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Bush may go to Mideast for Sharon, Abbas Talks
Aired May 26, 2003 - 10:00 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The Bush administration has dispatched a team to Egypt to set up a possible three-way Mideast summit. President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, now have common ground on which to build: a U.S.-backed peace plan approved yesterday by Israel's cabinet.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has more on that, live from the White House.
Good morning -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, White House officials say, of course, it's an important step forward. But also a White House official I spoke with this morning saying really this is an hour-by-hour process; that they have not officially determined whether or not the president is going to participate in this three-way summit involving Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, as well as the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas.
But as you had mentioned, there is an advance team on its way to Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. Perhaps it will be held there, perhaps at a location in Jordan or other places.
But it's important to know this is not a done deal. And why is that? That's because some U.S. officials say they want a period of relative calm, where there are no bombings, no terrorist attacks, before the president is involved in those meetings.
They also say that some would like to see a demonstration from Palestinians and Israelis that there is really a good faith effort they are making towards this road map towards peace; that perhaps the Israelis will lift some of those economic sanctions against the Palestinians, and perhaps they'll see some real efforts from the Palestinians to crack down on those extremists, to crack down on those terrorists.
So, Carol, again, it has not been officially decided. The administration believes that they have the momentum to move forward here, but they want to see how this plays out over the next 10 days -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, and, of course, it is Memorial Day. As we all know, U.S. troops are still in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is going to be a poignant day for the president, isn't it?
MALVEAUX: Absolutely, Carol. And he has already met with some veterans and their families here at the White House. What is typical is that he does these events privately with families. He doesnt call a lot of attention to it, but there was a breakfast reception for about 175 in the East Room this morning for those veterans and their families to acknowledge them, the sacrifices, of course, that they have made.
And then, as you had mentioned before, we're going to see within the hour, so the president is going to be traveling to Arlington National Cemetery, where he is traditionally going to lay a wreath. He is also going to talk about and give tribute to the soldiers who served in Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, in the war on terror.
I am told by a White House official who has seen this speech that he is really going to emphasize a lot of the personal stories of some of those soldiers, and he is also going to pay tribute to them, recognizing their efforts, what they have done within this past year, saying that this, of course, is an emotional event every year, but particularly emotional this year because of what Americans have been through -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, it's still so fresh. Suzanne Malveaux live from the White House, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired May 26, 2003 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The Bush administration has dispatched a team to Egypt to set up a possible three-way Mideast summit. President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, now have common ground on which to build: a U.S.-backed peace plan approved yesterday by Israel's cabinet.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has more on that, live from the White House.
Good morning -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, White House officials say, of course, it's an important step forward. But also a White House official I spoke with this morning saying really this is an hour-by-hour process; that they have not officially determined whether or not the president is going to participate in this three-way summit involving Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, as well as the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas.
But as you had mentioned, there is an advance team on its way to Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. Perhaps it will be held there, perhaps at a location in Jordan or other places.
But it's important to know this is not a done deal. And why is that? That's because some U.S. officials say they want a period of relative calm, where there are no bombings, no terrorist attacks, before the president is involved in those meetings.
They also say that some would like to see a demonstration from Palestinians and Israelis that there is really a good faith effort they are making towards this road map towards peace; that perhaps the Israelis will lift some of those economic sanctions against the Palestinians, and perhaps they'll see some real efforts from the Palestinians to crack down on those extremists, to crack down on those terrorists.
So, Carol, again, it has not been officially decided. The administration believes that they have the momentum to move forward here, but they want to see how this plays out over the next 10 days -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, and, of course, it is Memorial Day. As we all know, U.S. troops are still in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is going to be a poignant day for the president, isn't it?
MALVEAUX: Absolutely, Carol. And he has already met with some veterans and their families here at the White House. What is typical is that he does these events privately with families. He doesnt call a lot of attention to it, but there was a breakfast reception for about 175 in the East Room this morning for those veterans and their families to acknowledge them, the sacrifices, of course, that they have made.
And then, as you had mentioned before, we're going to see within the hour, so the president is going to be traveling to Arlington National Cemetery, where he is traditionally going to lay a wreath. He is also going to talk about and give tribute to the soldiers who served in Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, in the war on terror.
I am told by a White House official who has seen this speech that he is really going to emphasize a lot of the personal stories of some of those soldiers, and he is also going to pay tribute to them, recognizing their efforts, what they have done within this past year, saying that this, of course, is an emotional event every year, but particularly emotional this year because of what Americans have been through -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, it's still so fresh. Suzanne Malveaux live from the White House, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
