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MS. NULAND: All right, everybody. Happy Tuesday. The Secretary is just finishing her program
in Latin America and will be returning later this afternoon. I have - or later this evening
- I have nothing for you at the top.
QUESTION: Can I ask you about the series of interviews she gave on this trip? We didn't
have one, so we didn't get a chance to ask her directly. But she said she took responsibility
related to the Benghazi attack. I just wanted to be clear on what she's taking responsibility
for.
MS. NULAND: Well, if you have a chance to get up on our website, you will see transcripts
of five TV interviews that the Secretary gave yesterday, as she always does when she's traveling
and she has TV crews with her or TV correspondents with her. I think she was extremely clear
what she's taking responsibility for. She is the head of this Department. She takes
responsibility for this Department fully. She's never made any secret of that. That's
been her position all the way through this.
QUESTION: What is she taking responsibility for, though? She just said, "I take responsibility,"
full stop.
MS. NULAND: Brad, you can go back and reread that interview. The question was clear.
QUESTION: I have reread it.
MS. NULAND: The answer was clear. I'm not going to try to improve on it here.
QUESTION: Why won't you?
MS. NULAND: Because she was -
QUESTION: She doesn't finish the thought.
MS. NULAND: She was extremely clear what she takes responsibility for, which is the operation
of this Department, all of the men and women here, and certainly she is personally, as
she has said again and again and again since September 11th, committed to getting to the
bottom of who did this and learning the lessons that we need to learn from it.
QUESTION: So you said she takes responsibility for the operation of this Department and the
people who work here. So she wouldn't be taking responsibility for things like intelligence
assessments, per se, because that is something that might not be done by this building; is
that correct?
MS. NULAND: Brad, I am not going to stand here and parse the Secretary's words. She
was very clear in her interviews.
QUESTION: Well, if she was so clear, why can't you answer a question like that?
MS. NULAND: I want you to go back and read the interviews.
QUESTION: I have read all of them.
MS. NULAND: Yeah. I think she was very clear.
Go ahead.
QUESTION: A quick follow-up on matters of security.
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: Does she, at the end of the day, determine the - I know she shares with the
intelligence people, those who are experts at security. But she takes the final decision
in terms of what kind of security you should have on your diplomatic missions?
MS. NULAND: She speaks specifically about how security is done in this building in those
interviews, as our team that testified, spoke to, but she made very clear that she takes
responsibility for this Department.
QUESTION: And a very quick follow-up. If, let's say, there is a couple of proposed security
agencies, whether private or government, does she say we will go with this one or with that
one?
MS. NULAND: That is not the way this works in this building. We've talked about the way
these things work extensively. I don't have anything to add here.
Please.
QUESTION: Tom Lewis, BBC News.
MS. NULAND: Yes.
QUESTION: Could you give your reaction to the British Home Secretary's decision to block
the extradition of Gary McKinnon, the British man accused of hacking into U.S. Government
computer systems?
MS. NULAND: Welcome. We miss Kim, but welcome. I guess she's on the road. The United States
is disappointed by the decision to deny Gary McKinnon's extradition to face long overdue
justice in the United States. We are examining the details of the decision.
Please.
QUESTION: A quick follow-up. How will you --
MS. NULAND: You're so polite. (Laughter.) You raised your hand.
QUESTION: I'm British.
MS. NULAND: He pauses. It's the British way.
QUESTION: Are you saying that we here are less - (laughter ) -
MS. NULAND: I made no comparative assessment. I just positively complimented our British
guest.
QUESTION: How will the U.S. proceed, therefore, in --
MS. NULAND: I don't have anything particular to share with you today. As I said, we're
examining the decision.
QUESTION: Was it a bad day for the U.S.-UK relations, especially with - in the light
of the extradition treaty?
MS. NULAND: I think you know that we have an incredible alliance, and that will obviously
continue in all of its forms.
Please.
QUESTION: Change topic?
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: Yes. The Palestinian issue?
MS. NULAND: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: First of all, could you confirm if there was a meeting between the Palestinian
President and the King of Jordan and Ehud Barak in Amman last Saturday?
MS. NULAND: You're asking me about a meeting between -
QUESTION: Are you aware of it?
MS. NULAND: -- three folks in the Middle East, none of whom was American.
QUESTION: But you did not -
MS. NULAND: I'm going to send you to their spokespeople.
QUESTION: Okay. Fair enough, but - so you are not aware that the meeting took place?
MS. NULAND: As I said, I'm going to send you to their spokespeople to confirm a meeting
among them. We speak to what we're up to, obviously.
QUESTION: Okay. Well, Abbas on his part in the Gulf once again spoke about the effort
at the United Nations, and he said that this is not in contradiction with our commitment
to the two-state solution or to direct negotiation. Can you --
MS. NULAND: That what is not, Said? You didn't give me a noun to start that sentence.
QUESTION: Their effort at the United Nation was not in contradiction with negotiation.
Do you agree that any effort at the UN on the part of the Palestinians is not in contradiction
with the proposed negotiations?
MS. NULAND: Well, I haven't seen his exact quote, and with all due respect, you mungled
it a little bit. So I'm not quite sure what he said. However, our position on all of these
issues has not changed. We think the way this needs to be settled is through direct negotiations
between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That is the route to a lasting peace between
them, not the UN route.
QUESTION: Let me try to untangle what I said.
MS. NULAND: Please.
QUESTION: He said the following: that their effort at the United Nations would continue,
because it is not in contradictions of any negotiations that might be entered to anytime
in the future.
MS. NULAND: Our view on this has not changed - that the UN route is unproductive, counterproductive,
that what we really need is for these parties to be focused on sitting down at the table
with each other.
Please.
QUESTION: Yes. I will try to be polite as well. (Laughter.)
MS. NULAND: What a day. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Regarding Tibet, Ambassador Gary Locke was spotted paying a visit to Aba Tibetan
Autonomous area this September. There was a photo tweeted on Twitter. My - Aba area
is the area where more than 30 self-immolation cases since last year, so I wonder if you
could please confirm that, and also if State Department have more information on that.
Thank you.
MS. NULAND: Sure. This stop that he made, that Ambassador Locke made in Aba Prefecture,
was part of a broader trip that he made to Chongqing and Sichuan Province in September.
While on that trip, he met with government officials, and he participated in events that
were designed to advance U.S.-China trade, and he visited the Stilwell Museum. When he
was in Aba, he met with a number of local residents, including ethnic Tibetans. You
saw the quite poignant photo. Some of them work in the travel industry. He also visited
villages and monasteries to learn more about how ethnic Tibetan people live and work and
to have a chance to talk to them.
I think you know that we have been very clear and very transparent with regard to our views
on Tibet and our advocacy for better dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Tibetan
people on issues of concern and our grave concern about the rising number of self-immolations.
QUESTION: How many days was he there, and what is his impression of the area? Because
it's heightened - the security is heightened.
MS. NULAND: I can't speak to his personal views at the end of that trip. I'll send you
to his spokesman at our Embassy in Beijing. I think the trip was three or four days long
- I'm not sure - between the stops in Chongqing and the stops in Sichuan. But again, our Embassy
in Beijing can give you more information.
QUESTION: Is he in the States right now? And then does he plan to share it with - his experience
with the congressional leaders or the Tibetan communities in the United States?
MS. NULAND: Well, whenever we have members of Congress visiting China, they always are
briefed by Ambassador Locke. The various human rights issues in Tibet always come up, and
he shares his impression and they talk together about how to raise these issues with the Chinese
Government. He's not shy about that. If the Congress is interested in his trip, I'm sure
that he will address any questions that they have.
QUESTION: So he's indeed here in the States?
MS. NULAND: Frankly, I - my impression was he was - he's in Beijing this week. I don't
have any information that he is back in Washington this week. But frankly, I didn't check on
his status, his physical status, when I came down.
QUESTION: One final question.
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: Could you please specify and clarify more about U.S. position regarding self-immolation?
MS. NULAND: We have done this many times. We have grave concerns about self-immolations
in Tibet and about the underlying grievances that the Tibetan people have. And we have
consistently urged dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Tibetan people with regard
to those grievances.
Please. Anything else? No? We're done?
QUESTION: Cuba.
MS. NULAND: No, okay.
QUESTION: No, please.
MS. NULAND: Oh well.
QUESTION: I wonder if you have a reaction - well, I hope you would have a reaction to
the announcement today from Cuban officials on the exit bans and the exit visas.
MS. NULAND: What Brad is referring to is that the Cuban Government today announced changes
to their exit permit requirements to allow Cuban citizens to depart the country without
explicitly having exit permits. This is consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
which provides that everybody ought to have the right to leave any country, including
their own, and/or to return to their own country, to come in and out.
We obviously welcome any reforms that will allow Cubans to depart from and return to
their country freely. We remain committed to the migration accords under which our two
countries support and promote safe, legal, and orderly migration. Our own visa requirement
remains unchanged. Our understanding is that this exit permit regime is going to take effect
on January 14th, so we are analyzing, obviously, all of the details and any implications it
may have for our processing, et cetera.
QUESTION: So just two things with that. Firstly, this was something that the United States
had long called for; that's correct?
MS. NULAND: Yes.
QUESTION: Secondly, what --
MS. NULAND: Very few countries, as you know, have exit permit requirements. I mean, if
you want to leave the United States, if you want to leave most countries around the world,
if you have a passport, you can go.
QUESTION: And what implication - you mentioned implications. Just could you spell out what
this might mean for certain asylum laws in the United States? And correct me if I'm wrong,
there's certain congressional legislation on people who enter the United States from
Cuba. Would this change any of that?
MS. NULAND: I don't think it changes any U.S. laws on the books. I think the question becomes
whether more Cubans desire to travel and are applying for visas and all those kinds of
things. So obviously, we need to see how it affects the flow of travel. We obviously always
urge Cuban families to use legal family reunification and other immigration mechanisms that are
already in place.
With regard to acts on the books, I think you're - I assume you're talking about the
Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 which --
QUESTION: I didn't know the year. Sorry.
MS. NULAND: Yeah. There you go. Before you were born, I think, Brad. Which provides an
avenue for Cuban - most of you, actually - provides an avenue for Cuban nationals to apply for
adjustment of status and become lawful permanent residents of the United States. The Department
of Homeland Security is the lead agency on the implementation of that, because it applies
to folks who are already in the United States. So I would refer you to them for any specific
questions.
QUESTION: And then just lastly on this, this was a - I mean, in your view, this was a human
rights violation, in a sense, because under the Universal Declaration they should have
had this right, freedom of movement to leave their own country. Will the United States
be offering any carrot to - I don't know - incentivize further reforms from the Cuban Government
at this point?
MS. NULAND: Well, as you know, we've been very outspoken. We are not shy in all of our
public and private comments on Cuba that we want to see the human rights of the Cuban
people respected. This is certainly a step, but I would advise that even with regard to
this step, we await further information, because as I said, it's not being implemented until
January 14th. We need to see how it is implemented. For example, we understand that current Cuban
passport holders who don't already have an exit permit are going to be required to revalidate
their passports before they're allowed to travel. And we would note that the Cuban Government
has not lifted the measures it has in place to preserve what it calls the human capital
created by the revolution. So the question is going to be whether those other requirements
are going to continue to restrict the ability of the Cuban people to take advantage of this
change.
QUESTION: So you'd be worried that maybe this new right that's being granted wouldn't be
extended to people of certain political convictions, maybe human rights defenders, that have been
targeted in the past?
MS. NULAND: I think the point I'm trying to make is that the Cuban Government has kept
for itself a couple of other checks on the ability of people to leave freely, including
this issue of revalidating passports, this issue of claiming that they can preserve the
human capital of the revolution in the country. So we just need to all see how it's implemented.
QUESTION: Victoria?
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: Has there been any change in your position since yesterday regarding the potential
for a truce or a ceasefire during the Eid al-Adha holiday?
MS. NULAND: I don't have anything further to what I had to say yesterday, Said. I mean,
we haven't seen any indications that the Assad regime is serious about stopping the violence.
QUESTION: But this seems to be an idea that is at least gaining some steam, and a lot
of people are talking about it. Would you support such a notion?
MS. NULAND: Again, we have said repeatedly that we would support any end of the violence
in Syria. But we have not seen any indications that Assad is on that program.
QUESTION: And just to follow up on yesterday, now you have supported the observer force
in the past. It was small. But now they are talking about a larger force, 3,000.
MS. NULAND: Who's the "they," Said?
QUESTION: Well, Brahimi. Brahimi is talking about perhaps an observer force of like 3,000
people that are - that come, let's say, from North African countries, African countries,
perhaps Latin America. Would you support such a proposition?
MS. NULAND: Again, I think we said yesterday that we're not going to comment on putative
pieces of a prospective future Brahimi plan until Mr. Brahimi has had a chance to complete
his rounds and formally present something to us and to other members of the Security
Council. You know our concerns about the way the observer mission worked in the past - that
they weren't allowed to actually observe and they weren't allowed to actually move around,
and it became a sort of a situation where they were observers in name only. So obviously,
any new plan needs to be analyzed in terms of whether the conditions in Syria allow it
to be implemented properly.
Please.
QUESTION: I've got one on Syria.
MS. NULAND Yeah, okay.
QUESTION: And I apologize if this already came up. I came in late and I've been a little
bit under the weather the last few days. Did anyone in this --
MS. NULAND: We're dropping like flies. You've been my fourth one sick today. Go ahead.
QUESTION: Did anyone in this building know that Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey was
going to meet with President Ahmadinejad from Iran yesterday? And is it still the position
of this Department that including Iranians in such meetings is a bad idea?
MS. NULAND: Including Iranians in multilateral meetings on Syria; is that what you're talking
about?
QUESTION: Yeah.
MS. NULAND: For example, the Friends of the Syrian People or whatever?
QUESTION: Mm-hmm.
MS. NULAND: Yeah. We continue to believe that the Iranians are a malign force in this, that
they are actively aiding and abetting the Syrian regime and its war machine. So they
can halt that activity before we would see them as productive in any multilateral efforts.
With regard to the meeting, I frankly don't have any particular information that we had
advance notice. We, as you know, coordinate extremely closely with the Government of Turkey
on issues having to do with Syria. And our full expectation, based on what we know of
Prime Minister Erdogan's position, is that he was, no doubt, extremely frank with Ahmadinejad
about the Turkish concerns.
QUESTION: Did you respond yesterday - and if you did, please move right past, but did
you respond to questions about the New York Times story that quoted unnamed officials
citing concerns that the U.S.-Saudi-Qatari weapons to Syrian rebels triangle is inefficient,
and it's resulting in weapons going more to Islamist factions than secular factions?
MS. NULAND: I did, Guy.
QUESTION: You did. All right, I'm sorry. Thank you.
MS. NULAND: Yep. Anything else? All right. Thank you all.