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CNN Live At Daybreak
White House View of Middle East Road to Peace
Aired June 30, 2003 - 06:38 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: On to the Middle East now, a solid first step, at least that's the big hope. Palestinian militant groups say no more suicide bombings for now as Israel pulls out of some Palestinian territories. Could peace be far away?
Live to the White House now and Suzanne Malveaux.
Suzanne -- lots of skeptics out there.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely, there are a lot of skeptics -- sorry, I'm hearing an echo in my ear here -- but a lot of skeptics. And also, we heard from Secretary of State Colin Powell just moments ago telling CNN that he called it a significant development, said it was very positive.
But at the same time, the White House is really trying not to overstate its enthusiasm despite these dramatic pictures that we've seen, Israeli tanks and soldiers pulling out of Gaza, the agreement from Hamas and other militant groups for the cease-fire.
The reason why they're being hesitant about this is they realize they still have to build international support for Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, not only to enforce the cease-fire as well as security in those Palestinian territories, but also ultimately to dismantle Hamas; also to undermine Hamas as well. A White House spokeswoman this weekend saying that anything that reduces violence is a step in the right direction.
Under the road map, parties have an obligation to dismantle terrorist infrastructures. There is still more work to be done. And, of course, Carol, part of that work is for National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, who was in the region this weekend, Saturday, meeting with Mr. Abbas, and then it was Sunday that she met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Of course, the purpose there is to show that the administration, yes, remains committed to this process. She also extended a formal invitation to Mr. Abbas to come to Washington. That is something that the president had mentioned before.
I should also let you know, Carol, as well today is going to be a big day for the president when it comes to fund-raising, when it comes to campaigning. He is going to be in Tampa and Miami later today. It's expected that he's going to raise millions of dollars.
He is also going to be trying to push Congress to push forward a prescription drug package for Medicare and Medicare reform. As you know, that's in a conference committee. He wants that out as soon as possible. This, of course, both points which would bolster his election 2004 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Suzanne Malveaux live from Washington this morning.
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 June 30, 2003 - 06:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On to the Middle East now, a solid first step, at least that's the big hope. Palestinian militant groups say no more suicide bombings for now as Israel pulls out of some Palestinian territories. Could peace be far away?
Live to the White House now and Suzanne Malveaux.
Suzanne -- lots of skeptics out there.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely, there are a lot of skeptics -- sorry, I'm hearing an echo in my ear here -- but a lot of skeptics. And also, we heard from Secretary of State Colin Powell just moments ago telling CNN that he called it a significant development, said it was very positive.
But at the same time, the White House is really trying not to overstate its enthusiasm despite these dramatic pictures that we've seen, Israeli tanks and soldiers pulling out of Gaza, the agreement from Hamas and other militant groups for the cease-fire.
The reason why they're being hesitant about this is they realize they still have to build international support for Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, not only to enforce the cease-fire as well as security in those Palestinian territories, but also ultimately to dismantle Hamas; also to undermine Hamas as well. A White House spokeswoman this weekend saying that anything that reduces violence is a step in the right direction.
Under the road map, parties have an obligation to dismantle terrorist infrastructures. There is still more work to be done. And, of course, Carol, part of that work is for National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, who was in the region this weekend, Saturday, meeting with Mr. Abbas, and then it was Sunday that she met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Of course, the purpose there is to show that the administration, yes, remains committed to this process. She also extended a formal invitation to Mr. Abbas to come to Washington. That is something that the president had mentioned before.
I should also let you know, Carol, as well today is going to be a big day for the president when it comes to fund-raising, when it comes to campaigning. He is going to be in Tampa and Miami later today. It's expected that he's going to raise millions of dollars.
He is also going to be trying to push Congress to push forward a prescription drug package for Medicare and Medicare reform. As you know, that's in a conference committee. He wants that out as soon as possible. This, of course, both points which would bolster his election 2004 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Suzanne Malveaux live from Washington this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
