    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [March 4, 2008]
    [Pages 312-315]
    [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 4, 2008

        President Bush. His Majesty and I will take a couple of questions
    after opening statements.
        Your Majesty, I value your friendship, and I value your leadership.
    And I appreciate you coming back. America has got no stronger friend in
    the Middle East than Jordan. And we appreciate the--we appreciate your
    firmness when it comes to dealing with terror and extremism. We
    appreciate the heart when it comes to people--your heart when it comes
    to people who suffer.
        We spent a lot of time talking about the Middle Eastern peace
    process. A couple of points I want to reiterate. One is that the United
    States is engaged and will remain engaged in helping convince the Prime
    Minister of Israel and President Abbas that now is the time to formulate a vision of what a
    state will look like.
        And secondly, I assured His Majesty this is a major focus of my
    administration and that I would like to see that vision, the process
    that we have started in Annapolis, finished prior to my departure from
    the Presidency. In other words, there is a--people say, ``Well, you
    always set--you're

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    hesitant to set timetables.'' But there happens to be a timetable, as
    far as I'm concerned, and that is, I'm leaving office. And Secretary
    Rice is in the region today, and she is
    making our views known, that we expect these leaders to step up and make
    hard decisions. And I told His Majesty I'm optimistic--still as
    optimistic as I was after Annapolis.
        And so we welcome you, sir. And thank you for your passion.
        King Abdullah. Thank you very much, Mr. President. It is obviously a
    great honor to be back here and to be with you. We tremendously
    appreciate the warm relationship and the great friendship between our
    two countries.
        But as His Excellency, the President, just stated, we are very, very
    pleased with the continued commitment that the President has to solve
    the longest, most outstanding issue in the Middle East, the Israeli-
    Palestinian process. And the words and discussions that we've had this
    morning will have, I think, a very great response back in our part of
    the world when I will go back and report to many of my colleagues the
    President's commitment to bringing a bright future to Israelis and
    Palestinians and to the whole area.
        And we look forward to continuing to work with you, Mr. President,
    and many of us in the area to finally achieve a peace that will set the
    Middle East in the right direction.
        President Bush. Thank you. A couple of questions apiece.
        Ben [Ben Feller, Associated Press].

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. Ben.
        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. Hold on a second. Ben.
        Q. ----as you have promised--sorry.
        Q. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Are you--what are your
    thoughts about the fact that President Abbas has not resumed peace
    talks? Are you disappointed? And very quickly, sir, you said you're
    still as optimistic as you were after Annapolis.
        President Bush. Yes.
        Q. What gives you that optimism?
        President Bush. I'm optimistic because I am absolutely convinced
    that Prime Minister Olmert and President
    Abbas understand that this is
    now a key moment in achieving peace. Both leaders are committed to a
    democracy--two democracies living side by side in peace. Both leaders
    understand that there has to be a vision of what that state will look
    like. Both leaders fully understand that there has to--you know, have to
    work out agreements on borders and right of return and other issues.
    Both leaders understand that a vision that respects people and promotes
    freedom stands in stark contrast to the extremists who are willing to
    murder people to stop the advance of democracy and to, you know, dash
    the ambitions of the Palestinians.
        I'm optimistic that they understand that. I understand the difficulties,
    but I also believe both leaders have--when it--ultimately will have the
    courage necessary to reach an agreement. And my job as the President and
    my administration's responsibilities are to help them understand what is
    possible and to keep them moving on a process. And so I'm optimistic, I
    am.
        Q. Are you disappointed about the lack of resumption in peace talks?
        The President. This is a process that, you know, always has two
    steps forward and one step back. We just got to make sure that it's only
    one step back. Condi is out there in the
    region. And sometimes, you know, there's matters going behind the scenes
    that aren't apparent in the public arena. And so yes, I'm optimistic.
    And we'll continue to work hard to help achieve the vision.
        Step one is to convince the leaders it's necessary and to help them
    define a vision so that a state can come into being after conditions are
    met. But a lot of Palestinians are probably--are saying: ``We've heard
    this

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    kind of rhetoric before. Show us what a state looks like.'' And I said,
    a state has got to be continuous--a contiguous territory; it can't look
    like Swiss cheese. You know, the Palestinians have got to understand
    that this is an option available for them, and it will stand in stark
    contrast to the vision of Hamas, which has been nothing more than
    violence and deprivation.
        You want to call on somebody?
        Q. Mr. President, as you mentioned--you know, as you approach the
    end of your term in office, you mentioned that you still feel that
    establishing the Palestinian state is still achievable.
        President Bush. Yes.
        Q. What is the exact vision that you have, you know, with this short
    time left?
        The President. Sure, I appreciate it. First of all, 10 months is a
    long time. May seem short to you, but it's--there's plenty of time to
    get a deal done.
        Secondly, I have visited with the leaders, you know, on a one-on-one
    basis quite frequently, and I understand that it's--this is a difficult
    subject. But I also feel very comfortable with the commitment they have
    made to try to work out subjects that have been difficult for other
    leaders to work out in the past.
        The role of the United States--we can't impose peace. We can help
    leaders come to agreement and come to the table and make hard decisions.
    We can help facilitate the bridging of gaps, if there are gaps. And
    that's exactly what our diplomacy is in the process of doing.
        And by the way, there is--and one of the reasons why His Majesty is
    so important in this process, as are other leaders in the Middle East,
    including my close friend King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia and President Mubarak of Egypt, is that the--both these leaders are going to
    need the support of the Arab world in order to make tough decisions. But
    first, it's up to them. And so I'm optimistic that they can conclude
    tough negotiations. And we'll try to facilitate that.
        Matt [Matt Spetalnick, Reuters].

    Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)/Oil Prices

        Q. Yes, sir. Every indication out of the OPEC meeting of ministers
    in Vienna is that they will be holding output steady. What is your
    reaction to that, sir, in light of your recent visit to the Middle East
    in which you appealed for an increase in output?
        The President. Yes. I think it's a mistake to have your biggest
    customer's economy slow down--or your biggest customers' economies
    slowing down as a result of high energy prices. It's not the only
    result--our economy is slowing down. I mean, obviously, we've got a
    housing issue and some credit issues. But no question, the high price of
    gasoline has hurt economic growth here in the United States. And if I
    were a member of OPEC, I'd be concerned about high energy prices causing
    people to buy less energy over time.
        And the other thing high energy prices of course does--which is
    stimulate alternative fuels, which we're doing a lot here in America.
    We're spending a lot of money on biofuels and ethanols and new ways to
    make ethanol. So my advice to OPEC--of course they haven't listened to
    it--but my advice to OPEC is to understand the consequences of high
    energy prices and--because I do. And I understand that this is affecting
    our American citizens. It's making it harder for people to be able to
    drive, and it's making it tough for families to save.
        And so not only is it--high energy prices having an effect on--a
    macroeffect on our economy; it's affecting a lot of our families, which
    troubles me as well. And by the way, the higher energy prices stay, the
    more likely it is countries will quickly diversify. And that's part of
    our strategy.
        You want to call on somebody?
        King Abdullah. I think one more.
        President Bush. One more?

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        King Abdullah. Yes--[inaudible].
        President Bush. Here's a great--ask this lady here; she's good.

    Iraqi Refugees/Lebanon/Syria

        Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Apart from the Palestinian issue, did
    you also discuss Lebanon and Iraq and whether there's a common position
    between you and Jordan regarding the crisis in Lebanon and the situation
    in Iraq?
        President Bush. Yes, thank you. We did. His Majesty--and he, of
    course, can answer as well--but His Majesty made it very clear to me
    that stability in Iraq is important for Jordan. He also pointed out
    something which I knew, but I wasn't exactly sure how it was affecting
    his country, that there are roughly three-quarters of a million Iraqi
    citizens who have moved to Jordan. And we talked about a common strategy
    about how to make sure that those citizens ended up, hopefully, going
    home to Iraq as the security situation improved, but also, while they're
    in Jordan, not create terrible issues for the Government.
        And of course, we talked about Lebanon. We strongly--I strongly
    support Prime Minister Siniora and the March
    14th coalition. I strongly condemn a Syrian interference in the Lebanese
    political process. It is--I am extremely disappointed that the Syrian
    leader continues to make it hard for the
    Siniora Government to succeed, and I really don't appreciate the fact
    that they've made it hard for this Government to elect a President. We
    had diplomatic success in the past, when the U.N. Security Council
    passed a resolution seeing to it that Syria left this young democracy to
    be able to grow on its own. And now here they are once again interfering
    inside the politics of this country.
        And so yes, we discussed the subject.
        King Abdullah. And all I can add to that, on the issue of Lebanon,
    is how we discussed the role of Arab countries and how we can be
    effective in supporting the process in Lebanon, so that as quickly as
    possible a government is formed which will be able them--to take them to
    the future.
        President Bush. Thank you all very much. We've got to go have lunch
    with our wives.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:47 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of
    Israel; President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority; Prime
    Minister Fuad Siniora of Lebanon; and President Bashar al-Asad of Syria.