06/04/2001: Daily Press Briefing Excerpts

Following are excerpts related to the Middle East from the transcript of Boucher's June 4 press briefing:

(begin excerpts)

Q: Sorry, I didn't get a call. But I wondered if you could tell us what Mr. Burns was up to?

MR. BOUCHER: We practiced this in advance, I have to tell you.(Laughter.)

Q: He's still back in Jordan and he was supposed to come home. Any new instructions for him?

MR. BOUCHER: Not at this point. He's in Jordan. He's obviously monitoring the situation very closely. He's staying in very close touch with the Secretary of State, and we will obviously use him as one of our diplomatic assets in the region as events develop. But at this point, what point he will travel or might resume his meetings, we have yet to decide.

Q: Can I ask you one other thing? I know what you want, so I mean whatever you say is up to you, of course. I know you want an unconditional cease-fire, but did you hear in Arafat's words a call for an unconditional cease-fire?

MR. BOUCHER: As the Secretary mentioned over the weekend, we feel that we have seen statements that are encouraging; we've seen instructions that are encouraging; we've seen statements in both the Arabic media and the international media from Chairman Arafat. We have also seen some reduction in the level of violence.

The goal has been and must be that Chairman Arafat, and both sides really, do everything they can to reduce the violence. So we need to see further steps, we need to see further efforts, and we need to see a further reduction in the violence to make it a real cease-fire and to make it last.

Q: How troubling is it to you that Arafat has thus far refused to arrest or re-arrest Hamas members? And could you tell us whether there are plans yet for Mr. Tenet to travel to the region?

MR. BOUCHER: On the question of arrests or re-arrests, I think the emphasis that we would put on is that if there are active -- people planning, people undertaking, people looking at terrorist activities, we do think it's very, very important that the Palestinian security forces take action to arrest them, to prevent these activities, and that they be seen as doing everything they can to prevent acts such as the horrible acts like the one that took place on the beach last Friday.

As far as Mr. Tenet's travel, no change on that. It's under consideration, and that's where it is for the moment.

Q: How soon do you expect a decision to be made?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't predict when senior people make their decisions, but I'll tell you when they do -- maybe.

Q: If I could follow up, you said the emphasis would be on people planning or looking at terrorist activities, but I mean when Arafat released these folks from jail they were in jail because Arafat and the Israelis had agreed that they were, in fact, terrorists. I mean, why aren't you just calling directly for him to re-arrest people he let out of jail?

MR. BOUCHER: As the Secretary said over the weekend, people clearly that are wanted on charges that have not been brought to justice should be arrested and brought to justice. That remains fundamental to any system of justice. But at the same time, we want to put some emphasis on the need to prevent future acts of terrorism; that we seethe need to make sure that the kind of bombings that were carried outlast week, and before that, are not allowed to be repeated, and we think there is action that the Palestinian security forces can take to prevent those things from occurring.

Q: Richard, if the best security force in the Middle East can't prevent a terrorist bombing in part of Tel Aviv, how are the Palestinians supposed to do it?

MR. BOUCHER: As we've said, Norm, there is a lot of things that different parties can do. We're looking for all the parties to take steps within their jurisdiction, within their abilities, to try to prevent these acts. We recognize that terrorism is horrible for everybody that experiences it and that's it very difficult to prevent at times. We want to see that people are doing everything they can to prevent it.

Q: This is kind of a two-fold question. Could you talk about the meetings this morning at the White House? Did the Secretary attend, or the Deputy?

MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary went over for meetings at the White House, along with various experts.

Q: And also, have you instructed the Israelis in terms of the cease-fire not to take any planned assassinations of Palestinian officials?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, our view on targeted killings is well known, so that has not changed in any way. I would say that we are in touch with the Israelis. We have said very clearly, the Secretary said very clearly, he appreciates the measured response that they've taken so far. We do think that the continuation of that response is important to the situation and that we need to see steps from both sides, as I said, to maintain the lower levels of violence and to hopefully make this continue.

Q: As to Tenet's possible plans, you said no change is under consideration? What do you mean, no change is under consideration?

MR. BOUCHER: No, there has been no change in the situation, period. The potential for a visit by the Director of Central Intelligence remains under consideration.

Q: Can you say if the Secretary talked to anyone in the region today?

MR. BOUCHER: Not today. Over the weekend, I think you know he talked to Prime Minister Sharon and Chairman Arafat on Saturday. He talked to them again on Sunday. He was in close touch with German Foreign Minister Fischer several times over the weekend and talked to Javier Solana several times over the weekend and various others, including the Costa Rican Foreign Minister to express his regret at not being able to make the meeting in Costa Rica today.

Today, he has talked to Foreign Minister Cook. I think that's the only one so far, but clearly the potential exists for more phone calls.

Q: Arafat said over the weekend that he was looking to create the conditions for a cease-fire, which would include obviously what the Mitchell Report recommends, which would be a cease -- a stopping of all settlement activity from the Israelis.

The US position so far has been that that would be something that would be discussed once a cease-fire occurred in security-level talks. Is there any -- can you give us any kind of response to Arafat's formulation there -- I mean, sort of rephrasing Barry's question?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't really think our role and our desire is to be analysts of language. We're not here to try to parse everything that everybody says. We are here to try to encourage the parties and continue the process of lowering the rate of violence. And what matters in the end is whether people die or not, is whether there are attacks or not, is whether there is terrorism or not, is whether people have a chance to start normal lives again.

So we are watching the level of violence very, very closely. We're looking to the parties to make the statements, but to issue the instructions and carry out every step they can to see that the violence is reduced, and reduced on a long-term basis.

Q: Well, can I just follow up? Then so it's the US position still that settlement talk will occur once a cease-fire has happened?

MR. BOUCHER: Our position remains that the parties should carry out the steps called for in the Mitchell Report, that they should implement the unconditional cessation of violence, the unconditional cease-fire; that that should be followed, as we know, by a cooling-off period, confidence-building measures, and a return to negotiations. The precise timelines for doing that will be a subject of discussion, or are a subject of discussion, in various contacts between theparties and with the parties.

Q: So you said the parties should carry out the steps in the Mitchell Report. One of the steps was the freeze on settlement. But what the Secretary seems to be saying is that they should just discuss this at some later stage.

Can you try and reconcile these two completely contradictory positions?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes. If I implied anything different than the Secretary has, then I didn't mean to. No, we've always said that --

Q: So there's really no need to carry out -- they just need to talk about possibly doing it?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not going to argue this one again. We've made it quite clear that the Mitchell Report forms a foundation for going forward. This was done by an eminent panel of international representatives. We think it forms a solid basis for the parties to go forward. We want to see the parties implement its recommendations, get together to implement its recommendations. And the question of settlement is one where the US Government position is well known, but we do consider that this issue needs to be taken up as part of the confidence-building measures that are looked at in the Mitchell Committee's recommendations.

Q: Well, you're saying both things again, both that they should carryout the recommendations and they should talk about what they might do about this. I mean, that's not the same thing at all. Which is your position?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not trying to cut a too-fine line here. They need to get together and talk about how to carry out these recommendations. That will be something for discussion by the two sides and as confidence-building measures. The first and foremost emphasis is on achieving the unconditional cessation of violence.

Q: Is the US continuing to push for US-brokered talks under the -- you know, on the same arrangement that they have been doing for the last month, two months -- security talks and then talks among other people in the area with U.S. officials?

MR. BOUCHER: We have continued to urge the parties to have security discussions, security dialogue, both at the sort of local level and at a higher level. We are continuing to be prepared to facilitate those kinds of discussions. And we have, as you know, engaged in a variety of ways. We have had Ambassador Indyk and Consul General Schlicher meet with the parties. Ambassador Burns was there. So we will be in touch with them, I would consider in a variety of ways this week as wego forward.

Q: Can I follow that up? You expressed some -- irritation maybe is the word -- last week that the senior security Palestinian for Gaza and then the following day for the West Bank, or vice versa, boycotted the talks, didn't attend the talks. Do you have assurance now that those high-level talks that you'd like to host will be well-attended, attended by the right people this time around?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know that there are any particular talks at that level scheduled at this point, so were that to happen we would want to make sure that people who can exercise authority and take responsibility are there and that they are in a position to do things. I think the Secretary mentioned over the weekend that some of these discussions have sort of turned into mutual accusations and hadn't been terribly productive, but we would hope to be organized and get the people there in such as way that they could start cooperating to achieve security.

Q: Have you heard a sufficient number of echoes of other countries? Have you heard enough echoes among other governments for the US call for a cease-fire? Do you feel -- I mean, I heard Kofi Annan do it. Do you feel that there is a groundswell of support for the Secretary of State in trying to -- insisting on a cease-fire and insisting that Yasser Arafat unconditionally call off the violence? I don't seem to hear a lot of noise out there.

MR. BOUCHER: If you look back in the last week or so, I think you'll find people all over the world -- Europeans, the Russian Foreign Minister at one point, I think some of the Arab foreign ministers --endorsing the Mitchell Committee's recommendations, endorsing that as a platform for moving forward, to achieving the cease-fire and going forward with confidence-building and then return to a path of discussions. So I would say that the Mitchell Committee's recommendations have gotten a lot of support, yes.

Q: Again, you probably don't want to split this hair. You wouldn't with Jonathan, and I don't know why you would with me. I'm really not asking about the Mitchell Commission Report. It is a delicately even-handed report that asks things of both sides. I'm asking about the Secretary of State's call and the President's call after the bloody incident in Tel Aviv, which was simply a call to the Palestinians -- there was no Israel in it -- cut it out. Now, I haven't heard anybody -- and maybe I'm not reading the fine print -- I haven't heard other governments stand up and cheer and say, "Count me in. We agree."

The Mitchell Commission Report aside, has the US got support in asking Arafat to end the violence unconditionally, and not settlement constructions and half of Jerusalem and the other stuff that he wants?

MR. BOUCHER: If you remember, Barry, the first and fore most recommendation in the Mitchell Committee Report was for an unconditional cessation of violence. Right? That is what the United States has been calling for; that is what certainly the United States has been calling for since the terrible bombing on Friday night. We have made quite clear that we believe it falls to Chairman Arafat over the weekend and now to take steps to bring about that unconditional cessation of violence.

But, in fact, that is what is called for in the Mitchell Committee's recommendations, so people who endorse the Mitchell Committee's recommendations or who, subsequent to the bombing on Friday, have called for an unconditional cessation of violence, we think we're in the same -- on the same direction with those people.

I haven't actually followed all the statements that have been made. We know that, as I said, some of the Europeans have been traveling out there. I am sure if you look at their statements you'll find the same kind of thing, that they're urging an end to the violence. And we understand that's what they're doing in their private contacts, as well as their public statements.

Q: You said that you wanted Mr. Rajoub and Mr. Dahlan to attend any security cooperation talks. Are you also seeking assurances from the Israelis that they would be able physically to attend, and have you received any assurances on that yet?

MR. BOUCHER: You're asking me -- Jonathan, you're taking this two steps forward from what I actually said. I didn't mention Mr. Rajouband Mr. Dahlan. I didn't mention any specific meeting. I didn't mention any need for specific assurances that somebody could get to a specific meeting because there is no specific meeting to get to right now.

Were we to have continued security discussions, we would expect and hope that, first, responsible people from both sides were able to attend; and, second of all, that means both in terms of their willingness to attend and in terms of their ability to get there.

Q: Okay, another one. Do you have any comment on Sheikh Sabah's statement on suicide bombings? And how does the United States feel about what this indicates in the way of disillusion and disaffection of the United States and developments in the Arab-Israeli -- in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict among Gulf powers?

MR. BOUCHER: I believe the Secretary discussed it yesterday. I don't

really have anything to add to that. I'll check and see if there is anything more to say today.

Q: I have a question. Even if we're calling this a cease-fire, however delicate it -- I mean, there have still been incidents constantly. And it could be just coincidence that no one has died in these. Isn't that troublesome? I mean, it's not truly a cease-fire at this point.

MR. BOUCHER: Well, as you have heard me say, I think several times in the last 15 minutes, our effort remains to see that the parties do everything they can to see that the reduction in the violence continues, that it's made more and more effective, that we do get to the unconditional cessation of violence that was called for in the Mitchell Committee recommendations. And that is why it's very important to us that we see people continue to work in that direction.

Whatever the cause is, whether it's a step that people have taken or, as you say, a mere coincidence, it's good that there is less violence and we want that to continue.

Q: Some group I never heard of has been quoted to put US interests in alert that there will be attacks. Is the State Department aware of any new threat from some rogue groups to attack US interests now as well as Israeli?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know what you are referring to. I would have to look it up and see.

Q: You apparently are abandoning the caution that you gave to Israel a month ago on excessive and disproportionate use of force. Missiles are on their way south from Tel Aviv. The rumors are that you've told the Israelis straight out, "Don't use F-16s." You can't answer that, I realize, but --

MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary addressed that over the weekend, as you know, on the question of the use of F-16s.

Q: Are you using -- you're not using the word "excessive and disproportionate use of force," though.

MR. BOUCHER: We don't use every word every day. We'd be here reciting the dictionary all day long if you wanted us to. Yesterday and today the Secretary emphasized that so far what we've seen from the Israelis was a measured response and that we expected and hope that that would continue. That was basically the tenor of our discussions with the Israelis.

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