MR. McCLELLAN: He will be tried for the oppression and brutality of his regime. He is someone who is no longer carrying out the atrocities on the American [sic] people. He is now in jail. There is a legal process that has been put in place, and the Iraqis will move forward on that legal process.

Go ahead, Bob.

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MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I mean, the President talked about it in his comprehensive energy plan that he outlined back in 2001, about the importance of diversifying our sources of supply so that we can become less dependent upon foreign sources of energy. And nuclear energy is something that was discussed at length in that energy report. Energy security is important to our economic security and our national security. It's a high priority for the President. The President will continue to talk about ways we can reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy to make America more energy self-sufficient. And nuclear energy is something he is certainly committed to looking at. He has talked about it in the past on a number of occasions, as well.

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Q Scott, going back to NATO , the refusal of some members to participate in the training, do you see that as symbolic or symptomatic of a deeper fissure within NATO than maybe we thought there had been before, given that this is not the first time that this sort of thing has happened?

... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everybody. The President is pleased that the House yesterday, in an overwhelming, bipartisan way, passed the intelligence reform legislation. He commends Speaker Hastert, Congressman Hoekstra, Congresswoman Harman, Congressman Hunter and all members of the House who helped to make it happen. We look forward to the Senate acting on this high-priority legislation this afternoon. The President appreciates the leadership of Majority Leader Frist and Senators Collins and Lieberman on the important reforms contained in this legislation.

The President's number one priority is the safety and security of the American people. These reforms build upon the many steps we have already taken since September 11th to better protect the American people. We remain a nation at war on terrorism and intelligence is our first line of defense. It is vital that we have the best possible intelligence. The President is pleased that Congress is acting this week to get this done. He looks forward to the legislation reaching his desk so he can sign it into law.

And with that, I will be glad to take your questions. Steve. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: The legislation spells out a time frame for moving forward on these provisions within it. The President has already acted on a number of the recommendations that the 9/11 Commission made prior to this legislation. The President has acted in one way or another on 31 of 41 of the recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. September 11th brought to light in a very vivid and tragic way that there are some new dangerous threats that we face, and this President has led and acted to take steps to better protect the American people and make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure their safety and security. And he will continue to do that as we move forward. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: On the first part, it depends on the legislation arriving here at the White House, as well as working out schedules with members of Congress. I wouldn't expect it to be this week. Certainly we want to make sure that some members are there with the President so we can commend them for all their work in helping to make this happen. Congress deserves a lot of credit for moving this legislation forward in a relatively quick period of time. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: I would not expect it this week. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: And on the director of national intelligence position, first of all, let me remind you on both those questions that the legislation has to pass the Senate this afternoon. So we fully expect that it will, and are pleased to see that happen. But we will move as quickly as we can, obviously, to implement the provisions and to move forward on the steps it calls for in this legislation. But I don't get into speculating about the timing or who might be in that position. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, there's a lot of complaints up on the Hill today that the compromise bill was watered down and a number of important provisions were dropped. Is the President confident that everything necessary to reform intelligence and protect America is included in the bill that will come to his desk? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: This legislation is a major step forward in our efforts to make sure we are doing everything we can to protect the American people. But the President is always looking at additional steps that we can take.

The number one way we can protect the American people is to stay on the offensive against the terrorists and bring them to justice before they can carry out their harm on the American people. It's also important that we continue to move forward and defeat the ideology of hatred that terrorists espouse. And that's why the President is working to advance freedom and democracy in the Middle East. For too long, we ignored that region of the world and we saw what had happened when the terrorists hijacked planes and flew them into buildings and killed some 3,000 innocent Americans. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's why he appointed the independent commission. There is always more that we can do to better protect the American people. We started with creating the Department of Homeland Security, but it doesn't -- actually, we started by going into Afghanistan immediately after September 11th. We took steps, additional steps. We created the Department of Homeland Security; we've transformed the FBI to make terrorism its number one priority; we created the Terrorist Threat Integration Center; we passed the USA Patriot Act.

The President will never stop in his efforts to make sure that we are doing all we can to protect the American people from the threats that we face. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me go to Norah, and then I'll come to you. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Given that the President shares the concern of the leaders of Iraq and Jordan that Iran may be trying to influence the Iraqi elections, what steps were discussed in his meetings with those leaders about how to make sure that there aren't a million Iranians in Iraq that could unfairly influence the elections? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q The President has talked a lot about moving forward on January 30th and the right of the Iraqis to choose democracy, to choose freedom. And you have leaders of countries in that region saying there are a million Iranians that have flooded Iraq, and they're going to disrupt the process. ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, on the intelligence bill, some of the things that didn't make it are the key issues regarding immigration that Mr. Sensenbrenner and others have raised, including driver's licenses for immigrants. The President has indicated he will cooperate with an effort to address those issues early on next year. Does the White House have a position at this point on driver's licenses? Are there other issues in the immigration area that it thinks need to be addressed? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: The view that the President has expressed is that we need to consult closely with the states on those standards that are being discussed. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, what we've said is we'll talk with Congress about these issues, and he looks forward to doing so early next year, and that it's important to consult closely with the states so that we can improve those standards. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Sure. Sure. Well, the President believes we have a real opportunity before us to move forward on helping the Palestinian people realize a viable democratic state. The upcoming elections are part of the process toward moving in that direction, and we certainly have a national security interest in helping to end violence in the area and to move towards the President's two-state vision that he outlined in 2002. And the Secretary of State had recommended to the President that he use his waiver authority. The President agreed with that recommendation. He previously said we want to do everything we can to help the Palestinian people as they move forward on holding elections, and this contribution of financial assistance hopefully will send a signal to other nations, as well, that they should help the Palestinian people as they move forward on conducting these elections.

We're pleased that an agreement has been reached out between the Palestinians and Israel over the framework and the logistics for holding those elections. That's a positive and constructive step forward. And certainly, now you have a Finance Minister in Minister Fayad who is strongly committed to transparency and openness with those funds. He is someone that posts the budget on the website so everybody can see it. And so we have great confidence in the ability of those funds being directed toward the purpose for which they are designated. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, they are in a serious financial situation right now. And that's why we're sending a message with this financial assistance that we want to help as they move forward on elections and as they move forward on putting institutions in place for a viable state to emerge. And, yes, the funds are designated for financing the provision of utility services, and this will help them address some of those financial issues as they move forward on holding elections and putting the institutions in place. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I'm going to keep going, and I'll come to you. Go ahead. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, two questions. One, right after meeting President Bush in the White House in the Oval Office, General Musharraf told CNN that it was -- he joins Mr. Kofi Annan of the U.N. criticizing the U.S. war on Iraq. He said that it was a big mistake why the U.S. to invade Iraq, and later on he went to London, in the House of Commons and he said that the U.S.-led war -- the way the U.S. led the war in Iraq made the world more dangerous than safe. How does the President feel? He calls him friend and helping the U.S. war on terror, and now he's -- ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me keep going. Sarah, go ahead. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Thank you. Following Norah's question about Iran, there are published reports today that Iran is trying to influence the general Iraqi elections to form a religious government similar to Iran's. Would the President tolerate such a government in Iraq? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, in your answer on Iran, and starting with your answer to Norah's question, I heard a very articulate reemphasis of what your policy is, but not an answer to the question of what it is that we would do. In other words, if we actually think that there are Iranians who would be attempting to vote, what is the action plan to help the Iraqis, as you said, in supporting them in the election, to make sure that only Iraqis are voting? And what is the set of disincentives that you are preparing to lay out for the Iranians so that they don't interfere? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I wouldn't just limit it to those issues. But, again, you're asking me to speculate on something that is yet to happen at this point. I'm not going to do that. But I am going to make it very clear what our views are, and what we expect of parties in the region.

Ann, you had a question. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I'm glad you actually brought that up. I got a little bit of additional information from this morning when we discussed this issue. First of all, the President believes it's important for Major League Baseball -- management and the players' union -- to act by taking strong steps to address the problem. Professional baseball players are people our children look up to. Players use drugs -- players who use drugs undermine the efforts of parents and coaches to send the right message to our children. Drug use also poses some real risks, health risks to athletes, and it also diminishes the integrity of sports. And the President has made it very clear that he believes Major League Baseball needs to act to address the problem.

In terms of our involvement, the White House is not involved in any of the current negotiations between management and the players' union. There is some positive discussion going on that we've all ready about, where they are looking at instituting a new, tougher drug policy -- a tougher steroids-testing policy. And we hope that they will continue to move forward on that.

There was an individual, Roland Betts, who is a close personal friend of the President, someone who has a long history of involvement in baseball, who the President -- who I would describe as an informal conduit for the President with Major League Baseball previously. He had some discussions with management and the players' union about the President's belief that they need a tough, steroids-testing policy. And that was back in the May-June time frame. But my understanding is he has not been involved in any of the current negotiations. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Not only that; the President has talked about it on many occasions. I remember when the Florida Marlins baseball team was here earlier in the year, he again emphasized the importance of setting the right example for our children and of taking steps to address this issue. The President has talked about it on many occasions. He believes very firmly that baseball needs to act to address this matter. And baseball is moving in that direction, and we hope that they will continue to move in that direction. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: There were some -- there were some talks I think that were going on at that point. And like I said, he was an informal conduit for the President on some of these issues. But it was really focusing on letting them know what the President's view was, his belief that Major League Baseball needs to act to address the matter.

Connie, go ahead, and then I'll come to Bob. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q To follow on the Palestinian question, will the United States authorities monitor that $20 million to see that it actually is used for utilities? And is the U.S. helping the Palestinian people recover that reported $6 billion that Yasser Arafat -- ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Connie, I guess you'll ask me about it then.

Go ahead. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, on intelligence reform,, the President said after the election he had political capital to spend. Can we assume he spent a considerable amount of it on this legislation? And was he surprised at the idea of having to spend it so quickly on Republicans to keep them from scuttling this bill? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: And the President -- the President worked very closely with leaders to move this legislation forward. I kept you apprised of his conversations, as well as his correspondence with members. The White House staff was very involved. Our leg team -- our legislative team deserves a lot of credit for their efforts to work with the leaders on this, as well as Secretary Card. And the Vice President was in close contact with the leadership. The President is pleased that it is moving forward.

Go ahead. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, two unrelated questions. First, on the economic conference next week, can you give us anything more in terms of themes or participants? And, secondly, getting back to the steroids issue for a minute, those of us who cover him know the President to be a very -- a very serious baseball fan, follower of the game. I'm wondering what his opinion is on the developments of the last week or two, the revelations about Giambi and Bonds. ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, two days ago the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors gave a speech at Johns Hopkins, talking about, among other things, Social Security and how unsustainable it will be for two main reasons -- one being that, of course, the baby boomers, there are more of them than there will be young people to support them in the future. But the second point he raised is the fact that currently, benefit levels initially are determined by indexing them to wages, and that over a long period of time that that is just not sustainable. And I'm wondering if the administration would support the idea of indexing future benefits or initial benefits to prices, rather than wages. ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Paula, we will continue to talk about this issue as we move forward, I am sure. The President believes that younger workers should be able to realize a greater rate of return on their retirement savings. That's why he strongly supports personal savings accounts. Personal savings accounts are part of the solution for fixing this problem of an unfunded liability. It is headed in a direction that will cost us some $10 trillion, or $10.4 trillion in real dollars today. And the President is committed to acting and fixing this problem, not passing it on.

That's what we will do. We look forward to working with Congress. We certainly appreciate Congressman Boyd, a Democrat, coming out in strong support of fixing this problem. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead. I'm going to keep moving. I think the President, in his principles, Paula, outlined very clearly that there would be no changes for those at or near retirement, but that, for younger workers, we want to help them realize a greater rate of return on their retirement savings. That's why he is calling for a new benefit that would be in the form of a personal savings account. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, which agreement? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, the Article 98, yes. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, the -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, start again, please. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: It would bar -- I'm sorry, it would bar who? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, and this is in the budget, is what you're referring to. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: First of all, in the budget, I mean, the President, I expect, is signing it very shortly, if he hasn't as I'm speaking out here right now. In terms of all the individual provisions, I can go and look at those, I'll be glad to take that question and take a look at it. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, you say you expect Syria and Iran to abide by the agreement from Sharm el-Sheikh. I'm wondering -- I really find it hard to understand how there can be any confidence that they will keep to those agreements. Both countries have repeatedly, over the decades, shown absolutely no proclivity for abiding by agreements. Iran, you just look at the nuclear problems we've been having with them; they violated many agreements on that. Syria had agreed with us and promised us that they would cut down on support for terrorists and shut down terrorist operations, and now they still remain a major conduit. We've had sanctions against Iran since 1979; it hasn't done any good in controlling their behavior. We've just put in sanctions against Syria; it's not having any effect. So how can there be any confidence that they will live up to their agreements? And what leverage, realistically, do we have to make them? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Will there be any investigation into the leak of the classified CIA cable about Iraq that was reported in yesterday's New York Times? And doesn't this incident further support Senator McCain's belief that the CIA is in some ways a rogue agency? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think we've publicly stated the seriousness of the leaking of classified information. The President has made his views very clear on that matter. But in terms of investigations, those aren't decisions that are made here. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q On November the 16th, 2001, two months after 9/11, the Treasury Department announced that it would designate Series EE Savings Bonds as Patriot Bonds, and those funds that are raised by the sale of these bonds would contribute to the federal government's overall effort to fight the war on global terrorism. And I just have two quick questions. The first question is, does the President, at this time of Americans in harm's way, this time of year, the holidays approaching, does he encourage more Americans to purchase these Patriot Bonds? And is the administration doing enough to promote the sale of these bonds? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, the Target Corporation of Minneapolis has barred the Salvation Army's Christmas bell ringers from the area of its 1,272 stores. That's cost the Salvation Army almost $9 million. And my first question, does the President have no concern about this at all? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Why is the President, as Commander-in-Chief, allowing the sale of 50 AMRAAM missiles to Jordan, which supported Saddam Hussein during Desert Storm, which presently hosts Fatah terrorists, and in violation of the Jordan-Israel peace treaty has not had a full ambassador in Israel for four years? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Bob. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Because he believes these individuals have served their nation with distinction and honor. And he appreciates the great work that all three of those individuals have done, for a variety of reasons. And the President looks forward to awarding them the Medal of Freedom. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Helen, go ahead. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Ongoing? If you have something, you ought to let -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: If you have something, you ought to take it to the attention of the Department of Defense. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: The President expects allegations of this nature, which are serious allegations, to be fully investigated. He expects the Department of Defense to get to the bottom of any allegations that are made, to hold people responsible for wrongdoing if there is wrongdoing, and to take corrective action where appropriate. The Department of Defense has a number of ongoing investigations. These are issues that they take very seriously. In terms of the policy, I think the President's policy has been made very clear. We are a nation of laws and a nation of values, and we expect people to adhere to our values, as well as our laws. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, in Iraq, the Geneva Convention does apply, and we do expect it to -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- we do expect it to be adhered to. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. DUFFY: Let me go through the President's schedule. First, the President had his normal intelligence briefings on route Air Force One. When we land at Miramar, he will be greeted by Kathryn Ostapuk, who is a volunteer with MarineParents.com, a nonprofit website launched in 2003 to provide parents and loved ones of deployed Marines a central gathering place for information and support. She will be the greeter.

After that, the President will participate in a closed press event in presenting the Presidential Unit Citation to the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force SOUTH/Task Force K-BAR. This is a unit that was formed in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. They are an elite joint and combined unit of over 1,500 troops. They began ground combat operations on November of 2001 in Southern Afghanistan. They were awarded the citation on October 26, 2004, by Navy Secretary Gordon England. And at Secretary England's request, the President is going to present the citation to the unit. I'll see if I can get some more background on the unit itself, but you might want to contact DOD for this because it sounds like they've had the award for the 26th. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. DUFFY: It's just the decision that was made.

Then the President will go to make remarks to military personnel and their families. I expect the President will talk principally about thanking the families, as Scott said yesterday; about how during the times of holidays it's very difficult for military families who have loved ones serving overseas; and that the Commander-in-Chief is very appreciative for not only the soldier's service, but the family's service by extension.

He'll also talk about the importance of the upcoming elections in Iraq, how it's important that we continue to move forward with elections, so that the Iraqi people can continue to move forward on freedom and democracy in their country. And I think he will also make reference to the fact that this is the anniversary of Pearl Harbor 63-years-ago today.

And then he will go back to -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. DUFFY: Sixty-three, yes. And I think that's what I have. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Trent, is there a morale issue that the President is concerned about in the military? There was, obviously, the lawsuits that were filed yesterday by people who had their deployments extended. Is the President concerned about how military and the military families are viewing their mission, as more demands fall on them? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. DUFFY: The President views his relationship as Commander-in-Chief of the troops very importantly, and he commits -- invests a great deal of time in upholding morale. This President has been one of the strongest Presidents in history for supporting our troops. He approved three straight pay raises for them. He has increased funding for housing. He has increased support for military families back at home. He has given -- provided increases for training for facilities, for equipment, so that our troops maintain to be the best and finest fighting force in all the world. And he takes his role as Commander-in-Chief very seriously, and I think his record in support of our troops and their families speaks for itself. Read more Comment (0), Email this.