Trying To Find Out Where The Buck Stops Because the GOP Is Hemorrhaging American Taxpayer Dollars

Helen takes a few more licks at Scotty with the Cast Iron Skillet, just doing an honest day's work trying to find out if the President is going to shirk his war-time responsiblities once again:

Q At what point did the President decide that during his watch there would be no major withdrawal from Iraq? And what did he --

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think that's what he said.

Q What?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think that's what he said.

Q Well, he said, future Presidents will have --

MR. McCLELLAN: In fact, a couple of things. First of all, the President was asked a very specific question, when will there be zero or no troops in Iraq. So he was responding to that specific question. But we are already seeing a reduction in our troop levels. Our commanders on the ground -- the President has made it very clear repeatedly that our commanders on the ground will make the determinations about our troop levels, based on conditions. And General Casey, just the other day, talked about how we're in the process of coming down from around 138,000 to 130,000 or so, and he also talked about how he expected, as we move forward into 2006 and then into 2007, that we would continue to see a reduction in -- hang on -- in troop levels.

And now, he said that he would evaluate it based on conditions, and continue to do that. And that's what's important. The President is looking to his commanders, the people who are on the ground, to make those determinations. The other aspect of this is the reason why General Casey was saying he expects those troops to continue to come down, the reason why is because the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces is going well. They are showing that they can help provide for the defense and security of the Iraqi people. They are taking more of the lead in the fight, they're controlling more of the battle space. And so that's why it's so important that we continue to move forward on the training of the Iraqi army, as well as the Iraqi police, which is where a lot of effort is being focused these days, too.

Q Well, my point is at what point -- I mean, what has been the reaction? The headline was that we were going to stay there well into another presidency, possibly.

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't write the headlines, and I think it's wrong for any --

Q This is the impression the President left.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, no --

Q You say no?

MR. McCLELLAN: I disagree. There were some articles that put it in -- in some of the coverage -- that put it in the full context. If you look at exactly what he said and exactly what he was asked --

Q -- future presidencies and new Iraqi --

MR. McCLELLAN: That's what I'm getting to, Helen. It would be wrong to suggest that he was saying that there would still be a substantial number of troops in Iraq after he is out of office. That's not what he was asked. That's not what he was talking about. What he emphasized again was that troop levels will be based on the decisions of our commanders who will look at conditions on the ground.

Q I'm not talking about troop levels. I'm talking about American presence. And we certainly will have troops there, and he certainly indicated that well beyond his own presidency we'd be there.

MR. McCLELLAN: We're in Afghanistan -- we've been in Afghanistan since 2001. There's still troops there, but it's substantially down from where it was initially.

Q The political process has now dragged on for three months in Iraq. Should the President get more personally involved in trying to get a government there?

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me correct you a little bit, first of all. You say it's dragged on for three months. This is a new and emerging democracy. This is a country that has been under the brutal fist of a dictator for some three decades. So this is a country that is learning how to compromise, learning how to engage in politics through a democratic system, and really learning the habits of democracy. This is a new thing for the people of Iraq and so they're learning all those aspects.

Remember, way back, three, four months ago, we said that after the elections take place, that they will move forward on putting a government in place, and that there would be a lot of political debate, there would be a lot of back-and-forth -- we're seeing that go on. But we also said that it's going to require some patience and that it will take some time.

Now, I think in the aftermath of the sectarian strife that we've seen of recent weeks, the Iraqi leaders recognize the importance of coming together, setting aside their political differences, setting aside their religious or ethnic differences, and forming a government that represents all Iraqis. And they recognize the importance of moving forward as quickly as possible. That's what they're working to do. And we are continuing to urge them to move forward as quickly as possible, because as you move forward on the political process, it helps improve the security situation on the ground, as well.

Q Should the President get more personally involved in it?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, our Ambassador has been very involved in supporting the efforts of the Iraqi political leaders and helping them to come together and discuss how to move forward as quickly as possible. And he's been -- he has expressed how he has been encouraged by the discussions that have been going on over the recent days. And the President has heard directly from him. And that's why you also hear the President here at home continue to urge that the political leaders in Iraq move forward as soon as they can to form that government.

Q But they're not operating under any specific deadline.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think, though, it's important to recognize what they have said. They've talked about how they looked into the abyss and they didn't like what they saw in the aftermath of some of the attacks. And so they recognize the importance of coming together and working to move as quickly as possible to form a government of national unity. And that's what they are doing.