MS. PERINO: Good afternoon. I'm, frankly, surprised anybody showed up. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: The junior varsity. Only for another week. (Laughter.) One announcement, and then we'll go to questions. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Yes. But we're traveling most of the week. The President spoke to Secretary General Kofi Annan this morning. The call lasted about 14 minutes. It was initiated by Secretary Annan. They discussed the current efforts to assemble an international force for Lebanon, as called for in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, and agreed that quick decisions by the main potential contributors will be an important step. Secretary Annan said progress is being made on assembling an international force. The Secretary General said he would travel to the region, and the President asked him to call when he returns to discuss his trip. They also discussed the Iranian regime's statement on its nuclear program and the terms of the U.N. Security Council resolution. And finally, they also discussed Darfur and the need for action to improve the situation there. That's my announcement. I'll take questions. Terry. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q -- peacekeepers, Syria says that the deployment of peacekeepers on the Syrian-Lebanese border would be a hostile act -- this is something that Israel has proposed -- and that they would close their border. Does the United States have any reaction to that? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Yes, I have one. The Secretary of State's office, on the Department of State website probably has this statement up on their website now, as we were walking over. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1696 made clear, as you know, the conditions Iran must meet regarding its nuclear program. And yesterday, the Iranian government conveyed its response in the 21-page package on the incentives that we provided to them on June 6th. That was made by the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, affectionately known as P5 plus one. We acknowledge that Iran considers its response as a serious offer, and we will review it. The response, however, falls short of the conditions set by the Security Council, which require the full and verifiable suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities. We are closely consulting with the other members of the Security Council on the next steps. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think "more" is the wrong word. I think this is a rotation. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: This is a rotation. The order was signed by the President several weeks ago. The military commanders at the Pentagon know best how to do those troop rotations. And just as he defers to his commanders on the ground in Iraq, he defers to his military leaders here. That's why he signed the order. As I understand it, DoD held a roundtable today to discuss the order. And they'll be taking volunteers first, and then going to involuntary action, if necessary. This does reflect the fact that we're in a long and difficult struggle. The President is grateful and thankful for every soldier's sacrifice and the sacrifice made by their families, especially. I would note, this morning, somebody asked if this was a recruiting problem. But across the military, at all branches, the military is hitting its targets for recruiting. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, as I understand it, it's a rotation. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q To go back to Iran, I just wonder, when you said, it falls short, their response yesterday -- so what's next? What's the United States want to do in consultation with the P5 plus Germany in terms of -- the U.N. deadline, obviously, is August 31st. Is there a hope that diplomacy in the next few days could do something? Are you going to push for tough sanctions? What's next from the White House? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: We're going to allow all of our allies to -- the P5 plus one to talk about it and try to figure that out. And when we have next steps to announce, we'll announce them. But for right now -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, not at all. I think that what it means is that we're going to -- this is a serious matter, and we're going to seriously consider it. And the P5 plus one will get together and -- they're going to be talking between now and August 31st, but when they get together on August 31st -- or before then, if they have more to say as to what the actual next steps will be, we'll let you know. Yes, Mark. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't have anything additional from what I had earlier. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Senator McCain, in his comments yesterday, said that the American people had been led to believe by the administration that the Iraq war would be a "day at the beach." Does that concern the White House? Do you feel that you're losing support among Republicans? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think if you look at what the President said on Monday, this is tough work that we're doing in Iraq, and criticism is part of our system of government and certainly a part of when you take tough action and when you are stalwart in your action. We're aware of the polls, and the President said on Monday, of course, you want people in America to support your positions. You've seen him out talking about it. His administration is going to continue to explain to the American people the situation that we're in, the struggle that we face and how important it is that we win. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Dana, on Monday the President said that Iran cannot be allowed to thumb its nose at the U.N. Security Council and there have to be consequences. Does the President believe that this response is essentially thumbing Iran's nose at the U.N.? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, I don't think you'll get another statement today. I think that we needs some time to review it and to discuss what the next steps are. All six of them are meeting, and we'll see what comes next. And then as soon as we do have something, we'll be able to give it to you, but I don't expect anything else today. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: The statement says that the Iranians' response falls short of the conditions set by the Security Council, yes. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q As far as Iran is concerned, they have said that they will not go with the U.N. Security Council or the global community as far as the statements on Iran is concerned. Let's say, if the U.N. fails, or the P5, so what's the next step for Iran -- ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q -- what you said, would it be fair to say that what matters is the state of play on August 31st, when the U.N. Security Council meets, that that is the point at which you will decide whether to press for sanctions? Is there time between now and then for Iran to modify its response, or for other developments to occur? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I'll be with you for the weekend, and as there are updates available, I'll provide them. I don't anticipate anything; there's certainly nothing on the schedule yet that's public. We'll let you know if that changes. But I think right now what you'll see, if there's any comment it will probably be coming from the Secretary of State. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: We'll keep you updated on calls. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I checked into that, and at the time of invitation, no, there was no knowledge of his political affiliation. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, he was not invited -- he was invited before anybody knew that. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No. And, believe me, I think staff thinks that two are plenty. (Laughter.) I don't think it was a secret that Rockey Vaccarella had been supportive of the federal effort and he had said supportive things about the President, as well. He asked to make sure that the President doesn't forget the Katrina victims, and the President reaffirmed that he will not. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Because I'm tired. (Laughter.) Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q President Bush is going to be meeting with the South Korean President on September 14th. Could you talk a little bit about what President Bush's intentions are in terms of pushing for lowering of trade barriers, particularly against U.S.-made autos? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I'm not aware of him expressing frustrations to Secretary Annan. What the President called for is that leadership should be forthcoming quickly for the international force, but he did not endorse a particular country leading it, no. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, I think, as I said before, Secretary Annan said that there had been some progress, so that's a positive step. Lester, I can't wait. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Thank you. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q At the most recent Democratic National Committee's meeting, they voted by voice vote to penalize any presidential candidate who campaigns in any state that refused to follow a prescribed calendar of primaries and caucuses by stripping that candidate of his or her delegates at the Democratic National Convention. ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: The President doesn't get involved in the Democrats' decisions. The Republican Party has decided to leave those matters to the state and local parties, so we're not going to get involved. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q On Monday, The New York Times reported that Tony Snow refused to say the President will support and campaign for Connecticut Republican nominee, Alan Schlesinger. My question: This is primarily because Lamont, the Democratic nominee, has accepted public support from Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Maxine Waters, and Schlesinger -- ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I'm going to leave it where the President left it on Monday, and I will give you that transcript so that you have it. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: He will not. Olivier. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q One quick one. The office of Afghan President Karzai says the President invited him to the White House and he's coming. The office of Pakistani President Musharraf put out a statement also saying that he'd been invited and he's coming. Why hasn't the White House confirmed the visits? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Just a quick follow on Iran. The House Intelligence Committee put out a report today, talking about threats from Iran, but also specifically said the intelligence community has to do a better job of analyzing what capacity there is for Iran in terms of building and trying to obtain nuclear weapons. What steps do you think the White House has taken, the administration has taken in general, to make sure that the intelligence reports about Iran's nuclear ambitions are not off the mark like the Iraqi WMD reports were? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Oh, good. Let's go to the next one. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I'll refer you to the Department of Defense who makes all those decisions. Richard. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Immigration is certainly one of the pieces of legislation that we would like to see pushed forward. I wouldn't say in terms of -- I wouldn't call this a start, but a continuation of our efforts. Certainly, Congress has been away, and so during that time it doesn't seem like there's too much activity going on here in the capital, but a lot is going on out in the country. And I'm sure members are hearing from their constituents that they want to have an immigration bill. We consistently see that people understand that if we're going to solve any of our immigration problems individually, that they need to be solved together in one bill, comprehensively. And the President continues to support a bill that would increase border security, improve enforcement of the interior laws in our country, for the folks who are here illegally, and dealing with that problem, and in addition, create a temporary worker program, but reject a plan of amnesty. It's complicated, it's going to be tough work, but we are confident that the American people understand and that the Congress understands that they have a responsibility to move forward and actually get a bill passed. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I haven't heard whether or not. I know that he talks to members quite regularly. Specifically on immigration, I haven't heard. Peter. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Following up on that -- since he does talk to members of Congress regularly, will he or anyone from the staff be consulting with Senator McCain to find out why the Senator believes that the administration has misled the public on the war? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think we're in regular communication with Senator McCain, but I also -- I point back that he's not shy about his views, and these are views that he's been expressing for several months now. So I'm not quite sure I understand the point about -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I never actually saw the word -- him use the word "misled" in quotes that I went back and looked up today. I could be wrong. But I understand the point that he is making, and -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Going back to what the President said, that it's going to be a long and difficult struggle. And what they do is share the goal of winning in Iraq. Goyal. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q A Hezbollah question, please. India Globe has carried a front-page story that it's not only Iran supporting Hezbollah, but now Bangladesh has named a new bridge to honor Hezbollah's -- do you have comments on -- Bangladesh, our ally, is naming a bridge -- ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q When the President today talked about the one-year anniversary of Katrina being just that, a one-year anniversary, was he in any way trying to lower expectations for the people in the Gulf region about the measure of recovery? Oxfam today put out a study saying that housing has not come back in any measure as much as people had expected in terms of using some of the money that's been available. And many people are still suffering, as he indicated. Is the President trying to lower expectations? ... Read more Comment (0), Email this.