    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [September 13, 1993]
    [Pages 1483-1484]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1483]]

    Remarks on the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles
    September 13, 1993

        Thank you very much. I never thought I would enter what may well be
    the first meeting of its kind in the history of our country--
    [applause]--that I would enter this meeting hearing our erudite Vice
    President quote Lao Tse. But today, I think we could solve all our
    problems with China, too, and everything else. All things are possible
    today.
        I do want to acknowledge the presence, also, of a person here who
    has done a lot of wonderful work on this and the other foreign policy
    efforts we've made since I've been President, my National Security
    Adviser, Tony Lake.
        I want to thank all of you for the work that so many of you have
    done, many of you for years and years and years, to help make this day
    come. I know well that there were a lot of people--I couldn't help when
    I was looking out at that crowd today, I thought there were so many
    people I wish I had the luxury of just standing up and mentioning,
    because I knew of the things which have been done to help this day come
    to pass. And I thank you all.
        I know that most of what needs to be said specifically has already
    been said, so let me just say this: I am convinced that the United
    States must assume a very heavy role of responsibility to make this
    work, to implement this agreement, and that means I must ask you for two
    or three things, specifically. First of all, this is a difficult time
    for our country and with our own borders, and a lot of our own people
    are very insecure in a profoundly different way than the insecurities
    about which we just talked today.
        We simply cannot afford to sort of fold up our tent and draw inward.
    We can't afford to do it in matters of trade, we can't afford to do it
    in matters of foreign policy, and we certainly can't afford to do it
    when we have been given a millennial opportunity and responsibility in
    the Middle East. And so I ask you, together and individually, to do what
    you can to help influence the Members of Congress whom you know, without
    regard to their party, to recommit themselves to the engagement and
    leadership of the United States in the Middle East.
        I have been profoundly impressed by the broad, and deep bipartisan
    support in the Congress for this agreement. But everyone must understand
    that this agreement now has to be implemented. A lot of the complicated
    details are left. And frankly, even beyond the financial issues, the
    United States is perhaps in the best position of any country just to
    help with the mechanics of the election, with the mechanics of the law
    enforcement issue, with a whole series of complex, factual issues, which
    have to be worked through. And if we are leading, then we can send
    American who are Jewish or Arab to go there to work with this process.
    So the beginning is a sense that there is still the work to be done and
    a commitment to do it in the Congress.
        Secondly, there is an enormous amount of work that can be done by
    private citizens. Many of you have been doing that and giving of your
    time and money for a very long time. Now, you'll be given the chance to
    do it in a different context, and I hope we will explore ways that this
    group can stay together, work together, and define common projects,
    because I think that that will help to shape the attitudes of the people
    who live in the region, what we do here as Americans together in
    specific terms as private citizens as well as through Government
    channels.
        And finally, let me say that if there's one lesson I learned in my
    own life in politics here in America and one that I relearn every time I
    leave the White House and go out and talk to ordinary citizens in this
    very difficult time, it is that no public enterprise can flourish unless
    there is trust and security. Indeed, one of the reasons that I think the
    Vice President's work on the National Performance Review is so
    important--if I might just veer off and then come back to this subject--
    is that because our Government for so long has had not only a budget
    deficit and an investment deficit but a general performance deficit,
    there is this huge trust deficit in America, which makes it difficult
    for us to do what we ought to do. And when millions and millions of our
    people are profoundly insecure, it is even more difficult for them to
    restore their trust.
        If that is true in America, how much more difficult must it be in
    the Middle East when

    [[Page 1484]]

    the very issues of survival have been confronting people for a very long
    time now? On the other hand, unless the political leadership which made
    this agreement winds up stronger for doing it, we won't be able to
    succeed and move on to the next steps and ultimately conclude this whole
    process in a way that will really get the job done.
        And so the last thing I want to ask you to do is, again,
    individually and collectively, to make as many personal contacts as you
    can with people in the region to tell them you support this, the United
    States is going to stand for peace and security and progress, and they
    should give their trust to this process. It is clear to me now that the
    major threat to our success going forward is not necessarily all those
    who wish to wreck the peace by continuing the killing of innocent
    noncombatants but the thin veneer of hope which might be pierced before
    it gets too deep and strong to be broken.
        So we, you and I, we have a big responsibility to strengthen the
    support for the people who did this among their constituents, not to
    interfere in the internal affairs of Israel or the PLO but simply to
    make it clear that we are going to be there and that we believe in it,
    and that we believe it will enhance security and make trust more
    possible and make all the parties ultimately over the long run more
    reliable. I think this is a very big deal. Any many of you in some ways
    are in a unique position to manifest your belief in that.
        So those are the things we must do. We have to have the support in
    the United States for our Government to take the lead in implementing
    the agreement. We have to have you and people like you, more of you,
    willing to undertake projects individually, as groups, and perhaps
    jointly as citizens, private citizens, that will reinforce what has been
    done. And we must begin immediately to make it absolutely clear that we
    support this decision and the people who made it for making it and that
    we will have more security for doing it.
        If we can do those three things, then we can honor what happened
    here today, and we can validate the feelings we all had. And instead of
    just being a magic moment in history, it will truly be a turning point.
    That's what I think it is.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:24 p.m. in Room 450 of the Old Executive
    Office Building.