President Bush & Secretary
of State Rice Discuss the Middle East Crisis
(August 7, 2006)
Good morning. Since the crisis
in Lebanon began more than three weeks ago, the United
States and other key nations have been working for
a comprehensive solution that would return control
of Lebanon to its government, and to provide a sustainable
peace that protects the lives of both the Lebanese
and the Israeli people.
Secretary
Rice and diplomats from other countries are developing
United Nations resolutions to bring about a cessation
of hostilities and establish a foundation for lasting
peace.
The first resolution, which the Security Council is
now considering, calls for a stop of all hostilities.
Under its terms, Hezbollah will be required to immediately
stop all attacks. Israel will be required to immediately
stop all offensive military operations. In addition,
the resolution calls for an embargo on the shipment
of any arms into Lebanon, except as authorized by the
Lebanese government.
A second resolution, which the Security Council will
begin working on as soon as possible, will help establish
a sustainable and enduring cease-fire and provide a
mandate for a robust international force that will
help the legitimate government of Lebanon extend it's
authority over all of Lebanon's territory.
Under this second resolution, the Lebanese armed forces,
supported by the international force, will deploy to
southern Lebanon. This international force will help
Lebanon patrol its border with Syria and prevent illegal
arm shipments to Hezbollah. As these Lebanese and international
forces deploy, the Israeli defense forces will withdraw.
And both Israel and Lebanon will respect the blue line
that divides them.
These two resolutions are designed to bring an immediate
end to the fighting, to help restore sovereignty over
Lebanese soil to Lebanese democratic government --
to Lebanon's democratic government, excuse me -- to
strike a blow against the terrorists and their supporters,
and to help bring lasting peace to the region. By taking
these steps, it will prevent armed militias like Hezbollah
and its Iranian and Syrian sponsors from sparking another
crisis. And it will protect innocent Lebanese and Israelis.
And it will help the international community deliver
humanitarian relief and support Lebanon's revival and
reconstruction.
The loss of life on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli
border has been a great tragedy. Millions of Lebanese
civilians have been caught in the crossfire of military
operations because of the unprovoked attack and kidnappings
by Hezbollah. The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is
of deep concern to all Americans, and alleviating it
will remain a priority of my government.
I also believe that innocent civilians in Israel should
not have to live in bunkers in fear of missile attacks.
To establish a lasting peace that protects innocent
civilians on both sides of the border, we must address
the underlying conditions that are the root cause of
this crisis.
I
believe that the two resolutions I have discussed and
that Secretary Rice is working on will put us on that
path.
And now I'll be glad to answer some questions. Nedra.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Lebanon has rejected the
draft proposal, and Israel is not speaking out in support
of it. How do you get a resolution that both sides
will support?
THE PRESIDENT: Everyone wants the violence to stop.
People understand that there needs to be a cessation
of hostilities in order for us to address the root
causes of the problem. That was the spirit that came
out of the G8 conference. It came out of the Rome conference
that Secretary Rice attended. We all recognize that
the violence must stop. And so that's what Secretary
Rice is working toward with our friends and allies.
Look, everybody is -- I understand both parties aren't
going to agree with all aspects of the resolution.
But the intent of the resolutions is to strengthen
the Lebanese government so Israel has got a partner
in peace. The intent of the resolution is to make sure
that we address the root cause -- the resolution is
to address the root cause, which was a state operating
within the state. Hezbollah was -- or is an armed movement
that provoked the crisis.
And so whatever comes out of the resolutions must
address that root cause. And so the task today for
the Secretary and her counterparts is to develop a
resolution that can get passed. It is essential that
we create the conditions for the Lebanese government
to move their own forces, with international help,
into the south of Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah and
its sponsors from creating this -- creating another
crisis. And so that's where we're headed.
Steve.
Q The Lebanese Prime Minister is demanding a quick
and decisive cease-fire. An Israeli air raid today
killed 40 people. When will we see this resolution?
And if it's approved, when will we see a cessation
of violence?
THE PRESIDENT: I'll let Condi talk about the details
of what she's going to do today, if you care to hear
from her. But we will work with our partners to get
the resolution laid down as quickly as possible. And
the resolution will call for a cessation of violence.
And the concern, by the way, from the parties in the
region is whether or not the resolution will create
a vacuum into which Hezbollah and its sponsors will
be able to promote more instability. We
all agree that we ought to strengthen this government,
the Lebanese government -- that's the purpose of the
resolutions, as well as to stop the violence.
I don't know if you want to comment upon --
SECRETARY RICE: First of all, we are working from
what we believe to be a strong basis for a cessation
of hostilities, that is the U.S.-French draft, a strong
basis for the cessation of hostilities, and then as
the President said, to have a process then that can
address the root causes. And we also believe that it's
going to be very important that this first resolution
lay a very quick foundation for passage of a second
resolution. So these have to be worked, in a sense,
together.
I spoke last night and yesterday with Prime Minister
Olmert, with Prime Minister Siniora, with Secretary
General Kofi Annan, with a number of others, and I
think we believe that there is a way forward.
Now, we understand that this has been a very emotional
and, indeed, devastating and tragic set of circumstances
for Lebanon and for Israel. And obviously, the parties
have views on how to stop this. Their views are not
going to necessarily be consonant about how to stop
it. The international community has a view. But, of
course, we're going to take a little time and listen
to the concerns of the parties and see how they can
be addressed.
But I want to just note, we believe that the extant
draft resolution is a firm foundation, is the right
basis, but, of course, we're going to listen to the
concerns of the parties and see how they might be addressed.
And that's really what's going to be going on today,
particularly after the Arab League meets and Prime
Minister Siniora emerges from that.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Peter.
Q Thanks. Mr. President, officials have been quoted
saying that the international force would not include
U.S. troops. And I wonder if you can explain why that
is? Is it because the military is already over-tasked?
Is it because you're afraid that the U.S. doesn't have
credibility in the region?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I think -- first of all, there
has been a history in Lebanon with U.S. troops. Secondly,
I have said that if the international force would like
some help with logistics and command and control, we'd
be willing to offer logistics and command and control.
There are some places where -- it's like Darfur, people
say to me, why don't you commit U.S. troops to Darfur
as part of an international peacekeeping. And the answer
there is that those troops would be -- would create
a sensation around the world that may not enable us
to achieve our objective. And so when we commit troops,
we commit troops for a specific reason, with the intent
of achieving an objective. And I think command and
control and logistical support is probably the best
-- is the best use of U.S. forces.
Mike Fletcher.
Q Many strategists say that we'll never get to the
bottom of this crisis unless the U.S. engages directly
with Syria and Iran. Why not talk to them directly
about this, and have a back-and-forth conversation?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, that's an interesting question.
I've been reading about that, that people have been
posing that question. We have been in touch with Syria.
Colin Powell sent a message to Syria in person. Dick
Armitage traveled to Syria. Bill Burns traveled to
Syria. We've got a consulate office in Syria. Syria
knows what we think. The problem isn't us telling Syria
what's on our mind, which is to stop harboring terror
and to help the Iraqi democracy evolve. They know exactly
what our position is. The problem is, is that their
response hasn't been very positive. As a matter of
fact, it hasn't been positive at all.
And in terms of Iran, we made it clear to the Iranians
that if they would honor previous obligations and verifiably
stop enrichment of nuclear materials, we would sit
at a table. And so there's a way forward for both countries.
The choice is theirs. Now, I appreciate people focusing
on Syria and Iran, and we should, because Syria and
Iran sponsor and promote Hezbollah activities -- all
aimed at creating chaos, all aimed at using terror
to stop the advance of democracies.
Our objective, our policy is to give voice to people
through democratic reform. And that's why we strongly
support the Siniora government. That's why I've articulated
a two state solution between Israel and the Palestinians,
two democracies living side-by-side in peace. That's
why Condi went to see President Abbas, the President
of the Palestinian Territories, to assure him that
we're committed to a democracy. That's why we're making
sacrifices in Iraq -- to build democracy.
In other words, we believe democracy yields peace.
And the actions of Hezbollah through its sponsors of
Iran and Syria are trying to stop that advance of democracy.
Hezbollah launched this attack. Hezbollah is trying
to create the chaos necessary to stop the advance of
peace. And the world community must come together to
address this problem.
Let's see here. Jim.
Q Mr. President, in the last couple of weeks, every
time the question was asked why not get an immediate
cessation and then build a sustainable -- terms for
a sustainable cease-fire after you get the hostilities
stopped, it was categorically rejected. Yet, a few
weeks later, here we are. Can you explain why this
wasn't done a couple weeks ago?
THE PRESIDENT: Sure. Because, first of all, the international
community hadn't come together on a concept of how
to address the root cause of the problem, Jim.
Part of the problem in the past in the Middle East
is people would paper over the root cause of the problem,
and therefore the situation would seemingly be quiet,
and then lo and behold, there'd be another crisis.
And innocent people would suffer. And so our strategy
all along has been, of course we want to have a cessation
of hostilities, but what we want to do in the same
time is to make sure that there is a way forward for
the Lebanese government to secure its own country so
that there's peace in the region.
And that deals with an international peacekeeping
force to complement a Lebanese army moving into the
south to make sure that Resolution 1559, passed two
years ago by the U.N., was fully upheld. Had the parties
involved fully implemented 1559, which called for the
disarmament of Hezbollah, we would not be in the situation
we're in today.
Let's see here. Yes, Richard.
Q Mr. President, what are the specific stumbling blocks
that are preventing this first resolution from being
passed quickly? What are the people -- what are the
parties objecting to in the language that needs to
be altered?
SECRETARY RICE: I think that first of all, I don't
-- I'm not going to get into specifics about the views
of the parties. I think that we have to do that privately
and talk with the parties privately. But obviously,
this particular resolution is important because it
sets an agenda for the basis for a sustainable peace.
And so it will not surprise you that the Lebanese have
views of what should be on that agenda. The Israelis
have views of what should be on that agenda. They aren't
always the same views, and so working together to get
to what that agenda should be is part of what's going
on here.
But I will say something that's very interesting.
There is more agreement than you might think about
how to prevent, again, a situation in which you have
a state within a state able to launch an attack across
the blue line.
For instance, there is agreement that the Lebanese
government needs to extend its authority throughout
the country, that it needs to have the Lebanese armed
forces move to take care of this vacuum that has been
existing in the south, that there should not be any
armed groups able just to operate in the south in the
way that Hezbollah has been able to operate in the
south, that there ought to be respect for the blue
line. These are all agreements between the two parties.
And so there is going to be some pressure from both
sides to get things onto the agenda because they want
to get them onto the agenda. But I think we have a
reasonable basis here that both sides can accept. I
think there are some issues of timing and sequence
that need to be worked out. There are some concerns
about when an international force would actually be
available. And so we're going to continue to work to
address those concerns of the two parties.
But as the President said, this last three weeks has
been extremely important. Had we done this three weeks
ago, we were talking about what people -- an unconditional
cease-fire that I can guarantee you would not have
addressed any of these items that both sides know are
going to have to be addressed if we're going to have
a sustainable cease-fire in the future. So this has
been time that's been well spent over the last couple
of weeks, that everybody agrees it's time to have a
cessation. We're going to work a little bit more with
the parties, and I think this resolution will be the
right basis -- both to cease the hostilities and to
move forward.
THE PRESIDENT: Cheryl.
Q Mr. President, you've spoken with Prime Minister
Blair and Chancellor Merkel about this. Have you spoken
directly with Prime Ministers Olmert and Siniora? And
if not, why not?
THE PRESIDENT: Because Condi is handling those conversations,
and she's doing a fine job of doing so.
Yes.
Q Mr. President, you've been quite specific in Hezbollah's
role as the creator of this conflict. But what is the
magnet, what is the pressure point, what is the hook
to get this group to accept a cease-fire, to stop shooting
and to stop kidnapping soldiers from across the border
of another country?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I would hope it would be international
pressure on not only Hezbollah, the group of Hezbollah
within Lebanon, but also its sponsors. And that's the
whole purpose of the United States working with allies
and friends, is to send a clear message that sponsoring
terror is unacceptable. It's the great challenge of
the 21st century, really.
Q Do you --
THE PRESIDENT: Let me finish for a minute.
Q I'm sorry..
THE PRESIDENT: It is the great challenge of this century
and it's this: As young democracies flourish, terrorists
try to stop their progress. And it's the great challenge
of the United States and others who are blessed with
living in free countries. Not only do terrorists try
to stop the advance of democracy through killing innocent
people within those countries, they also try to shape
the will of the western world by killing innocent westerners.
They try to spread their jihadist message -- a message
I call, it's totalitarian in nature -- Islamic radicalism,
Islamic fascism, they try to spread it as well by taking
the attack to those of us who love freedom.
And as far as this administration is concerned, we
clearly see the problem and we're going to continue
to work to advance stable, free countries. We don't
expect every country to look like the United States,
but we do want countries to accept some basic conditions
for a vibrant society -- human rights, human decency,
the power of the people to determine the fate of their
governments. And, admittedly, this is hard work because
it flies in the face of previous policy, which basically
says stability is more important than form of government.
And as a result of that policy, anger and resentment
bubbled forth with an attack, with a series of attacks,
the most dramatic of which was on September the 11th.
You know, your question is can we get people to --
a terrorist group to change their attitude. What we
can do is we can get state sponsors of terror to understand
this behavior is unacceptable, and that we can convince
some people in terrorist groups that there is a better
way forward for them and their families.
Remember, Hezbollah is a political party within Lebanon.
They actually ran people for office. The problem is,
is that they're a political party with a militia that
is armed by foreign nations and, obviously, this political
party with militia was willing to try to influence
the Middle East through unprovoked attacks.
And what Condi is working on and I work on is to remind
people about the stakes in the Middle East. And those
stakes include not only helping the Lebanese government
firm up its democracy -- remember, we worked with the
French two years ago to boot out Syria. Syria was inside
Lebanon and we felt that in order for a democracy to
flourish, Syria needed to remove not only her troops,
but her agents, her intelligence agents, for example.
And, obviously, there are some in the region that
don't want the Lebanese government to succeed. I also
happen to believe that as Prime Minister Olmert was
making progress in reaching out to President Abbas
and others in the region to develop a Palestinian state,
that that caused a terrorist reaction. Remember, this
all started with the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier
by militant Hamas, followed shortly thereafter by the
kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah.
And, finally, the third most notable battleground
in the advance of liberty is Iraq. It's interesting,
if you go back to the work of Mr. Zarqawi, he talked
about fomenting sectarian violence in order to stop
the advance of democracy. The challenge of the 21st
century is for free nations to help those who aspire
to liberty. And, you know, the first question is, do
people aspire to liberty? And the answer is, absolutely
-- look at the 12 million people who voted in Iraq.
Or look at the people who went to the polls in Lebanon.
It's just clear to me that there will be terrorist
activities that will try to stop people from living
a decent, hopeful life.
And what you're watching now is the diplomatic efforts
to address the problem. I know there's -- I sense a
certain impatience in your voice about diplomacy coming
to a conclusion. What Secretary Rice is doing, as well
as me, is we are dealing with a lot of different interests.
Remember, each nation at the Security Council has got
its own domestic issues to deal with, as well, and
so it is -- I wish things happened quicker in the diplomatic
realm -- sometimes it takes a while to get things done.
But what the American people need to know is we've
got a strategy -- a strategy for freedom in the Middle
East which protects the American people in the long
run. And we've got a strategy to deal with the situations
that arise in the Middle East -- first Lebanon; of
course, the Iranian nuclear weapon issue.
And as you remember, right before the G8, the question
on your mind was would we ever get a resolution out
of the U.N. on the Iranians' desire to have a nuclear
weapon, as well as whether or not we'd ever get a resolution
out of the U.N. to deal with North Korea. As a matter
of fact, there was great skepticism, I felt, in some
circles, as to whether or not we'd be able to put a
diplomacy in place that would deal with these two very
difficult problems.
And, in fact, during the G8, two resolutions were
passed -- by the way, those resolutions overshadowed
by the situation in Lebanon. And I'm confident that
working with our friends, if we stay on principle and
remind people of the stakes, that we'll be able to
accomplish the diplomatic objectives that we have set
out -- which is dealing with this problem and addressing
the long-term issues.
A couple more questions, and we'll get out -- Suzanne.
Q If I could follow Nedra's question. She had asked,
Lebanon --
THE PRESIDENT: I can't remember that far back. (Laughter.)
Q Lebanon's parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, who has
been negotiating for Hezbollah, has rejected the first
resolution, saying it's unacceptable, they want the
Israeli troops to pull out immediately. Is that a negotiable
point? And, also, Secretary Rice, will you be reaching
out to Berri, as you had spoken with him before?
THE PRESIDENT: Whatever happens in the U.N., we must
not create a vacuum into which Hezbollah and its sponsors
are able to move more weapons. Sometimes the world
likes to take the easy route in order to solve a problem.
Our view is, it's time to address root causes of problems.
And to create a vacuum, Suzanne, is unacceptable. It
would mean that we haven't addressed the root cause.
The idea is to have the Lebanese government move into
the south so that the government of Lebanon can protect
its own territory, and that there be an international
force to provide the help necessary for the Lebanese
government to secure its country. Remember, in Germany,
the first thing I said was -- or one of the first things
I said, I think I said this -- help me out here, if
I didn't --
SECRETARY RICE: I think you did.
THE PRESIDENT: -- was we want the Siniora government
to survive and to be strengthened. The linchpin of
the policy is to support democracies. And so the strategy
at the U.N., the diplomatic strategy is to support
that notion, because a democracy in Lebanon will not
only help that nation address its long-term issues
-- such as rebuilding, providing a hopeful life --
but a democracy on Israeli's northern border will stabilize
-- help stabilize the region. We are committed to a
democracy in the Palestinian territory.
President Abbas, in his conversations with Condi,
talked about moving forward with democracy. There are
people who can't stand the thought of a society based
upon universal liberty from emerging. And that, in
itself, ought to be a warning signal to those of us
who care deeply for peace, that people would be willing
to kill innocent citizens in order to stop the advance
of liberty.
Now, I've talked a lot about the universal appeal
of liberty, and I readily concede some people aren't
willing to -- some say, well, you know, liberty may
not be universal in this sense -- America imposes its
will. We don't impose liberty; liberty is universal.
It's one of the interesting debates of the 21st century,
I think, that some would be willing to say it's okay
for people not to live in a free society. It's not
okay for us. If you love peace, in order to achieve
peace you much help people realize that which is universal
-- and that is freedom.
She asked you a question.
SECRETARY RICE: Our point of contact for the Lebanese
government is obviously Prime Minister Siniora. As
you know, I've also spoken to Speaker Berri on a couple
of occasions.
I understand how emotional this is for the Lebanese.
They've been through a very difficult war. It's emotional
for Israel, as well. They're in the midst of a difficult
war.
Let me just say that in terms of what the end state
will look like here, I don't think there is any disagreement
that the right solution is the one that the President
referred to. It's the Lebanese, and the Lebanese armed
forces able to secure their territory. And the international
help is so that Lebanon can secure its territory. And
I don't believe anybody anticipates that there should
be foreign forces on Lebanese soil as a result of what
has happened here.
And so I think there is room on this issue to work
on this issue, because everybody has the same vision
-- that it's the Lebanese army, with support from an
international force, that can actually prevent that
vacuum from obtaining again in the south, so that we're
not right back here three or four or five months from
now, in the same situation.
Q Mr. President, I don't think we've heard from you
since Fidel Castro has fallen ill. Can you give us
what you know of his current condition, what your administration's
contingency plans are for his death, and how they address
the desire of Cuban exiles in this country to eventually
go home and reclaim their property?
THE PRESIDENT: First of all, Cuba is not a very transparent
society, so the only thing I know is what has been
speculated. And that is that, on the one hand, he's
very ill, and on the other hand, he's going to be coming
out of a hospital. I don't know. I really don't know.
And, secondly, that our desire is for the Cuban people
to be able to choose their own form of government,
and we would hope that -- and we'll make this very
clear -- that as Cuba has the possibility of transforming
itself from a tyrannical situation to a different type
of society, the Cuban people ought to decide. The people
on the island of Cuba ought to decide. And once the
people of Cuba decide their form of government, then
Cuban Americans can take an interest in that country
and redress the issues of property confiscation. But
first things first, and that is the Cuban people need
to decide the future of their country.
Q Mr. President, if I could turn to Iraq for a moment.
THE PRESIDENT: Sure.
Q When you and Prime Minister Blair met at the White
House a few months ago, you were asked about mistakes
and missteps. And he said the one mistake he made was
miscalculating in thinking that a young democracy,
as you put it, would be born very quickly after the
fall of Saddam. Are you prepared today to agree with
him and acknowledge that you've had the same expectations,
which were wrong?
THE PRESIDENT: Actually, I think -- I can't remember
his answer; I'm sure you've characterized it perfectly.
My attitude is that a young democracy has been born
quite quickly. And I think the Iraqi government has
shown remarkable progress on the political front, and
that is, is that they developed a modern constitution
that was ratified by the people, and then 12 million
people voted for a government -- which gives me confidence
about the future in Iraq, by the way.
You know, I hear people say, well, civil war this,
civil war that. The Iraqi people decided against civil
war when they went to the ballot box. And a unity government
is working to respond to the will of the people. And
frankly, it's quite a remarkable achievement on the
political front, and the security front is where there
have been troubles. And it's going to be up to the
Maliki government, with U.S. help, to use the trained
forces, and eventually a trained police force, to take
care of those who are trying to foment sectarian violence.
We've made some progress against some of those folks,
particularly when Mr. Zarqawi met his demise. Remember,
al Qaeda is in the country, all attempting to stop
the advance of democracy. And the blowing up of the
mosque created an opportunity for those who were trying
to foment sectarian violence to achieve their objective.
But the Iraqi people rejected that kind of sectarian
violence, the army stood strong.
No question it's still difficult. On the other hand,
the political process is part of helping to achieve
our objective, which is a free country, an ally in
the war on terror that can sustain itself and govern
itself and defend itself.
Okay, who else? I don't want to hurt any feelings.
Yes, sir.
Q Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: Identify yourself.
Q Kevin Corke, NBC News, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Right. I knew that.
Q Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Just wanted to make sure you did.
Q Yes, indeed. In reading the 1559 resolution and
the draft, as it's currently constructed, there are
a lot of similarities, quite frankly. And I'm wondering
if you could speak to maybe the frustration some Americans
might be feeling that you've said we want sustainable
peace, we don't want to come back here in a few months
or a few years -- and, yet, it seems like there will
be another resolution, maybe another resolution, maybe
another this, that and the other. People get frustrated.
Can you understand that and respond to that, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the people who should get really
frustrated are the Israelis and the Lebanese. They
ought to be the ones who are frustrated, because 1559
clearly laid a way forward for there to be a strong
democracy in Lebanon, which will more likely yield
the peace. And there is a level of frustration around
the world with organizations that will take innocent
life to achieve political objectives. And our job is
to remind people that this isn't a moment, this is
a movement, and that we must deal with this movement.
We must deal with this movement with strong security
measures, we must bring justice to those who would
attack us, and at the same time, defeat their ideology
by the spread of liberty.
And it takes a lot of work. This is the beginning
of a long struggle against an ideology that is real
and profound. It's Islamo-fascism. It comes in different
forms. They share the same tactics, which is to destroy
people and things in order to create chaos in the hopes
that their vision of the world become predominant in
the Middle East.
And Condi and I will work hard -- by the way, the
United States can't win this war alone. We can do damage
to the enemy. We can take the philosophical high ground
and remind people of the importance of how freedom
can change societies. But we will work with allies
and friends to achieve this objective. And part of
the challenge in the 21st century is to remind people
about the stakes, and remind people that in moments
of quiet, there's still an Islamic fascist group plotting,
planning and trying to spread their ideology. And one
of the things that -- one of the things that came out
of this unfortunate incident in the Middle East is
it is a stark reminder that there are those who want
to stop the advance of liberty and destabilize young
democracies. And they're willing to kill people to
do so.
I repeat, this whole incident started because Hezbollah
kidnapped two soldiers and launched rocket attacks.
And it's been unfortunate that people on both sides
of the border have lost life. And we're committed to
helping the Lebanese government rebuild.
On the other hand, what we won't do is allow for a
false hope. We believe that it's important to challenge
the root cause now. We thought we had done so with
1559, but 1559 wasn't implemented. In other words,
there was a way forward to deal with the problem. And
now there's another chance to deal with the problem,
and that's the role of the United States, working with
others, to not only remind people about the problem,
but to come up with solutions in dealing with the problem.
And the solutions that we are working with our friends
are, in our judgment, is the best hope for achieving
stability and peace.
But it takes a lot of work. And it takes commitment
and focus. And that's what this administration will
continue to do. We'll stay focused on the problem and
stay focused on coming up with solutions that, when
implemented, will leave behind a better world.
Thank you all very much for your interest.
Sources: The White House |