[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 19 (Monday, May 19, 2008)]
[Pages 695-699]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Interview With Lukman Ahmed of BBC Arabic
May 12, 2008
Jenna Bush Wedding
Mr. Ahmed. Thank you so much, Mr. President, for this. And first, I
must congratulate you for your daughter's wedding. And how does it
feeling, being a father? I know you are listening to your mom; I know
you are a father, and you are having a daughter's wedding. How does it
feel?
The President. You know something, I was emotional, and--because I
was so happy and proud. And she's marrying a good guy, Lukman. And we
were out there on our ranch, which is a part of the world Laura and I
love, and it was just a special evening, and it was great. I feel great.
Thank you.
Lebanon/Iran
Mr. Ahmed. All right. You have given--we are going to Lebanon. You
are giving Hizballah the choice of being terrorist organization or a
political party. What do you think would prompt Hizballah to abandon
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its--[inaudible]? Why Hizballah claim the existence of legitimate
concern for these weapons?
The President. Yes. I don't know. I mean, it's hard for me to get
inside Hizballah's head. I do know that they are destabilizing Lebanon.
I do know that they were viewed at one time as the protectors against
Israel, and now, in fact, they're turning against the Lebanese people
themselves.
And I do know that Lebanon's success is very important for peace in
the Middle East. And so our position--the--my Government's position is
to support the Siniora Government, is to beef up his army so that he can
have a chance to respond to people who are acting outside the confines
of government.
And, you know, Hizballah wouldn't be--would be nothing without
Iranian support. And Iranian is the crux of many of the problems in the
Middle East, whether it be funding of Hizballah, funding of Hamas, or
obviously, actions within the young democracy of Iraq. And so a lot of
my trip is going to be to get people to focus not only on Lebanon and
remember Lebanon but also to remember that Iran causes a lot of the
problems around the Middle East.
Lebanese Armed Forces
Mr. Ahmed. We are going to touch that Iranian support and Syrian
support to Hizballah. Many supporters of the U.S. policy in Lebanon
criticize the lack of practical American support to the Siniora
Government. That's what we are seeing right now. The USS Cole is now
heading to the region, in what you call a--or previously mentioned, the
support of an American ally. Does this mean the USS Cole is willing to
offer this practical assistance?
The President. Well, the most practical assistance, really, is to
help the Lebanese Armed Forces become effective. And that's what we're
doing. A couple years ago, I sent one of our top admirals to Lebanon to
assess the needs of the military. And as well as I've been watching very
carefully to assess the courage of the leadership, like Prime Minister
Siniora. I'm impressed by the Prime Minister. He's a good guy who cares
deeply about the future of his country. And he needs a military that has
got the practical equipment necessary to deal with elements in this
society that are destabilizing. And that's really where our practical
help is going to be.
Situation in Lebanon
Mr. Ahmed. And as supporting the Lebanese military, that means they
should go, or do you think would go, to disarm Hizballah?
The President. Well, of course, I don't see how you can have a
society with Hizballah armed up the way they are. I mean, any time they
feel like moving, they try to do it. In this case, though, they moved
against the Lebanese people. They're not moving against any foreign
country; they're moving against the Lebanese people. And it should send
a signal to everybody that they're a destabilizing force. And--but the
first step, of course, is to make sure that the Siniora Government has
got the capacity to respond with a military that's effective, that can
move point A to point B in a quick fashion, and that's got the capacity
to get the job done.
Syria/Iran
Mr. Ahmed. You are calling both Iran and Syria to halt their support
to Hizballah. But in the absence of any direct contact with Iran and
Syria, your administration--how do you think both countries should stop
doing this? You are not negotiating with them. You are not exploring
other means to have them halt their support.
The President. So what's there to negotiate? I mean, they know my
position. Early on in my administration, we sent the word to the
Syrians, with top administrative officials, that if you want better
relations with the United States, stop supporting these extremist groups
that are trying to stop the advance of free societies. And every time,
their response was nothing. So they know our position, the Syrians and
the Iranians.
I have made it abundantly clear there's a better way forward. If the
Iranians want to have relations with us, they ought to verifiably
suspend their enrichment, and then they will--they can visit with us and
other nations involved with the--through the U.N. process.
But they--both sides, both countries have made the decision to not
take up offers. And they're very destabilizing influences. And
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they're--I truly believe that the Middle East is where the world ought
to spend a lot of time, attention, and focus to help bring prosperity
and peace, and that when people do pay attention closely, they'll
recognize the destabilizing influence that the Iranians and the Syrians
are having.
U.S. Foreign Policy/Iran
Mr. Ahmed. So what are the other means that you think you could take
to have them stop their support?
The President. Well, you know, there are sanctions, of course.
There's international--working with the international community to send
common messages, working with the financial community. And we're doing
that. The problem is, some folks just don't see the same--the threat
that Iran poses in the Middle East, for example, as others do. I view
them as a serious threat to peace, and therefore, I spend a lot of time
trying to convince other nations, other leaders to join in this common
concern.
Palestinian State
Mr. Ahmed. We are going to the Palestinian and Israeli issue. And we
know that you are going there to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the
establishment of Israel, and you are the President who put the idea of
the two-state solution. There are the other sayer in the Palestinian
side. They call this anniversary as Nakba, or disaster. What do you say
to them, Mr. President?
The President. I say to them that I care deeply about the
Palestinian people and their future. They're going to have a choice to
make, hopefully, and that choice is, here's what a state's going to look
like, or do you want the kind of state that Hamas has brought you? And
there needs to be a vision that people can see, that's clearly spelled
out, with defined borders and the refugee issue settled and something on
how to move forward on the holy sites, security discussions.
And those discussions are ongoing right now. And our job in the
United States, it seems like to me, is to encourage the parties to come
and reach a common solution so that they can then say, the world can
say, here's what a state will look like, and now you suffering
Palestinians have a choice to make: You can accept that, or you can
continue to follow or accept in your presence these extremists who
murder innocent people.
Isn't it interesting that as the talks begin to emerge, there's more
rockets flying into Israeli neighborhoods? Why? Because they want to
stop the advance of a Palestinian state. And so, no, I got a good
message for the people of the Palestinian Territories.
Middle East Peace Process
Mr. Ahmed. In fact, I'm going to carry on that message. I'm given 30
seconds, so I hope if you could allow me to ask this question here. In
your last meeting with Abu Mazen here in the White House, you stated, as
I quote here, that, ``I'm confident we can achieve the definition of a
state.'' Actually, Abu Mazen, he expressed some concern after that
meeting that he couldn't see anything that would suggest that the
possibility of establishing the state before the----
The President. Yes.
Mr. Ahmed. ----end of your term. And he's hoping, and you are
hoping, right now you are heading there. Are you willing to tell me that
before the end of your administration, there will be an agreement to be
concluded, based on the assurance you get from the--both sides?
The President. I think we can; I really do. We're going to work hard
for that end. Look, it's hard. I understand that. And Abu Mazen was
expressing frustrations with the process, and that's okay. He's sending
a message. He wasn't speaking necessarily to the American people. He was
sending a message back home that he's frustrated, and he expects there
to be more progress made to his liking. I understand that. That's what
negotiations are all about.
Abu Mazen and Olmert are, of course, necessary to get a good deal,
but there's still--Tzipi Livni and Abu Ala are talking now. There's a
lot of discussions going on. And it's just a process. And the
fundamental question is, when it gets down to it, will they be able to
agree? They've closed a gap, closed a gap; will they be able to agree at
that last minute? And that's why Condi Rice and Hadley and others are
going out there all the time to encourage them to get a deal done.
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It's in their interests. It's in the Israelis' interests that there be a
state living side by side with them in peace, and it's in the
Palestinians' interest. The status quo is unacceptable; Gaza's
unacceptable. What they need is a state that responds to the will of the
people. And the first step is to define what the state looks like. And
we'll work hard for the next months to see if we can't get it done.
Palestinian State
Mr. Ahmed. And the agreement that you are trying to get it done, is
it going to be a description of the state or the establishment of the
state?
The President. No, it will be a description of the state. Remember,
I told everybody earlier that there's got to be some roadmap obligations
that have to be met. Everybody understands that. Step one is the
description. And the state can't look like Swiss cheese. It has to be
contiguous territories with defined borders--and the refugee issue
concluded as well.
Mr. Ahmed. And that's what we're going to get before the end of your
administration----
The President. I think so.
Mr. Ahmed. ----is a description of the state?
The President. I'm working hard to get there.
Iran
Mr. Ahmed. Thank you so much. With regard to Iran, President----
The President. Yes.
Mr. Ahmed. ----Bush, it's very vital, as you say it always, that
their cooperation to have stability in Iraq. Do you think that it--you
consider one day that--talking direct to them to have them achieve that
goal to----
The President. They know--look, if I thought talks would matter,
we'd talk. But they know our position. We have had talks between our
Embassy and their Embassy. They know, and they know that the Iraqi
Government, along with the U.S. Government, wants them to stop sending
their weapons from Iran into Iraq, all aiming to kill innocent people.
That's what they're doing. They're being very--they're not being
constructive at all. But they absolutely know our position. And when we
catch them doing it, they'll be brought to justice. And we are catching
them doing it right now.
Syria/North Korea
Mr. Ahmed. And the issue of the possible cooperation between Syria
and North Korea on the weapon of--nuclear weapons, actually----
The President. Yes. Well, their--yes, that was a troubling
development, wasn't it, that all of a sudden, out of the blue, there's--
in the middle of a kind of a remote area, a reactor is there, built with
the help of Koreans, North Koreans. And it just goes to show, unless
there's transparency and openness, unless there's a strong inspection
regime, what could happen. And that's why it's very important that the
world stay diligent and pay attention to what goes on in the Middle
East, and not hope for the best, but remain active.
Mr. Ahmed. But thus, the evidence is seriously being--my last
question, last question. This evidence, Mr. President, seriously being
questioned. Obviously, the people have in mind that--the presentation at
the U.N. with regard to the Iraqi weapon of mass destruction. So how do
you see that, how----
The President. Yes, look, I mean, it's--the difference was, in this
case, there was concrete examples. I mean, everybody that analyzed the
data realized it was true. I mean, are people saying that it didn't
exist? Is that what the line of reasoning is? Well, I just--just not the
case or the truth. The truth is, is that out of nowhere was discovered
this reactor that nobody talked about. The Syrians didn't tell anybody
about it. The North Koreans didn't tell anybody about it. And it was
discovered, and now it's destroyed.
Mr. Ahmed. Mr. President, thank you so much.
The President. You're a good man.
Mr. Ahmed. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
The President. Yes, sir.
Note: The interview was taped at 11:52 a.m. in the Map Room at the White
House for later broadcast. In his remarks, the President referred to
Henry Hager, husband of Jenna Bush; Prime Minister Fuad Siniora of
Lebanon; President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and former Prime
[[Page 699]]
Minister Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) of the Palestinian Authority; and Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs Tzipora ``Tzipi'' Livni of Israel. The transcript was released
by the Office of the Press Secretary on May 13.