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American Morning

Bush, Israeli Prime Minister to Meet

Aired May 07, 2002 - 08:03   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 ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, the meeting between President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. They may have already met several times before, but never under the circumstances like today. Mr. Sharon is carrying with him documents that make the case that Yasser Arafat has financed terrorism and therefore never should have a seat at the negotiating table. And as a writer for "The Christian Science Monitor" put it shit morning, the president is caught between an Arab rock and a hard Israeli politician.

With more on the president's difficult position, let's turn to Kelly Wallace, who joins us from outside the White House this morning.

How crucial is this meeting -- good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know -- good morning to you, Paula.

It's interesting, U.S. officials are really trying to downplay expectations for this meeting, saying it is but one of several meetings President Bush and his advisers are having with key Middle East leaders. But this meeting could really be crucial for what happens next in the Middle East and really the biggest hurdle for the president, Ariel Sharon saying that he will not -- not -- deal with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

So President Bush facing a diplomatic challenge trying to convince him that he must talk to the Palestinian leader -- Paula.

ZAHN: So the Israeli prime minister has made it clear that he does not want to deal with Yasser Arafat and now you've got this congressional commission in Israel basically encouraging the Israelis not to back down on that front. What do you think is going to happen?

WALLACE: Well, that's why the president really faces a very big challenge. What he's likely to say is look, this administration is not thrilled with Yasser Arafat. The president has made it clear he does not believe Yasser Arafat has earned his trust. Still, the president is facing pressure from Arab leaders to deal with Arafat since he is the leader of the Palestinian people.

And so, Paula, the president's likely to tell Mr. Sharon that Arab leaders are really very important to this process, that they're putting pressure on Yasser Arafat. But if this administration isolated Arafat, those Arab leaders could get very angry and then could not stay involved in this critical Middle East process -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right, Kelly Wallace, we'll be checking in with you throughout the day. Thanks so much for that update.

WALLACE: Sure.

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