'Would The U.S. Accept An Independent Kashmir?'

Q: Is the Secretary of Defense going to both Pakistan and India?

Ari Fleischer : Yes.

Q: He's going to both countries?

Ari Fleischer : That's correct.

Q: What day is he going and what is his mission?

Ari Fleischer : It's next week, and DOD can give you more precise information about exactly what times, etcetera. But he is going -- and this is a follow-up to a series of visits that have been undertaken in theregion. There is a significant amount of concern not only in the United States, but internationally, aboutreducing tensions between India and Pakistan. The European Union has sent officials into the area; Jack Strawof Great Britain just returned from the area. Deputy Secretary of State Armitage will be heading to the area,and then Secretary Rumsfeld will be heading, as well.

All these visits are part of the international community's ongoing diplomacy to work with India andPakistan to reduce the tensions in the area and to convince both parties that war does not serve either oftheir interests.

Q: Will he meet with the President and Prime Minister of both those countries?

Ari Fleischer : Again, you'll get the exact itinerary from the Department of Defense.

Q: To follow on a couple of points, what is it that the Defense Secretary will be bringing with him, beyonda pressure tactic on those in the region to make the point that war is not in their interests? And whatspecifically can, or is Musharraf doing to satisfy the President's threshold of living up to his word andcracking down on militants?

Ari Fleischer : David, I think he'll be bringing with him -- to be direct, the Secretary will be bringingwith him logic and diplomacy. Often at times like this, nations find themselves on paths that spiral in thewrong direction as a result of the desire to have peace, but events sometimes take a momentum of their own.And it's important for the international community and the United States to work diligently with India andPakistan to convince them that war is not the answer, war will not solve the problems, that they have topursue a different path.

Often at times like this, nations welcome the participation of others to help them find a way out of adangerous spiral. And that's what he will be doing when he goes on the trip -- so, too, Secretary Armitage, etcetera; so, too, all the other diplomats from around the world.

Q: -- about Musharraf? What specifically is he already doing, or can he do, to live up to what the Presidentis saying, which is for him to live up to his word that he'll crack down on militants crossing into Kashmir onterrorism missions?

Ari Fleischer : Well, Pakistan has a robust military force, and the ability internally to take action toprevent terrorists from crossing through the Line of Control. And it's important to take the steps necessaryto prevent terrorists or would-be terrorists from crossing the line and engaging in terrorist or hostile acts.

Another piece, by the way, of the international situation, that the President discussed directly withPresident Putin, is there will be an upcoming meeting that President Putin will be attending, along with PrimeMinister Vajpayee and President Musharraf. President Putin will be doing his part, as well. What'sinteresting, it is a rather robust, worldwide collaborative effort to reduce the tensions in India andPakistan.

Q: Is there any element of Secretary Rumsfeld's mission to look at what the United States can do to shoreup, using the President's words, its efforts on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border? Is that part of it, to seewhat can we do to try to go after Taliban and al qaeda in that region? And is there any effort also --

Ari Fleischer : Let me do this. The Secretary --

Q: Is there any effort to seek permission for U.S. troops to operate in that theater on the Pakistani sideto try to crack down there?

Ari Fleischer : The Secretary will be having a series of events, not only in India and Pakistan, but inother regions. And I think it's only right to let the Department of Defense announce the Secretary's travelsand his itinerary, the purposes of the visit, who he will be meeting with. So I think you'll be able to getthose answers directly from the Department of Defense. They brief today, I think.

Q: And, Ari, the world just went through this nuclear brinkmanship on the subcontinent a few months ago.This is after a war broke out there a couple of years ago. The underlying problem remains. Does -- isSecretary Rumsfeld's mission, is all this diplomacy aimed at doing anything to address the underlyingproblems, or is this just putting out the fire again, which is bound to flare up again? Is there anycomprehensive effort to go after the underlying problem?

Ari Fleischer : Well, the immediate priority is to reduce the tension. There's no question about that, giventhe way the situation has built itself up. What's very important now is for the world to join together andbring it back down again, and that's underway. And, again, there will be a series of efforts by numerousdiplomats, American and foreign, who will be going to the region. And I think it's fair to say that many ideasare going to be looked at, Terry.

Q: Okay, can I follow up on one specific idea -- which was first proposed back in 1949, and that was by theUnited Nations Security Council, a plebiscite, for the people -- Kashmir to determine which way they wanted togo. At the time, both Pakistan and India agreed to it, and it's now being resurrected. Maybe that is the wayto go, ask the people what they want. Where does the President stand on this?

Ari Fleischer : Well, I think it's -- to state the obvious, that it's an important part of any solution thatboth parties agree to that the concerns of the Kashmiri people are reflected. But I wouldn't go beyond thatand endorse any one specific plan like that. As I indicated at the beginning of that statement --

Q: Why not?

Ari Fleischer : Because it's important to have -- any idea that can be long-lasting and meaningful needs tobe accepted by both parties.

Q: Ari, on that point, the Pakistanis or the Muslims are in the majority there, and that's why the Indiansobviously do not want a plebiscite, but that would seem to be the fairest solution.

My question is, how much power does Ashcroft have to dig into everybody's personal life in this country?The invasion of privacy, the widening of powers of the FBI -- I mean, is there any full stop?

Ari Fleischer : Well, as the President said in the Cabinet meeting, at the end with the press, the Presidentknows that in the finest American tradition, that we can and we will always honor our Constitution and protectpeople's freedoms. That is what America stands for, and the President has every faith and confidence that'sexactly what will be done.

Q: But he doesn't think there will be any infringement on the First Amendment if he widens the powers of theFBI to go into libraries, the Internet, personal lives, without any proof of a potential threat of terror or acrime?

Ari Fleischer : As the President indicated, he has every faith that this will be done in a way that honorsour Constitution and protects freedoms. And just a point of fact -- and I know that the Attorney General willbe describing his initiative later today -- but I think you should take a look at -- the items that are beingdiscussed are the very same things that the current law enforcement community can do, that currently localpolice can do. The local police are not in as strong a position to counteract terrorism as the FBI is. And soI don't think it's fair to suggest --

Q: You mean they already have the right to go into any file --

Ari Fleischer : Public place.

Q: -- any public library --

Ari Fleischer : Sure.

Q: -- and list?

Ari Fleischer : Sure. Law enforcement has the right to go into public places.

Q: Without having any evidence?

Ari Fleischer : Law enforcement has the right to go into public places.

Q: Ari, apparently in mid-1999, the Clinton National Security Council had evidence of Pakistan movingnuclear weapons during the Kargil conflict. Do you have any evidence now that that's going on on either side,India or Pakistan? Or do you have any evidence that any kind of nuclear devices are operationally deployed?

Ari Fleischer : Nobody's discussed any of that information with me, so I don't have anything for you onthat.

Q: Ari, the Pakistanis are now talking about reassigning troops from the Afghanistan border and moving themtoward Kashmir if necessary. Is that of particular concern to the United States? And how would it impinge onour efforts to seal the border there against al qaeda?

Ari Fleischer : Well, there are two important priorities in the region, and one is the continued fightagainst terrorism, wherever it may be. And two is reducing the tensions on the border. Clearly, when thetensions are reduced, it means more resources available in the war against terrorism.

But the President is satisfied that between the United States, between our allies, and between thePakistanis, that we have sufficient resources to finish the job at hand, which is the long war againstterrorism. Clearly, reducing tension in the region serves the broader cause of fighting terrorism morebroadly.

Q: So you're saying that it would not degrade our capabilities to keep al qaeda from moving back and forthacross that border, even if Pakistani troops were moved away from --

Ari Fleischer : Well, as I indicated, the President is satisfied that, together with our allies, we havesufficient resources to get the job done. But also, reducing the tensions will further contribute to us havingthose resources.

Q: The other question, the other part of that question was -- or the other part of the concern now is theevacuation of American personnel. The President said today he's got the two Secretaries looking at that.

Ari Fleischer : Right.

Q: Is there a concern that any sort of -- that some exchange between the two sides could spill over orpossibly threaten American troops in Afghanistan or American diplomats in Pakistan and elsewhere in theregion?

Ari Fleischer : Well, as you know, in response to earlier events in March, the United States governmentalready has taken action vis-a-vis our diplomatic personnel and nonessential personnel in Pakistan. The UnitedStates embassy in Islamabad and consulates in Karachi, Lahore and Pesha[war] will remain open for business, evenwhile we ordered dependents and nonessential personnel home as of March 21st, which followed the March 17thattack on the protestant church in Islamabad.

We've issued several travel advisories, urging citizens to defer travel to Pakistan. And that is the latestinformation about any warnings that Americans have been given involving travel and people working there.

Now, around the world, unfortunately, this is not something new, in terms of preparing Americans in regionswhere there is chance of any harm. And so there are always around the world plans to help protect the Americancitizens, and those plans at times of tension rising get looked at and made sure that they are as effective ascan possibly be. Clearly, there are many people who will want to stay, no matter what circumstances are.

So plans are in place. Plans, as the President indicated, get looked at. The Secretary of Defense,Secretary of State are doing that. And they have within their own discretion any number of options for what todo with personnel. As I indicated, the Department of State has already taken action in Pakistan. Action can betaken at the ambassadorial level, it can be taken at the secretary level. The President is already talkingwith the Secretary of Defense and State about anything else.

Q: Though we're clearly trying to avoid it, if there were a nuclear exchange between these two --

Ari Fleischer : Jim, I'm not going to -- that's a hypothetical.

Q: It's a hypothetical the U.S. government is worried about.

Ari Fleischer : I don't know how to answer the question you're about to ask.

Q: Okay.

Q: Mine is kind of a follow-up to Jim's. Is there any reliable assessment of how dangerous, in terms ofnuclear fallout, such an exchange would be for the rest of the world? And also -- excuse me if this has beenanswered -- but would the U.S. accept an independent Kashmir?

Ari Fleischer : Connie, I think that it's fair to say that any type of war is dangerous for the world. Thesituation between India and Pakistan is tense, and the United States and others are making every effort toreduce that tension. And we will continue to actively and closely monitor the situation.

As I indicated earlier, at times like this, nations welcome the help from other nations trying to help themfind a way out. And that's why the United States has been working this so hard, so diplomatically for so long.And our efforts are in mid-stream. As you know, there are additional people who are about to leave for theregion. And the President believes their departure can be productive in helping the leaders of India andPakistan achieve what they'd like to achieve, which is a lessening of tensions.

Elizabeth.

Q: To go back on the question from Jim, what is the White House assessment of how likely either side is touse nuclear weapons right now?

Ari Fleischer : Again, the President views any type of war as a dangerous situtation. And that's why we'remaking every effort to stop war of any type.

Q: But specifically, the nuclear weapons?

Ari Fleischer : Well, I think it goes without saying that the use of nuclear weapons presents anunparalleled danger.

Q: What about the independent Kashmir that I asked about? Would the U.S. accept --

Ari Fleischer : I'd go back to the answer I gave earlier about work with all the parties.

Q: What kind of message General Musharraf was sending when President Bush was meeting President Putin inMoscow, and testing missiles? And is it true that what some Pakistanis are saying, that American troops inPakistan are an insurance policy for General Musharraf? So that's why he keeps taking advantage of theAmerican troops --

Ari Fleischer : I didn't catch the second part of your question. Is it true that American troops --

Q: American troops or American presence in Pakistan is an insurance policy for General Musharraf --

Q: Insurance, insurance policy.

Q: -- so that India cannot attack them, because he was still testing missiles while the two Presidentsmeeting in Moscow.

Ari Fleischer : Secretary Powell was asked that question during the trip, and the Secretary talked about howthe testing of the missiles was not helpful. And our focus is on the broader issue. It is, regardless of whatmilitary capability you have, and whether people are testing it or not testing it, or deploying, notdeploying, the whole situation, across the board, involving militarization needs to be calmed down. And that'sthe purpose of our efforts there -- across the board, with every type of possibility of harm, from whatevertype of military source, missile or otherwise.

Q: Let me clarify what President Bush said that I don't care, or not worried about missile tests byPakistan, but more worried about not to support the terrorism into Kashmir?

Ari Fleischer : Well, the President didn't say that.

Q: -- means that he --

Ari Fleischer : The President never said that. I think what the Secretary of State indicated was that we arefocused on -- the missile test was not helpful, but what we're focused on is, just as I indicated, the broaderissue.

War is war, regardless of the means with which it is carried out. And whether it's with a certain type ofmissile, or whether it's with artillery, or whether it's with gunfire, it all involves the taking of lives.And whatever form it may take, it's important for the world to join together and work diligently and directlywith Prime Minister Vajpayee and with President Musharraf to lessen that tension, because war does not serve,either in the short-term or the long-term, the interests of either the people or India or Pakistan, or theleadership of those two nations.

Q: Many high-level visits were --

Ari Fleischer : Last question, Goyal. You only get five.

Q: Many high-level visits were --

Q: Five? (Laughter.)

Ari Fleischer : Well, he's on his sixth, so I'm trying to cut him back.

Q: When do I get one, Ari?

Ari Fleischer : Later.

Q: Just to follow, I'm sorry -- many, many high-level visits took place to India, including Christina Roccaand many others recently. And now the Secretary of Defense visit. How much do you think this will help fortension forever, once and forever?

Ari Fleischer : Well, as I indicated, I think at times like this, as events start to unfold, people who getcaught in a -- potentially, at least rhetorically -- escalating sense of conflict welcome the presence ofoutsiders who can help reduce those tensions and find a way out that the two parties sometimes would have moredifficulty if it was just doing it on their own. That's why diplomacy is an age-old art that has proven itscause, proven its worthiness, and that's why we're so engaged in it now.