Scott McClellan, White House spokesperson. (Photo, as it appears on www.whitehouse.gov)

May 28 –– White House spokesperson Scott McClellan was non-committal when asked whether Washington would help protect Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf who claimed last week that some members of the military may have been involved in his assassination attempts. “I don’t know all the facts behind the individuals, I guess, that have been apprehended. But the Pakistani government has obviously addressed that matter. And they were –– obviously, the security of the president is a high priority in any country, and he has a security team in place that provides for his security. And we’re certainly glad that he was not harmed in those attempts on his life.”

On whether Washington will continue on the same vein with the new government in India and President Bush’s telephone conversation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, McClellan said, “Absolutely, we expect that. We have strong relations with India, and the President expects that going forward, working with Prime Minister Singh, we will continue to build upon those strong relations. And it’s also important that India and Pakistan continue to have a dialogue to move forward on reducing tensions in the region. And the President expressed that in his phone conversation with Prime Minister Singh.”