[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[July 30, 1996]
[Pages 1222-1229]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's News Conference With President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt
July 30, 1996

    President Clinton. I am delighted to welcome my friend President 
Mubarak and his delegation from Egypt back to the White House to 
reaffirm the close partnership between the United States and Egypt. 
Under the wise and courageous leadership of President Mubarak, Egypt has 
been a key partner with the United States in working to build both 
regional security and global peace.

[[Page 1223]]

I commend him for his vision and his dedication. Nowhere has that been 
more crucial than in Egypt's own region.
    The peace between Israel and Egypt is the bedrock upon which all 
other progress has been made. President Mubarak and I discussed our 
joint efforts to bring about a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in 
the Middle East. The United States will continue to do all we can with 
our friends in Israel and in the Arab nations to preserve what we have 
achieved for peace and to move forward.
    The President and I agreed on the need for continued progress on the 
Palestinian track, as we both had discussed in our recent and quite 
productive meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu. We share a 
determination to help find a path to peace between Israel, Syria, and 
Lebanon.
    We also spoke at length about terrorism, a threat that both our 
nations know all too well. As the host of the unprecedented Summit of 
the Peacemakers at Sharm al-Sheikh, President Mubarak helped show the 
world the deep desire for peace and security that prevails throughout 
the Middle East.
    We know, too, that we have to fight terrorism on three fronts: 
first, through closer cooperation with our friends and allies abroad; 
second, here at home, by giving law enforcement the tools they need, the 
most powerful counterterrorism tools available; and third, in our 
airports and on our airplanes, by increasing security. This will be a 
long, hard struggle. But when we work together against terrorism, 
abroad, at home, and in all the places that link us, we can obtain 
results.
    At last month's G-7 summit in Lyon, I proposed a series of concrete 
measures to intensify our fight against terror and ask our allies to do 
more. Today in Paris, Attorney General Reno and other top officials from 
the G-7 nations and Russia followed through on our call for action. 
These 8 nations announced 25 specific areas of intensified cooperation, 
including working together to better protect mass transportation through 
strict international standards for airport bomb detection, screening, 
and security; cooperation on vehicle and explosive identifications; and 
standardization of passenger and cargo manifests.
    We will adopt laws controlling the manufacture and export of 
explosives and firearms to keep them from falling into terrorists' 
hands. We will work to outlaw personal possession of biological weapons 
and to make all terrorist bombings an international crime. We will 
collaborate in stopping terrorists from using coded computer 
communications to conceal their plans.
    We also pledged to our allies the help that America is uniquely in a 
position to give. The FBI will explore the creation of a forensic 
science database, an international clearinghouse for evidence on 
terrorist crimes. We will share with others our research on explosive 
taggants, the chemical markers that help us track down bombmakers, as 
well as taggant regulations our Nation is now developing.
    I want to do everything we can. And I am determined to do everything 
we can to also give American law enforcement the tools they need to 
fight terrorism. Today, Chief of Staff Panetta is following up on the 
meeting I held yesterday with our congressional leadership to discuss 
how we can immediately strengthen our own antiterrorism laws, including 
the use of taggants, wiretaps, and other means. They had a productive 
session this morning. They will be meeting again this evening.
    Finally, the President and I renewed our efforts--renewed our 
commitment, excuse me--to economic growth in the region and in Israel 
and Egypt in particular in their new partnerships, including one that 
was announced just last week. We reviewed our efforts to the Joint 
Partnership for Economic Growth and Development, led on our side by the 
Vice President. We believe that working together we can help to bring 
more prosperity to the Egyptian people and to ensure that Egypt remains 
a source of regional strength, security, and leadership, something that 
is very important. Later today, President Mubarak and Vice President 
Gore will discuss these issues in more detail as we look forward to the 
Cairo economic summit in November and work to make it a success.
    Mr. President, you were one of the very first world leaders to visit 
me here shortly after I took office. In all the meetings since, we have 
worked to be partners for peace. We are proud to stand with you, and I 
am proud to stand with you as we work together in the future. I thank 
you for your wise counsel, your strong leadership, and your iron 
determination. And we're glad to have you here.
    President Mubarak. President Clinton, once again we meet here in the 
White House in

[[Page 1224]]

an atmosphere of friendship and cordiality. The warmth of our reception 
was matched by the spirit of mutual understanding and good will which 
prevailed during our talks.
    We dealt with a wide range of issues of common interest. Our views 
were similar on many of these issues. We are very pleased with the level 
of cooperation we have reached in the various fields. Our relationship 
has never been more solid and stable. Much of the credit goes to you, 
Mr. President, and your administration.
    At the heart of our discussions was our joint quest for a just and 
comprehensive peace in the Middle East, a region so crucial to countries 
all over the world, particularly the United States. As in the past, we 
were in agreement on the essential requirements for this peace. First 
and foremost, a just and fair peace must be based on a formula which was 
proposed by the cosponsors of the Madrid peace conference of October 
1991 and accepted by all parties. The core of this formula is Security 
Council Resolution 242, 338, and 425, and the principle of land for 
peace and the joint political rights of the Palestinian people.
    These terms of reference constitute the solid foundation of the 
peace process. Hence, all the parties must abide by them. Activities 
which are inconsistent with the requirements and spirit of peace, such 
as settlement activities and the confiscation of lands, should be 
terminated.
    What is needed now is to continue the strict implementation of the 
signed agreement. Negotiations should also be resumed on the various 
tracks without delay. All the Arab leaders meeting in Cairo last month 
have reaffirmed their unequivocal support for the cause of peace. Their 
strategic decision was to uphold and to continue the peace process. This 
didn't happen since 50 years ago.
    We know that the question of Jerusalem is a sensitive and a 
complicated one that does not lend itself to simple solutions. It is 
charged with emotions for all the parties. However, it is not 
impossible, in our view, to work out an imaginative solution that will 
be acceptable to all sides in the course of the negotiations.
    As I told President Clinton, I discussed these and other questions 
at length with Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu. I hope that he 
will move forward during the coming crucial months by taking practical 
steps necessary in order to maintain the momentum for peace. We are all 
quite aware of the risks involved if the peace process is terminated or 
set back. No party would benefit from this prospect. Although we 
differed during our discussions on certain issues, I felt that we could 
continue our dialog in order to promote peace.
    The continuation of an active American role is essential to the 
success of our endeavors. President Clinton has assured me of the 
continuation of that role. He attaches top priority to the achievement 
of a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace. He has also assured me that 
the policy of the United States with respect to both terms of the 
reference of the negotiations and substantive aspect involved remains 
unchanged. The United States firmly supports the principle of land for 
peace. This is central to the coronation of our efforts and the success 
of the strategy.
    In this context, the Middle East economic conference to be held in 
Cairo takes on a special significance. The conference will build on the 
momentum of political and economic transformation taking place in the 
Middle East. The United States shares with us a keen interest in the 
maintenance of security and stability in the Middle East. In our 
opinion, the best means to guarantee this is the establishment of a 
just, lasting peace that meets with the genuine acceptance and approval 
of the peoples concerned.
    As we achieve this goal, our ability to combat violence and the 
terrorism in the region would be greatly reinforced. This would also 
strengthen the world fight against terrorism everywhere. We are together 
in this fight. We sympathize with the suffering of the American people 
as a result of terroristic actions. We extend our heartfelt condolences 
to the aggrieved families of the victims and to all Americans.
    Mr. President, under your vigorous leadership, the United States has 
steadily continued to support our efforts to achieve progress and 
development. We immensely appreciate your help. Your steady backing has 
contributed to the success of our economic reform program. The 
partnership program, in which Vice President Gore plays a major role, is 
certain to cement the bonds between our two nations. Our meeting today 
gave us a good opportunity to deepen our cooperation even further and 
solidify our friendship in all fields.
    Thank you very much.

[[Page 1225]]

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. President Clinton, President Mubarak, a new plan by Israel to 
build new roads into the occupied areas and new bridges seems to signal 
a return to a hard line by Israel. My question very simply to both of 
you is, can there be peace in the Middle East if the new Israeli Prime 
Minister carries out his campaign promises to his own people?
    President Clinton. Well, first of all, I have--like you, I've seen 
the reports of the proposed road building campaign. I don't know whether 
they're new roads, expansions of existing roads, nor do we know for sure 
that the Government of Israel has adopted that policy. We know that--the 
report is that a member of the government has proposed that. So until 
the Government of Israel adopts that as policy, it is--I don't want to 
blame them for something they haven't done yet.
    We are concerned about anything that could affect the peace process 
adversely. And we expect and believe that Israel will adhere to the 
agreements it has already made, including the Oslo accords, the 
agreements that were signed here. And the Prime Minister assured me that 
that was so. So until I have evidence that that is not so, I don't think 
I should go further.
    I'm concerned about the reports I've read, but I don't know 
precisely what the plan is. And my understanding is it has not yet been 
adopted by the government. And the government's commitment is to 
continue the peace process and not to do anything inconsistent with the 
commitments made by the Israeli Government before it. So we'll have to 
see what happens.
    President Mubarak. Only I could tell you, very frankly, I don't know 
exactly where this road is going to be built, but I hope it shouldn't be 
built in the land where the Palestinians are making argument, otherwise 
it's going to complicate the whole process. This is my fear. We would 
like to maintain stability. We don't like to make new things in the 
occupied territory unless it's agreed upon between the two parties so as 
to help the process to move forward.
    Q. President Mubarak, President Clinton, after negotiation, are you 
optimistic about progress of peace process in the Middle East?
    President Mubarak. Me? [Laughter]
    President Clinton. You go first.
    President Mubarak. Anyway, I would like to say that since I met 
Prime Minister Netanyahu and to continue to have contact with President 
Clinton, he assured me that he's going to implement all the agreement, 
all the commitments which had been signed by the State of Israel with 
the Palestinians. And although they have not yet enough time for that, 
but I hope that he could continue implementing this agreement because 
it's very important, at least to give the people a good signal that 
Israel respects and honors its commitment.
    President Clinton. My answer to you, sir, would be that if the 
meetings that President Mubarak and I had with Prime Minister Netanyahu 
are an indication, then I am optimistic because if Israel is able to 
keep the commitments that it has already made I think that will form the 
basis of going forward. And I do believe that they have some idea--they 
have a different approach to going forward, but I think they want to go 
forward. I think that there is a broad understanding in Israel that this 
is a process that can't simply be stopped or reversed. You have to go 
forward with it. And I believe that that's what they will do.
    Yes, Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated Press]?

Antiterrorism Legislation

    Q. Mr. President, you said that today's meeting on antiterrorism 
legislation was productive. Yet Senator Hatch, the chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee, said that the White House was asking for some very 
controversial provisions and that some of them you're not going to get. 
He went on to say that your proposed study on chemical markers in 
explosives was a phony issue. Have things hit a snag behind the scenes? 
Where do they stand?
    President Clinton. Well, it doesn't sound like it's behind the 
scenes to me. [Laughter] Let me say, yesterday in our meeting the 
Republican leadership was quite candid. You know we had the Attorney 
General there, we had the FBI Director there, we had the CIA Director 
there, we had--you saw them all. We had our whole frontline team there. 
And they were--the leadership--the Democrats were willing to put in 
everything that had been in the previous bill. The Republicans were open 
to including a lot of things that were taken out of the previous bill, 
but they said they still had a problem with the taggants in the black 
powder. That's all I know.

[[Page 1226]]

    What I've urged them to do--keep in mind, we're trying to do 
something very quickly here; we're talking about trying to pass a bill 
before the August recess, which is upon us. And they want to go home 
Friday or Saturday. And we're looking for some immediate help. So what I 
urge them to do now--I think everyone knows that we had a difference of 
opinion on the taggants issue. We still do. We believe the FBI's right, 
and we'd like to stick with them on this issue.
    But the most important thing right now is that they get the best, 
strongest bill they can out, that they give us as much help as they can 
that would be of assistance particularly in tracking terrorists that 
move from place to place, that don't have--we at least ought to be able 
to do the same thing with terrorists we can with members of the Mafia.
    And so we've asked for some other things. And if I want them to--I 
presume they may have a floor vote on the taggants issue and people can 
decide one way or the other where they stand. But what I urge them to do 
is to be explicit about their disagreement here but don't let it 
overcome the areas of agreement, because there were far more areas of 
agreement than disagreement yesterday in our private meeting.
    And what we really have got to do now is move as quickly as we can 
on what we can agree on; then there will be another several weeks of 
this congressional session after the August recess where more might be 
done. But we need to keep this country together right now. We need to 
focus on this terrorism issue. The people are together; they're united 
on it. And we need to quickly identify the areas we can agree on, move 
as quickly as possible, have a vote if there's an area of significant 
disagreement, accept the result, and then look forward to the future. 
There will be other opportunities to pass laws.

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. My question is for President Clinton. It was reported yesterday 
that the Israeli Government is considering lifting the ban on the 
settlement activity. So if this happened, what will be the U.S. position 
with regard to this issue? And is this going to change its longstanding 
stand with regard to this issue?
    President Clinton. Well, first of all, we haven't changed our 
positions on any issues as a result of the election in Israel. Our 
positions are just what they were. So we haven't changed. The settlement 
issue under the Oslo accords is a matter for determination between the 
parties as we move to the end of the negotiations. And we have 
encouraged everyone not to do anything which would weaken the chances of 
peace.
    And so, again, we need to know exactly what it is they're thinking 
about doing, because in the previous administrations, Prime Minister 
Rabin and Prime Minister Peres, the existing settlements expanded more 
or less with population growth in the State of Israel. And that was not 
considered to be a serious violation of the understandings that were 
existing at that time.
    Again I say, before I say anything I would need to know exactly what 
it is they intend to do. But my position on these issues is the same 
today as it was the day before the election in Israel. None of our 
positions have changed, and they won't change.
    Yes, go ahead.
    Q. A question actually for President Mubarak.
    President Clinton. I knew it. That's why I called on you. [Laughter]

Terrorism

    Q. Your part of the world has had to deal with the fears and the 
consequences of terrorism much longer than--we now in this country, of 
course, are suddenly facing terrorism, whether homegrown or abroad. What 
advice would you give to the American people, and what advice, perhaps, 
did you give to President Clinton today?
    President Mubarak. President Clinton has very little experience in 
that sense, anyway, but I could tell you very frankly the main problem 
of terrorism started from the Middle East. I don't mean that what 
happened in the United States is coming from the Middle East. But the 
kind of imitation through the revolution in the media these days--
everything is on the television; even how to make a bomb has been 
mentioned on the television--so the people everywhere in the world are 
imitating what's going on the televisions.
    The Middle East problem is vital and very important. If we could 
maintain peace, if we could reach a comprehensive settlement in this 
critical part of the world, which affects Europe and America and 
everywhere, I think we could

[[Page 1227]]

put an end to at least 95 percent of the terroristic actions in the 
world.

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Mr. Clinton, Mr. President, it is taking Israel a really long 
time to honor its commitments on the peace process. If it weren't for 
Egyptian mediation all the time, things could have gone out of hand. Any 
assurances from the United States to guarantee an acceleration of the 
peace process?
    President Clinton. Well, I think that the record of my 
administration is clear. I've worked very hard to hammer out these peace 
agreements and to accelerate the process of peace. I think you have to 
accept the fact that there was an election in Israel; that the question 
of how to pursue peace and maintain security was the central issue in 
the election; that by a narrow margin, but still a clear one, the voters 
voted to change government. Then the new Prime Minister had to 
constitute his own government, had to put together his own cabinet, and 
had to then develop a certain policy. He's just been to see President 
Mubarak, and I think they had a pretty good meeting. I certainly thought 
our meeting was a good one here in the United States.
    And so I know it's frustrating for the public in Israel, for the 
people--I mean, excuse me, for the people in Egypt and for the people, 
indeed, in all Arab States throughout the Middle East, but a sort of a 
hiatus, a slowdown period, was inevitable because of the election. And 
what I have urged everyone to do and, frankly, what President Mubarak 
did with his Arab summit--I thought it was terrific, bringing the people 
together, getting a common position from all the Arab States on the 
peace process and then making that clear and giving a little bit of time 
to the Israeli Government to constitute itself and then to make contacts 
with the other people in the region and decide how to proceed.
    I know it's frustrating, but we just have to have--let a little of 
that time elapse. When you change governments like that, you can't 
expect people just to go on as if nothing has happened. A little of this 
was inevitable. So I would ask the people of Egypt to be just a little 
patient here and give us a chance to put this back on track.

Terrorism

    Q. Mr. President, how can you effectively fight international 
terrorism when it seems that the U.S. and the allies cannot agree on how 
to isolate those nations that are considered responsible for state-
sponsored terrorism?
    And if I could, to President Mubarak, understanding your delicate 
position as a recognized leader of the Arab world, is it possible for 
you, sir, to condemn and isolate those countries that are identified as 
being responsible for state-sponsored terrorism?
    President Clinton. Let me answer first. First of all, there are some 
differences between ourselves and our allies in the G-7, for example, 
and other places about the extent to which we should impose economic 
sanctions to isolate countries we know are supporting terrorism. I'll 
come back to that.
    But let's look at what we do agree on. We have agreed today in Paris 
on a sweeping set of common measures to prevent terrorist activity from 
occurring in the first place and to catch terrorists when they do 
successfully carry out their schemes.
    Now, this is the most important thing you can do. In the United 
States, since I have been here, we have dramatically intensified our 
efforts. We have succeeded in thwarting schemes designed to bomb the 
United Nations, bomb the Lincoln Tunnel, go after airplanes leaving from 
the west coast, the Arizona operation which was uncovered just a few 
weeks ago. And then, of course, we had the World Trade Center tragedy, 
but there were people arrested and tried and convicted. And we have a 
trial going on involving Oklahoma City now.
    So there are things that can be done here. Just because we have a 
disagreement in some areas doesn't mean we don't have wide areas of 
agreement. I believe sooner or later other countries will come to our 
understanding that you simply cannot continue to do ordinary business 
with people who believe that they have a right to practice commerce with 
you in the daytime and fund terrorists to kill your innocent civilians 
at night. I believe in the end that these countries will come around to 
our position. But in the meanwhile, I think we ought to cooperate with 
them where we can, because no civilized nation of any culture or 
religion or region wishes to see its people exposed to terrorism.

[[Page 1228]]

    President Mubarak. I could tell you very frankly we are the first 
country who have declared several times since 1986, warning the whole 
world that terrorism is going to spread out all over the world. And 
starting from the nineties I have been stressing on that in every speech 
delivered in my country. But so many countries in the world said, oh, 
Egypt's just saying this because they had some incidents. We had at that 
time very few incidents. And these incidents are coming from abroad. 
Nowadays, with the existing situation of terrorism, we condemn the 
terrorism wherever it is, if in a neighboring country or an Arab country 
or a Muslim country, we are against it.
    But I have another thinking concerning terrorism. We would like to 
form a committee--and I think the President is doing such a thing like 
that--to find out how could we punish not the whole people of a country 
but to punish the group who's responsible for terrorism in any country 
in the world. Because if we are going to punish the whole country in any 
place because of terrorism, the people will get upset, get furious. So 
we'd like to select--see who is responsible about that. This is a new 
formula; I'm thinking about it because just punishing the whole people 
creates terrible problems.

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. President Mubarak, Jerusalem is an important issue in the peace 
process, and without discussing it in the upcoming talks between Israel 
and the Palestinians, peace will not prevail in the Middle East. What is 
your opinion, Mr. President, of a solution for Jerusalem, knowing that 
the Palestinians want their God-given share in the holy city of 
Jerusalem without dividing it but creating a Palestinian autonomous 
section of greater Jerusalem?
    And Mr. President Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu----
    President Mubarak. Was the first question for me?
    Q. Yes, one for you, and if you both want to answer it, it will be 
very nice.
    Mr. Netanyahu announced that he is setting the teams to discuss the 
peace process with the Palestinians, which is a good omen this morning. 
What are your both guidelines to Mr. Netanyahu in light of the fact that 
the peace was put on hold? And when do you think that the funds will 
arrive to the Palestinian Authority to supplement the losses that reach 
about $6 million a day for the Palestinians who have been under siege 
for over 4 months now? Thank you.
    President Mubarak. Look, I have already, in my word, mentioned 
Jerusalem and the problem of Jerusalem. I remember since the Camp David 
accord, since late President Sadat started his initiative for peace, the 
man who opened the gate for peace--he was speaking about Jerusalem, and 
he was trying to find out a formula to be convenient to both sides. And 
I think nowadays, the Israelis say our capital is not divided. I heard 
the representative from the Palestinian Authority saying, we are not 
asking for dividing Israel, we are not going to put a fence dividing 
Jerusalem, we are not intending to put up a fence. Then I think in the 
process, they could, in negotiations, find a formula which would be 
convenient to both sides, to the Israelis and the Palestinians. I cannot 
foretell what's the formula. We will leave it to both sides. We could 
help whenever it is needed.
    President Clinton. I can say that what I have urged to be done is 
what is being done. I have urged the Prime Minister to do whatever he 
can to accelerate the pace of the negotiations. I hope the talks will 
start again between Syria and Israel. I hope there will be a resolution 
of the issue between Syria and Lebanon and Israel. I feel very strongly 
about it.
    So you ask what instructions or advice I have given. I have urged 
them to start these talks again and then to find one or two or three 
things that can show concrete evidence of progress. The Palestinians 
need to be able to work again. We need to be able to see economic 
opportunity flowing back into Gaza and the West Bank. People need to be 
able to make a living.
    If we can find a way to secure the areas from terrorism and Israel 
from terrorism and keep the borders open, then we will be able to 
attract more investment into Gaza and into the West Bank. We will be 
able to--you know, we had 600--600--Arab- and Jewish-American business 
people here when we signed the first Israel-PLO accord, 600, people that 
really want to invest there, that want to give an opportunity to people. 
But we have to find a way to keep the borders open and to maintain 
security. So I'm encouraged by these talks, and I hope that they'll have 
some concrete results. I think it's likely that they will.

[[Page 1229]]

Arab Summit and U.S. Aid to Egypt

    Q. Mr. President, you mentioned the Arab summit in Cairo. At that 
summit was Muammar Qadhafi of Libya, Colonel Qadhafi. Did you express 
your concern to President Mubarak about Colonel Qadhafi's attendance at 
the summit in which he apparently flew in in violation of U.N. 
sanctions? And are you concerned about Egypt's support for Libya?
    And for President Mubarak I have an unrelated question. Are you 
worried in these days of budget cutting, in terms of U.S. foreign aid, 
about the $2 billion of U.S. aid to Egypt annually? And are you also 
considering, as Prime Minister Netanyahu mentioned when he was here, the 
idea of eventually weaning Egypt from some of that aid?
    President Clinton. The specific answer to your question is, we did 
not discuss it today because my position had previously been made clear. 
We can't have any accommodation with Mr. Qadhafi until we have the 
people that we believe blew up Pan Am 103 and they stand trial. So 
that's the position of the United States. And yes, I did make it clear.
    You asked President Mubarak a related question; I'll let him answer 
that.
    President Mubarak. Your question concerning aid--I didn't discuss 
this issue at all. I know very well that the aid is not going to stay 
forever. We are arranging ourselves; at any time it may be reduced. So 
there is no worry about that. There is good cooperation with the United 
States, so we don't worry about that. If Mr. Netanyahu wants to reduce 
it, we are not against that. [Laughter]

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. The question is for President Clinton. Mr. President, the U.S. 
has declared its firm stand regarding the peace process. But in the 
months ahead, will the U.S. administration be willing to influence 
Israel to take more tangible steps towards the peace process?
    President Clinton. We'll do whatever we can to be a positive 
influence on them. But you have--let me say that it's very important 
that we do the best we can to exercise influence, that is, to affect the 
outcome of events. And sometimes what may seem most satisfying in a 
public statement is not what is most likely to affect the outcome of 
events.
    I believe that one of the reasons that we made as much progress as 
we did in the last 3 years is that the United States was able to make 
Israel feel secure in taking risks for peace. And I believe one of the 
reasons there's been a slowdown in it is because there was a limit to 
how much security we could provide and the voters had a reaction to the 
violence that they experienced.
    So what I will continue to do is to do everything I can to push them 
to take risks for peace and to minimize those risks for peace. But I 
want to do it in a way that recognizes what I think is the fundamental 
truth, which is that in the end, the United States and Egypt won't make 
this agreement; these agreements will have to be made between Israel, 
the Palestinian Authority, Syria, and Lebanon. And the Jordanian 
agreement, of course, is in good shape and I think will be maintained.
    So we all have to remember this fundamental reality. Yes, I will do 
what I can. But I believe the greatest influence the United States has 
had in this peace process is to be able to bring the concerns of the 
Arab States to Israel in a forthright way, to be able to bring--the 
Secretary of State has virtually worn himself out going the other way as 
well, bringing the Israeli position to the Arab parties and then to make 
the people feel secure that we would stand behind the integrity of the 
peace process and try to protect people who take those risks. I still 
believe that is the best strategy, and that's what we will continue to 
do.

Note: The President's 128th news conference began at 1:40 p.m. in the 
East Room at the White House.