Middle East Digest: January 29, 2008Bureau of Public Affairs The Middle East Digest provides text and audio from the Daily Press Briefing. For the full briefings, please visit http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/ From the Daily Briefing of January 29, 2008: QUESTION: The U.S. authorities refusing to let Robert Badinter, the former French justice minister to visit Guantanamo Bay and meet with former Omar Khadr, a young Canadian arrested in 2002, and if so why? MR. CASEY: Not familiar with the request to visit, but that's really something you need to talk to our Pentagon colleagues about. QUESTION: Well, maybe we can use this opportunity to bring up the meeting with the Secretary and Mr. Kellenberger this morning. MR. CASEY: Well, you can, but as promised, the readout is very, very brief in keeping with the confidential nature of our conversations with the ICRC. Certainly, she appreciated the opportunity to speak with him. I know he’ll be speaking as well with other U.S. Government officials around the town. We always take into consideration those recommendations and those views that are presented to us by the ICRC not only at the senior level, but in their working-level visits and meetings with U.S. officials in detention centers, including Guantanamo Bay, where the ICRC does have access. QUESTION: Can you confirm that Ahmadi-Nejad has been invited to Baghdad and does the State Department have a word on this? And there is a rumor about President Talabani visiting D.C. Can you -- MR. CASEY: For both those things, I’d refer you to the Iraqi Government. Who they have or haven’t invited to visit their country is up to them. In terms of President Talabani’s schedule, I’m not aware of any specific plans, though he certainly does come to Washington on a not-infrequent basis and we always welcome his visits here. QUESTION: Thank you. |
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