DATE=04/09/2002

TYPE=EDITORIAL

NUMBER=0-09813

TITLE=EDITORIAL: BUSH ON MIDDLE EAST TERRORISM

INTERNET=Yes

CONTENT=THIS EDITORIAL IS BEING RELEASED FOR USE BY ALL SERVICES.

Anncr: Next, an editorial expressing the policies of the United States Government:

Voice: The world has been brutally reminded these past two weeks of the price exacted by terrorism. Among the reminders was a suicide bombing in which an eighteen-year-old Palestinian girl was induced to blow herself up, and in the process killed a seventeen-year-old Israeli girl.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is on a mission to the Middle East where he hopes to bring about a cease-fire and restore momentum to a political process. "Whatever the level of violence is today," said Mr. Powell, "what we know for sure is that it must go down to a level where the two sides can start talking to one another."

As President George W. Bush said, "People are grieving for Israelis and Palestinians who have lost their lives." "The United States," said Mr. Bush "is strongly committed to finding a just settlement in the Middle East. That settlement must lead to two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."

Peace can never be achieved through terrorism. It can only come about through a political process. Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestinian Authority, has not done enough to fight terrorism. As President Bush said, Yasser Arafat "has let the [Palestinian] people down. He had opportunity after opportunity to be a leader and he hasn't led." Chairman Arafat must speak clearly, in Arabic, to the people of the region and condemn terrorist activities.

As President Bush said, "Arab governments, the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian people must recognize that suicide bombings are jeopardizing the very possibility of an independent Palestinian state." Israel also faces hard choices. The U.S. will always be a committed friend of Israel and recognizes Israel's right to defend itself against terror. Yet to lay the foundation of future peace, Mr. Bush said Israel must "halt incursions into Palestinian controlled areas and begin withdrawing from those cities it has recently occupied." This week, Israel announced it was beginning the withdrawal from Tulkarem (PRON.: Tul-kar-eam) and Qalqiliya (PRON.: Cal-kill-e-ya.

The U.S. has no illusions about the difficulty of achieving a solution. But, said President Bush, "This could be a hopeful moment in the Middle East. A number of Arab leaders have endorsed a proposal that brings them closer than ever to recognizing Israel's right to exist."

There is an opportunity to write a new story of democracy, development, and trade in the Middle East. Yet as President Bush said, "progress requires an atmosphere of peace, and peace requires acts of leadership, not acts of terror."

Anncr: That was an editorial expressing the policies of the United States Government. If you have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A, Washington, D-C, 20237, U-S-A. You may also comment at www-dot-ibb-dot-gov-slash-editorials, or fax us at (202) 619-1043.