17 May 2004
Assistant Secretary Burns Addresses Mideast Frustration and Uncertainty
Outlines administration goals in four key areas
Assistant Secretary of State William Burns spoke of a "deep sense of frustration and uncertainty throughout the [Middle East] region right now" as he addressed journalists at the World Economic Forum in Jordan May 16.
"Much of that frustration is directed against American policy," he said, but added, "it's also about realities that people deal with in their own societies: the absence of economic hope, or at least the decrease of economic hope, the absence of political participation, lots of different frustrations."
With regard to American policies, Burns spoke of four areas in which the Bush administration hopes to achieve progress and thereby alleviate some of the frustration.
The first issue, which he characterized as the "most central," is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"As you look back over the last three and a half years, the situation for Palestinians living under Occupation, the daily humiliations that they suffer, the indignity or loss of dignity the Palestinians have to cope with, is obviously deeper and worse than ever," Burns said.
He added, "The biggest casualty, it seems to me -- not just for Palestinians, but for Israelis as well -- has been hope."
While admitting that he had no illusions about the difficulties of bringing the Palestinians and Israelis back into discussions regarding the Roadmap, he affirmed the administration's belief that there is no substitute to the two-state solution.
"It's going to require the Palestinians to make some tough choices, the Palestinian leadership in particular to move decisively against violent extremist groups. It's also going to require the Israelis to take steps, and to avoid certain steps, like home demolitions," Burns said.
The second area of focus for the administration is Iraq.
"Clearly the United States has learned a lot from our experience in the last year in Iraq. It was foolish for anyone to underestimate the complexities of Iraqi society, of the Iraqi political system. We made mistakes along the way, and we tried to learn from those mistakes," the assistant secretary said.
Looking ahead, Burns said, "We recognize that that interim government is going to need a great deal of support from the international community and from Iraq's friends in the region in order to succeed. It faces enormous challenges. We are going to pursue a new Security Council resolution to help make that possible."
With regard to international terrorism, Burns said, "I think there's a deep mutual interest between the United States and our friends throughout the region in fighting against the violent extremists who have threatened all of us."
Finally, he addressed the potential for political, economic and social reforms in the Middle East.
Burns acknowledged that the United States is not without its own faults. "We have a lot of work to do on our own society, with regard to our own institutions, with regard to race relations, with regard to economic justice, but the truth is, we're still working on it. We're a work in progress," he said.
Nevertheless, he maintained the United States can help other countries as they seek to improve their political and economic systems.
"We don't assume that the model that's worked for us in the United States is going to work in exactly the same way for anyone else; we don't presume that. We do think that some of the values that are important to us are shared by people in this part of the world, as in the rest of the world. And we do want to help, where people think that help would be worthwhile and useful to them, whether it's in the economic area, education, in other areas as well," he said.
Following is the transcript of Assistant Secretary Burns' roundtable with journalists:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
(Dead Sea, Jordan)
For Immediate Release May 16, 2004
PRESS ROUNDTABLE
BY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
AMBASSADOR WILLIAM J. BURNS
May 16, 2004, Dead Sea, Jordan
AMBASSADOR BURNS: It's very nice to see all of you; I apologize for keeping you waiting. And there's not a great deal of time, so, with your permission, I will just make a very few opening comments and then try as best I can to answer your questions.
I guess where I'd start is with the obvious. There's clearly a deep sense of frustration and uncertainty throughout the region right now. Much of that frustration is directed against American policy. The United States is determined, as Secretary Powell made clear during his attendance at the World Economic Forum, not just to talk, but to act decisively in several important areas.
As we look at American policy in the region, we are focused on four priorities. The first and most central is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We have no illusions about the difficulties of helping Palestinians and Israelis get back on the track of the Roadmap. That will not be easy, but there is no substitute, in our view, for the two-state goal which President Bush has set, which the Quartet and the entire international community has endorsed, with the Roadmap as the best mechanism for getting from here to there. We continue to see possibilities in the idea of disengagement that the Israeli government had put forward, but again, I want to be clear: the United States' view is that what we are talking about is a complete withdrawal from Gaza, that it's not an end in itself; it's not Gaza first and Gaza last; it's connected to a larger process that is a step in the implementation of the Roadmap and brings the parties back closer to that goal of two states.
With regard to another priority, Iraq, we're very supportive of the efforts of Mr. Brahimi, and the United Nations to try to produce a sovereign interim government in Iraq on the 30th of June. We recognize that that interim government is going to need a great deal of support from the international community and from Iraq's friends in the region in order to succeed. It faces enormous challenges. We are going to pursue a new Security Council resolution to help make that possible. Within that new Security Council resolution we also hope to see support for a new multi-national force. The United States is determined to contribute to that force. We're determined to do everything we can to help Iraqis to regain control of their own affairs, to maintain law and order as they rebuild their own security services.
Clearly the United States has learned a lot from our experience in the last year in Iraq. It was foolish for anyone to underestimate the complexities of Iraqi society, of the Iraqi political system. We made mistakes along the way, and we tried to learn from those mistakes. The most obvious and most tragic injustice that was done, as Secretary Powell said yesterday, has to do with the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu-Ghraib. It's not enough for us just to express regret. Regret both for the stain that it puts on America's image, but also regret for the suffering and humiliation of the victims of those abuses. It's not enough for us just to express regret, we also have to show, in an open and transparent way, that we're determined to punish those responsible and prevent this from happening again.
With regard to a third priority, the war on terrorism, I won't belabor the point, but I think there's a deep mutual interest between the United States and our friends throughout the region in fighting against the violent extremists who have threatened all of us, who have carried out attacks not just on September 11 in New York, but in Jordan and Saudi Arabia and Morocco and other places in the region. We use many different instruments of policy, working with our friends in the region, including diplomatic instruments. We've made some progress recently, for example, with Libya, in helping to persuade the Libyan government to take decisions in its own self-interest, to move out of the terrorist business and dismantle weapons of mass destruction.
Finally, on the subject of reform, there's a lot that's been said and written about that subject, it's created a lot of controversy. But the truth, I believe, is that in order for reform to succeed it obviously has to come from within the region. All of you know that better than I do. It's not something that's going to be the product of a blueprint, whether it's made in Washington or anyplace else outside the region. It's not a substitute for serious American efforts on the other issues I mentioned, the Palestinian issue or others, and probably, most importantly, it's not a favor to the United States. It's deeply in the self-interest of the people and leaderships in this region, to open up their economies, open up their political systems, open up their educational systems. The fact is, there are certain things the United States can do to help in those areas, whether it's trade agreements, assistance programs, educational exchanges, and that's what we want to do over the months and years ahead, and there are other things that our partners in the G-8 can do as well. But the initiative has to come from within the region.
Now, achieving all of those four priorities is a lot easier to say than it is to do. And they are connected in some important ways. It's not like an a la carte menu in a restaurant where we can sort of pick one priority and ignore the others. It's very important for the United States to show leadership and a sense of purpose on all four of those, and that's what we're determined to do.
I'd be glad to try and answer your questions.
QUESTION: Concerning Palestine.
AMBASSADOR BURNS: Well, the situation -- as you look back over the last three and a half years, the situation for Palestinians living under Occupation, the daily humiliations that they suffer, the indignity or loss of dignity the Palestinians have to cope with, is obviously deeper and worse than ever. The biggest casualty, it seems to me -- not just for Palestinians, but for Israelis as well -- has been hope. The kind of hope that did exist a few years ago, in the prospect of a final status resolution being worked out between the parties. I still think it's possible to revive that hope. I think that people are going to have to do more than just hear words; they're going to have to see actions on the ground. It won't be easy. It's going to require the Palestinians to make some tough choices, the Palestinian leadership in particular to move decisively against violent extremist groups. It's also going to require the Israelis to take steps, and to avoid certain steps, like home demolitions. Home demolitions, which we oppose, as a practice, and which, in our view, are not helpful to trying to revive an atmosphere in which people can move back to the Roadmap.
QUESTION: [inaudible]
AMBASSADOR BURNS: On the first question: obviously, public relations exercises, in and of themselves, are not going to succeed in easing people's frustrations or anger in this part of the world. The anger that I sense every time I travel in this region is about policies, it's about actions. And the frustration, again, to be honest, is about American policy, but it's also about realities that people deal with in their own societies: the absence of economic hope, or at least the decrease of economic hope, the absence of political participation, lots of different frustrations. They're not going to be solved overnight. But it's not going to be through "public diplomacy" alone, or PR exercises that they're solved. So, I recognize the limitations of words and rhetoric.
On the second question, I talked so long on the first question that I forgot it.
QUESTION: [inaudible]
AMBASSADOR BURNS: The United States is not a perfect society; we make that clear every day. We're a fairly open and transparent society, so people see not only when we make mistakes, but that we acknowledge them and we try to correct them. The prisoner abuses in Iraq are one particularly tragic example of that, but we have a lot of work to do on our own society, with regard to our own institutions, with regard to race relations, with regard to economic justice, but the truth is, we're still working on it. We're a work in progress. We don't assume that the model that's worked for us in the United States is going to work in exactly the same way for anyone else; we don't presume that. We do think that some of the values that are important to us are shared by people in this part of the world, as in the rest of the world. And we do want to help, where people think that help would be worthwhile and useful to them, whether it's in the economic area, education, in other areas as well. So, we're not perfect. I'd never make any pretense about that. We have a lot of work to do ourselves, and we're going to do it, and continue to do it, but we will be supportive of those in this region who want to undertake those reforms, in their own self-interest, and we will do everything we can do practically to show people tangible results. One examples how we used a bilateral free trade agreement, I remember, when I served as Ambassador to Jordan, to show people through the creation of exports, the creation of jobs, that these reforms aren't just on paper; they produce positive things for people. And that's what we want to try to do, here and elsewhere in the region.
QUESTION: [inaudible]
AMBASSADOR BURNS: The answer is what I said before, and that is: I understand very clearly the suffering and the huge challenges and problems the Palestinians face. The ultimate answer to the problems the Palestinians face living under Occupation, and that Israelis face every day, in terms of their own security, is the establishment of an independent, viable Palestinian state that can live in peace and security, and not least, in dignity, alongside Israel. As I said before, that's much easier to talk about than it is to accomplish. But I think it's extremely important for people on both sides, as well as their leadership, but ordinary people on both sides to look beyond their anger and their frustration and their bitterness and their mistrust today, and see what's in the best interest of their children and of themselves, and that is to get back on a diplomatic track, with a clear goal, and that's a two-state solution.
QUESTION: What about Arafat?
AMBASSADOR BURNS: Well, I don't really have much to add about our views of Palestinian leadership. With regard to Mr. Arafat, we recognize that he was elected president of Palestine, that he is the president of the Palestinian Authority. We recognize the role he plays amongst Palestinians, and the view that many Palestinians have of him as their leader. Our problem has not been with those realities, our problem has been with the behavior of the Palestinian leadership, and I say that as a friend. Because in our view, the failure, the unwillingness of the Palestinians leadership, despite all the difficulties it has faced, despite all the limits on its capability, to undertake its obligations under the Roadmap, has undermined the very legitimate political aspirations of Palestinians. I'm not saying that to excuse the fact that the Israelis also have obligations under the Roadmap, or to say that the United States doesn't have obligations that we need to fulfill. We do. And Israel does. But we also believe that it's very important for Palestinians to take those steps in their own self-interest, and that is the message that Secretary Powell conveyed to Prime Minister Qurei yesterday. I'm sure it's what Dr. Rice will stress tomorrow in Berlin. We want to help. We're prepared to do our part under the Roadmap, but Palestinians need to show that they're prepared to do theirs.
QUESTION: [inaudible]
AMBASSADOR BURNS: I've learned not to be over-optimistic; I'm realistic. I think that the disengagement initiative, as it was put on the table originally, holds possibilities. I think if it's shaped in a way that leads to complete withdrawal, that is, the dismantling of all the Israeli settlements in Gaza, as well as some in the West Bank, it can provide us a way to move back into the Roadmap, a step in the implementation of the Roadmap. And at a time when we face a series of very difficult choices, we want to take advantage of every possibility, every opportunity that we see. But again, this can't work if it's "Gaza first, Gaza last." It has to be wrapped into a broader process. It also has to lead back to direct contacts between Israelis and Palestinians. So, we're still committed to trying to make that a reality, to explore that possibility, even as the Israeli government tries to sort out whether it's going to be able to move in that direction again.
QUESTION: What about Palestinian Refugees?
AMBASSADOR BURNS: On refugees -- and I'll say the same thing on refugees that I will on other final-status issues -- the President's made this very clear. The bottom line, from the point of view of American policy is that it's only through mutual agreement of the parties that those issues can be resolved. There are a lot of creative ideas that have been put on the table in past negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, and our hope is that some of them can be revived, and that Israelis and Palestinians themselves can navigate their way to mutually acceptable solutions. And that's what the United States will support. Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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