State Department Noon Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

Richard Boucher, Spokesman

Washington, DC

May 9, 2001

Q: Yes, the no-fly zones. You've seen reports, no doubt, that there
are recommendations that the frequency of patrols should be reduced. I
wonder, does the State Department have a view on that? And have you
had any contact with the people directly affected, i.e., the Kurdish
groups and the Shiites in the south, to consult with them on the
repercussions for such a decision?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not quite sure what reports you are referring to.
Maybe it's something you wrote that I haven't read yet. (Laughter.)

Q: This morning's paper.

MR. BOUCHER: I'm sorry, but I'm trying to figure out what the news is.
All along, we have made clear that we are reviewing all aspects of the
Iraq policy, first the international aspect, the sanctions regime, the
need to control weapons going into Iraq, the need to make sure that
we're not impeding the flow of civilian goods to the civilians in
Iraq, the Iraqi people, and the need to make sure that Iraq can't
threaten its neighbors.

That is an aspect that the State Department has spearheaded. You have
seen the Secretary work on that, and we continue to work on that to
make those changes a reality.

But we also have said all along that we were looking at the
implementation of the no-fly zones, that the Pentagon was looking at
that aspect. We are looking also at the issue of support for
alternatives in Iraq, support for regime change in Iraq. So all those
aspects of policy are being looked at. The question of how to
implement the no-fly zones is something that is being looked at the
Pentagon, and that's where you would ask questions about how that is
going.

Q: The senior general commanders have recommended reducing the
frequency of patrols in the no-fly zones.

MR. BOUCHER: Again, that's a military question that you can ask them
and what they've recommended.

Q: Well, not it's not because it has policy implications; it has
implications for your relations with the Kurds and the Shiites. And
have you been consulted on that, and do you have - what's your input
into any decision that might be taken with this?

MR. BOUCHER: Our input is private between agencies. We don't talk
about policies until they are formulated, and the people in charge of
this are over at the Pentagon. We don't talk about our input into
different policy reviews as they are ongoing. I won't do that on
Korea, I won't do that on Iraq, I won't do that on Sudan or any other
area. You want to ask me what our input is? Our input is private
between agencies. When we've worked with our colleagues announcement
come up with policy, we'll explain what US policy is.

Q: I'm interested - is there any State Department input, even if you
wouldn't say what it would be, even if you felt you could --
(laughter) --

MR. BOUCHER: Okay, I'm condemned. Everybody is going to use the word
"input" in their question.