REMARKS BY MR. GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
October 30, 1991
Prime Minister Gonzalez and President Gorbachev, Excellencies. Let me
begin by thanking the Government of Spain for hosting this historic
gathering. With short notice, the Spanish people and their leaders
stepped forward to make available this magnificent setting. Let us hope
that this Conference of Madrid will mark the beginning of a new chapter
in the history of the Middle East. I also want to express at the outset
my pleasure at the presence of our fellow co-sponsor, President
Gorbachev. At a time of momentous challenges at home, President
Gorbachev and his senior associates have demonstrated their intent to
engage the Soviet Union as a force for positive change in the Middle
East. This sends a powerful signal to all those who long for peace.
We come to Madrid on a mission of hope - to begin work on a just,
lasting, and comprehensive settlement to the conflict in the Middle
East. We come here to seek peace for a part of the world that in the
long memory of man has known far too much hatred, anguish, and war. I
can think of no endeavor more worthy - or more necessary.
Our objective must be clear and straightforward. It is not simply to end
the state of war in the Middle East and replace it with a state of
non-belligerency. This is not enough; this would not last. Rather, we
seek peace, real peace. And by real peace I mean treaties. Security.
Diplomatic relations. Economic relations. Trade. Investment. Cultural
exchange. Even tourism.
What we seek is a Middle East where vast resources are no longer devoted
to armaments. A Middle East where young people no longer have to
dedicate and, all too often, give their lives to combat. A Middle East
no longer victimized by fear and terror. A Middle East where normal men
and women lead normal lives.
Let no one mistake the magnitude of this challenge. The struggle we
seek to end has a long and painful history. Every life lost - every
outrage, every act of violence - is etched deep in the hearts and
history of the people of this region. Theirs is a history that weighs
heavily against hope. And yet, history need not be man's master. I
expect that some will say that what I am suggesting is impossible. But
think back. Who back in 1945 would have thought that France and Germany,
bitter rivals for nearly a century, would be come allies in the
aftermath of World War II? And who two years ago would have predicted
that the Berlin Wall would come down? And who in the early 1960s would
have believed that the Cold War would come to a peaceful
end, replaced by cooperation - exemplified by the fact that the United
States and the Soviet Union are here today - not as rivals, but as
partners, as Prime Minister Gonzalez pointed out.
No, peace in the Middle East need not be a dream. Peace is possible. The
Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty is striking proof that former adversaries
can make and sustain peace. And moreover, parties in the Middle East
have respected agreements, not only in the Sinai, but on the Golan
Heights as well.
The fact that we are all gathered here today for the first time attests
to a new potential for peace. Each of us has taken an important step
toward real peace by meeting here in Madrid. All the formulas on paper,
all the pious declarations in the world won't bring peace if there is no
practical mechanism for moving ahead.
Peace will only come as the result of direct negotiations, compromise,
give-and-take. Peace cannot be imposed from the outside by the United
States or anyone else. While we will continue to do every thing possible
to help the parties overcome obstacles, peace must come from within. We
come here to Madrid as realists. We do not expect peace to be negotiated
in a day, or a week, or a month, or even a year. It will take
time; indeed, it should take time - time for parties so long at war to
learn to talk to one another, to listen to one another. Time to heal old
wounds and build trust. In this quest, time need not be the enemy of
progress.
What we envision is a process of direct negotiations proceeding along
two tracks, one between Israel and the Arab states; the other between
Israel and the Palestinians. Negotiations are to be conducted on the
basis of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. The real work
will not happen here in the plenary session, but in direct bilateral
negotiations. This Conference cannot impose a settlement on the
participants or veto agreements; and just as important, the Conference
can only be reconvened with the consent of every participant. Progress
is in the hands of the parties who must live with the consequences.
Soon after the bilateral talks commence, parties will convene as well to
organize multilateral negotiations. These will focus on issues that
cross national boundaries and are common to the region: arms control,
water, refugee concerns, economic development. Progress in these fora is
not intended as a substitute for what must be decided in the bilateral
talks; to the contrary, progress in the multilateral issues can help
create an atmosphere in which long-standing bilateral disputes can more
easily be settled.
For Israel and the Palestinians, a framework already exists for
diplomacy. Negotiations will be conducted in phases, beginning with
talks on interim self-government arrangements. We aim to reach agreement
within one year. And once agreed, interim self-government arrangements
will last for five years; beginning the third year, negotiations will
commence on permanent status.
No one can say with any precision what the end result will be; in our
view, something must be developed, something acceptable to Israel, the
Palestinians and Jordan, that gives the Palestinian people meaningful
control over their own lives and fate and provides for the acceptance
and security of Israel.
We can all appreciate that both Israelis and Palestinians are worried
about compromise, worried about compromising even the smallest point for
fear it becomes a precedent for what really matters. But no one should
avoid compromise on interim arrangements for a simple reason: nothing
agreed to now will prejudice permanent status negotiations. To the
contrary, these subsequent negotiations will be determined on their own
merits.
Peace cannot depend upon promises alone. Real peace - lasting peace -
must be based upon security for all states and peoples, including
Israel. For too long the Israeli people have lived in fear, sur rounded
by an unaccepting Arab world. Now is the ideal moment for the Arab world
to demonstrate that attitudes have changed, that the Arab world is
willing to live in peace with Israel and make allowances for Israel's
reasonable security needs.
We know that peace must also be based on fairness. In the absence of
fairness, there will be no legitimacy - no stability. This applies above
all to the Palestinian people, many of whom have known turmoil and
frustration above all else. Israel now has an opportunity to demonstrate
that it is willing to enter into a new relationship with its Palestinian
neighbors; one predicated upon mutual respect and cooperation.
Throughout the Middle East, we seek a stable and enduring settlement.
We've not defined what this means; indeed, I make these points with no
map showing where the final borders are to be drawn. Nevertheless, we
believe territorial com promise is essential for peace. Boundaries
should reflect the quality of both security and political arrangements.
The United States is prepared to accept whatever the parties themselves
find accept able. What we seek, as I said on March 6, is a solution that
meets the twin tests of fairness and security.
I know - I expect we all know - that these negotiations will not be
easy. I know, too, that these negotiations will not be smooth. There
will be disagreement and criticism, setbacks - who knows - possibly
interruptions. Negotiation and compromise are always painful. Success
will escape us if we focus solely upon what is being given up.
We must fix our vision on what real peace would bring. Peace, after all,
means not just avoiding war and the costs of preparing for it. The
Middle East is blessed with great resources: physical, financial, and,
yes, above all, human. New opportunities are within reach - if we only
have the vision to embrace them.
To succeed, we must recognize that peace is in the interest of all
parties - war, absolute advantage of none. The alternative to peace in
the Middle East is a future of violence and waste and tragedy. In any
future war lurks the danger of weapons of mass destruction. As we
learned in the Gulf War, modern arsenals make it possible to attack
urban areas Í to put the lives of innocent men, women, and children at
risk, to transform city streets, schools, and children's playgrounds
into battlefields.
Today, we can decide to take a different path to the future Í to avoid
conflict. I call upon all parties to avoid unilateral acts, be they
words or deeds, that would invite retaliation or, worse yet, prejudice
or even threaten this process itself. I call upon all par ties to
consider taking measures that will bolster mutual confidence and trust Í
steps that signal a sincere commitment to reconciliation. I want to say
something about the role of the United States of America. We played an
active role in making this conference possible; both the Secretary of
State, Jim Baker, and I will play an active role in helping the process
succeed. Toward this end, we've provided written assurances to Israel,
to Syria, to Jordan, Lebanon, and the Palestinians. In the spirit of
openness and honesty, we will brief all parties on the assurances that
we have provided to the other. We're prepared to extend guarantees,
provide technology and support, if that is what peace requires. And we
will call upon our friends and allies in Europe and in Asia to join with
us in providing resources so that peace and prosperity go hand in hand.
Outsiders can assist, but in the end, it is up to the peoples and
governments of the Middle East to shape the future of the Middle East.
It is their opportunity and it is their responsibility to do all that
they can to take advantage of this gathering, this historic gathering,
and what it symbolizes and what it promises.
No one should assume that the opportunity before us to make peace will
remain if we fail to seize the moment. Ironically, this is an
opportunity born of war - the destruction of past wars, the fear of
future wars. The time has come to put an end to war - the time has come
to choose peace.
Speaking for the American people, I want to reaffirm that the United
States is prepared to facilitate the search for peace, to be a catalyst,
as we've been in the past and as we've been very recently. We seek only
one thing, and this we seek not for ourselves, but for the peoples of
the area and particularly the children: that this and future generations
of the Middle East may know the meaning and blessing of peace.
We have seen too many generations of children whose haunted eyes show
only fear - too many funerals for their brothers and sisters, the
mothers and fathers who died too soon - too much hatred, too little
love. And if we cannot summon the courage to lay down the past for
ourselves, let us resolve to do it for the children. May God bless and
guide the work of this Conference, and may this Conference set us on the
path of peace. Thank you.