[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 2 (Monday, January 21, 2008)]
[Pages 65-66]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

January 12, 2008

    Good morning. I'm speaking to you from the Middle East, where I have 
been meeting with friends and allies. We're discussing how we can work 
together to confront the extremists who threaten our future. And I have 
encouraged them to take advantage of the historic opportunity we have 
before us to advance peace, freedom, and security in this vital part of 
the world.
    My first stop was Israel and the Palestinian Territories. I had good 
meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President 
Abbas. Both these men are committed to peace in the Holy Land. Both 
these men have been elected by their people. And both share a vision of 
two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in 
peace and security.
    I came away encouraged by my meetings with Israeli and Palestinian 
leaders. Each side understands that the key to achieving its own goals 
is helping the other side achieve its goals. For the Israelis, their 
main goal is ensuring the safety of their people and the security of 
their nation. For the Palestinians, the goal is a state of their own, 
where they can enjoy the dignity that comes with sovereignty and self-
government.
    In plain language, the result must be the establishment of a free 
and democratic homeland for the Palestinian people, just as Israel is a 
free and democratic homeland for the Jewish people. For this to happen, 
the Israelis must have secure, recognized, and defensible borders, and 
the Palestinians must have a state that is viable, contiguous, 
sovereign, and independent. Achieving this vision will require tough 
decisions and painful concessions from both sides.
    I believe that a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians 
that defines a Palestinian state is possible this year. Prime Minister 
Olmert made clear to me that he understands a democratic Palestinian 
state is in the long-term security interests of Israel. President Abbas 
is committed to achieving this Palestinian state through negotiation. 
The United States cannot impose an agreement on the Israelis and 
Palestinians; that is something they must work out themselves. But with 
hard work and good will on both sides, they can make it happen. And both 
men are getting down to the serious work of negotiation to make sure it 
does happen.
    The United States will do all we can to encourage these negotiations 
and promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. But the 
international community has a responsibility to help as well. In 
particular, the Arab nations of the Gulf have a responsibility both to 
support President Abbas, Prime Minister Fayyad, and other Palestinian 
leaders as they work for peace and to work for a larger reconciliation 
between Israel and the Arab world. And in my meetings with Arab leaders 
over the next few days, I will urge them to do their part.
    A democratic Palestinian state is in the interests of the 
Palestinians. It is in the long-term security interests of Israel. And 
it is in the interests of a world at war with terrorists and extremists 
trying to impose their brutal vision on the Middle East. By helping the

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Israeli and Palestinian people lay the foundation for lasting peace, we 
will help build a more hopeful future for the Holy Land and a safer 
world for the American people.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 5:05 p.m. on January 11 at the Bayan 
Palace Guest House in Kuwait City, Kuwait, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m., 
e.d.t., on January 12. The transcript was made available by the Office 
of the Press Secretary on January 11 but was embargoed for release until 
the broadcast. Due to the 8-hour time difference, the radio address was 
broadcast after the President's remarks in Kuwait and Bahrain. In his 
address, the President referred to Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the 
Palestinian Authority. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a 
Spanish language transcript of this address.