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The Government Says
Unofficial blog of briefings from the Whitehouse. Based on DowningStreetSays.com.

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Press Briefing by Scott McClellan

MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everyone. I want to begin with a couple updates. Earlier today, this morning, the President met with a congressional delegation that had just returned recently from Sudan. This was a group of House leaders, led by Congresswoman Pelosi, and others -- Congressman Wilson and some others that were on that trip. And they visited the Darfur region. The situation in Sudan, and particularly in the Darfur region, remains a top priority for this administration. So the President was pleased to hear a report back from them about what they saw on the ground. And we look forward to continuing to work with these leaders and others to press forward -- press the parties to move forward on a peace agreement, and to end the violence in Darfur. Following that, the President had a good meeting with a bipartisan group of senators and House members on moving forward on the line-item veto act. This is an important piece of legislation that the President proposed, and will help us to rein in wasteful spending, reduce the budget deficit, and improve accountability so that we can line-item out those earmarks that are sometimes passed and that we do not believe are necessary. One announcement to make on the President's schedule, and then I'll be glad to go to questions. The President looks forward to welcoming President Johnson Sirleaf of the Republic of Liberia to the White House on March 21st. The visit will be an opportunity for the President to congratulate President Johnson Sirleaf on becoming America -- becoming Africa's first woman to be elected head of state. The two leaders will discuss continuing cooperation in the areas of reconstruction, education, HIV/AIDS, trade, asset recovery and security sector reform, and democratic reform, as well as the need to bring Charles Taylor to justice. And with that, I'll be glad to go to your questions. Go ahead, Jim. MR. McCLELLAN: I'm wondering -- Stephen Hadley is speaking right now, saying that America is at war as our number one sort of security concern, in terms of understanding what the nation faces by way of security concerns. Can you tell me, in the three-plus years since the last time a National Security Strategy document was released, what has being at war taught the administration, and how is it reflected in this latest Security Strategy? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, this is the National Security Strategy for 2006 that was released earlier today. It is a document that really updates the National Security Strategy we outlined in 2002. It builds upon the foundation and framework that was outlined in that National Security Strategy. What it also does is look at what we have accomplished over that time period. It also looks at the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, and it really charts out a way forward. And in terms of being a nation at war, we do remain a nation at war. The most immediate, shorter-term threat we face is from terrorists. And that's why we're working to stay on the offensive and go after the terrorists. I think you'll hear our National Security Advisor talk about the successes we have achieved in the war on terrorism and how we have worked to bring terrorists to justice and really disrupt and dismantle the al Qaeda leadership. There are a number of al Qaeda leaders that have been brought to justice. But this is a comprehensive war. We're fighting it on many fronts.

seen at 12:21, 16 March in Whitehouse Press Briefings. Email this to a friend.
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