Q Can I ask about something that was in the speech? The economy. The President talked about if we cede ground in Iraq there could be an economic impact here back in the United States. Did he mean higher oil prices if there's instability --

MS. PERINO: No, and that's not precisely what he said. What he said was that what is critical is to make sure that we do not allow al Qaeda to establish a safe haven in Iraq or elsewhere because the impacts of such a safe haven could be catastrophic both in lives and on the economy. We know what the kind of impact that just the 9/11 attack had on our country, where over a million people lost their jobs, and our stock markets went into a turmoil, and we had to take significant action in order to help right our economy. So that's what he was talking about, in general, not specifically about oil.

seen at 14:09, 19 March in Whitehouse Press Briefings. Email this to a friend.
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