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�The Heart of
the Solution� at the Tower Hill School, Wilmington, Delaware,
October 17, 2006
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for
inviting me to take part in your series on the Middle East.
It is a privilege to be able to contribute to your understanding
of the issues that affect us all so much. I view this series
as a testament to the impressive lengths by which the Tower Hill
School educates its students.
Under Headmaster Wheeler�s guidance � and
with fine teachers like Dr. Wasson � this educational
institution is certainly giving its students something to take
away with them as they go on to college and beyond. Your
parents and teachers deserve thanks for providing you with such
great opportunities.
I understand that to complement this series you
have been learning about the Middle East in your classes. No
doubt when you read the paper or watch TV, the region is also
discussed widely. Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Iran, all
face serious issues. These issues may seem incredibly complex.
There are Christians, Jews, and Muslims � each represented by
various denominations and sects. There are Arabs and
Persians and Kurds. And there are national identities and
histories to further complicate matters.
The fact that you are all willing to engage
this challenging area is highly commendable. But if even one of
you can be inspired to some day contribute to finding solutions,
then, you will be going a long way to helping your fellow man. We
need more people who are willing to take up the cause of peace.
So I thank you all for your interest.
Ladies and Gentlemen: If we consider the
specific issues at hand � which include the war in Iraq,
Afghanistan�s fight for stability, vicious contention between
Lebanon and Israel and Palestine and Israel, and Iran�s nuclear
ambition � we know that solutions are not going to come
overnight. They are going to take time and patience.
But with so many issues, where do we begin?
Is there any one place where the international community can focus
that will bring real change? Indeed, where is the heart of
the problem?
Ladies and gentlemen, there is just such a
place. The cause of most of these issues � or the factor
that is making them more complicated � is both clear and simple
to understand. It is the dispute between Palestine and
Israel.
Besides being a conflict between two peoples,
the situation with Palestine and Israel has become an impediment
to international stability. Without forging a solution, we
will continue to be unable to secure lasting peace throughout the
Middle East. And this turmoil, as we have all witnessed,
will be echoed across the world.
Terrorists use the conflict to justify their
evil acts around the world. Extremists use the conflict to
recruit people to their cause. If you could see what people
in the Middle East see on television every night, your opinion
would change dramatically. For too long, the Palestinian
people have endured great injustices and hardships. Many
thousands live in hopeless poverty and thousands more have been
uprooted from their homes. All have been deprived of minimum
human and national rights.
Since peace is manifestly in the interest of
the region and the world at large, it is that much more incumbent
on leading powers, including Saudi Arabia and the United States,
to be consistent � and insistent � in moving Palestine and
Israel towards the known outlines of a durable settlement.
The path to peace begins with peaceful
coexistence between a Palestinian state and an Israeli state, and
peace between Israel and the entire Arab world.
To this end, Saudi Arabia understands its role.
What we have done, and what we are doing, is to act as a voice of
reason and moderation. And we have worked to bring the Arab
world together to support the peace process.
Starting a quarter of a century ago, Saudi
Arabia, under the leadership of then Crown Prince Fahd, offered a
simple vision: If Israel and Palestine can find a peaceful
territorial compromise along the lines of UN Resolutions 242 and
338, under which Israel would withdraw from the lands it occupied
in the 1967 War, including Jerusalem, and make peace with a
Palestinian state, then the Arab world would not only accept
Israel�s existence, but have normal relations with it.
This plan, echoed and expanded by then-Crown
Prince, now King Abdullah at the Arab Summit in Beirut in March
2002, generated worldwide support because it went to the heart of
the matter � land for peace � and defined it in terms
acceptable to both peoples.
Even after the events of this summer � the
capture of the Israeli soldiers followed by the destructive and
vicious bombardment of Palestine and Lebanon � the Abdullah
Peace Plan still stands as the best plan. What is left now
is for reasonable minds on both sides to look at this historic
offer objectively and without emotion, and to work to put it in
place.
While Saudi Arabia, as a single nation, can
continue to provide aid and support peace and stability, this is
not something we can accomplish alone. It is time for the
United States to take action and do what it has been talking about
within the framework of the Road Map.
Indeed, the basic failure of international
diplomacy toward the Middle East in the past 50 years has been a
lack of implementation. We�ve had ideas and proposals,
resolutions and initiatives for five decades without any concrete
implementation. We now have the Road Map � as outlined by
President Bush � and the Abdullah Peace Plan. Let them be
implemented.
Last week I was at an event with your Secretary
of State, Dr. Rice, and I made this very clear. U.S. policy
must change and move toward a solution. In fact, the Saudi
government has been clearer and clearer on this point. And
right now we are encouraged by the discussions we are having with
your government. But encouragement is not enough. When it
comes to Middle East peace, hope is too easily dashed.
This may sound very direct. It is meant
to be. We should be direct with one another � especially when it
comes to matters of such great importance. But also, we are
direct because we can be.
Saudi Arabia and the United States share a long
and special relationship, one that is some 70 years old. We
have always been forthright with one another. We have been
open and honest. And so we will continue to be.
About a year ago, when I delivered my
diplomatic credentials to Secretary Rice, I reminded her of a
story about Winston Churchill. He came to Washington during
the war years when President Roosevelt wanted to honor him by
putting him up in the White House instead of Blair House.
One night, Mr. Roosevelt wheeled into Mr. Churchill�s room and
found him stark naked. Embarrassed, Roosevelt tried to wheel
back out quickly. But Churchill turned to him and he said:
�Mr. President, the Prime Minister of England has nothing to
hide from the President of the United States.�
I assured your Secretary of State that I was
not going to come to her naked on any occasion, but that that is
the kind of relationship Saudi Arabia would like to have with the
United States. We have nothing to hide.
Now, with that in mind, I would be glad to
answer any questions you may have. Thank you again for inviting
me, and for your patience and attention.
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