[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[May 8, 2002]
[Pages 747-749]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



 Remarks Prior to Discussions With King Abdullah II of Jordan and an Exchange With Reporters
 May 8, 2002

     President Bush. It's an honor for me to welcome back His Majesty 
the King of Jordan. I always enjoy a visit with His Majesty. He's a man 
who cares deeply about the people of the region, a person who always 
emphasizes the humanitarian aspects of the people of his country. And he 
cares deeply about peace.
     It's a series of ongoing discussions I'm having with leaders from 
the Middle East as to how we can seize the moment, to bring peace to the 
region. Your Majesty,

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welcome back to the Oval Office. I'm thrilled to have you here.
     King Abdullah. Thank you, Mr. President. Always a delight to see 
you again and to be here at this difficult time. And I hope that with 
our discussions today, we can somehow try and articulate a way to bring 
Palestinians and Israelis to peace and security. And I look forward to 
fruitful discussions with you this evening.
     President Bush. Thank you. We--the Majesty has agreed to take a 
couple of questions, as have I. We'll start with Terry [Terry Moran, ABC 
News].

 Situation in the Middle East

     Q.  Mr. President, you said, ``Seize the moment.'' In many ways, 
this is a difficult moment. At this juncture, as you're trying to put in 
place a structure for progress towards peace, do you believe that Prime 
Minister Sharon should act with restraint in responding to yesterday's 
suicide bombing?
     President Bush. Well, first I want to remind everybody, it seems 
like every week is a difficult week in the Middle East. And it's been 
difficult months in the Middle East, and it's been difficult years in 
the Middle East. There's been a lot of--there's been a lot of hard 
feelings and hatreds. And our jobs are to convince people, first and 
foremost, that they've got to believe in peace.
    And Israel is a nation that--it's a sovereign nation. But whatever 
response Israel decides to take, my hope, of course, is that the Prime 
Minister keeps his vision of peace in mind. 
We've got to want peace in order to achieve peace, and that's what the 
United States is working toward.
     Q.  Your Majesty, what is the Jordanian vision that you're going to 
present to the U.S. administration regarding the U.S. proposed peace 
conference?
     King Abdullah. Well, we're actually here at the moment to see if we 
can identify some logical steps over the next few weeks to articulate a 
vision that brings the Israelis and the Palestinians out of the impasse 
that we're facing at the moment. And we'll discuss the views this 
evening and maybe see if we can find a roadmap to have America's support 
to bring Israelis and Palestinians the peace that they deserve.
     President Bush. Jim [Jim Gerstenzang, Los Angeles Times].

 Reform of the Palestinian Authority

     Q.  Mr. President, do you see any role at all for Arafat in any 
kind of peace conference at this point, or does that have to wait until 
there's been a reform in the Palestinian Authority?
     President Bush. Well, first of all, I was pleased to read the 
transcripts of his call against terror in 
Arabic. I didn't read the transcripts in Arabic; I read the English 
translation. But I was most pleased that he did that. I thought that was 
a incredibly positive sign.
     As you know, I've been one who--he has 
disappointed in the past, and therefore, I hope that his actions now 
match his words. It's very important for us, and I'm going to explain 
this to His Majesty why I think us--all of us involved must work hard to 
put a--the infrastructure in place or the structures in place for a 
Palestinian Authority that respects rule of law, that has its own 
constitution, that is able to fight corruption, that is able to spend 
money properly when it gets it from foreign sources, so that there is 
hope, there is hope for the Palestinian people.
     One of the things I'm deeply concerned about, and I know His 
Majesty is as well, is that there is a lot of people--Palestinians who 
don't believe there is any hope; there's no future. And we've got to 
make sure they have a better future by putting an economic plan in 
place. But that can't happen unless there is a Palestinian Authority 
that's backed by a true government; I mean a true sense of the ability 
to run itself. And that, in turn, will help Israel be more comfortable 
with her neighbor.

[[Page 749]]

     And so we're going to talk about the way forward. And the way 
forward is to--and step one is to make sure there's a unified 
Palestinian security force, a force that is responsible, a force that 
reports to a certain authority figure, a force that we can hold 
accountable, a force that's not fractured and fights each other. And to 
that end, as you know, the other day I announced that George 
Tenet is going to go to the region to help 
this reform.

 Upcoming Arab Summit

     Q.  Your Majesty, you are the fourth leader now that's met with 
President Bush in the last 2 or 3 weeks. Where do you see the Arab 
nations right now? One of the things that the President called for was 
that the Arab nations need to take responsibility, need to take a 
leadership role. What do you see the Arab nations as doing, and what is 
the message that you're bringing now from the Arab leaders that you have 
met before coming here?
     King Abdullah. Well, one of the things that we will discuss with 
the President this evening is that after this meeting our Foreign 
Minister goes to Cairo, to be there at a summit that is going to be 
convened by President Mubarak and Crown Prince Abdullah with a group of 
Arab countries, that will articulate the vision of Beirut--in other 
words, the olive branch towards Israel in practical terms--and at the 
same time, having to deal with the issues of security and terrorism.
     And I hope that there is a lot of success in that meeting, that it 
allows the Arab countries to really step up to the plate and move 
forward with the responsibility that we need from them.

  Note:  The President spoke at 6 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of 
Israel; and Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority. King 
Abdullah referred to Minister of Foreign Affairs Marwan Muasher of 
Jordan; President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt; and Crown Prince Abdullah of 
Saudi Arabia.