[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[October 18, 1996]
[Pages 1864-1866]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri of 
Lebanon and an Exchange With Reporters
October 18, 1996

    The President. Let me say first that I'm delighted to have the Prime 
Minister here today. The United States is strongly committed to the 
independence, the sovereignty, the territorial integrity of Lebanon. We 
look forward to supporting a comprehensive and lasting peace in the 
Middle East that preserves that integrity, and a Lebanon that is free of 
foreign forces. We're also committed to supporting the reconstruction 
efforts that are so important in Lebanon after the difficulties of the 
last year. And I look forward to this conversation.
    I should also say in front of the American press that the United 
States is very blessed by the contributions of large numbers of 
Lebanese-Americans, including members of our administration: Donna 
Shalala, the Secretary of Health and Human Services; former Senator 
George Mitchell, who is now back in Northern Ireland or on his way back; 
and General George Joulwan, who is the commander of our forces in 
Europe. So we have a lot of ties with Lebanon, and we're looking forward 
to this meeting.

Campaign Financing

    Q. Mr. President, speaking of contributions, what is your reaction 
today to Senator Dole's charge that when it comes to some of these 
foreign political cash contributions made to the DNC, that you 
personally haven't learned the lesson of that national nightmare called 
Watergate?
    The President. Well, let me say two things. One--first is, Mr. 
Panetta and I have asked the DNC to review all the contributions, as we 
should have, as we've said, to make sure they were appropriate. And 
we'll have other opportunities to discuss this. This is not the 
appropriate forum for that.

U.S. Military Aid to Lebanon

    Q. Mr. President, the Lebanese Government has asked the United 
States for various pieces of military equipment, including tanks--excuse 
me--helicopters or personnel carriers' aircraft. Do you view their 
request sympathetically, and if so, what would you expect to give them?
    The President. Well, the Prime Minister and I haven't had our 
meeting yet, and the Secretary of State and he have discussed this. 
We'll review these things and see what is appropriate and make the 
appropriate decision. But we have been and continue to be very 
supportive of Lebanon and of the work that the Prime Minister is doing 
to strengthen his country and to give it a brighter future.

[[Page 1865]]

    Q. Do they need more hardware to guarantee their territorial 
integrity?
    The President. I don't have any other comment at this time.

1996 Election

    Q. Are you going to let Senator Dole take California?
    The President. The people of California will determine that.
    Q. What was going to be your first answer? [Laughter]
    The President. It belongs to them.

[At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group 
entered.]

Meeting With Prime Minister Hariri

    The President. First of all, let me say that it is a great honor to 
welcome the Prime Minister back to the United States and especially to 
have him here at the White House. The United States strongly supports 
the independence, the sovereignty, the territorial integrity of Lebanon. 
And we look forward to working with the Prime Minister to build a future 
in the Middle East with a comprehensive, lasting peace and Lebanon free 
of foreign forces. We also want to be supportive of the reconstruction 
efforts in Lebanon, and I'm looking forward to having a discussion with 
the Prime Minister about that.
    The other thing I feel I should say to the people of Lebanon is how 
deeply indebted the United States is for the contributions of Lebanese-
Americans. My administration is especially indebted because of the 
presence of Donna Shalala in our Cabinet as Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, and former Senator George Mitchell, who is our envoy to 
the peace talks in Northern Ireland and who is leading them now, and 
General George Joulwan, who is the commander of all of our forces in 
Europe. So we have a lot of ties with Lebanon. We want to be as 
supportive of this Prime Minister in his vision for Lebanon's future, 
and I look forward to our discussions.
    Mr. Prime Minister, do you want to say anything?
    Prime Minister Hariri. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I am 
really honored and pleased to be here and to meet with President Clinton 
and Mr. Christopher. And I'm confident that President Clinton will help 
Lebanon in the next future to--and assist them to regain its 
independence and also will help them in the reconstruction effort.

U.S. Sanctions on Lebanon

    Q. Mr. President, can we expect any change in the----
    Q. [Inaudible]--is there any way--[inaudible]----
    Q. ----status of the travel ban on Lebanon anytime soon?
    The President. Well, we're going to--I'm going to discuss that with 
the Prime Minister. As you know, we do have numerous people from this 
country coming to Lebanon, and our concerns relate to the security. And 
we may be able to work together on that, and we're going to discuss 
that.
    Q. Mr. President, is there any way you can separate between those 
restrictions imposed on Lebanon--the safety of Americans who wish to 
travel to Lebanon and those who are cut out, hurting the Lebanese 
economy and the efforts of the families to rebuild the country?
    The President. We're going to talk about that. We want to be 
supportive of the Prime Minister's efforts. And we believe that there is 
a special need for people who support freedom and independence in the 
future of Lebanon all over the world to help in the reconstruction 
efforts.
    Q. Elections are next month----

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Mr. President, what can be done to make sure that there is no 
repetition of aggression on the Lebanese villages now that the 
humanitarian group found that Israel was really the aggressor?
    The President. Well, I think the first and most important thing is 
to make sure that Lebanon is a genuine partner in the ongoing process of 
peace discussions in the Middle East and to get the reconstruction 
efforts going. If we do it in the right way, I think there will not be a 
repetition.
    Q. Mr. President----
    The President. One more, one more.
    Q. Yes, Mr. President, about the Syria-Israeli negotiations and the 
Palestinian negotiations, they have been stalled for a long time. What 
is the United States prepared to do to move these negotiations ahead? 
And--we can do that with the Israeli position on the commitments that 
they already made to the Palestinians?

[[Page 1866]]

    The President. Well, let me say, I think that, as a practical 
matter, the whole peace process needs to show some movement again before 
you can expect much to happen on the Lebanese front. There have been 
discussions; the Secretary of State has been to the region many, many 
times, and the United States is always concerned about the position of 
Lebanon. And let me say, I'm somewhat encouraged by the progress of the 
recent talks, the current ongoing talks with the Palestinians and the 
Israelis. If we can get the whole thing moving again, that's the best 
thing for Lebanon. We're working on it.

Note: The President spoke at 3:40 p.m. in the Residence at the White 
House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these 
remarks.