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Bush: Abu Mazen's Departure "An Interesting Lesson"

(White House) President Bush told the London-based Arab newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat during an interview on November 19: I believe that the Palestinians deserve a state. As a matter of fact, I'm the first United States President to stand up and call for that. And I believe it, and I mean it. But that state must be democratic in order for it to survive. And it needs leadership that will not steal money, that will not deal with terrorists, that will not continually dash the hopes of the Palestinian people. And I found such a leader, I thought, in Abu Mazen. He wanted to work on the security issue. He wanted to dismantle these terrorist organizations, which are destroying any chance for peace. And guess what happens to him - he gets shoved aside. And I thought it was an interesting lesson. We hope this new prime minister will stand up and do what is right, which is to work to dismantle the terrorist organizations, and put the institutions in place that are larger than the people - institutions which will survive the test of time, so Palestine can emerge as a peaceful, viable, democratic state.
2003-11-24 00:00:00
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