Posted on 10/01/2005 4:03:29 PM PDT by Wolfstar
PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush, and the dogs, are at Camp David. They will return to Washington tomorrow. Aides said the President will be using part of his time at Camp David to finalize his choice to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. The announcement is expected early next week.
THE WEEK AHEAD: In addition to likely announcement about the Supreme Court, expected as early as Monday, the administration is planning a series of speeches and events leading up to the Iraqi referendum on its proposed Constitution to be held in two weeks.
The President is planning to be at the Supreme Court Monday to attend the formal investiture of Chief Justice Roberts. [Although I can't say if it's unprecedented, visits by sitting presidents to the Supreme Court are quite rare.]
The Vice President is traveling to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Monday, where he will be talking about the war on terrorism.
The President will then deliver a speech in Washington, D.C. on Thursday to update the American people on the war on terrorism.
Also this week (no date announced) Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi of Malta will make an official visit to the U.S. and is expected to meet with President Bush.
UPCOMING IN OCTOBER: The President will welcome President Kwasniewski of Poland to the White House for a farewell meeting and lunch on October 12. President Kwasniewski will conclude his second term as President this December.
President Bush will host Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on October 20 for talks expected to focus on efforts to crack down on anti-Israel extremists.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: From the Presidential Radio Address, Saturday, October 1, 2005:
The growing size and increasing capability of the Iraqi security forces are helping our coalition address a challenge we have faced since the beginning of the war. It used to be that after we cleared the terrorists out of a city there were not enough qualified Iraqi troops to maintain control, so if we left to conduct missions in other areas of Iraq, the terrorists would try to move back in. Now the increasing number of more capable Iraqi troops has allowed us to keep a better hold on the cities we have taken from the terrorists. The Iraqi troops know their people and their language, and they know who the terrorists are. By leaving Iraqi units in the cities we have cleared out, we can keep those cities safe, while moving on to hunt down the terrorists in other parts of the country.
We used this approach recently in Iraq's northwest region where Iraqi and coalition forces targeted an area that was one of the main routes for foreign terrorists entering Iraq from Syria. During operations in the key town of Tal Afar, Iraqi security forces outnumbered coalition forces for the first time in a major offensive operation. Because of our joint efforts, hundreds of insurgents and terrorists have been killed, or captured, or flushed out, and our continued efforts will make it more difficult for foreign terrorists to enter Iraq.
As part of our strategy, Iraqi forces have stayed behind in Tal Afar to ensure that the terrorists cannot return and regroup. And coalition and Iraqi troops are pursuing the terrorists in western Iraq, working to deny al Qaeda a safe haven there, and to stop terrorists from crossing into the country through Syria.
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Helen.
Q The papers have been satiated in the last few days, again with another round of our abuse of prisoners and detainees and torture. Has the President ever issued a directive to all military prisons under our control that they should not torture and they should abide by the Geneva Accord?
[AN ASIDE FROM WOLFSTAR: Helen appears to be forgetting the English language. She uses the word "satiated" above when she means "saturated." Satiated means satisfied and full after eating. But reporters never make mistakes, now do they!]
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. Yes. In fact, we did that quite some time ago.
Q There is an actual directive?
MR. McCLELLAN: If people are involved in wrongdoing, they're going to be held to account. And that's exactly what -- that's exactly what this administration has done.
Q I asked you if the President has issued any executive order against torture.
MR. McCLELLAN: The President made it very clear that we do not torture and we do not condone torture. And if people --
Q But we do.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- and if people break the law, they are brought to account. And that's exactly what we've done in the instances that you're referring to.
Q Why don't they know it, then? I mean, why has there been this continued abuse?
MR. McCLELLAN: They do know it. And the Secretary of Defense and military leaders have taken steps to prevent such horrible atrocities from happening again.
Q But not if it goes beyond sergeant. Why is that?
MR. McCLELLAN: You might want to talk to the Department of Defense, because they can brief you --
Q No, I think this is something at the presidential level.
MR. McCLELLAN: No, but I think it's important --
Q It has to do something with our reputation.
MR. McCLELLAN: I think it's important for the American people to know the facts. And if you look at the facts, people have been brought to justice that are involved in wrongdoing. And any allegation of wrongdoing is taken very seriously by this administration. We have an outstanding military; 99.9 percent of the men and women in uniform do an outstanding job and represent the American people in the best possible way. They uphold our standards and our values.
Q Do you have any papers showing the President has issued a directive against torture?
MR. McCLELLAN: We've actually put out paper previously about the directives that he's made --
Q An actual order?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- and he has publicly stated it very clearly to everyone in his administration and to the American people.
Q Then why is it still going on?
The next exchange was between Terry Moran and Scott McClellan. Notice the premise of Moran's question [always notice the premise reporters use in their questions]. Moran mischaracterizes the single charge against Tom Delay as "money laundering," and then attempts to tie "money laundering" to the RNC and President Bush.
Q Does the President take the allegation of wrongdoing seriously, that Tom DeLay used the Republican National Committee as a money laundering operation to fund local elections in Texas? That's what the grand jury is indicting him for.
MR. McCLELLAN: That's what the legal process will proceed to address. And --
Q How seriously does the President take that allegation?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Terry, Leader Delay's office has put out a statement --
Q I'm not asking Leader DeLay's office.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- disputing the assertions. We need to let the legal process proceed. And that's what the President believes.
WOLFSTAR'S ANSWER TO MORAN: The President should take the allegation about as seriously as I take reporters, which is to say not at all. The President should take the allegation about as seriously as reporters take their obligation to tell the truth, which is to say not at all.
Here!
Pinging you to the Saturday Dose. It's good to be back among my Dose friends.
Oh thank goodness, the dose is up!
Laura, Spotty and a very young Barney at the White House shortly after the 2000 Inaugural.
Dubya and Barney at the ranch.
Barney wants to get down. The Boss has other ideas.
Barney and President Franklin Roosevelt's Fala.
Good evening, Wolfstar. Thanks for the Dose.
When is Scott going to say "Terry, you've apparently forgotten that this is America where a man is innocent until proven guilty. Did you think that has changed?"
Trying on a cowboy hat.
Trying out a fishing rod.
Greeting Rolling Thunder participants.
General Myers salutes as he stands with his wife, Mary Jo during the ceremonies at Summerall Field in Ft. Myer, Va.
President Bush wave to reporters as he and first lady Laura Bush leave the home of Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld in Washington, September 26, 2005. They had attended a farewell dinner for General Myers.
A little bit of the military pomp and circumstances yesterday.
Present!
Under 20?
President Bush called the Prime Minister yesterday to discuss US-India relations prior to the upcoming India-Pakistan summit. This is, of course, a highly important development between two bitter enemies with nuclear weapons. However, since our media is too busy obsessing over Tom DeLay, New Orleans, presidential "approval ratings," and the latest missing individual to report this news, I thought you'd be interested in a brief report from New Delhi:
NEW DELHI, Sept 30: The United States on Friday indicated it would closely watch Indian Foreign Minister Kunwar Natwar Singh’s visit to Pakistan starting Sunday following a telephonic conversation between US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Mr Natwar Singh’s visit is expected to boost bilateral ties. But, official sources said, with improved visa facilities and easier consular access for their prisoners on the cards, the real issue to watch would be the public position both countries take on the Iran gas pipeline and Tehran’s nuclear quest.
During the 10-minute conversation initiated by the US side, President Bush and Prime Minister Singh “reviewed the implementation of the July 18 Indo-US joint statement and other bilateral issues and touched on developments in the region,” the prime minister’s media adviser Sanjay Barua said in a statement.
Diplomatic sources term the telephone call significant as it came two days before Mr Natwar Singh meets Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri in Islamabad.
Laura was sporting a slightly new hair style at the Roberts swearing in. It's a little longer and not swept back as much from her face. And, of course, the Vice President was sporting a new, and hopefully temporary accessory -- a cane.
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