DATE=04/17/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=BUSH/MIDEAST (S)

NUMBER=2-288819

BYLINE=PAULA WOLFSON

DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: President Bush says Secretary of State Colin Powell made progress in the Middle East, but much more remains to be done. In a speech to cadets at a Virginia military college, Mr. Bush again called on Palestinian, Israeli and Arab leaders to meet their responsibilities. V-O-A's Paula Wolfson has more.

TEXT: The president says all the parties involved must make clear choices.

///BUSH ACT//

Every leader, every state must choose between two separate paths - the path of peace or the path of terror.

///END ACT///

Mr. Bush says the Palestinian Authority must act on its recent statement condemning terror, Israel must continue its withdrawals and all Arab states must help confront terrorism in the Middle East - especially Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

///BUSH ACT TWO///

All parties must say clearly that a murderer is not a martyr he or she is just a murderer.

///END ACT///

The president told students at the private Virginia Military Institute that real leadership is needed if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to be resolved. He said the time is now for all parties to make choices for peace. (Signed)

NEB/PW/SAB