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American Morning

Interview With George Mitchell

Aired June 04, 2003 - 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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the Middle East. We do anticipate, again, a statement within minutes right now out of Jordan, with the trilateral talks now under way in this port town of Aqaba in Jordan. When that comes out, certainly we'll take you there live.
In the meantime, though, Israeli and Palestinian leaders this morning set to issue tough new concessions right now. But as the optimism runs high, security is still a major concern.

John Vause today in one West Bank town with a small sample of how life is being lived there today -- John, good afternoon where you are.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and good morning to you in New York, Bill.

We're in the West Bank village of Abu Dis. It's a small village, about 11,000 people. And I want to show you the security wall which was built here by the Israelis in September last year. You can see the barbed wire and the concrete blocks.

Now, the Israelis built this because they said it was necessary to keep the terrorists and the suicide bombers out of Israel. But the Palestinians here say well, this is collective punishment. This is humiliating. And they say statements are fine out of Aqaba, but what they want to see is real action on the ground. They want this wall to be torn down. Normally there are Israeli soldiers on the other side and if you look at this gap just here in the wall, we've been watching all day schoolchildren scurrying through this gap to come home from school.

So the Palestinians in this town they say, look, bring this wall down, because the situation here is that the majority of people who live in this village are confined to this village. Some people do have work permits, but only 25,000 Palestinians are allowed to actually go and work in Israel at the moment. And there's still three and a half million Palestinians who are still confined to their towns, like this one here on the West Bank, as well as Gaza.

So what the Palestinians are saying about this road map, they want concrete action and they want it now. Words are fine. They say they've heard it all before. Let's see some results. The Israelis, of course, saying that they want that cease-fire, they want that crackdown on terrorism. But the Palestinians not holding out a great deal of hope on the road map. They believe it's a U.S.-sponsored Israeli document which favors the Israelis. And as far as Yasser Arafat not being there, some Palestinians in this town here told me, well, when you disrespect the leader of the Palestinian people, you disrespect all the Palestinians -- Bill.

HEMMER: John Vause, thanks, in the West Bank today.

Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell served as a Middle East envoy during the Clinton administration. He's our guest back here on AMERICAN MORNING live in D.C.

Senator, good morning to you there.

GEORGE MITCHELL, FORMER SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: We understand some tough new concessions possibly in the statement that's anticipated within a matter of minutes here out of Jordan. Let's break it down for us, first from the Israeli position. Say they will back the formation of what's considered a provisional demilitarized Palestinian state with temporary borders.

What does that mean? How substantial?

MITCHELL: Well, it's a substantial step. By itself, of course, it will not be fully satisfactory to the Palestinians. But I think what you'll see are statements that represent concessions by both sides, falling short of what the other wants, but making a significant start on the process.

HEMMER: On the Palestinian side, set to denounce terrorism, maybe cutting deals with groups like Hamas.

Easier said than done?

MITCHELL: Well, what the Israelis want is not an agreement with Hamas, but an effort to dismantle Hamas. And so they won't be satisfied with that, just as I said the Palestinians won't be fully satisfied with the Israeli statement.

But I think the important thing is to bring the violence down, begin a series of reciprocal steps by both sides that will enable them to get back into negotiations. And I think it's a good start, although I'll tell you, Bill, it's going to be very difficult. There are going to be many setbacks along the way and the real test will be whether we have the patience and perseverance to see it through.

HEMMER: When you were with us here live in New York last week, you say life has become unbearable for both sides, people living with the Palestinian side and the Israeli side. Is that the motivation right now, people are tired of the violence and to some extent sick and tired of it?

MITCHELL: I believe that was the single most important factor producing the peace agreement in Northern Ireland when I worked there, that is, the weariness with the war of the public on both sides, and I believe the same factor is present -- I'm not sure of the extent of it -- in the Middle East.

When I was last there, which was some time ago, both Prime Minister Sharon and Chairman Arafat separately told me that life had become unbearable for their citizens and, of course, the one thing we know about the two of them is that they don't coordinate their messages. And it has been. The Israeli economy is contracting. They live enveloped in fear and anxiety of these horrific suicide bombings. Meanwhile, for Palestinians, as you just saw in the report preceding this interview, their economy has been completely destroyed. There are very few jobs and they can't move. They can't go from one place to another. Sixty percent of the people need food aid from international and other institutions.

It's a horrible situation on both sides and I think there's a realization that the current course, that is, continued conflict, can't attain for them what they want -- for the Israelis, security; for the Palestinians, a state. And the only way they're going to get what they want is to go through negotiations and try to accommodate the concern of the other.

HEMMER: You know what the cynics say, though. They say that we've heard this all before so many times over the past many decades. Take a break now. Calm. If you're tired, in fact, take a rest. What's not to say that in three months, six months, a year, even two years from now we're back in the same cycle, the same spiral of violence that takes us back down the road from which they are now coming?

MITCHELL: That's true and that's been said, will be said often. But in Northern Ireland, Bill, we had two years of negotiations and in a very real sense we had 700 days of failure and one day of success. Every day until the agreement was reached, the press labeled it a failure. I was asked that by reporters every single day, well, this has failed, you haven't got an agreement yet.

The same thing will occur here. But there's no alternative. The only alternative is to say well, let's have endless war, endless death and destruction. You have to keep at it no matter what the obstacles.

Also, let's not set unrealistic goals. No society on earth can have the complete absence of violence over any extended period of time. President Bush could go promise anyone that there'd be no violence in America on a permanent basis. We have horrible acts of violence here on a regular basis.

What you have to do is eliminate this organized politically motivated violence, bring the level down and inch this process forward to expand the majority in the middle who don't want conflict and who want nothing more than peace, stability and a chance to lead ordinary, productive lives.

HEMMER: Hope springs eternal. There is hope today. We'll see where it goes.

Thank you, Senator.

George Mitchell in D.C.

MITCHELL: Thank you, Bill. HEMMER: Five minutes away from that statement. We'll get it to you.

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 4, 2003 - 08:03   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. We do anticipate, again, a statement within minutes right now out of Jordan, with the trilateral talks now under way in this port town of Aqaba in Jordan. When that comes out, certainly we'll take you there live.
In the meantime, though, Israeli and Palestinian leaders this morning set to issue tough new concessions right now. But as the optimism runs high, security is still a major concern.

John Vause today in one West Bank town with a small sample of how life is being lived there today -- John, good afternoon where you are.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and good morning to you in New York, Bill.

We're in the West Bank village of Abu Dis. It's a small village, about 11,000 people. And I want to show you the security wall which was built here by the Israelis in September last year. You can see the barbed wire and the concrete blocks.

Now, the Israelis built this because they said it was necessary to keep the terrorists and the suicide bombers out of Israel. But the Palestinians here say well, this is collective punishment. This is humiliating. And they say statements are fine out of Aqaba, but what they want to see is real action on the ground. They want this wall to be torn down. Normally there are Israeli soldiers on the other side and if you look at this gap just here in the wall, we've been watching all day schoolchildren scurrying through this gap to come home from school.

So the Palestinians in this town they say, look, bring this wall down, because the situation here is that the majority of people who live in this village are confined to this village. Some people do have work permits, but only 25,000 Palestinians are allowed to actually go and work in Israel at the moment. And there's still three and a half million Palestinians who are still confined to their towns, like this one here on the West Bank, as well as Gaza.

So what the Palestinians are saying about this road map, they want concrete action and they want it now. Words are fine. They say they've heard it all before. Let's see some results. The Israelis, of course, saying that they want that cease-fire, they want that crackdown on terrorism. But the Palestinians not holding out a great deal of hope on the road map. They believe it's a U.S.-sponsored Israeli document which favors the Israelis. And as far as Yasser Arafat not being there, some Palestinians in this town here told me, well, when you disrespect the leader of the Palestinian people, you disrespect all the Palestinians -- Bill.

HEMMER: John Vause, thanks, in the West Bank today.

Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell served as a Middle East envoy during the Clinton administration. He's our guest back here on AMERICAN MORNING live in D.C.

Senator, good morning to you there.

GEORGE MITCHELL, FORMER SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: We understand some tough new concessions possibly in the statement that's anticipated within a matter of minutes here out of Jordan. Let's break it down for us, first from the Israeli position. Say they will back the formation of what's considered a provisional demilitarized Palestinian state with temporary borders.

What does that mean? How substantial?

MITCHELL: Well, it's a substantial step. By itself, of course, it will not be fully satisfactory to the Palestinians. But I think what you'll see are statements that represent concessions by both sides, falling short of what the other wants, but making a significant start on the process.

HEMMER: On the Palestinian side, set to denounce terrorism, maybe cutting deals with groups like Hamas.

Easier said than done?

MITCHELL: Well, what the Israelis want is not an agreement with Hamas, but an effort to dismantle Hamas. And so they won't be satisfied with that, just as I said the Palestinians won't be fully satisfied with the Israeli statement.

But I think the important thing is to bring the violence down, begin a series of reciprocal steps by both sides that will enable them to get back into negotiations. And I think it's a good start, although I'll tell you, Bill, it's going to be very difficult. There are going to be many setbacks along the way and the real test will be whether we have the patience and perseverance to see it through.

HEMMER: When you were with us here live in New York last week, you say life has become unbearable for both sides, people living with the Palestinian side and the Israeli side. Is that the motivation right now, people are tired of the violence and to some extent sick and tired of it?

MITCHELL: I believe that was the single most important factor producing the peace agreement in Northern Ireland when I worked there, that is, the weariness with the war of the public on both sides, and I believe the same factor is present -- I'm not sure of the extent of it -- in the Middle East.

When I was last there, which was some time ago, both Prime Minister Sharon and Chairman Arafat separately told me that life had become unbearable for their citizens and, of course, the one thing we know about the two of them is that they don't coordinate their messages. And it has been. The Israeli economy is contracting. They live enveloped in fear and anxiety of these horrific suicide bombings. Meanwhile, for Palestinians, as you just saw in the report preceding this interview, their economy has been completely destroyed. There are very few jobs and they can't move. They can't go from one place to another. Sixty percent of the people need food aid from international and other institutions.

It's a horrible situation on both sides and I think there's a realization that the current course, that is, continued conflict, can't attain for them what they want -- for the Israelis, security; for the Palestinians, a state. And the only way they're going to get what they want is to go through negotiations and try to accommodate the concern of the other.

HEMMER: You know what the cynics say, though. They say that we've heard this all before so many times over the past many decades. Take a break now. Calm. If you're tired, in fact, take a rest. What's not to say that in three months, six months, a year, even two years from now we're back in the same cycle, the same spiral of violence that takes us back down the road from which they are now coming?

MITCHELL: That's true and that's been said, will be said often. But in Northern Ireland, Bill, we had two years of negotiations and in a very real sense we had 700 days of failure and one day of success. Every day until the agreement was reached, the press labeled it a failure. I was asked that by reporters every single day, well, this has failed, you haven't got an agreement yet.

The same thing will occur here. But there's no alternative. The only alternative is to say well, let's have endless war, endless death and destruction. You have to keep at it no matter what the obstacles.

Also, let's not set unrealistic goals. No society on earth can have the complete absence of violence over any extended period of time. President Bush could go promise anyone that there'd be no violence in America on a permanent basis. We have horrible acts of violence here on a regular basis.

What you have to do is eliminate this organized politically motivated violence, bring the level down and inch this process forward to expand the majority in the middle who don't want conflict and who want nothing more than peace, stability and a chance to lead ordinary, productive lives.

HEMMER: Hope springs eternal. There is hope today. We'll see where it goes.

Thank you, Senator.

George Mitchell in D.C.

MITCHELL: Thank you, Bill. HEMMER: Five minutes away from that statement. We'll get it to you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com