[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[March 7, 2002]
[Pages 359-363]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks on the Situation in the Middle East and an Exchange With
Reporters
March 7, 2002
The President. Good afternoon. I'm deeply concerned about the tragic
loss of life and escalating violence in the Middle East. This is a
matter of great interest to the United States and all who want peace in
the region and in the world.
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There is a roadmap to peace. The Tenet security work plan will bring
parties together to reduce the violence, improve the security situation,
and return to the path of peace. The Tenet work plan is the first step
towards implementing the Mitchell Committee report in full and resuming
a political process between the sides.
I'm committed to working with our partners in the region and around
the world in the pursuit of this goal. The United States has a vision of
a Middle East in which all people, Arabs and Israelis, can live as
neighbors in full peace and security.
Recent ideas put forth by the Crown Prince Abdullah--Saudi Arabia have created an opening for discussing
this broader peace and for the normalization of relations between Arab
states and Israel. The United States is committed to exploring this
opening.
Because of our commitment to peace, I'm sending General Tony
Zinni back to the region next week to work
with Israel and the Palestinians to begin implementing the Tenet work
plan so that the parties can renew their efforts for a broader peace.
The United States will do all it can to help the Government of Israel
and the Palestinian Authority restore hope to their people and to the
region.
I once again call upon Chairman Arafat to
make maximum effort to end terrorism against Israel, which undermines
the prospects for peace. And as we move forward, I'm counting on all
parties in the region, Prime Minister Sharon
included, to do everything they can to make these efforts a success.
The violence and tragic loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives must
end. Families on both sides of the conflict share this goal, and so does
my country. Peace and stability will be an important topic of the Vice
President's upcoming trip to the region. I've
asked him to join me today.
Mr. Vice President.
[At this point, Vice President Cheney and
Secretary of State Powell made brief
remarks.]
The President. I'll answer a few questions. Morris [Dave Morris,
Bloomberg News].
Administration Initiatives in the Middle East
Q. Mr. President, you said all along that the two sides need to
break the cycle of violence. There's been a lot of false hopes. The
violence continues even today. What assurances do you have, if any, that
the two sides are now willing to take that step and break the cycle?
The President. Well, we've had a lot of consultations over the last
week and week-and-a-half. We've been on the phone a lot. And we believe
now's the time for General Zinni to move back
into the region. There are no assurances. That is not going to prevent
our Government from trying, trying to get the parties to agree to Tenet,
trying to reduce the cycle of violence.
Obviously, there's a reason why, and that is because, as a result of
consultations, we believe there's a possibility that we can have an
impact. And so the combination of General Zinni's trip and the Vice President's
trip may have a positive impact. We'll see.
Yes, John [John Roberts, CBS News]. Then Terry [Terry Moran, ABC
News].
Q. Mr. President, your Secretary of State had some rather stern
words for Israel yesterday. Do you believe that Ariel Sharon, engaging
in his current policies, has become an obstacle to peace?
The President. Well, I read the Secretary's comments, and it sounded like he had pretty tough words for all
parties. He's concerned about the level of violence, like I am. He made
it clear that Chairman Arafat needs to do a
better job of reducing violence, of using his leadership role to reduce
violence. He's also deeply concerned,
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as am I, about the retaliation, the escalation. It's hard to achieve
peace when violence is escalating. And one of the reasons why we're
sending Zinni back, and one of the reasons why
I hope the Vice President's trip will have a
positive effect is because our message is to both sides, reduce
violence.
As I mentioned in my remarks, Chairman Arafat must do everything he can to reduce the violence, to
stop the spread of violence. We don't believe he's doing enough. And so
I thought that the Secretary's comments were
wisely balanced.
Q. Mr. President, do you believe that the continuing and escalating
violence is an indication of failure on the part of your administration
in the approach you've taken of refraining to send General Zinni, of not
yourself talking to Chairman Arafat?
The President. Oh, I think what the escalating violence shows is
that there are people who believe in terror as a way of life, people who
refuse to allow a peace process to go forward, people who don't want
peace in the region. And our Government is committed to saying to those
folks, ``We will do everything in our power to stop you from preventing
a peace process from going forward.''
It is--and the first step toward any political solution has got to
be the Tenet plan. George Tenet, obviously,
works for the United States Government; he's the person that laid out
the plan. There is a roadmap for a peaceful solution. It's going to take
a lot of effort by a lot of people, and we're willing to put in the
effort and believe that General Zinni's trip
can make a difference.
Yes, Ron [Ron Fournier, Associated Press].
Q. Mr. President, why are you personally only talking to one side in
this conflict? Why don't you reach out to Chairman Arafat?
The President. Oh, I believe the administration speaks with one
voice, and we've got ample amplification to both parties. And our
strategy is a well-thought-out strategy. It's one that reminds both
parties there's an obligation to seek peace.
I fully understand the Israelis' perspective that they want to
defend themselves. That's why I've constantly called on Mr.
Arafat to do a better job of reining in those
who would wreak havoc on Israel. I also agree with the Secretary of
State that it is going to be very hard to
achieve a peaceful settlement if there is a tendency to want to
constantly find a reason to escalate. And we hope that the Zinni mission will help get to Tenet, and that's where our
focus is. Our focus is to get the parties into a process that the world
agrees is a good process.
Saudi Peace Initiative
Q. Mr. President, how is the Saudi plan an opening if it's based on
things that the Israelis have long rejected?
The President. Well, first of all, they cannot reject the notion of
Crown Prince Abdullah that says, ``We
recognize Israel's right to exist.'' I think that's an important
opening, and I think that's an important statement by Crown Prince
Abdullah.
Secondly, it's a position that I took as well at the United Nations,
when I said that there ought to be a Palestinian state--the borders of
which, by the way, ought to be negotiated between the two parties--but
both states recognize each other's right to exist.
And it's an opening. The Crown Prince's decision to make that statement provides an opening.
And that's another reason why the Zinni
mission is going forward.
Jim [Jim Angle, FOX News].
Administration Initiatives in the Middle East
Q. Mr. President, you've consistently called on Mr. Arafat to make,
as you said today, a maximum effort. What seems to be new this week is
the administration's skepticism about Mr. Sharon. Are you worried, sir,
that retaliation seems to be the only policy that he has in mind?
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The President. First of all, I fully understand a nation's wanting
to defend herself, and I appreciate that. After all, we're in defense of
ourself right now. And I can understand the strong desire to enhance
security for a people, and I believe that.
I believe what we're saying, though, is that there's got to be a
vision for peace. There's got to be more than security, that there's got
to be an attempt to achieve a lasting peace. And I hope that my friend
the Prime Minister Sharon agrees with that
assessment. I think he does. I think he recognizes that you can't
achieve peace by allowing violence to escalate or causing violence to
escalate.
So on the one hand, I fully understand his
need to protect the people of Israel, and on the other hand, we look
forward to working with him to get into the Tenet plan. He thought the
Tenet plan was a good plan. He agreed that the Mitchell plan is the
proper course of action. And now we've got to work hard to get into it.
Kelly [Kelly Wallace, Cable News Network].
Corporate Management Reform
Q. Mr. President, can I ask you about the corporate responsibility
measures you put forward?
The President. Yes.
Q. Some Democrats are saying that they kind of fall far short of
what's needed, and they say your own Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neill,
was pushing for stronger measures, lowering the bar for punishment for
corporate leaders.
The President. I think what they ought to do is look at my
proposals, take a good, hard look at them. They were very sound, solid
proposals. It's the first formal package laid out for the American
people to analyze about how to reform corporate governance.
I think it's also very important to make sure that, as we reform
corporate governance, we don't encourage frivolous lawsuits. I think
it's very difficult to have a vibrant society in the free enterprise
sector that is riddled with massive lawsuits all the time. And so I want
to have a balanced plan, and I put one out. I'm proud of it. And it
would make a lot of sense, and I hope Congress acts on it.
Patsy [Patricia Wilson, Reuters].
National Economy
Q. Mr. President, is the recession over now? And looking back, do
you think we actually ever really had one?
The President. Well, that's a trick question, Patsy, and I
appreciate you throwing that out there. [Laughter] See, I actually read
clips from other parts of the world before I came out here today. So,
nice try.
There's no question our economy was hurt by the attacks on 9/11.
We'll let the statisticians define what happened or what didn't happen.
But our economy went through a massive slowdown. And people's lives were
badly affected, and a lot of people were laid off.
And that's why the House did the right thing today, and the Senate
now needs to act. The House passed a very good bill. It's a bill that
not only takes care of unemployed workers; it is a bill that has got
some economic stimulus as a major part of it. And now the Senate needs
to do something. The Senate needs to act and get the bill to my desk,
and I look forward to signing it.
But we've had too much--too much non-movement on this important
issue. And it's time to go. It's time to get a bill, and it's time for
me to end the press conference. [Laughter]
Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 4:15 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi
Arabia; U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Gen. Anthony Zinni, USMC
(Ret.); Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority; and Prime
Minister
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Ariel Sharon of Israel. The President also referred to the Tenet plan,
the Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire and security plan of June 13, 2001,
negotiated by Director George J. Tenet of the Central Intelligence
Agency; and the Mitchell report, the Report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-
Finding Committee, issued April 30, 2001. The transcript released by the
Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of Vice
President Cheney and Secretary of State Powell.