[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.
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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.