DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
Richard Boucher, Spokesman
Washington, DC; September 27, 2001
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QUESTION: To what extent does this campaign -- as you constantly review your Middle East policy, what -- how much influence does this campaign against terrorism have in that? What's the input? How does it weigh in here? See what I mean?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't.
QUESTION: It's obviously a factor --
MR. BOUCHER: We have talked about this on and off over the last few days. We recognize that there is an influence. Some have said it affects the atmosphere, the Palestinian/Israeli issues affect the atmosphere of cooperation. But, essentially, there are, on some planes, two different things. One is that there are violent people trying to destroy societies, ours, many others in the world. The world recognizes that and we are going to stop those people.
On the other hand, there are issues and violence and political issues that need to be resolved in the Middle East, Israelis and Palestinians. But we all recognize that the path to solve those is through negotiation and that we have devoted enormous efforts to getting back to that path of negotiation.
And we have called on the parties to do everything they can, particularly in the present circumstance, to make that possible.
I guess that's about as close as I can come to the kind of sophisticated analysis I'm sure you will want to do on your own. But they are clearly issues that are different, not only in geography but also, to some extent, in their nature.
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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
Why do they tell a lie like this. When the war was halted in 1973, Israeli troops had surrounded the Egyptian Army, they had crosses the Suez Canal and had totally pushed the Syrians out of the Golan. In fact there was nothing to stop the Israelis from advancing on Cairo and Damascus if they had chosen to.
However, the other part of the statement is true. Everyone knew the savages would respond to this "peace initiative" by murdering people. The Israelis would have to respond and Arabs will die. It was also known that Abu Mazen has no ability (if we assume he wants to) to stop the terrorists. This was a needless, cynical, political waste of life by Mazen, Sharon, and Bush. Sorry there is no polite way to put it.
That would be superhuman. I'm still hoping the President is doing to Arafat and the Palestinian-Arab anti-Semitic apologists what he did to the UN - giving 'em enough rope....
Palestinians, Arabs - anti-Semitic Muslims openly plotting to kill Jews and destroy Israel are terrorists.
President Bush knows this. Stay tuned...