18 April 2002
Transcript: Bush Praises Powell's Message of "Hope and Peace" to Mideast
(Calls for region's leaders to "take responsibility" to promote
vision) (2120)
President Bush praised Secretary of State Colin Powell's ten-day
mission to the Middle East, saying Powell had carried a "message of
hope and peace," and that the United States would work hard to achieve
it.
Speaking with Powell at the White House April 18, Bush said the
American vision of resolving the conflict was rooted in providing hope
to the people of the region.
"[T]here must be a humanitarian aspect to peace in the Middle East,
that people must have hope; that the hope doesn't come from killing,
the hope comes from an ability to realize what all of us want, which
is to raise our children in a peaceful and secure environment, hope
they get educated, and people can realize their entrepreneurial
dreams. And that is exactly where our vision is," said Bush.
Bush said that while progress was being made towards that vision, the
region's leaders must take responsibility and be "responsible leaders
for a peaceful world" to further it.
For his part, Secretary Powell said that he had delivered a clear
message that terrorism and violence "has to stop," and that the U.S.
vision of "two states living in peace" was "the only solution to this
conflict."
"We made clear to the leaders in the region that we want to move
forward with negotiations as early as possible, and we're looking at
different ways to do that once security has been established," said
Powell, linking peace negotiations closely to security concerns.
The president said that prior to Powell's arrival in the region, the
situation was at a "boiling point," and that Powell had provided the
"framework and the path" for Arabs and Israelis to resolve the
conflict peacefully.
"This is a part of the world where killing had been going on for a
long, long time. And one trip by the Secretary of State is not going
to prevent that from happening, but one trip by the Secretary of State
laid out the framework and the path to achieve peace," he said.
Bush said that Israelis, Palestinians, and their neighbors have
"short-term responsibilities" they must act upon.
He called upon the Palestinian Authority to follow up on its
condemnation of terror with action, for Israel to continue its
withdrawals from Palestinian areas, and for neighboring countries to
cut off sources of funding for terrorism and to "make it clear that
people who suicide bomb are not martyrs, that they kill or are
murderers of innocent people."
The president said that Israeli Prime Minster Sharon had "met the
timetable" given to the United States for military withdrawals.
Concerning reports of atrocities committed by the Israeli military in
Jenin, Bush said he would wait to see "what the evidence says."
Following is a transcript of President Bush and Secretary Powell:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary
April 18, 2002
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL IN PHOTO
OPPORTUNITY
The Oval Office 10:54 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: I'm pleased to welcome the Secretary of State back to
the Oval Office. Presidents and Secretaries of State have sat here for
a long time, trying to figure out how to reduce violence and bring
peace to the Middle East. The Secretary went over with a vision on how
to do that.
We talked about the two states living at peace with each other. He
carried that message of hope and peace, that our nation is -- will
work hard to achieve a peace. He also carried the message that people
must -- must be focused and must work hard to achieve a peace. People
in the region have got certain responsibilities.
The short-term responsibilities are these: The Palestinian Authority
must act on its condemnation of terror. The Israelis are withdrawing
from Jenin and Nabulus, and they must continue their withdrawals. And
neighbors in the region must condemn terror, cut off funding for
terror, must make it clear that people who suicide bomb are not
martyrs, that they kill or are murderers of innocent people.
As well, the Secretary's trip made it clear that our nation thinks
beyond the short-term, that we're serious when we talk about two
states living side by side, and that we're laying the foundations for
peace, the structures necessary to get to peace. Progress is being
made toward our vision. In order for that vision to be achieved,
leaders must take responsibility, leaders in the region must be
responsible citizens for a peaceful world.
The Secretary delivered that message loud and clear, and I want to
thank him for his work.
Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you, Mr. President. I did try to deliver that
message loud and clear that the United States does have a vision, a
vision that leads to two states living in peace, side by side; the
only solution to this conflict. And I talked about what the sides have
to do with respect to restoring a sense of security so the two peoples
and have confidence in one another, and begin negotiations once again,
essentially put down security element to our strategy. We made clear
to the leaders in the region that we want to move forward with
negotiations as early as possible, and we're looking at different ways
to do that once security has been established -- link the negotiations
closely to security.
And the third part of our framework was the humanitarian part. There
would be a great need for humanitarian relief, for reconstruction
efforts, and all that has to be part of an integrated strategy.
And we can begin working quickly on that integrated strategy if the
Palestinian Authority, if Chairman Arafat and those Palestinian
leaders not only denounce violence, but take action to act against
those who continue to encourage violence and perform acts of terrorism
and violence. The terrorism, violence has to stop. I made that message
very clear.
I'm pleased that the Israeli government is now continuing withdrawal.
I hope it will be accelerated and we will bring that to an end as
quickly as possible, because that is one of the difficulties that we
have now in moving forward in the integrated strategy.
And, Mr. President, we will be staying in close touch with the
situation, by phone and with various members of the administration who
are already in the region, such as Ambassador Bill Burns and with the
assets of the Department of State and other departments of government
to make sure that the strategy is understood and shared with our
friends around the world who are ready to execute it.
THE PRESIDENT: Terry.
Q: Mr. President, you said progress has been made toward our vision.
Where? And secondly, do you believe that Ariel Sharon is a man of
peace, and are you satisfied with his and his government's assurances
that there was no massacre in Jenin?
THE PRESIDENT: I do believe Ariel Sharon is a man of peace. I think he
wants -- I'm confident he wants Israel to be able to exist at peace
with its neighbor -- with its neighbors. I mean, he's told that us
here in the Oval Office. He has embraced the notion of two states
living side by side.
And a progress is made, Terry, as a result of the United States and
the Secretary of State going to the region and convincing the parties
that we'll never get to peace if there's violence. And the situation
prior to the Secretary's arrival was at a boiling point, and thanks to
his hard work, he has laid out not only a vision of hope, which is
important, but has convinced others that these terrorist acts will
forever and constantly undermine the capacity for peace.
As he mentioned, and I mentioned, there have been withdrawals from the
West Bank. Mr. Arafat did condemn terror, and we will hold him to
account.
This is a part of the world where killing had been going on for a
long, long time. And one trip by the Secretary of State is not going
to prevent that from happening, but one trip by the Secretary of State
laid out the framework and the path to achieve peace. The United
States has an obligation to do just that, and he did. And I have done
that. And we will continue to do that.
Q: And Jenin?
THE PRESIDENT: I was told by the Prime Minister last -- a couple of
days ago that they were withdrawing from Jenin, and I believe they
will -- oh, the -- we'll see what the evidence says.
Q: Mr. President, you said yesterday that you plan to stay engaged in
the Middle East. What is the next step? Do you send Mr. Tenet to the
region? And specifically, do you support an international peace
conference?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, let's make sure everybody understands that we
have been engaged from the beginning of this administration. It's a --
the Mitchell Plan came into being as a result of the mission that
President Clinton called together. But as a -- the Secretary of State
and myself and the administration embraced the Mitchell Plan. It is a
way to achieve peace. All parties signed on to it. We worked to get
them to sign on to it.
The Tenet Plan, as a result of this administration sending George
Tenet to the region to lay out a security cooperation agreement. And
so when you -- not reading into your question, I just want to make it
clear that the history of this administration shows that the Middle
East is an incredibly important part of our foreign policy.
I went to the United Nations, spoke clearly about two nations living
side by side. And so not only have we been, as they say, engaged -- of
course, we will be engaged. It is essential that we continue to work
to fight terror. There will never be peace in parts of the world
unless we're willing to rout out terror.
And as I said in my speech yesterday, that this war against terror is
a part of making sure the world is not only safer, but eventually, and
as importantly, better. And as the Secretary said, that there must be
a humanitarian aspect to peace in the Middle East, that people must
have hope; that the hope doesn't come from killing, the hope comes
from an ability to realize what all of us want, which is to raise our
children in a peaceful and secure environment, hope they get educated,
and people can realize their entrepreneurial dreams.
And that is exactly where our vision is. And that's why we will be
engaged not only there, but around the world where we fight terror.
This is the calling of our time, to fight terror. And this government
will be strong in our battle against terror.
Patsy.
Q: Mr. President, does it trouble you that Israel hasn't withdrawn
without delay, as you requested? And does the demand still stand for a
full and immediate withdrawal?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, Israel started withdrawing quickly after our call
from smaller cities on the West Bank. History will show that they
responded. And as the Prime Minister said, told me, he gave me a
timetable and he's met the timetable.
In Ramallah, there is an issue with the Zeevi five killers. They're
housed in the basement where Colin visited with Mr. Arafat. And we
will work with the Israelis to figure out a solution to the Zeevi
five. These people are accused of killing a Cabinet official of the
Israeli government. And I can understand why the Prime Minister wants
them brought to justice. They should be brought to justice if they
killed this man in cold blood.
And so I can -- the situation in Ramallah is based upon that
particular part of the problem. In terms of the Church of the
Nativity, hopefully progress is being made. Once the people are out of
the Church of the Nativity, Israel will leave -- pull back out of
Bethlehem. This is good progress. I'm convinced that the Secretary of
State's trip helped achieve this progress. Listen, thank you all.
Q: Mr. President, can I ask one question on the Middle East?
THE PRESIDENT: You had your shot --
Q: Are there going to be any consequences for all parties not
responding to you immediately?
Q: Are you tired, Mr. Secretary?
SECRETARY POWELL: I'm great. Fine. I'm not tired. (Laughter.)
Q: You're amazing.
Q: Mr. President, do we back up our threats with consequences ever? Do
we ever tell them what will happen if they don't --
11:05 A.M. EDT
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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