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American Morning
Interview With Georgetown's Rob Sobhani
Aired June 05, 2003 - 09:35 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: On the road, the very long road at times, to peace in the Middle East. President Bush's summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, was filled with optimism despite the major obstacles that, again, still lie in the way. What lies ahead, though, in the process, Rob Sobhani is a professor of foreign policy at Georgetown University. He is our guest now live here on Capitol Hill -- great to see you in person, professor.
ROB SOBHANI, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Good morning.
HEMMER: Do you have -- go back to '93 in Oslo, '91 in Madrid. Is there any reason to think, as of yesterday that the situation is different, that gives you the thinking that maybe things are different this time?
SOBHANI: Two things. No. 1, you have an Israeli politician from the right, from the Likud Party, that is a supporter of settlements, now saying we need to end the settlements. On the Palestinian side, you have a new face, it's not Arafat anymore and I think these two factors may bode well, "may" with a big "M."
HEMMER: Yes, big "M." Listen, before the microphone cords were wrapped up in Aqaba, Jordan yesterday, you had thousands of Jewish settlers who amassed in central Jerusalem protesting this move, gives us an indication about the strains on both sides, and quite possibly the next step on this road, if indeed it goes that way, could be the civil war within the Palestinian side and the Jewish side.
SOBHANI: There's no doubt. On the Israeli side, you have the settlements and the politicians who support the settlers, but they're a vocal minority. On the Palestinian side, we should expect Yasser Arafat to try to pull the carpet from under Mahmoud Abbas.
HEMMER: You think so?
SOBHANI: Absolutely.
HEMMER: What does he do, though, does he lie in wait for a couple of months and see whether this thing is a success or failure, and then make a move?
SOBHANI: I think Arafat sees any legitimacy to Mahmoud Abbas as his being marginalized, and that's what we need to be careful for, and that is why we need to support Mahmoud Abbas.
HEMMER: So what does Arafat do now? SOBHANI: Arafat, essentially, tries to get as much support from the outside and within the Palestinian territories to legitimize himself, but also go to the Europeans and say, I'm still the man you need to deal with, and that's where I think we need to talk to our European allies, to the Russians, and tell them, do not engage Arafat. Give the stage to Mahmoud Abbas. That's very important.
HEMMER: Also on the Palestinian side, Hamas has come out and said, as of yesterday, forget about it, there is no cease-fire. What happens if, indeed, the violence leads us to another suicide attack? Do the two sides get down on this, or is it something that they power through?
SOBHANI: I think this is, once again, where the Arab world needs to rally around Mahmoud Abbas, very clearly and forcefully and say, Listen, violence is not going to get us a Palestinian state and put the pressure on the states that sponsor these Palestinian terrorist groups.
HEMMER: If you were at the White House, what would you advise the president? In the past, we have seen a number of attempts from a number of administrations thinking that they might be able to have the formula that can lead this part of the world to peace.
SOBHANI: I think three things immediately. Make it very clear to the governments of Iran that sponsors these terrorist organizations we will be tough on them if they continue. No. 2, give financial assistance immediately to Mahmoud Abbas, so he's free and clear of Yasser Arafat. And third, ask the Europeans and Russians not to engage Arafat, to bolster Mahmoud Abbas. He needs that boost. We need to give it to him.
HEMMER: When the president went there and talked at this summit, pretty frank talk, actually. I asked this question yesterday, I'll ask it to you again. He essentially went there and said to the Palestinians, stop the terrorism. Said to the Israelis, stop building settlements. In fact, go ahead and deconstruct them, starting immediately.
We looked at this issue with such massive complexities going back to Biblical times. Can it be that it's so simple as the president laid it out, or do people look at him and say, you don't really understand how massively complex this issue has become.
SOBHANI: There's no doubt that it is fraught with emotion. There's no doubt that there are enormous resentments on both sides, but I think it's important to move forward, because at the end of day, the people in the region deserve to have that peace, and I think the president's on the right track.
HEMMER: Maybe?
SOBHANI: Maybe.
HEMMER: With a capital "M." Good to see you, Professor Rob Sobhani from Georgetown. 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 5, 2003 - 09:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: On the road, the very long road at times, to peace in the Middle East. President Bush's summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, was filled with optimism despite the major obstacles that, again, still lie in the way. What lies ahead, though, in the process, Rob Sobhani is a professor of foreign policy at Georgetown University. He is our guest now live here on Capitol Hill -- great to see you in person, professor.
ROB SOBHANI, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Good morning.
HEMMER: Do you have -- go back to '93 in Oslo, '91 in Madrid. Is there any reason to think, as of yesterday that the situation is different, that gives you the thinking that maybe things are different this time?
SOBHANI: Two things. No. 1, you have an Israeli politician from the right, from the Likud Party, that is a supporter of settlements, now saying we need to end the settlements. On the Palestinian side, you have a new face, it's not Arafat anymore and I think these two factors may bode well, "may" with a big "M."
HEMMER: Yes, big "M." Listen, before the microphone cords were wrapped up in Aqaba, Jordan yesterday, you had thousands of Jewish settlers who amassed in central Jerusalem protesting this move, gives us an indication about the strains on both sides, and quite possibly the next step on this road, if indeed it goes that way, could be the civil war within the Palestinian side and the Jewish side.
SOBHANI: There's no doubt. On the Israeli side, you have the settlements and the politicians who support the settlers, but they're a vocal minority. On the Palestinian side, we should expect Yasser Arafat to try to pull the carpet from under Mahmoud Abbas.
HEMMER: You think so?
SOBHANI: Absolutely.
HEMMER: What does he do, though, does he lie in wait for a couple of months and see whether this thing is a success or failure, and then make a move?
SOBHANI: I think Arafat sees any legitimacy to Mahmoud Abbas as his being marginalized, and that's what we need to be careful for, and that is why we need to support Mahmoud Abbas.
HEMMER: So what does Arafat do now? SOBHANI: Arafat, essentially, tries to get as much support from the outside and within the Palestinian territories to legitimize himself, but also go to the Europeans and say, I'm still the man you need to deal with, and that's where I think we need to talk to our European allies, to the Russians, and tell them, do not engage Arafat. Give the stage to Mahmoud Abbas. That's very important.
HEMMER: Also on the Palestinian side, Hamas has come out and said, as of yesterday, forget about it, there is no cease-fire. What happens if, indeed, the violence leads us to another suicide attack? Do the two sides get down on this, or is it something that they power through?
SOBHANI: I think this is, once again, where the Arab world needs to rally around Mahmoud Abbas, very clearly and forcefully and say, Listen, violence is not going to get us a Palestinian state and put the pressure on the states that sponsor these Palestinian terrorist groups.
HEMMER: If you were at the White House, what would you advise the president? In the past, we have seen a number of attempts from a number of administrations thinking that they might be able to have the formula that can lead this part of the world to peace.
SOBHANI: I think three things immediately. Make it very clear to the governments of Iran that sponsors these terrorist organizations we will be tough on them if they continue. No. 2, give financial assistance immediately to Mahmoud Abbas, so he's free and clear of Yasser Arafat. And third, ask the Europeans and Russians not to engage Arafat, to bolster Mahmoud Abbas. He needs that boost. We need to give it to him.
HEMMER: When the president went there and talked at this summit, pretty frank talk, actually. I asked this question yesterday, I'll ask it to you again. He essentially went there and said to the Palestinians, stop the terrorism. Said to the Israelis, stop building settlements. In fact, go ahead and deconstruct them, starting immediately.
We looked at this issue with such massive complexities going back to Biblical times. Can it be that it's so simple as the president laid it out, or do people look at him and say, you don't really understand how massively complex this issue has become.
SOBHANI: There's no doubt that it is fraught with emotion. There's no doubt that there are enormous resentments on both sides, but I think it's important to move forward, because at the end of day, the people in the region deserve to have that peace, and I think the president's on the right track.
HEMMER: Maybe?
SOBHANI: Maybe.
HEMMER: With a capital "M." Good to see you, Professor Rob Sobhani from Georgetown. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
