[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[January 17, 1991]
[Pages 45-46]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Exchange With Reporters on the Persian Gulf Conflict
January 17, 1991

    Q. Mr. President, based on what you've been told this morning, what
are your thoughts at this point on how severely the Iraqis have been 
damaged, how long this may last, and at what cost?
    The President. Well, again, I don't want to go into questions here 
because of the moment. I will say that was covered very well by 
Secretary Cheney and Colin Powell. And the way we're going to handle 
this is, I will not be commenting on the ups and downs--and there will 
be some downs--or the trauma of the moment--there's a lot of trauma of 
the moment. But I think it is fair to say--and I will be repeating this 
to the leaders here--that we are pleased with the way things have gone 
so far. We're determined to finish what we've set out to do. But I just 
think, for procedural reasons, I'd like you all to know that I'm not 
going to be trying to do briefings from the White House on the details 
of the operations over there. I have full confidence in our Secretary of 
Defense and in our able Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and, of course, in 
our general, General Schwarzkopf.
    So, for the future, though I'll be in touch with the American 
people, I think it's better to leave the details of the operations to 
the briefings over there. And, of course, I'll be available for 
questions from time to time. But when we don't have all the information, 
I just would hate to risk misleading the American people.
    Having said that, I think all of us are very pleased that so far the 
operation is going forward with great success. And we keep praying that 
the loss of life will be held at

[[Page 46]]

an absolute minimum. And I feel so strongly about our troops over there. 
Certainly I feel that way about them, and I feel that way about the 
innocents who might get caught up in this conflict. So, I think it's 
fair to say there's a lot of prayer going on both here and on Capitol 
Hill and across this whole country. And it will be that way until this 
is concluded.
    Q. Mr. President, Saddam Hussein says he won't be crushed.
    The President. I won't take others right now. Thank you.
    Q. Are you concerned this early talk of success might lead to 
unwarranted optimism on some people's part?
    The President. No, I'm not concerned. There is no unwarranted 
optimism, and there will be none. And I would refer you to the briefing 
of the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
    Thank you all very much.

                    Note: The exchange began at 9:40 a.m. in the Cabinet 
                        Room at the White House, prior to a meeting with 
                        congressional leaders. In his remarks, the 
                        President referred to Secretary of Defense Dick 
                        Cheney; Colin L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint 
                        Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, 
                        commander of the U.S. forces in the Persian 
                        Gulf.