Transcript
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told journalists at the State Department briefing on February 20 that the U.S. is "very deeply troubled about the escalating violence" in the Middle East.
He said the Palestinian Authority must take strong action to halt the violence, and warned that Israeli military actions in densely populated civilian areas and on Palestinian Authority administrative and security facilities "work against the overriding objective of reducing violence and returning to negotiations."
"Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority need to take strong, resolute and irreversible action right now to halt the violence and terror," Boucher said. "Palestinian security performance remains the essential first step to an improvement in the security situation."
Boucher added that the U.S. continues "to work with both sides in as balanced a way as possible to get back to a process that can lead to a cease-fire, that can lead to negotiations that are based on UN Security Resolutions 242 and 338 and the principle of land for peace. And we continue to remain in touch with the parties to try to pursue that course."
Following is an excerpt from Boucher's February 20 briefing with his comments about violence in the Middle East:
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QUESTION: (Inaudible) the tensions and the violence in the Middle East is in its highest levels now. Are we going to see a sort of diplomatic movement from the side of the US to help Israel and Palestine to stop this violence? And the other question, the latest Israel response was the closest Israel has come to harm Arafat. Would you consider that will harm the peace process?
MR. BOUCHER: I would repeat what I have said before, that we're very deeply troubled about the escalating violence in the region. The violence continues. We have made very, very clear that we think that Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority need to take strong, resolute, and irreversible action right now to halt the violence and terror, and that Palestinian security performance remains the essential first step to an improvement in the security situation.
We do fully understand and support the need for Israel to take steps to ensure its self-defense. But we also believe that both sides need to keep in mind the importance of substantive ongoing security cooperation as the best means of advancing the process. And they need to avoid actions that make this objective harder to obtain.
We do continue to work with both sides in as balanced a way as possible to get back to a process that can lead to a cease-fire, that can lead to negotiations that are based on UN Security Council resolutions 242, 338, and the principle of land-for-peace. And we continue to remain in touch with the parties to try and pursue that course.
QUESTION: Richard, what is Mr. Haass doing in the region? What is the purpose of his trip?
MR. BOUCHER: He's out for policy planning talks and consultations in a number of countries. And I don't think I brought the list with me, but I can get that for you later.
QUESTION: Is he doing any sort of peace negotiations right now?
MR. BOUCHER: No.
QUESTION: Are you thinking of sending General Zinni?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, no decision, no news on that.
QUESTION: And you've been using this phrase for a couple of weeks now, "in as balanced a way as possible." It's just a rather strange phrase. I mean, why can't you just say "in a balanced way"? What are the limits on the balance that the United States can take in this?
MR. BOUCHER: There are no limits on our balance.
QUESTION: Richard, you continue to say you're very deeply -- well, you didn't continue; you said you're "very deeply troubled." The violence over the last 24 hours has been the worst that -- have you guys resigned yourselves to the fact that you're not going to be able to do anything except issue statements like this from the podium? Which, you know, frankly, to the people in the region, since you say them every day and they don't really change that much, I'm not sure exactly how much oomph people think these statements have behind them.
MR. BOUCHER: Matt, let's not fool ourselves. Neither we at this podium nor you writing the stories about us believe that people who want to blow themselves up and take people with them or people who want to go explode mortars or shoot off rockets or assassinate a crowd at a bus station are going to be deterred from those actions by the statements we make. What is important for us is to see the parties take action that can effectively stop the violence. We have made absolutely clear the purpose of our statements, the purpose of our diplomacy, the purpose of our contacts is to get the parties who are able to stop the violence, who are able to stop the production and importation of guns and mortars, who are able to stop the groups who seek to carry out violence, is to get those people to act, because that's the kind of action that is necessary to stop the violence.
So the statements are not directed at the suicide bombers; they are directed at the people who can stop them, and that's where we do concentrate not only our public efforts, but our private efforts as well.
QUESTION: Well, let me put it this way, aren't you discouraged by the fact that your repeated statements about this appear to have produced very little; in fact, in effect, the situation has gotten worse?
MR. BOUCHER: I think we're discouraged that the violence continues. We are concerned that people who need to take the action, including especially Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority, have not yet taken adequate action to stop the violence, that people continue to suffer, Palestinians continue to suffer, Israelis continue to suffer; that Israelis and Palestinians continue to have to live with insecurity, with restrictions on their lives, with difficulties in their lives.
But in terms of being committed to the effort, we remain committed to the effort, because that's what we're trying to do, is trying to reach a point where we can achieve a cease-fire, people can go back and have more normal lives, and we can have some prospect for both sides of achieving what they want to achieve through negotiation.
QUESTION: Do you think that the land, air and sea-based retaliation yesterday from the Israelis was within its legitimate actions for taking care of its security needs?
MR. BOUCHER: We have always said that military actions in densely populated civilian areas in particular, and attacks on or near the Palestinian Authority administrative and security facilities can work against the overriding objective of reducing violence and returning to negotiations. And so that's always been our view, and that's the way we view this sort of action.
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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)