Today, inRamallah, during a presser with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
He Just Wasn’t Somebody
President Abbas was elected on a platform of peace. In other words, he just wasn’t somebody who starts talking about it lately, he campaigned on it.
The Valley Girl President
Now, look, there are some in the world who don’t believe in the universality of freedom. I understand that. They say, like, freedom is okay for some of us, but maybe not all of us.
Like, Radical
I said, nudge the process forward — like, pressure; be a pain if I need to be a pain — which in some people’s mind isn’t all that hard. And they said, well, like — yesterday, somebody said, well, are you disappointed? I arrived and it nudged the process forward.
What His Trip Will Be Talking About
The rest of my trip will be talking about, obviously, security threats, but also the opportunity to achieve peace.
General Whatsisname
And today I introduced the President to the General — three-star Air Force General who will be running this process.
What The Question Is
The question is the capabilities.
It’s Got Very Important
It’s got — very important for the government to be able to assure people that if there is a need, there will be an effective force to provide security.
One Step Of Having
That’s just step one of having credibility with the people.
A Clear Position
And to the extent that Israeli actions have undermined the effectiveness of the Palestinian force, or the authority of the state relative to the average citizen, is something that we don’t agree with and have made our position clear.
Is There Be No Checkpoints?
Therefore, the ultimate vision, of course, is there be no checkpoints throughout the Palestinian state-to-be.
On The Spot
Q Mr. President George Bush — you launched war against Iraq after the Iraqi leadership refused to implement the United Nations resolutions. My question now is, what is the problem to ask Israel just to accept and to respect the United Nations resolutions relating to the Palestinian problem, which — facilitating the achievement of ending the Israeli occupation to the Arab territories and facilitating also the solution between Palestinians and the Israelis?
[snip]
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, but tell me the part about the U.N. thing again? What were you — I couldn’t understand you very well.
Q I just asked why you ask Israel to accept the United Nations resolutions related to the Palestinian problem, just to facilitate the solution, and to end the occupation.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Actually, I’m asking Israel to negotiate in good faith with an elected leader of the Palestinian Territory to come up with a permanent solution that — look, the U.N. deal didn’t work in the past.
If The Palestinian People Are Given
And that’s a choice that I’m confident that if the Palestinian people are given, they will choose peace.
Hamas Promised Better Health
And in my judgment, Hamas, which I felt ran on a campaign of, we’re going to improve your lives through better education and better health, have delivered nothing but misery.
Medulla Ohmigodda
See, the past has just been empty words, you know. We — actually it hasn’t been that much — I’m the only President that’s really articulated a two-state solution so far — but saying two states really doesn’t have much bearing until borders are defined, right of return issues resolved, Jerusalem is understood, security measures — the common security measures will be in place.
Vortex In The Cortex
And to me, that’s how you solve the issue in the long-term. And the definition of long-term, I don’t know what it means. I’m not a timetable person — actually, I am on a timetable — got 12 months.