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Posted on 06/25/2002 7:47:11 PM PDT by ejdrapes
Powell discusses Palestinian change
Secretary of state talks with Tom Brokaw about Mideast plan
TOM BROKAW: Mr. Secretary, when Yasser Arafat faced reporters today they said to him, “Was the President referring to you when he called for a change in the Palestinian leadership?” And he responded, “Definitely not.” Did he not get the message? Colin Powell: Well, I think he got the message, and of course the president did not specifically refer to Chairman Arafat in his speech yesterday. But he was certainly talking about the leadership that Chairman Arafat has provided, making the point that we need a change in leadership. We need to see new leaders come up so that we can have a more defused leadership where others have responsibility. It’s not all in the hands of a single executive. I’m pleased that the basic law was signed last week by Chairman Arafat, after six years of waiting, which will start moving us in the direction of dispersing authority and putting in place the kinds of procedures and institution that the Palestinian people deserve. But the president was rather clear that he did not believe that the current leadership has been taking the kinds of actions appropriate to the situation, not clamping down hard enough on terror and violence, and not doing what is necessary to move the Palestinian people in the direction of a Palestinian state, which is what the president wants for them. A state living in peace, side by side with Israel. That’s his vision. And we’re going to work to get that vision. And we hope that the Palestinian people will put in power new leaders that will work more aggressively towards that vision. Tom Brokaw: You have been saying all day long that the response from the other Arab nations has been very position. Egyptian President Mubarak said it was a good speech but he said, “I didn’t see anything in that statement that referred to Arafat.” >If Arafat is re-elected by the Palestinian people, you have no choice but to deal with him, do you? Colin Powell: We will see what the Palestinian do in the election, and I don’t want to answer right now on a hypothetical. And if — Tom Brokaw: But why couldn’t you answer that, Mr. Secretary? I mean, after all — Colin Powell: Because the election— Tom Brokaw: —process— Colin Powell: —the election hasn’t been held. And let’s see what happens after we put in place, as I believe the Palestinian are preparing to do, new constitutional procedures, hold elections which are free and fair, and let the Palestinian people make a judgement on the circumstances they find themselves in, where they’re not able to get to work, they’re not able to live normal lives; and let them evaluate the leadership that has produced these conditions and a leadership which does not move them closer to their desire for a state of their own. And we’ll see what judgement they make. And then of course if it is that kind of election, free and fair, then we will respond to what the outcome of that election is. Tom Brokaw: Even if it’s Yasser Arafat who is re-elected. Colin Powell: We will wait and see who is elected, and then we’ll make a judgement as to how to deal with that — the results of that election. Tom Brokaw: A prominent Arab official told me today that it’s impossible for the Palestinian people to meet all of these conditions while they’re being occupied by Israeli Defense Forces. And that there was not enough pressure put on the Israelis at this time to pull out of the Palestinian territories so that the constitutional process can go forward. Colin Powell: Let me answer two ways. First, with respect to what the president said about his expectations for the Israeli side. As we move forward his expectations are rather high. End of the occupation, end of settlement activity, return of revenue, open up all of the communities and negotiations to end the occupation that began in 1967 on the basis of land for peace. So that’s a pretty firm vision. And he wants to do it within three years. And he has put his full weight behind that. Now, that’s what we want to see happen. What we also need to see happen is an end to terror and violence now so that we can get the Israelis to move out of the areas they’re occupying. Remember, we worked hard through April and May to relieve that pressure on the Palestinian people. And we were starting to see some movement, we were starting to see some progress. Had they completely left all of the towns and villages and opened things up? No, but we were moving in that direction. And then last week, once again, we saw it return. Bomber after bomber after bomber. Massacres taking place or — let me put it this way — murders taking place when people, terrorists go into a home and murder all the people in the home, massacre people in their own home. And the Israelis have now felt a need to respond to that again in an act of self-defense. We gotta get that terror eliminated. And we can deal with the issue of Israeli occupation and begin to open the place up. The president is making the point to the Israeli side that if we can get this under control, get leadership which will bring this under control there are expectations that we have for you. And we will be asking you and expecting you to meet those expectations. Tom Brokaw: But you’re asking the Palestinian to meet all of your expectations first before the Israelis are required to meet their expectations? Colin Powell: We will see. I mean, let me say this, Tom. If we could get quiet in the region, if we could get strong action against this kind of terrorism, if Arab nations would stop supporting these organizations, providing funds to these organizations that are responsible for terrorism, if the leaders in the Palestinian community now would speak out boldly against this kind of activity, get their people to turn against these kinds of organizations and stop giving them active or tacit support, then circumstances could improve very rapidly. And we might be able to move forward. And, frankly, we would have the kind of responsible leadership that we haven’t been seeing, which would allow us to move forward. We are stuck in this terrorist violence and every effort we have made over the last 18 months in order to move forward by ending this terrorism has been frustrated. And so if this leadership is not able to do that then it’s important to bring in new leadership that will be able to do that. And that new, the leadership comes in and starts to move in the direction that the President spoke of then things can move very rapidly. And the President is prepared to respond to that with the help in preparing a state that is provisional in nature with respect to its boundaries and with respect to other aspects of its existence, but on the way to a final settlement and a Palestinian state. Tom Brokaw: Mr. Secretary, as you know, a democratic process even under the best of conditions is sometimes a complex and time consuming process. Does that mean that you don’t deal with Yasser Arafat until the Palestinian people change their leadership? Colin Powell: Right now we are dealing with Palestinian leaders at a number of levels. Members of my staff are talking to Palestinian leaders and we have not totally abandoned all dialogue with those that are there. Previously, Palestinian had held elections that did not take an extended period of time to organize and to conduct. And we will see how we get these elections taken care of and how we move forward. Tom Brokaw: Mr. Secretary, this all sounds to an outsider very much like something from your old line of work, the U.S. Army and Catch-22. Colin Powell: Not to me, and I might be considered an insider or outsider. But it isn’t Catch-22. The catch is violence, the catch is terrorism. The catch that is frustrating the dreams of the Palestinian people and the Israeli people to live in peace are terrorists who have no interest in doing anything but killing innocent Israeli civilians and destroying the dreams of the Palestinian people for a state of their own. That is within their reach. That is within their vision. But they must act against terrorists. Tom Brokaw: Mr. Secretary, thank you very much.
NBC NEWS
June 25 — If President Bush wants Yasser Arafat to leave, his message isn’t getting through — to Yasser Arafat. Twenty-four hours after Bush’s toughest speech yet on the Middle East, in which he called on the Palestinian people to change their leadership so the peace process can move forward, Arafat said it wasn’t about him — and one other prominent Arab leader said he saw nothing in the statement indicating that Arafat should go. NBC’s Tom Brokaw spoke with Secretary of State Colin Powell on that issue.
Actually, he knows. He's just trying to ignore it - much like bill clinton would do.
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