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Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., JWR, June 24, 2003: One year ago today, George W. Bush strode into the White House Rose Garden to unveil what he called a "vision" for Mideast peace. At the time, the June 24, 2002 address garnered wide attention for the willingness it formally expressed -- for the first time by any U.S. President -- to recognize a Palestinian state. Ever since then, proponents of such a state have been working assiduously to water down, ignore and, if possible, eliminate the important caveats Mr. Bush made clear would have to be satisfied before he would support its establishment.

Clifford D. May, National Review, June 24, 2003:  President Bush saw a new way to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.  It was based not on moral equivalence or demands that Israel again trade its scarce land and precarious security for vague promises.  It was based on an end to terrorism, on each side accepting the other's right to exist, and on achieving real freedom for the Palestinians through political  and economic liberalization.  What happened?

 
 

“A Palestinian state will never be created by terror.”

Highlights from President Bush's major policy speech on the Middle East - June 24, 2002

 

  1. Supports the creation of a "provisional" Palestinian state ONLY WHEN the Palestinians create a practicing democracy, elect new leaders who are not “compromised by terror” and dismantle their terrorist infrastructure. 

  2. Areas of disagreement  will be negotiated by the Israelis and the Palestinians.  These issues  include the West Bank settlements, the borders of any Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees, and peace with Lebanon and Syria.

  3. Israel is not expected to start negotiations until the Palestinians demonstrate “real performance on security and reform."

  4. The President did not adopt the Saudi proposal that Israel should withdraw to the 1967 boundaries.  Rather, he referred to U.N. Resolution 242, which calls for an Israeli withdrawal to “secure and recognized borders” in connection with peace.  Despite media claims, U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338 do not require Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borders.

  5. “[C]onsistent with the recommendations of the Mitchell Committee, Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories must stop.”  The Mitchell Plan specifically requires first an unconditional cease-fire, followed by a “meaningful cooling-off period on both sides” before any freeze on settlement activity.  Click here for the Mitchell Plan.

  6. The Palestinian Authority and unnamed Arab countries must stop their culture of hatred:  “Every leader actually committed to peace will end incitement to violence in official media, and publicly denounce homicide bombings.  Every nation actually committed to peace will stop the flow of money, equipment and recruits to terrorist groups seeking the destruction of Israel."

 

 

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