Briefing by National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley on the President's Upcoming

January 3, 2008,MR. HADLEY: Good afternoon. On Tuesday, January 8th, President Bush will travel to Israel, the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.,The trip follows the Annapolis meeting, and offers an opportunity for the President to discuss with Israelis and Palestinians their efforts toward a negotiated peace and achievement of the President's vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. He will also encourage broader Israeli-Arab reconciliation, and regional support for Palestinian institution-building efforts, as they build the institutions for a Palestinian state.,The trip will be an opportunity to reaffirm the enduring commitment of the United States to the security of our friends and allies in the Middle East, especially the Gulf nations. The trip will highlight our work in the region to combat terrorism and extremism, promote freedom, and seek peace and prosperity. The President will stress the importance of supporting the young democracies and the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Palestinians. He will have an opportunity to discuss with friends and allies the challenges to the region, including the challenges presented by Iran, ways to strengthen regional security and advance our economic ties to the region.,On Wednesday afternoon the President arrives in Tel Aviv -- that would be on Wednesday, January 9. On Wednesday and Thursday, January 9 and 10, while in Israel and the West Bank, the President will have meetings with Israeli President Peres and Prime Minister Olmert, and separately with Palestinian President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad.,On Friday, January 11, the President will meet with Quartet representative Tony Blair to get an update on efforts to help build the institutions of a Palestinian state and enhance the Palestinian capacity to self-govern.,The President will also lay a wreath at the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem before traveling to Kuwait, where he will meet with Amir Sabah.,On Saturday January 12, President Bush will visit with U.S. troops at Camp Arifjan. And he will meet also with Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus to get an update on the current situation in Iraq. Also, the President will have a roundtable on democracy and development with Kuwaiti women.,The President will then travel to Bahrain, where he will meet with King Hamad.,On Sunday, January 13, President Bush will visit the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet before traveling to the United Arab Emirates, where he will meet with President Khalifa. Following this meeting, President Bush will deliver a speech in Abu Dhabi. In that speech, he will talk about the progress we have seen in the Gulf, the progress of the freedom agenda in the region, emerging economic progress, and how regional security is important for both continued economic growth and for the spread of freedom.,On Monday, January 14th, President Bush will travel to Dubai, where he will be greeted by the ruler of Dubai. President Bush will then travel to Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with King Abdullah.,On Tuesday, January 15th, President Bush will be in Riyadh for meetings. On Wednesday, January 16th, President Bush will travel to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where he will meet with President Mubarak. And the President will depart Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday January 16 in the afternoon en route to Andrews Air Force Base.,And I'd be glad to answer any questions you may have at this time.,Q Are you exploring the possibility of a three-way meeting between the President, Prime Minister Olmert, and Mr. Abbas -- President Abbas?,MR. HADLEY: There is not one on the schedule at this point. At this point, the two of them, the two leaders -- President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert -- have really only had one meeting together to begin this process of negotiation. So at this point we're looking at a series of bilateral meetings with the two sides at this point. There will be opportunities down the road if the parties think it's helpful to meet trilaterally, but at this point we're looking at a series of bilateral meetings.,Q So that's something we shouldn't expect, because there's been some expectation in the region that there's going to be a three-way meeting. But you're saying no.,MR. HADLEY: There's not one on the schedule at this point, and at this point I think it's probably going to be a series of bilateral meetings.,Q There also seems to be a heightened level of expectation in the region that the President will do something that substantially advances the possibility for Israeli-Palestinian peace. What could possibly come out at this stage in the game?,MR. HADLEY: Well, I think just his going there is going to advance the prospects. If you think about it, we've really got sort of three tracks that were launched at Annapolis. One is the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians for an outline of an agreement for a Palestinian state; the second is the implementation of the road map; and the third, of course, is building the institutions of a Palestinian state. These are sort of the three elements of what we need to build an enduring Israeli-Palestinian peace.,And I think as you heard from the agenda, he'll have an opportunity to encourage all three of them, and to show his support for them, as well as to meet with the Arab countries in the region and encourage them to make a strategic investment in the long-term peace and stability in the region; making an investment by supporting President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, supporting them diplomatically, supporting them financially. He will encourage, obviously, greater support for the regime, the government of Iraq as they try and bring stability to that country. He will also encourage support for the Siniora government in Lebanon, for example.,So I think if you look at the stops the President is making, it is an opportunity to advance the whole process forward.,Q Steve, one of the criticisms, obviously, the administration is going to face during the trip is people -- specifically Democrats on Capitol Hill -- saying that those efforts you're talking about will be made harder by the fact that you didn't focus enough on Mideast peace in the first seven years of the administration, and that you're waiting for the first presidential trip to the Mideast -- specifically Israel -- until the eighth year of his presidency. What's your response? How do you push back against that criticism?,MR. HADLEY: I would say that the President has been pursuing Middle East peace in the right way ever since he's been in office. And if you look at the building blocks of that peace, one of the things he did was he made it very clear that there would be no compromise with terror; and the use of violence against innocents is not justified by any cause; and that any state -- including Israel -- had the right to defend itself against terror. That built an enormous confidence in the Israeli government in the President.,Secondly, he refused to deal with Arafat, who he viewed as a failed leader, who supported -- was compromised by terror and corruption, and had failed to lead his people. Third, he called for -- and as you know, was the first President to call for the creation of a Palestinian state. Fourth, he called not only for talking about the boundaries of that state, but the institutions that would need to be built to have a democratic Palestinian state able to be at peace with Israel and provide greater -- better welfare for their people.,He supported Ariel Sharon, when nobody else did, with the Gaza disengagement, which had Israel for the first time shutting down settlements and relocating settlers out of settlements. It was really the end of the vision of greater Israel.,And what we now see is the emergence within the Palestinian community, in the form of President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, with leaders who are committed to peace and are willing to negotiate with Israel and understand the importance of fighting terror, and that terror will never be an avenue to get a Palestinian state. That is a huge breakthrough. And you have, in terms of Prime Minister Olmert, and a consensus within Israel, that greater Israel is not the future; that if you want to safeguard Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people there needs to be a Palestine that is a homeland to the Palestinian people.,And finally, you have now Arab states, as you saw in Annapolis, willing to come forward and support that process, support both Palestinians and Israelis in that process, and offer the prospect that Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation will be in the context of a broader Israel-Arab reconciliation.,So I would say to you the President has been working fairly consistently over seven years to put in place the building blocks of what now offers an opportunity for peace. And he has seized that opportunity -- that's what Annapolis was all about. And this trip is an opportunity for him to show his own personal commitment by going to the region and hearing from the parties directly, and encourage them to seize the opportunity that is before them.,Sir.,Q Steve, it has been six weeks or so since Annapolis. In that time you've mentioned the one meeting that the two principals have had in the region -- it was a likely brief, tense meeting -- you've had the shelling from Gaza, you've had the Israeli counter-attacks, you've had disputes over settlements. Was Annapolis the high point?,MR. HADLEY: No, I don't think so. We certainly don't think that will prove to be the case. I think it's another good reason for the President to go to the regions.,Look, there are a lot of distractions -- and some of them not by accident. What -- as the President has talked about -- what you see in the Middle East right now is a struggle between extremists and those who have a more hopeful vision for the future of the Middle East. And the extremists have made clear that they view democracy and those people who try to build it as enemy number one. And you see it in the shelling that you see coming from Gaza into Israel, as an effort to undermine this process that got started in Annapolis.,I would say to you that the killing of Benazir Bhutto is another example of extremists recognizing the danger that those who advocate democracy represent to their future. You see it in the struggle in Iraq. You see it in the struggle in Lebanon. So this is a broader canvas. And the enemies of peace are going to try and disrupt this process, and I think you see that in terms of the activity of the terrorists. And it's going to be a challenge for Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas to not let those who would obstruct the process have a veto on that process, and to be able to carry it forward anyway.,There are also some additional tracks. One of the things we've agreed to do is to monitor the progress of implementation of the road map. And implementation of the road map needs to go in parallel with negotiations. So the issue of settlements, that is a road map issue, and it is something that needs to be addressed in that context.