American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference - Transcript
MR. EDWARDS: Good morning. What a pleasure to be here with all of you. Let me first say thank you to Randall (sp) and to Randall's (sp) wonderful wife, Cathy (sp), who've been long and dear friends and supporters of mine.
And let me also say a word about my wife, Elizabeth, because when I'm traveling around the country now, people often ask how she's doing. A lot of you know, I'm sure, that the day after the election, November 2nd, my wife, Elizabeth, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The good news is Elizabeth's doing great. She's doing very, very well. (Applause.) She finished her treatment last summer. We actually had a bunch of tests done just before Christmas -- this past Christmas, and I always knock on wood when I say this -- she's cancer free, so we're all very pleased about that. (Applause.)
I want to tell you a quick story from the campaign. I have lots of stories from the presidential campaign, but only one I'm going to tell this morning. And actually, I know that Vice President Cheney will be here to speak with you tomorrow. This is a story that I know he's heard and he enjoys too. So it happened the night of the vice presidential debate, which I'm sure a lot of you saw on television. It took place in Cleveland, Ohio. About 43-44 million people -- (scattered applause) -- 43-44 million people watched the debate on television, and when the debate was over, they did what they always do at these debates. The cameras were still rolling. They brought the families up on stage. So my wife, Elizabeth, came up first. Then, my daughter -- my older daughter, Kate (sp), who some of you will remember, came up. She lives in New York now, works for Vanity Fair Magazine. And then, my two younger kids, who some of you will remember -- Emma Claire, who was six at the time and then Jack, who was four -- came up on the stage.
Jack came running over to me. He jumped up in my arms, and he said, "Dad --" I said, "Not now, son. We're still waving to the camera." (Laughter.) A couple more minutes passed, and he said, "Dad --" and I said, "Not yet. We're still waving." Finally, he said, "Dad --" and I said, "What?". And he said, "Which one's Cheney?" (Laughter.)
It's a great privilege for me to be here with all of you today, and I want to say first I appreciate all the work that you do to give strength to the extraordinarily important and vital partnership between the United States and Israel, which is something I believe in very deeply and have for a long time. For more than -- (applause) -- for more than half a century, the alliance between our countries has been one of the most enduring and most important, standing for our shared values; our shared values of liberty, opportunity and hope.
And I especially want to thank AIPAC for all that you do to support this partnership and for helping all of us to think through the very tough issues which are going on right now in this great policy conference. Your work is critically important today when America and Israel face so many challenges, which I know you'll be discussing during the course of this conference.
I want to begin this morning by saying just a few words about a man who did so much to help Israel face its challenges, Ariel Sharon. (Applause.) Prime Minister Sharon is one of the giants of Israel's history, and one of America's great friends. And I myself was -- I appreciate today the time that I was able to spend with him when I was in Israel.
Throughout his career in public service and especially during the past few years with his historic decision to evacuate Gaza, Prime Minister Sharon acted in the only way he knew how to act. He made brave, bold decisions to ensure a strong and secure Israel. His legacy, commitment to service, strong leadership, unstinting patriotism and a deep belief in the vital partnership between Israel and the United States is something that all of us should admire, must always remember and never stop working to uphold. (Applause.)
During this difficult time, all Israelis should know that America stands with them, remaining committed to their security and their efforts to build a better and more peaceful future. And as we all wish the prime minister our love and affection for he and for his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with him every day. More than anyone else, Prime Minister Sharon understood that a strong Israel is a safe Israel, and we need to remember -- all of us need to remember the example that he set, especially as we consider the extraordinary security threats that Israel faces today.
Let's start with Iran's nuclear ambitions, which I believe is the single, greatest security threat not only to Israel, but to the United States. In fact -- (applause) -- today is a pivotal day with the IAEA meeting to send the matter to the U.N. Security Council to take action.
It's about time is what I have to say about that. (Applause.)
For years I have argued that the United States has not been doing enough to deal with the growing threat in Iran. While we've talked about the dangers of nuclear terrorism, we've largely stood on the sidelines as the problems got worse. I believe that for far too long, we've abdicated our responsibility to deal with the Iranian threat to the Europeans. That is not the way to deal with an unacceptable threat to America and an unacceptable threat to Israel. (Applause.)
Iran's recent actions, beginning with the reprocessing of uranium, refusing to cooperate with international inspections, makes clear that it intends to build nuclear weapons. And the Iranian president's statements, such as the despicable description of the Holocaust as a myth or his ugly pledge to wipe Israel off the map -- you know, when he says these kind of things, I take him at his word, and we need to treat it as a very serious statement. (Applause.)
And we all know that if Iran goes nuclear, it increases the likelihood that Saudi Arabia would be next, making Israel's neighborhood even more dangerous.
It's good that we're finally at the point where the international community is ready to confront Iran with a clear choice: give up your nuclear ambitions or suffer the consequences. But I believe that with more engaged and more active American leadership, we could have been -- in fact, we should have been at this point months ago. An active American leadership will be needed in the days ahead to ensure that our European allies as well as countries like China and Russia stand with us together to confront Iran in the Security Council with meaningful sanctions. (Applause.)
The truth is that for too long we've muddled through on this threat. Now we need to make a clear stand that Iran cannot and will not have nuclear weapons. Keeping nuclear weapons -- (applause) -- keeping nuclear weapons out of Tehran's hands is a strategic imperative for the security of the United States, for Israel and for the world, and we need to do what we can to help encourage democratic change in Iran.
Iran is the greatest external threat facing Israel, but just as alarming -- just as alarming -- is the threat on its doorstep: a Palestinian leadership led by Hamas. Hamas makes no effort to disguise its top priority: to destroy Israel. Its charter promises to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine, and spouts the darkest of anti-Semitic claims.
I will never forget -- and I hear Randall make reference to this just a minute ago -- I'll never forget on August 9th, 2001, as I was just ending a trip to Jerusalem, when a Hamas suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt of nails, screws, nuts, bolts, blew up the Sbarro pizzeria, not far from where we were staying at the King David Hotel. Fifteen innocent people died; six children died.
This is now the face of the Palestinian leadership. With such a threat, Israel not only has the right -- Israel has the obligation to defend itself, and we have to be there with them as they do it. (Applause.)
This means continuing to deepen our economic ties and to strengthen our military cooperation so that Israel maintains its qualitative edge. It means continuing our strong diplomatic relationship and standing up to those who would try to use international organizations to isolate or unfairly punish Israel.
It also means thinking creatively about ways to connect Israel to some of our most important and successful security institutions.
For example, I believe that we should be exploring ways to upgrade Israel's relationship with NATO. This could mean a stronger strategic -- (interrupted by applause). This could mean a closer strategic and operational relationship, it could mean more exchanges and planning cooperation, it could even some day mean membership. NATO is the greatest democratic security alliance in the world today. It now has a mission that goes far beyond Europe, as we've seen in Afghanistan. So it's only natural that we should work to deepen its cooperation with Israel. And I believe the United States should lead this effort to strengthen NATO's relationship with Israel. (Applause.)
We also have to send a clear, crystal clear, unmistakable message to the Hamas-led Palestinian leadership: You will not get one dime of American taxpayer dollars as long as you refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state -- (applause); abide by past agreements; and end your support for terrorism. (Continued applause.)
Now that Hamas has to deal with the responsibility of governance, we cannot let it off the hook. It can't get anything for free. And while the international community should continue to help the Palestinian people's humanitarian needs, like food and medicine, outside assistance for Palestinian development or governance is not an entitlement. And we need to work with our European allies and others, like Russia, to ensure that any money that goes to help the Palestinian people does not end up lining terrorists' pockets. International -- (applause) -- international unity on this issue is absolutely essential.
In fact, after I leave here this morning, I'll be going with former Secretary Jack Kemp to announce the findings of a U.S.-Russia Task Force for the Council on Foreign Relations. Jack Kemp and I have been chairing this task force over the course of the last year.
U.S.-Russia cooperation can in fact help the United States deal with some of the most difficult problems we face. Yet regrettably, that cooperation has become the exception not the norm. Our report, in fact, is a wake-up call to get the U.S.-Russia relationship back on track to meet the challenges that face us and face the world. In fact, Russia's behavior toward Hamas is a very important test for Russia. What Russia does next will have serious ramifications for our relationship with Russia.
And I want to end this morning saying just a few words about what I think is the great issue facing America here at home, and the great issue facing America around the world.
I believe that there is a huge void in moral leadership in America today. When you watch what's happening -- most of you saw this on your television screens -- as a result of the hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast, and for many Americans, for many Americans they saw the face of poverty as we saw in the Lower 9th Ward, for example, in New Orleans, a face that they either hadn't seen or didn't want to think about. You know, I have a very simple view about this. In a country of our wealth and our prosperity, to have 37 million people who wake up in poverty every day is wrong. And we, all of us together, have a responsibility to do something about it. (Applause.)
And it's also important for us to recognize that we are not the only ones that saw what happened in New Orleans. We're not the only ones who saw the face of poverty in America. The world saw the face of poverty in America. I saw a publication from overseas shortly after the flood hit New Orleans and it had pictures of victims from the Lower 9th Ward, and the headline was, "The Shaming of America." The world is watching. They want to know whether the most prosperous, powerful nation on the face of the planet is actually going to turn its back on 37 million of its own people who wake up in poverty every day. There's so much opportunity, so much good to be done by helping people help themselves. And it's not just what we do here at home, it's not just addressing what I believe is the great moral issue here in America, it's also America providing moral leadership around the world.
You know, I was in Britain not long ago, and I spent hour, hour and a half with the prime minister, Tony Blair, and listened -- just the two of us -- and listening to him talk about Britain's attempt to lead on the big issues, the moral issues that face the world.
You know, poverty in America is moderate compared to poverty around the world. Half of the planet lives on $2 or less a day -- almost 3 billion people. Where is America? Where is American leadership?
While we have this extraordinary policy conference today, there's a genocide going on in Sudan, in Darfur. (Light applause.) Black people are being killed, driven from their homes. Black women are being raped. We said -- after Rwanda, America said this will never happen again. You'll remember the phrase: "Not on our watch." It's happening right now. And where is America? Where is American leadership? (Applause.)
We have to fill this void in moral leadership in the world. Not only do we need to do it for ourselves, because it says something about the character of our country; we have to do it for the world, because when we don't lead, there is an enormous void.
And I want to say I know that we have a big crowd of young people here, which I'm very pleased about. I want to say something to the young people in this audience. Young people have changed America before, and you can change America again.
I saw it when I was a teenager. I saw young people lead -- not follow, lead -- the fight for civil rights in America. They weren't waiting for their parents to tell them what was right and what was wrong. They weren't waiting to be told what to do. They saw it, they saw an injustice, and they went out and fought with backbone and energy and passion for what was right.
Young people -- (applause) -- young people have changed America before. You can change it again. We saw it even more recently, with efforts on college/university campuses to topple this brutal apartheid regime in South Africa.
What I would say to the young people who are here -- I'll borrow a line from an extraordinary woman who passed away a few years ago but who was an activist, who organized people around important social causes. She would always end her speeches by saying, "You know, the leaders we've been waiting for are us." She's exactly right. We can't wait. We have to lead. We have to keep America strong and secure. We have to help keep Israel strong and secure. And we have to show the world what the character and morality of the America we believe in is.
God bless you all. Thank you. It's my honor and privilege to be with you. (Applause.)
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