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CNN Live At Daybreak

America's New War: Middle East Peace Process Resumes

Aired September 18, 2001 - 11:42   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.
PAULA ZAUN, CNN ANCHOR: I would like to bring John King into the discussion now.

The secretary of state obviously covering a lot of territory here, Korea pledging its support with any sort of coalition that might eventually form. But I think the more important strand of information, giving the news coming out of the Middle East, is that secretary of state very much is pleased with what has transpired in the Middle East today.

And, John, for those viewers who weren't with us earlier, why don't you bring us up to date on the cease-fire that Yasser Arafat has now said he will reaffirm?

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Paula, the breaking news out of the Middle East, the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat saying that he would impose a cease-fire and order all his, all the commanders at his disposal, to implement a cease-fire. Also saying that he wanted to resume a dialogue with Israel. And in your interview with Israeli foreign minister, Simon Peres a short after that, Mr. Peres saying that Israel very open to that dialogue, that he would meet with Mr. Arafat in the next several days. And Israel responding to the Palestinian gesture by ceasing any offensive military action against Palestinians. So at least a temporary cease- fire appears to be taking place in the Middle East.

This administration, the Bush administration in its eight months in office trying to bring about such a cease-fire in the Middle East. So certainly, in and of itself, Secretary Powell speaking of a positive spirit, and this could have much broader ramifications for the current dilemma the United States finds it in as it tries to build an international coalition and it identifies Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect. One of the key concerns of the administration was building that coalition would be hampered by Islamic fundamentalists, anger at the United States because of its role in the middle East this. So this a positive development in and of itself, new progress, hopeful anyway, in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and as well, could have ramifications in the broader context of this current crisis as well.

ZAUN: All right, John, we continue to await the president's remarks in the Rose Garden, we're told we're just about a minute and a half away. Until we get there, you talked about the U.S. administration's frustration with the Middle East peace process. And given the amount of pressure that's on the U.S. now as it tries to build a coalition, what do you expect will be the extent of U.S. involvement in moving this peace process forward in the Middle East?

KING: The constant theme from President Bush has been that the parties themselves must first show a commitment before the United States can get so involved. But you just heard Secretary Powell on the phone with the prime minister or the foreign minter of Israel this morning, on the phone with Palestinian leaders as well. This administration has been actively involved just in a much different way, a much less public way than the Clinton administration. There are diplomats in the region, a key Powell deputy, Ambassador William Burns has been assigned to take the day-to-day lead in the operation. Certainly as Secretary Powell's energies are diverted to this current crisis, he will rely on deputies on a minute-to-minute basis, but if need be you can expect him and perhaps the president as well to get involved, because, again, this long standing Israeli-Palestinian dispute, if there can be progress at the moment, could actually be quite helpful to the broader international coalition to build this international coalition against terrorism.

One, that it's not just a military alliance, it is a financial and diplomatic alliance as well, as you could hear in the questions about Japan's role and about South Korea's role, their role likely to be much more on the financial and diplomatic side than it would be if there are any military operation.

ZAUN: All right, competing with the picture right now of you, John, of course is the scene at the Rose Garden as we await the president's remarks.

I know have you been working the phones all morning long to get a better idea of what the president will be saying. I guess the overarching theme is that he wants Americans to support all of the relief organizations that are working in Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and New York?

KING: That's right, Paula. And much of our attention, of course, goes to the president's meetings on urgent issues like the economy in the wake of this crisis, on urgent meetings like the military planning coin the wake of this crisis.

But a key role for the president is also rallying the nation. We have seen him in at prayer services. We've seen him visit relief workers in New York. This is an attempt by the president to use hit platform, his bully pulpit, if you will, in the Rose Garden here to voice a compassion, voice a call for compassion in the country, a call for more charitable giving. The governor of Pennsylvania is with him, his state affected by one of these crashes. The wife of the New York governor, George Pataki, here for this event, as well as representatives of various charitable organizations.

The president has been receiving a briefing in the Oval Office, that is the door you see right there, which exits out into the Rose Garden. A briefing so far. The president's goal here, a call to arms, if you will, for the American people to continue what administration says has been an overwhelmingly positive reaction, but also to help the American people, steer them, by identifying which organizations are taking the lead in the relief and recovery efforts and exactly what those organizations need, whether it be cash contributions, or in New York, on the ground, they would say the things they need most of all protective clothing, protective boots and things like that for those firefighters.

Our correspondents have been showing working around the hour.

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