Albright Interview with Jim Lehrer on PBS October 30
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
October 31, 2000
INTERVIEW OF SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT
BY JIM LEHRER OF THE LEHRER NEWS HOUR
October 30, 2000
Washington, D.C.
MR. LEHRER: All right, let's talk about the Middle East. As we just
reported, as I just reported in the news summary, Israeli Prime
Minister Barak said today that the window of opportunity for peace
with the Palestinians was closing.
Do you agree with him?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, I hope not, but I can understand why he says
something like that because of the violence that continues. We want
very much for both the parties to live up to the agreements that they
made with the President and President Mubarak and King Abdallah and
Kofi Annan at Sharm el-Sheikh. And only the parties themselves can
carry out their obligations, and we are calling on them to do that.
What I have found interesting about Prime Minister Barak is that he
comes back always and says that he would like to try the path of
peace. And if you see the future for them is either - for both the
Palestinians and the Israelis - is the kind of horrible pictures that
we have seen for the last two, two and a half, three weeks, or of
trying to work out a peace. And so we will work until the last day to
try to help them.
MR. LEHRER: Is it conceivable that this time there may not be a way to
negotiate their way out of this, that these things are so intractable
that you can't bring people into a room and say let's work this out?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, I think that clearly the last couple of
weeks have been very bad in terms of totally undermining whatever
trust had developed between them. And when I think that we were at
Camp David this summer and they were talking about these very serious
issues, and now they are involved in this cycle of violence, it's a
great tragedy.
But I don't think we should ever say never. I think the problems have
been there all along. There will be a peace ultimately, and it will
have the elements that we have all been talking about, and so I think
we need to keep pursuing it.
MR. LEHRER: What is the explanation for things to have gotten so
close, closer than they have ever been toward peace, and then, boom,
more violent that they have been in years?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, I think actually one can say that when you
actually get closer to peace and you open up subjects that people
haven't talked about before, the extremists on both sides come out.
MR. LEHRER: Such as Jerusalem?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, I mean, that's clearly a very crucial aspect
of this, and yet there is no way to have a peace that really works
without talking about those issues. But I think - I don't think this
is just kind of optimistic, but the truth is that because we came so
close, I think those people who are the enemies of peace then decide
that they don't want to follow through.
MR. LEHRER: But is there anything going on now that makes you the
least bit optimistic that this is going to - that even the violence
is going to stop anytime soon?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, I am basically an optimist, as you know
after all these years, but I think that the Foreign Minister of Israel
is coming here on Wednesday. I am going to be talking with him, Shlomo
Ben-Ami, and the Palestinians will be sending someone also later this
week. And we will see. I think it just depends if they want to see a
future of stones and bullets and rocks and funerals, or whether we can
somehow begin to look about a different vision. It's tough now, Jim.
You know, there is no question. I'm not going to try to fool anybody.
This is a very hard period.
MR. LEHRER: You used the word "if" they see that in the future. Is
there any reason to see anything other than that right now?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, I think the interesting part - and, again,
when I have listened to Prime Minister Barak, who went very far and
was very bold at Camp David - deep down he is always saying that he
would like to figure out a way to go to a peace process. And I think
that the other side, there are numbers of them who say they want to
work it out. I can't say that there is anything particularly hopeful
going on at this moment except that they are talking to us, they are
talking to others who want to help. Other countries want to be
helpful, the Europeans, and Kofi Annan wants to be helpful, and we all
sat together at Sharm el-Sheikh just 10 days ago.
MR. LEHRER: What is your reading on Arafat's desires at this point?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, I think that he has been saying some things
that are very difficult to swallow in terms of kind of wanting to keep
fighting, but I hope very much that he will exercise more control --
and he should and he can - and that we can get back to a peace
process.
MR. LEHRER: There is no question in your mind that he could exercise
more control than he is?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I believe that he can, yes.
MR. LEHRER: All right. Madame Secretary, thank you very much.
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Thanks a lot, Jim.
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