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Press Gaggle by Dana Perino

Business Wire, May 13, 2008

WASHINGTON -- James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

10:07 A.M. EDT

MS. PERINO: Hi. The President had his normal briefings at 8:00 a.m. At 11:35 a.m. he will interview with Mike Allen for a Yahoo.com news interview in the Roosevelt Room. And then at 5:30 p.m. he and Mrs. Bush depart the White House on their way to the Middle East. We'll go to Jerusalem tonight.

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An update: The President spoke with President Hu this morning. He expressed his condolences on the earthquake and reiterated his offer to assist in any way possible. On Burma, the President reiterated his desire to provide additional U.S. assistance to the Burmese people. President Hu offered to continue to assist our efforts. The President also raised Tibet. He noted the recent meeting in China between the Dalai Lama's representative and Chinese officials, and encouraged the Chinese government to continue to reach out to the Dalai Lama's representatives and engage in substantive dialogues so that longstanding issues with regard to Tibet may be resolved.

A couple of other points on the earthquake. On assistance to earthquake victims, in anticipation of an appeal by the International Red Cross, the United States will provide one-half million dollars in response to the earthquake in China. USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance -- acronym is OFDA -- is responsible for coordinating and facilitating emergency assistance overseas and will have additional information on how the funds will be dispensed.

Also, the President's Assistant for Homeland Security -- Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, Ken Wainstein, is in China, and he was there on previously scheduled meetings regarding security for the Olympics. He arrived in Beijing right when the earthquake was hitting China. He was not aware of the quake -- it was not felt where he was in Beijing. He had two meetings with Chinese officials today and expressed condolences on behalf of the United States for the tragedy, and he offered support should they request it.

And I think that's all I have.

Q The President expressed a little bit of hesitation in one of the interviews yesterday over whether he'll actually be able to meet in Egypt with Siniora. What's the feeling on that now? Has he -- has the White House reached out to the Lebanon government, and is there a chance that if he leaves Lebanon he won't be able to get back home?

MS. PERINO: I think the President would certainly like to meet him while he's there in Egypt, but obviously there's considerations that have to be taken into account. And so we'll keep you updated as those developments occur.

Q Does it seem less likely now than before that there will be such a meeting?

MS. PERINO: I wouldn't put it that way, no.

Q On that topic, there are reports that many of the politicians are Christian, Sunni and Druze are saying that they believe U.S. statements on their crisis there right now have been too weak, and they are calling for more pressure on Hezbollah and Syrian backers. In particular, they're asking the U.S. to help broaden a U.N. resolution to put Beirut's airport and harbor under the control of international peacekeeping troops. What do you say to their concerns that they say that they feel abandoned by the U.S. and they've heard nothing substantial on this?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that -- I don't know when those comments were made, but later last night we issued a statement by the President condemning Hezbollah's action and pledging our continued support. In addition to that, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice participated in a phone call last night with the Friends of Lebanon, and issued a media note, which is quite detailed and very strong in its support for Lebanon. So I think let's just check the time now on when those statements were made, because I think that our statements could have come after that.

Q What about the idea about the airport and the harbor, international peacekeepers there?

MS. PERINO: That could have been something that Secretary Rice talked about specifically with the Friends of Lebanon, and so before any final decisions are made I think I'll decline to comment. But let's check the timing on that just to make sure.

Q Any reaction to a poll that shows that Americans are more pessimistic about the economy than since --

MS. PERINO: This is the same question ABC asked me yesterday.

Q I'm sorry, I wasn't here yesterday.

MS. PERINO: And then I gave the answer and ABC didn't use it. (Laughter.)

Q I withdraw the question.

MS. PERINO: Go ahead.

Q There's a report on the FT that the U.S. has decided to send 500,000 tons of food aid to North Korea, 400,000 through the World Food Program and 100,000 through NGOs.

MS. PERINO: Yes.

Q Is that decision -- can you clarify or comment on that?

MS. PERINO: I've got some points here for you, but I'm going to have to take a look at them because I just came from a meeting. Well, in the past, as you know, we've had some useful discussions concerning the parameters of a program for the resumption of U.S. food assistance for the North Korean people. North Korea has been open in saying that it faces a major shortfall in food supplies. We have discussed providing additional assistance. One way to do that would be through NGOs and through the World Food Program.

Business Services Industry

Press Gaggle by Dana Perino

Business Wire, May 13, 2008

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