Full text of White House press briefing

The following is the conclusion of a press briefing conducted this afternoon by White House Press Secretary Tony Snow in Kennebunkport, Maine, where the Bush presidential compound (shown) is located.

************************* MR. SNOW: No, I think it also comes on - as you noticed the other announcement that came out today refers to the fact that we do have a free trade agreement with South Korea.

And the South Koreans also are part of the visa waiver.

Q Tony, are you able to give any more information of what kind of inconveniences people will have at airports? Again, I don't want to compromise -

MR. SNOW: The only information - the one thing we can say with safety is that you're going to see in some places just enhanced police presence on the outside - enhanced police and TSA presence. And when that happens it tends to slow down traffic.

Q Is it at all airports or just -

MR. SNOW: Again, all airports are - there are certain measures that are going to be appropriate for different airports, and also, especially on the local police side, it's really up to the discretion of the local police agencies. Therefore, they're going to have a lot to say about it.

I think you're going to find it at certain small, isolated airports, or even some mid-size airports, there may not be anything in terms of visible difference.

But it's clear and it's already been reported in New York and New Jersey there's been beefed up presence, and so you're going to see that in some of these places.

And you would probably expect to see it in a great number of major metropolitan airports.

Q At what level is the President being briefed? Is he being briefed on what kind of new intelligence they're sharing, or they're gaining, or - do you know?

MR. SNOW: Yes - well, the briefings on intelligence is pretty comprehensive in terms of what we have been hearing and what various people know and what they suspect on conclusions - for preliminary conclusions they may be drawing.

But on the other hand - again, so it is not at a high-level generality, he's getting specific briefings.

Q Do you get the impression that they're moving close to finding out who is responsible?

MR. SNOW: I don't want to be characterizing the status of an ongoing investigation in Great Britain. Obviously, in Glasgow, they figured out who is at least immediately responsible because they've been apprehended.

But in terms of London, we'll again let the British government take the lead in those announcements.

Q But the TSA measures you told us about now are a result - were decided on after the London incidents, but before Glasgow.

MR. SNOW: I'm not entirely sure about when it was decided. They were announced after Glasgow, but I'm not - my sense -- I don't know exactly when they were.

Q You may have already explained this, but every airport has been given the same alert, and is it up to then local authorities whether to enact it?

MR. SNOW: There are packages - there are what we'll call alertness-raising packages, and different airports are going to have a different package based on a whole variety of considerations.

Also, local law enforcement agencies who obviously have a lot of presence at airports, they have it at their discretion to put together whatever responses they deem appropriate.

Q Is that the term of art, "alertness-raising packages"?

MR. SNOW: That is kind of a term of art - I don't know if there is a complete term of art. What we were talking about yesterday is that it's important to have an enhanced level of vigilance and to make it clear that we are in fact being as vigilant as we can about trying to assess and make sure that we can keep - do threat assessments and, at the same time, keep people safe.

What I also want to reiterate, because it's very important to do, is no specific or credible threats on the U.S., no changes in the threat levels at airports or nationally. It's important not to get people too spun up.

It's also important, though, to reassure folks that at a time like this, when you're in a global war on terror, you want to make sure that you're not only reassuring the public by practicing every bit of diligence you can, but making sure that everybody is being vigilant about what may be coming up.

Q Why not change the overall threat level, though?

MR. SNOW: Because there is nothing - because there is no intelligence to justify so doing.

Q But it justifies boosting the presence of security -

MR. SNOW: Well, this is - when you're talking about boosting the presence, that's exactly what I'm talking about - that, I think, in some cases, tends almost to over-hype what's going on. What you're really trying to do is - again, there is a way of being more alert and more present - what this is doing is it's creating an up-front presence that, in and of itself, is a deterrence to anybody who may have anything in mind. So I wouldn't really place it at any higher level than that. I mean, it's a way of doing it - we've seen this happen on a number of occasions, and so that's really what the TSA guidelines will do.

Q Tony, along the same lines, has there been any thought to beefing up any police presence here in Kennebunkport, with - you're going to have two Presidents here, a former President.

MR. SNOW: I'm not going to comment on any security arrangements in Kennebunkport.

Q You said there were Cabinet-level contacts between the U.S. and the UK. Can you say what Cabinet-level contacts?

MR. SNOW: Let me find out what our folks are comfortable with discussing. I mean, I know that there are and I'm just - I'll figure out exactly how forward they want to lead on it.

Q Any updated information about the talks?

MR. SNOW: The talks?

Q Putin.

MR. SNOW: There will be a number of social occasions and there will be a number of private occasions, and the two leaders, I daresay, are looking forward to all of the above.

Q What kind of social occasions apart from the lunch?

MR. SNOW: Well, I think there's a social dinner terrorism night, as well.

Q What about boating? Are they going to go boating?

MR. SNOW: I don't know. We'll give you - we will try to find a recreational roster when one becomes available. I'm not sure that they're going to do boating.

You've got a number of meetings between the President and - the two Presidents and also the President and the National Security Advisor, and the Secretary of State.

You also have in the larger - the "larger" social occasions would include the hosts, President George Herbert Walker Bush and Mrs. Bush.

Q Tony, any reaction to the Putin meeting with Chavez yesterday?

MR. SNOW: No.

Q Come on. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: Thanks, guys.

Q We're playing slow ball with you here. (Laughter.)

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