President Bush Discussed Middle East in Rose Garden Address

THE PRESIDENT: For too long, the citizens of the Middle East have lived in the midst of death and fear. The hatred of a few holds the hopes of many hostage. The forces of extremism and terror are attempting to kill progress and peace by killing the innocent. And this casts a dark shadow over an entire region. For the sake of all humanity, things must change in the Middle East.

It is untenable for Israeli citizens to live in terror. It is untenable for Palestinians to live in squalor and occupation. And the current situation offers no prospect that life will improve. Israeli citizens will continue to be victimized by terrorists, and so Israel will continue to defend herself.

In the situation the Palestinian people will grow more and more miserable. My vision is two states, living side by side in peace and security. There is simply no way to achieve that peace until all parties fight terror. Yet, at this critical moment, if all parties will break with the past and set out on a new path, we can overcome the darkness with the light of hope. Peace requires a new and different Palestinian leadership, so that a Palestinian state can be born.

I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror. I call upon them to build a practicing democracy, based on tolerance and liberty. If the Palestinian people actively pursue these goals, America and the world will actively support their efforts. If the Palestinian people meet these goals, they will be able to reach agreement with Israel and Egypt and Jordan on security and other arrangements for independence.

And when the Palestinian people have new leaders, new institutions and new security arrangements with their neighbors, the United States of America will support the creation of a Palestinian state whose borders and certain aspects of its sovereignty will be provisional until resolved as part of a final settlement in the Middle East.

In the work ahead, we all have responsibilities. The Palestinian people are gifted and capable, and I am confident they can achieve a new birth for their nation. A Palestinian state will never be created by terror -- it will be built through reform. And reform must be more than cosmetic change, or veiled attempt to preserve the status quo. True reform will require entirely new political and economic institutions, based on democracy, market economics and action against terrorism.

Today, the elected Palestinian legislature has no authority, and power is concentrated in the hands of an unaccountable few. A Palestinian state can only serve its citizens with a new constitution which separates the powers of government. The Palestinian parliament should have the full authority of a legislative body. Local officials and government ministers need authority of their own and the independence to govern effectively.

The United States, along with the European Union and Arab states, will work with Palestinian leaders to create a new constitutional framework, and a working democracy for the Palestinian people. And the United States, along with others in the international community will help the Palestinians organize and monitor fair, multi-party local elections by the end of the year, with national elections to follow.

Today, the Palestinian people live in economic stagnation, made worse by official corruption. A Palestinian state will require a vibrant economy, where honest enterprise is encouraged by honest government. The United States, the international donor community and the World Bank stand ready to work with Palestinians on a major project of economic reform and development. The United States, the EU, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund are willing to oversee reforms in Palestinian finances, encouraging transparency and independent auditing.

And the United States, along with our partners in the developed world, will increase our humanitarian assistance to relieve Palestinian suffering. Today, the Palestinian people lack effective courts of law and have no means to defend and vindicate their rights. A Palestinian state will require a system of reliable justice to punish those who prey on the innocent. The United States and members of the international community stand ready to work with Palestinian leaders to establish finance -- establish finance and monitor a truly independent judiciary.

Today, Palestinian authorities are encouraging, not opposing, terrorism. This is unacceptable. And the United States will not support the establishment of a Palestinian state until its leaders engage in a sustained fight against the terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure. This will require an externally supervised effort to rebuild and reform the Palestinian security services. The security system must have clear lines of authority and accountability and a unified chain of command.

America is pursuing this reform along with key regional states. The world is prepared to help, yet ultimately these steps toward statehood depend on the Palestinian people and their leaders. If they energetically take the path of reform, the rewards can come quickly. If Palestinians embrace democracy, confront corruption and firmly reject terror, they can count on American support for the creation of a provisional state of Palestine.

With a dedicated effort, this state could rise rapidly, as it comes to terms with Israel, Egypt and Jordan on practical issues, such as security. The final borders, the capital and other aspects of this state's sovereignty will be negotiated between the parties, as part of a final settlement. Arab states have offered their help in this process, and their help is needed.

I've said in the past that nations are either with us or against us in the war on terror. To be counted on the side of peace, nations must act. Every leader actually committed to peace will end incitement to violence in official media, and publicly denounce homicide bombings. Every nation actually committed to peace will stop the flow of money, equipment and recruits to terrorist groups seeking the destruction of Israel -- including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. Every nation actually committed to peace must block the shipment of Iranian supplies to these groups, and oppose regimes that promote terror, like Iraq. And Syria must choose the right side in the war on terror by closing terrorist camps and expelling terrorist organizations.

Leaders who want to be included in the peace process must show by their deeds an undivided support for peace. And as we move toward a peaceful solution, Arab states will be expected to build closer ties of diplomacy and commerce with Israel, leading to full normalization of relations between Israel and the entire Arab world.

Israel also has a large stake in the success of a democratic Palestine. Permanent occupation threatens Israel's identity and democracy. A stable, peaceful Palestinian state is necessary to achieve the security that Israel longs for. So I challenge Israel to take concrete steps to support the emergence of a viable, credible Palestinian state.

As we make progress towards security, Israel forces need to withdraw fully to positions they held prior to September 28, 2000. And consistent with the recommendations of the Mitchell Committee, Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories must stop.

The Palestinian economy must be allowed to develop. As violence subsides, freedom of movement should be restored, permitting innocent Palestinians to resume work and normal life. Palestinian legislators and officials, humanitarian and international workers, must be allowed to go about the business of building a better future. And Israel should release frozen Palestinian revenues into honest, accountable hands.

I've asked Secretary Powell to work intensively with Middle Eastern and international leaders to realize the vision of a Palestinian state, focusing them on a comprehensive plan to support Palestinian reform and institution-building.

Ultimately, Israelis and Palestinians must address the core issues that divide them if there is to be a real peace, resolving all claims and ending the conflict between them. This means that the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 will be ended through a settlement negotiated between the parties, based on U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338, with Israeli withdrawal to secure and recognize borders.

We must also resolve questions concerning Jerusalem, the plight and future of Palestinian refugees, and a final peace between Israel and Lebanon, and Israel and a Syria that supports peace and fights terror.

All who are familiar with the history of the Middle East realize that there may be setbacks in this process. Trained and determined killers, as we have seen, want to stop it. Yet the Egyptian and Jordanian peace treaties with Israel remind us that with determined and responsible leadership progress can come quickly.

As new Palestinian institutions and new leaders emerge, demonstrating real performance on security and reform, I expect Israel to respond and work toward a final status agreement. With intensive effort by all, this agreement could be reached within three years from now. And I and my country will actively lead toward that goal.

I can understand the deep anger and anguish of the Israeli people. You've lived too long with fear and funerals, having to avoid markets and public transportation, and forced to put armed guards in kindergarten classrooms. The Palestinian Authority has rejected your offer at hand, and trafficked with terrorists. You have a right to a normal life; you have a right to security; and I deeply believe that you need a reformed, responsible Palestinian partner to achieve that security.

I can understand the deep anger and despair of the Palestinian people. For decades you've been treated as pawns in the Middle East conflict. Your interests have been held hostage to a comprehensive peace agreement that never seems to come, as your lives get worse year by year. You deserve democracy and the rule of law. You deserve an open society and a thriving economy. You deserve a life of hope for your children. An end to occupation and a peaceful democratic Palestinian state may seem distant, but America and our partners throughout the world stand ready to help, help you make them possible as soon as possible.

If liberty can blossom in the rocky soil of the West Bank and Gaza, it will inspire millions of men and women around the globe who are equally weary of poverty and oppression, equally entitled to the benefits of democratic government.

I have a hope for the people of Muslim countries. Your commitments to morality, and learning, and tolerance led to great historical achievements. And those values are alive in the Islamic world today. You have a rich culture, and you share the aspirations of men and women in every culture. Prosperity and freedom and dignity are not just American hopes, or Western hopes. They are universal, human hopes. And even in the violence and turmoil of the Middle East, America believes those hopes have the power to transform lives and nations.

This moment is both an opportunity and a test for all parties in the Middle East: an opportunity to lay the foundations for future peace; a test to show who is serious about peace and who is not. The choice here is stark and simple. The Bible says, "I have set before you life and death; therefore, choose life." The time has arrived for everyone in this conflict to choose peace, and hope, and life.

Maybe Bush will call for an additional state for Osama.

Does Osama have a legitimate land dispute with his next-door neighbor? No? Then your comment was ill-conceived.

(And, don't tell me the Arabs living in the West Bank don't have a legitimate land dispute. They are living separately from Israel and they make up 99% of the population. That gives them a legitimate right to live there and to push for autonomy. But not with terror strikes.)

The "onus" has been on the Arabs for almost two generations and they don't give a rat's ass about

I'm talking about policy-wise. In recent years all the political pressure from the US has been on Isreal to make concesions. Now the pressure will be on the Arabs, at least as far as the USA is concerned. Bush made it clear he will not expect Israel to make any concessions until terror ends. I just hope Bush follows through. A good place to start would be by telling Egypt their next installation of foreign aid depends on an end to hate propaganda in their media, something they agreed to in the Camp David peace treaty.

if you have some new method of preventing insane death cultists from boarding Israeli buses and blowing themselves up, I am sure the Israelis would love to hear it.

If not, all else is an exercise in self delusion.

Terrorists will kill Israeli civilians, and Israel will react.

The dance of death will continue as long as the insane death cultists live side by side with Israel, and no pretty speeches, PA regime changes, or words on paper will alter that reality.

They slaughter Jewish babies, women, teenagers almost every day now in Israel, and Bush wants to give them their own d*mn country - by taking land from Israel?

They do live there, don't they? And are they second-class citizens of Israel or are they autonomous? If they are autonomous, does their autonomy become sovereignty once the terror attacks cease? If the answer is yes, then that is why Bush gave this speech. The alternative is genocide on one side or the other, and simply unacceptable.

So why doesn't he pull US support of a Palestinian state because of PAST VIOLENCE? I guess the slaughtered mom and her children two days ago don't count. I guess the 19 Israelis (mostly schoolkids) who were torn apart from a nail-laced bomb last week don't count. I guess the fact that Palestinians were dancing in the streets in their support of 9-11 don't count.

So when does a community of people numbering in the millions become autonomous, notwithstanding the issue of terrorism? Never?

Yeah, I read the article. So what? The palestinians will just stop bombing for a few months, get their own state, suck of Americas pocketbook and then have its own country to sponsor wholesale terrorism.

I believe Rush said it better than me:

You have the Syrians, Libyans, Iraqis, Iranians and North Koreans all with their own states now. But that has not stopped them from exporting terrorism. In fact, many of these states have been supporting Palestinian terrorism for decades. Reason #4 that this proposal won't work is the most relevant to us: rewarding Palestinian terrorism with a U.S. proposal to create a Palestinian state is a clear message to terrorists throughout the world that their murderous tactics work.

It's like we're saying "uncle." We're whining, "Okay! Okay! Please, stop! Here's your temporary state! Here's everything you want, just stop with the terrorism!" I'll say it again: had the Bush Doctrine been enforced in this region along with its implementation in Afghanistan and the Philippines and everywhere else, we might be looking at an entirely different situation by now - and we wouldn't have had to do it ourselves.

A green light to Ariel Sharon and the Israelis would've been all it took to get a situation far better than this one. I'm telling you, this interim state is a policy that runs a risk of endangering America, because terrorists see weakness instead of resolve. They see capitulation rather than moral clarity. These are points utterly missed on the likes of Senator John F. Kerry-Heinz, whose absurd clips from Meet The Press I rolled in our current Stop the Tape! Mr. Heinz Arrives.

Think about it in this context: Who would have ever dreamed that one of the major upshots of September 11th would be the president of the United States spending time and political capital on the formation of a Palestinian terrorist state? I wouldn't have given you money on that. It was the Israelis who sympathized with the murder of 3,000 of our citizens.

It was the Palestinian terrorists celebrating and dancing in the streets on September 11th and 12th. Now I'm not a military anything, other than one who has high regard for it, but I don't see giving a bunch of terrorists a state as a way to fight a war on terrorism.

It appears very clear to me that Powell's appeasement of Arafat and coddling of the terrorists is coming from none other than Bush himself.

Yesterday, like most Freepers, I would have thought a Powell trip to the Middle East to discuss a Palestinian state would mean talking to Arafat.

Today, it is entirely different. President Bush unmistakably called for replacement of the entire existing Palestinian leadership. That means President Bush just said Arafat has to go. Powell is NOT on his way to negotiate with Arafat.

Arafat will not go willingly.

It's time to connect the dots. Dot #1: President Bush says Arafat must go. Dot #2: Arafat won't go willingly.

I connect the dots this way: "The fit is about hit the shan." (Or words to that effect...).

Not surprisingly, the Arabs do too. Their cries of outrage have already started. Tomorrow will be very interesting.

This is not the formula for peace but instead the road map for the destruction of Israel in stages.

That's one way to look at it, and it could turn out to be true, but I would like to offer a different interpretation.

Essentially, Bush has pulled the rug out from under Arafat and his cronies in Gaza. It's a shot accross the bow of the Palestinian people, telling them that the ball is in their court and to be real careful to whom they hit it. Having made this speech, and having outlined a reasonable position, if the Pali's keep blowing up Isrealis they know that we won't support them and that they will have to deal with Isreal on Isreals terms.

You are either with us or against us in the war on terror.

Unstated, but clearly implied is that bewteen the two, we clearly side with Isreal.

The speech may be more diplomatically worded than many - including myself - would prefer, but the meaning is there. And we have to remember the wider audience this is aimed at. And subtle threats can sometimes be more effective than overt ones.

Had Bush come out and said, "the peace proccess is dead and Isreal can do as she damn well pleases," we could forget about cooperation in the wider war on terrorism we still need to fight. The muslim world would cry foul, and our more timorous allies would bolt. Its a juggling act.

And since this puts the burden on the Palestinians, if they don't get with the program, they will continue to slip in the eyes of the world. Already, world opinion is beginning to turn on them, especially since the attacks continued after the Isrealis pulled out this last time.

This gives the Palis a little more rope. They will either hang the terrorists or themselves with it.

IMHO.

How are we going to get Arafat out, and then... how are we going to get Hamas out... and then, when a new leader is sworn in, how is he going to get the allegience of the people to stomp terrorism, esp when 55% of the people support suicide bombing?

These are not our problems. These are the Palestinian Arabs' problems. We cannot expel Arafat nor can Israel, if he is the "official" leader of his people. They, and only they, can expel him and elect better leaders. If they do not, then they will suffer whatever consequences exist.

if you have some new method of preventing insane death cultists from boarding Israeli buses and blowing themselves up, I am sure the Israelis would love to hear it.

It was contained in this speech. You cut off their sponsors. You make their tactics unpopular among the Palestinian public. You put in place a Palestinian law enforcement agency willing to crack down on terrorists.

Will it happen? I don't know. It requires the cooperation of other arab nations, at least one of which we now are preparing to invade.

But if the nations and institutions of the region want to put an end to Palestinian terror, they can do so. I think the odds of success are not great in the near future, but it is possible.

Govt. needs to come out and say why they are being used as pawns - deflection by other countries, propping up oil prices, etc.

Yes, but.

But will saying that change a thing?

Welcome to Identity Politics 21st century style. We have two large well-financed voting blocks in America, Muslims and Jews, both of whom can swing elections.

Democrat Party immigration policies have brought the mideast war home.Enjoy the show.

Palestine will have a state one day, though it may only last one day. Thinking it will never happen, or that it is "appeasement" or "rewarding terrorism" is not facing reality.

I think the President was simply setting the conditions under which he would support such a state.

Also, I think that if the Israelis---who are going to be living with the implications of a Palestinian state a lot more closely than we are---are truly happy with what he said, then maybe we over here need to accept that maybe he is on the right course.

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