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    "localId": "286186049",
    "label": "Jewish Mailings [2]: President's Madrid Speech - David Duke",
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    "id": "286186049",
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    "title": "Jewish Mailings [2]: President's Madrid Speech - David Duke",
    "description": "These records pertain to the Middle East Peace process.",
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        "Records of the White House Office of Public Liaison (George H. W. Bush Administration)",
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    "ocrText": "Originally Processed With FOIA(s):\nFOIA Number:\n2003-0259-F\n2003-0259-F\nFOIA\nMARKER\nThis is not a textual record. This is used as an\nadministrative marker by the George Bush Presidential\nLibrary Staff.\nRecord Group/Collection:\nGeorge H.W. Bush Presidential Records\nCollection/Office of Origin:\nPublic Liaison, White House Office of\nSeries:\nJeavons, Kathy, Files\nSubseries:\nOA/ID Number:\n06273\nFolder ID Number:\n06273-050\nFolder Title:\nJewish Mailings [2]: President's Madrid Speech - David Duke\nStack:\nRow:\nSection:\nShelf:\nPosition:\nG\n0\n0\n0\nO\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nWASHINGTON\nNovember 7, 1991\nMEMORANDUM FOR OPINION LEADERS\nFROM:\nBOBBIE KILBERG BK\nDEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT\nFOR PUBLIC LIAISON\nKATHY JEAVONS VS\nASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR PUBLIC LIAISON\nSUBJECT:\nPresident Bush's recent speech in Madrid and\ncomments on David Duke\nEnclosed please find the following:\n1)\nPresident Bush's October 30 speech at the opening of\nthe Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid;\n2)\nPresident Bush's November 6 statement repudiating again\nDavid Duke's candidacy for Governor of Louisiana.\nFor your information, the President will be holding a\nroundtable discussion with a group of American Jewish leaders in\nNew York City on November 12 to discuss the peace process.\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nOffice of the Press Secretary\n(Madrid, Spain)\nFor Immediate Release\nOctober 30, 1991\nREMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT\nAT OPENING SESSION OF THE\nMIDDLE EAST PEACE CONFERENCE\nSalon de las Columnas\nRoyal Palace\nMadrid, Spain\n10:38 A.M. (L)\nTHE PRESIDENT: Prime Minister Gonzalez, and President\nGorbachev, Excellencies. Let me begin by thanking the government\nof Spain for hosting this historic gathering. with short notice,\nthe Spanish people and their leaders stepped forward to make\navailable this magnificent setting. Let us hope that this\nconference of Madrid will mark the beginning of a new chapter in\nthe history of the Middle East.\nI also want to express at the outset my pleasure at the\npresence of our fellow co-sponsor, President Gorbachev. At a\ntime of momentous challenges at home, President Gorbachev and his\nsenior associates have demonstrated their intent to engage the\nSoviet Union as a force for positive change in the Middle East.\nThis sends a powerful signal to all those who long for peace.\nWe come to Madrid on a mission of hope -- to begin work\non a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement to the conflict\nin the Middle East. We come here to seek peace for a part of the\nworld that in the long memory of man has known far too much\nhatred, anguish and war. I can think of no endeavor more worthy\n-- or more necessary.\nOur objective must be clear and straightforward. It is\nnot simply to end the state of war in the Middle East and replace\nit with a state of nonbelligerency. This is not enough; this\nwould not last. Rather, we seek peace, real peace. And by real\npeace I mean treaties. Security. Diplomatic relations.\nEconomic relations. Trade. Investment. Cultural Exchange.\nEven tourism.\nWhat we seek is a Middle East where vast resources are\nno longer devoted to armaments. A Middle East where young people\nno longer have to dedicate and, all too often, give their lives\nto combat. A Middle East no longer victimized by fear and\nterror. A Middle East where normal men and women lead normal\nlives.\nLet no one mistake the magnitude of this challenge.\nThe struggle we seek to end has a long and painful history.\nEvery life lost -- every outrage, every act of violence -- is\netched deep in the hearts and history of the people of this\nregion. Theirs is a history that weighs heavily against hope.\nAnd yet, history need not be man's master.\nMORE\n- 2 -\nI expect that some will say that what I am suggesting\nis impossible. But think back. Who back in 1945 would have\nthought that France and Germany, bitter rivals for nearly a\ncentury, would become allies in the aftermath of World War II?\nAnd who two years ago would have predicted that the Berlin Wall\nwould come down? And who in the early 1960s would have believed\nthat the Cold War would come to a peaceful end, replaced by\ncooperation -- exemplified by the fact that the United States and\nthe Soviet Union are here today -- not as rivals, but as\npartners, as Prime Minister Gonzalez pointed out.\nNo, peace in the Middle East need not be a dream.\nPeace is possible. The Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty is striking\nproof that former adversaries can make and sustain peace. And\nmoreover, parties in the Middle East have respected agreements,\nnot only in the Sinai, but on the Golan Heights as well.\nThe fact that we are all gathered here today for the\nfirst time attests to a new potential for peace. Each of us has\ntaken an important step toward real peace by meeting here in\nMadrid. All the formulas on paper, all the pious declarations in\nthe world won't bring peace if there is no practical mechanism\nfor moving ahead.\nPeace will only come as the result of direct\nnegotiations, compromise, give-and-take. Peace cannot be imposed\nfrom the outside by the United States or anyone else. While we\nwill continue to do everything possible to help the parties\novercome obstacles, peace must come from within.\nWe come here to Madrid as realists. We do not expect\npeace to be negotiated in a day, or a week, or a month, or even a\nyear. It will take time; indeed, it should take time -- time for\nparties so long at war to learn to talk to one another, to listen\nto one another. Time to heal old wounds and build trust. In\nthis quest, time need not be the enemy of progress.\nWhat we envision is a process of direct negotiations\nproceeding along two tracks, one between Israel and the Arab\nstates; the other between Israel and the Palestinians.\nNegotiations are to be conducted on the basis of U.N. Security\nCouncil Resolutions 242 and 338.\nThe real work will not happen here in the plenary\nsession, but in direct bilateral negotiations. This conference\ncannot impose a settlement on the participants or veto\nagreements; and just as important, the conference can only be\nreconvened with the consent of every participant. Progress is in\nthe hands of the parties who must live with the consequences.\nSoon after the bilateral talks commence, parties will\nconvene as well to organize multilateral negotiations. These\nwill focus on issues that cross national boundaries and are\ncommon to the region: arms control, water, refugee concerns,\neconomic development. Progress in these fora is not intended as\na substitute for what must be decided in the bilateral talks; to\nthe contrary, progress in the multilateral issues can help create\nan atmosphere in which long-standing bilateral disputes can more\neasily be settled.\nFor Israel and the Palestinians, a framework already\nexists for diplomacy. Negotiations will be conducted in phases,\nbeginning with talks on interim self-government arrangements. We\naim to reach agreement within one year. And once agreed, interim\nself-government arrangements will last for five years; beginning\nthe third year, negotiations will commence on permanent status.\nMORE\n- 3 -\nNo one can say with any precision what the end result will be; in\nour view, something must be developed, something acceptable to\nIsrael, the Palestinians and Jordan, that gives the Palestinian\npeople meaningful control over their own lives and fate and\nprovides for the acceptance and security of Israel.\nWe can all appreciate that both Israelis and\nPalestinians are worried about compromise, worried about\ncompromising even the smallest point for fear it becomes a\nprecedent for what really matters. But no one should avoid\ncompromise on interim arrangements for a simple reason: nothing\nagreed to now will prejudice permanent status negotiations. To\nthe contrary, these subsequent negotiations will be determined on\ntheir own merits.\nPeace cannot depend upon promises alone. Real peace --\nlasting peace -- must be based upon security for all states and\npeoples, including Israel. For too long the Israeli people have\nlived in fear, surrounded by an unaccepting Arab world. Now is\nthe ideal moment for the Arab world to demonstrate that attitudes\nhave changed, that the Arab world is willing to live in peace\nwith Israel and make allowances for Israel's reasonable security\nneeds.\nWe know that peace must also be based on fairness. In\nthe absence of fairness, there will be no legitimacy -- no\nstability. This applies above all to the Palestinian people,\nmany of whom have known turmoil and frustration above all else.\nIsrael now has an opportunity to demonstrate that it is willing\nto enter into a new relationship with its Palestinian neighbors;\none predicated upon mutual respect and cooperation.\nThroughout the Middle East, we seek a stable and\nenduring settlement. We've not defined what this means; indeed,\nI make these points with no map showing where the final borders\nare to be drawn. Nevertheless, we believe territorial compromise\nis essential for peace. Boundaries should reflect the quality of\nboth security and political arrangements. The United States is\nprepared to accept whatever the parties themselves find\nacceptable. What we seek, as I said on March 6, is a solution\nsaid on March 6, that meets the twin tests of fairness and\nsecurity.\nI know -- I expect we all know -- that these\nnegotiations will not be easy. I know, too, that these\nnegotiations will not be smooth. There will be disagreement and\ncriticism, setbacks -- who knows -- possibly interruptions.\nNegotiation and compromise are always painful. Success will\nescape us if we focus solely upon what is being given up.\nWe must fix our vision on what real peace would bring.\nPeace, after all, means not just avoiding war and the costs of\npreparing for it. The Middle East is blessed with great\nresources: physical, financial and, yes, above all, human. New\nopportunities are within reach -- if we only have the vision to\nembrace them.\nTo succeed, we must recognize that peace is in the\ninterest of all parties -- war, absolute advantage of none. The\nalternative to peace in the Middle East is a future of violence\nand waste and tragedy. In any future war lurks the danger of\nweapons of mass destruction. As we learned in the Gulf war,\nmodern arsenals make it possible to attack urban areas -- to put\nthe lives of innocent men, women and children at risk, to\ntransform city streets, schools and children's playgrounds into\nbattlefields.\nMORE\n- 4 -\nToday, we can decide to take a different path to the\nfuture -- to avoid conflict. I call upon all parties to avoid\nunilateral acts, be they words or deeds, that would invite\nretaliation or, worse yet, prejudice or even threaten this\nprocess itself. I call upon all parties to consider taking\nmeasures that will bolster mutual confidence and trust -- steps\nthat signal a sincere commitment to reconciliation.\nI want to say something about the role of the United\nStates of America. We played an active role in making this\nconference possible; both the Secretary of State, Jim Baker, and\nI will play an active role in helping the process succeed.\nToward this end, we've provided written assurances to Israel, to\nSyria, to Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinians. In the spirit of\nopenness and honesty, we will brief all parties on the assurances\nthat we have provided to the other. We're prepared to extend\nguarantees, provide technology and support, if that is what peace\nrequires. And we will call upon our friends and allies in Europe\nand in Asia to join with us in providing resources so that peace\nand prosperity go hand in hand.\nOutsiders can assist, but in the end, it is up to the\npeoples and governments of the Middle East to shape the future of\nthe Middle East. It is their opportunity and it is their\nresponsibility to do all that they can to take advantage of this\ngathering, this historic gathering, and what it symbolizes and\nwhat it promises.\nNO one should assume that the opportunity before us to\nmake peace will remain if we fail to seize the moment.\nIronically, this is an opportunity born of war -- the destruction\nof past wars, the fear of future wars. The time has come to put\nan end to war -- the time has come to choose peace.\nSpeaking for the American people, I want to reaffirm\nthat the United States is prepared to facilitate the search for\npeace, to be a catalyst, as we've been in the past and as we've\nbeen very recently. We seek only one thing, and this we seek not\nfor ourselves, but for the peoples of the area and particularly\nthe children: that this and future generations of the Middle\nBast may know the meaning and blessing of peace.\nWe have seen too many generations of children whose\nhaunted eyes show only fear -- too many funerals for their\nbrothers and sisters, the mothers and fathers who died too soon\n-- too much hatred, too little love. And if we cannot summon the\ncourage to lay down the past for ourselves, let us resolve to do\nit for the children.\nMay God bless and guide the work of this conference,\nand may this conference set us on the path of peace. Thank you.\n(Applause.)\nEND\n10:55 A.M. (L)\nPRESS CONFERENCE BY THE PRESIDENT BEFORE\nDEPARTURE TO ROME, ITALY AND THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS\n6:49 A.M. EST\nNovember 6, 1991\nQ\nAre you going to urge voters in Louisiana to vote\nagainst David Duke?\nTHE PRESIDENT: Yes, strongly. We had a great victory\nin Mississippi yesterday. And Kirk Fordice won a good clean race on\nfundamental issues. And it is truly unfortunate that the state next\ndoor in Louisiana -- and they vote next week for governor -- do not\nhave the choice between two good men. We differ with Senator\nWofford, but I think the Pennsylvanians had a choice between two\ndecent, good men. And I've got to be careful because I do not want\nto tell the voters of Louisiana how to cast their ballots next week.\nThat is a right that we all cherish; it's a personal right. And so\nthey've got to make their own decisions.\nBut when someone asserts that the Holocaust never took\nplace, then I don't believe that person ever deserves one iota of\npublic trust. And when someone has so recently endorsed Nazism, it\nis inconceivable that such a person can legitimately aspire to\nleadership -- in a leadership role in a free society. And when\nsomeone has a long record, an ugly record, of racism and of bigotry,\nthat record simply cannot be erased by the glib rhetoric of a\npolitical campaign.\nSo I believe that David Duke is an insincere charlatan.\nI believe he is attempting to hoodwink the voters of Louisiana, and I\nbelieve that he should be rejected for what he is and what he stands\nfor."
}