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American Morning
Discussion With Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel
Aired September 12, 2003 - 07:22 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: From the Middle East now and the showdown on the West Bank. Israel's security cabinet has voted in principle to remove Yasser Arafat for being what it calls an obstacle to peace. The Palestinian leader, though, and his supporters remained defiant, this in the face of that threat.
Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, agrees with Israel's exit strategy for Arafat.
The ambassador is with us, the director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute, live in D.C.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
MARTIN INDYK, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: Hi, Bill.
HEMMER: Why do you think this is the best policy?
INDYK: Well, it's not a correct characterization of my view, Bill. What I have said is that it makes sense to remove Arafat from the scene because he is an obstacle who's failed his people and failed to live up to the commitments that he's made. But if Israel does this, it should only do it in the context of coming forward with a far reaching, credible political initiative as part of a strategy to try to achieve an end to the conflict, rather than a perpetuation of it.
HEMMER: What would Israel's response be, then, that would be satisfactory, do you think?
INDYK: Well, I think in this situation what they've done now is only make Arafat more popular. Taking a decision in principle that has no operational consequence except to generate thousands of Palestinians demonstrating in the street for Yasser Arafat, is clearly counterproductive, since Arafat was basically being ignored, stuck in his compound. His people were not much concerned about his virtual prison condition until now.
So I think it makes more sense for the Israelis, if they're going to take a drastic action like that, that to do it as part of a broader strategy in which they find a way to put forward an offer that the Palestinian leadership that's left behind can respond to.
HEMMER: Such as abandon settlements? What's your idea?
INDYK: Well, to make it credible, this right-wing government would have to say we're really serious about creating, helping to create a state with provisional borders, as provided in the road map, and we're prepared to evacuate settlements to provide for the contiguity that the president, President Bush has called for, and that Sharon has committed to.
That would have some credibility with Palestinians. Without that key commitment to evacuate at least some settlements that are in the way of Palestinian aspirations, then I don't think it'll have credibility.
HEMMER: Quickly here, if you remove Arafat, however you define that word remove, is it just giving him a platform to hold a press conference every time there is an act of violence in the Middle East, which you know dozens and dozens of international reporters would be there to record his comments?
INDYK: Yes, I think that would be the immediate effect. But let's not forget that Yasser Arafat has been exiled several times before. The Jordanians did it, kicked him out of Jordan. The Syrians kicked him out of Lebanon. Of course, the Lebanese asked him to leave when the Israelis laid siege to Beirut. So it's not as if he's -- it hasn't happened before. And in those previous circumstances, he was pretty much forgotten after a while.
So I'm not sure that it would have a lasting impact. He would definitely be around to create problems for the Israelis. And the most immediate problem would be it would put pressure on them, the focus would be pressuring them to take him back.
HEMMER: Martin Indyk, thanks for your thoughts.
And we're going to delve into this story throughout the morning here.
Live down there in D.C., thank you, sir.
In our next hour here, hear from both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, their leading -- Hassan Abdel Rahman, chief Palestinian rep to the U.S.; Israeli Consul General Alan Pinkus is also our guest next hour on this same topic.
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 September 12, 2003 - 07:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From the Middle East now and the showdown on the West Bank. Israel's security cabinet has voted in principle to remove Yasser Arafat for being what it calls an obstacle to peace. The Palestinian leader, though, and his supporters remained defiant, this in the face of that threat.
Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, agrees with Israel's exit strategy for Arafat.
The ambassador is with us, the director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute, live in D.C.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
MARTIN INDYK, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: Hi, Bill.
HEMMER: Why do you think this is the best policy?
INDYK: Well, it's not a correct characterization of my view, Bill. What I have said is that it makes sense to remove Arafat from the scene because he is an obstacle who's failed his people and failed to live up to the commitments that he's made. But if Israel does this, it should only do it in the context of coming forward with a far reaching, credible political initiative as part of a strategy to try to achieve an end to the conflict, rather than a perpetuation of it.
HEMMER: What would Israel's response be, then, that would be satisfactory, do you think?
INDYK: Well, I think in this situation what they've done now is only make Arafat more popular. Taking a decision in principle that has no operational consequence except to generate thousands of Palestinians demonstrating in the street for Yasser Arafat, is clearly counterproductive, since Arafat was basically being ignored, stuck in his compound. His people were not much concerned about his virtual prison condition until now.
So I think it makes more sense for the Israelis, if they're going to take a drastic action like that, that to do it as part of a broader strategy in which they find a way to put forward an offer that the Palestinian leadership that's left behind can respond to.
HEMMER: Such as abandon settlements? What's your idea?
INDYK: Well, to make it credible, this right-wing government would have to say we're really serious about creating, helping to create a state with provisional borders, as provided in the road map, and we're prepared to evacuate settlements to provide for the contiguity that the president, President Bush has called for, and that Sharon has committed to.
That would have some credibility with Palestinians. Without that key commitment to evacuate at least some settlements that are in the way of Palestinian aspirations, then I don't think it'll have credibility.
HEMMER: Quickly here, if you remove Arafat, however you define that word remove, is it just giving him a platform to hold a press conference every time there is an act of violence in the Middle East, which you know dozens and dozens of international reporters would be there to record his comments?
INDYK: Yes, I think that would be the immediate effect. But let's not forget that Yasser Arafat has been exiled several times before. The Jordanians did it, kicked him out of Jordan. The Syrians kicked him out of Lebanon. Of course, the Lebanese asked him to leave when the Israelis laid siege to Beirut. So it's not as if he's -- it hasn't happened before. And in those previous circumstances, he was pretty much forgotten after a while.
So I'm not sure that it would have a lasting impact. He would definitely be around to create problems for the Israelis. And the most immediate problem would be it would put pressure on them, the focus would be pressuring them to take him back.
HEMMER: Martin Indyk, thanks for your thoughts.
And we're going to delve into this story throughout the morning here.
Live down there in D.C., thank you, sir.
In our next hour here, hear from both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, their leading -- Hassan Abdel Rahman, chief Palestinian rep to the U.S.; Israeli Consul General Alan Pinkus is also our guest next hour on this same topic.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
