Q Scott, getting back to the apology issue that Mark raised, did you mean to say that the President didn't apologize because -- he didn't address that issue because no one brought it up in either interview?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we've already said that we are deeply sorry for what occurred. The White House has already said that, on behalf of the President.
Q There seems to be a sense, among some Arab scholars and Arab diplomats today that from, at the very least, a cultural standpoint, that it would have gone a long way had the President himself apologized. It's, with all due respect, a little bit different than you or Condoleezza Rice or someone else. If the Arab world had heard him -- heard the President personally apologize, it would have gone a long way. Why did he choose not to use those words?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I just told you, the President is deeply sorry for what occurred, and the pain that it has caused.
Q Why didn't he say so himself?
MR. McCLELLAN: The President is deeply sorry for it. And he was pleased to sit down and do these interviews and address the questions that were asked of him.
Q Why didn't he say so himself?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm saying it for him right now, Peter. And Condi Rice said it yesterday.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we've already said that we are deeply sorry for what occurred. The White House has already said that, on behalf of the President.
Q There seems to be a sense, among some Arab scholars and Arab diplomats today that from, at the very least, a cultural standpoint, that it would have gone a long way had the President himself apologized. It's, with all due respect, a little bit different than you or Condoleezza Rice or someone else. If the Arab world had heard him -- heard the President personally apologize, it would have gone a long way. Why did he choose not to use those words?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I just told you, the President is deeply sorry for what occurred, and the pain that it has caused.
Q Why didn't he say so himself?
MR. McCLELLAN: The President is deeply sorry for it. And he was pleased to sit down and do these interviews and address the questions that were asked of him.
Q Why didn't he say so himself?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm saying it for him right now, Peter. And Condi Rice said it yesterday.
White House press conference May 5, 2004
Q Scott, you say that the actions that were taken were contrary to American values, and I think I and everybody else can agree with you on that. Nevertheless, isn't there a sense of responsibility, to the extent that over the past couple of years the United States has deviated from its traditional values -- has launched a preemptive strike against a nation without what was generally considered due cause; they put out --
MR. McCLELLAN: There was ample cause. And I remind you what David Kay uncovered and what Charles Duelfer had uncovered.
MR. McCLELLAN: There was ample cause. And I remind you what David Kay uncovered and what Charles Duelfer had uncovered.
What did David Kay uncover? I thought what he uncovered was that there were no WMDs.
Advancing freedom and democracy is key to winning the war on terrorism. And there are lots of ways we do that. We support efforts that are underway to move forward toward freedom and democracy. And we are also working in Afghanistan and Iraq to advance freedom and democracy. We liberated some 50 million people in those two countries alone. In Iraq, they were under a brutal, oppressive regime. In Afghanistan, they were under a brutal, oppressive regime. And the people in those countries are seeing a better future.
And I would remind you that what we are accomplishing in those countries is providing people with hope and opportunity...
And I would remind you that what we are accomplishing in those countries is providing people with hope and opportunity...
Somebody get this man a dose of reality. A ticket to Fallujah. A visit to Abu Ghraib. A tour of Baghdad.
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