This transcript of a meeting between George Bush and Shimon Peres is mostly pablum, but the following remarks by Shimon Peres are worth pondering.
They had nothing to lose and everything to gain by accepting the reestablishment of Israel, but instead launched and to this day continue a genocidal war that harms them far more than their intended victim.
When children deliberately do physical harm to themselves, it's recognized as a symptom of a psychological problem and they're given treatment.
The Arab world had deliberately been doing physical harm to itself for six decades; it, too, needs treatment.
We give just three examples, out of many.
The Arabs have forced the Palestinian Arabs to live in refugee camps for sixty years, even protesting when Israel tried to move some refugees and their descendants into decent housing in normal communities, forcing those plans to be abandoned. Indeed, the only ones who have ever done anything to improve the lives of Palestinian Arabs have been the Israelis, under whose administration colleges and universities were opened, hospitals built, and the standard of living improved enormously until the intifada in the late 1980's. And, of course, conditions have deteriorated tremendously under the administration of the Palestinian Authority.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the greatest threat to the stability of Egypt. By allowing - in fact, effectively facilitating - the buildup of Hamas, the Gaza branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt is acting in a self-destructive manner and undermining the prospects for its own continued existence. Not only has Egypt facilitated the expansion of its own worst enemy, but it has protested ever action Israel has ever taken to contain Hamas even though those actions were as much in Egypt's basic interest as in Israel's.
The Lebanese government allowed the buildup of a terror army, Hezbollah, ostensibly to be used against Israel's occupation of portions of southern Lebanon. Ignoring the hypocrisy of simultaneously acquiescing in the occupation of virtually all of Lebanon by Syria, this was done after Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a peace treaty under which Israel would have withdrawn, but which treaty was rejected by Lebanon, and even after Israel had totally withdrawn from Lebanon and Hezbollah had no pretext for continuing to exist. It would have been in Lebanon's best interest to cooperate with Israel in eradicating Hezbollah. Instead, Lebanon has today been effectively taken over by Hezbollah.
For the Palestinian Arabs, Egyptians and Lebanese, it's not just that Israel wants to be a friend; it's that, in deed, Israel is about the only friend they have.
We are not their enemies, as we are not enemies of Lebanon. On the contrary, I think we would like to see a united, integrated Lebanon, living in peace, who don't have any ambitions neither to their water, nor to their land, nor to their politics. We would like to see the Palestinians living together with such (inaudible) of their life, the separation is a tragedy for them and for the rest of us.For sixty years, the Arabs have been pathologically acting to hurt themselves.
Now the Arab world will have to take a stand, not about the conflict between us and them, but about their own destiny, where are they moving. And that will affect us.
They had nothing to lose and everything to gain by accepting the reestablishment of Israel, but instead launched and to this day continue a genocidal war that harms them far more than their intended victim.
When children deliberately do physical harm to themselves, it's recognized as a symptom of a psychological problem and they're given treatment.
The Arab world had deliberately been doing physical harm to itself for six decades; it, too, needs treatment.
We give just three examples, out of many.
The Arabs have forced the Palestinian Arabs to live in refugee camps for sixty years, even protesting when Israel tried to move some refugees and their descendants into decent housing in normal communities, forcing those plans to be abandoned. Indeed, the only ones who have ever done anything to improve the lives of Palestinian Arabs have been the Israelis, under whose administration colleges and universities were opened, hospitals built, and the standard of living improved enormously until the intifada in the late 1980's. And, of course, conditions have deteriorated tremendously under the administration of the Palestinian Authority.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the greatest threat to the stability of Egypt. By allowing - in fact, effectively facilitating - the buildup of Hamas, the Gaza branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt is acting in a self-destructive manner and undermining the prospects for its own continued existence. Not only has Egypt facilitated the expansion of its own worst enemy, but it has protested ever action Israel has ever taken to contain Hamas even though those actions were as much in Egypt's basic interest as in Israel's.
The Lebanese government allowed the buildup of a terror army, Hezbollah, ostensibly to be used against Israel's occupation of portions of southern Lebanon. Ignoring the hypocrisy of simultaneously acquiescing in the occupation of virtually all of Lebanon by Syria, this was done after Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a peace treaty under which Israel would have withdrawn, but which treaty was rejected by Lebanon, and even after Israel had totally withdrawn from Lebanon and Hezbollah had no pretext for continuing to exist. It would have been in Lebanon's best interest to cooperate with Israel in eradicating Hezbollah. Instead, Lebanon has today been effectively taken over by Hezbollah.
For the Palestinian Arabs, Egyptians and Lebanese, it's not just that Israel wants to be a friend; it's that, in deed, Israel is about the only friend they have.
For Immediate Release
Office of the White House Press Secretary
May 14, 2008
www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080514-2.html
President Bush Meets with Israeli President Peres
Residence of President Shimon Peres Jerusalem
PRESIDENT PERES: Mr. President, Secretary of State, distinguished delegation, I got permission from the Americans to be -- and Tzipi Livni, our Foreign Minister. I got permission to be all my life an optimist. And you bring with you optimism, so I feel a sort of competition. (Laughter.) But let me say that I know you have elections sometimes, by the end of this year, and maybe there will be a change of administration, a change of guards, I think before you will leave office you will see a change of guards here in the Middle East.
What looks today so gloomy may be the last effort by some very extremist group to remain alive, because it's concentrated, it becomes sharp and clear, particularly in two places. In Lebanon, Hezbollah is simply destroying Lebanon. It's a matter that concerns not only the United States or Israel, it concerns the Arab world. For them, the destruction of Lebanon is the destruction of statehood in many other places. And it's a protest without a message. And the second goes to Gaza, where Hamas is responding to the establishment of a Palestinian state. I think you, and may I say the Secretary of State, invested so much effort to enable the Palestinians to correct the historic mistakes from 1947, because would they then accept an Arab state, we wouldn't have all these troubles. But never the mind, we cannot change the past.
But today the real obstacle, when I consider everything else before creation of the -- the (inaudible) declaration of a Palestinian state is Hamas. And talking with the Palestinians I know that's their view. We are not their enemies, as we are not enemies of Lebanon. On the contrary, I think we would like to see a united, integrated Lebanon, living in peace, who don't have any ambitions neither to their water, nor to their land, nor to their politics. We would like to see the Palestinians living together with such (inaudible) of their life, the separation is a tragedy for them and for the rest of us.
Now the Arab world will have to take a stand, not about the conflict between us and them, but about their own destiny, where are they moving. And that will affect us.
Your eight years were very moving years, for all of us --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.
PRESIDENT PERES: -- (inaudible), that you can really watch a friendship without any bad mood. And I know that you are not a simple messenger.
(Laughter.) But you never interrupted your understanding, your support --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.
PRESIDENT PERES: -- and really trying to do whatever you, your administration and the lady who is on the State Department really did then to help us negotiate a difficult time.
So for us, it's a celebration not only because we're a little bit older -- 60 years, it's not too much -- but also because we feel that our efforts are not in vain. And it is in this optimistic view I welcome you here.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir.
PRESIDENT PERES: Thank you.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. President, it's great to be with you. You're known as a wise soul, and your comments reflect your wisdom. I am delighted to be here for the 60th birthday party. As a person who is 61 years old, it doesn't seem that old. (Laughter.)
But I suspect if you looked back 60 years ago and tried to guess where Israel would be at that time, it would be hard to be able to project such a prosperous, hopeful land. No question people would have said, well, we'd be surrounded by hostile forces -- but I doubt people would have been able to see the modern Israel, which is one reason I bring so much optimism to the Middle East, because what happened here is possible everywhere.
And the objective of the United States must be to, one, support our strongest ally and friend in the Middle East -- the only true democracy against the forces of terror that you just described, and at the same time, talk about a hopeful future.
So I'm really looking forward to my time here. I want to thank you for giving me a chance to speak to the Knesset. I hear it's quite an experience.
It'll be a huge honor to represent my country for your 60th birthday. In the meantime we will continue to work toward a vision of -- where people who are just reasonable and want a chance to live in peace with Israel have that opportunity, and at the same time speak clearly about the forces of terror who murder innocent people to achieve their political objectives, and how the world must stand against them.
And so I want to thank you for giving me a chance to come by and see you again -- and you're looking good. (Laughter.) I hope you're feeling well.
Thank you, sir.
PRESIDENT PERES: Thank you very much.
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