[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 1 (Monday, January 14, 2008)]
[Pages 22-27]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With Nadia Bilbassy Charters of Al Arabiya Television

January 4, 2008

Middle East Peace Process

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Mr. President, thank you very much for your 
time, as always, and thank you for the interview.
    The President. Thank you.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. The major obstacle to peace is the settlement 
activities. Would you request from Prime Minister Olmert a freeze on the 
settlements?
    The President. I think the major obstacle to peace is going to be 
the politics of both Palestinians and Israelis trying to take advantage 
of the difficult work that these two leaders are going to have to do to 
define a state; that's what I think. I think that extremists, in some 
instances, will try to stop the peace. I believe there is a lot of 
forces at play in Israel that will try to stop these two men from 
defining what a state will look like. And my job is to help them stay on 
the big picture and have the confidence necessary to make tough 
decisions.
    No question, the settlement activity is a problem. But there's a 
mechanism to deal with that, and that is the roadmap commission, for the 
best word--is the trilateral commission, which we head, to deal with 
these roadmap issues. Now, we can solve those--we can work through those 
problems, but the key is to define a state. Now is the time.
    And I believe it's going to get done before my Presidency is over. 
And the reason I believe it is because these two men, with whom I've 
spent a fair amount of time, are committed. The state will come into 
being subject to a roadmap. But the first step is to define what is 
possible, here's what a state will look like. And that is very important 
for both the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Middle East Peace Process/President's Upcoming Visit to the Middle East

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Well, in this case, what is exactly your 
strategy to implement your vision of a Palestinian state by 2008?
    The President. Well, the key is for me to convince the two leaders 
to work through the hard issues. I'll help them, but in order for there 
to be lasting peace, they've got to

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come to the table; they have got to negotiate it. And what ends up 
happening in this process is that the leaders will commit, and then 
they'll get their committees to work, and it gets stuck. And that's when 
I'll have to work with Condi Rice to unstick it, just to keep it moving.
    One thing is, is that they know that they've got a good partner in 
peace in me. They also know that I'm not going to be in office a year 
from now, so there's a certain urgency to get this state defined. And my 
trip is going to be to just kind of keep momentum. The Annapolis 
conference was a successful conference for two reasons: One, it was a 
chance for the Palestinians and the Israelis to know that the United 
States is serious about helping them, and equally importantly, it gave 
the world a chance to come to the table. The rest of the Middle East was 
there. And that's an important movement. It's going to be important for 
both Israel and the Palestinians to know that an agreement they reach 
will be supported by the Middle East.
    And so part of my--one of the goals of my trip is to remind our 
friends and allies in the Middle East that they have got to be 
supportive of the Middle East peace process as well. They're going to 
want to know whether or not I'm going to push. And I'm going to want to 
know--and I'm going to tell them, yes, I am, but we expect you to be 
constructive players too.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Exactly, but, I mean, can you elaborate a 
little bit about this? I mean, what more can you do? I mean, support is 
enough? I mean, one visit is enough? Will you be involved----
    The President. But, you see, to get it to this place--I mean, a 
visit is important, but I'm on the phone a lot, and Condi is on the 
phone a lot. There's a little--look, visits are important, obviously. 
And there's a reason why the timing of this visit is what it is. I mean, 
there was an intifada when I first came into office. Secondly, there is 
a philosophical change about a two-state solution. I mean, I supported 
it as the first American President ever to support it. The Israelis, 
under Ariel Sharon, came to the conclusion that this is in their 
interests.
    We're pushing a lot, let me put it to you that way. I repeat to you, 
though, that the notion that somehow America can impose its will on two 
parties, I don't think it works. I think the America can facilitate. And 
so you just got to--I hope that as a result of this interview and my 
trip, the people come away with the notion that George Bush understands 
now is the time to move.

Freedom Agenda

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. I mean, people know that you are close friend 
of Israel. What do you want to do to win hearts and minds of the 
Palestinians, to assure them that the United States is a fair broker in 
the peace process?
    The President. You know, I've heard that. I've heard that, ``Well, 
George Bush is so pro-Israeli he doesn't--he can't possibly care about 
the plight of the Palestinian person.'' I would hope that my record, one 
of liberation and--liberation, by the way, not only from dictatorship 
but from disease around the world, like HIV/AIDS or malaria--is one that 
will say to people, he cares about the human condition; that he cares 
about each individual; that my religion teaches me to love your 
neighbor.
    I have spoken clearly about my belief that--I believe--I pray to the 
same God as a Muslim prays--that the freedom agenda is really aimed at 
liberating people, and that the hope is, is that there will be an 
active, real Palestinian state so people can realize their dreams. But 
they're going to have to be--they're going to have to do some work. 
They're going to have to have security forces that protect the average 
person. They're going to have to have institutions that bring confidence 
for the Palestinians. They have to have the ability to attract 
investment. The Palestinians are great entrepreneurs, and if just given 
a chance, I'm confident the business community will flourish. And most 
importantly, though, they're going to have to reject the extremists who 
murder innocent people. And by the way, we're engaged in a great 
ideological struggle.

Middle East Peace Process

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Absolutely. I mean, in retrospect, would you 
regret not being involved earlier in the peace process, 7 years ago?

[[Page 24]]

    The President. I think that you would find that I have been very 
much involved in the peace process when you look at the facts. I mean, 
attitudinal changes don't happen overnight. And the reason we've been 
able to have this successful conference in Annapolis is because people's 
attitudes lined up in--kind of in the same direction. There was common 
interests; common ground has been now recognized. The two-state solution 
wasn't accepted for the first----
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. So this is the right time, you say?
    The President. ----for the couple of years of my administration. It 
took awhile to convince people that the two-state solution was in the 
security interests of both parties. And plus, there was a couple of 
difficult--there was a difficult situation, the truth be known. One was 
the intifada, which made it awfully hard to discuss peace at that time. 
The other was the Iraq invasion. It just--it created the conditions that 
made it more difficult to get people's minds in the right place to begin 
the process. And so now I think we've got the stars lined up, and I 
think we got a shot, and I'm going for it.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Great. I know he's telling me----
    The President. You're fine. Go ahead.

Iran/U.S. Foreign Policy

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Thank you, sir. Part of the visit, as well, 
is Iran and the Gulf States. What exactly do you want from the Gulf 
States regarding Iran? And would you ask for their cooperation in case 
of a military strike?
    The President. First of all, I will assure the Gulf States that I 
believe we can solve this problem diplomatically. Secondly, I will--
they're going to want more from me than I'm going to want from them. 
They're going to want to know what this NIE was all about.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Exactly.
    The President. And I'm going to remind them that at my press 
conference when I explained the NIE, I clearly said, Iran was, is, and 
will be a danger if they're allowed to enrich, because they can take the 
knowledge on how to enrich and convert it to a covert program. If 
they've had one--a program once, they can easily start a program.
    And so I view the Iranian regime as a danger. I also believe that 
the Iranian people are not bad--they're good people--and that they can 
have a better way forward. We'll tell our--I'm sure the--our friends and 
allies will say, ``Well, what are you going to do about it? It's one 
thing to define the problem; do you have a strategy? And if you say you 
can solve it diplomatically, what is your strategy?'' And I'll explain 
the strategy of economic isolation, that--you know, it's sad; we really 
don't need to have to be in this position. If the Iranian Government 
would suspend their enrichment programs, like the international 
community has demanded, there's a better way forward for them.
    But they say that they need this program. And my answer is, is that 
if you need it, then why haven't you been transparent and disclosed it 
and honest about it? And what were you doing with a military--secret 
military program in the first place?
    And so I view Iran as a danger; I truly do. And I don't view the 
people as a danger; I view the Government as a danger.

Iran/President's Upcoming Visit to the Middle East

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Of course. But will it be harder for you to 
try to convince the Gulf States what--the American position after the 
intelligence report?
    The President. The fact that I'm having to explain it means it's 
harder after the report. But I believe I'll be able to convince them. 
What they want to know is whether or not I think they're a danger. They 
know Iran can be a danger. They want to know whether I think it's a 
danger and are we committed to helping people achieve security. And part 
of the trip is to tell people, yes, we've got--we are engaged to help 
you, if you want our help to enhance security.
    Now, look, nobody wants to be dictated to, and I'm certainly not 
going to do that. I am there to reassure and to look people in the eye 
and say, I believe Iran is a threat; we have a strategy to deal with it; 
and we want to work with you.

[[Page 25]]

U.S. Foreign Policy

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Did you ever discuss a military option with 
the Gulf States?
    The President. Will I ever do that?
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Did you, or will you?
    The President. No, I haven't, because I believe we can solve this 
diplomatically. On the other hand, as you've heard me say many times 
since you've covered the White House, that all options must be on the 
table in order to make sure diplomacy is effective.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Absolutely. Secretary Gates told Al Arabiya 
in an interview recently that the diplomatic option is still 100 percent 
in focus. Does that mean that you're going to still pressure Iran on the 
diplomatic front? And how far can you go before your patience will run 
out?
    The President. Yes. Definitely, we'll continue to pressure them on 
the diplomatic front. And it's hard, because sometimes people are more 
interested in market share for their goods than they are for achieving 
peace. And so I've spent a lot of time with allies in Europe, for 
example, convincing them of the importance of working together to send a 
common message to the Iranian regime. So, yes, the diplomatic option is 
on the table, and it's active, and we're working hard.

Syria/Lebanon's Presidential Election

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. On the Syria issue--I don't know if I'm 
allowed to ask one----
    The President. Keep going.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. I'm sorry.
    The President. All you got to do is ask; I'll handle it. [Laughter]
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Thank you, sir. Thank you. On the Syria 
issue, I mean, we already talked about--you actually told me that you--
patience with Asad is running out. But we still have no Lebanese 
election. What does it mean? What can you do? Is it negotiation? Is it a 
military strike? Is it sanction against Syria? What can you do?
    The President. Well, what we can do is make sure that the world 
understands our position and try to convince them that we ought to work 
together to say to the Syrians, let Sleiman go forward. That's the 
President that the people want there in Beirut, and he ought to go 
forward. And that's going to be on my agenda when I talk to friends and 
allies in the Middle East, that--and we can collectively send the 
message to President Asad.
    We've sanctioned Syria, and I'm looking at different ways to keep 
sending a tough message because, so far, he has shown no willingness to 
be constructive on Lebanon or in dealing with a militant Hamas or in 
stopping suiciders from heading into Iraq, in other words, some 
reasonable things that we would like to see done in order to improve 
relations which he has not done.
    We're working very carefully--closely with the French, for example. 
I've had a conversation with President Sarkozy on the subject. I'll be 
talking to my friend King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia on the subject, who 
has got a very keen interest in seeing to it that the Lebanese democracy 
goes forward. And so we've got a very good chance to have a more 
focused, concerted, universal message that President Asad, I hope, will 
listen to.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. But some will say they might wait for another 
year until you leave office, and then----
    The President. Well, he could try that. But in the meantime, there 
will be others around who he will have irritated as a result of his 
stubbornness. And so, yes, I mean, he could try to wait me out, but 
there's other leaders in the world that are as equally concerned as I am 
about Syria not letting the Presidency go forward and really hurting 
this very important democracy in the Middle East.
    Lebanon's survival as a democracy is, in my judgment, very important 
for the world. And Syria is--has been--when we passed the resolution out 
of the United Nations, it worked. President Chirac and I worked 
together, got our foreign ministries working together, and it worked. 
And yet as opposed to honoring the notion of staying out of the--and to 
stop obstructing politics, Syria has just not been helpful at all.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. So will you impose sanction on Syria?
    The President. We have already, and we're looking at different 
options, of course.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. A tougher sanction.

[[Page 26]]

    The President. Well, we're always looking for ways to make sure that 
we're effective. It's--sanctions, individual sanctions are okay. They're 
much more effective when they're--other people join along.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Absolutely. To show that you actually 
supporting Prime Minister Siniora, why not visiting Lebanon on this 
trip?
    The President. Good question. You have to just--I've got only so 
much time. There's other countries I won't be going to either. We've had 
plenty of high-ranking officials go to support Prime Minister Siniora. I 
think about Condi, and I think about Admiral Fallon, who I sent over 
there to help analyze what the Lebanese forces need.
    Listen, I was very impressed when Prime Minister Siniora made the 
decision to move Lebanese forces into the extremist stronghold and dealt 
with them. That's what you're supposed to do. And in order to have a 
safe and secure society, the state has got to show that it can provide 
security for the people and not tolerate pockets of extreme radicals who 
are murderous in their intentions, and he did. And right after that, I 
sent Admiral Fallon in to say, look, we need to help strengthen this 
man. He showed courage and leadership, and he needs to have a military 
that is able to function at the behest of a state to provide security. 
And so we're in the process of inventorying and analyzing and seeing how 
we can help from that perspective.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. But do you hope the election will go forward 
in Lebanon?
    The President. Soon. I was hoping it would go forward last week. 
They keep delaying it, and I'm convinced a lot of it has to do with the 
fact that Syria is not helpful. And therefore, part of our strategy is 
to get others to send the same message that I've consistently been 
sending to President Asad: If you want to be isolated, if you want to 
be--or if you want--you have a choice: Do you want to be isolated or a 
part of the world? You can make the choice. You can hang out with a 
limited number of friends, like Iran, or you can have better relations 
in the neighborhood and in the world. It's your choice to make.
    Step one is to get out of the way of these Presidential elections. 
They've got a good candidate. A lot of people agree that this is the 
person, and now Syria needs to get out of the way.

Progress in Iraq

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Sir, on the Iraq issue, the security has 
improved. Does that mean you're going to withdraw troops by the end of 
the year?
    The President. Our troops decisions will be made based upon the 
considered recommendations of our commanders. And success in Iraq is 
essential, and therefore, I'll make the decisions along with those 
recommendations based upon success. The surge has been successful. The 
economy is getting better, and the politics is getting better. There is 
still a lot of work to be done, however, and I am--you know what thrills 
me the most is that the average Iraqi's life is becoming more hopeful.
    Here's what I tell people. I tell people here in America that an 
Iraqi mother wants the same thing for her children that an American 
mother wants, a chance for that child to grow up in peace and to realize 
dreams, a chance for the child to go outside and play and not fear harm. 
And it's beginning to happen. The average--you know, it's still tough. 
There's still too many suiciders, but the level of violence is 
declining. I didn't see this, but I was told that the celebrations at 
New Year's Eve in Baghdad were festive. And life is coming back, and 
it's--that's exciting to me.

War on Terror in Iraq

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. And just to follow up on that, the generals 
were saying that Iran and Syria actually has been playing a role in 
stopping the suiciders of coming to Iraq. Would you credit them for that 
at least?
    The President. I'm not willing to credit the Iranians yet. I don't 
have enough evidence. One general said that, then he corrected his 
story. I think so long as we're finding sophisticated IEDs--that could 
only have been manufactured in Iran--that are killing innocent people 
inside Iraq, that's cause for concern. I'm willing to have dialogs with 
the Iranians about Iraq in Iraq, but our message will be, if we catch 
you providing arms and trained--training people, then we'll--we're

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going to hold them to account. You just got to understand that.
    I would give--if, in fact, Syria is trying to stop suiciders, I will 
give them credit, of course. I hope that's the case. It's certainly one 
way to begin to earning better relations with the United States, is to 
stop the exportation of suiciders who go kill innocent people.
    I'm looking forward to the trip. I'm glad you're going.

President's Legacy

    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Me too. Finally, how do you want the people 
in the Middle East to remember you, sir?
    The President. History is odd. I will be long gone before the true 
history of the Bush administration is written. I'm still reading 
analyses of Abraham Lincoln's Presidency. I would hope, at least, at the 
very minimum, people would say that George W. Bush respected my religion 
and has great concern for the human condition; that he hurts when he 
sees poverty and hopelessness; that he's a realistic guy, because he 
understands that the only way that these extremists who murder the 
innocent can recruit is when you find--when they find hopeless 
situations--they have no vision that's positive; and that he helped 
present an alternative, and that was one based upon liberty and the 
rights of men and women in a just and free society. That's how I hope 
you remember me.
    Ms. Bilbassy Charters. Thank you very much, sir, for your time and 
for your generosity. Thank you very much.

Note: The interview was taped at 4:37 p.m. in the Map Room at the White 
House for later broadcast. In his remarks, the President referred to 
President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority; Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert and former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel; 
Gen. Michel Sleiman, commander, Lebanese Armed Forces; President Bashar 
al-Asad of Syria; President Nicolas Sarkozy and former President Jacques 
Chirac of France; Prime Minister Fuad Siniora of Lebanon; Adm. William 
J. Fallon, USN, commander, U.S. Central Command; and Gen. David H. 
Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--Iraq. The 
transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on January 
6.