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American Morning
Middle East Peace on Hold?
Aired May 20, 2003 - 07:03 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the Middle East right now. President Bush says he is still hopeful that road map to peace will survive, despite the fifth suicide bombing in less than 48 hours targeting Israelis.
John King live at the White House this morning, where this was supposed to be a day, John, where Ariel Sharon meets with the president. That will not happen.
Good morning there.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
That will not happen. That meeting postponed indefinitely. The administration says it is still waiting to hear from the Israeli government as to when Prime Minister Sharon believes he can make the trip here to Washington. They hope it will just be a matter of days.
And I'll tell you this: In the aftermath of the latest bombings, one fear the administration had was that there would be a swift Israeli military response, and that that would only escalate the tensions. That has not happened, and there is a great deal of praise here at the White House for the response of the Israeli government so far.
Prime Minister Sharon has said he still would like to meet again with the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas. There has not been a muscular Israeli response, except to improve security. The administration says the Israeli government is doing what's right so far, and now it needs to see security improvements on the Palestinian side.
This is unquestionably without a doubt a setback for the Bush administration's plans to try to get the peace process back in motion, but the president insisted at a news conference here at the White House yesterday that he views it as a delay, not a major setback, and that he personally will press ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Weve got a lot of work to do to convince all of us who care about peace to step up and fight off terror, to cut off the money, and to find these people and bring them to justice. Now we're still on the road to peace. It's just going to be a bumpy road.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Now, the next stop on that bumpy road is supposed to be that Bush-Sharon meeting here at the White House. Again, officials hope it can happen within a matter of days. But they say they are simply waiting to hear from Prime Minister Sharon, who has told the administration in his conversations in recent days that he needs to see how the situation on the ground plays out, that he needs a few days of quiet before he can have the confidence to make the trip to the United States -- Bill.
HEMMER: John, a hypothetical for you. Is there a chance that Mahmoud Abbas and that meeting may come with the president prior to Ariel Sharon, given the change of events this past week?
KING: No. Almost certainly that will not happen. The administration says Mahmoud Abbas is welcome here at the White House, but what they need to see now is tangible improvements in security. And this is an overseas, a foreign affairs issue, but it is also a sensitive domestic political issue. The president of the United States will meet with the prime minister of Israel before he has his first meeting ever with the Palestinian leader. Remember, he would never meet with Yasser Arafat. They say Mahmoud Abbas is welcome here at the White House. They also say they need to see him assert control over the Palestinian territories.
HEMMER: Our senior White House correspondent, John King, on the Front Lawn 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 May 20, 2003 - 07:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the Middle East right now. President Bush says he is still hopeful that road map to peace will survive, despite the fifth suicide bombing in less than 48 hours targeting Israelis.
John King live at the White House this morning, where this was supposed to be a day, John, where Ariel Sharon meets with the president. That will not happen.
Good morning there.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
That will not happen. That meeting postponed indefinitely. The administration says it is still waiting to hear from the Israeli government as to when Prime Minister Sharon believes he can make the trip here to Washington. They hope it will just be a matter of days.
And I'll tell you this: In the aftermath of the latest bombings, one fear the administration had was that there would be a swift Israeli military response, and that that would only escalate the tensions. That has not happened, and there is a great deal of praise here at the White House for the response of the Israeli government so far.
Prime Minister Sharon has said he still would like to meet again with the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas. There has not been a muscular Israeli response, except to improve security. The administration says the Israeli government is doing what's right so far, and now it needs to see security improvements on the Palestinian side.
This is unquestionably without a doubt a setback for the Bush administration's plans to try to get the peace process back in motion, but the president insisted at a news conference here at the White House yesterday that he views it as a delay, not a major setback, and that he personally will press ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Weve got a lot of work to do to convince all of us who care about peace to step up and fight off terror, to cut off the money, and to find these people and bring them to justice. Now we're still on the road to peace. It's just going to be a bumpy road.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Now, the next stop on that bumpy road is supposed to be that Bush-Sharon meeting here at the White House. Again, officials hope it can happen within a matter of days. But they say they are simply waiting to hear from Prime Minister Sharon, who has told the administration in his conversations in recent days that he needs to see how the situation on the ground plays out, that he needs a few days of quiet before he can have the confidence to make the trip to the United States -- Bill.
HEMMER: John, a hypothetical for you. Is there a chance that Mahmoud Abbas and that meeting may come with the president prior to Ariel Sharon, given the change of events this past week?
KING: No. Almost certainly that will not happen. The administration says Mahmoud Abbas is welcome here at the White House, but what they need to see now is tangible improvements in security. And this is an overseas, a foreign affairs issue, but it is also a sensitive domestic political issue. The president of the United States will meet with the prime minister of Israel before he has his first meeting ever with the Palestinian leader. Remember, he would never meet with Yasser Arafat. They say Mahmoud Abbas is welcome here at the White House. They also say they need to see him assert control over the Palestinian territories.
HEMMER: Our senior White House correspondent, John King, on the Front Lawn 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.
