Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/10/20031002-1.htmlFor Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
The White House
October 2, 2003
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Briefing Room[excerpts on the reported $600 million request for the Iraq Survey Group]
[...]
Q: Now, one of the things that was revealed today, if the article is correct, is that the administration is seeking an additional $600 million to fund the Iraq survey group, to keep it going and to provide resources for its continued efforts. Is that accurate?
MR. McCLELLAN: There -- as with normal, or other budget appropriations, there are classified sections within those appropriations. This is a wartime supplemental. It does have a classified section, and it would not be appropriate for me to discuss those classified sections.
[...]
Q: Follow-up to Jim's question. Why is the amount of money the administration is seeking for the Iraq survey group classified? What's the rationale for that?
MR. McCLELLAN: There are classified sections in it. One, I can't get into the classified section of budget appropriations. This is a wartime supplemental, and so I can't -- it's not appropriate for me to discuss it -- the classified section further. You're asking me to get into confirming or denying certain parts of that matter.
But the Iraq survey group, as I've noted over here, continues to do its job. Keep in mind that Saddam Hussein had a sophisticated concealment strategy that was well-known, trying to deceive the international community, trying to conceal -- and they were caught by the weapons inspectors in the past for what they were concealing. So the Iraq survey group has a massive amount of documents, miles of documents to go through to uncover the full truth of his weapons of mass destruction programs. And that work continues. And it's important work.
Q: I'm not asking you to discuss what's in that classified section. I'm asking you what is -- as a matter of policy, why does that amount of money have --
MR. McCLELLAN: That would be asking me to talk about classified sections of the report.
Q: No, just the policy rationale for keeping this -- why is that -- why does that have to be secret?
MR. McCLELLAN: That's making assumptions about what's in the classified section of the report. It's a classified section that you're asking me to discuss.
[...]
Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2003/tr20031002-secdef0726.html
[...]DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers
October 2, 2003[excerpts on the reported $600 million request for the Iraq Survey Group]
Q: Mr. Secretary, there was a report today that in the $87 billion request is a request for hundreds of millions of dollars more to continue the search for weapons of mass destruction. Could you explain, you know, what that would be used for, what it's needed for, why it's needed and how much it is?
Rumsfeld: It's classified.
Q: Can I ask why that would be classified?
Q: Why?
Rumsfeld: I don't classify these things, but that portion of the bill is classified.
Q: (Inaudible.) -- parts of it that aren't classified; for instance, perhaps salaries of people that are doing the search?
Rumsfeld: I have no idea how you'd do that, but I'm advised that that portion of the bill has some classified sections in it, and I'm sure that they have classifications for good reason.
[...]
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/10/20031006-5.htmlFor Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
The White House
October 6, 2003
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Briefing Room[excerpts on the reported $600 million request for the Iraq Survey Group]
[...]
Q: Scott, the Iraq survey group has spent something like $300 million since the end of the war, attempting to verify and find caches of weapons of mass destruction, which they have not found yet -- so far, in terms of weapons caches. The supplemental is now --
MR. McCLELLAN: Let's point out what they have found, as well.
Q: Let me finish my question.
MR. McCLELLAN: Okay.
Q: The administration is now asking for an additional $600 million. What exactly is the $600 million for? And what will you say to the arguing from some that --
MR. McCLELLAN: We went through this --
Q: -- you're throwing good money after bad?
MR. McCLELLAN: We went through this last week. In the wartime supplement, there is a classified section, just like there is any budget appropriation. And I'm not in a position to confirm or deny what's in there, or to get into a position of discussing what's in that classified section. And I'm sure no one in this room wants me to discuss classified information.
Q: What about the argument, though, that it would appear to be throwing good money after bad?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, let me mention that the Iraq survey group does continue to do its work. Dr. Kay pointed out over the weekend a lot of what they have found was not the focus of the initial coverage, and now I think it's important to look at what they have found, as well. Dr. Kay summarized in his report that was made public that -- and I quote that the report discovered what the report calls: dozens of WMD-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in late 2002.
He talked about the strain of botulinum toxin that were found. He talked about -- yesterday, about how a scientist was asked to keep a large amount of anthrax and turned that down. So there's a lot of work that continues. And it's important that the Iraq survey group continue to move forward on its work so that we can uncover the full extent of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction programs.
He also talked a lot about their advanced design work on missiles, that there was a lot of activity in that report that was in clear violation of Security Council Resolution 1441. And it's important that they continue to do their work, and that's exactly what they're doing.
Q: Could you say, then, that the attitude that you're looking for something to justify or back up the claims were -- the reasons for going to war is the wrong way of looking at the survey group?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think if you look at the report and read the report, the summary of his report in full, you'll see justification for what we did. As Secretary Powell said, it made us even more convinced that what we did was the right thing. It shows that Saddam Hussein is a dangerous -- was a dangerous dictator. He is no longer in power. He has been removed from power. The world is better, and the world is safer, and America is more secure before of that action that we took in Iraq.
[...]