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On World Peace: His
Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan addresses the
U.S. Joint Meeting of Congress In Washington,
D.C March 7, 2007 In
the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful. Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice
President, Honorable Senators and
Members of Congress, My friends, Thank you for such a warm
welcome. It is an honor to stand, as my
father did, before this historic institution.
Allow me to thank you, on behalf of all
Jordanians. Jordan and the United
States have had a long friendship. It is a special
privilege to be here in the year that the American
Congress welcomes its first woman Speaker, and its
first Muslim-American member of Congress.
These milestones send a message around the world
about the America I know so well, a place where
individuality is nurtured, a place where hard work
is rewarded, a place where achievement is
celebrated. The America I know so well believes
that opportunity and justice belong to
all. In my days in Massachusetts,
I also learned something of New England
virtues. There wasn't actually a law against
talking too much, but there was definitely an
attitude that you didn't speak unless you could
improve on silence. Today, I must speak; I cannot
be silent. \I
must speak about a cause that is urgent for your
people and for mine. I must speak about peace
in the Middle East. I must speak about peace
replacing the division, war, and conflict that have
brought such disaster for the region and for the
world. This was the cause that
brought my father King Hussein here in 1994.
With Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin beside
him, he spoke of a new vision for the Middle
East. Their courageous work for peace
received bipartisan support from your
leaders. And there was tremendous hope for a
new era. There was tremendous hope that people
would be brought together. There was tremendous
hope that a final and comprehensive settlement of
all the issues would be achieved. Thirteen years later, that
work is still not completed. And until it is,
we are all at risk. We are all at risk of being
victims of further violence resulting from
ideologies of terror and hatred. It is our
greatest and most urgent duty to prevent such
dangers to our region, to your country and to the
world. The choice is ours: an open world full
of promise, progress and justice for all; or a
closed world of divided peoples, fear, and
unfulfilled dreams. Nothing impacts this
choice more than the future of peace in the Middle
East. I come to you today at a
rare, and indeed historic, moment of opportunity,
when there is a new international will to end the
catastrophe. And I believe that America, with
its enduring values, its moral responsibility, and
yes, its unprecedented power, must play the central
role. Some may say, 'Peace is
difficult, we can live with the status quo.'
But, my friends, violent killings are taking place
as part of this status quo. Palestinians and
Israelis are not the only victims. We saw the
violence ricochet into destruction in Lebanon last
summer. And people around the world have been
the victims of terrorists and extremists, who use
the grievances of this conflict to legitimize and
encourage acts of violence. Americans and
Jordanians and others have suffered and survived
terrorist attacks. In this room, there are
representatives of American families and Jordanian
families who have lost loved ones. Thousands of
people have paid the highest price, the loss of
their life. Thousands more continue to pay this
terrible price, for their loved ones will never
return. Are we going to let these thousands of
lives be taken in vain? Has it become acceptable to
lose that most basic of human rights? The right to
live? The status quo is also
pulling the region and the world towards greater
danger. As public confidence in the peace process
has dropped, the cycle of crises is spinning
faster, and with greater potential for
destruction. Changing military doctrine and
weaponry pose new dangers. Increasing numbers
of external actors are intervening with their own
strategic agendas, raising new dangers of
proliferation and crisis. These are groups
that seek even more division: faith against faith,
nation against nation, community against
community. Any further erosion in the
situation would be serious for the future of
moderation and coexistence, in the region and
beyond. Have we all lost the will to live together
in peace celebrating one another's strengths and
differences? Some may say, 'But there are
other, urgent challenges.' How can there be
anything more urgent than the restoration of a
world where all people, not only some people, all
people have the opportunity to live
peacefully? This is not only a moral
imperative, it is essential to the future of our
world, because long-term, violent crisis is the
enemy of all global prosperity and
progress. Certainly, our era faces
critical issues. There is great public
concern here, just as in our region, about the
conflict in Iraq. The entire international
community has vital decisions to make about the
path forward, and how to ensure Iraq's security,
unity, and future. But we cannot lose sight
of a profound reality. The wellspring of
regional division, the source of resentment and
frustration far beyond, is the denial of justice
and peace in
Palestine. There are those who say,
'It's not our business.' But this Congress
knows: there are no bystanders in the 21st
Century, there are no curious onlookers, there is
no one who is not affected by the division and
hatred that is present in our world. Some will say: 'This is not
the core issue in the Middle East.' I come here
today as your friend to tell you that this is the
core issue. And this core issue is not only
producing severe consequences for our region, it is
producing severe consequences for our
world. The security of all nations
and the stability of our global economy are
directly affected by the Middle East
conflict. Across oceans, the conflict has
estranged societies that should be friends. I
meet Muslims thousands of miles away who have a
deep, personal response to the suffering of the
Palestinian people. They want to know how it
is, that ordinary Palestinians are still without
rights and without a country. They ask
whether the West really means what it says about
equality and respect and universal
justice. Yes, my friends, today I must
speak. I cannot be silent. Sixty years of Palestinian
dispossession, forty years under occupation, a
stop-and-go peace process, all this has left a
bitter legacy of disappointment and despair, on all
sides. It is time to create a new and
different legacy, one that begins right now; one
that can set a positive tone for the American and
Middle East relationship; one that can restore hope
to our region's people, to your people, and to the
people of this precious world. Nothing can
achieve that more effectively, nothing can assert
America's moral vision more clearly, nothing can
reach and teach the world's youth more directly,
than your leadership in a peace process that
delivers results not next year, not in five years,
but this year. How do we get there?
Not by a solution imposed by one side. A
lasting peace can only be built on understanding,
agreement and compromise. It begins with courage and
vision. We, all of us, must take risks for
peace. The Arab states recognized that
reality in 2002, when we unanimously approved the
Arab Peace Initiative. It puts forward a path
for both sides, to achieve what people want and
need: a collective peace treaty with Israel
and normal relations with every Arab state,
collective security guarantees for all the
countries of the region, including Israel, an end
to the conflict, a dream every Israeli citizen has
longed for since the creation of Israel, and an
agreed solution to the refugee problem, a
withdrawal from Arab territories occupied since
1967, and a sovereign, viable, and independent
Palestine. The commitment we made in the
Arab Peace Initiative is real. And our states
are involved in ongoing efforts to advance a fair,
just, and comprehensive peace. His Majesty
King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia
initiated the 2002 proposal; today, he continues to
rally international support. Momentum is also
building among Muslim countries outside the Arab
world. Ten days ago, in Islamabad, the
foreign ministers of key Muslim states met.
They came together to assure Palestinians and
Israelis that they are not alone, that we back
their effort to make and build peace. The goal must be a peace in
which all sides gain. It must be anchored in
security and opportunity for all. It must be a peace that will
free young Palestinians to focus on a future of
progress and prosperity. It must be a peace that makes
Israel a part of the neighborhood, a neighborhood
that extends from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean,
across the breadth of the southern Mediterranean,
to the coast of the Indian Ocean. It must be a peace that
enables the entire region to look forward with
excitement and hope, putting its resources into
productive growth, partnering across borders to
advance development, finding opportunities, and
solving common challenges. This goal is visionary, but
my friends, it is attainable. History shows
that longtime adversaries can define new
relationships of peace and cooperation. The
groundwork for a comprehensive, final settlement is
already in place. At Taba, as in the Geneva
Accords, the parties have outlined the parameters
of the solution. But we need all hands on
deck. The international community, especially
the United States, must be engaged in moving the
process forward to achieve real results.
Above all, we must make our process serve our
purpose. We must achieve an agreed solution to the
conflict. Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice
President, Honorable Members, Your responsibility today is
paramount. Your potential to help Palestinians and
Israelis find peace is unrivalled. This is
because the people of the region still regard the
United States as the key to peace, the one country
most capable of bringing the two sides closer
together, holding them accountable, and making a
just settlement reality. Time after time, there has
been progress towards peace when Americans have
actively engaged. Camp David, Madrid, Wye
River: nearly every breakthrough was
accomplished when America was determined to help
the parties succeed. On behalf of all those who
seek and strive for peace in my part of the world,
I ask you now to exert that leadership once
again. We ask you to join with us in an
historic effort of courage and vision. We ask
you to hear our call, to honor the spirit of King
Hussein and Yitzhak Rabin, and help fulfill the
aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis to live in
peace today. Let me reaffirm that Jordan
is committed to playing a positive role in the
peace process. It is part of our larger
commitment to global co-existence and
progress. Ours is an Islamic country with a
proud record of diversity, moderation, and shared
respect. Allow me to say, we thank the
Congress and the Administration for supporting
Jordan's progress and development. I deeply
value the partnership between our peoples, and the
contributions of so many Americans to the future of
our country. My friends, "A decent respect for the
rights and dignity of all nations, large and
small." That's how President Roosevelt
&endash; the great F.D.R. &endash; described the
basis of American foreign policy. He pledged
American support for the four freedoms, freedom
from fear, freedom from want, freedom of speech,
and freedom of religion, everywhere in the
world. The Four Freedoms speech was
given right here, before Congress. And that's
entirely fitting. Because it is here in the
People's House, that the voices and values of
America have made hope real for so many
people. Today, the people of the
Middle East are searching for these four freedoms.
Today, the people of the Middle East are searching
for new hope, hope for a future of prosperity and
peace. We have seen the danger and
destruction of violence, hatred, and injustice. But
we have also seen what people can achieve when they
are empowered, when they break down walls, when
they commit to the future. And we know that
Middle East peace can be a global beginning,
creating new possibilities for our region and the
entire world. We look to you to play an
historic role. Eleven American presidents and
thirty American congresses have already faced this
ongoing crisis. For not the future
generation, but the generation alive today, let us
say together: No more! Let us say together:
Let's solve this! Let us say together: Yes,
we will achieve this! No Palestinian father should
be helpless to feed his family and build a future
for his sons and daughters. No Israeli mother
should fear when her child boards a
bus. Not one more generation should
grow up thinking that violence and conflict are the
norm. As Roosevelt also said, "the
justice of morality must and will win in the
end." But he knew that it was up to
responsible nations to stand up for justice when
injustice threatens. This is our challenge as
well. And we must not leave it to another
generation to meet this challenge. Thirteen years ago, my father
was here to talk about his hopes for peace.
Today, we are talking about a promise that is
within our reach. We can wait no longer and
that is why I am here before you. We must work
together to restore Palestine, a nation in despair
and without hope. We must work together to restore
peace, hope and opportunity to the Palestinian
people. And in so doing, we will begin a process of
building peace, not only throughout the region, but
throughout the world. How much more bloodshed and
how many more lives will it cost for this grave
situation to be resolved? I say: No more bloodshed and
no more lives pointlessly taken! The young boy, traveling to
school with his brother in Palestine, let him have
a life of peace. The mother, watching with
fear as her children board a bus in Israel, let her
have a life of peace. The father in Lebanon,
working hard to provide an education for his
children, let him have a life of peace. The little girl, born in
Iraq, with her wide eyes full of wonder, let her
have a life of peace. The family, together eating
their evening meal, in Asia, Africa, North America,
South America, Europe, Australia, and the Middle
East, let them all have a life of peace. Today my friends, we must
speak; we cannot be silent. The next time a Jordanian, a
Palestinian, or an Israeli comes before you, let it
be to say: Thank you for helping peace become
a reality. Thank you very
much. |
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