Press Briefing by Tony Snow

Business Wire, Sept 12, 2007

So I think what's going on is that there is an attempt to create a cause to get you to ask about numbers, rather than results. But the fact is, the numbers will reflect realities on the ground. The realities on the ground, at least according to General Petraeus, seem to be such that you can start drawing down numbers. Again, I know it's making you crazy, but I'll let the President announce what he has in mind.

Q Just broadly, does he consider this a new and changed strategy that he is going to put forward?

MR. SNOW: He's changed strategy every day -- this also -- I've got to tell you, this is an amazing canard in the sense that you have shifting realities at all times, and you respond to changing facts on the ground. The idea that you have an unchanging strategy -- only a crazy person would fail to adjust strategy on a regular basis based on the realities on the ground. What the President called for was a new way forward that addressed the fact that what we had done before had not worked, in terms of counterinsurgency, and he asked for a new way forward. And it does seem to be working.

Now, I think you need, again, to wait for the President to talk about what he has in mind. What General Petraeus talked about, though, does in fact reflect a change in mission, because you have U.S. forces receding from front-line operations in places like Anbar and Iraqis assuming greater and greater responsibility and authority, which is something that we have wanted all along.

But it is -- at the same time, you still have to address threats and challenges throughout Iraq, and you will have manpower levels that reflect those realities.

Similarly -- it's interesting, because Democrats have said, we want a change in mission -- and there does seem, at least on the part of what General Petraeus was talking about, a change in mission -- they immediately try to inoculate against that argument by saying it's not, but it is. And secondly, that they want adjustment in force structure. You got an adjustment in force structure. This seems to be an opportunity, whether people want to seize it politically, it seems to be an opportunity to get together and do two things: Number one, if you believe in the troops and support them, why do you acknowledge and celebrate their success? I mean, this ought to be a time for people to say, job well done. And the second thing is to ask the question, what do you need? And that is --

Q A lot of people are dying.

MR. SNOW: Because there are bad guys that are out there, Helen, and they don't want to go away.

Q Tony, I know you called it internal politics this morning, but on Russia, does the White House have any thoughts, or what do you make of the appointment of a little-known financial regulator to --

MR. SNOW: Again, we're just not making any further comments on that right now.

Q Was it transparent? Do you expect --

MR. SNOW: Again, I'm just not going to get further --

Q Okay, one other thing. Can you give us an update on where the President is on the Attorney General's nomination? Is he narrowing things down? Has he met with anybody?