[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.