MR. MCCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everyone; happy St. Patrick's Day. I see some of the familiar faces are missing -- I know it's been a busy time, they must be a little tired and exhausted lately. (Laughter.) The President is giving a series of speeches this month to update the American people about our strategy for victory in Iraq. In those speeches he's talking about the progress we're making, the lessons we have learned from experience and how we're fixing what was not working. The speeches give the President an opportunity to talk about developments in Iraq in the broader context, and speak in greater detail about events on the ground. As Commander-in-Chief he believes it's important to keep the American people updated on our strategy and the progress we're making and the challenges that we continue to face. This last Monday the President talked about the security element, about how we're training Iraqi security forces and they are more and more taking the lead in the fight and controlling more territory. And he also talked about how we're working to defeat the threat from improvised explosive devices. On Monday, the President looks forward to traveling to Cleveland. The President in his remarks will talk about how we are working with all aspects of Iraqi society to defeat the terrorists and restore calm and order throughout Iraq and helping to rebuild homes and communities and achieving the stability that can only come from freedom. The President will highlight concrete ways and examples of real progress that is being made and how our strategy is succeeding. This remains a difficult and tense period in Iraq. Oftentimes the progress that is being made doesn't get as much attention as the dramatic and horrific images of violence that people see on their TV screens. And the President believes it's important to continue to put things in the broader context. So he looks forward to talking about how the three elements of our strategy -- the political, economic and security -- are all integrated and how we are -- how those elements reinforce one another. So he'll talk in more detail and give some examples of that in his remarks on Monday in Cleveland. And you'll also hear more -- a little bit more about it in his radio address tomorrow. And with that, I will be glad to go to your questions. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think our ambassador -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we'll see. They've made similar statements in the past. Ambassador Khalilzad I think spoke earlier today and said that there are discussions about how to move forward in order to set something up. Now, any talks with Iran would be specifically for us to reiterate the concerns we have expressed about their activities in Iraq. We have publicly expressed our concerns about Iran's activities inside Iraq. And we have repeatedly called on Iran to play a helpful role in Iraq. We want to see them change their behavior. We have a number of concerns about the regime in Iran. And when it comes to the nuclear issue, that's a separate issue. We are addressing that in a multilateral forum. The matter has now been reported to the United Nations Security Council. There are discussions going on among diplomats the Security Council. Now, any negotiations about Iraq would have to occur with the Iraqi leaders. The Iraqi people are the ones who are charting their own future. And so if there are any negotiations to be had, that would be with the Iraqi leaders. We view this as simply an opportunity to express our concerns directly to Iran that we have already said publicly -- and repeatedly in public. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, like I said, they've made such statements in the past that they would be open to talking about the matters in Iraq. But we'll have to see. You can understand why we remain skeptical, given their history on a variety of issues. This is a regime that we have a number of concerns about. We're concerned about their continued pursuit of nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian program. That is an issue that the regime has with the international community. And that's why the international community is continuing to step up pressure and make it very clear to the regime that they need to change their behavior and stop their pursuit of nuclear weapons. They need to suspend their enrichment activities. They need to come into compliance with their safeguard obligations and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. They have not been doing that, and that's why the matter was reported to the Security Council. We're concerned about their sponsorship of terrorism. We're concerned about their behavior in the broader Middle East. They are moving in the wrong direction. They're playing an unhelpful role in the broader Middle East. They continue to support terrorist organizations. They continue -- the regime continues to repress its people. We continue to stand with the people of Iran and their aspirations for greater freedom. But the question you bring up is specifically relating to Iraq, and that's why it would be very limited to that topic and to our ambassador expressing our concerns directly to Iran. This has been a longstanding authorization that our ambassador has had. We previously had discussions with Iran about Afghanistan. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q The second-ranking American commander in Baghdad spoke by teleconference this morning to people over at -- reporters over at the Pentagon. And he said the U.S. military's goal was to have the Iraqi forces in control of 75 percent of the country by this summer. That would more than the President talked about in his speech last Monday. Is the President being more conservative? Is there some disagreement here with the military -- ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, look, I'll see if there's any more to it, John. I think the military is the one who is outlining those various benchmarks that you're bringing up and so I'm sure he was speaking for what the military is hoping to achieve. I don't have any reason to contradict what he said. I don't have any more on it than that. Go ahead, Suzanne. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think we've publicly spoken about some of our concerns and the unhelpful role that they are playing inside Iraq. And those have been issues that we've publicly expressed in the past. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, if there are any discussions to be had, we will express those concerns directly to the regime. They're concerns that we've expressed in the past. Our ambassador has talked about some of these issues; I'm not going to go back through them here. But, again, we'll have to see. They've made these comments before, and said that they would be open to talks, and it hasn't happened. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: In what way? I think it's a separate issue. That's why I made it very clear that, one, the only purpose of any talks with Iran would be to specifically talk about our concerns that we have with the unhelpful role in their activities inside Iraq. And so that would be for that sole purpose. And that's why we made that very clear. I think it's important to make clear to people that are listening that this doesn't have anything to do with the other issues, such as the one that you brought up. The nuclear issue is an issue that the regime has with the world. The international community is concerned. The international community has spoken very clearly. They do not want to see the regime develop a nuclear weapon. And so you've seen the international community coming together and continuing to put pressure on the regime. And it's important that the international community continue to speak very clearly and to speak with one voice to make sure that the regime understands the concerns that we have about their pursuit of nuclear weapons. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Like I said, you can understand why I'm skeptical, because they've made such comments in the past. You can understand I'm skeptical on other issues, given their history on some of those issues, and their behavior. We'll have to see. It could be useful, but we'll have to see. If they were to change their behavior when it comes to Iraq and play a more helpful role, and support the Iraqi people as they move forward on developing a lasting democracy -- which is what they have shown they want -- then it could be useful. Go ahead, Jennifer. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: First of all, we'll have to see if there are any discussions -- if there are any discussions to take place. We'll have to see -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- given what they've said. But we have expressed our concerns about components being used in improvised explosive devices coming from Iran. The President spoke about that very issue earlier this week; Director Negroponte spoke about it in testimony before Congress. And that is a concern. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Along those lines, Scott, insofar as Iran is considered a state sponsor of terrorism -- Hezbollah, Hamas -- insofar as there -- according to the President -- are components in IEDs, a lot of Iranian -- they don't make much bones about supporting Shiite militias there, how do you answer the concern that this meeting shouldn't come to be -- constitutes negotiating with terrorists? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, the President, apparently, in the last couple of days, sent a letter to Congress relating to, among other things, the situation in Belarus as we're approaching the election. I was wondering if you could comment, what is the White House attitude if Lukashenka, indeed, does win the election, what position would the U.S. take, and what does the President -- ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Another question, Scott, with regard to the unexpected death of Milosevic in The Hague, where there are all kinds of rumors of either suicide, murder, everything -- has caused something of a problem in U.S.-Russia relations. But also it's occurring in a situation where there are a number of referenda coming up -- in Kosovo, as well as in Montenegro -- creating what seems to be a very unsteady situation in the Balkans. Is the administration concerned about a new Balkan crisis as a result of this -- ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Back to the speech on Iraq on Monday, Scott. You mentioned at the outset that you thought that items of progress are not being widely enough publicized -- I forget exactly how you phrased it. But why do you suppose that is? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, because you have some horrific images of violence that it's much easier to cover such issues. I think that's why. The President has spoken about it, he spoke about it in his remarks. I mean, it's not that those shouldn't be covered, but sometimes when the images of violence are being covered to a much greater extent the progress that we're making on the ground gets lost, it doesn't get the same kind of attention. And I think it's important to look at the broader context in Iraq and to talk about the progress that's being made, because there is substantial progress being made. We're coming up on the three-year anniversary of the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom this Sunday. And one of the things the President will do, I suspect in his radio address tomorrow, is take stock of where we are and talk about the challenges that we've faced and the sacrifices that have been made. And he'll talk about the progress that's being made. And he'll also talk about the courage of the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people have shown that they want to live in freedom. And we fully support the Iraqi people as they move forward on building a lasting democracy. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me finish. I mean, because you brought up an important issue. Success in Iraq is critical to our own security. A free Iraq will be a partner in the war on terrorism. A free Iraq will help inspire reformers in the broader Middle East, particularly in areas like Iran. A free Iraq will not be a safe haven from which terrorists can plan and plot attacks against the United States or against the civilized world. The terrorists have made Iraq the central front in the war on terrorism. It is critical to our efforts to lay the foundations of lasting peace. And so that's why it's critical that we succeed. And we will settle for nothing less than complete victory. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: I can tell you about the audience for Monday. I don't -- it's a little bit early to preview Wednesday. But the audience for Monday is the City Club of Cleveland. This is a nonpartisan forum. I think if you go and look at their website, it talks about how it's the oldest continuous free-speech forum in the United States. And it's known for it's tradition of debate and discussion, is what it talks about on the website for the City Club. And so they talk about promoting free and open exchange of ideas to inform and educate citizens. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

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

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I do not expect a readout. I was just mentioning it -- well, we're not planning on any readout. This is one of a number of policy briefings that he has had on this very subject, on pandemic influenza. And this is really to give him an update. He wanted to receive an update on where we are in terms of our planning and preparations in the event of a pandemic influenza. You know, in our National Security Strategy document that we outlined yesterday, that was one of the new areas that we focused on and talked about the threat from pandemic influenza. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll be there, so I'll be able to provide you more names, but I expect that the usual suspects would be there and the people that are involved in this issue, including Secretary Leavitt and other health experts. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, The New York Times this morning devoted half a page to news from New Mexico that after police Sergeant Billy Anders killed a white supremacist Aryan brotherhood ex-convict named Earl Flippen, who had just murdered his wife, but also murdered Anders' police partner, Deputy Robert Hedman, and was shooting at a three-year-old girl with his .357 Magnum. But Sergeant Anders has just been sent to prison for one year for shooting Flippen, who was handcuffed. And my question, will you join me in asking the President for executive clemency of this police officer? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Well, all right. In the last two months, two former Iraqi officials have said Saddam moved weapons of mass destruction to Syria before the U.S. invasion. And now one of the documents released by the Pentagon yesterday, a letter by a member of Saddam's intelligence apparatus, ties him to al Qaeda and the Taliban before 9/11. All of this, and yet, the President does not talk about any of it with the American people. Question: With increasing information coming out of here on Iraq -- WMDs and Saddam's link to al Qaeda -- what does the Bush administration want the American people to believe about these two crucial issues? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, because you're making statements -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: No more statements today. Go ahead. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Thank you. Scott, it doesn't look as though there will be an immigration bill passed by Congress this year, and if there is one, it will probably not contain a guest worker provision. Would the President sign an immigration bill that does not contain this provision? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Are you talking about the Senate budget resolution? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: In the House? Well, first of all, a couple things. One, we have significantly increased funding for port security. Strengthening our port security, improving our port security has been a top priority for this President. And so we've taken a number of steps, particularly since September 11th, to make sure that we are doing everything we can to secure our ports. We moved forward on a Container Security Initiative. We have pushed out the screening of ports to make sure that we know what is coming in on ships when they're coming into our ports, well before they arrive on our shores. And we have taken a number of steps to make sure that we are funding the Customs and Border Protection so that they can carry out their important security responsibilities of the ports, and the Coast Guard. And we want to continue working with Congress and continue building upon those efforts. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: The President's view is that we have taken a number of steps to secure our -- to better secure our ports, and we need to continue to work to build upon those efforts. And that's exactly what we will continue doing. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Can I back up, though? One second, because you did bring up the issue of -- an issue relating to spending. And yesterday the Senate moved forward on a budget resolution. We had outlined some very clear principles and some very clear limits when it came to the budget for 2007. The President believes we have a responsibility to make sure we're spending taxpayer dollars wisely. We are a nation that remains at war. While we are at war, it's important that we continue to fund our highest priorities and hold the line on spending elsewhere in the budget. We appreciate the Senate moving forward on passing a budget resolution. It's an important step in the process. This process continues. Senator Gregg has provided strong leadership and worked to address some difficult issues. Democrats proposed dozens of tax and spending increases. The Senate leaders were able to stop the billions upon billions in tax hikes and spending increases proposed by Democrats. I think if you take a look at the amount of money that Democrats were proposing be spent, it totals at least $170 billion in new taxes and bigger spending. And we're continuing to look at those numbers, and continuing to count. So we appreciate them. We appreciate the Senate stopping that billions upon billions in tax hikes and spending increases from moving forward. And we look forward to continuing to work with the House and Senate as they move forward on a budget resolution. We want to see the discretionary spending come down and be more in line with what we have proposed. We also want to continue to address the mandatory spending side. We have taken important steps in recent budgets -- including last year -- to rein in spending and to slow the growth of entitlement programs. And we need to continue to build upon those. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q So I have two questions regarding the U.S. government's decision announced earlier this week to remove military assets from the Keflavik Navy Base in Iceland. So my first question is, the Icelandic Prime Minister has sent a letter to President Bush asking him how the U.S. intends to fulfill the obligations in the Defense Treaty from 1951. When the fighter jets leave by the end of the summer, or September, U.S. officials, they have said that they will honor the treaty. But nothing has been decided as to how. So my question is, how the President will answer this letter from the Iceland's Prime Minister? And, secondly, the government of Iceland was somewhat surprised by the U.S. government's decision to pull out. And they were under the impression that meaningful negotiations about the future of the base were underway. Then this unilateral decision comes by Wednesday, by a phone call --so would you consider this to be in the friendly spirit of diplomatic relations with an alliance partner? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think it's in the overall context of our posture and transformation of the military. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Scott, the Irish Prime Minister told us when he came outside that the issue of rendition had come up, that he registered concerns with the President about the possibility that Shannon Airport was being used as a transit point. Did the President offer him any assurances? What was his response? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, they talked about a range of important issues. And in terms of this issue, I don't think there's anything new to what we've previously said on this matter. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Peter, if there's anything else to update you on, then we'll do so. But I think that we've expressed -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think you're reading too much into whatever you heard. I don't know exactly what you heard. I'll be glad to take a look at it, but it doesn't change what we've previously said on this very issue. That's the point I'm making to you. Now, they talked about a range of issues, and so I think we shouldn't get lost in the fact that we have a very good relationship with Ireland. And the President has a good friendship with Prime Minister Ahern. The President was pleased to welcome the Taoiseach back to the White House and to accept the bowl of shamrocks that has been presented over the decades here at the White House. But they discussed a range of important issues. They talked about important issues around the globe like Iraq and Iran and the recent -- the President's recent trip to India and the agreement we reached there. They talked about the Northern Ireland peace process. We continue to strongly support the efforts of Prime Minister Ahern and Prime Minister Blair. They talked about -- a number of our troops go through Shannon when they're coming back or going into various deployments. And they also talked about Darfur. They talked about -- I think there's a shared concern when it comes to the situation in Darfur, and a shared commitment to help push forward on a peace agreement relating to that. And we all want to see an end to the violence and an improvement in the situation there. We're all concerned about the humanitarian situation. We're concerned about attacks on civilians. We're concerned about sexual violence against women and girls. We're concerned about the looting. And so there are a number of important priorities they talk about, Peter, and I appreciate you bringing up this question, but I think we've been through that issue thoroughly in the past. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: I said the Senate is working to move forward on immigration reform. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, those are decisions for our legislative leaders to make. They determine how to move forward on the legislative process and the timing of those issues and how they go about it. So that's something for the Senate to decide. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we believe that it needs to have all those three elements that I outlined earlier. Read more Comment (0), Email this.