoint any
cause and action to anything involved with the United States.
I think it's fair to say, of course, when Prime Minister Sharon
was here meeting with President Bush for a 45-minute window when an
attack took place exactly in the middle of that window, that was
likely timed to the President's visit with the Prime Minister. But
beyond that, I have not heard anybody in our government come to that
point. Unfortunately, there have been attacks before, in the middle
of and after the President was working on various initiatives.
Q Is there any sense here as to why they are hitting these
targets in Jerusalem on such a strong basis than has been seen for a
long time?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think that there's been enough signs of
terrorism in the region that there are indications they're hitting
multiple regions and they've been stopped, in fact, by the Israelis
from being successful in many regions, as well.
Q Ari, there are those who would argue that the attacks of the
last 48 hours underscore the urgency of a sound U.S. peace proposal.
You've suggested, I believe today, that the reason the President is
not embracing that is because he thinks his message would not be
heard properly. Could you tell us more about why you think his
message would not be heard at this moment? And at what point is the
President's concern that he, himself, is being paralyzed, that the
terrorists have, in essence, a veto over his own peace process?
MR. FLEISCHER: The terrorists are vetoing the peace process that
would benefit the Palestinian people the most. The terrorists are
the biggest threat to peace in the region. And the President of the
United States will wait for the appropriate moment to give a speech.
But it's the people in the region who don't want to wait. They want
peace. They want statehood. They want security. And the terrorists
represent a threat to all of the above.
Q I'm sorry, Ari --
MR. FLEISCHER: Go ahead, Bob.
Q -- can you say why the President thinks that at this moment,
after these attacks, his message would not be heard?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think it's only logical that in the wake of
these attacks and as people are worried about the most immediate
needs, which is taking care of the wounded and addressing the
suffering of those whose family members have been affected, the
prospects for listening to a message of peace are not as strong as
they would be at some other time. There's an immediacy to the
actions in the Middle East right now and the President will wait for
the appropriate moment, so that his message can be heard and can be
acted on with the greatest chance of the parties listening.
Q Ari, two questions. One is the water dispute with Mexico -- a
taken question by Scott yesterday. What is the position of President
Bush regarding the rejection of the government of Mexico to -- that
the Mexican authorities has a debt to the U.S. in terms of the
water?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'll have to get back to you on that. I don't have
anything with me on that topic.
Q And, second, the Mexican authorities just announced that they
gave the agreement or okay to Tony Garza to be the ambassador of the
U.S. and Mexico. When did the President is going to make the
nomination?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, as you know, when it comes to personnel I
won't speculate about anybody the President may or may not appoint,
until the President makes the announcement.
Q I'm from Canadian Television, Rosemary Thompson. I've got a
question about a New York Times report about a military inquiry that
concluded that the U.S. pilot involved in the friendly fire incident
against the Canadian troops didn't make the proper checks before he
dropped the 500-pound bomb. I'm wondering if you know whether any
disciplinary action will be taken against this pilot?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's a question you need to address to the
Department of Defense.
Q And what about the report, itself? It seems that Central
Command doesn't want to release it. Is there any reason for that?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, you need to check with the Department of
Defense about an internal DOD report.
James.
Q Ari, on a different subject, not the Middle East. There have
been some high-profile arrests around the world -- in Morocco and
elsewhere -- of suspected al Qaeda operatives. Could you summarize
where the administration feels we are at in our pursuit of
high-level al Qaeda operatives? Are we 50 percent of the way there?
How are we doing in that regard?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, without getting into any of specific names
that have been written about in terms of the recent arrests, there
have been ongoing, notable successes in the war against terrorism on
one of the fronts that we often talk about, which is cooperation
with other nations in arresting people.
And the President has used the figure 2,400 people generally
around the world who were arrested. You can increase those figures a
little bit more now. These are signs of cooperation that we are
getting from allied nations, other nations, key people in the region
helping the United States and the international coalition.
This is, indeed, a multifront war and the arrests of people that
-- whether they are junior, medium or senior level of al Qaeda --
all of this is very helpful in keeping would-be killers off the
street and would-be planners and organizers off the street.
Q Ari, can I just briefly have a preview of the four-day fitness
campaign that begins tomorrow? And does the President want Americans
to emulate his example?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is very much looking forward to
addressing an important domestic issue which not only is close to
his heart, but it's also an important health care initiative for the
American people. And the fact of the matter is, often in our country
when Presidents step out and use the bully pulpit of the presidency,
many Americans listen. And when it comes to exercise, there are many
people who just need that extra little nudge to go out there and do
a little bit more exercise. And the President hopes the initiative
he is about to launch will help Americans exercise more and stay
healthy or keep healthy or get healthy.
So tomorrow, the President will launch an initiative beginning
with the announcement of his Physical Fitness Panel on the South
Lawn of the White House. There will be health screenings available
on the South Lawn of the White House for our invited guests.
The next day, Friday, the President will travel to Florida where
the President will visit a senior citizens' center, and the
President will
discuss age-appropriate physical education and exercise with
seniors. You're never too old to exercise, and that will be one of
the messages of the President.
Q Do you exercise?
MR. FLEISCHER: Helen, you exercise me every day. (Laughter.)
On Saturday, the President is going to probably lead White House
staffers in a three-mile run at a local facility. And we have --
already have some 400 White House staffers. It instantly sold out.
Instead of paying a registration fee, the staff was asked to donate
their time to local charities. And then there will be a tee-ball
game on the South Lawn on Sunday.
But in a serious way, it is a fact that people do take cues from
the President about a number of areas, and health and exercise is
one of them. The President hopes in some small way to get Americans
to change their behavior or increase their exercise or start
exercising.
Q Will there be health screening for reporters? (Laughter.)
Q Will Nurse Ratchet be available --
Q Ari, talk a little bit about the President's own fitness
regiment.
MR. FLEISCHER: The question was the President's own physical
fitness regimen. The President continues to work out on virtually a
daily basis. He will run, typically about three miles a day. He will
do a bit of a workout in terms of live weights also. The President
believes in cross-training. And the President finds it very healthy
in terms of just physical strength, physical endurance, keeping in
shape. But it's also good for the mind. And I think that's something
that the American people know, when they run, when they exercise,
it's a healthy aspect of daily life, hopefully daily life, in many
ways, physical and mental.
Q Can I follow on that?
MR. FLEISCHER: Keith.
Q I wanted to just clarify one answer that you gave. You were
asked, by James I think, about whether -- why the President would
have confidence that Arafat would act to reduce terrorism. And you
answered by saying that he hoped that there would be talent from
within the Palestinian people that would do that. You weren't trying
to indicate that the President has actually finally given up hope in
Arafat's ability to do that, were you?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President has not seen anything yet from
Yasser Arafat that gives the President confidence that Yasser Arafat
is the man who will take these steps. Again, these are issues that
the Palestinian people face, in terms of their leadership. These are
issues for the Palestinian people to address. But the President has
said on multiple times that Yasser Arafat has yet to earn his trust.
Q And does he still continue, though, to believe that there's a
possibility that Arafat will do that?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President looks to the Palestinian people, and
any source within the Palestinian Authority to do that. What's
important is that it be done.
Ed.
Q Can I follow up on Steve's question about exercising? When the
President is either running on the treadmill or doing weights, and
when Tom Brokaw is not around, is he doing something else, like
reading, or getting briefings, talking on the phone?
MR. FLEISCHER: You mean while he's on the treadmill?
Q While he's exercising.
MR. FLEISCHER: No, I think he's -- he focuses very much on his
exercise program. He'll usually get into the Oval Office a little
before 7:00 a.m. in the morning. And then, typically, the
President's routine is, late in the evening, after he leaves the
White House and gets back over to the residence, he'll work out,
much like many Americans when their day is done, on their way home
they'll go and they'll work out.
Following the workout, the typical routine of the President is to
start working on his briefing papers for the next day, and speeches,
and things of that nature. But the President does believe strongly
in trying to find time every day for his workout routine, and he
thinks it's important for all Americans to try to find more ways to
find more time to workout and exercise. And it does have important
health care consequences for our country. And the President said in
talking about this that he thinks this is a way to help Americans
live longer. And certainly, if people are living longer and living
healthier, that's a wonderful thing for all families across our
country, as parents exercise and families can enjoy more time with
each other because they're around longer.
Thank you.
END 1:08 P.M. EDT
#174-06/19
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