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Bush's Mideast Vision Met With Some Optimism and Lot of Skepticism

Aired June 25, 2002 - 13:35   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush's call yesterday for new Palestinian leadership and an eventual Palestinian state is being met with some optimism and a lot of skepticism in that region.

CNN's Jerrold Kessel does a reality check of peace American style.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And so, even after the president has laid out his visions, the battles go on and intensify. If in soccer parlance, President Bush seems to have issued a red card to Yasser Arafat. Seeking to get him off the field, the presidential message is also seen as a green light for Ariel Sharon to continue pursuing his war on terror by taking the battle of the Palestinian suicide bombers back into the Palestinian towns.

Palestinians had been hoping the U.S. prescription for their future state would mean Washington putting pressure on Mr. Sharon. Instead, they have to be content with hopeful formulas down the line, an eventual state and an end to occupation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, this speech was good only on the level of the principles. It did not present mechanisms of implementation that would be helpful in removing the current Israeli pressure and atrocities against the Palestinians.

KESSEL: During 21 months of battles, Palestinians have been hoping for international involvement to protect them and guarantee their right to statehood. Now they fear international involvement might mean a dictative road to statehood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is very sensitive, because any people, including the Palestinian people, will not be satisfied when anyone from the outside would try to interfere in determining their leadership.

KESSEL: The Palestinians, most problematic in U.S. vision, that the start of Israeli political concessions need only come once the Palestinians have done what's demanded of them, and that's what delights Israel. RA'ANAN GISSIN, SHARON SPOKESMAN: First comes first. First the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people must reform, reform their ways, reform their institution, choose peace, then Israel will perform and Israel is willing to make the necessary compromises, compromises for peace. But first there has to be a clear understanding that terrorism and peace cannot dwell together.

KESSEL: Some Israelis opposed to Ariel Sharon worry the Bush vision is divorced from Middle East realities, that Yasser Arafat will not simply fade away, and that without political moves now, the region will slide further and further into still more violent confrontations. But the conflict is on a larger scale, says a member of Mr. Sharon's government, welcoming the way the U.S. has put down its marker.

DAN MERIDOR, ISRAELI CABINET MINISTER: It's a new system, to do more. Everybody understand what the Americans are saying. I believe it will have an effect on Europe, on the U.N., on Russians, on the other Arabs. I think the president said what he said understanding what the other moderate Arab leaders think, having learned the situation on the ground. His decision is of great importance. Does it lead immediately to resolution of the conflict? No, it doesn't.

KESSEL: Indeed, it doesn't. The president's speech seen by those who laud it and by those who decry it as conflict management, rather than conflict resolution, and that means that this U.S. vision of the future leaves the ongoing battles between the Palestinian suicide bombers and Israel's forceful response to them as still the dominant factor, for now.

Jerrold Kessel, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: For his part, Yasser Arafat denies President Bush and his own people want him gone. Today, Arafat was asked to respond to Mr. Bush's criticism that the Palestinian leadership was corrupt and trafficked in terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YASSER ARAFAT, LEADER OF PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): First of all, it is clear what you are saying is not accurate. President Bush talked about a Palestinian state and elections, and we are proud to be a democratic state. We had elections on this Palestinian land under international supervision, headed by the Portuguese president, as well as President Carter, and Japanese prime minister, and we declared ourselves to be democratic, and our people are proud to be living in a democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: For added perspective now, let's go to Edward Walker. He has served as a U.S. ambassador to both Israel and Egypt. Currently, he's head of the Middle East Institute.

Ambassador Walker, thank you for being with us from Washington. EDWARD WALKER, MIDDLE EAST INST.: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Your overall impressions with Bush's remarks, first of all.

WALKER: First, I'm very glad the president made a strong statement of commitment of the United States to deal with this issue. There is some internal inconsistencies that still need to be explained by the president. He wants democracy for the Palestinian people. I think we all do. And for most of the Palestinians, I have talked to, they want it, too. But if you have democracy, you have to accept the results of Democratic elections. And right now, if you have an election, it's either going to be Yasser Arafat, or it's going to be something worse.

So, the conditions aren't there, and the conditions have to do with some of the things that the president said the Israelis would have to deal with, such as giving the Palestinians room to engage in a Democratic process, pulling back from some of the confrontation points, and in general, improving the economic conditions of the Palestinians. So it's not clear to me that the gameplan is full. I think the president needs to do more homework.

PHILLIPS: Do you think the president should have made more specific requests, or really specific requests at all of Israel? Made a lot of Palestinians.

WALKER: Well, I think that the president should have made it very clear that this is two parallel tracks. Palestinians have things they have to do now. The Israelis have things they have do now. Otherwise, the conditions will continue to be such that Palestinian democracy will not be productive, and the Palestinian reforms won't be possible.

How do you hold an election with people under 20-hour curfews and tanks outside their door? I mean, it's just unrealistic, and there has to be more done.

Now, the good thing is that the president has said that Colin Powell is going to begin the process of implementing, and there is a lot of room in that speech for implementing.

PHILLIPS: How do you even begin a process like this? Where does the U.S. come into play with regard in helping develop a legislature, a Constitution, a good court system. And do you really think Arafat would hold elections and put his job up on the line?

WALKER: Actually, I think he probably would, because at this point, he has every reason to believe that he would win such an election, and he may well, even in the future. The problem, though, with the Palestinian Authority may be the structure itself and the number of the people that surround Arafat, rather than the symbol of Arafat. And there are certainly many Palestinians who would like to see a substantial and real reform and change. After all, they started talking about reform before President Bush did and before Sharon did. So, I'm not at all discouraged about the possible route that could be taken. And this means that the president, and through him, the secretary of state, is going to have to do a lot of explaining about these gaps that are in the president's speech.

PHILLIPS: Ambassador Ed Walker. Thanks again, sir.

WALKER: You bet.

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