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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Marc Ginsberg
Aired March 23, 2002 - 07:07 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Despite the continued attacks in the region, U.S. mediator Anthony Zinni is pressing ahead with cease-fire talks.
Joining us from Washington with more on the U.S. peace effort is former U.S. ambassador to Morocco Marc Ginsberg. He's also served as the Mideast policy adviser to President Clinton.
Ambassador, good to see you.
MARC GINSBERG, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO MOROCCO: Good to see you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So let's talk about the Mitchell plan. We heard so much about the Saudi proposal in the past few weeks. Where's the Mitchell plan stand now, and how must that be implemented?
GINSBERG: Well, the Mitchell plan can only be implemented based on a United States approach that first, Mr. Arafat has to agree to implement the Tenant plan, and that calls for, first of all, the arrest of Islamic militants, reduction of his own forces, and the collection of illegal weapons. That's what General Zinni at this point in time is trying to negotiate, an implementation of the Tenant plan.
And the Mitchell plan would result in the commencement of peaceful negotiations to resume a peace process whereby the Israelis and the Palestinians would begin implementing an agreement for the Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank in exchange for Palestinian commitments to reduce violence.
Unfortunately, neither party has even come close to implementing the plan proposed by and organized by former senator George Mitchell.
PHILLIPS: So, now Yasser Arafat has made it pretty clear that he wants to meet with Dick Cheney, all this talk about the two of them getting together. But the question I'm wondering is, can the U.S. government even trust Yasser Arafat, whether he wants to get together with Cheney or not?
GINSBERG: Well, we have a situation right now, Kyra, where Prime Minister Sharon wants a cease-fire right away because he took certain steps, that is, to withdraw his forces from this towns that he sees, also that he was no longer willing to -- or demanding to wait for a seven-day cease-fire.
And Mr. Arafat is trying to drag the negotiations out. Why? Because he wants that meeting with Mr. Cheney, he wants to go to Beirut to the Arab League summit, but he doesn't want to really have to bite the bullet and begin implementing the Tenant plan. Why? Because he's going to have to answer to the militants within his own organization who are going to say, Why declare a cease-fire if we have the Israelis on the run right now?
These suicide bombings and -- organized by even members of his own Al Aqsa brigades, which report directly to him, are indications that, rather than try to clamp down on Islamic militants, he recognized the need to, in effect, become part of them, because he was losing strong political support to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
And so I don't have great expectations that either party is going to really work hard here to implement a cease-fire.
PHILLIPS: Well, here steps General Zinni, correct? His first goal is to create that cease-fire, and then in turn support a meeting between Cheney and Arafat?
GINSBERG: Well, in effect, General Zinni has become responsible for the accounting process whereby he is going to determine whether or not Mr. Arafat can be taken seriously as someone who is willing to implement the elements of a cease-fire agreement, rather than just merely declare his intention to do so.
If General Zinni is convinced that Mr. Arafat is prepared to bite the bullet, and indeed begin implementing the elements of a cease-fire plan and arrest extremists and do what is necessary instead of sponsoring terror and inciting violence, then he may suggest to Vice President Cheney that he do travel to Egypt to meet with him.
But I have serious doubts, because the timetable is so short. On the other hand, the United States has an overall objective to get this meeting together because they want to be able to convince the Arabs that they have done what is necessary so that the Arabs will proceed in Beirut to unveil the elements of a Saudi peace initiative.
PHILLIPS: Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, as usual, thank you so much, getting up so early and being with us this morning. I'm sure we'll be talking to you again soon.
GINSBERG: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right.
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