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CNN Live Saturday
White House Reacts to Powell's Decision to Meet Arafat
Aired April 13, 2002 - 13:14 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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our special coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live from Jerusalem. No one is watching all of these developments, these dramatic developments here in Jerusalem more carefully than top officials over at the White House. That's where we find our White House correspondent Kelly Wallace. How are they reacting to the secretary's decision over there to go ahead and meet with Yasser Arafat tomorrow, Kelly?
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, good afternoon from a very windy North Lawn I might add. It's interesting, Wolf. So far, no formal reaction to Secretary Powell's decision to meet with Yasser Arafat and no formal reaction either to the statement coming from the Palestinian leader.
Again, really no big surprise there. U.S. officials have been saying that it will be a decision. Wolf, let me get back to you. I understand you have some breaking news there.
Okay, let me keep going, Wolf. Anyway...
BLITZER: Kelly, if you take a look...
WALLACE: Go ahead, Wolf.
BLITZER: Sorry for interrupting.
WALLACE: That's OK.
BLITZER: But the president is huddling with some of his top advisers at Camp David today. Tell us about that.
WALLACE: Certainly. He went to Camp David yesterday afternoon, and so he started this day getting a National Security Council briefing, the latest on the situation, and certainly getting briefed about the statement by the Palestinian leader. Condoleezza Rice, his national security adviser, with him at Camp David. Also, CIA Director George Tenet and his Chief of Staff Andrew Card.
You know, Wolf, the stakes really quite high here. The administration definitely getting pressure from the Israelis who said that having Powell meet with Arafat on Sunday would basically be rewarding terror, that message certainly coming from lawmakers in the United States Congress as well. On the other side, though, pressure from Arab leaders, pressure from the Palestinians. The message is that Yasser Arafat is the leader of the Palestinian people and if this administration wants to be an honest broker, it must reach out to him and work with him to try and get a deal. So we do understand, of course, the meeting happening tomorrow.
One senior aide I talked to said, "look, Yasser Arafat is doing one of the many things President Bush has asked for. Now he needs to crack down on terror, disrupt the financing for terrorist activities, and work towards a cease-fire and political discussion." Clearly, Secretary Powell will be delivering that blunt message in talks to get underway Sunday morning. Wolf.
BLITZER: And, Kelly, I can't help but notice that the president meeting with Condoleezza Rice, his national security adviser, who presumably is giving him all the national security foreign policy considerations that he has to weigh.
But Andy Card, the White House chief of staff presumably is telling him what our Jeff Greenfield told us only a few minutes ago, how dicey, politically dicey all of this could potentially be for the president. How concerned are they about the domestic political fallout over at the White House?
WALLACE: Well, Wolf, you of course know the White House better than any of us, and this White House says that it's not concerned at all about any of the criticism, any of the taking shots at the president. But seriously, of course, they do know the concerns are out there. They have heard the criticism.
Even the president's own Bush doctrine, he says you are either with the United States in the fight against terror or you are against us. There are many who say having Powell meet with Yasser Arafat, even goes against the president's own doctrine in this fight against terror.
So there are definite political implications here. The administration stepped up its engagement quite significantly nine days ago. The president saying he expects results. A lot of people on both sides of the aisle saying he hasn't achieved results so far, so a lot of the line here. The president might say he's not listening to the critics, but he certainly knows they're out there -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Kelly Wallace at the White House, thanks so much.
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