June 30 deadline, Bush/Cheney meet with 9/11 panel, Sharon statement on Arafat, Powell on intelligence

IRAQ SOVEREIGNTY TRANSFER DATE REMAINS JUNE 30

President Bush announced to reporters April 5 that June 30 remains the date for the transfer of sovereignty to an interim government in Iraq.

"My intention is to make sure the deadline remains the same," Bush told reporters following a meeting with the family of a soldier from North Carolina who was killed during fighting in Iraq.

Questioned about the impact of the recent uprising led by the militant Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Bush said, "My judgment is that the closer we come to the deadline, the more likely it is people will challenge our will. In this particular incident, with Sadr, this is one person who is deciding that rather than allow democracy to flourish, he's going to exercise force. We just can't let it stand."

"The message to the Iraqi citizens is, they don't have to fear that America will turn and run," he said. "That's an important message for them to hear. If they think that we're not sincere about staying the course, many people will not continue to take the risk toward freedom and democracy."

When questioned about whom the president might appoint as U.S. ambassador to Iraq following the transfer of sovereignty, Bush said, "I am looking for somebody who can run a big embassy, somebody who understands the relationship between an embassy and the military. And we're in the process of searching it out now."

WHITE HOUSE RESPONDS TO SHARON'S STATEMENT ON ARAFAT

White House spokesman Scott McClellan responded to a recent statement by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon purportedly backing away from a pledge he made to President Bush guaranteeing his personal protection to Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat.

"Our views are very well known to Prime Minister Sharon. We have made it clear that sending him [Arafat] into exile or otherwise dealing with him is not part of the solution to the situation in the Middle East," McClellan said.

According to news reports, Sharon stated April 5 that he would no longer vouch for Arafat's personal safety. This would mark a shift from a pledge he made about Arafat's safety to President Bush in March 2002.

"So we've made our views very clear to Prime Minister Sharon, and he's very well aware of what our view is," the spokesman said.

BUSH DISCUSSES UPCOMING MEETING WITH 9/11 COMMISSION

Bush also discussed his and Vice President Cheney's upcoming meeting with the September 11 Commission, saying, "we're meeting with the entire commission. I'm not exactly sure what the status is of putting out the date. I told them I'd meet with them at a time that's convenient for all of us, and hopefully we'll come to that date soon."

"It will be a great opportunity for them [commission members] to ask both of us our opinions on the subject," he said.

Emphasizing his position on the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the president said, "Let me just be very clear about this: Had we had the information that was necessary to stop an attack, I'd have stopped the attack." He said what is important for the commission to hear "is that when I realized that the stakes had changed, that this country immediately went on war footing, and we went to war against al-Qaeda."

POWELL STATEMENT ON U.S. INTELLIGENCE

McClellan also responded to questions about a recent comment by Secretary of State Colin Powell on flaws in U.S. intelligence prior to the Iraq war.

According to news reports, Powell said April 3 that part of his presentation to the United Nations in February 2003 making the case for war with Iraq was based on flawed intelligence. He told the United Nations that the United States had several sources showing mobile chemical weapons laboratories, but on April 3 he said the evidence on the mobile labs has been shown to be shaky.

"In terms of Secretary Powell's remarks, I think [CIA] Director [George] Tenet in some of his recent remarks said something to the effect that there was still no consensus within the intelligence community regarding those mobile laboratories," McClellan said.

"The president appointed an independent commission to look at all these issues as part of a comprehensive look at intelligence related to the spread of weapons of mass destruction and nations with weapons of mass destruction programs. So we can compare what we are learning on the ground now with what we knew prior to going into Iraq," the spokesman said.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)