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Post by Emerald City on Nov 12, 2004 17:34:13 GMT -5
WASHINGTON - As Yasser Arafat was buried, President Bush said Friday there is "a great chance" to create an independent Palestinian state within four years after decades of frustration. British Prime Minister Tony Blair joined Bush in pledging to mobilize global support for Middle East peace efforts.
"What we are saying is, we are going to work flat out to deliver this," Blair said at a White House news conference with the president.
"I'd like to see it done in four years," said Bush, referring to the length of his second term. "I think it is possible. I think it is possible."
The leader of the Palestinians over four decades, Arafat was regarded by the United States as the primary obstacle to peace with Israel. Bush refused even to meet with him. Arafat's death opens what many leaders believe is a crucial opportunity to break through decades of distrust and produce the groundwork for Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side without bloodshed — a goal that Bush once hoped to see accomplished in 2005.
Hopes for any breakthrough, however, are tempered by a history of failure after moments of promise.
Bush said the outcome will be decided by the Palestinians. "If you want to be helped, here's what we're willing to do," the president said. "If you choose not to be helped, if you decide you don't want a free, democratic society, there's nothing we can do."
He passed up an opportunity to pressure Israel to revive negotiations or freeze the expansion of settlements.
Bush and Blair, steadfast allies in the war in Iraq, met privately over dinner Thursday and continued their discussions Friday before their news conference in the East Room. With British general elections expected next year, Blair has struggled against criticism that he simply follows Bush's orders as his "poodle."
When a reporter asked Bush if that were an accurate description, Blair joked, "Don't answer yes to that question." Bush praised him as steadfast and reliable and said, "He's a big thinker. He's got a clear vision. And when times get tough, he doesn't wilt."
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Post by Emerald City on Nov 12, 2004 17:36:36 GMT -5
Bush took the opportunity to announce he will visit Europe after the Jan. 20 inauguration. The trip is intended to repair relations with allies, upset by the Iraq war and what many perceive as Washington's go-it-alone approach on foreign policy.
While pledging new efforts for Israeli-Palestinian peace, Bush refused to embrace Blair's proposal for a conference on the Middle East early next year, or calls for the appointment of a special envoy for the Middle East. Bush said he and Blair had a long discussion Thursday night about whether a conference would have meaningful results.
"We'll do that what it takes to put a strategy in place and advance it and call upon other nations to work with us," the president said.
Bush and Blair pledged to mobilize the international community and world opinion to build up Palestinian political, economic and security institutions to create the foundation for a democratic state. The success of any effort, Bush said, will depend on creating a society based upon justice, free elections and the right of people to speak freely.
The Palestinian Authority the self-ruling power in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is to hold elections within 60 days, and Bush said he hoped that Arafat's successor would embrace the notion of a democratic state. "And I'd like to see it done in four years," the president said.
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat, speaking to The Associated Press in Ramallah, issued an appeal to Bush.
"President Bush, please make sure we have free and fair presidential elections in 60 days," Erekat said. "If elections are obstructed by Israeli occupation, this will be the path of more chaos. This is your opportunity, this is a historic opportunity, we have an historic moment Mr. President. Seize it."
Israel endorsed Bush's message.
"There is a two-state solution based on the fact that they have to first stop terrorism before there is a state," said Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "Bush is putting it as a challenge to the future Palestinian leadership. ... He says `It's up to you and you have a new situation.' ... The fact is that there is a new era now. He is urging them to drop the Yasser Arafat legacy."
Israel's foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, will fly to Washington to meet on Monday with Secretary of State Colin Powell Shalom said this week that the new Palestinian leadership "will have to prove itself" before a peace process can go forward.
Bush said he would work with Israel to complete its plan for withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank.
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