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DoD News Briefing

Tuesday, October 31, 2000
Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and former U.S. Senator John H. Glenn
(Media availability at the John Glenn Institute of Public Service and Public Policy, Columbus, Ohio)

Q: With the continuing violence in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and the very real threat of it spreading, do you see a direct military role for the United States if it continues to get worse?

Cohen: I do not see a direct military role for the United States unless the United States is attacked or if Saddam Hussein were to threaten his neighbors, as we've indicated before. If he were to move against those in the region militarily then we have indicated to Saddam Hussein that he'd be making a grave miscalculation and it would be met with a very strong response. But in terms of Israel itself, the Israelis have always depended upon their own resources and their own capabilities to defend their interests.

What we are hoping is that there can be a cooling down period. That's exactly why President Clinton went to Egypt, to meet with President Mubarak and King Abdullah and others, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, to see if they could not cool the passions that are so hot right now, so that we don't see this erupt from a conflict in the streets of either on the West Bank or in Gaza suddenly erupt into a regional conflict. But I don't see a role for the United States, again, unless Saddam Hussein should move against his neighbors or his own people or attack the United States.

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