    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [March 15, 2005]
    [Pages 434-436]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With King Abdullah II of Jordan and an Exchange With Reporters
    March 15, 2005

        President Bush. It's my real pleasure to welcome His Majesty back to
    the Oval Office. Your Majesty, every time you come, I really enjoy our
    conversation. His Majesty leads a great country in the midst of a part
    of the world that is changing, changing for the better. And I want to
    thank His Majesty for his leadership, his understanding about the need
    for reform, his strong alliance, his clear vision that the world needs
    to jointly fight terror. And I really appreciate you coming.
        King Abdullah. Thank you.
        President Bush. Welcome.
        King Abdullah. I'd like to thank the President for welcoming me back
    to Washington. As always, our discussions have been very fruitful, to
    try and make the Middle East a better place. We had the chance to
    discuss the issues of the peace process, how we can move that forward,
    and obviously our commitment to regional reform. And as always, we've
    come away with some very good ideas and a decent way of being able to
    look at the future.
        President Bush. We'll answer a couple of questions. Jennifer
    [Jennifer Loven, Associated Press].

    President's Upcoming Meeting With the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch/
    Hizballah

        Q. Yes, sir. Thank you. The Lebanese Maronite Patriarch you're
    meeting with tomorrow supports integrating Hizballah into the political
    mainstream.
        President Bush. A little louder, excuse me.
        Q. The Lebanese Maronite Patriarch you're meeting with tomorrow
    supports integrating Hizballah into the political mainstream in his
    country. Are you willing to consider that kind of role for Hizballah?
        President Bush. Well, first, I look forward to listening to the
    Patriarch. It's going to be a very interesting discussion. One of the
    messages I want to say is that my meeting with the Patriarch is in no
    way embracing any religion for Lebanon; it is a way for me to speak to
    people that believe the Lebanese society ought to be free.
        We view Hizballah as a terrorist organization, and I would hope that
    Hizballah would prove that they're not by laying down arms and not
    threatening peace. One of our concerns The Majesty and I discussed is
    that Hizballah may try to derail the peace process between Israel and
    the Palestinians. And it's very important that this peace process go
    forward, for the sake of the Palestinians, for the sake of the Israelis,
    and for the sake of all the people in the region. But Hizballah has been
    declared a terrorist organization by the United States because of
    terrorist activities in the past.

    Peace and Progress in the Middle East

        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. Yes.
        Q. ----the Arab peace initiative in Beirut has defined the ground
    for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, which would be also re-
    articulated in the coming Algeria summit. What would be the role of the
    United States in the coming stage to push forward that initiative? And
    when it comes to reforms, how would the United States help the Arab
    world, and Jordan in particular, in pushing forward?
        President Bush. Well, I appreciate that question. First, let's start
    with Jordan. One of the things we've done is entered into trade
    negotiations with Jordan, so that commerce between our countries can
    flow better. It's much easier to reform when there's prosperity, when
    people are able to see His Majesty's vision about a prosperous future.
    And I--the other way to encourage reform

    [[Page 435]]

    is to herald examples of reformers, people who are willing to put
    mechanisms in place that respond to the voice of the people, and His
    Majesty has done that.
        We look forward to hearing the results of the conference in Algeria.
    The Foreign Minister briefed us on
    His Majesty's plans and the Jordanian Government's plans to have
    accountability measures in place, so as to help measure as to whether or
    not reforms are going forward.
        As for the Palestinian-Israeli issue, the role of the United States
    will be to continue to urge both parties to make the sacrifices
    necessary--sacrifice meaning that Israel must withdraw from the
    settlements; there must be contiguous territory for a Palestinian
    state--into which a Palestinian state can grow. The Palestinians, in
    their part, must continue to work hard to fight any terrorist activities
    within the territories, and the Arab world must continue to work
    together to help Palestine build the necessary structures for democracy.
        And I believe progress is being made. I said in my State of the
    Union Address to our country that I believe peace is within hand and
    that the United States Government will do that which is necessary to
    help move the process forward.
        One of the things we've done is we've recently sent a general, Your Majesty, to the region to help the
    Palestinians have an effective security force. I believe President
    Abbas is desirous of developing
    a state that will live side by side with Israel in peace. And we
    recognize that the Palestinians need help in consolidating security
    forces and training security forces to defeat the terrorists who would
    like to stop the march of freedom.
        Let's see--Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

    Social Security Reform

        Q. Sir, a new poll says 55 percent of Americans oppose your
    proposals on Social Security. Do you worry you're losing ground here? Is
    it a question of getting your message across, or does the plan need to
    be changed?

        President Bush. Well, first, in that same survey I was heartened to
    see that over two-thirds of the Americans recognize we have a problem.
    And therefore, the administration and members of both parties in the
    legislative branch must come together to permanently solve the problem.
    My first concern was that Members of Congress would think the public
    didn't think there was a problem, but they do. And I am mindful that
    when the public says there's a problem, we've got to work to solve it.

        Secondly, I was also heartened to see in that survey that many
    people believe younger workers ought to be allowed, at their option, to
    set aside some of their own money in a personal savings account. That
    principle was embraced by a lot of folks in the survey.

        My view about taking on a tough issue is that that's what the
    American people expect a President to do. And I look forward to working
    with Members of the Congress to develop a plan. I've suggested ideas.
    I've suggested that we stop partisan bickering and come together to work
    for a solution. And I'm looking forward to finding that solution. That's
    what the people expect.

        So, no, listen, I'm just getting started on this issue, Steve, and
    I'm enjoying every minute of it. I like to take big issues to the
    American people. I like to say to the American people, you've sent us
    here to Washington for a reason, and that is to solve problems, and
    we've got a problem. The American people say we've got a problem, and
    they're going to expect people to come to the table, and they're not
    going to like it when they see people not coming to the table.

        Q. May I ask the King a question? May I ask the King a question,
    please?

        President Bush. That's up to His Majesty. He's a generous guy,
    unlike me. [Laughter]

    [[Page 436]]

    King Abdullah's View on Middle East Peace

        Q. Your Majesty, since the new Palestinian leadership took over,
    what's your personal vision for the region at this time?
        King Abdullah. Well, I'm, again, very supportive of President Abbas.
    I think he's a man of his word, and I think that you'll see him give 110
    percent to deal with the security issues and to push the process
    forward.
        I truly believe that in this man, Prime Minister Sharon has a
    partner for peace, and I'm very optimistic that between the two leaders
    that the process will go forward and go forward positively.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:48 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir,
    Maronite Patriarch of Antioch; Minister of Foreign Affairs Hani Fawzi
    al-Mulki of Jordan; Lt. Gen. William E. Ward, USA, Senior U.S. Security
    Coordinator, Department of State; and President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu
    Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority. King Abdullah referred to Prime
    Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel.