The peace process is not dependent on a single individual, U.S. President George Bush said on Monday, indirectly responding to fears that the police investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could derail
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
At a meeting with Israeli journalists at the White House Monday morning,
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ush offered words of support for Olmert, saying he is an "honest guy," easy to talk with and "a strategic thinker," and that relations between the two leaders are "nothing but excellent." Yet, at the same time, he stressed that the peace process does not depend on Olmert, and even named two possible replacements for him: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is number two in Olmert's Kadima party, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who heads Labor.
Among the Palestinians as well, Bush noted, more than one man is involved in the peace talks; it is not just Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. And therefore, regardless of the outcome of the investigation, Bush still hopes "to get something defined" by the end of this year.
Specifically, he would like to see Israel and the PA agree on the borders of a future Palestinian state - something his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, is convinced is achievable. Bush will come to Jerusalem on Wednesday in honor of Israel's 60th anniversary, and while there, will meet with Olmert. But he stressed that he is not coming to "demand" progress, but rather to "encourage" the negotiations.
"The U.S. cannot impose peace," he stressed, nor can it decide where the
border between Israel and Palestine should lie. Nevertheless, he added, the Palestinians must be assured that they will receive a state with "contiguity," not "Swiss cheese."
Bush said that he is not seeking a "Nobel Peace Prize"; he merely wants to do what he can to advance the process. Responding to critics who accuse him of having largely ignored the Israeli-Palestinian issue for most of his tenure, Bush said these critics forget what the situation actually was when he took office: Peace talks had collapsed at the Camp David summit in July 2000 and the intifada was at its height. In short, the necessary conditions for serious negotiations did not exist.
Today, the PA is headed by Abbas, whom Bush termed a partner for peace
unlike Hamas, which wants "to destroy Israel." Nevertheless, he does not
regret having forced Israel to allow Hamas to run in the Palestinian elections. True, Hamas won the elections and later seized control of Gaza in a violent coup, but in doing so, he argued, it has exposed its true face to the Palestinian public.
And as PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad acknowledged in an interview published in Monday's Washington Post, it was the Palestinians - led by Abbas and Fayyad - who insisted that Hamas be allowed to run; Bush merely acceded to their demands.
At his meeting with the Israeli journalists, Bush also outlined some of the themes he plans to cover in his speech to the Knesset later this week. While acknowledging the obstacles facing the peace process specifically, "people who murder the innocent to achieve political goals" - he also plans to stress the positive: Sixty years ago, no one would have imagined a peaceful Europe of the kind that exists today. Therefore, he said, the U.S. plans to continue its engagement in the peace process. When history judges him, he added, he would like it to conclude: "He clearly saw the threat, and did something about it."
Bush stressed that he has never told Olmert not to negotiate with Syria.
Should the prime minister opt to do so, he said, he would want an "explanation," but he understands that an Israeli premier's considerations are not always identical to those of an American president. He urged Israelis to "keep that strategic context" - namely, Syria's alliance with Iran - "in mind," but added that knowing Olmert, he is sure that Olmert does so.
Bush is quite aware that Syria is not interested only in talks with Israel; it wants such talks to serve as an opening for rapprochement with Washington. But the president stressed that for such a rapprochement, Syria would have to stop being an obstacle to peace and become a "positive" element in the region. Specifically, he said, it should stop hosting Hamas terrorists, interfering in Lebanon and undermining Iraq's reconstruction. At the start of his first term, Bush noted, he sent then secretary of state Colin Powell to Damascus to discuss some of these issues, but little has changed since then.
Asked about the recent crisis in Lebanon, Bush said: "I recommend that the world support [Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad] Siniora." It is impossible, he added, "to help people have courage, but you can support courageous people" like Siniora.
Bush believes that Lebanese democracy is essential for a better Middle East. Therefore, he is frustrated that United Nations Security Council resolutions on Lebanon, which called for disarming Hezbollah, have gone unimplemented. If a resolution is passed, "you'd better mean it," and if it is violated, "there have to be consequences," he said.
But the Lebanese problem, he added, does not exist in isolation: Hezbollah is supported by outside forces, namely Syria and Iran.
Bush said he is very worried about Iran. But asked whether he will succeed in halting Tehran's nuclear program before his term ends in January, he was cautious, saying merely that he believes he will have managed to set in place "a structure of how to deal with it diplomatically."
However, he added, "all the options are on the table." And, reminding his
interlocutors of his previous statements about the need to prevent World War Three, he noted: "I was quite clear on this matter."
Monday's meeting was attended by representatives of four Israeli papers
Haaretz, Maariv, Israel Today and The Jerusalem Post - and Channel 10
television.
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