BACKGROUND

TRUDE B. FELDMAN

ne year after the end
of the Persian Gulf
war, President
George Bush doesn't hide his
concern at some of the un-
finished business of that con-
flict. He is unhappy that
Saddam Hussein is still in
power but he rejects any of
the criticism that he ended
the war too soon.
Mr. Bush remains con-
vinced that the possible exis-
tence of biological, chemical
and atomic weapons, as well
as the use of terrorism, are
threats that still need to be
eradicated in the region,
though he will not comment
on reports that the U.S. is
waging a war of nerves to
oust the Iraqi leader.
In an exclusive interview
in the Oval Office, Mr. Bush
had positive things to say
about Israel, crediting the
Jewish state for not
retaliating to Iraqi Scud
missile attacks during the
war and for taking part in
the Mideast peace negotia-
tions.
Mr. Bush said that the
U.S.-led coalition "could
have fallen apart" if Israel
had responded to the Iraqi
attacks. He also noted that
the U.S. should receive
credit "for the fact that we
have significantly reduced
the threat to Israel from a
militant, highly armed
Saddam Hussein.
"If the threat is still there,
we must continue to keep on
it until we eliminate that
threat, which means
fulfillment of those (rel-
evant) United Nations
resolutions."
Mr. Bush said he was
"absolutely satisfied" with
the conduct and outcome of
the war.
"We were able to achieve
our immediate objectives —
namely, expelling Iraq from
Kuwait, securing oil
resources for the world's
economy, and curtailing, in
a major way, Iraq's ability to
threaten its neighbors.

Photo by David Valdez

Special to The Jewish News

President Bush is interviewed in the Oval Office by Trude Feldman.

No Regrets

A year after the Gulf war; President
Bush says America's goals were met.

"In addition, the interna-
tional community's con-
certed action underscored
the principles that aggres-
sion will not be rewarded.
Kuwait is now free and en-
joying the fruits of freedom.
The troops and the com-
manders were superb and
performed in a brilliant
manner. They epitomize the
highest ideals of the U.S."
Mr. Bush added: "What I
am not satisfied about is
that Saddam refuses to abide
by subsequent resolutions of
the United Nations, and
refuses to keep his word on
doing something about
reparations and the envi-
ronmental damage that he
wrought."
Saddam Hussein, he said,
is "a menace" and "a bully"
who is brutally "tyrannizing
his own people."

Whether or not Saddam is
removed from power, Mr.
Bush believes that the
international community
should continue to monitor
what's going on in Iraq to in-

The President
believes the
success of the Gulf
war established a
climate which
allowed the
Mideast peace
process to take
place.

sure that its weapons of
mass destruction — nuclear,
biological, chemical and
missile — no longer exist
and cannot and will not be
rebuilt.

"We have to be sure of
that," he said, "and the way
to be sure is to see that these
inspections are fully carried
out. Then, Iraq won't have
the capability."
Asked about evidence that
Saddam Hussein was on the
brink of having nuclear
weapons, as well as about
reports of his determination
to use them against Israel
and Saudi Arabia, Mr. Bush
said, "We debated up to, and
during the war, exactly what
Saddam's nuclear potential
was. There are some differ-
ences on that, but we found
that the inspections confirm
the view that Saddam was
getting 'pretty close' to hav-
ing nuclear weapons. And he
is so hostile to Israel, so de-
termined to threaten it and
so reckless that I believe he
might well have threatened

Israel with nuclear weapons.
He certainly could have
threatened Saudi Arabia
with them as well."
The president believes
that the success of the Gulf
war established a climate in
the Mideast which allowed
his current peace process to
take place, and he says he
will continue to facilitate the
efforts of all the parties
towards peace. "It is,
however, up to them to over-
come centuries of prejudice
and conflict and take the
steps toward peace," he said.
"We took a major step for-
ward when both sides agreed
to direct bilateral negotia-
tions, and we stand ready to
assist in these efforts."
As for any impact on the
peace process from his Gulf
success, Mr. Bush concludes
that the strong leadership
role taken by the United
States has given him a new-
found credibility with all the
Mideast countries.
"They saw that when we
said we would do something,
we did it," Mr. Bush noted.
"A lot of countries in the
Mideast didn't believe we
would do that. So we have a
credibility unlike anything
we have had before-. I want
to use that credibility to
have these peace talks suc-
ceed. Israel has been very
good about coming to the
table, and we're trying to
encourage all participants to
be forthcoming."
Mr. Bush expressed satis-
faction that Iran used its in-
fluence to help in the release
of the Western hostages in
Lebanon, but he continues to
be cautious about prospects
for improved relations with
the fundamentalist regime
in Teheran.
He said: "We remain deep-
ly troubled by other aspects
of Iranian policy, including
continued support for terror-
ism and its opposition to the
Arab-Israeli peace process.
We recognize that Iran has
an important role to play in
the Gulf, and we're open to
talks with the leadership in
Teheran on the issues that
divide our two countries." ❑

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

35