BRIEFING BY RICHARD BOUCHER
SPOKESMAN

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

January 31, 2003

Excerpts

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QUESTION: Actually, one thing that I have been wondering about, Richard, the President has been preparing the country for war, partly on the hypothetical possibility that Saddam might give weapons to terrorists. So why won't you and Ari Fleischer answer hypothetical questions?

(Laughter.)

MR. BOUCHER: We're happy to tell you about the links between the Iraqi regime and the terrorists. I think we've been up front and factual on that. We tell you what the facts are. In terms of United States policy, yes, we have to prepare for contingencies and possibilities. We'll tell you the facts of how we prepare for those things.

But it's the President's job to protect the nation against possible threats. It's our job to tell you what the facts are.

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QUESTION: I know the other day the Secretary authorized a board to look into the assassination of the U.S. AID officer in Jordan. And I hate to say, you know, having heard second hand, we think that a senior official, on television, has linked al-Qaida to the slaying. Was that misheard or is that true?

MR. BOUCHER: "We think a senior official, on television -- "

QUESTION: I could identify him, but I don't lift weights.

MR. BOUCHER: A man by the name of Armitage, perhaps?

QUESTION: A guy who lifts weights. That's right.

MR. BOUCHER: A man by the name of Armitage who testified for several hours on the Hill yesterday, and I don't know if I have the exact quote with me today. But essentially, your characterization is correct. He said that we had some information -- here it is: "There are indications of some a recent assassination of our diplomat in Amman, Mr. Foley, that was apparently orchestrated by an al-Qaida member who is resident in Baghdad.

"Having said that, I'm not making the case here that this is a 9/11 connection. But I will make the case that the President has made consistently, sir. And that is that it is the thirst for weapons of mass destruction and our belief that if Saddam Hussein can pass them to people who will do us ill without being caught, he will do it. That's what gives us much concern."

So that's exactly what our Deputy Secretary said on the Hill yesterday and we stand by that. And we'll, as we can, provide more information, but I can't do that today.

Betsy.

QUESTION: Yes. Can you give us some information about the Oil Working Group that's meeting today? What they're doing, what their raison d'être is?

MR. BOUCHER: Their raison d'être? The Oil Working Group is one of the Future of Iraq working groups that we've had looking at various aspects of Iraq in a post-Saddam era. Some of these people are working on political and constitutional issues, some are taking up issues like the environment. And the Oil Working Group is people, Iraqis, free Iraqis, who have expertise in this area getting together with some of our help in organizing it so that they can start planning and looking at how Iraqis can control Iraq's oil resources in a post-Saddam era, how Iraq's oil resources can be used for the benefit of the Iraqi people instead of wasted in palaces and weapons programs.

QUESTION: Well, there is a lot of talk and then belief in the region that the reason that the United States is sort of ginning up this possible military move into Iraq is because the U.S. wants to control the oil.

MR. BOUCHER: I think that doesn't stand up to any of the facts or any analysis that might be made. The fact is, we've got Iraqis working together, Iraqis looking at how their future, their future oil revenues can be put to good use for the Iraqi people, how the future of their oil industry can be organized.

What we've seen from Iraq are, again and again, misuse of the money, attempts to devastate the oil fields, and a lot of other steps that really run counter to the interests of the Iraqi people. As the Secretary said, any U.S. involvement in Iraq would still mean that the Iraqi oil fields would have to be held in trust for the Iraqi people, as would be required under the standard laws of occupation. But in addition to that, they need to be turned over and used by the Iraqi people as soon as possible.

One of the observations is that Iraq can have, based on its oil exports, something like $20 billion a year. And that, in terms of redevelopment of Iraq and providing the supplies and the economic growth that the Iraqi people need, is quite a lot of money. And that's an important aspect of our planning, to make sure that it is used for the Iraqi people.

QUESTION: Can I ask one more, please?

MR. BOUCHER: Sure.

QUESTION: The people in the Oil Working Group, these are people who worked in the industry in Iraq and have intimate knowledge of it and that you all would rely on to go back in and to run the industry once --

MR. BOUCHER: No, we're not trying to allocate portions of the industry to anybody. We're just saying that Iraqi experts need to take a look at this problem, need to take a look at what might be done, and come up with some ideas and some plans. But we're not choosing, and I don't think they're choosing any questions of management or ownership at this point.

QUESTION: Who are they? Who are the people?

MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to look and see if we can provide you a list. Many of these working groups we have not been able to provide the lists. It depends on the individuals. But generally, they are people who have been involved in the -- free Iraqis who have been involved in the oil industry. I'm not quite sure if all of them have been involved in the industry in Iraq or whether some might be more international.

QUESTION: So would you characterize their work as coming up with ideas that they are then presenting to the U.S. Government, or coming up with ideas that would perhaps someday be presented to any successor Iraqi Government?

MR. BOUCHER: I think I would characterize it as coming up with ideas that would be presented to a future Iraqi Government, coming up with ideas that would be presented to the Iraqi people.

QUESTION: Same subject? Or a different subject. A couple of Polish newspapers today reported that the United States is discussing the possibility of moving some of its military bases from Germany to Poland. Is that true?

MR. BOUCHER: Number one, we value our strong military alliances with both Germany and Poland. And, two, there are no discussions underway aimed at the relocation of U.S. forces from Germany to Poland.

QUESTION: Have there been any such discussions regardless of whether or not there are any underway right now? I'll give you an opportunity to just categorically slap this down.

MR. BOUCHER: I thought that was pretty categoric. I didn't think of asking on the angle, but I don't have anything that would indicate there ever have been such discussions. So I think the answer stands in the past as well as the present.

QUESTION: Talking about your effort just one second in the Jordan thing. Are you prepared at the moment to expand at all on what Deputy Secretary Armitage had to say in terms of do you guys have information suggesting that this man Zarqawi is resident in Baghdad now?

MR. BOUCHER: I am not in a position to expand on what Mr. Armitage said yesterday at this point.

QUESTION: But the Secretary will -- as the Deputy Secretary -- it's your understanding that as Deputy Secretary Armitage told the Senate, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, that this is one of the things that Secretary Powell will be expanding on when he goes to the UN on Wednesday?

MR. BOUCHER: The relationship between al-Qaida and the Iraqi regime is one of the things the Secretary will be expanding on at the UN.

QUESTION: Not necessarily this case?

MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to see how much information we end up with on this particular case.

Joel.

QUESTION: Richard, there's been an uptick of violence and police searches through Italy and elsewhere in the EU. Is this a concerted effort to minimize al-Qaida or these cells?

MR. BOUCHER: I think you'd have to ask the Italians about that. I just saw the tickers, the wires on this one. But it's really a question for the Italians. There have been a lot of law enforcement operations throughout Europe over these last few months directed at al-Qaida cells. I don't know whether this is one or not.

Terri.

QUESTION: Change of subject?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes.

QUESTION: Russia has just announced that it is going to again aggressively pursue contracts with Iran. Arms export officials are speaking today in Moscow. Have you continued to have discussions with Russia on your concerns about this, and did they tell you that they were going to go after more contracts?

MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to check. That, too, is something just breaking on the wires. I think our views are very well known. It is, as you say, an ongoing subject of discussion. We've had frequent conversations with the Russians in the past. Our concerns about nuclear cooperation with Iran, as well as the sale of advanced weaponry to Iran, from time to time there have been these press reports that have come out and we've always discussed them with the Russians. I'll have to check and see if we had a conversation about this one yet.

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QUESTION: Thank you. Will the Secretary give a deadline to Saddam Hussein next week? If not, will the President give one soon after?

MR. BOUCHER: I think we've made very clear that time is running out, that we don't think there's any purpose served by continuing inspections indefinitely if the inspectors are not permitted to do their job, if Iraq is not cooperating, if they are not able to do what they were sent out to do, which is to verify Iraqi disarmament.

If there's no Iraqi disarmament, then one has to ask what the inspectors could really achieve. So it's a matter, as we've said, of weeks, not months. But at this point there have not been any particular deadlines set.

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