Ari Fleischer on Geneva Conventions and civilian casualties
25 March 2003
Ari Fleischer on Geneva Conventions and civilian casualties
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer avoids direct answer on Geneva Conventions and Guantanamo, March 24, 2003
Q Has the President made any comment to you about the showing of POW pictures on television? Has he said anything to you about how the war is going, given the expectation on the part of some that it would have gone faster, that it would have proceeded more efficiently than it seems to have?
MR. FLEISCHER: Sure. What he said to me is just what you heard yesterday. The President was asked the very same questions yesterday, and the President answered them. And the President knows that we are making good progress in the war to disarm Saddam Hussein, as has been reported regularly from CENTCOM. There have been setbacks, there have been casualties. Yesterday was a tough day. But when you take a look at the overall plan, as the President has made repeatedly clear, we are indeed making progress.
Q What about the POW pictures? Has he asked to see them?
MR. FLEISCHER: Nothing to report since the President shared that with you yesterday.
Q In terms of the pictures, the administration is upset because it is a violation of the Geneva Accords, you say –
MR. FLEISCHER: That’s correct.
Q Are we following the Geneva Accords –
MR. FLEISCHER: Of course.
Q — in Iraq and Guantanamo?
MR. FLEISCHER: There are two different situations. You have the war against terrorism, and then you have this conflict, which is much more of a traditional conflict. And we have always treated people humanely, consistent with international agreements. In the case of the fight in Iraq, there’s no question that it’s being done in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.
Q How about the detainees in Guantanamo? They have no rights under the Geneva Accords?
MR. FLEISCHER: As I just indicated, we always treat them humanely, consistent with.
Ari Fleischer’s non-response on civilian casualties, March 24, 2003
Q Ari, has the President received any briefing in regard to the magnitude of the civilian casualties of the war on the Iraqi side? And how many countries do you think will be participating in the humanitarian aid delivery in the next hours?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I don’t have a count on the number of countries that are participating. Obviously this is something the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, other coalition allies, have been working on as a part of the military planning. We are relying on many of the military vehicles to help to deliver the food, deliver the water, deliver the medicine. It’s all part of the plan.
