    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [February 7, 2002]
    [Pages 190-193]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and an Exchange With Reporters
    February 7, 2002

        President Bush. I'm going to make a statement; the Prime Minister
    will make a statement. We both have agreed we'll answer two questions
    from both sides. I'll call on somebody; the Prime Minister's press aide
    will call on somebody; and that's the way we're going to do it.
        So it's my honor to welcome a good friend, the Prime Minister of
    Israel, back to the Oval Office. Mr. Prime Minister, I'm so glad you're
    here. Welcome back.
        We just had an extensive discussion, first about our mutual desire
    to rid the world of terror. I assured him that our Nation is just
    beginning in a great objective, which is to eliminate those terrorist
    organizations of global reach. And by doing so, I firmly believe that
    the world will be a more peaceful place. My most important objective is
    to protect our homeland. The best way to do so is to rout terrorist
    organizations where they try to hide and bring them to justice.
        Secondly, I assured the Prime Minister that we will continue to keep
    pressure on Mr. Arafat to convince him that he
    must take serious, concrete, real steps to reduce terrorist activity in
    the Middle East.
        We had an interesting discussion about how we can help the
    Palestinian--those who aren't involved with terror. I'm deeply concerned
    about the plight of the average Palestinian, the moms and dads who are
    trying to raise their children, to educate their children. My Government
    is--I've got $300 million in the budget to go through NGOs to help
    Palestinians be able to realize a better life.
        And finally, we had a good discussion about how best to work
    together to get the Mitchell process started, to get into Tenet and then
    in Mitchell. In other words, that we had wide-ranging discussions not
    only about international terror but security, about economic development
    for the Palestinians, as well as for the desire to achieve--to get into
    Mitchell so that there can be some long-lasting peace in the region.
        And so, Mr. Prime Minister, I appreciate the candid discussion. I
    appreciate your friendship, and I want to welcome you back.
        Prime Minister Sharon. Thank you, Mr. President. I was very glad to
    be again at the White House. We had discussions about strategic issues
    in the region. We

    [[Page 191]]

    talked about the need to fight terror and not to get into compromise
    with terror--one cannot get into compromise with terror. At the same
    time, we discussed steps that should be taken in order to improve the
    life conditions of those Palestinians that are not involved in terror.
    That's my intention. It was always my intention. And of course, we'll
    try and see what can be done.
        And altogether, I think that we can look forward with optimism,
    though it's not going to be a short struggle against terror. It's a long
    struggle. But I'm sure that we will win, as I have a real admiration,
    Mr. President, for the steps that you have been taking against terror in
    order to defend our values.
        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. Hold on a second. And I'm going to do the calling on
    who gets the question. He's not through yet.
        Are you through?
        Prime Minister Sharon. Is there any questions?
        President Bush. Yes, there's going to be. [Laughter]
        Barry Schweid [Associated Press]. [Laughter] I'm the control guy.
    [Laughter]
        Q. I'm new at this.
        President Bush. Welcome. [Laughter] You don't look that new to me,
    Barry. But anyway, please.
        Q. I did your dad.
        President Bush. That's right.

    Situation in the Middle East

        Q. At this point, sir, is there a point for the U.S. to talk to Mr.
    Arafat? Is there a point for Israel to talk to Arafat?
        President Bush. Well, Mr. Arafat has heard
    from us. I can't be any more clear in my position, and that is that he
    must do everything in his power to fight terror.
        Obviously, we were at first surprised and then extremely
    disappointed when the Karine A showed up loaded with weapons, weapons
    that could have only been intended for one thing, which was to
    terrorize. And I made our Government's position about as clear as I
    could. I couldn't say it any more plainly, and I haven't changed my
    position.
        And as to what the Prime Minister's position is, he can answer that.
        Prime Minister Sharon. I personally, myself, and my Government
    regard Arafat as an obstacle to peace. Arafat has chosen a strategy of
    terror and formed a coalition of terror. Therefore, we believe that
    pressure should be put on Arafat in order, maybe, I hope, to have an
    authoritative leadership in the future.
        Q. Mr. President, the Israeli Defense Minister said today that Ms.
    Condoleezza Rice and also your Vice President Cheney said that they
    don't trust Arafat, they don't believe any words coming out of his
    mouth, and there's no point keeping talking to him. Do you think, as
    those officials, that there is a point to keep talking to him, to be in
    contact with him? Or do you think it is time to change the phase in the
    pressure on Arafat?
        President Bush. Mr. Arafat has heard my
    message. I can't be any more clear about it, that he must do everything
    in his power to reduce terrorist attacks on Israel. And that--at one
    point in time he was indicating to us that he was going to do so, and
    then all of a sudden a ship loaded with explosives show up that most of
    the world believes he was involved with.
        And I think it's very important that people realize that this great
    Nation wants us to get into Mitchell as quickly as possible, but we
    fully understand that it's difficult to have peace during terrorist
    times and that our campaign against global terror should help the
    region.
        And I am absolutely committed to fighting terror wherever terror
    exists. And I would hope other leaders do so. And Mr. Arafat has a chance to do so, and my hope is, is that he
    responds in a positive way.
        At the same time, I am deeply concerned about the plight of the
    average Palestinian. I worry about stories and pictures I see of people
    going hungry and children not

    [[Page 192]]

    being educated and deep concerns etched on the faces of moms and dads
    who happen to be Palestinian. And my Government--we've discussed this
    openly with the Prime Minister, and as I said, we budgeted money to go
    through nongovernmental organizations to help. And I think the world
    understands that there's a lot of folks over there who suffer because of
    the terrorist activities of a few.

    Vice President's Upcoming Visit to the Middle East

        Q. Mr. President, did Iran and Iraq figure in your conversations
    today with the Prime Minister? And why are you sending Vice President
    Cheney to the region next month, and particularly the four countries
    that directly border on Iraq?
        President Bush. I'm sending the Vice President because, one, he is a key player in our administration,
    and I want to get feedback from the world, from the world leaders. I
    want them to see firsthand, as well, our strong intent to fight terror.
        There's nothing like looking somebody in the eye and letting them
    know that when we say we're going to fight terror, we mean it. And
    there's nothing like people getting a sense of the determination of this
    Government. There's a lot of folks who might have predicted that over
    time we would grow weary, and we'd get tired, and we'd kind of get faint
    of heart. The Vice President can deliver the
    message to many important world leaders that our Government is
    absolutely committed to fighting terror, and we expect people to join us
    in doing so.
        As I said, either you're with or you're against us. And we fully
    understand that in order to be effective in our fight against terror,
    that we need others to join us. And so the Vice President, I think, is going to be very effective at convincing--at
    convincing our friends we mean business. And we would hope that they
    would do everything in their power to shut off money, to deny haven, and
    to join this grand coalition dedicated to one thing, freedom and peace.
        As to whether or not we discussed other countries in the region: You
    bet. We discussed a lot of countries in the region, and we've had a very
    frank and open discussion.

    Palestinian State

        Q. President Bush, the Government of Israel decided not to let
    Chairman Arafat move--[inaudible]. Do you think this decision serves the
    goal of stability in the Middle East?
        And one question for you, Prime Minister Sharon. You said a couple
    of months ago that you want to give the Palestinians a Palestinian
    state, for the first time. Do you still support the same----
        President Bush. Do you want to go first?
        Prime Minister Sharon. Yes. I believe that the end of the process
    first should be the perfect right to be a full cessation of terror and
    violence and incitement. And then several steps will be taken by the
    Palestinians, like arresting--serious arrest of the terrorists,
    dismantling terrorist organizations and their infrastructure, collecting
    their weapons that should be handed to American representatives and
    destroyed out of the area. Once they would take serious preventive steps
    and stop completely incitement, then we'll start negotiations.
        I believe that one day we'll be reaching a peace. Israel is
    committed to peace. And at the end of the process, I believe that the
    Palestinian state, of course, will be--we'll see a Palestinian state,
    but only at the end. And the final steps that should be taken in order
    to start negotiations--they cannot be done under terror. We are--my role
    and my Government's role is to defend our citizens against acts of
    terror.
        President Bush. We, too, of course, support a Palestinian state, one
    that's been negotiated by the parties, one that recognizes that Israel
    has got a right to exist. And Israel will be supportive of their right
    to self-govern. I think that's an ultimate aim

    [[Page 193]]

    that we all have got to work hard to get to. The problem is, there are
    some that don't want to get there and, therefore, terrorize.
        My position on Mr. Arafat is clear as of
    today. I can't be any more clear about what I think he ought to do. And
    I'm confident if he were to make these strong steps toward reducing
    terror, it would help the world--it would help tell the world that he is
    fully dedicated toward achieving the objectives that we both described.
        And it's going to be hard to have a peace process if--so long as
    there's terrorist activity. But we believe strongly that Chairman Arafat
    needs to put a 100-percent effort to achieve a peaceful--some peace, so
    that we can then get to a political process. And that's very important
    for us.
        Listen, thank you all for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 6:25 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Chairman Yasser Arafat of the
    Palestinian Authority. The President also referred to the Mitchell
    report, the Report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, issued
    April 30, 2001, and the Tenet plan, the Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire
    and security plan of June 13, 2001, negotiated by Director of Central
    Intelligence George J. Tenet. A reporter referred to Minister of Defense
    Binyamin Ben Eliezer of Israel. A portion of these remarks could not be
    verified because the tape was incomplete.