    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 17 (Monday, April 29, 1996)]
    [Pages 712-714]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks Prior to Discussions with President Ilyas Harawi of Lebanon and
    an Exchange With Reporters

    April 24, 1996

    Lebanon

        President Clinton. Let me begin by saying I'm very pleased to have
    the President of Lebanon here today to discuss what we can do to bring
    about an end to the present violence and to establish conditions so that
    it will not occur. I believe all Americans are profoundly concerned and
    regret the loss of innocent civilian life. And we support whatever can
    be done to end the violence as quickly as possible. And that's what
    Secretary Christopher is working on in the Middle East today.
        Q. Mr. President, there's a perception among some that the United
    States is more interested in the reelection of Shimon Peres than the
    bloodshed in Lebanon. If that's not true, why is the United States so
    cool to the French peace initiative in Lebanon?
        President Clinton. Well, those two things have nothing to do with
    one another. What the United States is trying to do is to maintain a
    coherent capacity to talk to both sides so that we can move quickly as
    we did in 1993 when we were able to move alone to reestablish
    circumstances that obtained until, frankly, right after Sharm al-Sheikh
    when the violence started again when the agreement of 1993 was broken.
    And that's what we're trying to do. And we don't object to anybody
    trying to help achieve that.

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Do you think that Syria's President Asad snubbed Secretary
    Christopher yesterday by not meeting with him?
        President Clinton. I really don't know. I haven't talked to him. I'm
    not sure that's accurate. But the main thing is they're going to meet;
    we're going to talk; we're going to keep working. And I think we'll
    eventually get this worked out. But sooner is better than later. It
    should have been done yesterday.

    Lebanon

        Q. Mr. President, there is also the perception that you condemn
    violence against Israelis more than you do the Lebanese in the south,
    and you have not condemned the occupation of southern Lebanon for so
    long. I mean, you wouldn't tolerate one inch of our territory being
    occupied.
        President Clinton. The United States supports the United Nations
    resolution on this. We don't believe there should be any foreign troops
    in Lebanon. I'd like to see Lebanon completely sovereign and free and
    independent. And if Lebanon were completely sovereign, free, and
    independent, none of this would have happened.

    [[Page 713]]

        The Lebanese people have been subjected to all kinds of problems
    because of--frankly, because of the influence of outside forces in the
    country. But our position has been consistent that we think the only way
    to reestablish Lebanese sovereignty is to have a comprehensive
    resolution of the problems in the region. And no one has worked harder
    for that, including for the sovereignty of Lebanon, than the United
    States.

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Mr. President, how close are we to a cease-fire?
        President Clinton. Well, I hope we're quite close. I have some, you
    know--I've gotten some encouraging news, but I can't announce one. And
    I've learned the hard way to understate rather than overstate where we
    are.
        But I think every thinking, feeling person knows that this has gone
    on way too long. And it needs to stop.

    Lebanon

        Q. There were some Arab-Americans here yesterday who asked for
    emergency U.S. aid to Lebanon. Are you prepared to respond positively to
    that?
        President Clinton. We are going to provide some emergency aid, and
    I'll have a chance to talk to the President about that as we have our
    meeting.
        Q. Could we ask the Lebanese President a question? Mr. President, is
    there anything the Lebanese Government can do to stop the Hezbollah from
    launching Katyushas on northern Israel?
        President Harawi. I wish that the Lebanese Army and security forces
    were present in this section of the country. Then I could answer your
    question much more clearly. But we don't have authority over this part
    of our country occupied by the Israelis.

    1996 Election

        Q. Is that a sign that you'll be spending more time on the campaign
    now?
        President Clinton. [Inaudible]--at this time----
        Q. That's all it means?
        President Clinton. That's what it means.

    Budget Negotiations

        Q. Are you looking forward to seeing Senator Dole here at the White
    House today?
        President Clinton. I expect to. I was pleased by what he said
    yesterday. Let me say again, we know we're going to sign the anti-
    terrorism bill today. We have proved that we can do some things. The
    Senate passed the Kassebaum-Kennedy bill 100 to nothing yesterday. So we
    have a big consensus now that we ought to go ahead and balance the
    budget. And the recent revision by the Congressional Budget Office makes
    us even closer together. So I was pleased to see Senator Dole's response
    to what I said yesterday, and I intend to call him today.
        Q. [Inaudible]----
        President Clinton. I'm going to call him today. We'll see. I'm going
    to call him.

    [At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group
    entered.]

    Lebanon

        Q. Mr. President, do you have any message to the Lebanese people who
    are living now in difficulties?
        President Clinton. Yes. First of all, the United States is deeply
    concerned and very regretful of the loss of life and the dislocation of
    innocent civilians who have been caught up in this conflict. We are
    doing everything we can to bring an end to the fighting and to get a set
    of understandings which will prevent it from recurring. We had such an
    understanding in 1993, and it held for more than 2 years. We would like
    to see a new agreement in place, and we know there must be an end to the
    fighting.
        Now secondly, I want to have a chance to discuss with the President
    what we might be able to do in the short run in the way of humanitarian
    assistance to the people who have been displaced, and we'll be
    discussing that.
        And finally, let me just say, over the long run, what our goal is is
    to see a Lebanon with strong sovereignty, with the sovereignty of the
    country protected. And so then I hope we can achieve it. I think we can
    only achieve it if we can resolve the larger problems in the Middle
    East. We have seen too many times that until there is an ultimate peace

    [[Page 714]]

    settlement, Lebanon, unfortunately, is going to continue to be
    victimized.
        Q. When do you think we're going to achieve a full, fair peace to
    the Lebanese people and the Lebanese territory, especially now that
    you're meeting with President Harawi?
        President Clinton. Well, as you know, I've been working hard for it
    for 3 years now. And I hope and believe that if we can re-establish a
    cease-fire and the conditions under which violence will not recur, then
    we can get back to the peace process. The issues are fairly clear, and
    the timing is largely in the hands of the parties. But the United States
    is working hard. And I can't set a timetable on it, but it could be done
    before too long if we can reestablish the peace. But first of all, we
    have to stop the killing.

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Mr. President, on what basis do you ask for a cease-fire?
        President Clinton. We ask for a cease-fire, first of all, on
    strictly humanitarian terms--that the people who are being hurt by this,
    starting when the shelling started 6 weeks ago, are innocent civilians
    on both sides of the border and that all these people who are being
    dislocated, the people who have died, they're not a part of the larger
    fight that's going on here.
        We, first of all, want to reestablish peace. Secondly, we want to do
    what we can to help Lebanon deal with the problems of the refugees. The
    third thing we want is an arrangement so that the violence doesn't
    recur. And then--then--we want to go back to the peace process.
        We do support U.N. Resolution 425. We do support the sovereignty of
    Lebanon. We don't think there should be any foreign troops in Lebanon.
    But history has shown us, from our point of view, at least, that the
    only way to achieve that is to get a comprehensive peace in the Middle
    East. And I have worked very hard for that. I have tried to be an honest
    arbiter, if you will, of the positions of both sides. I have done
    everything I could to that end, and we are still working. And we will
    continue to work for that.
        Q. Mr. President, the view in Lebanon and in the Arab world is that
    your administration was very slow in intervening to stop the carnage
    last week, that the United States had not even sent condolences to the
    victims, to the families of the victims, until it was too late. What is
    your view of this?
        President Clinton. Well, all I can tell you is, the moment I heard
    about the fighting, I instructed the Secretary of State to immediately
    try to achieve an end to it and to protect the lives of the people
    involved--the minute I heard about it.
        We were--as you know, our whole foreign policy team was in the Far
    East. And I instructed the Secretary of State to leave our mission--we
    were going to Russia for the nuclear summit--and fly directly to the
    Middle East to try to reestablish a cease-fire and stop the killing. And
    as soon as I had an opportunity to publicly comment on it, I expressed
    my profound condolences to the people who were killed--the minute, the
    first opportunity I had to say something about it.
        I am sorry that the people feel that way, but the important thing is
    to stop others from being killed and help people put their lives back
    together and restore some sense of normalcy and peace. And that's what
    I'm trying to do.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:55 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
    remarks.