Military

Grossman Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Middle East Peace Effort

(Interviewed November 7 by Moroccan TV) (1490)
In Rabat for consultations with Arab allies of the United States,
Under Secretary for Political Affairs Marc Grossman reaffirmed the
Bush administration's commitment to work with Palestinians and
Israelis to achieve peace and the creation of a Palestinian state.
Interviewed on Moroccan television network RTM November 7, Grossman
underscored the importance of ongoing diplomatic efforts: "We believe
that if you take the ideas that are out there today, the Saudi peace
plan which was endorsed in the Beirut Arab League summit, President
Bush's speech on June 24, the United Nations Security Council
resolution, that there is exactly ... a roadmap to go forward."
Adding that the United States is working closely with Russia, the
United Nations, and the European Union, Grossman said, "We think we
can make some progress."
Asked about the impact of Republican victories in America's mid-term
elections, Grossman told RTM, "I think it showed the capacity and
strength of American democracy and I will say that . we even have more
energy to put behind pursuing the president's policies."
Turning to Iraq, Grossman emphasized that the United States believes
U.N. action in the form of a strong Security Council resolution that
compels Iraq to act according to the will of the international
community is the way to avoid armed conflict.
Grossman also underscored his hopes that a U.S.-Morocco free trade
agreement, now being negotiated, will bring more American investment
to the North African region.
Following is the complete transcript of Grossman's appearance on RTM,
Moroccan Television, November 7:
(begin transcript)
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman 
Televised Interview with RTM in Rabat, Morocco
November 7, 2002
Question: A year following 9/11, how do you view the status of Islam
in America?
U/S Grossman: Well, sir, first of all thank you for the opportunity to
be with you today. I must say that I believe that the attacks on
September 11 had nothing to do with Islam, and anyone who says that
they did have something to do with Islam is not telling the truth.
Those attacks were terrorist attacks and Islam is a peaceful religion.
Islam is a religion that brings people together and so in this past
year since the September attacks, Americans have learned so much more
about Islam, about millions of American Muslims. You will remember
after September 11 one of the very first things that President Bush
did was he went to the mosque in Washington. What a courageous,
intelligent decision that was, and so we are very proud of Muslims in
America, and as President Bush said in his message this month, Ramadan
is a very important time for Muslims and also for Americans.
Question: What is the status of the resolution on Iraq at the U.N.
Security Council? Is the U.S. still determined to go to war against
Iraq?
U/S Grossman: With all due respect, I would have to disagree with the
premise of your question. Everyone seems to think that what we want to
do is attack Iraq. It isn't true. What the President said on September
12 to the United Nations General Assembly was that he wanted the
Security Council to work on this problem. But this isn't an issue
between Iraq and America, it is an issue between Iraq and the Security
Council. So we want the Security Council to be strengthened, we want
Iraq to be disarmed, and if people will vote for a strong resolution
over the next couple of days, I believe this can be done without
conflict. And so our message to friends and allies like people in
Morocco is if we can get a strong resolution in the United Nations we
can avoid a conflict in Iraq and that seems to me like the right thing
to do. So those people who say that we are somehow committed to war
and that the only policy the United States of America will respect,
they are completely wrong.
Question: If the resolution passes the UNSC, will the U.S. still go to
war against Iraq?
U/S Grossman: Again, I have to respectfully disagree with the premise
of your question. If the United States had wished to act alone we
would already have done so but you will remember that on September 12,
the President went to the United Nations and what have we been doing
for eight weeks since then? We have been trying to create a Security
Council resolution to disarm Iraq and to do so peacefully so the idea
somehow that it is our policy to have a conflict is, again, quite
wrong.
Question: How do you view U.S. policy following the announcement of
the results of the mid-term elections in the U.S.?
U/S Grossman: I don't know if I am much of a political analyst but I
can see from all of the commentary in our country that both
Republicans and Democrats say that the election was a remarkable
result. I think it showed the capacity and strength of American
democracy and I will say that both Ambassador Tutwiler and I feel, as
representatives of the United States today, that we even have more
energy to put behind pursuing the President's policies.
Question: Peace in the Middle East. What is the status of efforts
towards peace?
U/S Grossman: Well, Morocco and the United States share a great
commitment to peace in the Middle East. It is one of the things that
brings us close together, and I believe that the President's speech on
June 24 of this year lays out a roadmap for peace and the creation of
two states in the area, the Palestinian state and Israel, living side
by side in peace. Both the Palestinians and the Israelis have a lot of
work to do to get to that point and Morocco and the United States have
a job to do to help them. But we believe that this can be done, it can
be done quickly and should be done for the benefit of both the
Palestinian people and also for Israelis.
We believe that if you take the ideas that are out there today, the
Saudi peace plan which was endorsed in the Beirut Arab League summit,
President Bush's speech on June 24, the United Nations Security
Council resolution, that there is exactly as you described a roadmap
to go forward. We also, as you know sir, are working closely with the
Quartet, which includes Russia, the United Nations, the European
Union, and the United States. We think we can make some progress.
Question: What is your assessment of U.S.-Moroccan relations?
U/S Grossman: I think the Moroccan-American relationship is excellent
but one of the messages that Moroccans give me and I hope to
reciprocate to Moroccans is that we can do even more between Morocco
and the United States. For example, one of the great successes of His
Majesty's visit to Washington was the launching of a Free Trade
Agreement. We want to go forward with that. We have notified Congress
that we are ready to move and we hope that negotiations can begin
early next year. And it would be a wonderful addition to U.S.-Moroccan
relationship. Working together in all areas and I would say that
Morocco as one member of this international coalition along with the
United States against terrorism plays a very important role in that
area as well.
Question: When do you believe that a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will
be concluded?
U/S Grossman: Well, it depends of course on the negotiations. Your
system and our system have to do this step by step. We have notified
our congress that we intend to negotiate an agreement with Morocco.
Those negotiations will begin. His Majesty and our President have
instructed us to do this as quickly as possible and so that will be
our job.
Question: How can we promote trade and investment in Morocco?
U/S Grossman: Well, the very first thing would be to have a Free Trade
Agreement. I believe that can and should bring more American
investment but we will see how the Free Trade Agreement works. And
also, and this is my personal view, I think that working more with
some of the other countries in North Africa, Algeria, Tunisia so that
there is really a Maghreb market, the North African market will also
increase the interest of North American investors in Morocco.
Question: What is the U.S. position on the issue of the Sahara?
U/S Grossman: Our position on this is quite clear, which is that we
trust in and believe in former Secretary of State Baker. Here is a man
of great integrity who has chosen to try and help solve this problem.
So we would just ask and encourage all of the parties to this problem
to stick with Jim Baker. I believe he is showing the way ahead and
will be a fair negotiator, a fair mediator. If people will give him
the chance I think he can help solve this problem.
Thank you.
(end transcript)
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