Digest of Other White House Announcements
The following list includes the President’s public schedule and other items of general interest announced by the Office of the Press Secretary and not included elsewhere in this issue.
February 22
In the morning, at the Bush Ranch in Crawford, TX, the President had an intelligence briefing. Later, he met with President Jose Maria Aznar of Spain. The two Presidents then had a four-way telephone conversation with Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and President Silvio Berlusconi of Italy to discuss a proposed resolution on Iraq to be submitted to the United Nations.
Later in the morning, the President and Mrs. Bush took President Aznar and his wife, Ana Botella, on a tour of the Bush Ranch, and in the afternoon, they had lunch together.
During the day, the President had separate telephone conversations with Presidents Vicente Fox of Mexico and Ricardo Lagos of Chile to discuss the situation in Iraq.
February 23
In the morning, the President returned to Washington, DC.
February 24
In the morning, the President had a telephone conversation with President Ion Iliescu of Romania concerning the situation in Iraq and mutual support between Romania and the United States. He then had intelligence and FBI briefings and met with the National Security Council.
Later in the morning, the President dropped by a meeting between Aleksandr Voloshin, head of administration for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
The President announced his intention to nominate Eric S. Edelman to be Ambassador to Turkey.
The President announced his intention to nominate Gregory W. Engle to be Ambassador to Togo.
The President announced his intention to nominate the following individuals to be members of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy: Maria Sophia Aguirre, Elizabeth F. Bagley, Barbara McConnell Barrett (Chairman), Charles William Evers III, Harold C. Pachios, and Jay T. Snyder.
The President announced his intention to designate Richard H. Carmona as Acting Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services.
The President announced his intention to designate William H. Campbell as Acting Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The President announced his intention to appoint James Byrne Francis, Jr., as a member of the American Battle Monuments Commission.
February 25
In the morning, the President had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Konstandinos Simitis of Greece to congratulate him on Greece’s European Union Presidency and to discuss the situation in Iraq, the war on terrorism, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s settlement plan for the conflict in Cyprus. The President also had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda of Slovakia to discuss the situation in Iraq.
The President then had intelligence and FBI briefings.
Later in the morning, in the Oval Office, the President met with Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha of Bulgaria to discuss the situation in Iraq, Bulgaria’s invitation to join NATO, and friendship and support between Bulgaria and the United States.
During the day, the President met with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels to discuss the costs of possible military action against Iraq.
The President announced his intention to nominate James B. Foley to be Ambassador to Haiti.
The President announced his intention to appoint the following individuals as members of the President’s Export Council: J.W. Marriott, Jr. (Chairman); James C. Morgan (Vice Chairman); Paul Hsu; John Lopez; Beatriz Manetta; Michael Sacco; C. Michael Armstrong; Glen A. Barton; Riley P. Bechtel; S. Jackson Faris; Henry M. Paulson, Jr.; Warren R. Staley; Solomon Dennis Trujillo; Michael L. Eskew; James Brian Ferguson; Lee R. Raymond; Philip Condit; Michael S. Dell; Arnold W. Donald; Raymond V. Gilmartin; Christopher T. Jenny; C. Michael Kojaian; Celilia Ochoa Levine; John A. Luke, Jr.; Harold B. Smith; John F. Smith; and Sidney Taurel.
February 26
In the morning, the President had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy of Hungary to discuss the President’s condolences concerning flooding in Hungary, his appreciation for the Hungarian Parliament’s February 24 vote to authorize the transport of U.S. military equipment through Hungary, and the situation in Iraq. The President also had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada to discuss the draft U.N. Security Council resolution presented by Britain, Spain, and the U.S. concerning the situation in Iraq.
The President then had intelligence and FBI briefings.
Later in the morning, in the Oval Office, the President met with President Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan to discuss the war on terrorism.
In the afternoon, the President had lunch with Vice President Dick Cheney. Later, he made remarks to the President’s Export Council.
Later in the afternoon, in an Oval Office ceremony, the President received diplomatic credentials from Ambassadors Eduardo Amadeo of Argentina, Marina Valere of Trinidad and Tobago, Jaime Aparicio of Bolivia, Devinda R. Subasinghe of Sri Lanka, Bernardo Alvarez Herrera of Venezuela, Narisoa Rajaonarivony of Madagascar, Roberto Alfaro of Panama, Hamrokhon Zaripov of Tajikistan, Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika of Zambia, Ravdangin Bold of Mongolia, Mohamed Latheef of Maldives, and John Lowell of Malta.
The President announced his intention to nominate Nicholas Gregory Mankiw to be a member of the Council of Economic Advisers and, upon confirmation, designate him as Chairman.
The President announced his intention to nominate Ephraim Batambuze and Thomas Thomas Riley to be members of the Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation.
The White House announced that on February 25 the President declared an emergency in New York and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the area struck by record/near record snowstorms on December 25-26, 2002, and January 3-4, 2003.
February 27
In the morning, the President had a telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin of Russia concerning the situations in the Korean Peninsula and Iraq. He then had intelligence and FBI briefings.
In the afternoon, the President had lunch with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, following their meeting in the Oval Office.
Later in the afternoon, in the Oval Office, the President met with Secretary of State Colin Powell, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman to discuss environmental initiatives. He then met with Executive Director James Morris of the World Food Program to discuss U.S. famine relief efforts around the world, including the Famine Fund for Africa.
Later in the afternoon, in an Oval Office ceremony, the President presented the National Humanities Medals for 2002.
During the day, the President dropped by a meeting between Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. He also participated in an interview with journalists from the USA Today newspaper.
The President announced the following recipients of the National Humanities Medal for 2002: Donald Kagan, Brian Lamb, Art Linkletter, Patricia Maclachlan, Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, Frankie Hewitt, and Thomas Sowell.
February 28
In the morning, the President had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands to discuss the situation in Iraq. He then had intelligence and FBI briefings and met with the National Security Council.
In the afternoon, the President and Mrs. Bush went to Camp David, MD.
The White House announced that the President and Prime Minister Bertie Ahern of Ireland will meet at the White House on March 13.
The President announced his intention to nominate Roland W. Bullen to be Ambassador to Guyana.
The President announced his intention to nominate Nicole R. Nason to be Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs at the Department of Transportation.
The President announced his intention to nominate Annette M. Sandberg to be Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Department of Transportation.
The President announced his intention to appoint Wilma Delaney, Mary Gade, and Monica Samuels as members of the Board of Directors of the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center.
The President announced his intention to appoint Tirso Del Junco and Gen. Charles Krulak, USMC (Ret.), as members of the Board of Visitors of the United States Naval Academy.