[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11497-11498]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    THE PRESIDENT'S MIDDLE EAST PLAN

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I think it is important to come to the 
floor of the Senate today and briefly respond to the President's 
statement of 2 days ago on the Middle East. I want to say to the 
President that I think his vision is very important. His statement has 
a very strong beginning and a very strong end.
  There is one gap in his statement that concerns me and about which I 
wish to discuss. The President, rightfully so, talked about the need 
for reform and the need for democracy for the Palestinian people. He is 
quite right to put on this emphasis. Right now, what we also have to 
focus on is how we change the environment on the ground, so that the 
elections that our President has called for actually lead to a more 
responsible leadership. I think this is a gap in what the President 
outlined on Monday. That is to say, we might not like the result we get 
from the democratic elections he has called for. It could well be that 
Chairman Arafat can say right now: Fine, I will be chosen, no question 
about it. Some have suggested that Hamas might win such elections, or 
even worse.
  From my point of view, one of the things we have to understand is 
that none of this will work in terms of the vision the President laid 
out--two states and two peoples living peacefully, side by side with 
secure borders. None of this will work unless the conditions on the 
ground are changed so that indeed when there are elections, we see a 
responsible leadership elected to office.
  When I talk about the need for ``conditions on the ground'' being 
changed, there are at least three factors, if you will. Factors: One, 
people have to have hope. The Palestinian people have to have some 
hope. Two, there has to be a growing economy. Three, people have to be 
able to move from place to place.
  So what I want to emphasize is, yes, when the President says the 
terror has to stop, we can all agree, and we should be strong and 
united in making sure we say that on the floor of the Senate and say it 
in every possible way. I also think it is true that all parties have to 
be engaged. There is a role for European leadership and a role for Arab 
leadership.
  Certainly, Israel and the United States have to be engaged, also. 
That is the good part of the President's statement. I think there has 
to be active support from the U.S., the EU, and the Arab States in 
strengthening indigenous Palestinian pressure for reform, in advancing 
the consolidation and control of these competing militias, and 
insisting on the transparency of government and judicial operations and 
on more effective leadership. Second, we have to attend to urgent 
humanitarian needs. Basic public services are breaking down. Power cuts 
are frequent and there are shortages in a range of products, from 
school books to critical medical supplies. Ordinary Palestinians are 
unable to get the medical treatment they need.
  The Palestinian economy has to be allowed to develop. We have to 
rebuild the physical infrastructure and revitalize the economy as the 
Palestinian

[[Page 11498]]

Authority is effectively bankrupt, and any semblance of a modern 
economy is disappearing. We need to understand that vital social, 
economic, and security functions have broken down. This is leaving an 
enormous vacuum. I fear that far more radical and more extremist groups 
would be eager to fill this vacuum.
  I believe this was an important missing piece in what the President 
said. The conditions on the ground for the Palestinian people have to 
change if, in fact, the democracy that we call for and the reform we 
call for will lead to the election of what we would consider to be 
responsible leadership. We are going to have to be very engaged in this 
process. Israel is going to have to step up to the plate and be very 
engaged.
  Yes, we need to be clear on the need to end the terror; yes, we need 
to be clear on the need for reform; but also, yes, we need to be clear 
in calling for the sustained and vigorous engagement of key actors--the 
United States, Israel, moderate Arab leadership, the European Union, 
and we must be clear that the conditions on the ground change.
  All you have to do is read the paper every day and look at the 
conditions on the ground. You see a complete lack of hope among 
Palestinians. You see people not being able to move. People have no 
access to jobs or to schools. There is very little hope, and this is 
not the stuff of social stability. We need to address these issues if, 
in fact, we are to be able to get this crisis back on the political 
track, with some sort of political process that truly might lead to an 
end to this violence.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Vermont is 
recognized.

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