2007 White House Christmas Tree VIDEO

Mrs. Bush's Remarks Upon Receiving the 2007 White House Christmas Tree. FULL STREAMING VIDEO (2:39) North Portico 10:18 A.M. EST MRS. BUSH: Good morning, everybody. This is the 42nd year that the National Christmas Tree Growers have given the White House a tree. And we're so thrilled that this beautiful tree and huge Fraser fir behind me -- you can see how big it is -- is from Mistletoe Farm in North Carolina, from Joe Freeman and Linda Jones are the growers of it, and it's a 19-year-old tree that he's been growing there at the farms for the last 19 years. PHOTO GALLERY

And so we're all thrilled that it's going to be here in the Blue Room. As you all know, we have to remove the chandelier from the Blue Room because the tree is so big. And the decorators are all inside right now, the florists who come from around the country to decorate every year at the White House. And so they'll be ready to set the tree up as soon as it gets moved in and to start decorating the tree.

And you all will hear more about the decorations later this week when you come back for the preview. But I will tell you that the tree will be decorated with about 300 -- a little over 300 ornaments from around the country. Over 300 artists have decorated these ornaments, and so you'll see them when you're here later this week for the Christmas preview.

But now I especially want to thank Linda. Thank you so much, Linda. I appreciate it a lot. And thank you, Joe, and congratulations on being picked by the National Christmas Tree Growers. And Beth, who's from the National Christmas Tree Grower's Association, happens to be a Texan. We knew her when George was governor and we would receive the tree then for the Texas Governor's Mansion in the Texas capital. So thank you very much also, Beth.

Thanks, and Merry Christmas, everybody. This is the first day of the season, the day after the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. And this is certainly the day we start around here.

So thanks, everybody. Happy holidays. Merry Christmas.

END 10:20 A.M. EST. For Immediate Release Office of the First Lady November 26, 2007

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State Department Daily Press Briefing, 11/29/07 VIDEO, PODCAST, TEXT

Daily Press Briefing. Sean McCormack, Spokesman. FULL STREAMING VIDEO. Washington, DC. November 29, 2007, 12:38 p.m. EDT. PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE

MR. MCCORMACK: Good afternoon, everybody. I don't have anything to start off with, so we can get right into your questions.

Yes.

QUESTION: So the emergency will be lifted on the 16th of December?

MR. MCCORMACK: Right. I've seen the press reports about that. It's a positive and significant step. We look forward to the elections taking place in early January. I believe the day has been set by President Musharraf. This announcement, combined with the fact that President Musharraf has taken off the uniform and is now sworn in as President of Pakistan as a civilian, are all positive steps that will help get Pakistan back on the pathway to democratic and constitutional rule.

Now, it's going to be very important that once you have the state of emergency actually lifted that during that run-up to the election, which will be several weeks now if those date -- all -- both of those dates hold, will be one in which the candidates and all those who want to peacefully participate in the Pakistani political process are able to do so, that they have access to free and independent media, that free and independent media be able to operate, that there are provisions made for election observers so that they can move freely throughout the country to observe the election -- all the types of things that we would expect in any election taking place anywhere around the globe. But today's announcements are a positive and significant step forward, but there are still steps left in order to get Pakistan back firmly on that road to constitutional, democratic rule.

QUESTION: So was this key then? Was this a watershed that he finally seems to be fulfilling his promises and responding to all the international pressure?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, you can talk to the Pakistani Government and President Musharraf about his reasons for doing this. I'll leave him to explain those. It is in the best interest of the Pakistani people. It's in the best interest of Pakistan and Pakistan's future. So I'm sure that those were the motivations that were foremost in his mind. Of course, the international community has been calling for these measures and inasmuch as he has committed to taking these steps it is a positive -- positive movement. We would ask that -- and counsel him to follow through on his promises. In the past, President Musharraf has followed through and done what he said he would do.

QUESTION: And you don't regard his own position as President as in any way tainted given the manner in which he was elected by the outgoing assemblies and his --

MR. MCCORMACK: He is President of Pakistan --

QUESTION: And there's a second part of the question.

MR. MCCORMACK: Okay, I understand where you were going with it, but go ahead.

QUESTION: And given his second -- you know, and given his decision to dismiss significant numbers of the Supreme Court and replace them prior to their ruling on his election.

MR. MCCORMACK: Look, we are where we are, and we have spoken out with our views about the steps that President Musharraf has taken in the past with respect to suspending the constitution as well as implementing a state of emergency. But we are where we are. And it is important that President Musharraf get Pakistan back on the road to constitutional rule and democratic governance, a pathway that he really himself had put Pakistan on since 2001. So it is really a call for him to really renew the kind of efforts that he had made prior to the imposition of the state of emergency.

And ultimately, it will be the Pakistani people who decide who lead them, who elect members of parliament and who will determine how Pakistan comes through this political transition.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) that you want him to lift the state of emergency well in advance of the elections, which is supposed to take place in January. Do you believe that the three weeks, though, that there will be between lifting the state of emergency and the elections is enough time for them to be considered free and fair?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, you know, I'll leave that to experts. Obviously, the more time you have prior to an election where people can freely move about, the -- be released from incarceration, have access to media, have the media up and running; the longer lead time you have before the election, the better. So there's probably a sliding scale of what is -- what are the optimal outcomes here.

I think just roughly speaking, that it is -- if there is a concerted effort and a dedicated effort and a dedication to making sure that elections are free, fair, and transparent that you can, in fact, have those kinds of elections. But you're going to -- they're going to need to work at it and they're going to make sure that they follow through faithfully with those commitments, making sure that people are able to freely express themselves, that people want -- who want to participate in the political process in a peaceful manner are able to do so, that the media is able to operate, that people can access that media, that you have election observers in there.

So those are all the variety of different conditions and actions that one would expect that -- in any election that would take place around the globe, but it would be particularly important now, given where Pakistan has been over the past month, that Pakistani authorities ensure that those proper conditions are created. I mean, all the more -- you know, forget about the views of the international community and what it thinks about these elections; more importantly, those things are important for the Pakistani people so that they can have faith that those elections are free, fair, and transparent.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Can you tell us what contact there has been, if any, from senior officials in Washington to President Musharraf or to General Kayani in the last couple days or --

MR. MCCORMACK: Nothing recent, nothing recent.

QUESTION: -- any phone calls?

MR. MCCORMACK: At least nothing from the Secretary.

QUESTION: And Assistant Secretary Boucher or --

MR. MCCORMACK: No, nothing -- not that I'm aware of.

QUESTION: Deputy Secretary Negroponte?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, he's on travel at the moment and I'm not aware that Richard has made any phone calls.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Rodney Livingston, SPNN.NET television here in Washington. This is more of a vision question. Number one, is the Annapolis -- has that determination been made for it to succeed and they're going to work on the details?

MR. MCCORMACK: Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on. We'll get to you.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. MCCORMACK: But do you guys have any more Pakistan questions?

(No response.)

Okay. Sorry to interrupt.

QUESTION: That's okay. Focusing on the vision in Annapolis --

MR. MCCORMACK: Right, right.

QUESTION: -- has the determination been made already for it to work and the details will be worked out in December? Has that determination been set that it's going to work? Let's say you're going to buy a house -- even though it's more complicated than that, we're going to buy it, but the details --

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: And then the second part of that is, is there -- and this is more of a vision question for the Secretary.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: Is it enough to go around? And that's more of a vision question.

MR. MCCORMACK: Okay. Well, to sort of pick up on the house analogy, I think it's more a matter now of the Israelis and the Palestinians needing to build the house. So I don't think anybody has bought anything other than the fact that they have committed to a process and they have committed to a process and negotiations with certain parameters, meaning that all the issues are on the table between them, they know what needs to be resolved, they know where they want to get, they have the support of the international community, they're going to have the support certainly of the United States in getting to that end point. But it's going to have to be those two parties that make the hard compromises, do the hard deals. It's not going to be easy. The grade of the slope hasn't gotten any shallower; it's going to be tough going. But we are committed to helping them do what they need to do in order to achieve the two-state solution.

QUESTION: What is your current understanding -- has it changed since yesterday -- of this idea for a conference in -- the next conference being in Russia?

MR. MCCORMACK: No. I've seen a lot of comments about it. What happened coming at Annapolis was Foreign Minister Lavrov made a gracious offer to host a future international conference in Moscow. It's not something that had been considered during the Quartet meeting prior to the Annapolis conference. I expect that it's going to be a topic of --

QUESTION: You mean the one just literally the day before, Monday?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.

QUESTION: That meeting?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, there was a topic of conversation there about how do you follow on Annapolis, what are the next steps beyond the parties getting together and negotiating.

QUESTION: And he made the offer there at Annapolis or --

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't know if it's the first time he made -- he's made that offer, but they did discuss it there. And it was something he said during the -- one of the plenary sessions. I can't remember exactly which one. It was prior to his leaving. He left right after lunch.

So he made the offer. Everybody thinks it's an idea that is worth discussing how one might follow up in a larger forum to the Annapolis conference. I think any agreement to that idea -- I don't think any of the parties are quite there yet. I think we're at the point of discussing it. It's an interesting concept.

But the point of Annapolis isn't to just have another conference. The point of Annapolis is to launch those final status negotiations so the two parties can make some progress. Now, if there's a way to further manifest the international support that you saw in Annapolis for that -- for the bilateral -- for the negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, I think that's something that people will look at and look at very closely.

QUESTION: Well, is this something that will be discussed by the Quartet again when they meet through the Paris --

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes, in Paris. Yes, it is. It will be on the agenda.

QUESTION: Will it -- and on the agenda in terms of like agreeing to have it, or do you need to have --

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I think it would be premature --

QUESTION: Still, even then?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah. Look, you will only be three weeks removed from Annapolis and only four days removed from the parties having sat down for the first time to actually structure the negotiations. So it's an idea that will be discussed. And again, the underpinning thought is how does the international community, once again, manifest its support for the ongoing process of negotiation. And there is an idea of, you know, how can -- how can you use perhaps another international gathering of again focusing the attention of the parties in their efforts.

QUESTION: Well, is it your understanding then that his suggestion is not about the -- would it be like a sequel to Annapolis with the same things on the agenda?

MR. MCCORMACK: I think --

QUESTION: Or is he -- or is the way that he's presenting it that it would focus on the other tracks?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, I think that any discussion -- and this is really very premature, but any discussion of what is on the agenda would follow from a decision to have another conference.

QUESTION: Is the Russian offer premature?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, we don't think it's premature. It's not premature to start thinking about what next steps -- how this unfolds over the course of a year. I mean, we already have a time horizon of 12 months, 12 to 14 months, so it is not unreasonable to start thinking about how the time -- how the time within that 12 months might break down. Do you -- what sort of other gatherings, what sort of other mechanisms might you use in order to get to the point everybody wants to get to? So it's not --

QUESTION: Well --

MR. MCCORMACK: No, I don't think it's premature to start talking about, well, what are the mechanisms, what are the other meetings perhaps that we might need to hold in order to get there. But you know, again, the focus of -- the whole point of Annapolis wasn't to have another international meeting. It's to get the parties together to negotiate. That's where the focus is. That's where our focus is going to be. I know it's where the focus of the Israelis and the Palestinians is going to be.

Once you have that focus, the question then becomes, well, how do you support that process, how do you move it forward, how do you perhaps -- if there are any openings, how do you support the idea of moving forward on the front of a comprehensive peace. Now, those are all -- the answers to all those questions are going to be -- are going to come as a result of hard work and actions that the parties engage in between now and whenever we might get together again.

QUESTION: Do you see any openings in particular? I'm thinking with Syria.

MR. MCCORMACK: You know, I talked a little bit about this yesterday. And really, that is going to be up to the Syrians and the Israelis to see whether or not they -- if there's anything there, if they see an opening that they believe that they can exploit. We have -- whenever this question has come up over the past year, we've said that it's up to those two parties to see if there's anything there, whether or not there's anything that they want to explore. Of course, we're supportive of the idea of a comprehensive peace and a political horizon, if you will, for the Israeli Government with other Arab states. That was the whole point of that third plenary session that we had at Annapolis.

The answer to that question, though, is going to be determined by what the two parties think is there, whether or not there's anything to exploit. I will say that in our view, it is not a substitute for the Israeli-Palestinian track and I don't think the -- certainly, the Israeli Government doesn't see it as such either.

QUESTION: Are there any byproducts of bringing the Syrians here? Are they more cooperative on other issues such as Lebanon? Suleiman, it looks like, will be the new president. What about the border with Iraq? Are they cooperating more or are you -- is the relationship improving in other ways?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, we'll see -- we'll see what sort of Syrian behavior we see going forward. We made an offer. We invited Syria to the conference as an individual state, issued the invitation to them bilaterally. They accepted. And like I said yesterday, taken as a whole, the comments from the Syrian delegate were added to the conversation. They were constructive.

As for the Lebanese election, the Lebanese will decide who their next president is going to be. We've made it clear and it's important to us as well as the rest of the world that there not be any outside interference in that choice. It has to be a Lebanese choice for themselves.

We have called upon the Syrian Government to change their behavior in a variety of different ways. I don't think, at this point, I can offer you a definitive assessment, but the fact that they did come to the conference, the fact that they did participate in such a way that added to the conversation indicates to me that they understand that there is another pathway that they can choose to take, a more constructive pathway in which -- on which they play a positive role on a variety of different fronts in the region. We'll see if they ultimately choose to go down that pathway. I think it's too early to say which way -- which path they're going to choose now.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) on this. Are you confident that the Lebanese people are going to be -- or at least through their representatives, that they are going to be the ones who are going to decide who the next president is?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, certainly --

QUESTION: It certainly hasn't always been the --

MR. MCCORMACK: No, I understand that. We'll see how the process unfolds. It is unfolding now according to their constitution. And it has been our strong encouragement, as well as the strong encouragement of other key international actors, that they -- the Lebanese people choose -- or Lebanese representatives, political representatives, choose who will be the next Lebanese president.

QUESTION: All right. And then just a technical point; you said that Syria was invited to the conference as a sovereign nation on its own.

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, yeah.

QUESTION: But in fact, that was not the line going into this pre-conference.

MR. MCCORMACK: No, we were --

QUESTION: It was that they were being invited --

MR. MCCORMACK: They were part of --

QUESTION: -- because they're part of the follow-up committee.

MR. MCCORMACK: They were part of the Arab Follow-up Committee.

QUESTION: Are you saying that if they were not a member of the Arab Follow-up Committee, they would not have gotten an invitation?

MR. MCCORMACK: That's the history. I don't rewrite the history. But the fact is those invitations were delivered to each individual state. And each individual state showed up there and had its own flag with its own nameplate sitting there. They came as sovereign -- they came as sovereign states.

And I get your point; I mean, it was in the context of the Arab League Follow-up Committee, yes. But I say that to draw a distinction between the -- what unfolded in Annapolis, where every state was sitting there as a full participant in their own right as a sovereign state, just to draw a distinction with past efforts. For example, Madrid; Saudi Arabia was there as an observer in connection with the OIC and it was understood that Saudi Arabia was there in that context. At Annapolis, they were there as Saudi Arabia and they were invited as an individual sovereign state. That was the only point that I was making. No, I take your point (inaudible) that they were invited in the context of the Arab League Follow-up Committee.

QUESTION: Well, would they have been invited if they hadn't been a member of the committee?

MR. MCCORMACK: Matt, you know, we can't go back and rewrite history. That's the way this unfolded.

QUESTION: Oh, I'm not asking you to rewrite it. I'm just asking, you know, would --

MR. MCCORMACK: I can't possibly answer that question. They were invited the way that they were invited.

QUESTION: Can I just follow up on that?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah.

QUESTION: I know you said that the Secretary didn't meet with any of the members of the Syrian delegation. Did any other U.S. officials meet with them and were any other issues other than the Israeli-Palestinian issues discussed with them?

MR. MCCORMACK: I'm not aware. I'm not aware of any other contacts. But I wasn't keeping tabs on David Welch and the other members of our delegation the whole time. I'm not aware --

QUESTION: It was Foley who met with the Syrian delegation.

MR. MCCORMACK: Jim Foley?

QUESTION: Oh, sorry. Jim Foley met --

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, he traveled there specifically to break some logjams that existed with respect to the visas and he was successful in those efforts.

QUESTION: But while they were in Annapolis or in the country at all, were there any other --

MR. MCCORMACK: I'm not aware of any.

Kirit.

QUESTION: On refugees, these convoys that are going from Syria, is this an example of a really substantial increase in people going back and what are you attributing to this -- that to?

MR. MCCORMACK: This is -- did Jim talk about this during his briefing?

QUESTION: Yes. But there were a couple of things he couldn't provide answers on, so.

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I'm -- you know, I have to admit and it's a confession, I didn't read the transcript. I do know that -- I've seen the news reports about Iraqis traveling back into Baghdad, back into Iraq. That's very positive. That's exactly what the Iraqi Government would like to see and that's exactly what the states in the region would like to see. That said, if there are people with a legitimate fear of persecution that have a legitimate shot at being refugees, they need to be accorded all the rights that they should be granted under the international conventions. And their humanitarian needs should be provided for. We are doing our part, the Iraqi Government is doing their part in that regard, as are other states in the region.

So there are some initial hopeful signs that you're starting to see people come back into some of the areas that had been really subject to very, very difficult and brutal security conditions. So that's an indication that there is some improvement on the ground in Iraq. I know our commanders on the ground have talked about that, but they're not making any predictions about how long that can -- that would last in the absence of the continuing efforts by not only our forces, but by Iraqi forces.

QUESTION: And do you -- sorry, do you regard the welfare of the people that have returned now in the hands of the Iraqi Government or will the U.S. be helping them with that? Will there be more funding or special programs?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I'm not aware of any particular special programs for people who have made the decision to return. I think that's an individual decision -- they're going back to their homes, going back to their own neighborhoods.

QUESTION: That's not the question, though, Sean. The suggestion was raised that some of these people, not all but some of them, may be being pushed in the direction of going back out by, you know, the Syrian Government, the Iraqi Government or their own personal circumstances -- running out of money, visa questions, that kind of thing.

MR. MCCORMACK: You know, Matt, again, I -- you know, I didn't listen on the briefing, so I -- you know, I'm at a disadvantage here. I -- look, if there are people who -- there are people that have a legitimate right and a legitimate case regarding refugee status, I mean, absolutely, there are international obligations there. And not only that, we believe that there is an international obligation that neighboring states have to help out and provide humanitarian relief to people who are fleeing violence. And we're doing our part to make sure that they receive that relief and there have been some generous contributions from others in the region.

In terms of people being pushed back into Iraq, I mean, certainly it's something we have a problem with. People, if they want to, if they choose of their own volition to return back to their own houses, their neighborhoods or back to their own country because they have made a definite assessment about the situation on the ground and they feel as though that they can go back there, that's very positive. But again, that has to be an individual decision, not coerced by some other authority. Now, of course, you run into individual circumstances where people have to make hard decisions about whether or not they have the means to continue in one place, as opposed to going back to another. That I think falls in the category of people have to make their own decisions.

QUESTION: Just a follow-up.

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah.

QUESTION: UNHCR put out a statement earlier this week that was pretty critical -- it was expressing concern about the returning Iraq refugees, namely, that they weren't returning because of security improving in Iraq, but because their situations had deteriorated in other countries. And you had mentioned that you believe that this more due to the security situation. So are you disputing UNHCR's standpoint?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I haven't read the report, Kirit. I'm just saying -- I'm only going -- right up front I stated based on a variety of different news reports that I've seen about people flowing back, I'm sure that for each person that decides to return there's going to be an individual circumstance or a different story. I don't know what the aggregate looks like. I don't know what the trends -- I don't know what the trends look like. I mean, certainly, the United States can't be accused of in any way ignoring the humanitarian needs of these people. Sometimes we have been not as nimble in delivering on our desire to help these people out in a humanitarian way or to help out people with visas or resettlement, those sorts of things. But certainly, an intention has always been there, and I think now our capabilities are catching up with our intentions to the extent that the Secretary is starting to get more comfortable with where we are. But as for this report, I haven't seen it. I can't comment on it.

QUESTION: Can I ask one more thing?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah.

QUESTION: Ambassador Foley said that he was frustrated with what was happening with the 25 million that you've given to the Iraqi Government to help these people and give to host countries. Can you clarify what's going on with that?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, I can't. Like I said, you know, (inaudible) I have not -- I didn't see the briefing, didn't see the transcript.

QUESTION: Are you satisfied with -- I mean, that's a huge amount of money. Are you satisfied with --

MR. MCCORMACK: The 25 million? I understand the Iraqis have delivered it. It's just a question of whether or not they've delivered to the right location. I think that was the question. But they have actually gotten from the point of saying they're going to deliver the 25 million to actually having delivered it. Now it's a question of is it sitting in the right bank account or with the right person.

Yeah.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) Iraq. Do you have any comment on the claims by Beijing that the cancellation of the visit to Hong Kong was not a misunderstanding and linking it to the Dalai Lama?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, I know. Yeah, I saw that. I know Dana addressed that over at the White House and I wouldn't really have much more to add than what she did, that we're seeking clarification of that -- that statement.

QUESTION: Do you know why the Foreign Minister -- or why the White House would say that the Foreign Minister claims it's a misunderstanding and then the next day the Foreign Ministry would say it's not --

MR. MCCORMACK: Because I would assume that the White House said that because that's what they heard, and that if there was any reports to the contrary coming out of the Chinese Foreign Ministry that they're seeking clarification about those subsequent comments that have come in out of -- come out of the Foreign Ministry. And I understand -- I know that the White House is handling that.

QUESTION: What about the linking of it with the award to the Dalai Lama? That would seem to be indicative that they're still holding a grudge.

MR. MCCORMACK: Like I said, we're seeking clarification on the subsequent statements that they've made in public.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) spill over into other U.S.-China relations?

MR. MCCORMACK: Look, the U.S.-China relationship is a broad, mature, deep relationship that is constantly evolving, changing, and in some ways getting better and in some way -- in some areas we have differences. But it is fundamentally a relationship between two important world powers, so where we have bumps in the road we work through them. We deal with each other in a straightforward manner. Where we have questions, we raise them. We're not afraid to raise them. As Dana indicated just this morning, we're going to seek clarification.

QUESTION: Have there been any other bumps that we haven't heard about? (Laughter.)

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, none that I'm going to tell you about. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Sean, the White House is seeking clarification on this?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, yeah.

QUESTION: From whom?

MR. MCCORMACK: It's a White House meeting.

QUESTION: In other words, is the President --

MR. MCCORMACK: The meeting in question was a meeting between the Foreign Minister and the President. I think it's appropriate that the White House follow up on it. Yeah.

QUESTION: Well, where are they seeking clarification from? Why isn't it the Embassy in Beijing that's doing this?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't -- why wouldn't it?

QUESTION: Well, I don't know. Is the First Lady going to be seeking the clarification? Who is seeking it? Is it the President?

MR. MCCORMACK: No --

QUESTION: Is he calling up the Chinese President to say --

MR. MCCORMACK: That's silly.

QUESTION: No --

MR. MCCORMACK: That's silly, Matt.

QUESTION: Sean, I mean, the diplomatic discourse of this country is generally done between, you know --

MR. MCCORMACK: Not in absolute -- no, Matt.

QUESTION: So --

MR. MCCORMACK: No, that's incorrect. The White House actually engages in quite a bit of diplomacy. The President does quite a bit himself. You have his National Security Advisor who does quite a bit himself. You have his Deputy National Security Advisor who does quite a bit himself. You have the Vice President who does quite a bit of it himself. So there's actually -- yes, we are the body responsible for foreign policy making, and I would say probably a large portion of the diplomatic discourse emanates from the State Department and is received by the State Department. But it is not correct to say that we have the -- we have exclusive rights to that domain.

QUESTION: Well, then have they told you who exactly is -- who is being -- who is the White House seeking the clarification from? From the Embassy here? From the Foreign Ministry?

MR. MCCORMACK: Talk to our friends at the White House about that. It's their deal.

QUESTION: Could this be a translation problem? I mean, is there a transcript of --

MR. MCCORMACK: I think, again, any further follow-up is going to come from my pals at the White House.

Yeah.

QUESTION: When Assistant Secretary Hill travel to Pyongyang next week, do you expect any way he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il at this time?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't believe so. I don't think that's on the schedule. I don't know if they have any surprises in store for him, but I think it's anticipated he'll meet with -- the bulk of his meetings will be with his interlocutor Kim Gye Gwan.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) with President message, special envoy for the President?

MR. MCCORMACK: What's that?

QUESTION: He bring the President Bush's message -- special envoy for President?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, if he has any messages, those will be for the North Koreans. I'm not going to share them with you.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, Kirit.

QUESTION: Do you have anything more to say about this case of case in Slovakia of this highly enriched uranium, apparently, that was smuggled or attempted to be sold? DOE is referring all comments to the State Department.

MR. MCCORMACK: How convenient. (Laughter.) Well, you know, I guess what comes around goes around. I'm going to have to get back to you with an answer.

QUESTION: Okay, just curious looking into the circumstances of this and whether you had the confirmation of the grade of the --

MR. MCCORMACK: We'll get you an answer.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Back to Israel for a second. Olmert said that he's not going to be freezing settlement construction in the main settlements, the so-called consensus blocks. And I'm wondering if that's acceptable to the United States.

MR. MCCORMACK: You know, he's made certain promises. He's made them -- made public commitments. He's made private commitments to us. Those are consonant. There are obligations under the Roadmap and Prime Minister Olmert has made implementation, full implementation, of the Roadmap one of his goals. He's committed to that. And there are certain steps along the way; this is an iterative process. So I'm not going to comment on the state of the process at this time point. They've made certain commitments. The Israeli side has certain commitments. I expect that they will follow through on those, as will the Palestinians.

QUESTION: So maybe you can clarify --

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

QUESTION: I'm sorry, I just wanted to follow up on that for a second.

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah.

QUESTION: So maybe you can just clarify what the standard is in general that you're expecting Israel to meet. Because it sounded like and it's been interpreted by some people that Bush is actually saying something different; he's talking about not expanding settlements, as opposed to the Roadmap which talks about no settlement growth and natural growth included in the freeze. So you do you see a difference there?

MR. MCCORMACK: Again, I'm not going to get into interpretations at this point. This is going to be an iterative process that plays out over time. And the end result, we hope, is going to be a final agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. They will define what the contents of that agreement are.

And the other outcome of the process is that the Roadmap will be fully implemented. And along the way there are going to be a number of different steps. I'm not going to try to analyze where we are any further beyond what the President has said, the Secretary has said in public, along with President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert.

QUESTION: Sean, if the standard is indeed the language that is in the Roadmap, which the former questioner alluded to, which is a freeze on all settlement activity, including so-called natural growth.

MR. MCCORMACK: And Prime Minister Olmert said that Israel intends to fully implement the roadmap.

QUESTION: I just got this. Just in. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. MCCORMACK: (Inaudible). What's that?

QUESTION: Usama bin Laden has urged Europeans to end their involvement in Afghanistan and reiterated his responsibility for the September 11th attacks. That's what we just heard from Al Jazeera TV.

MR. MCCORMACK: I haven't seen -- I haven't seen the comments, but it's hardly news that he has claimed responsibility for the September 11th --

QUESTION: But if he urges Europeans to leave Afghanistan, could that -- I mean, they're trying to undermine the coalition, I presume, but you --

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, it's not -- again, not a new tactic. But I think the -- I think our NATO allies understand quite clearly what is at stake in Afghanistan as well as elsewhere around the world in fighting the war on terror. Afghanistan has made great strides since the era of the Taliban. There are -- just one example is that there are tens of thousands of young Afghan children who are alive today just because of the kinds of medical care and vaccination care that has been provided by the international community who wouldn't have been alive today otherwise. That's just one example.

But it's going to require a lot of -- a lot more work. You know, Afghanistan started from a pretty low place in terms of development, so there's a lot more work to be done. A lot has been done. A lot more work needs to be done. And it's going to require a sustained commitment over a period of time. And we have seen that kind of commitment from our European allies. We have seen that -- certainly have seen that commitment from the United States as well as others around the globe. And I see no diminution in that level of commitment.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Do you have any travel announcements for the Secretary, by any chance, anytime soon?

MR. MCCORMACK: I think we're going to put one -- we're going to put one out after the briefing here talking about her travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as well as Brussels, Belgium for the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting.

QUESTION: Do you have any more details on her trip to Addis, why she's going and --

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I'll just go ahead and read it now.

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Secretary will attend a meeting with leaders from the African Great Lakes states -- Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda -- to discuss issues of regional peace and security. That is on December 5th. Secretary Rice will also engage in consultations on current developments in Somalia and on implementation of Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement with cabinet ministers from East African countries as well as senior representatives of the African Union and the United Nations. She will also hold bilateral meetings with the Government of Ethiopia.

Secretary Rice will travel to Brussels on December 6th to attend foreign ministerial sessions on December 7th among NATO's 26 Allies. This includes a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, which is likely to discuss Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty regime, and the upcoming NATO Summit in Bucharest. She will participate in a meeting of the 26 Allies with NATO's seven Mediterranean Dialogue partners -- those are Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Israel, Jordan, and Tunisia -- and a session of the NATO-Russia Council. There will also be a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. She will also take part in a transatlantic dinner bringing together EU and NATO foreign ministers.

We'll have that -- post that announcement for you after the briefing.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: Go ahead.

QUESTION: In terms of the Great Lakes, are you going with any specific suggestions as to how this can be resolved and trying to get the tripartite plus Burundi group to do a little more to resolve this?

MR. MCCORMACK: We'll try to get you a little bit more in the days ahead about any specific ideas we might have for that.

QUESTION: Do you have anything you could share with us now, though?

MR. MCCORMACK: If I did, I would.

QUESTION: Sean, just -- can I ask one question about --

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.

QUESTION: The NATO schedule seems awfully full. Is that over one day?

MR. MCCORMACK: 6th and 7th, yeah.

QUESTION: Two days, okay.

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah.

QUESTION: Do you have any information about -- there's apparently several foreigners who have been arrested in Vietnam on terrorism charges, including a couple Americans. This happened overnight. Do you know anything about this?

MR. MCCORMACK: Not until right now.

QUESTION: Any queries about it with the Vietnamese?

QUESTION: Does she still intend -- does the Secretary still intend to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

MR. MCCORMACK: At some point, I expect she will. It was on a previously scheduled trip that we had to cancel because of demands elsewhere in the Middle East, but I fully expect that she would -- that she certainly wants to go there and she's told that to President Kabila the last time she met with him, so I would expect that she probably will travel there at some point in the future.

QUESTION: Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:16 p.m.) DPB # 208 Released on November 29, 2007

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Republican Debate 11/28/07 CNN Youtube

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White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 11/28/07 VIDEO PODCAST

Press Briefing by Dana Perino, FULL STREAMING VIDEO, White House Conference Center Briefing Room, Dana M. Perino Biography, 12:22 P.M. EDT.

MS. PERINO: Good afternoon. I have two statements. Today the President will release a statement regarding the Energy Information Administration's Final Report, which includes U.S. greenhouse gas emissions for 2006.

The President is pleased that the report shows that emissions declined 1.5 percent from the 2005 level, while our economy grew at 2.9 percent. That means greenhouse gas intensity decreased by 4.2 percent, and that is the largest improvement since 1985. This puts the United States well ahead of the President's 2002 goal to reduce greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent by 2012. And the administration looks forward to making more progress on this important issue at the upcoming U.N. meeting on climate change, which will take place in Bali, Indonesia in December.

In addition to that, today President Bush signed an executive order creating a presidential emergency board to investigate and make recommendations for a settlement of the disputes between Amtrak and unions representing Amtrak employees. This PEB, it's called, will be effective on December 1, 2007. The National Mediation Board has been working to resolve these disputes, but realized that the parties would not be able to reach a settlement, and so they released them. This began the 30-day cooling-off period, which ends on December 1st.

The National Mediation Board found that the disputes threatened to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree that would deprive a section of the country of essential transportation service. The President agreed with the finding, and that is why he decided to form the emergency board.

Questions.

Q Can you explain what today's Rose Garden ceremony is all about? Yesterday there was this launch of the peace negotiations, the handshakes. What happens today?

MS. PERINO: One of the things that was wonderful about yesterday was that we had a moment when the Israelis and the Palestinians were able to come together, agree on a statement to launch these negotiations. But one of the things the President said was really important is yesterday was important, but what happened the next day was even more important, which is the start of the negotiations. And the Israelis and the Palestinians are going to lay out times when they are going to be able to meet. Their first meeting will be December 12th.

Today's meetings are for the President to meet with them first individually, as he's just finished his meeting with President Abbas, and he will have his meeting with Prime Minister Olmert in about 30 minutes. And then he will meet with them together and encourage them, tell them -- one of the things that he told President Abbas, which I believe he'll tell Prime Minister Olmert, as well, is that when you're in one of these negotiations, it's really important to keep your eye on the big picture, that there are many issues that are going to have to be discussed -- and both leaders touched on some of them yesterday in their statements. These are difficult, emotional issues. It's going to be time-consuming as they work through them and there could be sticking points.

And what the President encouraged them to do was to work with their negotiators; that there would be days when it looks like things were really tough, but that if you keep your eye on the big picture, that you can help make sure that you'll have a successful negotiation.

Q That was yesterday, or today?

MS. PERINO: That was today, in today's meeting. This is after they decided to have the negotiations. That's why they were able to move forward today.

Q Okay. And then he's going to say the same thing to Olmert?

MS. PERINO: I would believe so. Obviously, they also have many issues to discuss outside of the Palestinian and Israeli dispute. So I'll see if I can get you more on that after the meeting, but given the time frame -- I had to come out here and brief, so I'm not going to be in that meeting beforehand. But then, in the Rose Garden, the President will provide them this hopeful beginning so that they can move forward.

Q Is there anything the President has learned in his meeting with President Abbas, or in the post-public part of yesterday that he will share with us in the Rose Garden, just any new perspective on this? And does he see himself as sort of the negotiating advisor?

MS. PERINO: I believe that the President's remarks will be relatively short. I don't expect him to take questions. This is a moment when he can work with these two men -- appear with these two men as they launch these negotiations, which is significant. One of the things President Bush asked President Abbas was what was the reaction in the region. And President Abbas said that he believed, and the President agrees, that people are ready for peace and that it was received favorably, but they know that they have a lot of work to do. There's apprehension, there's caution.

But I don't expect the President to spend a lot of time dwelling on that in the Rose Garden. This is more for an opportunity for them to get together and say, we're committed to this effort. The President reiterated his personal commitment to this effort. He reminded them that when Secretary Rice is there in the region, he speaks -- she speaks for him. There's no daylight between President Bush and Secretary Rice on this matter, or any other matter. And I think there was a feeling of optimism in the room, but also a realization that there's a lot of hard work ahead of them.

Q Do you know if they discussed the role of Hamas at all? Did Abbas express any concerns either way that they --

MS. PERINO: I'm not -- I won't go into detail, but, yes, it did come up in the meeting, and this is something that, obviously, President Abbas is thinking about. And he has been working ever since Hamas won the elections in 2006 to figure out a way -- first of all, try to work with them, and then decided it was not going to be possible. And then there was the coup of Gaza. And so there's a lot of issues that the Palestinians have to work out in that regard.

What the President said is that if President Abbas can continue to provide the Palestinians with this hopeful vision, a future, a horizon that they could see, something that's tangible, something that they could reach towards, that that type of leadership will be rewarded.

Q Does President Bush have his eye on, as you call it, the big picture if he refuses to deal with Hamas at this point?

MS. PERINO: Absolutely. The President is not going to do the negotiating for the Israelis and the Palestinians. He has said that Americans can be helpful, he will be there, he's only a phone call away. But they're going to have to do the hard work of talking to one another. And the two leaders pledged to do that yesterday. The issue of Hamas is one that President Olmert -- President Abbas -- excuse me -- is going to have to deal with.

Q And what did President Abbas tell President Bush about the demonstrations in Gaza yesterday?

MS. PERINO: That did not come up.

Q Did Iran come up, or will Iran come up today in any of the meetings?

MS. PERINO: It did not come up this morning. Obviously, Iran is one of the issues that, in the broader picture of the Middle East, is an issue. But this is a negotiation between the Palestinians and the Israelis about forming a democratic, viable Palestinian state, and it did not come up in this morning's meeting.

Q The fact that you have all these Arab leaders in town and it does make Iran look more isolated --

MS. PERINO: I think Iran has decided to isolate itself and -- by their words and their actions. They continue to, unfortunately for their own people, make themselves more isolated from the rest of the world.

And yesterday was a significant moment, not just because President Olmert and Prime Minister Abbas were able to forge an agreement about launching these negotiations, but because they were roundly supported by over 40 countries that had joined them, including Arab nations. And so that was important.

Q And Iraq did not come. Why, and why shouldn't --

MS. PERINO: Well, they certainly were invited. I think that, obviously, they have a lot of issues on their plate, but they decided not to come. It was unfortunate, but obviously they would have been invited.

Q Do you know the reason why they wouldn't?

MS. PERINO: I don't.

Q -- they have a lot of issues on their plate, but you would think that Mideast peace --

MS. PERINO: Beyond them being very busy, I don't know. I'd have to refer you to them.

Helen.

Q Thirty-five Iraqis, including women and children, were killed by Americans yesterday. Do you still consider that we're having a big success there?

MS. PERINO: I don't think that that number is correct, as far as I know. Obviously, we regret the loss of any innocent life. I know that our military takes great pains to make sure that they are protected in this war zone. I'd refer you to the Multinational Force In Iraq for more.

Q -- newspapers today --

MS. PERINO: I don't think that that number is what they said. That wasn't the number in the newspaper.

Go ahead.

Q To follow up on that, the President is going over to the Defense Department tomorrow. What's the purpose of that?

MS. PERINO: The purpose of that meeting is for the -- remember the President last went over to the Pentagon to the room that's called "the tank" -- this is where he meets with the Joint Chiefs. It's part of one of his regular visits. He goes there to hear from the Chiefs -- the uniform Chiefs of the military about a variety of issues, including long-term measures, the health of the force, budget issues. Of course, I'm sure Iraq and Afghanistan will come up -- but the overall strategic environment of our military and how it is operating worldwide is what the President expects to hear from them tomorrow.

Q And then we're going to have a statement afterwards?

MS. PERINO: Yes. That's the plan. We usually do a statement afterwards.

Paula.

Q The figures you gave on greenhouse gas emissions, that was measured in intensity, wasn't it?

MS. PERINO: Yes.

Q -- reduction unit, in the context of economic growth.

MS. PERINO: I believe so.

Q Pardon?

MS. PERINO: I'm not sure -- the 1.5 percent is actual levels.

Q But in the context of the economic growth, what about a reduction -- the reduction figure that you gave for --

MS. PERINO: The reduction figure is 1.5 percent, but that means that greenhouse gas intensity decreased by 4.2 percent. Those are the two numbers.

Q So what would it be if it were measured the way major industrialized countries measure it, and they don't do it in intensity?

MS. PERINO: I just told you, the 1.5 percent is from actual levels.

Q I thought you told me that was an increase in the context of --

MS. PERINO: No, no -- I'm sorry -- well, I'm sorry if there was a misunderstanding. It's 1.5 percent, which is from actual levels, but that is added into the intensity. The intensity figure comes from that. The Energy Information Administration are the statisticians. They can provide you a lot more information than I can.

Q It's measured in intensity, though, isn't that correct?

MS. PERINO: The 4.2 percent number is intensity; that's the decrease.

Victoria.

Q You said that the Israelis and the Palestinians are going to do the hard work of negotiating. If they specifically say, "President Bush, we need you to get involved with us" in order to break a logjam, or "we need you to be there at the table with us," will he, at that point, get involved?

MS. PERINO: I think that he's shown a willingness to do so. And Secretary Rice has been to the region nine times* between January and now, in order to help them get to this point. So we will be there to be able to help them. We are not going to make decisions for them, they're going to have to make them together. But I think that up to now, with these two leaders, and at this point in time, we've been able to show that we can help them come to an agreement. And now they'll have to launch their negotiations. And both of the leaders have said they'd like to finish this agreement before the end of the President's term, which we all know is about a little more than a year from now.

Q This morning, former Ambassador John Bolton said that he thinks that President Bush is actually skeptical about the possibility of the peace talks succeeding. What's your response to that?

MS. PERINO: I would tell you that the President today said that he feels optimistic about it. But he is also one that realizes how much hard work that this is going to take, and that these two leaders are going to have to continue to work very hard, and they're going to have to confront very difficult and emotional issues. And that is why he said that he is personally committed, and that he has committed the resources of the federal government -- the United States federal government -- and that Secretary Rice will be there in order to help them.

So I think that he actually has optimism about this working, because as he said yesterday, what the President said yesterday is that he believes this is the right time for several reasons, which he laid out yesterday.

Q Did Mahmoud Abbas tell the President about his mention of Israel as a Jewish state and what it means in regard to the right of return --

MS. PERINO: As I mentioned yesterday -- no, there was not discussion about that particular issue today. The right of return issue is a part of the road map and it's going to be one of the issues that the Israelis and the Palestinians have to talk about during these negotiations.

Go ahead, Les.

Q Dana, thank you very much. Two questions. London's Sunday Times and other media have reported that the Archbishop of Canterbury has denounced the United States for what he alleged is our "wielding power in a way that is worse than Britain in its imperial heyday." And my question: What was the President's reaction to this denunciation by the head of the world's Anglican --

MS. PERINO: The President has been busy, very busy, working to bring these two leaders together to talk about peace in the Middle East. And so I think that was a good use of his time. And I won't comment on the --

Q No comment? All right. On CNN, Governor Huckabee said that U.S. consumers are financing both sides in the war on terror, because every time we put our credit card in the gas pump we're paying so that the Saudis get obscenely rich, with the money funding madrassas that train the terrorists. And my question: Does the President believe that Governor Huckabee is wrong to say this and that we're enslaved to Saudi oil?

MS. PERINO: That's a clever way to try to get me to comment on what is now a matter that is a part of a presidential candidacy. The President is looking forward to working with Congress when they get back. We hope that we can get an agreement on an energy bill that will help reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Q Dana, there's a report that the Chinese Foreign Minister told the President today the reason that a U.S. aircraft carrier was turned away from Hong Kong was due to a misunderstanding. First of all, can you confirm that? And secondly, is that an acceptable explanation?

MS. PERINO: The President met today with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang, this morning in the Oval Office. They discussed North Korea, Iran, and many other bilateral issues that we have with China. The President raised the issue about the recent aborted port call by the USS Kitty Hawk. Foreign Minister Yang announced that -- assured the President that it was a misunderstanding. I was not able to be there, but that's the readout that I have for you, that that's the explanation that was given to the President.

Q Is that an acceptable explanation to the President?

MS. PERINO: I don't have any more from -- I don't have a presidential reaction. I just know about the meeting.

Q What kind of misunderstanding? How do you have a misunderstanding that you turn an aircraft carrier around? Do you know what the explanation was?

MS. PERINO: I don't know what his explanation was. All I know was he told the President that it was a misunderstanding. I don't have details, but I'll see if I can get anything more for you.

Q Thank you.

* Secretary Rice has been to the region eight times.

END 12:35 P.M. EST

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary November 28, 2007

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President Bush Attends Annapolis Conference VIDEO

President Bush Attends Annapolis Conference, FULL STREAMING VIDEO (17:33). Memorial Hall, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. Joint Understanding Read by President Bush at Annapolis Conference 11:04 A.M. EST PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you for coming. Prime Minister Olmert, President Abbas, Secretary General Ban, former Prime Minister Blair, distinguished guests: Welcome to one of the finest institutes we have in America, the United States Naval Academy. We appreciate you joining us in what I believe is an historic opportunity to encourage the expansion of freedom and peace in the Holy Land. PICTURE GALLERY

We meet to lay the foundation for the establishment of a new nation -- a democratic Palestinian state that will live side by side with Israel in peace and security. We meet to help bring an end to the violence that has been the true enemy of the aspirations of both the Israelis and Palestinians.

We're off to a strong start. I'm about to read a statement that was agreed upon by our distinguished guests:

The representatives of the government of the state of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, represented respective by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and President Mahmoud Abbas in his capacity as Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and President of the Palestinian Authority, have convened in Annapolis, Maryland, under the auspices of President George W. Bush of the United States of America, and with the support of the participants of this international conference, having concluded the following joint understanding.

We express our determination to bring an end to bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict between our peoples; to usher in a new era of peace, based on freedom, security, justice, dignity, respect and mutual recognition; to propagate a culture of peace and nonviolence; to confront terrorism and incitement, whether committed by Palestinians or Israelis. In furtherance of the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security, we agree to immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty, resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues, without exception, as specified in previous agreements.

We agree to engage in vigorous, ongoing and continuous negotiations, and shall make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008. For this purpose, a steering committee, led jointly by the head of the delegation of each party, will meet continuously, as agreed. The steering committee will develop a joint work plan and establish and oversee the work of negotiations teams to address all issues, to be headed by one lead representative from each party. The first session of the steering committee will be held on 12 December 2007.

President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert will continue to meet on a bi-weekly basis to follow up the negotiations in order to offer all necessary assistance for their advancement.

The parties also commit to immediately implement their respective obligations under the performance-based road map to a permanent two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, issued by the Quartet on 30 April 2003 -- this is called the road map -- and agree to form an American, Palestinian and Israeli mechanism, led by the United States, to follow up on the implementation of the road map.

The parties further commit to continue the implementation of the ongoing obligations of the road map until they reach a peace treaty. The United States will monitor and judge the fulfillment of the commitment of both sides of the road map. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, implementation of the future peace treaty will be subject to the implementation of the road map, as judged by the United States.

Congratulations for your strong leadership. (Applause.)

The Palestinian people are blessed with many gifts and talents. They want the opportunity to use those gifts to better their own lives and build a better future for their children. They want the dignity that comes with sovereignty and independence. They want justice and equality under the rule of law. They want freedom from violence and fear.

The people of Israel have just aspirations, as well. They want their children to be able to ride a bus or to go to school without fear of suicide bombers. They want an end to rocket attacks and constant threats of assault. They want their nation to be recognized and welcomed in the region where they live.

Today, Palestinians and Israelis each understand that helping the other to realize their aspirations is key to realizing their own aspirations -- and both require an independent, democratic, viable Palestinian state. Such a state will provide Palestinians with the chance to lead lives of freedom and purpose and dignity. Such a state will help provide the Israelis with something they have been seeking for generations: to live in peace with their neighbors.

Achieving this goal is not going to be easy -- if it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago. To achieve freedom and peace, both Israelis and Palestinians will have to make tough choices. Both sides are sober about the work ahead, but having spent time with their leaders, they are ready to take on the tough issues. As Prime Minister Olmert recently put it, "We will avoid none of [the historic questions], we will not run from discussing any of them." As President Abbas has said: "I believe that there is an opportunity not only for us but for the Israelis, too. We have a historic and important opportunity that we must benefit from." It is with that spirit that we concluded -- that they concluded this statement I just read.

Our purpose here in Annapolis is not to conclude an agreement. Rather, it is to launch negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. For the rest of us, our job is to encourage the parties in this effort -- and to give them the support they need to succeed.

In light of recent developments, some have suggested that now is not the right time to pursue peace. I disagree. I believe now is precisely the right time to begin these negotiations -- for a number of reasons:

First, the time is right because Palestinians and Israelis have leaders who are determined to achieve peace. President Abbas seeks to fulfill his people's aspirations for statehood, dignity and security. President Abbas understands that a Palestinian state will not be born of terror, and that terrorism is the enemy standing in the way of a state. He and Prime Minister Fayyad have both declared, without hesitation, that they are opposed to terrorism and committed to peace. They're committed to turning these declarations into actions on the ground to combat terror.

The emergence of responsible Palestinian leaders has given Israeli leaders the confidence they need to reach out to the Palestinians in true partnership. Prime Minister Olmert has expressed his understanding of the suffering and indignities felt by the Palestinian people. He's made clear that the security of Israel will be enhanced by the establishment of a responsible, democratic Palestinian state. With leaders of courage and conviction on both sides, now is the time to come together and seek the peace that both sides desire.

Second, the time is right because a battle is underway for the future of the Middle East -- and we must not cede victory to the extremists. With their violent actions and contempt for human life, the extremists are seeking to impose a dark vision on the Palestinian people -- a vision that feeds on hopelessness and despair to sow chaos in the Holy Land. If this vision prevails, the future of the region will be endless terror, endless war, and endless suffering.

Standing against this dark vision are President Abbas and his government. They are offering the Palestinian people an alternative vision for the future -- a vision of peace, a homeland of their own, and a better life. If responsible Palestinian leaders can deliver on this vision, they will deal the forces of extremism a devastating blow. And when liberty takes root in the rocky soil of the West Bank and Gaza, it will inspire millions across the Middle East who want their societies built on freedom and peace and hope.

By contrast, if Palestinian reformers cannot deliver on this hopeful vision, then the forces of extremism and terror will be strengthened, a generation of Palestinians could be lost to the extremists, and the Middle East will grow in despair. We cannot allow this to happen. Now is the time to show Palestinians that their dream of a free and independent state can be achieved at the table of peace -- and that the terror and violence preached by Palestinian extremists is the greatest obstacle to a Palestinian state.

Third, the time is right because the world understands the urgency of supporting these negotiations. We appreciate that representatives from so many governments and international institutions have come to join us here in Annapolis -- especially the Arab world. We're here because we recognize what is at stake. We are here because we each have a vital role to play in helping Palestinians forge the institutions of a free society. We're here because we understand that the success of these efforts to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians will have an impact far beyond the Holy Land.

These are the reasons we've gathered here in Annapolis. And now we begin the difficult work of freedom and peace. The United States is proud to host this meeting -- and we reaffirm the path to peace set out in the road map. Yet in the end, the outcome of the negotiations they launch here depends on the Israelis and Palestinians themselves. America will do everything in our power to support their quest for peace, but we cannot achieve it for them. The success of these efforts will require that all parties show patience and flexibility -- and meet their responsibilities.

For these negotiations to succeed, the Palestinians must do their part. They must show the world they understand that while the borders of a Palestinian state are important, the nature of a Palestinian state is just as important. They must demonstrate that a Palestinian state will create opportunity for all its citizens, and govern justly, and dismantle the infrastructure of terror. They must show that a Palestinian state will accept its responsibility, and have the capability to be a source of stability and peace -- for its own citizens, for the people of Israel, and for the whole region.

The Israelis must do their part. They must show the world that they are ready to begin -- to bring an end to the occupation that began in 1967 through a negotiated settlement. This settlement will establish Palestine as a Palestinian homeland, just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people. Israel must demonstrate its support for the creation of a prosperous and successful Palestinian state by removing unauthorized outposts, ending settlement expansion, and finding other ways for the Palestinian Authority to exercise its responsibilities without compromising Israel's security.

Arab states also have a vital role to play. Relaunching the Arab League initiative and the Arab League's support for today's conference are positive steps. All Arab states should show their strong support for the government of President Abbas -- and provide needed assistance to the Palestinian Authority. Arab states should also reach out to Israel, work toward the normalization of relations, and demonstrate in both word and deed that they believe that Israel and its people have a permanent home in the Middle East. These are vital steps toward the comprehensive peace that we all seek.

Finally, the international community has important responsibilities. Prime Minister Fayyad is finalizing a plan to increase openness and transparency and accountability throughout Palestinian society -- and he needs the resources and support from the international community. With strong backing from those gathered here, the Palestinian government can build the free institutions that will support a free Palestinian state.

The United States will help Palestinian leaders build these free institutions -- and the United States will keep its commitment to the security of Israel as a Jewish state and homeland for the Jewish people.

The United States strongly feels that these efforts will yield the peace that we want -- and that is why we will continue to support the Lebanese people. We believe democracy brings peace. And democracy in Lebanon is vital, as well, for the peace in the Middle East. Lebanese people are in the process of electing a president. That decision is for the Lebanese people to make -- and they must be able to do so free from outside interference and intimidation. As they embark on this process, the people of Lebanon can know that the American people stand with them -- and we look forward to the day when the people of Lebanon can enjoy the blessings of liberty without fear of violence or coercion.

The task begun here at Annapolis will be difficult. This is the beginning of the process, not the end of it -- and no doubt a lot of work remains to be done. Yet the parties can approach this work with confidence. The time is right. The cause is just. And with hard effort, I know they can succeed.

President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert, I pledge to devote my effort during my time as President to do all I can to help you achieve this ambitious goal. I give you my personal commitment to support your work with the resources and resolve of the American government. I believe a day is coming when freedom will yield the peace we desire. And the land that is holy to so many will see the light of peace.

The day is coming when Palestinians will enjoy the blessings that freedom brings -- and all Israelis will enjoy the security they deserve. That day is coming. The day is coming when the terrorists and extremists who threaten the Israeli and Palestinian people will be marginalized and eventually defeated. And when that day comes, future generations will look to the work we began here at Annapolis. They will give thanks to the leaders who gathered on the banks of the Chesapeake for their vision, their wisdom and courage to choose a future of freedom and peace.

Thanks for coming. May God bless their work. (Applause.)

END 11:22 A.M. EST

For Immediate Release, Office of the Press Secretary, November 27, 2007

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Rememberance Hanukkah 5768

Audio: The audio is a Public Domain recording of the Indiana University's Hillel HooShir Choir perfomance at the 2006 Hanukkah Reception at the White House

Images: The B/W images in this collection are Public Domain. Credit, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and DoD. The color Images are from Wikimedia Commons and Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify them and this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Complete documentation for each image follows below in the order they are presented.

Images:

• Description Inside a hut at Birkenau concentration camp. Source self-made. Date: 21 August 2006. Author: Majorly. Licensing: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: GNU head Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
• Released to Public. ID: HD-SN-99-02764 Service Depicted: Other Service. Operation / Series: WAR & CONFLICT BOOKERA: WORLD WAR II/WAR IN THE WEST/THE HO. These are slave laborers in the Buchenwald concentration camp near Jena; many had died from malnutrition when U.S. troops of the 80th Division entered the camp. Germany, April 16, 1945. Pvt. H. Miller. (Army) NARA FILE #: 208-AA-206K-31 WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #: 1105. Camera Operator: PVT. H. MILLER. Date Shot: 16 Apr 1945 Public Domain. ID: HD-SN-99-02764
• View from tower looking down onto railway leading in to Auschwitz II. Description. Looking down at the railway track from the tower at the former Nazi extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Source: Own work. Date: May 2007. Author: Bungle. Licensing: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: GNU head Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
• A transport of Jews from Subcarpathian Rus is taken off the trains and assembled on the ramp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. [Photograph #77229]. [Sources: yadvashem.org/exhibitions/album_auschwitz (2000); Swiebocka, Teresa, Auschwitz A History in Photographs. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, 1993]. Date: May 1944. Locale: Auschwitz, [Upper Silesia] Poland; Birkenau; Auschwitz III; Monowitz; Auschwitz II. Photographer: Bernhardt Walter/Ernst Hofmann Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Yad Vashem (Public Domain) Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #77229]
• Rail leading to Auschwitz II (Birkenau). Description . Polski: Szyny prowadzące do obozu koncentracyjnego Auschwitz II (Birkenau). English: Rail leading to the concentration camp Auschwitz II (Birkenau). Source: own work. Date: 2006-05-03. Author: Pimke. Permission:(Reusing this image), GNU Free Documentation License / Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution Image:Rail leading to Auschwitz II (Birkenau).jpg
• SS guards walk along the arrival ramp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. [Photograph #77220]. [Sources: www.yadvashem.org/exhibitions/album_auschwitz (2000); Swiebocka, Teresa, Auschwitz A History in Photographs. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, 1993]. Date: May 1944. Locale: Auschwitz, [Upper Silesia] Poland; Birkenau; Auschwitz III; Monowitz; Auschwitz II. Photographer: Bernhardt Walter/Ernst Hofmann. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Yad Vashem (Public Domain) Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #77220]
• Auschwitz II Birkenau 01. Description: English: Concentration camp Auschwitz II Birkenau. Polski: Obóz koncentracyjny Auschwitz II Birkenau. Source: self-made. Date: 03.05.2006. Author: * Konrad Kurzacz * Pimke * e-mail: konrad.kurzacz@gmail.com. Permission: (Reusing this image). Licensing
  I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses:
  GNU head Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". Auschwitz II Birkenau 01
• View from atop the train of Jews lined up for selection on the ramp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. [Photograph #77231]. [Sources: www.yadvashem.org/exhibitions/album_auschwitz (2000); Swiebocka, Teresa, Auschwitz A History in Photographs. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, 1993]. Date: May 1944. Locale: Auschwitz, [Upper Silesia] Poland; Birkenau; Auschwitz III; Monowitz; Auschwitz II. Photographer: Bernhardt Walter/Ernst Hofmann. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Yad Vashem (Public Domain). Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #77231]
• Description: Polski: Brama wejściowa obozu koncentracyjnego Auschwitz I. English: Entrance to the concentration camp Auschwitz I. Source: own work. Date: 2006-05-03. Author: Pimke. Permission: (Reusing this image). GNU Free Documentation License / Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution Entrance Auschwitz I.jpg
• View of the entrance to the main camp of Auschwitz (Auschwitz I). [Photograph #00001]. View of the entrance to the main camp of Auschwitz (Auschwitz I). The gate bears the motto "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work makes one free). Date: May 11, 1945 - May 15, 1945. Locale: Auschwitz, [Upper Silesia] Poland; Birkenau; Auschwitz III; Monowitz; Auschwitz II. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #00001]
• Description: Polski: Drut kolczasty w pobliżu wejścia do obozu koncentracyjnego Auschwitz I. English: Barbered wire near by the entrance to the concentration camp Auschwitz I. Source: own work. Date: 2006-05-03. Author: Pimke. Permission: (Reusing this image). GNU Free Documentation License / Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution Barbered wire near by the entrance of Auschwitz I.jpg
• Jews from Subcarpathian Rus who have been selected for forced labor at Auschwitz-Birkenau, are marched to another section of the camp. [Photograph #77265]. [Sources: www.yadvashem.org/exhibitions/album_auschwitz (2000); Swiebocka, Teresa, Auschwitz A History in Photographs. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, 1993]. Date: May 1944. Locale: Auschwitz, [Upper Silesia] Poland; Birkenau; Auschwitz III; Monowitz; Auschwitz II. Photographer: Bernhardt Walter/Ernst Hofmann. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Yad Vashem (Public Domain). Copyright: Public Domain [Photograph #77265]
• Description: Polski: Znak ostrzegawczy niedaleko bramy wejściowej do obozu koncentracyjnego. Auschwitz I. English: Warning near by the entrance to the concentration camp Auschwitz I. Source: own work. Date: 2006-05-03. Author: Pimke. Permission: (Reusing this image). GNU Free Documentation License / Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution. Warning near by the entrance to Auschwitz I.jpg.
• A warning sign hangs on the barbed wire fence that encloses the Minsk ghetto. [Photograph #73739]. A warning sign hangs on the barbed wire fence that encloses the Minsk ghetto. Date: 1941. Locale: Minsk, [Belarus] USSR. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Museum of the Great Patriotic War. Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #73739]
• Description: Polski: Barak w obozie koncentracyjnem Auschwitz II (Birkenau). English: Barrack in the concentration camp Auschwitz II (Birkenau). Source: own work. Date: 2006-05-03. Author: Pimke. Permission: (Reusing this image). GNU Free Documentation License / Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution. Barrack in Auschwitz II (Birkenau).jpg
• A view of the barracks from a watch tower in Majdanek. [Photograph #50517]. Date: After Jul 22, 1944. Locale: Majdanek, [Lublin] Poland. Photographer: Stanislaw Jacek Magierski. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej. Copyright: Public Domain [Photograph #50517]
• Beschreibung: Description: Barracks in Auschwitz Birkenau, taken out of a window above the "Death Gate". Source: Own work. Date: May 29 2007. Author: Oliver Löffler. Permission: (Reusing this image). Public domain I, Grzlbrmpft, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. Auschwitz Birkenau Barracks May 2007.jpg
• A view of the Neuengamme concentration camp. [Photograph #06024]. Date: 1943. Locale: Neuengamme, Germany. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of KZ-Gedenkstatte Neuengamme. Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #06024]
• Description: Polski: Blok nr 5 z wystawą Materialne Dowody Zbrodni w obozie koncentracyjnym Auschwitz I. English: Block no 6 with exhibition Material Proofs of Crimes in the concentration camp Auschwitz I. Source: own work. Date: 2006-05-03. Author: Pimke. Permission: (Reusing this image), GNU Free Documentation License / Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution. Block 5 Material Proofs of Crimes in Auschwitz I.jpg
• Exterior view of a barrack in Ebelsberg DP camp. [Photograph #04423]. Exterior view of a barrack in Ebelsberg DP camp. The camp was formerly used for American military personnel. Date: Jul 22, 1947. Locale: Ebelsberg, [Linz] Austria. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park. Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #04423]
• Description: Polski: Szubienica w obozie koncentracyjnym Auschwitz I, na której został stracony Rudolf Höß, komendant obozu koncentracyjnego Auschwitz-Birkenau. English: Gallows in concentration camp Auschwitz I, on which Rudolf Höß, the commandant of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau was executed. Source: own work. Date: 2006-05-03. Author: Pimke. Permission: (Reusing this image). GNU Free Documentation License / Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution. Gallows on which Rudolf Hoess was executed - Auschwitz I.jpg
• Public hanging of Serbian civilians by German troops in the village of Uzicka Pozega, Serbia. [Photograph #46702]. Date: 1941. Locale: Uzicka Pozega, [Serbia] Yugoslavia. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Muzej Revolucije Narodnosti Jugoslavije. Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #46702]
• Description: Polski: Ściana Śmierci w obozie koncentracyjnym Auschwitz I między blokiem 10 i 11. English: Wall of Death in the concentration camp Auschwitz I between blocks 10 and 11. Source: Own work. Date: Kwiecień 2006. Author: Bartek Chmiel. Permission: (Reusing this image). I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. Sciana stracen.JPG
• View of the execution wall next to Block 11 in the Auschwitz I camp after liberation. [Photograph #14843]. Date: After Jan 29, 1945. Locale: Auschwitz, [Upper Silesia] Poland; Birkenau; Auschwitz III; Monowitz; Auschwitz II. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park. Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #14843]
• Description: Polski: Piec w krematorium obozu koncentracyjnego Auschwitz I
  English: Cremator inside the crematorium of the concentration camp Auschwitz I. Source: own work. Date: 2006-05-03. Author: Pimke. Permission: (Reusing this image). GNU Free Documentation License / Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution. Cremator inside the crematorium Auschwitz I.jpg
• The charred remains of former prisoners in two crematoria ovens in the newly liberated Buchenwald concentration camp. [Photograph #80253]. Date: Apr 14, 1945. Locale: Buchenwald, [Thuringia] Germany. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park. Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #80253].
• Beschreibung: Description: March of the living 2005 in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Source: self-made. Date: 05.05.2005. Author: Marek Peters. Permission: (Reusing this image). English: If you don't agree with the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, you can buy a commercial license here: Marek Peters Photo Agency. I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: GNU head Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". March of the living-in-auschwitz-birkenau.jpg
• Jewish women and children from Subcarpathian Rus who have been selected for death at Auschwitz-Birkenau, walk toward the gas chambers. [Photograph #77309]. [Sources: www.yadvashem.org/exhibitions/album_auschwitz (2000); Swiebocka, Teresa, Auschwitz A History in Photographs. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, 1993]. Date: May 1944
  Locale: Auschwitz, [Upper Silesia] Poland; Birkenau; Auschwitz III; Monowitz; Auschwitz II. Photographer: Bernhardt Walter/Ernst Hofmann. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Yad Vashem (Public Domain). Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #77309]
• Description: Auschwitz-Birkenau, im Vordergrund blühende Blumen, und im Hintergrund Schornsteine der abgebrannten Barracken. Source: own work. Date: 9. Juli 2006. Author: WeEzE. Permission: (Reusing this image). I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: GNU head Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". Auschwitz-Birkenau abgebrannte Barracken.jpg
• View of two ovens of the crematorium at the Stutthof concentration camp after the liberation. [Photograph #12199]. View of two ovens of the crematorium at the Stutthof concentration camp after the liberation. Date: After May 1945. Locale: Stutthof, [Gdansk] Poland. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Panstwowe Muzeum Stutthof. Copyright: Public Domain [Photograph #12199]
• Description; Česky: KZ. Auschwitz-Birkenau, Polsko. English: KZ Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland. Source: own work. Date: 2005-9-25. Author: Chmee2 or Mikee. Permission: (Reusing this image), I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". Auschwitz-Birkenau6.jpg
• German civilians from Schwarzenfeld dig graves for the 140 Hungarian, Russian, and Polish Jews exhumed from a mass grave near the town. [Photograph #78852]. [Sources: Fischer, Benno. 'Death March: April 14, 1945-April 24, 1945.' USHMM Archive: RG-02.039; Heigl, Peter. "Kozentrationslager Flossenbuerg:" In "Geschichte und Gegenwart." Regensburg: Mittelbayerische Druckerei und Verlags-GmbH, 1989; Reidl, Hermann. "Erinnern statt Vergessen." Muenchen: Museums-Paedagogisches Zentrum, 1995; Siegert, Toni. "30000 Tote Mahnen!" Weiden: Verlag der Taubald'schen Buchhandlung GmbH, 1987]. Date: Apr 25, 1945. Locale: Schwarzenfeld, [Bavaria] Germany. Photographer: Edward Belfer. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park. Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #78852].
• 2005, KZ Auschwitz, wooden tower, winter. Photographer: Jochen Zimmermann License: CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Austria. Creative Commons License. Creative Commons Attribution icon. This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License. Auschwitz tower.png
• Survivors stand behind the barbed wire fence in Dachau. [Photograph #04497]. Date: Apr 29, 1945 - May 1945. Locale: Dachau, [Bavaria] Germany
  Credit: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park. Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #04497].
• Description: Deutsch: Konzentrationslager Auschwitz II Birkenau. English: Concentration camp Auschwitz II Birkenau. Polski: Obóz koncentracyjny Auschwitz II Birkenau. Source: self-made. Date: 03.05.2006. Author; * Konrad Kurzacz, * Pimke, * e-mail: konrad.kurzacz@gmail.com. Permission: (Reusing this image). I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: GNU head Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". Auschwitz II Birkenau 06.jpg.
• The bodies of Jewish prisoners who were killed at the Hurlach concentration camp, lie outside in rows near freshly dug mass graves alongside the barbed wire fence. [Photograph #17010. Date: Apr 28, 1945 - Apr 30, 1945. Locale: Hurlach, [Bavaria] Germany. Photographer: Harvey L. Arnowitz. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park. Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #17010]
• Rail, tower, fence. Image:Img2114-1.jpg. User:H20. Hi I'm Aviad Bublil from Israel. I write also in the Hebrew Wikipedia. I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. Img2114-1.jpg.
• Romanian police walk past the bodies of Jews removed from the Iasi-Calarasi death train in Targu-Frumos. [Photograph #27430]. [Sources: Ioanid, Radu. The Holocaust in Romania: The Destruction of Jews and Gypsies Under the Antonescu Regime, 1940-1944. Ivan R Dee, 2000, pp.80-90; Carp, Matatias. Holocaust in Romania: 1940-44. Primor Publishing Company, 1994, pp.159-166.]. Date: Jul 1, 1941. Locale: Tirgu-Frumos, [Moldova; Iasi] Romania; Targu-Frumos; Neumarkt; Marosvasarhely. Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Federation of the Romanian Jewish Communities. Copyright: Public Domain. [Photograph #27430]
• Description: Shoes without owners, Koncentračný tábor Auschwitz-Birkenau Osobné veci - topánky. Source: No source specified. Please edit this image description and provide a source. Date: 17. máj 2007. Author: Bubamara> Permission: (Reusing this image). GNU Free Documentation License. Koncentračný tábor Auschwitz-Birkenau 13.JPG
• Description : Eye Glasses without owners, Koncentračný tábor Auschwitz-Birkenau Osobné veci - okuliare. Source: No source specified. Please edit this image description and provide a source. Date: 17. máj 2007. Author: Bubamara. Permission: (Reusing this image). GNU Free Documentation License. Koncentračný tábor Auschwitz-Birkenau 12.JPG.
• Description. Wall of Survivors. Koncentračný tábor Auschwitz-Birkenau Obete. Source No source specified. Please edit this image description and provide a source.
  Date: 17. máj 2007. Author: Bubamara. Permission: (Reusing this image). GNU Free Documentation License. Koncentračný tábor Auschwitz-Birkenau 8.JPG.
• Description: Dreidel. Source: photo taken by Roland Scheicher. Date: 2006-08-01. Author: Roland Scheicher. Permission: (Reusing this image). Public domain. This image has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its author, Roland Scheicher at the German Wikipedia project. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: Roland Scheicher grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

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26 Trackbacks to this Post.

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Attack of the Ron Paul Bots Excerpt: Because of my current article about Ron Paul, that is up on Blog Critics, they are under the usual attack. The good thing about this is the RP people are exposing themselves to the world. Weblog; The Pink Flamingo. Tracked: 11/27/07 9:55 am

Hurricane Season’s Almost Over — Experts Miss The Mark On Predictions Again Excerpt: Martin Merzer of the Miami Herald has written an article on hurricane predictions, their gross inaccuracies in recent years and the possible effects, both good and bad, being so off on the predictions can have on the general population. Weblog: The World According To Carl Tracked: 11/27/07 10:45 am

Another grim milestone Excerpt: In the mind-numbing aftermath of 9/11, who would have guessed that within just a few years American politicians would be campaigning on promises to ensure the comfort of incarcerated terrorists
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Simplified Mitt Excerpt: 1. Mitt Romney was elected governor of Massachusetts on a pro-homosexual, pro-gun control and a pro-abortion agenda. 2. Is he that liberal? He resided over the Big Dig which killed several people, yet he left it under democrat control, and he imposed... Weblog: Rosemary's Thoughts Tracked: 11.27.07 - 11:56 am

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Tuesday News Roundup Excerpt: The "disaffected French youths" are rioting again. **yawn** VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France — Rampaging youths rioted for a second night in Paris' suburbs, firing at officers and ramming burning cars into buildings. At least 80 officers were injured, a senior police union. Weblog: Right Truth. tracked: 11/27/07 2:46 pm

MSM Gone Wild Excerpt: Stupid PC MSM headlines of the day CBS: The RoP thinks Mitt is a racist : Romney Denies Vowing Muslims In Cabinet.... Weblog: 123beta Tracked: 11.27.07 - 4:57 pm

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Terror Threat to AZ Army Base pt II Excerpt: Terrorists have been involved in the drug trade for decades. The southern border is a major pipeline for the drug trade...so what could happen? Nothing. At least not in the minds of a country that can't understand why Mitt Romney Weblog: The Amboy Times Tracked: 11/27/07 8:52 pm

Oh Look..Jesse Claims Democrats Are Ignoring Blacks…Boo Hoo… Excerpt: The man is an idiot. An idiot that is trying to stay relevant in today’s world. Too bad he doesn’t realize that his time has passed and America is over him. He is an opportunistic racist that puts himself before all else, making sure tha... Weblog: Right Voices Tracked: 11/27/07 10:32 pm

It’s FunnY to DegradE WomeN… Excerpt: Ridiculing women in art, jokes, in film and theatre is a universally accepted disease. Weblog: Woman Honor Thyself Tracked: 11/28/07 12:42 am

In Which I Bravely Submit Myself as a Subject for Medical Testing Excerpt: This story has been popping up all over the place in the past few days. In essence, there is a recent surge in cases of rickets, a bone disease caused by a lack of vitamin D, phosphates, or calcium. Vitamin D is the most important. ... Weblog: The Conservative Cat. Tracked: 11/28/07 12:59 AM

Lead America, Republicans: What the presidential prospects need to remember Excerpt: During the 2004 presidential election, I predicted the Democrats would lose for one fairly simple, yet critically important reason: While he was full of sound and fury about Bush's faults John Kerry offered no alternative, no leade...Weblog: Leaning Straight Up Tracked: 4:45 am

Seattle Mayor Nickels to kids: Stop Global Warming, OR SANTA WILL DIE!!!!… Excerpt: This guy has never been a favorite of mine, but honestly, even for him, this is pathetic. I got this from the Kirby Wilbur show: Lydia Smith, a listener, was at the Seattle City tree-lighting ceremony and was surprised at what Mayor Nick… Weblog: Leaning Straight Up Tracked: 11/28/07 5:09 am

It’s Open Season on White Boys . . . Excerpt: Turns out Denver’s diversity training isn’t so diverse after all: Denver is shelving a diversity-training video that portrays a white man as the sole racist, sexist and homophobe among a cast of blacks, Hispanics and women. The decision t... Weblog: CommonSenseAmerica Tracked: 11.28.07 - 5:17 am

WTW: Cabbies Becoming More Comfortable In Baghdad Excerpt: Morning, y’all. Prophet Sallami Sallami Mohammed here on another White Trash Wednesday, and, like the Democrat Party and liberals worldwide, I am not happy with what is going on in Iraq. Weblog: Pirate’s Cove Tracked: 11/28/07 7:57 am

Ole Miss Has A New Football Coach Excerpt: For whatever it’s worth, Ole Miss has hired Houston Nutt as their new head football coach after firing Ed Orgeron. Weblog: The World According To Carl Tracked: 11/28/07 9:15

Former FAMU Head Coach Rubin Carter Excerpt: How this slipped past me is unknown. I usually keep up with this sort of thing but Florida A&M Rattlers officials fired head coach Rubin Carter last week and also accepted the resignation of athletic director Nelson Townsend. Weblog: The World According To Carl Tracked: 11/28/07 12:51 pm

Missing Teen A Porn Star Excerpt: Maybe not a 'star' but it looks as if she's been in some movies and is all over the Internet. I was reading a couple of articles yesterday or the day before on missing Kansas college student Emily Sander, who may or may not be the ... Weblog: 11/28/07 10:33 PM

I'm an undecided voter Excerpt: According to CNN I'm undecided enough to ask questions of the candidates in a Democrat primary. Those who know me or read my blog are probably well aware of... Weblog: Mark My Words Tracked: 11.29.07 - 4:12 pm

Stem cells, minus the destroyed human embryo Excerpt: A recent advancement in stem cell research may eventually avoid the moral controversy and also provide a more efficient method than cloning human embryos. This has prompted a pioneer in cloning, Prof Ian Wilmut, to turn away from that... Weblog: Mark My Words Tracked: 11.29.07 - 4:40 pm

Unfinished business and global warming Excerpt: It's taken me some time to respond to a particular blogger who had something to say about one of my posts. Considering the lack of substance, let alone his missing the point of my article, I really wasn't sure a reply was worth the effort... Weblog: Mark My Words Tracked: 11.29.07 - 5:46 pm