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American Morning

U.S. About to Get More Involved in Middle East

Aired March 14, 2002 - 07:09   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. is about to get more involved in the Middle East. As we just reported, American envoy Anthony Zinni returns to the region today with the goal of getting Israelis and Palestinians back on the road to peace. Vice President Cheney, meanwhile, is in Yemen, after stops in Jordan and Egypt, consulting America's Mideast allies about possible military action against Iraq. As for how to deal with Saddam Hussein, at his news conference yesterday, the president said all options are on the table.

Joining us now from Washington, former national security adviser under President Clinton, Sandy Berger.

Welcome. Good to see you again, as well.

SANDY BERGER, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Good morning.

ZAHN: Good morning.

So, Sandy, we just heard a couple minutes ago in our news alert President Bush used some of the harshest words he's used so far in relationship to the Israelis. How much of that harsh rebuke do you think has to do with the fact that his vice president is in the region trying to drum up Arab support for possible action against Iraq?

BERGER: Well, it's quite clear that Secretary Cheney is going to have a difficult time getting attention focused on Iraq in the midst of raging conflict in the Middle East. But I think we need to get Zinni there. I think he's arriving today. Get the parties back into a discussion of the security steps that have to be taken, initially for a cease-fire, ultimately for, on the Palestinian side, destroying the infrastructure of violence, which would be met on the Israeli side by reciprocal steps of withdrawal. And then ultimately there has to be a bridge towards a political process to deal with the Palestinian issues in a reasonable time frame.

ZAHN: I don't know whether you were able to catch what a Palestinian negotiator had to say in Mike Hanna's piece running up to this, but essentially that there is nothing to talk to Mr. Zinni about unless the Israelis retreat from the Gaza Strip and other occupied territories. BERGER: Well, emotions are running very high on both sides, Paula. But we don't need preconditions or ultimatums here. The fundamental fact here is that there is no military solution to this set of issues, to this problem. The Palestinians are not going to drive Israelis away through violence. Israel is not going to crush three million Palestinians into quiescence.

So we need, through the auspice -- through the good offices of the United States and others -- to bring the parties together for initially the purpose of implementing security steps leading to the Palestinians undertaking to dismantle the infrastructure of violence and on the Israeli side withdrawal from its latest incursions, easing the pressure on the Palestinians. And then there must be a pathway forward to resolving the future of the Palestinians.

ZAHN: So what is it you make of the sudden reengagement, though, on the Bush administration's part? What is driving it besides what we just discussed with Mr. Cheney?

BERGER: Well, we have a great deal at stake here in the United States. Our ally and friend, our moral and political and strategic commitment to Israel, which is under enormous pressure; the carnage that is taking place on both sides; the radicalization that takes place as this conflict escalates and another generation of hateful young people emerge; the consequences this has in the region for regimes -- Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others; the war against terrorism, whatever we might want to do in Iraq. All of these are, pivot around what happens in the Middle East.

We cannot afford to not engage actively. The parties cannot disengage by themselves. They cannot break this death grip by themselves. There must be U.S. participation and I'm glad Zinni's back and I hope that he has the kinds of instructions that not only will deal with the immediate security issues, but that will provide a pathway forward to deal with the future of the Palestinian issues generally. Because without that, I think it is less likely that the Palestinians will, in fact, turn their guns on the killers within and arrest them and destroy the infrastructure of violence rather than have those guns directed towards Israel.

ZAHN: Your former boss, President Clinton, threw out the idea yesterday of sending some monitoring troops just like what happened in the late '70s. Is that a good idea?

BERGER: Well, I think President Bush has also talked about, or at least Secretary Powell, about monitors on the ground that would be able to provide some degree of reassurance with respect to compliance, implementation of the cease-fire. You know, the Palestinians and the Israelis have agreed at least five times to a cease-fire. The problem has been those steps have not been implemented.

So monitors on the ground, I think, could be useful, as a part of a process.

ZAHN: OK.

Sandy Berger, we're going to have to leave it there this morning.

Again, Thanks for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING.

BERGER: You're welcome, Paula.

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