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CNN Live Today
U.S.-Israel, Where to Go From Here
Aired May 07, 2002 - 14:13 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to get to the Middle East crisis right now, specifically the White House, where there is a lot of attention focused there later today. The P.M. Ariel Sharon will stop and talk with President Bush.
A preview now from John King, who is watching and talking to just about everybody there at the White House.
John, good afternoon.
KING: Good afternoon to you, Bill.
The big question facing the president now that the standoff in Ramallah has been resolved, the standoff at the Church of the Nativity in the process of being resolved -- the question now is where do we go from here, in terms of the president's effort to reenergize some sort of a peace process, or at least a political dialogue between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
As you mentioned, the Israeli P.M. Ariel Sharon due here in a little more than an hour. This will be the fifth time these two leaders have met, and on the agenda for this meeting, of course, discussions of an Israeli troop withdrawal.
President Bush wants all Israeli troops now out of the Palestinian territories. The administration's plans for an international conference to discuss the Israeli Palestinian issue, hopefully in about a month or so. And also, Israel wants to present evidence of what it says is clear proof that Yasser Arafat is involved in some of these terrorist attacks on Israel.
The two leaders will try to resolve some of these differences between the United States and Israel and between Israel and the Arab state as to how the process should move forward from here, but the White House also saying in advance of the meeting, those differences remain quite large.
Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, saying there is difficult diplomacy ahead, no breakthroughs expected today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECT.: The president, as I indicated, is pursing the path to peace along multiple lines. And the president is determined, no matter how difficult it is, to continue down that path to peace. And he has put this path in a way that it can reach out into many directions to see which one will be the most fruitful.
There is no one magic approach to peace in the Middle East. If there was, it would have been done and tried and successful a long time ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: We have talked a great deal in recent days, including today, about the substantive differences about how to proceed. There is also a political debate around all this. Many of the Arab countries complaining that the Bush administration has been too pro- Israeli in its approach.
The White House somewhat defensive on that note, noting today that the president called the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this morning. He will meet here with King Abdullah of Jordan tomorrow, and he will call the Saudi crown prince this afternoon. The White House saying that phone call to the Saudi crown prince will be the 55th time President Bush has picked up the telephone to consult an Arab leader in his 15 months in office.
That little summit meeting here with King Abdullah tomorrow, the mini-summit at the White House, will be the 13th time the president has sat down face to face with an Arab leader.
So as Mr. Bush meets Mr. Sharon for the fifth time, the White House trying to make clear that it believes it is being an honest broker in the process. Many of the Arab countries questioning that. They want to see results out of the Sharon meeting today -- Bill.
HEMMER: John, thanks. John King at the White House.
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