Middle East Digest - October 31, 2008

Bureau of Public Affairs
October 31, 2008

The Middle East Digest provides text and audio from the Daily Press Briefing. For the full briefings, please visit daily press briefings.

From the Daily Press Briefing of October 31, 2008

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QUESTION: Do you have any – is there any update on the SOFA discussions?

MR. MCCORMACK: No updates. We received the comments. We’re still reviewing them. They’re – I don’t have an exact number, but they’re numerous in terms of the comments, so we’re working through all of those, trying to put a lot of thought into how to respond to them, but I don’t think we’ve given a formal reply to the Iraqis yet.

QUESTION: Is there going to be a formal reply or --

MR. MCCORMACK: I would expect that there will be.

QUESTION: And will it be a point-by-point reply or will it just be, no?

MR. MCCORMACK: (Laughter.) I suspect it would probably be a little more detailed than the simple one-word answer. Look, people are – the Iraqis clearly take this seriously, as do we. I think you can – that’s evidenced by the negotiating process that we have here. So we’re going to try and take some time. And we do have a little bit of time. I know the – you know, we’re – December 31^st is the deadline, I guess, but we do have a little bit of time and we’re going to review the comments and try to formulate our responses.

I can’t tell you whether or not, you know, we’ll group together a response like, okay, 1 through 10, here’s our response and10 through 20. We’ll tailor it to the subject matter as well as, you know, the substance of our response.

Yes.

QUESTION: We have been asking questions for a while. I am sorry if I missed something, but what about this young Iranian American feminist who was arrested in Iran? Did you check her nationality? Is an American – is she an American citizen?

MR. MCCORMACK: We’re still working on this case, and there’s not a whole lot I can say about it, just because there are no Privacy Act waivers. Suffice it to say, as in – as with past cases of American citizens being detained in Iran unjustly -- in many cases, simply just for expressing an opinion that runs contrary to the policies of the Iranian regime – we speak out and do what we can.

There’s two sides to that. We stand ready to help. Of course, family members also have to make it clear that they want U.S. Government intervention in cases. Sometimes it isn’t the case that the family members either want us to say anything at all about it or to help out, just because sometimes they think that that might not be helpful to a successful resolution of the case.

QUESTION: But is she American?

MR. MCCORMACK: Again, that is something -- that’s a question that, at this point, I can’t answer for you.

QUESTION: Well, if she wasn’t an American, the Privacy Act wouldn’t apply --

MR. MCCORMACK: No, no. I know, Matt. Look, you know, I really can’t – this is one of these cases where, you know, I get put in these ridiculous positions like this. And – but I have to err on the side of respecting – you know, respecting the law and respecting the wishes of the individuals involved.

QUESTION: But is it correct that if someone is not an American citizen, the Privacy Act would not apply?

MR. MCCORMACK: I believe that would be the case. I’m not a lawyer, but --

QUESTION: And you can’t discuss this case because of the Privacy Act waiver? Thank you. We got your answer.

MR. MCCORMACK: There you go. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: You mean that her family doesn’t want the U.S. Government --

MR. MCCORMACK: I’m not going to – again, I’ve spoken generally about these kinds of cases. I’m just not going to go any further.

QUESTION: Have you had any more contact with the Syrians about what they’ve done, what you’re – what you may or may not do?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, we have – let me get the – the date for you here, see if I can find it. We did have – our chargé Maura Connelly on the 29^th so that’s two days ago – was called into the Syrian ministry of foreign affairs. We reported that and I think we talked about that. And she received a verbal demarche communicating the Syrian Government request that the American Cultural Center be closed. The Syrian Government also requested that the Damascus Community School known as – known in Damascus as “the American school” be closed by November 6.

We are considering our response to that demarche. It is the weekend in Damascus right now. These facilities, in any case, wouldn’t be scheduled under normal circumstances to reopen until Sunday. So at this point, I can’t give you an update. We’re considering how we’re going to respond to that oral communication from the Syrians.

QUESTION: So I think the answer to my question, then, is no.

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, technically, they’re not closed yet, because they haven’t been --

QUESTION: Well, I asked if there had been any further discussions with the --

MR. MCCORMACK: No further – there have been no further discussions.

QUESTION: And so as you consider your responses to this, are you considering just ignoring what the Syrians have asked?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, there are a spectrum of different possible responses here.

QUESTION: Yes, ranging from --

MR. MCCORMACK: (Laughter.) I guess ranging from --

QUESTION: Compliance to noncompliance? I mean, is there --

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, yeah. Yes. And stuff in between. Yeah.

QUESTION: Can you say, well, thank you very much for your request, but we’re – we say no?

MR. MCCORMACK: Like I said, there are a range of possible responses. I think you’ve defined either -- both ends of the spectrum.

Yeah, Samir.

QUESTION: Why the Syrians want to close the Center and the school?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don’t know. Ask them.